Who Says $1 Won't Buy You Anything?

Want an amazing deal? How about a sprawling, two-story farmhouse in Leesburg, VA for $1?

The catch: The land underneath is not for sale, and the buyer will have to pay to have the house carted away.

When Loudoun Country Day School moves this summer to a new $32 million, 70-acre campus, the eight-acre lot it is vacating will be turned into an assisted-living residence for 87 people.

In its application for a special-use permit for the site, the company agreed to investigate the history of the farmhouse and make it available to buyers interested in moving it. The 2,500-plus-square-foot house has been altered by the school, which uses it for offices and an after-school program. Whoever buys and moves it will need to get permission from the town, the county and possibly the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Cost would vary depending on how far the house had to go and how many utility lines it had to cross. But just to move it a few feet down the road, an operation that would involve lifting it off its foundation and attaching it to a tractor-trailer, would cost a minimum of $25,000.

After running two newspaper ads, the company received calls from about 10 interested buyers. Three offers were serious: a nonprofit organization, a medical facility and someone who wanted to convert it to short-term housing.

For more information about housing deals in your area contact bill.swanson@cbshome.com.

How to Sell a Vacant Home

Selling a home that is vacant can be harder than selling a lived-in home, experts say. Here are some ideas sellers should consider to protect an empty property and get it sold.

Give the house a lived-in look. Get a neighbor or family member to make the house look occupied by parking a car in the driveway, opening and closing the drapes and taking in any mail.

Groom the yard. Use a lawn service during the summer to keep the grass cut and a snow removal service in the winter to scrape the walks and driveway.

No outstanding nicks. Hide the effects of missing furniture. Paint and replace rugs so there are no faded spots or blemishes on the walls. Cover accent paint that alone looks odd.

Leave some furniture. A few chairs, tables, lamps and beds (or empty mattress boxes with spreads) give buyers a sense of space.

Keep the utilities on. Set the thermostat at a comfortable level during the winter and summer.

Hire a maid. Make sure the home remains spotless.

Check the homeowner’s policy. Understand the coverage when the home is vacant.

For more information on staging your home to sell contact bill.swanson@cbshome.com, www.billswanson.com.

What Is a Walk Score?

How It Works

Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Walk Score measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle—not how pretty the area is for walking.

Picture a walkable neighborhood. You lose weight each time you walk to the grocery store. You stumble home from last call without waiting for a cab. You spend less money on your car—or you don't own a car. When you shop, you support your local economy. You talk to your neighbors.

What makes a neighborhood walkable?

· A center: Walkable neighborhoods have a discernable center, whether it's a shopping district, a main street, or a public space.
· Density: The neighborhood is compact enough for local businesses to flourish and for public transportation to run frequently.
· Mixed income, mixed use: Housing is provided for everyone who works in the neighborhood: young and old, singles and families, rich and poor. Businesses and residences are located near each other.
· Parks and public space: There are plenty of public places to gather and play.
· Pedestrian-centric design: Buildings are placed close to the street to cater to foot traffic, with parking lots relegated to the back.
· Nearby schools and workplaces: Schools and workplaces are close enough that most residents can walk from their homes.

What does my score mean?

Your Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100. Here are general guidelines for interpreting your score:
· 90–100 = Walkers' Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
· 70–89 = Very Walkable: It's possible to get by without owning a car.
· 50–69 = Somewhat Walkable: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.
· 25–49 = Car-Dependent: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.
· 0–24 = Car-Dependent (Driving Only): Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!


Want to know your walk score? Just go to http://www.walkscore.com/ and type in any address in the U.S.

Bill Swanson is an agent with over 20 years experience at CBSHome Real Estate, an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway, in Omaha, Nebraska. For any and all of your real estate needs, email Bill at Bill.Swanson@cbshome.com or visit http://www.billswanson.com/ today.

Big Changes for Real Estate Appraisals

On May 1 the national rules for real estate appraisals will change dramatically for lenders who want to sell their loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which accounts for the 70% of today’s loan applications.

Lenders will have to adopt what's known as the "HVCC" - the home valuation code of conduct - and guarantee that every loan they sell to Fannie or Freddie complies with the code completely.

The new code will ban mortgage brokers from ordering appraisals, and will push much of the business to third-party appraisal management companies.

Those management firms, in turn, select appraisers from their own networks, leaving many of the appraisers out of the loop.

