There’s never been a better time to buy a home.  Really.

That’s because, thanks to the efforts of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^® (NAR), Congress is offering $8,000 tax credit to help first-time homebuyers, like yourself, purchase a home.

If you qualify and buy a principal residence before April 30, 2010, then you’re eligible for the credit—allowing you to
subtract 10% of the purchase price of your home up to $8,000 from your tax bill.  Also,  the FHA at the urging of NAR has changed the rules to make this money available to you at closing!  Visit www.HousingMarketFacts.com for more information.

So, why wait? Please contact me for more information about this can’t-miss

Mike Costa

Weichert Realtors

516 647 2919

Follow these steps and you are more likely to sell it than not!

The Decision to Sell

There are many reasons why a homeowner decides to sell a home.  Some are because they want to; others are because they have to.  Let’s explore some of these reasons:

Whatever the reason, you have made up your mind to sell your house.  Now what?

1. 1. Get pre-approved to buy another house.
2. 2. Call your lender to check the mortgage pay-off, if any.  Subtract the mortgage pay-off from the fair market value of your house.  From that subtract the estimated costs it will take to sell your house.  This will give you an idea of the proceeds you will get at closing.
3. 3. Determine your homes fair market value.  Espi and I can do this for you in the Queens-Long Island area.  This is a FREE SERVICE.  You might want to pay for a licensed appraiser to get a fair market value.
4. How much is it going to cost to sell your home?  Consider:
   1. Advertising (Free with a R E Agent)
   2. Marketing (Free with a R E Agent)
   3. FSBO Lawn Signs (Free with a R E Agent)
   4. Attorney’s fee
   5. Legal Documents( Free with a R E Agent)
   6. Appraisal
   7. Pre-sale inspection
   8. Repairs
   9. Surveys
   10. Taxes you will pay until you sell house
   11. Estimate how much is it going to cost you to move and buy or rent another dwelling
   12. Make necessary repairs.  Whether you do them yourself or hire a contractor, make your house look presentable.  If you cannot do it the right way, hire a professional.  Nothing looks worse than a job done incorrectly!  If there are too many repairs, your house will be labeled a fixer-upper and the offers you will receive will be insultingly low.
   13. Before you put it on the market, do a clutter removal and a clean-up.  Odors, especially pet odors, are a big turn-off.  There are many fine odor-neutralizers on the market today!  The house has to sell the buyers.  A clean house will get better offers!  Stage your house, if possible. (Espi and I give a FREE HOME STAGING for all of our listings.)  Fix the curb appeal.  First impressions are lasting impressions!  You might want to add some flowers and shrubbery to make the house more appealing.  Remember, FSBO’s get most of their activity from drive-bys, that is, people driving around the area they know they want to move into.  If your house says “UGLY” from the outside, they are less likely to want to see the inside!

Her cell phone # is 516 695 9292

Mike can be reached at: myreagentmike1@msn.com

His cell # is 516 647 2919

website is www.michaelcostahomes.com

INTRODUCTION

Hi, I’m Mike.  My partner Espi and I have come up with a SURVIVAL KIT FOR FSBO’S, OR FOR SALE BY OWNER’S.  Why would we do this?  Well, to be completely honest with you, WE WANT TO LIST AND SELL YOUR HOUSE!  We are Real Estate Professionals…that’s what we do!  Espi and I truly believe that we are different than all other agent’s out there in the way we work.  We use old-fashioned marketing techniques (don’t confuse marketing with advertising!) such as knocking on neighbor’s doors and inviting them to our Open Houses and complement that with the newest of Rapid Response Systems, such as e-mail to our cell phones and texting to our buyers.  We have been very successful!  We just sold a house on 256 Street in Floral Park and were in contract in 2 weeks! On top of that, we sold it for $20K more than we thought it would sell for!  We did that in a buyer’s market! This is unheard of!

We completely understand why someone might want to sell on their own.  I said “we understand;” never said anything about agreeing with that statement!  When I need brakes in my car, I go to a mechanic…a professional car-fixer!  Hopefully, he can do it faster and better than I can.  Could I save some money by doing it myself?  Of course!  But it won’t save time and it might not be done correctly, so it is worth it to me!  If he screws up the job, the next time I go somewhere else!

When Espi isn’t feeling well, she calls up her doctor.  She could try to get on the internet and look up her symptoms and diagnose them herself, and then could probably get prescriptions filled illegally on the Black Market.  She can also call up her physician, a professional people-fixer, and be home in bed in an hour, on the road to recovery.  That is his job, and hopefully he does it well, or again, adios!

We feel that way about selling your house!  We are the professionals…we have the right marketing tools…we have the correct price trend analysis’, we know the neighborhood…we are professionals! You are trying to sell your house, worth anywhere from $300K to $2.5 Million, and you try to do it yourself?  Does that make sense?  Not to us, it doesn’t!  Just putting up a FSBO sign will not do the trick!  Not in this market!  You need professional home-sellers…Espi and Mike!

There.  We got it off our chests’.  From now on, not another word about using Espi and Mike as the Real Estate Professionals to get your house sold!  We wish you good luck and hope you stop by www.michaelcostahomes.com and  our blog at www.fsboinfo.wordpress.com.  COMMENTS APPRECIATED!