NOVEMBER 20, 2019 • Volume 14 • Issue 47
RE WEEKLY RESIDENTIAL • ACREAGE • FARM • COMMERCIAL • AREA DEVELOPMENT 515-233-3299 • 317 5th Street, Ames • All REALTOR® ads within are REALTORS® licensed in the State of Iowa
Always Available Online SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 Volume 11 • Issue 37
RE WEEKLY
SEPTEMBER 7, 2016 Volume 11 • Issue 36
RE WEEKLY STORY
COUNTY
STORY
COUNTY
• AREA DEVELOPMENT • FARM • COMMERCIAL RESIDENTIAL • ACREAGE 317 5th Street, Ames State of Iowa 515-233-3299 • ® licensed in the
RESIDENTIAL • ACREAGE • FARM • COMMERCIAL 515-233-3299 • AREA DEVELOPMENT • 317
5th Street, Ames All REALTOR® ads within are REALTORS® licensed in the State of Iowa
® are REALTORS All REALTOR ads within
www.AmesTrib.com
ALWAYS ONLINE
un.com
www.StoryCountyS
www.AmesTrib.com
ALWAYS ONLINE
www.StoryCount
ySun.com
Ames at your finger My
Ames
tips!
EAT • SHOP • PLAY • EVENTS •LIVE DEALS
DOWNLOAD THE APP TODAY!
AmesTrib.com/realestateweekly
Online at www.AmesTrib.com/realestateweekly
Page RE2 • REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, November 20, 2019
TIPS OF THE WEEK TIP OFTHE WEEK
HOME BUYING
HOME RENOVATION
TAKE THESE STEPS TO MAKE RENOVATION EASIER
HOW TO EXPLAIN THE SLUGGISH MARKET
TIPS TO IDENTIFY A LOAD-BEARING WALL
Homeowners are staying in their homes longer than they used to, according to The Wall Street Journal. Many homes are staying off the market as a result, which helps explain the recent slower home sales. Homeowners nationwide are typically remaining in their homes for 13 years, five years longer than they did in 2010, according to a new analysis by realestate brokerage Redfin. When owners don’t trade up or downsize, market is plugged up for buyers coming behind them. More homeowners staying put has helped cause housing inventory to dwindle to its lowest level in decades, which has also helped push up prices on homes for sale. Fewer homes on the market is a reason why low mortgage rates, high levels of home equity and a strong job market haven’t jump-started the market.
In your home, there are two types of walls: load-bearing and non-bearing. While you can cut into and remove non-bearing walls, loadbearing walls are off limits. Even cutting into them can bring your house down. BobVila.com describes how to identify a load-bearing wall: Before cutting anything, check which direction the joists or rafters run in your basement or attic. If they run perpendicular to the wall, it’s almost certainly a bearing wall. Those that run parallel are probably not. —More Content Now
Modernizing your home can increase its value, salability and energy efficiency. Renovations, however, are often more complicated and expensive than originally anticipated. CNBC recently published steps homeowners should take to make renovating less painful. 1. Before selecting a contractor, perform your due diligence. First, shop the project to multiple contractors to get an idea of the price range. Check their backgrounds and make sure they’re licensed in your state. Be sure they carry insurance. 2. Review the contract. Contracts would spell out the estimated start and finish dates, payment schedule, and the project’s scope. Be sure it includes specifics on what the contractor’s responsibilities are, such as cleanup and trash removal. 3. Ensure they get permits. Failure to obtain the proper permits and undergo inspection could result in structural problems and damage your homeowner coverage won’t pay for. It can also affect the sale of your home. 4. Avoid liens. If your contractor hasn’t been paid, a lien can be put on your home, preventing you from selling it or refinancing
FriedrichRealty.com OPEN SUNDAYS 1:00-3:00 NEW LISTING
OPEN SAT., 11/23 2:00-3:30 NEW LISTING
welcome home
◆ 232-6175 NEW LISTING
OPEN SUN., 11/24 12:00-1:30 NEW LISTING
PENDING
116 W MAPLE STREET
OPEN SUN., 11/24 1:00-2:00 NEW LISTING
5425 WINDROSE LANE
1510 LEDGES DRIVE 4 BR, 3 BA, new construction Tasteful Homes
5 BR, 3.5 BA, 2 fireplaces, walkout, Friedrich built
3 BR, 1 BA, 1125 sq ft
4 BR, 3 BA home on large corner lot, 2+ garage & gorgeous finishes. Move in ready!
1425 DUFF AVENUE
NEW CONSTRUCTION 4 BR, 3 BA, 1,890 sq ft
$499,900
$499,900
$474,900
$209,000
$122,000
446-2888
Mike Purcell 231-6083
Linda Sornsen 451-1059
Mike Purcell 231-6083
$199,900
3310 HARRISON DRIVE
621 LYNN AVENUE
NEW LISTING
Marian Olive 450-1108 Meagan Rasmussen 822-4899 Norsemen Realty Team
1 BR, 1 BA, 864 sq ft
Patty Meese 441-1243
NEW LISTING
OGDEN
6th & Duff,Ames
REAL ESTATE COMPANY
ROLAND
Your Central Iowa Real Estate Leader
349 S 1ST STREET Lots of character! 3-4 BR, 1.5 BA
$98,500 Linda Keenan 230-5322
OPEN SAT., 11/23 10:00-11:30 NEW LISTING
2208 VAN BUREN AVENUE 6 BR, 4 BA, 2962 sq ft
JUST LISTED Patty Meese 441-1243
REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, November 20, 2019 • Page RE3
Don’t see your home in the
RE WEEKLY
Then contact a Realtor® today, because you are missing out on over 39,000+ potential buyers seeing your property for sale.
