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Sell an old home to young buyersFocus on these 8 tips when marketing home to a younger demographic.
8 reasons your home isn't sellingHere's what to do if your house is a 'listing loser.'
6 off-season home-selling tipsHere's how to make your home stand out when competition is fierce.
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Real estate's hidden marketplace As more sellers choose "pocket listings," more agents question practice.
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Make a video, sell your homeAn on-camera testimonial could draw more traffic to your listing and home.
5 steps to finding a sellers agentInterview more than one agent — and be sure to ask the right questions.
Get your home ready for the marketHere are a few simple tricks to make home stand out from the crowd.
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I'm loving this article!!! These improvements are what i've been desperately trying to achieve for 27 years. Even more so now, as I live with and care for my adult disabled (wheelchair, no fine-motor skills) son and senior (diabetic heart-patient) Father.
I can fill volumes of when as little as one quarter of an inch makes differences of life or death and freedom or enslavement.
Becoming truly ADA compliant doesn't have to be ugly. The right to pursue happiness sometimes needs a little wider door. A trip around your own yard and gardens has been bought and paid for in every conflict for by our military since the birth of our Nation.
Don't want to have people think updates like these are only for themselves, but are in fact an act of kindness to their fellow humans for now and into the future.
Great Job!!
9 home upgrades that broaden your buyer base
By Sonya Stinson of Bankrate.com
If you plan to live in your home for quite some time, adding universal-design features will make aging in place safer and more comfortable. If you sell the house later, you'll find that buyers may appreciate how these upgrades anticipate their needs.
Unlike home improvements designed to make an immediate impression, universal-design additions with the most sales appeal are those that go unnoticed until you point them out.
"The beauty of universal design is when you're able to incorporate something that looks great and doesn't jump out at you," says Paul Sullivan, a remodeling contractor in Newton, Mass.
In other words, says Armand Christopher, a Realtor and seniors real-estate specialist: "You don't put in hospital-grade grab bars in a bathroom when you are remodeling."
Fortunately, you don't have to settle for the institutional look. From ergonomically designed faucet handles to skid-free flooring, today's universal-design products are stylish and subtle. Financing options include home-equity loans and reverse mortgages.
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9 home upgrades that broaden your buyer base
When do you install them?
The best time to add aging-in-place upgrades to your home is before you need them, says Pat Rowen, an interior designer and certified aging-in-place specialist in Hillsdale, Mich. Rowen had to tackle a rush job when a client in his 80s fell and broke his hip just before Christmas, and she scrambled to track down materials and workers for the remodel. She says the experience underscored the importance of planning.
"If you have to do it under the gun at Christmastime, and you know that your husband is coming home in two weeks and you have a bathtub that he can't get into, that's not the time to do the remodeling," Rowen says.
Here are nine ideas that can boost the value of your home and the quality of life you enjoy while you're living in it.
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9 home upgrades that broaden your buyer base
Create zero-step entries
If your home has a basement, Rowen says she suggests grading the landscape to create a new entry on the lower level. If you're thinking of building a ramp to an existing entry, consider placing it inside your garage instead of at the front door.
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9 home upgrades that broaden your buyer base
Make your doors easier to open
Sullivan recently installed several doors with levers instead of knobs for one of his clients.
"It's for a young, single woman," he says, "but she loves it because if she's coming in with groceries in her arms, she can elbow the door handle and get through the door."
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9 home upgrades that broaden your buyer base
Create clear 3-foot passageways
This can make it easier to accommodate a wheelchair or walker in a doorway. This might mean widening your interior doorways, as well as rearranging and decluttering rooms.
"As people get older, they have a lot of stuff," Rowen says. "They need to think in terms of, 'How can I get to and from everything I do without any furniture or clutter?'"
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| Design center Get ideas for your home with our inspirational rooms and direct access to real products. Click here to begin exploring. |
9 home upgrades that broaden your buyer base
Replace your old stove and faucet to reduce burn risk
An accidental scalding is less likely with a single-lever faucet than with one that has separate handles for hot and cold, Sullivan says.
Therese Crahan, executive director of NAHB Remodelers, a division of the National Association of Home Builders, says she recommends buying a stove that has the controls in the front so you won't have to reach over the heating elements to use them.
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9 home upgrades that broaden your buyer base
Fall-proof your floors
Rowen says to look for products such as nonslip vinyl and nonglossy tile in small patterns; the extra grout lines provide more slip resistance. It's also a good idea to eliminate variances in floor height from room to room, she says.
Slide show: 9 things homebuyers desire in 2011
- Bing Cube: View examples of universal design
9 home upgrades that broaden your buyer base
Reduce the need to reach up and bend over
Christopher says he suggests shopping for items such as kitchen cabinets with pull-down shelves, refrigerators with middle drawers, and washers and dryers with raised platforms.
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9 home upgrades that broaden your buyer base
Prep your bathroom for grab bars
Plan for these even if you're not ready to install them.
"You can either put plywood on the wall before you put the drywall up or put blocking between the studs," Rowen says.
Without that preparation, you are limited to installing the grab bars at the existing studs or tearing out drywall to fit them in.
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9 home upgrades that broaden your buyer base
Put in an easy-to-use shower
Rowen says she likes the ones from Best Bath Systems, which offers a model with grab bars, a folding seat and hand-held sprayer for about $3,100.
Curbless showers are another option. They are wheelchair-accessible and eliminate the need to step over a threshold.
"The bathroom floor just rolls seamlessly into the shower," Sullivan says.
Sullivan says that for experienced contractors, installing a curbless shower costs no more than doing a conventional one.
"The one thing we have to do is waterproof the floor underneath," he says. "You're talking maybe 15 (additional) minutes of labor and $50 worth of materials. And you're not building and tiling the curb, so it's pretty much a wash."
- On our blog, 'Listed': Gen Y turns up nose at soaker tubs, cookie-cutter suburbs
- MSN Money: Let's face it: A house is a money pit
9 home upgrades that broaden your buyer base
Get a comfort-height toilet
This will raise you about 17 inches off the floor, and the project will set you back $200 to $300, Rowen says. Seat-booster rings aren't nearly as efficient, Rowen says, because they slip easily and are hard to clean.
Slide show: 9 things homebuyers desire in 2011
- Bing Cube: View examples of universal design
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