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Jason Bernabei, TriCastle Realty, Mortgage, & Home Improvement, The Realty Insiders

“Painting your Home’s Exterior”

DEL MAR: February 18, 2019 – Goooooooooddd Monday morning Sannn Dieegooo!!! Last week I discussed ways that you could get your home buyer-ready (to sell) for relatively small dollars. Today, I offer more of the same, as promised, by informing how to paint your home’s exterior.

Few things at small dollars improve a home’s curb appeal more than a fresh coat of exterior paint.  Many homeowners are intimidated by the thought of painting their home’s exterior themselves, and choose to hire a third-party to handle the work. But, you can do it yourself and SAVE MONEY, with these easy steps. First, before starting, you’ll want to inspect your home’s exterior walls closely. Examine all walls, look under the eaves, and pay particular attention to doorframes and windows, places that aren’t easily visible, but that will be checked out in all likelihood by a prospective buyer, and/or their inspector.  Be on the lookout for peeling paint, mildew and rough surfaces and make a note of where they are.

Next, you’ll need to ascertain the tools you’ll need to do the job, and do it well. Go to Ace Hardware or Home Depot, or your favorite hardware store, and get the following:  a power washer, a 2-3” inch putty knife, a wire brush, a sander, Chlorine bleach, and an electric sander(which you can rent for a day or two).

Then, in order to create a clean surface on which to paint, power-wash the walls with plain water. Detergents can be problematic depending on the kind of exterior, and may not work as well as plain water.
Follow-up your wash with the putty knife and wire brush to remove the remaining paint. Take care to note where paint has peeled, blistered or wrinkled. Avoid gouging the surface by holding the putty knife perpendicular to the wall, and by using moderate force.

Last, sand your home’s exterior smooth by using an electric sander. While there are more inexpensive methods, you ought be able to rent this equipment for a weekend for under $60, and it will get the job done and save time.

If during the cleaning process, you find mildew, you ought remove it. A simple mix of chlorine bleach ought take care of it easily. Don’t make the mistake of trying to paint over mildew, as it will show through the new coats of paint. Get rid of it from the start.

Spring is fast coming to the winter-lands of the U.S., but here in sunny San Diego, there is no time like the presence, and for these small dollars, there are simply no excuses not to get this done before you look to sell, and thus reap higher profits upon selling.

If you are looking to buy, sell, qualify for a purchase mortgage loan, or refinance an existing mortgage loan, please contact me, Jason Bernabei, of TriCastle Realty & Mortgage, and myself and my fabulous team of industry professionals will be happy to help! J

Jay’s Outlook: sunny

Jason Bernabei, TriCastle Realty & Mortgage, The Realty Insiders

Jason Bernabei, TriCastle Realty & Mortgage, The Realty Insiders

“Small Dollars to make your Home ‘Buyer Ready’ to Sell in 2013”

DEL MAR: January 21, 2013 – Goooooooooddd Monday morning Sannn Dieegooo! On this third Monday of the New Year, I thought it would be a good time to examine some of the “New Year’s Resolution”-type things that you can do as a Home Owner looking to get your home in a position to sell.
While home improvement sends dollar signs spiraling through the minds of most folks, there are some simple, low cost things that can be done in order to get your home to present better for showings.

The first actual impression (beyond the pics in MLS) that a buyer will likely notice is the outside of your home, or “curb appeal.” Curb appeal, like any first impression, is vital to the sale of your home. Easy measures can be taken to enhance curb appeal. Trim bushes, keep the grass cut, and clean up the yard in order to best present your home, for that all-so important first impression.

Inside the home, painting the walls of the room a light, neutral color can open up the space, so that it appears more spacious, and thus more inviting. For small dollars you ought be able to replace old light fixtures with new ones, same for the paint.

In the bathrooms, if your tub has seen better days, have it resurfaced, or do it yourself. Remove mildew stains in, or around, baths and showers. Replace stained silicone seal and grout, where needed. Check all light fixtures for burned out bulbs. Add lighting, if necessary, to make the bathroom brighter. Remember, sellers tend to view bathrooms as potential money-pits, comparative to other standard rooms in the house (which brings me to the kitchen).

