Open House by Jim Woodard

There is good reason to sweat the details as you work in your yard this summer: Studies show that the right landscaping can increase a home's value and salability.

A Money Magazine survey found that well-designed, attractive landscaping could boost the value of a residential property from 7 percent to 14 percent. The survey concluded that the return on investment for landscaping puts it near the top of strategic home-improvement projects.

A study by the American Society of Landscape Architects revealed that most homeowners stand to recover between 100 percent and 200 percent of the money they invest in professional landscaping services when they sell their homes.

Research by Michigan State University found that a nicely landscaped yard could increase a home's sale value by about 12 percent. And another study, this one by the U.S. Forest Service, found that trees alone could add from 3 percent to 7 percent to the value of a property.

What's more, the Society of Real Estate Appraisers notes that attractive landscaping not only enhances the value of a home, but also helps to expedite a sale. The "curb appeal" of a home creates that vitally important first impression by prospective buyers, and landscaping plays a key role in that area.

"One of the things you can do to help save money on your landscaping is making sure you're watering the plants efficiently," said Ken Andersen with Walter Andersen Nursery in an article publish by Realty Times. "And one of the ways you can save water in landscaping is by mulching the landscape areas.

"Placing a 2-inch layer of mulch in your yard helps keep the soil from drying out and therefore it needs less water. It also adds organic material to the soil as the mulch breaks down and gets incorporated into the soil, thus benefiting the plants," Andersen said.

Q: When will homes sales start to increase?

A: The volume of existing home sales is on the rise. In April, the most recent monthly report, sales of single-family homes, condos and townhouses increased by nearly 3 percent over the month of March, reports the National Association of Realtors.

First-time buyers continue to be a major influence in the market, but there is also an increasing number of repeat buyers, said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist.

"Most of the recent sales are taking place in the lower price ranges, but activity is beginning to pick up in the mid-price ranges," Yun said.

"High-end sales remain sluggish. Home buyers are attracted to deeply discounted prices and are bidding up many foreclosed listings. This will set the stage for healthy market conditions going forward."

Q: Are short sales on the increase?

A: Yes, an increasing proportion of home sales are "short sale" transactions. These are sales where the homeowner's mortgage lender agrees to let the owner sell the house for less than is owned, and the lender forgives the borrower of the difference.

Such an arrangement usually benefits all parties. The lender often receives a higher amount of the remaining loan balance than if the home went into foreclosure. Foreclosures are usually much more expensive for lenders than short sale transactions.

The homeowner can sell his property at market value and avoid serious financing problems. The sale also minimizes damage to the homeowner's credit records. However, there can be serious income tax ramifications for the seller.

One problem that often surfaces in short sales is determining the property's current market value. Often, lenders use recent comparable sales provided by multiple listing services to assess a property's market value.

The U.S. Treasury Department recently announced it would soon provide added incentives for borrowers and lenders to pursue short sales and other foreclosure alternatives. The incentives are part of a larger initiative called "Making Home Affordable."

Q: What's the "Helping Families Save Their Homes" law all about?

A: On May 20, President Barack Obama signed into law the "Helping Families Save Their Homes" act — a law that expands and streamlines the administration's programs to help homeowners experiencing difficulty in making payments on their mortgages, along with other benefits.

The law makes it easier for some homeowners to refinance their current mortgage with a more affordable loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration. The cost has been reduced and eligibility requirements have eased. The law permits FHA lenders to offer families more substantial loan modifications, similar to those in the Making Home Affordable program.

"FHA will now have more authority to keep bad actors out of the FHA programs and it will have additional enforcement tools to police those lenders who employ false or misleading marketing tactics," said Shaun Donovan, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. "This law allows HUD to take a giant leap forward in our ability to help thousands of local homeowners throughout the country. Local communities will have much greater flexibility to put federal funding to work in a way that makes sense for them."

To find out more about Jim Woodard and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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