Paint is one of the simplest ways to improve the appearance of your home.

With the new home buyer tax credit creating an incentive to get your house spruced up and on the market, I figured it was important to pass along some advice on a necessary part of getting the best price for your home: Staging.

Staging is basically interior design and exterior landscaping in a manner that is not intended for your own preferences or lifestyle, but rather to appeal to a large proportion of home buyers.

There are several aspects to staging your home for sale, but basically just remember “more”…in most cases less is more, neutral appeals to more, and a clean house needing no repairs sells for more!

As pretty as this is, it would overwhelm your on-the-market house. Save it for next year.

Staging is a relatively simple process that just about anyone can do. If you want to step it up to the top level, you can hire a professional stager of course. Stagers are professionally trained in interior design and know exactly what sells a house and how to make your house stand apart from the other houses in your local price range. If you are interested in finding a stager, give me a call and I’ll help you get in touch with one.

But don’t worry, you can probably handle the majority of staging yourself. It just takes some diligence, a small amount of cash, and a great deal of elbow grease. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be giving you detailed information about different aspects of staging your home. Following each of these steps will help your home sell faster and hopefully for a higher price.

Let me just say one thing now about holiday decorations. This time of year many people choose to decorate their homes for one or another holiday. If you are among them and your home is on the market, please consider keeping your holiday decorations to the minimum and, above all else, keep them tasteful. You don’t want to sell the decorations; you want to sell the house.

Next week: Less Is More

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If you would like help buying or selling a home in Eden Prairie or elsewhere in the Minneapolis area, contact me, Brace Helgeson, by email or at 952-974-3466.

Begin your home search at BraceHelgeson.com.

Selling your home is never an easy task, especially in a buyer’s market. But maybe that house of yours is just not what you need now. Whether you are wanting bigger, smaller or just different, it’s time to move. And the Home Buyer Tax Credit sure looks good too.

Before you can buy a new home and take advantage of the credit, you have to figure out what to do with your current home. Should you sell it? Should you rent it out? Should you just leave it on the market whether it sells or not? Should you turn it into a vacation home?

Assuming your finances are in order, you owe little or nothing on your current home, and you have the funds to do necessary repairs, any of these could be a valid option for you. But which one will work for you and how?

Sell Your Home–Quickly

Wouldn’t it be great if you could list your house and have an offer in hand tomorrow? Sometimes this happens, but more often than not it can take a few weeks or months, or even longer. There are some things you can do to speed up the selling process.

• Find a Realtor who will market your home effectively. (That would be me!)

• Get a professional inspection.

• Repair problems that come up on the inspection and things that have been bugging you for a while.

• Clean up your yard, landscape as appropriate for the season.

• Keep any holiday decorations at a tasteful level.

• Stage your home.

• Reduce clutter—begin packing stuff that isn’t essential.

• Rent a storage unit and move boxes and extra furniture into it until moving day.

• Brighten up your walls with a fresh coat of neutral paint.

• Wash windows, inside and out.

• Replace burned out light bulbs.

• Replace old or worn flooring with something new and modern; refinish hardwood floors if needed.

Become a Landlord

This may be a good option if you have been considering getting into this business anyway, or if you have had your home on the market for a long time with few bites. If your long-term goal is to sell your home, perhaps you will have success with a lease-purchase option. Either way, you should still perform needed repairs on your home.

Leave it on the market

Many people find themselves moving into their new home without selling or renting the old one. While this could make it easier to sell, especially if you have pets or young children, it can be a risky gamble. If you go with this option, be sure to fix problems and stage your home well. If you have extra good-looking furniture you can leave for now, do so. Consider renting some furniture to use for staging. Empty rooms are harder to sell.

Turn it into a vacation home

Current interpretation indicates this option is available for the home buyer tax credit also. Perhaps your home is in the woods or on a lake and ideal for weekend getaways or long summer vacations, but the commute to work is a bit too far for your tastes. Turning it into a vacation home could be ideal.

Give me a call today and we can review your options, both for selling and for purchasing your next home. For the alternatives to selling your home, consult your tax specialist before making a final decision.

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If you would like help buying or selling a home in Eden Prairie or elsewhere in the Minneapolis area, contact me, Brace Helgeson, by email or at 952-974-3466.

Begin your home search at BraceHelgeson.com.

Many financially stable home owners have wanted to sell their homes for various reasons over the past year but have either had no luck or just decided to wait. If you are one of these homeowners you should seriously consider putting your home on the market now. Why? There are a variety of reasons:

• Lower inventory. Everyone knows that the housing market has been flooded with short sales and foreclosed properties, but the first time home buyer tax credit had a significant impact in the number of houses on the market. Just about every first time home buyer who qualified for the credit and was able to purchase a home has done so. This has helped to lower the number of available properties, making it more likely that your house will sell.

