Before You Leave For Vacation...

Spring break should be a relaxing time, especially if you’re
planning to go on vacation. But preparing your home for
your departure can be stressful. Whether you’re leaving
home for a week or a month, you can rest easy with these tips for
keeping your home safe while you’re away:

• Arrange for someone to do seasonal maintenance, such as
mowing, raking or snow removal.

• Have mail or packages picked up by a
friend, forwarded or held by the
post office.

• Stop newspaper deliveries and ask a
neighbor to pick up freebie newspapers
and circulars.

• Lower your telephone ringer (and
answering machine volume) and never
leave an outgoing message that says
you’re away.

• Use timers to turn lights off and on at
the appropriate times. Compensate for
having lights on when no one’s home by
turning off other appliances that are often
left on, such as DVD players, computers
and microwaves. Also consider connecting a radio to a timer.

• Leave blinds open in their usual position.

• If you live in a cold climate, keep the heat on just enough so
that the pipes don’t freeze.

• Ask neighbors to park their car in your driveway.

• If you leave your car in the driveway, be sure to remove the
garage-door opener from plain view.

• Double-check all doors and window locks.

• Tell a trusted friend or neighbor where you’ll be.

Sources: Travelocity.com; Tripso.com; Insurance Information Institute

Hope you find These Tips Helpful!
Nancy@NancyMAlexander.com
If I can help you in Selling or Renting your home at the shore,call me at 800.708.5792. I Love To Talk Real Estate!
http://www.NancyMAlexander.com

Like Politics, Real Estate Is Local !

We sell Real Estate home by home and neighborhood by neighborhood. The national media can't tell you about market trends in your community. So trust in your Realtor. We know the neighborhood and can give you specific market information for your area. This has always been true .The news media continues to dwell on the negative. Here at the shore,in the Stone Harbor and Avalon market, the market correction with reduction in sale prices makes for some phenomenal deals . It is the time to recognize the positives of this downturn in price. Now is a great time for a buyer to get into the market. Don't be bashful about making an offer.
If you want to discuss market activity, please e-mail me at http://Nancy@NancyMAlexander.com,or you can call me at 800.708.5792. I love to talk Real Estate.
http://NancyMAlexander.com
Looking forward to hearing from you!

Nancy



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CONTENTS COPYRIGHT NANCY M. ALEXANDER 2008

The 411 Basics On Short Sales

Real Estate “Short Sales” have been getting some attention in the news lately. But just what is a “Short Sale?”
Simply put, a short sale is the sale of a mortgaged property that results in the mortgage holder receiving less that what is owed to them. The mortgage holder is “shorted” part of the mortgage balance.

In order to do a short sale, the bank or mortgage company must agree to it. But why would they agree to take less money?

The answer; banks don’t like owning, maintaining or selling houses. It interferes with their main business of lending, managing and investing money.

If you find yourself in the position of having to sell your house and you don’t have the equity in your house or cash reserves to pay the mortgage off in full, a short sale may help you out.


Here’s how to go about doing a short sale, step by step:
1. Determine the current market value of your home.
2. Add up all of the selling costs you will need to pay.
3. Find out what the payoff amount is on your current loan(s).
4. Do the math, subtract the loan balance & the selling costs from the market value.
5. Call your lender and ask for the “loss mitigation” department or a supervisor. Explain your situation to them.
6. Ask them what their procedures are for a short sale. If they are willing to work with you, get all the forms and requirements and see if you can work out an agreement. Be prepared to convince them your case deserves consideration. They will probably want a financial statement with all your bills and assets shown. They may even want to see your household budget. Don’t take it personally, it’s just business.
7. Sell the house. The bank will probably be involved with most of the contracts and offers.

The biggest mistake made by home owners in financial trouble is not getting in touch with their lender. Almost all lenders would rather work things out with you than take back your home. Especially in today's market.

Questions? Comments? Give me a call at 800.708.5792 or E-mail me at Nancy@NancyMAlexander.com. I love to talk Real Estate!

www.NancyMAlexander.com

Selling Your House? Time For A Garage Makeover!

Making your home stand out will give you an edge on your competition in today's real estate market. One way to accomplish this is to upgrade your garage. Changing your garage into a showplace can be easy and relatively cheap.

You can take advantage of a recent housing trend, the "Garage Makeover." There are all kinds of new products available to spruce up your garage.

You can get special garage flooring systems that snap together in one afternoon; tough enough to withstand our studded tires, oil, grease and dirt. Andyou can pick up 17' X 7' garage mats for about $149 at Wal-Mart or Home Depot.

Or... you can go with a complete garage floor refinishing system with epoxy finish in any color you can imagine. Most Home Depot stores or Lowes will carry these.

Along with a floor treatment, consider painting the walls & ceiling, especially if they're starting to get a bit dingy.
And you can't have too much lighting in a garage, most don't have enough. How about getting some fluorescent fixtures in 4-ft. or 8-ft. lengths.

Next, to get rid of all that clutter, you need shelving, cabinets and organizers. Getting stuff up off the floor will make a big difference in appearance.


With your garage all done over,your property will stand out from the competition.

Now get packing and get ready to move!

Nancy@NancyMAlexander.com
www.NancyMAlexander.com