Green homes sell faster, tips to make your house stand out from the rest

Environmentally friendly homes are not just good for the planet but also are a huge draw for conscientious buyers with green houses typically selling 20% faster than traditional houses. More and more homebuyers are interested in living a greener lifestyle and you do not want to miss the opportunity to market your home to those potential buyers. There's even a dedicated worldwide multiple listing service for green properties, hosted at http://www.listedgreen.com/. Here are some simple ways to minimize your impact on the environment and make your house stand out from all of the rest.

Energy Efficiency

Home utility bills have seen double-digit growth in the past few years, spurred by record-high oil and gas prices and water shortages. "That means if you can show lowered utility bills to potential buyers, it makes a big difference in today's market," explains Kerry Mitchell, the president and founder of Green Real Estate Education, and a real estate broker with more than 14 years of experience in Maryland and Florida.

Mitchell trains real estate professionals about the benefits of going green, as well as how to apply for various regional and national green certifications (such as the EPA's Energy Star for homes and the U.S. Green Building Council's emerging LEED for Homes program).

The key is to make improvements to your home's energy efficiency, and document how the monthly bills change over time. Highlight the savings to your broker and any potential buyers, and provide comparisons to typical bills for similar-sized houses in your region (call FPL or visit http://www.fpl.com for details on FPL’s Home Energy Survey and controlling your energy costs).

Small Steps Add Up

So, how do you get started? It may sound trite now, but Mitchell says the first thing you should do is to replace as many light bulbs as you can with CFLs (compact fluorescents). CFLs use a quarter of the electricity as regular bulbs, and lighting accounts for 20% of home energy use.

Upgrade Your "Energy Hog" Appliances

The next step is to upgrade any old or questionable appliances with new Energy Star-certified models. "There is a definite payoff with Energy Star," says Mitchell. The EPA's blue and white label indicates models must be 10% to 50% more efficient than standard offerings. It's also a good idea to install a programmable thermostat and motion detectors, suggests Mitchell.

Insulation Can Be a Selling Point

Make sure cracks are tightly caulked and leaks are sealed. Just doing that can drop your annual heating bill by $100, according to Department of Energy figures. Also consider if your insulation might need beefing up.

Going Healthy Sells

Another potentially untapped market is to capitalize on making your home as healthy a space as possible. There are many people with allergies, asthma, chemical sensitivities and so on who consider top indoor air quality a necessity. In addition, more and more people are interested in cutting down on their exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

So putting on a fresh coat of the new and now-widely available "low-VOC" paints can go a long way toward attracting buyers, says Mitchell. "It gives Realtors something to market," she says.
You'll also want to deal with what's underfoot. Old carpets can be a real turnoff, and can emit allergens and toxins. Exposing any hardwood floors is a good way to bring out your home's beauty and value, but if you don't have that option consider new, eco-friendly carpeting.
Any opportunities you have to replace polyvinyl chloride (PVC) will also improve indoor air quality, since the plastic is known to off-gas fumes. It may be present in flooring, shower curtains, plastic board material and more.

If your home is older, you'll want to assess the situation of possible lead paint and asbestos — issues much better left to qualified professionals.

Call the Pros

Speaking of pros, the best thing you can do when considering selling your home green is to call in experts to make recommendations. They may start with an energy audit, for instance.
Remember that you may also qualify for federal, state or local tax credits by going green.

Contact Kari A. Battaglia, GRI, Realtor®, Broker Associate, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Licensed Realtor® in Florida at 941-270-1851 to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Venice Florida, South Venice Florida, Englewood Florida, Nokomis Florida, Laurel Florida and for Tennessee real estate investments. I am currently accepting referrals.

Contact me by email at kari.battaglia@floridamoves.com. Need information fast, call me direct at 941-270-1851.

Copyright © 2008 By Kari A. Battaglia, mailto:kari.battaglia@floridamoves.com, All Rights Reserved, http://www.karibattaglia.com/.