• Extended tax credit. Most of the first-time home buyers who were going to buy have already done so. But some haven’t. The tax credit has been extended until April which may be just enough time for those who weren’t quite ready to be so.

• Expanded tax credit. The credit was not only extended, but expanded to include first-time home buyers with higher incomes and current home owners. This opens up a whole new group of people who will jump at the chance to buy a home and cash in on the tax credit.

• Low prices. Perhaps you have been concerned about selling your home for less than it is worth. This is a valid concern and has kept many financially stable home owners from listing their home. But consider this: your new home will cost you less as well. It’s quite possible that you may be able to find a home in your price range that you will not be able to afford when its value increases.

• Expanded tax credit. (Again) The expanded tax credit might include you! If you were to purchase a new home before April, then you will qualify for the $6500 tax credit, if you meet the requirements. This just might help to offset any loss you could incur based upon lower property values. Add it to your down payment and you could afford a more expensive house.

• You probably have the funds to correct problems. Home buyers hoping to find a house ready to move into with little more than a change of paint color, have been rather dismayed by the condition of many foreclosed homes. Even homes qualifying for short sales could be in need of major TLC simply because a distressed home owner does not have the funds to make repairs. This makes buying a house from a financially secure home-owner a much more attractive to most buyers.

• You have more flexibility than a bank. Another problem that home buyers have found when trying to buy a distressed property is the time it takes for a bank to respond to an offer. You may find a home-buyer who needs to close in two weeks, or one who low-balls an offer and needs several back and forth offers to agree on a reasonable price. You have the flexibility to handle this situation, whereas a bank may not be able to meet their needs.

Now tell me, can you think of a good reason not to list your home? Give me a call and we will get things started.

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If you would like help buying or selling a home in Eden Prairie or elsewhere in the Minneapolis area, contact me, Brace Helgeson, by email or at 952-974-3466.

Begin your home search at BraceHelgeson.com.

Transportation into and out of Eden Prairie is getting easier. Flying Cloud Airport and the Southwest Light Rail Transit Project are both expected to increase the amount of business and commuter transportation serving Eden Prairie.

Proposed Southwest Transit Rail Lines

While the Southwest Light Rail Transit is still several years from completion, it is expected to add to the growing passenger rail system connecting the Twin Cities to its suburbs. Earlier this month the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority approved Route 3A for recommendation to the Metropolitan Council for the 2030 Transportation Plan.

Don’t worry; you won’t have to wait till 2030 to ride the train from Eden Prairie to Minneapolis. The Southwest rail project is projected to be completed in 2014. Route 3A will start in Eden Prairie, and head east through Eden Prairie Town Center before turning north through Hopkins and St. Louis Park, ending in Minneapolis.

If your travel plans take you further, you can now consider flying a business jet in or out of Eden Prairie’s Flying Cloud Airport. This week the airport’s expanded runway opened for air traffic. At a cost of $17 million, an additional 5000 feet was added to the south parallel runway. Prior to this a modern business jet loaded with passengers, baggage and fuel would not have been able to land or take-off at Flying Cloud.

Eden Prairie is looking better than ever for business owners and suburb loving Minneapolis workers. Combine this with quality schools, great neighborhoods, exciting recreation and friendly people and you have a community that you would love to call home.

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If you would like help buying or selling a home in Eden Prairie, Chanhassen, Minnetonka, Chaska, or Bloomington, contact me, Brace Helgeson, by email or at 952-974-3466. Start your online search here!

I have helped many people find a new home in the last year; many of them have or will receive the first-time home buyer tax credit because of their home purchase. And they are thrilled about it! While most would agree that these new home owners were just waiting for the right time to buy, the right time had arrived. Now the right time continues!

Last week, the credit was not only extended for another 6 months, it was expanded to include first-time home buyers with higher incomes. The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 opens the up-to-$8000 tax credit to almost all first-time home buyers by increasing the maximum annual income. The income cap for single home buyers has increased from $75,000 to $125,000. The cap for married buyers jumps from $150,000 to $225,000.

Home owners looking to purchase a different home shouldn’t feel left out anymore, the new credit covers them as well! Homeowners who lived in their home for at least 5 consecutive years in the past 8 are eligible for a tax credit of up to $6,500 on their next primary residence purchase. The income limits are the same as for first-time home buyers.

The purchased home must be a primary residence costing less than $800,000. Live in it for at least three years after purchase and the $8000 will not have to be paid back.

In order to fight tax fraud, the new law requires anyone claiming the credit to provide documentation that the sale has closed and only adults can claim the credit.

Anxious for your money? Even if you purchase the home in 2010, you can claim it on your 2009 taxes and get an almost instant credit back. Ask your tax professional for details!

Sales contracts must be signed by May 1, 2010, with closing by the end of June. Don’t waste time, let’s start looking! Call me today and I’ll show you what’s available.

If you are a home owner wishing to sell, call me and let’s get your house on the market in time for your next home purchase to qualify you for the credit!

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If you would like help buying or selling a home in Eden Prairie, Chanhassen, Minnetonka, Chaska, Edina or Bloomington, contact me, Brace Helgeson, by email or at 952-974-3466. Start your online search here!

If you have delayed planting your spring bulbs, delay no more. The University of Minnesota Extension Service recommends planting of most spring bulbs in Minnesota by the end of October. Early November may not be too late though, especially for tulips which can be planted as long as the ground isn’t frozen too hard.

Here are some tips to remember:

• Bulbs should be firm with a papery skin. If soft or moldy, throw them away.

• Bulbs need to be able to grow roots once planted in the fall, and they need the cold winter to break their dormancy cycle in order to bloom in spring.

• Bulbs will need warmth and light in the spring to trigger their growth. Choose a site that will not be shaded in early spring.

• Bulbs can be planted under trees as long as they will receive enough light before and just after their blooming season. Full shade in summer is acceptable.

• Soil near southern and western exposure foundations could start to grow too soon, risking cold damage. It’s better to plant in an area that is sheltered from damaging winds but that will not warm up before other areas.

• Bulbs need rich, well-drained soil. Avoid areas that tend to fill with water during rain storms.

• New bulb beds should be cleared of rocks and matted roots, and some organic matter should be tilled in to a depth of 10-12 inches. Add some fertilizer in when tilling, but do not add it directly to the bulb holes.

• Plan to plant the bulbs in odd numbers or mass plantings. Put the bed where it will be enjoyed from a window or the road.

• The basic rule for planting depth is 2 ½ times deeper than the diameter of the bulb. Sandy soils should be a bit deeper, and heavy clay soil should be a bit shallower.

• Always plant the bulb with the pointed end facing up, cover with a portion of the soil and water well. Add the rest of the soil, smoothing the surface, water again and add 3-5 inches of mulch. Leaf material, grass clippings and straw work well. (You will remove much of this mulch in the spring.)

Then sit back and wait for spring!

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If you would like help buying or selling a home in Eden Prairie, Chanhassen, Minnetonka, Chaska, or Bloomington, contact me, Brace Helgeson, by email or at 952-974-3466. Start your online search here!

Tonight is the night! Not just for trick-or-treating, but for setting your clocks back! And of course, the most important, yet least enjoyable, part of that routine is changing out the batteries in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.

A quick battery change will keep your detectors working and could save your life.

According to an article on the Eden Prairie News website, 75 percent of residential fire-related deaths in Minnesota occurred in homes without working smoke detectors. Nationwide 96 percent of homes have smoke alarms, but a third of them either have a dead battery or no battery at all. This results in many needless deaths each year, often of children or elderly.

If by chance your home doesn’t have any smoke detectors, not enough, or you think yours may be getting a bit too old, you can pick up a new one from just about any hardware or mass-retail store. Fancy or inexpensive, they all must meet certain guidelines so you will know you are protected.

Don't get trapped inside a fire in your home. Keep your smoke detectors working so you can get out quick!

The frugal-minded among us may think that the batteries are still good, so why change them…but this can be a deadly decision. If you really want to get the last of the power from the batteries, find some other household use for them; perhaps an alarm clock back-up or a child’s toy.

Be sure to check your smoke detector once the new battery is in to make sure it’s working correctly, and then keep checking it on a regular basis. Soon enough it will be spring and time to change them again!

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If you would like help buying or selling a home in Eden Prairie, Chanhassen, Minnetonka, Chaska, or Bloomington, contact me, Brace Helgeson, by email or at 952-974-3466. Start your online search here!

Eden Prairie is home to a school district which has ranked among the best in the United States for the past several years. For parents looking for a place to call home, Eden Prairie is certainly a good choice.

Below is a list of the public school districts and private schools serving this community.

Public Schools

• Eden Prairie School District, serving the majority of Eden Prairie.

1. Eagle Heights Spanish Immersion School
2. Cedar Ridge Elementary School
3. Eden Lake Elementary School
4. Prairie View Elementary School
5. Forest Hills Elementary School
6. Oak Point Intermediate School
7. Central Middle School
8. Eden Prairie High School

• West Metro Education Program (WMEP) Magnet Schools

1. FAIR School Crystal
2. FAIR School Downtown

• Minnetonka Public Schools

• Hopkins Public Schools

• Intermediate District 287

Private Schools

• Chapel Hill Academy

• Eagle Ridge Academy

• Holy Family Catholic High School

• The International School of Minnesota

• Minnehaha Academy

• Southwest Christian High School

• St. John the Baptist Catholic School

Want to find a home near the school of your choice? Let me know and we can take a look at what is available.

