When the time comes to sell your home, you can maximize your selling price and even make the sale happen sooner by doing some things to make you home show better.

Sellers need to determine the cost effectiveness of each planned improvement. One must judge the potential return based upon what they need to do to add value. Not all home improvements add enough value to justify doing them. Ask your real estate agent if you are unsure.

Here are some projects that can add value to your home:

• Paint the interior
• Paint the exterior or pressure wash if the paint is good
• Remove any popcorn ceilings
• Upgrade or paint the garage door and make sure it works nicely
• Fix the driveway
• Trim and groom your landscaping. Fertilize your lawn and foliage.
• Clean in and around the home thoroughly including windows and frames
• New exterior and/or interior lighting
• Replace or thoroughly clean carpet if it is still in good condition
• Remove carpeting and refinish any existing hardwood floors
• Update kitchen – new appliances and/or sink if it’s in bad shape
• Refinish kitchen cabinetry
• Rejuvenate your bathroom
• Do any necessary electrical work to avoid home inspection problems
• Clean your swimming pool and make the water crystal clear
• Stage with attractive furnishings

The list above includes most of the important facets of home preparation for sale. Some of these items may not apply to your situation. Other items may not be deemed cost effective. Only you and your real estate agent can determine what is best in your situation.

First Impressions

Nothing is more important than the first impression and that starts with curb appeal. When a prospective buyer arrives at the house you want them to love what they see upon first look. That means landscaping, driveway, garage door and the home’s exterior.

When they enter the home they should already have a good feeling about what they saw while walking up to the door. You must create an attractive look throughout the home so when they enter they get that warm and fuzzy feeling.

Make it Clean

Your home should be spotless inside and out. Hide all personal items and store them neatly away. Everything should be clean and in place as you might find in a nice hotel room. The kitchen should be spotless with all appliances wiped and shiny and everything put away. The windows should be crystal clear, and you might consider refraining from cooking food that leaves smells in the house for prolonged periods of time.

Be sure to dispose of any odds and ends that you may have stored around the exterior of the house.

Ambience

Ambiance in the home is important. You might open windows if the weather is nice. Clean your skylights and remove any old curtains that might block light and look unattractive. Replace any old ceiling lighting fixtures. Some are not expensive and will look a lot better than some legacy chandeliers. Remove all eyesores and maybe add a modern ceiling fan. Your agent will know best how to spend money toward a faster sale and better outcome.

Landscaping

Always remember that curb appeal starts with your landscaping and garden and improvements there will benefit you over the long term. Maintain your yard by:
• Watering regularly
• Using fertilizer to make growth vital and colorful
• Brush off cobwebs everywhere
• Rake leaves
• Remove weeds
• Trim trees and foliage

If you don’t have a regular gardener, consider hiring one for the duration of the sale, especially during seasons when leaves are dropping regularly and your grass is growing quickly.

Think green when it comes to your landscaping. Plant low-maintenance landscaping and native drought-tolerant plants. Buyers look for these details.

Uncover Hardwood Floors

Hardwood floors are very popular now and many homes have them. Often, they were covered up by a prior owner or by you. Tear out that old wall-to-wall carpeting and let the hardwood floors shine through. Sometimes they need refinishing which might look a whole lot nicer than a re-cleaned carpet. Often, in older homes, the hardwood used decades ago is nicer than almost anything you can buy now.

If you don’t know what you have, you can pull up a corner of the existing carpet to determine what is under there and its condition. If you are handy and willing you might do this yourself, but it is not for the faint of heart. The result will surely help the value of your home while helping it sell fast.

Paint

There is nothing like fresh paint. It covers dirt, stains and cracks and adds tremendously to the curb appeal. It goes a long way when getting your home ready to sell. It is one of the most cost-effective home improvements and a fresh coat of paint, both inside and out, will add value to your home by providing a clean and updated look. Consider a neutral color so it will appeal to a larger number of buyers.

If your existing paint is in good shape, then you might want to pressure wash the house to make it like new. Pressure washer rentals can be found in most cities and towns.

Update Your Kitchen

Nothing adds more value than an attractive, well-equipped kitchen. This can get pricey so you must use a value equation to determine how to go about this. Upgraded dishwashers, microwaves, refrigerators and stoves will increase the value of your home. Stainless steel is very popular now and is a neutral color for potential paint color changes by the buyer.

Electrical Work

Don’t overlook your home’s electrical wiring and outlets when thinking of selling. A healthy home electrical system is crucial in order to pass a home inspection. If you suspect something out of the ordinary, it’s often less expensive, and wiser, to have your own electrician do the work. This will avoid any bad marks on the home inspection that can slow down the sale. Check your appliances, your sprinkler system, doorbell and exterior lights. Fix any non-performing item. Some repairs can be done yourself.

Bathrooms

Nice bathrooms are a close second to a nice kitchen in adding value and speeding sales. Buyers adore clean, bright bathrooms.

Outdated, dull and leaky bathroom fixtures can really detract from the overall look, style and feel. A bathroom refresh is often something you may do yourself. But no matter who does it, be sure your bathrooms are as fabulous as you can make them. Change fixtures, knobs and pulls, fix leaky faucets, poor drainage and corroded drains and chrome. Consider re-finishing cabinet doors and fronts as well as re-grouting your shower or installing a tile backsplash. These fixes always add value to your home.

