Mischief Night

Halloween can leave you with it a variety of tricks that make you cry Boo Hoo.

Mischief night, October 30th, is notorious for the evening that trees get toilet papered, houses get egged and cars get covered with shaving cream.

Although there is no preventing hooligans from targeting your property, and usually it is random and not personal, there are measures to take to lesson the chances your home will get smattered, creamed or papered.

The only real preventive measure you can take is to turn on every exterior light you have and leave them on all night. The bright lights may deter tricksters and have them move on.

You may want to leave some interior lights on in living room as well and bedrooms. This will make it appear as if someone is home and awake.

However, the thrill of getting caught is what really drives these youngsters and having their handy work seen by many is what motivates them to run amuck. The more visible your property is, the stronger the chances you’ll be hit.

If after illuminating your property, the eggs still fly and your home and car is covered, wash the egg off your house as soon as you can. It could stain. Also, remove toilet paper from trees before it rains. That is a mess. And remember, most of the time this isn’t personal as hard as it is to take, its only kids playing pranks. 

Hopefully none of us will be the recipient of such annoyances, but tis the season for candy and fun and tricks galore!

Know Your Credit Report

Knowledge is power when it comes to knowing your credit scores. If you are contemplating a purchase, it’s a great idea to know your full credit picture before you apply for a mortgage. By planning ahead, you can be proactive about positioning yourself to get the best interest rates.

Borrowers with the highest FICO scores (760-850) can expect to be offered lower interest rates and more loan choices. On the other end of the spectrum, a FICO score of 500-520 is usually the minimum required to even apply for a mortgage.

Several months prior to applying for a mortgage, we recommend obtaining a copy of your FICO score through www.myfico.com. Also, in accordance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act), you are entitled to one free copy per year of your report from each of the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). Find out more by going to www.annualcreditreport.com.

There may be errors on your credit report pertaining a missed payment or pertaining to your history that could take a few months to clear up. You can also work to improve your credit score by paying off outstanding balances. One bit of advice: don’t close out any of those credit card accounts once you have paid them off. In some cases, this can hurt your credit score. 

By taking the initiative to improve and maximize your credit profile well ahead of time, you can move forward with confidence once you find your dream home. AND, you stand to save a significant amount of money over the term of your loan by qualifying for the lower interest rate.

How Low Will It Go?

A few weeks back, we speculated about how much farther the real estate market will adjust before hitting bottom. At the time, we felt the market was more or less bouncing along the bottom due to the upheaval in the mortgage industry and numerous price reductions of active listings.

More evidence that we are potentially close to the bottom continues to make itself known. New properties that are listed for sale are in line with what the market is bearing. We are seeing fewer if any, overpriced listings go on the market. Properties priced right, are indeed selling.

Many sellers are now taking their homes off the market and not making further price reductions. Other sellers are putting year round renters in their properties to hold the investment until this cycle ends.

It will be interesting to see what will happen in the coming months. The stock market activity will have an impact on all of us in one form or another. We'll have to see how this plays out.

Preparing your Lawn for Winter

Many properties on Cape Cod are planted with low maintenance, indigenous plants and grasses. But, if you have a more manicured landscape, which includes a traditional lawn, now is the time to plan and execute fall fertilization.

In early to mid-October, mow your lawn one final time. Rake up any clippings and apply a weed killer and grass fertilizer (NOTE: there are organic options available). This will help prepare your lawn for winter, while it lay dormant, and it will assist in spring growth. Most of our soil on the Outer Cape is sandy, so plan on using a fertilizer that has slow release nitrogen. You may want to ask your garden center professional to help you pick out the proper fertilizer for your area.

It is important to follow instructions when applying fertilizer. Never overdo, and base your application on your lawn’s square footage. It is best to use a rotary spreader for an even application. Once you finish one direction, repeat in the opposite for thorough coverage.
Make sure your grass is dry when applying the fertilizer, then, water lightly immediately afterwards. This helps the fertilizer to adhere to the blades of grass and also to mix into the soil. It is important to use the proper product for grass and a different fertilizer for shrubs, plants and flowers. Using an incorrect product can impact evergreen growth and decrease fruit and flower count in the spring.

With these helpful tips, your lawn should be preserved through the cold winter months and ready for regular yard maintenance once spring arrives.

Market Analysis: Buyers & Sellers - Real Estate's Players

This week, let us take time to discuss the consumers in this crazy real estate market we’re in. As the economy collapses and the government works diligently on an economic bail out plan, let’s discuss the players in the real estate market.

Buyers: The market is riddled with opportunity. Are there some over-priced listings out there? Of course and in this market they are easy to identify. There are more properties priced to sell, however. Don’t let analysis paralysis stop you from moving forward on a property you like. This term describes buyers who are paralyzed in moving forward by using price per square foot, comparable sales and waiting for the next statistic to be added. These tools are ideal and should be used to make an educated offer on your dream Cape Cod property, not to remain on the sidelines and lose out. The media also adds to this phenomenon. A buyer may be ready to make a well thought offer and then the media reports that prices are falling even more. Thus, the buyer suspends the process. This is common place these days. If you find a property you like, have your realtor provide the statistical data for you to make an effective offer. If the seller does not respond in kind, then move on. There are plenty of properties out there.

Sellers: Every offer in this market is a good offer and should be treated as such. If a buyer presents an offer and is pre-qualified, work the transaction until it is abundantly clear, there is no hope. You have nothing to lose by countering to a low offer, not in this market. Buyers today are looking at comparable sales, percentage of list to sell price and price per square foot. This is real data they are using to make their offers. Seller responses of “try again” or “a smaller unit may be better for you” or “I’m not bidding against myself” should be left for the scrapbooks of 2004 when another buyer was waiting in line to make an offer. Keep this in mind: buyers in this market are looking for opportunity. If they are taking the time, are pre-approved by a bank, which is no small feat these days, do you really want to send them to another seller to see if he/she will engage in negotiations? If so, you may want to remove your unit from the market and lessen the amount of inventory. Tossing an active buyer aside in this market, before negotiating to see where they will go, is most likely not in your best interest.