Portability of Sarasota County property tax value

For Sarasota County property owners, you may have noticed a change in the assessed value of your property for 2008. In January, 2008 the voters of Florida passed "Amendment One" which includes four significant changes to the way property taxes are calculated:

1) Homestead properties receive an additional $25,000 exemption, for all districts except the School Board.
2) Allows "portability" which enables homestead owners to take all or part of their Save Our Homes benefits with them to their new property.
3) Provides a $25,000 exemption to tangible personal property (benefits primarily business owners).
4) Caps non-homestead assessed value growth at 10% per year, beginning in 2009.

The Florida homestead exemption "Save Our Homes" benefit is now "portable" because of the passage of the constitutional amendment on January 29, 2008. The "Save Our Homes" benefitis the difference between the assessed value and market value of a homestead property due to the annual limit on increases in assessed value. Portability means that, from now on, you can transfer some or all of your old home's "Save Our Homes" benefit to your new home.

You must apply to your property appraiser to transfer your "Save Our Homes" benefit. For contact information on Florida's property appraisers, go to http://www.scgov.net/CFPO/BudgetGuide/trimnoticefaq.asp.

Portability for 2008

Portability first becomes available for homeowners who had a 2007 homestead exemption on their old home and established a new homestead by January 1, 2008.

If you moved into a new home by January 1, 2008, you have through March 1, 2008, to apply to your property appraiser for your new homestead exemption and for the transfer of the "Save Our Homes" benefit to your new homestead for 2008. If you have already applied for a homestead exemption on your new home, you must complete a

separate application by March 1, 2008, to transfer the "Save Our Homes" benefit to your new homestead.

Portability for 2009 and after

If you move into a new home after January 1, 2008, and by January 1, 2009, and had a previous homestead exemption in either 2007 or 2008, you must apply for your 2009 homestead exemption and the transfer of your "Save Our Homes" benefit by March 1, 2009. In future years, you will be able to transfer your "Save Our Homes" benefit to a new home if you had the homestead exemption on your old home in either of the two preceding years.

Information source: http://myflorida.com .

Contact Kari A. Battaglia, licensed Realtor® in Venice Florida at 941-270-1851 to list your property for sale or to help you in your search for property in the Greater Venice Area, which include Venice Florida, Englewood Florida, Nokomis Florida, Laurel Florida, and Osprey Florida. We currently have available properties in the Dunlap Tennessee area and have Tennessee land for sale.

Contact me by email at Kari.Battaglia@comcast.net. Need information fast, call me on my cellular direct at 941-270-1851. I am currently accepting referrals.

Copyright© 2008 By Kari A. Battaglia, All Rights Reserved.

Kari A. Battaglia, GRI Realtor®, Broker Associate Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate 331 W Venice Ave., Venice, FL 34285 941-270-1851 direct 941-484-9715 office 800-969-1990 toll free Kari.Battaglia@comcast.net www.KariBattaglia.com www.VeniceAreaHomesBlog.com www.FloridaMoves.com/Kari.Battaglia.

Protect Your Laptop and your valuable information

I wanted to share with everyone something I learned from a real estate agent a few months ago during a GRI class I attended in Sarasota, Florida. I noticed that one of my fellow classmates had one of those cool new paper thin Apple laptops with a small box the size of a deck of cards attached to it. I had to go over and check out this great new laptop. After speaking with her I learned that she had recently gone through what she explained to be nothing short of a nightmare; her business laptop had been stolen! Replacing the stolen laptop is easily done, but replacing your customer data base, history of customer communications, tasks lists, calendar, emails, documents, spreadsheets, pictures, etc. may not be replaceable. It took her months and countless hours to restore her lost information. My classmate then gave me some valuable information that I took to heart. Store all of your information on a portable external hard drive.

A portable or external hard drive is quite a useful piece of equipment. It allows the user to back up or store important information separate from the main internal hard drive, which could become compromised by online or offline activities. Sensitive documents, large music files, DVD images, movies, disk images, and even a backup of the contents of your main internal hard drive, can all be kept securely and safely on an external hard drive. When you are online, you can even leave the external drive turned off.

Another advantage of an external hard drive is that it is portable and operates on a plug-and-play basis. Any computer with a USB will recognize the external hard drive as a storage device, and assign it a letter to designate it. The drive can then be accessed like a normal internal hard drive. It's a snap to transfer huge files back and forth from work to home, to a friend's house, or between your desktop and laptop. Just plug in the interface cable to quickly reconstruct a working environment, making your favorite programs virtually portable. You can even buy several external hard drives (storage capacity 40GB up to 750GB), using one for multimedia storage, one for imaging, one for backup, one for work and so on.