Management companies generally only deal with appraisers who'll work for much lower fees than they'd normally charge. However, this savings is not passed on to the consumer. The management company earns a 40% -60% profit margin on each transaction.

Mortgage groups are not enthusiastic about the May 1 changeover either, and the Appraisal Institute has been scathingly critical of the mandatory push to low-pay management companies.

There is one way to avoid the hassles associated with the May 1 changes: Switch to FHA financing, rather than conventional. FHA has its own long-standing appraisal rules, and doesn't plan to adopt Fannie's or Freddie's code.

The FHA loan limit in the Omaha Metro is $271,050.

For more information regarding purchasing, selling or financing a home feel free to contact bill.swanson@cbshome.com

Neighbor Stole House - Brick by Brick!

A Russian man returned from holiday to find his entire two-story house had been stolen by a neighbor.

Yuri Konstantinov, 50, from the Astrakhan Region, came back from a trip visiting relatives to find his house had been taken down brick by brick and all the contents sold. Only the foundations were left.

Police investigating the theft found out that a neighbour had taken the house apart and sold everything, including the bricks and window frames, and even the kitchen sink.

A police spokesman said: "A local resident decided to take it away piece by piece, and he dismantled it for construction materials.

"This is not though the first such case we have come across, and in remote areas it is considered normal by some people."

Need information about the value of your home? Contact bill.swanson@cbshome.com or visit www.cbshome.com for a free online valuation of your home.

More Good News About the Housing Market

Check out last week's developments:

Mortgage applications for purchases of resale and new homes were up again -- eight percent for applications using conventional loans, and a remarkable 17 percent gain in applications to buy houses using low-downpayment FHA mortgages.

Mortgage rates remain at near historic lows, though they may be bottoming out. Thirty-year fixed rates rose a tenth of a percent on average last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, to 4.7 percent. Fifteen year rates stayed flat, around four and a half percent.

A group of new consumer-sentiment polls came out showing that Americans are feeling better about their economic prospects for the first time in months. A survey of 15,000 adults by Discover Financial Services recorded a significant jump in confidence between February and March. A New York Times/CBS poll of 1,000 consumers found the same. The Times even put the results at the top its front page with the headline: "Poll finds Brightening Outlook on U.S. Economy."

Members of the National Association of Home Builders reported that shoppers' visits to look at new houses for sale are "on the rise and consumer interest is increasing.” The association also announced that more than half of all U.S. households -- 55 million of them -- can now afford to buy the median priced $200,000 new home. That's up 45 percent in the past 24 months.

Even Business Week, which has been particularly harsh on housing in recent years, ran a cover story about the turnaround getting underway -- focusing on hard-hit areas of Florida, California and Las Vegas, where sales have been rising fast and unsold inventory taking a plunge.

All of this good news may be an indication that the housing market is back on its way up!

Bill Swanson is an agent with over 20 years experience at CBSHome Real Estate, an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway, in Omaha, Nebraska. For any and all of your real estate needs, email Bill at Bill.Swanson@cbshome.com or visit http://www.billswanson.com/ today.

10 Things Every Remodeling Contract Should Include

Entering into a remodeling contract is no different than entering into a purchase agreement.

You need to take care to make sure all the details are in writing to get exactly what you want.

The National Association of the Remodeling Industry spells out the following key elements that every remodeling contract should have:

1. The contractor’s name, address, phone number, and license number.

2. Details on what the contractor will and will not do.

3. A list of materials for the project in your contract. This includes information about the size, color, model, brand name, and product.

4. The approximate start date and completion date.

5. All required plans. Study them carefully for accuracy. Insist that you approve them and that they are identified in your written contract before any work begins.

6. Written notice of your right to, without penalty, cancel a contract within three business days of signing it.

7. Financial terms, spelled out in a way that you understand. This includes the total price, payment schedule, and any cancellation penalty.

8. A binding arbitration clause, which you’ll need in the event a disagreement occurs. Arbitration may enable you to resolve disputes without costly litigation.

9. Everything you’ve requested. Consider the scope of the project and make sure all items you’ve requested are included. If you do not see a specific item in the contract, consider it not included. Never sign an incomplete contract.

10. A warranty covering materials and workmanship for a minimum of one year. The warranty must be identified as either "full" or "limited." The name and address of the party who will honor the warranty (contractor, distributor, or manufacturer) must be identified. Make sure the time period for the warranty is specified.

Would you like more information about the value of your home and how a home project might impact its value? Feel free to contact bills.swanson@cbshome.com.