Dean Graziosi

There are several benefits and risks to renting a home instead of buying. For those who are constantly on the move or do not plan to stay in one area for more than three years, renting may be the best option. Some other positive aspects of renting include not being responsible for maintaining the home. Although you may have to mow the yard in the home you are renting, you are not required to fix leaky pipes, upgrade appliances, repair parts of the home or pay for professionals to do any necessary fixes and maintenance. Those responsibilities lie with the home owner or property manager.

Renters are not responsible for property taxes or other assessments due on the house. Homeowners also risk losing money when housing costs decline. Although renters can be fined or even evicted if payments are not made, homeowners can lose their entire investment to foreclosure. Renting is also ideal for those who are not ready or able to make a large down payment or other costs associated with purchasing a home.

There are some disadvantages and risks to renting instead of buying your home. Every time you move, there is an additional security deposit, usually equivalent to one month’s rent. If there are any damages to the home after you have moved out, the cost of repairs is taken out of the security deposit. You also have no equity in a house you are renting, as well as no tax benefits. The home does not belong to you, you have to live in accordance with what is written in your lease. You do not have the freedom to paint, build, expand or remodel without the permission of the landlord. You may have to pay more than what you had intended if the rent should happen to go up. If you do not make payments on time, you risk being evicted. It is wise to determine what you want and need in a home, and whether those needs can be met better through renting a home from someone else or by purchasing your own home

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If you’re getting ready to put a home on the real estate market, you naturally wish to get the best possible price out of it. Most likely, when that home goes up for sale you’re either looking exclusively to make a profit from it or are trying to save money for getting into another home. You can make a number of improvements to your house that will raise the value, but will require a minimum of time and money.

Home Interior

The interior of your home gets a lot of wear and tear just from day-to-day living. No matter how hard you try to care for it, it will show the effects of being lived in. Holes in the walls from nails or other fixtures can affect the look, but can be easily plugged either with carpenter’s putty or with toothpaste before repainting to make it look as good as new.

Many sellers want to put new carpet in before putting the house up for sale, which is great if the existing carpet is in very poor shape. However, most homebuyers will be replacing existing carpet with floor coverings of their own choosing when they move in anyway, so often a thorough shampooing is sufficient.

Home Exterior

The exterior of the home is just as important as the interior when trying to attract buyers, if not more. Even simple issues such as squeaky hinges and dirty windows can turn a potential buyer off.

Keep the lawn well watered and nicely trimmed. If there are flower beds, make sure that they have flowers or ornamental rock in them; even the cheapest and most common flowers look much better than empty beds. Finally, make sure to power-wash decks, sidewalks, driveways and garage floors and remove stains on any paving. These improvements may take a day or two on an average-sized house, but may mean quite a bit of difference in the asking price.

Lastly, cleanliness is key for both the interior and exterior of your home.  While personal clutter is expected when you’re living in the home, buyers like to be able to picture themselves there.  Remove all personal items from your yard, such as bikes or a lawn mower, and put them in out-of-the-way storage. 

Also, look over the rooms in your house and remove personal pictures and knick-knacks.  If you’re set on selling your home, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to see themselves living in it.

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Do you know an illegal real estate deal when it’s staring you in the face? I’m not talking about the banking scams of the past that caused the mortgage crisis of today. I’m talking about current scams that desperate home owners are flocking to like bees to honey in order to escape what they see as a sinking ship, or a drowning one in the case of those that suddenly can’t afford their payments.

If you do not know whether a proposal is legal, take the time to check it out. The old adage if something sounds too good to be true probably still stands. There are no easy outs in the current market and it is better to take your lumps than get stuck doing something that will end you in jail because of an illegal real estate deal.

It is illegal to offer someone a rebate or cash or any kind of incentive for bringing buyers to you and getting a sale from it. Inventive means that may seem unique and ingenious for selling a home in a depressed market can be illegal—be sure to check your state and the federal regulations carefully. Ideas such as lottery home sales have been popping up out of desperation lately and one person thought it would be a great idea to offer their home for sale on a lottery basis. Selling chances to win for $500 dollars each and selling 400 tickets could, in theory make you a good sale price if your mortgage is less than that. but it is illegal in many states.

You don’t have to be small to make a big mistake. Even the President of the United States can get caught up in a troubling confusion of what is right and what is wrong. It also proves that illegal real estate deals are not new. In 2005, then Senator Obama had a real estate deal come under suspicious scrutiny even though he became involved in it without realizing it was a shady situation. Of course, now that he’s living in the White House he doesn’t have to worry as much about making a bad real estate deal on his current digs.

No matter what real estate deal you’re looking at, whether it’s “too good to be true” or looks legitimate, don’t be afraid to ask questions, research and get a real estate lawyer’s opinion.  You may save yourself some big mistakes.

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