How to Save Money in February

2 - Think taxes: Your 1098, 1099 and W-2 statements should arrive by today. Finish gathering tax documents and put them in a folder for later.
4 - Your Money Bus stops in Charleston, S.C.
7 - Billions of dollars in bets will be riding on Super Bowl XLIV.
12 - Investors: Standard & Poor's 500-stock index has gone down 15 of the past 18 years on the day before Presidents Day weekend. You could pick up some cheap shares.
15 - Presidents Day. Before you hit the sales, take our quiz to find out what kind of spender you are.
22 - New credit-card rules go into effect.
22 - Your Money Bus stops in Palm Beach, Fla

Does Moving Up Make Sense??

These questions will help you decide whether one is ready for a home that's larger or in a more desirable location. If the answer yes is to most of the questions, it's a sign that you may be ready.

1. Have you built substantial equity in your current home?

2. Has your income or financial situation improved?

3. Have you outgrown your neighborhood?

4. Are these reasons why you can't remodel or add on?

5. Are you comfortable moving in the current housing market?

6. Are interest rates attractive?

Call Today to Move Up!!

Housing a Good Investment in 2010

Forbes housing reporter and analyst Francesca Levy makes some thought-provoking predictions in the latest issue of the magazine.

She Predicts:

• Real estate will be an attractive investment strategy in 2010 with healthy investors devoting an increasing segment of their portfolios to it.
• Loan modifications will result in more people who should probably be facing foreclosure slipping deeper into debt.
• Cities like Omaha, Neb., and Buffalo, N.Y., which avoided the housing bubble and most of the bust, will be models for cities trying to avoid another bubble.
• Financial troubles in Dubai will ripple through the U.S. luxury market, creating energy in a market that has been stagnant.

Source: Forbes, Francesca Levy

Home Design Features that Send Buyers Running!!!

Don't let out-of-date fixtures and unappealing decor cost you a sale! While some buyers may actually appreciate "vintage" features, home and design experts say these 20 features almost always serve as a turnoff.

1. Dated and excessively bold or dark paint and tile colors, such as "Pepto Bismol" pink, avocado green, deep plum, or jet black. "Dark can be cool, but it has to be a color that's popular today," says sales associate Jennifer Ames of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Chicago.

2. Lacquered or high-gloss painted walls that are expensive to repaint and show all defects. Likewise, faux-and sponge-painted walls can be so passe.

3. Painted trim that's very dark-and costly to remove.

4. Wallpaper, which is a lot of work (and potentially expensive) to remove. Most disliked: Dated flowered or striped patterns.

5. Kitchens that lack any dining space. Also, outdated, small-scale, and dirty kitchen appliances that look like they won't perform.

6. Worn, cracked laminate countertops, and backslashes or plastic cultured marble.

7. Outdated bathrooms with small sinks, short toilets, squatty bathrubs, and tight showers- all of which aren't conducive to unwinding after a long day's work, says Ames.

8. Lack of ample closet space in bedrooms, or no closet at all and no place to build one or add an armoire.

9. Dens, libraries, and family rooms without built-in bookcases or a space to include shelves.

10. Stained and worn wall-to-wall carpet in rooms or on stairs. Worst choice: shag. Also, worn linoleum that suggests a house was never updated.

How to Get an Offer on Your Home

How to Get an Offer on Your Home

1. Price it Right. Set a price at the lower end of your property's realistic price range.

2. Prepare for Visitors. Get your house market ready at least two weeks before you begin showing it.

3. Be Flexible about Showings. It's often disruptive to have a house ready to show at the spur of the moment. But the more amenable you can be about letting people see your home, the soon you'll find a buyer.

4. Anticipate the Offers. Decide in advance what price and terms you'll find acceptable.

5. Don't Refuse to Drop the Price. If you home has been on the market for more than 30 days without an offer, you should be prepared to at least consider lowering your asking price.

The Art of Negotiation

Top Five Bright Ideas on Negotiation

1. If you can convince sellers on faxed signatures from out of town buyers. If you can't, build in sufficient time into the acceptance schedule for overnight deliveries.

2. When negotiating with a couple, don't assume who the decision make is based on who dominates the discussion.

3. Keep the end result in mind. If sellers balk at certain terms in a buyers' offer, remind them how relieved they will feel when the stressful process of selling a house is over and they can get on with their lives or move to their new home.

4. If buyers won't respond to a counteroffer realistically, use a reverse strategy of telling them that they should forget about the house. If they really want the house, this may get them to budge. -Danielle Kennedy International Speakers Bureau, Dallas.

5. Keep the earnest money deposit in your hand when you are telling the sellers about the offer. -Bob Deutsch, Listings and Sales Success, Real Estate Education Company, 1993.

Home Sales Rise 7.4 Percent!

Existing-home sales continue to improve, says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun at a Dec. 22, 2009, press conference at which he released November EHS data.

5 Big Impact, Low-Cost Remodeling Projects

Here are Five Big Impact, Low-Cost Remodeling Projects

1. Tidy up Kitchen Cabinets

Add rollout organizing trays so when buyers peak in, they feel like there is lots of room for their stuff.

2. Add or Replace Tile

By retiling very inexpensively, you make a room look way cleaner than it actually was. Buy low cost tile for these projects.

3. Add a Breakfast Bar

When a wall separates a kitchen from a family room, suggest cutting out an opening to create a breakfast bar. This can be as inexpensive as $600!

4. Install Granite Tile Instead of a Slab.

Everybody loves granite but it can be way too expensive! Instead, homeowners can put in 12 inch granite tiles for about $300 in materials.

5. Freshen Up a Bathroom Without Retiling.

With a dated bathroom, I suggest putting in a new medicine cabinet for around $100, light fixtures for about $100, a faucet for $50, and a vanity for $200. That's inexpensive and adds so much character to a bathroom!