Also make sure that you password protect your laptop to prevent unauthorized access. You will be protecting the confidentiality of your customers, work product and any sensitive documents you may have stored on your hard drive.

Thank you to my friend in Englewood for your excellent advice!

"Curb Appeal," How to prepare your home for a successful sale

My goal is not simply to sell your house, but to help you realize the best price obtainable for your property in the shortest period of time. These suggestions require a minimum amount of time and expense to complete and are designed to make your house stand out from the competition. You have probably heard how important first impressions can be. But did you know that within 15 seconds a buyer has developed an opinion of your property? This is why establishing the right first impression is critical to achieving a successful sale.

The Home Front

Your property's landscape is not limited to the lawn and shrubs but encompasses everything from the street to your doorstep. For this reason, you must make sure each component of the visual landscape looks its best. This is referred to as "curb appeal."

1. Street - make sure the street in front of your house is free of litter and debris. If necessary, give it a fresh sweep.


2. Sidewalk - sweep your sidewalk if needed and remove weeds that may be growing between cracks.


3. Fence - A freshly painted fence gives a home a crisp look. You should never let a peeling, tired-looking fence or squeaky gate stand between a prospective buyer and a positive first impression.


4. Mailbox/Light Fixtures - A quick painting of an old mailbox will elt the buyer know you care about the details. If outdoor lamps look rusted and worn out, new ones will cast a positive light on your property.


5. Fire Hydrant - Although you do not own the fire hydrant in front of your house, you should still be concerned about how it looks. If it needs a freshening up, get permission from your town and paint it.
   

Landscaping

Neatly trimmed shrubs are essential. Taking the time to do this costs little, but has a big impact. Besides freshly mowed and trimmed, a lawn should look healthy. If there are spots that looks beyond help, a little sod goes a ong way to restoring the look of a well-maintained lawn.

Paint

A fresh coat of paint can be one of the best investments you can make to increase the value of your property. If you do not want to spend the money to pain the entire house, consider just the shutters or the front of the house.

Windows

Attractive windows can help increase the appeal of your property. Replace any cracked or broken glass; make sure windows are sparkling clean; add shutters to the front of your house; install window boxes with bright flowers; apply touch up paint where needed.

Roof

The roof may be the single most important aspect of your home front. A well maintained roof will say a lot about the overall condition of the property. Replace any broken or missing shingles or tiles; repair flashing where needed; paint eves and fascia boards; if the roof is old and needs to be replaced, considered having the work done before showing the property.

Doorway

The doorway is the focal point of your house. Repaint the door; apply new door hardware; install a brass kick plate; replace house numbers; put a flower box or planter alongside the door; install a new front light fixture.

Showing attention to detail and understanding the buyer's need can dramatically increase the saleability of your property. I would be happy to assist you with recommendations to help your house sell for the highest price obtainable in the shortest period of time. Give me a call anytime at 941-270-1851.

Contact Kari A. Battaglia, GRI, Realtor®, Broker Associate, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Licensed Realtor® in Florida at 941-270-1851 to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Venice Florida, South Venice Florida, Englewood Florida, Nokomis Florida, Laurel Florida and for Tennessee real estate investments. I am currently accepting referrals.

Contact me by email at kari.battaglia@floridamoves.com. Need information fast, call me direct at 941-270-1851.

Copyright © 2008 By Kari A. Battaglia, kari.battaglia@floridamoves.com, All Rights Reserved,

I am now with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate

Now I can provide you with the complete resources of North America's premier real estate organization. As a Coldwell Banker broker associate, I take pride in being part of an elite network of more than 100,000 Sales Associates and employees in over 3,500 offices across North America. I am proud of the quality service that dates back to 1906. We offer powerful national advertising, our innovative Buyer Service and Seller Service marketing systems, a wide array of mortgage financing alternatives, and industry leading relocation programs. When you are ready to sell your house, buy a home, or relocate just give me a call. I'll give you the personalized service you deserve.