To permit or not to permit? That is the question.... Or is it?

Often when homeowners are doing a renovation project, they will question the need for a permit. Why? Permits can be expensive and subject the work done to a few inspections. This can involve extra time, energy and work on a project.

However, if a permit is required to do a project according to your city, county or state, there should not even be a question of whether or not to get the permit.

First, of all, getting the permit is the right thing to do, and you can't put a value on your integrity.

Second, when you sell your home, the records that the permits provide about your renovation can be very helpful, not to mention protect you if there is ever an issue related to the work. According to Doityourself.com permits are essential: "Building permits will help affect the value of your home for the good, because it will show that our home is safely built according to state, county and city ordinances." (You can read more at: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/building-permits-that-affect-your-homes-value#ixzz0mVXYuur5)

A few examples of permits that are essential if you are ready to start a project: roof, electrical, plumbing, and home addition.

If you have questions about whether or not your project needs a permit, call your city offices and ask. It will be worth the investment to do things right... permit and all.

Speaking a foreign language

The home buying and selling process can be stressful at times! Some of that stress comes from the fact that often buyers and sellers feel thrust into a world where they don't speak the language. Terms like appraisal, FHA, and abstract of title get thrown around between agents, lenders, title companies, and appraisers, and often buyers and sellers feel as if everyone is speaking to them in a foreign tongue.

If you are thinking you would like to brush up on some of the words and terminolgy of the real estate biz, and learn this new "language", you may enjoy this link:

http://buyandsell.houselogic.com/glossary/

While we can't verify or back every term on there (because frankly we don't have time to read through the ENTIRE helpful glossary), the ones we have scoped out seem to give an understandable and accurate lay definition. So go have a look, and have a hand at becoming "bi-lingual"!

Perhaps the sea is calming?

According to an article on CNN Money, the volatile sea of the real estate market may be calming.

"The big fall-off in home values, which has taken the median price of a house down almost 30% since 2006, looks to be in its final stages in most places: Three-quarters of the nation's 384 metropolitan areas will see prices down less than 5% a year from now, according to projections from Fiserv and Moody's Economy.com; 10% seem poised for modest increases. Meanwhile, Uncle Sam is lending a steadying hand with programs designed to prop up the market -- at least for a while yet."
(Excerpt taken from "6 housing trends in a still-shaky market" By Amanda Gengler on April 1, 2010; link to full article is http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/18/real_estate/housing_prices.moneymag/index.htm)

This could be encouraging news to both buyers and sellers. Buyers are still poised to purchase homes that will continue to increase in values, and sellers are poised to begin to see higher selling prices.

An interesting statistic to ponder...

As the first quarter numbers come out, there are a few things to note about our real estate market in the Valley.
First, it appears that approximately 1 house per day closed in the first quarter.
Second, as of the last day of the quarter, almost 500 homes were still actively listed in the Valley.
Third, using those two facts above to do the math, the ratio of buyers to homes available is about 1:17.
What do we see from this? It appears that it is a great time for buyers to find a great home at a great price (and get a loan with a great interest rate!). It also means that sellers need to price competitively and be the best in their "class" if they hope to be the 1 out of 17 that gets the contract!