Remove Popcorn Ceilings

Who invented these? Popcorn ceilings are universally disliked. They may not ruin your sale, but they tend to date and devalue a house. You can do it yourself with online videos to watch or have a pro do it.

Caution should be taken if the ceiling contains asbestos. Have a professional take a look before you begin any removal.

Stage

Home staging is more and more popular because it can increase the value of your home and help it sell faster. Your agent can help you with this. Your home will be more appealing to a wide range of buyers. A staged home can make a big difference in how much a buyer will offer. Do it yourself or have a professional take care of it. It often pays off in the end.

Removing personal items, rearrange furniture to open up a room, hanging neutral-looking artwork and bring in some flowers.

Your attention to these details will have a great impact in your home’s sale and price. e time of selling your home. If you must move fast, choose time-effective items. If you have a few months, do all you can to maximize your selling price.

Call Mary Beth to learn more. 310-571-1358

The post Home Improvements to Help You Sell Your Home appeared first on Mary Beth Woods.

We all know that California is a beautiful place to live but taxes are high and property taxes can be a challenge to some residents, especially seniors.

Fortunately, the state offers a variety of property tax exemptions for individuals 55 and older.

The problem is complicated because many homeowners are not aware of property exemption rules in their area. Each county in California can levy its own special taxes and assessments so that it is easy for many homeowners to get confused and even easier to miss out on tax breaks on their property taxes.

If you are a senior or are caring for one who is incapable of filing their own taxes, for whatever reason, you will want to know which deductions and credits might save you thousands in taxes.

Here are some of the most common property tax exemptions for seniors and how to determine whether you’re eligible for them.

California Propositions 60 and 90

Propositions 60 and 90 are laws that allow homeowners 55, or older, to move into a new home without substantially increasing their property tax obligation.

How?

Because of Proposition 13, your home’s appraised value is determined at the time you buy it and raises to that value are limited to a maximum of 2% through that same proposition. Through Propositions 60 and 90, you can transfer that same valued tax obligation so long as your new property is of equal or lesser value than the original property sold.

Here is an example

If you bought a home 10 years ago for $300,000 its current assessed value is about $365,698 now. If we assume your tax rate is around 1.25% you are paying $4,571 in taxes yearly. If you sell that home for $700,000 and move into a new place valued at, say, $650,000, you would still only pay the tax obligation for a $365,698 house (and 2% more each year).

If Propositions 60 and 90 were not in force, you would be paying $8,125 each year in taxes instead of $4,571. This allows seniors to move and be much cheaper and more feasible, especially for those who are on fixed income, such as Social Security or income off an investment portfolio.

What is the difference between Prop 60 and Prop 90?

Proposition 60 allows you to transfer the property value and the associated tax burden only within the same county. Proposition 90 allows you to do this in different counties, but only if those counties have opted into the program.

Counties where Proposition 90 is available (as of this writing):

Alameda, El Dorado, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Tuolumne, and Ventura. The county of El Dorado will stop taking property tax transfers through Proposition 90 on December 12th, 2018.

How do I file?

After you’ve finalized the sale of your old home and the purchase of your new one, fill out the claim form BOE-60-AH, Claim of Person(s) at Least 55 Years of Age for Transfer of Base Year Value to Replacement Dwelling, which you can obtain from your local County Assessor’s office. Here is more information from the LA County Assessor’s office.

Limitation

An individual may only use Proposition 60 or 90 once in a lifetime, unless the individual claims disability as the reason for the relocation. An individual may not use Proposition 60 or 90 a second time if disability was cited for the first use and may never be used a third time.

Parcel tax exemptions

It is not uncommon for California counties to levy parcel taxes on homeowners to pay for public services such as education and public utilities. To gain support for these taxes, counties usually allow homeowners 65 or older to file for exemptions.

The exemptions, and the procedure for filing for them, vary by county. Some require homeowners to file for the exemptions every year while others automatically apply the exemptions after the first filing. Check with your county to be sure.

How do I file?

The forms are here and there is more information here.

Check with your local tax collector’s office to find out how to apply for exemptions in your area.

Disabled Veterans

The State of California offers a tax exemption for veterans who were disabled through military service. According to the California Board of Equalization, the basic exemption for disabled veterans starts at $100,000, while low-income disabled veterans can qualify for an exemption of around $150,000 (this changes yearly according to the cost-of-living index).

For example, if the taxable value of your home is $300,000, the exemption will reduce the taxable value to around $200,000, or more, if you qualify for low-income status. This could save you hundreds of dollars in taxes over the course of a year.

How to qualify:

The person filing must meet one of the following criteria:

• Blind in both eyes
• Lost the use of two or more limbs
• Is totally disabled according to the United States Department of Veteran Affairs.

If the individual owner is deceased due to service-related injuries, the exemption is then available to the unmarried surviving spouse, even if the veteran wasn’t eligible while he/she was alive.

Fine print

The homeowner can only apply one exemption to the property. If you have the option between the homeowner’s exemption or the disabled veteran exemption, you will want to choose the later because your benefit will be greater.

Note: The information in this article was taken from sources deemed reliable and should not be used as a final source for information. We recommend you consult with a lawyer or tax accountant to determine what is right and legal for you.

The post Important California Property Tax Exemptions for Seniors appeared first on Mary Beth Woods.