DIRECT MAIL + ONLINE
AmesTrib.com/realestateweekly
Page RE4 • REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, November 20, 2019
DEAR MONTY
Is your real estate transaction failing?
RICHARD MONTGOMERY
R
eader question: How many days before the scheduled closing does the buyer’s agent have to present us with the final “letter of commitment?” We want to firm up our plans. Monty’s answer: The first place to look for your answer is the contract. Each
state has its laws and forms, so there is not a straight answer. Additionally, the document you refer to is rarely, if ever, a total commitment. Most pre-approval, or commitment letters, contain language with a statement in the communication that states the approval is subject to the borrower’s circumstances not changing before the closing. Time is of the essence “Time is of the Essence” as to (1) earnest money payment(s); (2) binding acceptance; (3) occupancy; (4) date of closing; (5) contingency deadlines and all other dates and deadlines in this offer except: If “Time is of the Essence” applies to a date or deadline, failure to perform by the exact date or deadline is a breach of contract.
If “Time is of the Essence” does not apply to date or deadline, performance within a reasonable time of the date or deadline is allowed before a breach occurs. Typically, lenders, attorneys, real estate agents, appraisers, surveyors and other vendors are not always able to meet deadlines in real estate transactions. Failure to meet deadlines can occur for a variety of reasons. Surges in sales, shortage of appraisers, unrealistic customer expectations, illness, unknown surprises and more happen in real estate transactions. Experience has demonstrated that the vast majority of contracts are written to nullify time is of the essence. The closing in most any real estate transaction is uncertain until the seller negotiated the proceeds
check. Deal killers There are many reasons the closing file never reaches the table. In no particular order, the most common terminators are financing fails, inspection issues, agent error, and buyer or seller remorse. Deal fatigue is real. Richard Montgomery is the author of “House Money - An Insider’s Secrets to Saving ThousandsWhen You Buy or Sell a Home.” He advocates industry reform and offers readers unbiased real estateadvice. Follow him on Twitter at @ dearmonty, or at DearMonty.com.
REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, November 20, 2019 • Page RE5
Building materials:
How much should you buy? By Laura Firszt More Content Now
I
s there a home improvement in your future? Help keep your project on schedule and within budget — work out the quantities of building materials you’ll need in advance. Here’s how to figure amounts for 10 popular house and garden building materials. (Learn to calculate square footage and cubic footage for home improvement here.) Important: If you plan to hire a contractor to handle your project, get their professional guidance before you purchase materials.
Paint Calculate the square footage of all walls you plan to paint, plus the ceiling if appropriate. Then subtract doors and windows. Estimate 20 square feet per door or 15 per average-sized window. Add the square footage of bays and bump-outs. Estimate approximately one can of paint for every 350 square feet you plan
to cover. Buy more if you’ll be painting on unfinished drywall or applying a light color over dark.
Wallpaper Find the square footage of your wall space to be covered, minus floors and windows (using the calculation described above). Divide this figure by the number of square feet per roll of wallpaper. Round the answer upward to allow for matching and wastage.
Drywall Once again, calculate your walls’ square footage, minus windows and doors. Drywall for residential use is generally sold as 4x8 sheets. Plan your drywall layout to minimize seams.
Ceramic or porcelain tile For ceramic or porcelain tile, use as your base number the square footage of your floor, backsplash, etc. Add approximately 10-15% to allow for cutting and breakage, more if your room layout or tile design is complex. You may also want to stock up on a few extra tiles for future repairs. Porcelain and ceramic tile is usually
sold by the box. Check the square footage which your chosen tile will cover; a box tends to contain between 10 and 15 square feet.
Carpet For wall-to-wall carpet, figure out the size of your room in square yards: divide the square footage by nine. Because carpet is manufactured in standard widths — usually 12 feet, 13.5 feet or 15 feet — you’ll likely need an extra 10-20% to allow for cutting to size.
Siding Find out wood siding coverage by subtracting amount of lap from the width of your boards. Then calculate square footage of your exterior walls and divide by coverage to calculate the linear feet of siding required. Non-wood siding is sold by the “square.” To figure out how many squares you need, divide square footage by 100.
Roofing Similar to non-wood siding, roofing materials such as asphalt shingles are usually sold by the square. The formula
When using ceramic or porcelain tile, add approximately 10-15% to allow for cutting and breakage, more if your room layout or tile design is complex. [Goran tek-en/Wikimedia Commons]
is the same: square footage divided by 100.
Blown-in insulation For blown-in insulation, you’ll need approximately 1.3 pounds per square foot to give an R-value of 38, as recommended by Energy Star.
Concrete “Concrete is sold in 60- and 80-pound bags, which yield up to 0.6 cubic feet. Having the right amount of product on hand before beginning is critical — measure twice and pour once, as they say,” advises Cory Olson of Sakrete.
Mulch Buy landscaping mulch by the cubic foot. To discover how much you’ll need, calculate square footage times the desired depth (as a percentage of one foot). For instance, for a flowerbed of 3 feet by 5 feet, mulched 3-inches deep (25% of 1 foot), the calculation looks like this: 3 x 5 x .25 = 3.75 cubic feet. Laura Firszt writes for networx.com.
Page RE6 • REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, November 20, 2019
REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, November 20, 2019 • Page RE7
Page RE8 • REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, November 20, 2019