If you are selling your home here are a few tips to help make your buyers love your home.

 1.  Dirt – Nothing turns off a buyer quicker than a dirty house!  You must present your home in the best possible condition.  If your carpets are worn out, then replace them and if they are relatively new, you should at least have them shampooed.  The home should be neat and clean and free of all debris. 

 2.  Odors – Make sure your home smells fresh and inviting.  Any pet? Please make sure that your home does not smell like a litter box or have a doggie smell.  You may love your pets but other might not!  Homeowners should shy away from cooking fried food, fish or greasy food.

 3.  Old Fixtures – You need to change out old fixtures in your house. New cabinet hardware and door knobs will make a big difference.  Same goes for outdated ceiling fans, light fixtures and kitchen appliances. These old items will turn off a buyer.  This could keep you for getting your highest price.

 4.  Wallpaper – Wallpaper is a definite no-no.  Wallpaper is a pain to remove and just adds another chore to a buyer’s to-do list.  What is the odds that someone will walk in your door and like that wallpaper that you picked out.

 5.  Popcorn Acoustic Ceilings – Home décor changes. At one time this was a great style but now potential home owners see this as another major repair item on their list.

 6.  Too Many Personal Items – When buyer’s tour a home they are trying to see how this home fits them.  Buyers get distracted looking at your family photos. (“Oh I wonder if I went to school with them?”)  Sellers should eliminate personal items, including family photos, personal effects and even unique colors.

 7.  Snoopy Sellers – Leave your home when a showing is scheduled for your property.  Buyers and Realtors usually bristle when the owner greats them at the door.  Buyers can’t voice what they like or dislike about the house thinking that they might be offending the owners.

 8.  Misrepresenting Your Home – Misrepresenting your home online in the Multiple Listing Service is a sure way to upset buyers and their Realtors.  Potential buyers viewing a home might think what a cute house but when they drive by the home and end seeing all the junk that’s in the yard!  Interior photos of the listing can also be deceiving.  Some photos are enhanced to make the homes look brighter.

 9.  Poor Curb Appeal – First Impressions are so important.  You should trim the hedges, mulch the beds, clean the gutters and power wash the exterior.  Every detail counts. If the front yard is not inviting they might not get out of their car to see the home expecting that the interior will be the same.

 10.  Clutter – Inside and Out – Less is more!  It should start with your closets.  Your closets should be half-full with nothing on the floor.  If it’s full, buyers will feel that there is not enough storage space.  Kitchens and built-in should show spaciousness. Have no more than three countertop appliances and have the book shelves divided into thirds – One third books, one third vases and pictures, and one third empty.  Home offices should be generic as well to make sure there are no distractions.

The Seacoast Board of Realtors held their annual installation of officers at the 100 Club in downtown Portsmouth on Wednesday night November 30^th.  Past president Jim Therrien sworn in Lauren Kane from RE/MAX Coast to Coast as 2012 President; Jim Lee from RE/MAX Coast to Coast as Vice President; Dana Mitchell from BHG Masiello as Treasurer and Barbara Lemieux as Secretary of the Board of Realtors.  Board of Directors are: Cynthia Winthrop from Prudential Verani; Lynda Cadieux-Ferland from Keller Williams Coastal Realty; Cynthia May Gibb from Carey and Giampa; Thomas Heaney from Keller Williams Coastal Realty; Thomas Fabisak from Tom Fabisak Realty; Mary Markham from BHG Masiello and Adam Dean, State Director from The Bean Group.

President Lauren Kane’s first address to the SBR highlighted the benefits of belonging to the Seacoast Board of Realtors and how working with each other and the affiliates enriches our business, our credibility and our pocketbooks.

Sponsors for the event were: Regency Mortgage, Phenix Title, RE/MAX Coast to Coast, The Masiello Group, Liberty Mutual, Housemaster, Tobey and Merrill Insurance and Signature Title. 

New Hampshire has moved up to the #2 position in the America’s Health Rankings. Last year the State of New Hampshire made the #3 position. 

• While smoking has decreased from 25.3 percent to 16.9 percent of the adult population in the last ten years. 174,000 adults still smoke in New Hampshire.
• In the past year, the percentage of children in poverty decreased from 10.5 percent to 6.2 percent of persons under age 18.
• In the past year, diabetes increased from 7.1 percent to 7.9 percent of the adult population. There are now 81,000 New Hampshire adults with diabetes.
• In the past ten years, obesity increased from 18.1 percent to 25.5 percent of the adult population with 262,000 obese adults in the state.
• Since 1990, the infant mortality rate decreased from 8.4 to 4.7 deaths per 1,000 live births and is the lowest among all states.

 Strengths for the State of New Hampshire

• Low percentage of children in poverty
• Low violent crime rate
• High use of early prenatal care
• High immunization coverage

 Challenges for the State of New Hampshire

• Moderate per capita public health funding
• Moderate prevalence of binge drinking

State Health Department Web Site: www.dhhs.state.nh.us

According to Where to Retire Magazine – Portsmouth New Hampshire has been named among the top 8 places to retire in America.  Editor Mary Lu Abbott said retirees should carefully consider state and local taxes before relocating.  Portsmouth is among towns with a lower than average tax burden on retirees.  She said “in states that have no income tax you may encounter higher local taxes.”  A low-tax town can save retirees several thousand of dollars a year.  Other cities on the list are Port Townsend, Washington; Kalispell, Montana; Ashland, Oregon; Carson City, Nevada; Oxford, Mississippi;  Vero Beach, Florida; and Abingdon, Virginia.

 Even though the City of Portsmouth is seen as an attractive place for retirees not everyone agrees.  Local demographer Peter Francese warned about the seacoast and state becoming unbalanced in its age distribution.  Among concerns he cites is the loss of younger workers who are priced out of the housing market.  According to the Census of 2010, Portsmouth lost 3 percent of it’s under 18 population from 2000 to 2010.  City homeowners under age 35 decreased 14.7 percent and ages 35 to 44 by 13.9 percent from 2000 to 2010. The city of Portsmouth home owner population age is 55 to 64, surged 42.6 percent.

 Statewide, New Hampshire is the fourth oldest state in the nation with an average age of 41.1 years. This is up from 39.3 years in Census of 2000.  Maine is the nation’s oldest at 42.7 years.  The average age of the national population is 36.8.

Investors are buying up foreclosed single family homes and renting them out.  Some of the people who are renting them are the people who have lost their homes in a foreclosure situation. Families who have had their homes foreclosed on are looking for single family homes to rent because that’s what they are used to.  They prefer a backyard to an apartment.  Investors are buying and renting these homes because flipping homes in the current market does not bring a quick profit anymore.