Moving day is stressful — you’re uprooting your family’s life and moving it to an entirely new house, and perhaps an entirely new city.

There are ways you can make the moving day itself less grueling with just a little planning. Here are a few:

1. If you’re using movers, they will go through your entire house and draw up an inventory of your things to be moved. Tag along with the driver who’s tallying this inventory and make sure everything gets on it, and then use the inventory at your new home to make sure that everything gets unloaded. The more familiar you are with the inventory, the more at ease you will be that your loading and unloading is proceeding smoothly and that you’re on track for your move.
2. Be the sole source of contact with moving companies. Having one person in charge of all the moving details will make it easier to keep track of your entire move. It will also make it easier for the moving company to know who to speak to if there are issues.
3. Before you even move, take care of things at your new home so you don’t have to worry about them on moving day. Get your utilities hooked up, and arrange to have cleaners get everything clean before you arrive. Also, when your new house is empty is the best time to do minor home improvement projects like painting, wood-floor refurbishing, and carpet cleaning.
4. If you have kids or pets, arrange to have someone take care of them during your loading and unloading. Kids, especially small kids, can get underfoot during a move and pose a danger to the folks who are moving your stuff. Also, the less you have to keep track of on moving day, the better.
5. Pack and set aside a bag that you will need during the trip to your new home. To be safe, keep this bag at a neighbor’s, or put it in the car, to ensure it doesn’t accidently get packed by your moving company.
6. After everything’s been loaded, go through the house (and possibly enlist someone to come along with you) to ensure everything was loaded onto the truck.

SOURCE: Relocation.com

Today eppraisal.com released its National Real Estate Market Analysis report for 183 markets across the continental U.S. This report, which tracks median sales price of residential homes, compares data on homes sold in the first quarter of 2009 with homes sold in the second quarter of 2009.

In this comparison of the first quarter with the second quarter, there are signs that most markets have hit bottom and are showing signs of recovery. In the last eppraisal.com report, only 50 percent of the markets tracked saw increases in median home values. In the current report, 76 percent of the markets tracked saw increases, while less than 20 percent saw a decline in median home values. Only two markets on the entire list saw a double digit decline in median home values.

Overall, the gains are spread across the U.S, but there are a few hot spots, with areas in Ohio and Michigan seeing the biggest increases. These areas have had some of the steepest declines in past reports and have the greatest potential for growth. For example, in Springfield, Ohio, the median home value jumped 36.4 percent to $75,000. Lima, Ohio, increased by 46.9 percent to a median home value of $78,000. In Michigan, the Lansing area saw a 31.6 percent increase to a median value of $75,000. The Saginaw area increased 47.2 percent to a median value of $44,000, and Battle Creek increased by 17.2 percent to a median value of $45,000.

The full list of all 183 markets can be found in our market report. However, here are some of the most notable highlights:

• Markets in Ohio accounted for half of the top 10 markets that saw the greatest increase, with Akron leading the list followed by Sandusky and Cleveland areas.
• At a median home value of $151,000, Orlando-Kissimmee, Fla., remains an affordable area with the median still less than the median a year ago when it was over $210,000. However, the decline has slowed from 8.5 percent in the previous eppraisal.com market report to 3.2 percent in the current report.
• Other notable affordable areas include: Las Vegas-Paradis, Nev., down 6.2 percent to a median value of $140,900; Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., down 1 percent to a median value of $85,100; and the Tampa-St. Petersburg area up 3.3 percent to a median value of $129,000.
• The San Francisco-San Mateo areas of California had the highest median home value on the list at $673,000, which is up 18.1 percent over the first quarter.
• Detroit-Dearborn, Mich., area had the lowest median home value on the list at $14,000, which is up 12.9 percent.
• Of the 139 markets showing increases in median home values, only 24 of those markets remained under $100,000.

See a complete list of real estate market rankings from eppraisal.com

If you’re selling your home, or thinking of selling your home, you probably are facing a fierce competitor — that foreclosed home down the street.

The bank is eager to get rid of it. So the biggest challenge you’ll face is price, and price is something you’ll have to come to grips with early in the process.

However, there are ways you can set your property apart from foreclosures and give yourself an edge when sellers are comparing properties.

1. First, see if your neighborhood has foreclosed properties — if you can, you might want to wait until they are sold before listing your home.

Next, figure out a suitable price. Appraisers no longer take into account if a home next to yours is a foreclosure — a comp is a comp. Simply put, the risk factor of buying a foreclosure is no longer considered as high. Also, buyers can still do due diligence on the home — they have the time to do an inspection of the home, and they can still back out of a deal if something risky arises in the process.

2. The one factor where your home will stand out is its livability. A vacant home feels cold and sterile, while one that’s occupied has a cozier feel that’s more attractive to would-be buyers. Exercise this advantage when showing your home, and put extra effort into staging.

3. With all of the foreclosures on the market, many of these homes are being seen at their worst. Keep your home nice and clean and well-maintained. If people can see clearly that it’s a well-cared-for home — and will have fewer potential headaches for them — it will attract more positive attention.

4. Keep a vivid paper trail and photos of work, like any remodeling work, that you’ve done on your home to show potential buyers. This kind of information can be hard to track down on a foreclosure. This will increase buyers’ confidence about considering your home for purchase.

5. Finally, get real about the new market. Things are getting better, but there are still challenges for buyers, including the challenges of nailing down home loans. Be respectful of that.

And buyers themselves are very aggressive about getting a good deal. So don’t be insulted by a low offer; work with any offer to see if you can meet halfway. You know the bank will be doing the same with its foreclosure.

Source: Relocation.com

There may be nothing so controversial in the real estate industry right now as the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC). The code was established by Fannie Mae along with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) in an attempt to regulate the appraisal industry and create more separation between appraisers and lenders.

The HVCC states that Realtors and mortgage brokers are prohibited from selecting appraisers. Lenders can select “in house” appraisers, but due to restrictions, many are hiring appraisal management companies (AMCs) to obtain their appraisals.

Since roll-out, Realtors and mortgage brokers claim low-ball appraisals are killing their deals, and some appraisers feel the real estate industry is just pointing fingers.

Here’s how some on each side of the ring weigh in:

As the accusations fly around, the only thing that’s apparent is that the system remains flawed, and the HVCC is doing nothing to help. Representatives Childers (D-MS) and Miller (R-CA) have introduced a bill calling for an 18-month moratorium on the HVCC in order to work out the kinks, though some think the this will do nothing to solve the issue.

What do you think?

In the 12 months from May 2008 to May 2009, The District of Columbia led the U.S. with the highest percentage of homes sold over $1 million at 7.14 percent. California leads the nation in overall volume of homes sold for over $1 million but is fourth behind Hawaii (6.95 percent), Connecticut (3.87 percent), and D.C. (7.14 percent) in percentage at 3.26 percent.

Furthermore, the unemployment rate for the D.C. metro region is at 6.2 percent, much lower than the 9.5 percent national average. There is a fascinating article about the muted effects the recession has had on D.C and its residents by Victoria McGrane – D.C. Plays “Rich Uncle” in Recession.

Of all the states where enough data was gathered to report on percentage, Michigan was the lowest at 0.08 percent. With the continuing decline of American automobile companies in the area, climbing unemployment, and soaring foreclosures, it would stand to make sense there are less opportunities for people to both earn and spend millions on homes in the area.

The top 20 by percentage are listed below: