Real Estate Investing

We’ve talked about home selling strategies like setting the stage with things like removing all personal effects from the home to encourage buyer attachment. Well, if you’re still trying to sell a house around the holidays, Christmas lights are on the naughty list as well.

That’s right, your animatronic Frosty, inflatable polar bear and light-up reindeer could bring you more joy if they stay in the attic this year. Not suprisingly, research shows that 76 percent of prospective buyers are turned off by gaudy over-the-top Christmas decorations outside a home. But get this - 36 percent reportedly objected to gaudy Christmas decorations outside any house in the immediate area. So Frosty and Rudolph aren’t just lowering the appeal of your home, but the entire neighborhood as well! Warren Bright, CEO of propertyfinder.com, the site behind the research study, told England’s Telegraph newspaper:

“At this time of year overenthusiastic adornment of properties is a real problem so home sellers should beware,” Bright said. “Outdoor Christmas lights are perceived as tacky…Decking your home with colourful, flashing lights and tinsel is a big no. Sellers need to know what type of buyer their property would appeal to, and tailor their Christmas decorations accordingly.”

Want to get a great deal on a home? A really, really great deal on a home? Take advantage of the current low interest rates? Make your move in four days. That’s right - Christmas Day. What could you possibly have on your Christmas Day to-do list that could be any more fun than putting out an offer on a home?

According to About.com, that is the single best day of the year to buy a home. I actually began thinking about this topic after considering how stressful it would be to buy a home around this time of year. Ask anyone who’s done it and they’ll probably tell you to avoid it. Who knew buyers are at their greatest advantage on the big day? It really makes sense when you think about it, though. About.com explains why:

-People are in good moods, celebrating, opening presents, enjoying family.

-People are more inclined to be generous, even if it means coming down on the price. “Hey, it’s Christmas, hon; just sign it.”

-Home prices are at a 12-month low in December.

-If a person has their home on the market over Christmas, that person is definitely serious about negotiating and selling that home. You can bet on it. Better yet, why not write an offer?

And let’s face it, people drink more alcohol around the holidays and alcohol helps deals get done. Of course, this still begs the question of whether a real estate agent will be around to help you. If not, you can go it alone, but you’ll probably be able to get a pretty agreeable real estate agent these days because their coffers haven’t exactly been overflowing with the housing market’s current condition.

By the way, the second best day to get a great deal on a home? Easter Sunday. Begin hatching your plans now.

So I received a press release yesterday about the weeHouse. Though not a particular fan of press releases (chalk it up to my newspaper background), this I had to share. Alchemy Architects is offering the weeHouse and its appearance is pretty amazing. I’d move into one tomorrow, but my husband is a different story.

Anyway, the web site states that building costs per square foot is about 20 percent less than a traditional custom home. Of course, pricing depends on things like building size and how much customization the buyer requests on the existing prefab model, but the web site is saying $125 to $200 per square foot.

Though hesitant to associate the esteemed name of architecture great Frank Lloyd Wright to these “good, cheap and fast” weeHouses, that’s really what these designs resemble. They are like building blocks laid next to each other or stocked atop each other, with cool features like floor-to-ceiling windows. These homes have a very retro, art deco feel that make you just want to slap some Eames chairs on the front porch and call it done.

I like weeHouses for three reasons:

1) They look cool, and what’s not to love about that boxy Frank Lloyd Wright style?

2) They are eco-friendly. Of course, the houses can be customized to any buyer’s green wishes, but the company tries to use low-emitting paint and other green-certified materials at least. Of course, the very nature of prefab housing is eco-friendly because the product is built in one location instead of trucking laborers and materials all over the place. As for Alchemy Architects, they try to operate a paperless company as much as possible, also good for the environment. All relevant info is posted on their web site.

3) These houses are smaller and more streamlined, yet still appear functional. This from Alchemy Architects’ web site:

We hope to offset the suburban trend towards overbuilding by instilling value in modern yet efficient living.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan just said in an interview Sunday with George Stephanopoulos that the housing market would take a while to become buoyant again, but that it would happen when builders stopped overbuilding. For this reason and because of growing concern over the earth’s condition, prefab is the massive wave of the future. And weeHouse is one example of just how exciting that can be. As more people learn the new truth about prefab housing and break out of their long-held preconceived notions, prefab is bound to catch on tremendously.