The kitchen can be the single biggest money-pit in the house, and if real dollars need to go into revamping and upgrading a part of the house, this may be where your money is best spent. Most people spend quite a bit of time in the kitchen, and some basic things can be done to make it present better, just basic cleaning and sprucing up can make a BIG difference to a potential buyer. Rather than renovating entirely, consider refinishing or painting the cabinets. Install new, clean-looking handles for very small dollars. Add a new back splash, if you think it will help, if you can throw some money into it.

Little things can mean big profits in a sale, can make the difference between a prospective buyer making an offer, and can make the difference of the size of the offer to the tune of thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars! Spring is fast approaching! The market is trending up, up, up and away. This may be your year to sell! Contact me, Jason Bernabei, and my wonderful team at TriCastle Realty, with offices in Del Mar and Banker’s Hill, to sell, buy, refinance, or ascertain purchase mortgage lending today! Happy to help! J

Check back in with me next Monday for a second installment on how to get your home in buyer-ready shape for small dollars. Until then, have a great week San Diego!

Jay’s Outlook: sunny

Jason Bernabei, TriCastle Realty & Mortgage, The Realty Insiders

Jason Bernabei, TriCastle Realty & Mortgage, The Realty Insiders

“Eminent Domain & Solving the Foreclosure Problem”

DEL MAR: January 14, 2013 – Goooooodd Monday morning San Diego!!! So much happening in the world of mortgages and real estate right now in reaction to the end of the once dreaded Fiscal Cliff! I would like to share with you this intriguing article on the prospects of Eminent Domain as a fix to the foreclosure epidemic. Its author is Jann Swanson, and it was originally published today on www.mortgagenewsdaily.com. Enjoy. J
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Another City Looks at Eminent Domain as Solution to Foreclosures

Another city hard hit by the housing crisis has proposed exercising its power of eminent domain on behalf of its underwater homeowners.  The City Council of Brockton, Massachusetts voted this week to commission a study into the feasibility of such a move, joining several municipalities in California and the City of Chicago which have already taken a look at such an undertaking.
Brockton, an old industrial city located south of Boston, has seen the median price of its housing drop from $260,000 to around $120,000 since the first quarter of 2007 and home sales during the same period drop by about a third.  The proposed plan is designed to stabilize the housing market, curtail blight, and return homeowners to a positive equity situation.  If adopted, the City would use eminent domain to take foreclosed properties (REO) from lenders and sell them to city residents and non-profit organizations.  Under the plan the City could also seize underwater mortgages from the investors who hold them, restructuring them to reflect the value of the underlying collateral then reselling them to other investors at that new value.
In the middle of this plan is a new firm established for the sole purpose of facilitating the mortgage purchases.  Mortgage Resolution Partners was founded last summer by Phil Angelides, formerly the chairman of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission which investigated and issued a lengthy report on the causes of the U.S. housing market collapse and a former California state treasurer.  According to Reuters, Angelides is seeking financial backers for his company, telling potential investors his plans to buy mortgages at a deep discount could generate a 20 percent annual return.
Reuters offered this quote from a letter the company sent to prospective investors.  “We just might do a good thing for America, and along the way get a great return on investment.  If our hopes do not pan out, the amount wagered should be a deductible loss.”
When the plan first emerged in San Bernardino County California it got a lot of push back.  Objections have increased over time.  Almost immediately twenty trade organizations led by SIFMA the lobbing group representing the securities industry protested the proposals and made it clear they would litigate any eminent domain action.

Representative John Campbell (R-CA) introduced a bill titled The Defending American Taxpayers from Abusive Government Takings Act which would prohibit the four major government sponsored mortgage providers from buying loans in any community and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) as conservator for GSEs also joined in and conducted a period of public comment on the subject.

All of these opponents argue that the idea of using eminent domain, especially to seize loans, would constitute an unconstitutional seizure and an unwarranted abridgement of investors’ property rights and that lenders would effectively boycott any community that adopted such a plan.”

I’m curious the thoughts of my industry constituents and competitors. What say you SD: good ideas, or not so good?

Jay’s Outlook:

Interesting…

Jason Bernabei, TriCastle Realty & Mortgage, The Realty Insiders