Released on = June 27, 2007, 10:31 am

Press Release Author = Dan Fritschen, ABCD Publishing

Industry = Construction

Press Release Summary = Moving can be expensive and trying. Remodel or Move Expert,
Dan Frtischen, offers advice on what to do to make a move more pleasant. These
helpful tips are sure to make any family\'s move to a new home easier.

Press Release Body = Excerpted from Remodel or Move?T Make the Right Decision
(ABCD Publishing LLC, 2005, ISBN: 1-933007-69-9, $15.95), by Dan Fritschen
Prepare for the financial realities. You will have to pay up to 10 percent of your
current home\'s value to sell it and another up to 5 percent to move into your new
home. This means if you are selling a $200,000 home and buying a $300,000 home, the
total cost will be increased by up to $35,000. This is a lot of time and money to
invest, so learn what you can about the process before you start.
Know the pros and cons of selling in different seasons. Most homes are sold during
spring and summer. While buyers have more homes to choose from in the summer, for
sellers this means there are more homes on the market that are competing for the
same buyers. The converse occurs in the winter months, when fewer homes are sold and
there are fewer buyers. The bottom line? There is no \"right\" time to sell your
home-do it when you\'re ready.
Use the Internet to find your new home. There exist many comprehensive databases of
homes for sale. (Some of these sites are listed in the appendix of Remodel or Move?
) You can search for your new home every day by going to these websites and typing
in the type of home you are looking for in a specific location. When a house looks
good, jump in your car and drive by for a closer look. If it still looks good in
person, make a quick call to your real estate agent or the number on the for-sale
sign and you can be touring it in minutes.
Don\'t remodel. Do make minor, cosmetic repairs and improvements. For instance:
Painting the interior
Painting stained or dated cabinets and woodwork
Adding new door hardware
Replacing faucets and fixtures in the bathrooms and kitchens
Replacing light fixtures, switch plates, and electrical outlets and covers
Replacing baseboard and door trim
When preparing your house for sale, minimize family photos and religious or cultural
items on display. You want the people viewing your home to imagine that the home is
theirs as soon as they walk in the door. All of your personal items will just remind
them it is someone else\'s house. You will need to pack these items away when you
move anyway, so do it sooner and sell your home faster and for a higher price.
Pick the right real estate agent to help you sell. An experienced, professional
agent can help you with many important areas: setting a realistic sales price,
\"staging\" for buyer appeal, marketing, negotiating, and closing. You should select
your agent based on referrals, making sure he or she has experience in your
neighborhood.
Or sell your home yourself. More and more homeowners are bypassing real estate
agents and saving a portion of the standard 6 percent commission that usually is
charged. On a $100,000 house, that savings will equal a few thousand dollars, but
the savings on a $400,000 or $500,000 home can be five, ten, or even twenty thousand
dollars. The Internet has greatly helped FSBO (for sale by owner) sellers have ready
access to the information they need.
Either try to sell your home for what you think it\'s worth or set the price a little
lower. Just don\'t set it too high. Setting the price at what you think it will sell
for is the safest, sanest, and least stressful approach. But setting it a little
below what you think it will sell for is also a valid option, especially in hot
markets. The idea is to spark a bidding war among buyers who have emotionally
invested themselves in your home, thus driving the price upward. However, it\'s
seldom a good idea to set the price too high. This can damage the salability by
making it stay on the market too long, causing potential buyers to assume there\'s
something wrong with it.
Know the two absolutes to moving: 1) It is never too soon to start packing, and 2)
You have possessions that you should sell, donate to a charity, or throw away
instead of move. The minute you decide to move, start packing. Anything that you
won\'t need between today and the day you move into your new home is fair game. As
you pack things away, ask yourself, \"Do I really need this?\" Remember you will not
only be packing these items, you will also have to carry (or hire someone to carry)
them, unpack them, and find a place for them in your new home. If in doubt, throw it
out!
A good packing system can prevent major headaches later. As you pack, mark each box
with its contents and which room it should go in, plus a unique number: \"Pots,
Kitchen, 23.\" Then record this information in a notebook with more detail on exactly
what is in the box, such as \"large stock pots, frying pans.\" Note which items you
want to unpack first. This will help with organizing when you are moving in, and if
you are missing any boxes after the move, you will know what was in them for
insurance claims.



About Dan Fritschen:
Dan Fritschen is the creator of remodelormove.com, a homeowner support organization
that helps homeowners become better informed so that they can make the right
decision on whether to remodel or move.
He started his company after twenty years of remodeling his own homes and helping
others make \"remodel or move\" decisions for themselves. Because he is neither a
realtor nor a remodeler, he is qualified to offer pragmatic, unbiased advice.
Fritschen\'s goal is to make homeowners aware of three important messages:
Selling your house COSTS money.
There are MANY right ways to remodel, some expensive and some cheap.
It is better to move than to over-improve or do an \"ugly\" remodel.
To help homeowners make these remodel or move decisions, Fritschen employs some of
the same methods that he has learned during the past fifteen years while helping
some of the world\'s leading high-technology companies.


Web Site = http://www.remodelormove.com

Contact Details = Dan Fritschen
ABCD Publishing
1030 East El Camino Real, Suite 150
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
Phone 888.825.4169
Fax 866.620.9912
dfritschen@abcdpublishing.com