How to Pay off Your Mortgage Faster

TWEMM Your Yard for Curb Appeal

TWEMM your yard for the best curb appeal.

After location, curb appeal is the most important determining factor for buyers. Even if you've got a brand new roof, freshly painted trim and high-end windows, poorly managed landscape is a huge turnoff!

Fortunately, improvement in landscape is one place where you almost always get your money back. In fact, in many cases you can do most of the work yourself. Here's an acronym that I recommend to my sellers: TWEMM:

Trim: Trim shrubs away from the foundation, tree limbs away from the roof, and any other shrub or hedge that requires shaping.
Weed: Weed all beds, gardens, foundations, driveways, paths, patios, etc.
Edge: A clean, defined edge between your lawn and any planting beds is good for the beds and very easy on the eye.
Mow: Keep your lawn neatly mowed. Use a weed whacker to tidy up the edges of the lawn and around fenceposts, mailboxes, etc.
Mulch: Mulch your beds with the darkest mulch or compost you can find. A nice touch before a showing is to hose down the mulch to make it look darker; it sets off the color in the plantings. Many transfer stations have free mulch and compost for the taking.

Blessing of the Animals and DOGnut Reception

Bring your beastly friends on over to the Dennis Village Green on Sunday, September 18 at 10:00 for the annual Blessing of the Animals at the Dennis Union Church. With all of the various animals that show up (I've seen cows, bees, ducks, chickens, cats, and of course dozens of dogs) it is a great event for the family.
After the blessing I will be hosting a Coffee and DOGnut reception at Drummer Boy Park on Route 6A in Brewster, the best unofficial dog park on the Cape. I hope to see you there! Call or email me for more info.

What Will Your War Story Be?

Here's the deal: we are in a recession. Granted, we are on the tail end of it at this point, but the reality is that our national economy took a face plant, and that's the truth. I've talked to a lot of clients lately who--God love 'em--think that the recession doesn't apply to them. Somehow their house is the only one that held its value from when they bought it in '05. I talked to one client today who has an investment property on which they have a 4.5% mortgage (albeit an interest-only balloon), and they are presently breaking even on it, with the best tenant on planet earth. They were considering selling or refinancing until I broke the news that the property is worth 20% less than they need it to be. Worst case, they sell it in 2 years and break even or maybe make a dollar. That's pretty good I say, in these times. Broke is the new rich. At least you're not in debt!
Compare that to another house that I just sold. A gorgeous, radically renovated beach cottage with all the bells and whistles. We sold it for above market value (go me!), and still the seller came up short at the closing. Yikes. That one hurt.
Listen, friends, nobody is immune from this national crisis. Most of us have already taken it in the shorts in one way or another. If you are one of those, congratulations, chances are you can move on now and rebuild. If you haven't, don't be too smug. It might not be as harsh as a foreclosure or short sale, but if the worst that happens is that you walk away with the shirt on your back, you're doing alright.

WSJ Says Now's the Time to Buy Vacation Homes

The Wall Street Journal has taken note of the increase in activity in upscale vacation homes like those here on the Cape. But their advice, and mine, is to go into it with a long view. In the early 2000's as the bubble peaked, it was a safe bet that if you needed to in under 5 years you could unload a piece of real estate and get all your money back and then some, but we're not seeing that kind of irrational appreciation today.The market is improving, but if you don't have a confident view of your own future over the next 10 years or so, it's best to wait until you do.

June Was a Busy Month!

Good grief, I can't believe I didn't publish a single post in June! It was a very busy month for my family and for Cape Cod real estate. Actually, judging by the real estate stats you wouldn't think I had much of an excuse. According to the Barnstable Registry June 2011 Recording Statistics that came out today, June was actually down  from May. However, this was preceded by three straight months of growth, a trend we haven't seen for two years. Still, we have fantastically low interest rates and bargain prices. With that and the summer population more than double that of the off-season, I'm predicting a busy July.

Recap: Top 10 Signs of Spring on Cape Cod

10. Roadkill
9. Birds!
8. Crushing Disappointment
7. Cadbury Eggs
6. Levitating Mulch
5. PEEPERS!
4. My Birthday!
3. Right Whales in the Bay
2. My Husband's Annual Poison Ivy Attack
1. THE HERRING ARE RUNNING