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If you would like help buying or selling a home in Eden Prairie, Chanhassen, Minnetonka, Chaska, or Bloomington, contact me, Brace Helgeson, by email or at 952-974-3466. Start your online search here!

When purchasing a house, having a sizable down-payment has always been good advice, and with today’s tighter credit guidelines it is essential. However you need to keep in mind that you will need savings beyond the down payment of your home. Here is a list of the things that usually come up during a home purchase and subsequent move that will require some cash.

• Appraisal fee
• Professional home inspection
• Extra closing costs
• Homeowner’s association fees
• Repairs, upgrades, renovations. There are the obvious and the not-so-obvious. Your inspection may have suggested upgrading some of the electrical outlets, and you may already know you don’t like the paint color, but after you move in there are little things you will probably notice that will you’ll need some cash to rectify immediately.
• Moving van rental fees, boxes, bubble wrap, and mover’s fees. Even if you enlist the help of friends or family, you will need to feed them or at least provide them with refreshments. And don’t forget the gas for the moving vehicle!
• Termination fees for current services, deposits and connection fees for new services.
• Appliances. If your new home already has a full set of appliances, then you can scratch this off your list! If not, be sure to remember the extra costs involved with warranties, installation, etc.
• Household items. Invariably you will find that the stuff you filled your last home with are not quite right for the new one. This can turn into hundreds or thousands of dollars from runs to the home furnishings store and home-improvement store.
• Lawn-care equipment. If this is your first home with a yard you will be surprised at how much equipment you will decide you need. An alternative is to hire someone to do your lawn care for you, which will still incur a cost, although it will be spread out over the coming months.
• If you are relocating a great distance you might have air fare or other transportation costs for your entire family (pets included), a night or two in a hotel, and all the other expenses that can creep up.
• And don’t forget that for at least a few days you might be eating out while you search for that box of dishes!

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If you would like help buying or selling a home in Eden Prairie, Chanhassen, Minnetonka, Chaska, or Bloomington, contact me, Brace Helgeson, by email or at 952-974-3466. Start your online search here!

Looking for some spooky fun? Here are some upcoming Halloween events in and near Eden Prairie.

Autumn Unplugged at the Arboretum. All month! 3675 Arboretum Drive, Chaska. Admission is $9 for adults, free for members and children 15 and under. Activities include:

• Weekend Family Fun every Saturday and Sunday, noon-4 pm.
• Pumpkin Palooza, ongoing through Nov. 1.
• Pumpkin Palooza Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24 & 25, noon-4 pm.
• Ar-Boo-return Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31.

Halloween Happenings. Three Rivers Park District Halloween events. Find one near you!

Apple Jack Orchard Corn Maze. Saturdays & Sundays through Halloween. Saturday nights are flashlight night until 10 pm. $6 adults, $5 ages 6-11, free ages 0-5.

Minnetonka Orchards. Lots to do! Open daily 9 am-7 pm. October theme days:

• CiderFest, Oct 17 & 18
• Bonfires and Hayrides, Oct. 24 & 25
• Dog Days of Fall, Oct. 31-Nov. 1

Apple Cidering. Sunday, Oct. 11 & Sunday, Oct. 18, 1-3 pm. Outdoor Center, 13765 Staring Lake Parkway. $6 per family.

The Great Pumpkin Rescue by Academy of Russian Ballet. Saturday, Oct. 24, 1 & 5 pm. Eden Prairie High School Auditorium, 17185 Valley View Road. Adults $18, Seniors $15, Children $12, Under age 4 Free.

Adult Fall Festival. Thursday, Oct. 29, 11:30 am-1 pm. Senior Center, 8950 Eden Prairie Road. $10.

The Great Pumpkin Event. Friday, Oct 30, 7-9 pm, Outdoor Center, 13765 Staring Lake Parkway. Pre-registration required. $7 per child.

Spooky Saturday. Saturday, Oct. 31, 2-4 pm. Community Center, 16700 Valley View Road. $5 per child.

Halloween-on-the-Mall. Saturday, Oct. 31, 6-8 pm. Eden Prairie Center, 8251 Flying Cloud Drive.

All this list needs is some haunted houses. Have you been to any? Leave a comment for other readers, be sure to include the address, web address if possible, and its “scare” factor! Have a Happy Halloween!

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If you would like help buying or selling a home in Eden Prairie, Chanhassen, Minnetonka, Chaska, or Bloomington, contact me, Brace Helgeson, by email or at 952-974-3466. Start your online search here!