real estate posts

By Morgan Housel
Motley Fool

Mostly by accident, I have never owned a home, and consider it one of the best financial moves I've ever made.

Not because suffering through one of the worst real estate downturns in history would have slammed my finances, although that's likely true. But because in the last four years, my wife and I have lived in four different locations in three different states on each side of the country. Each move was driven by work and school opportunities that would have been out of reach had we been tied down to one home.

Our story is hardly unique. In one of the most telling studies looking at the benefits of home ownership, economists Andrew Oswald and David Blanchflower ask, "does high home-ownership impair the labor market?"

Their answer is "yes."

Tips on improving your home's exterior for sale.

Spring is the busiest season for the housing market. When it comes to selling your home, first impressions count. Having it neat and tidy on the outside is just as important as the home's appearance on the inside.

Here are eight tips to help you improve your home's exterior for a quick spring sale.

SLIDESHOW: Improve Your Home's Exterior

So you want to be a real estate investor? Well, it's important where you're buying. You want to be in a market where you stand the best chance to get good bang for your buck. So where should you look? Not even in the United States. Try Panama. Buying homes overseas can be a cash cow for many people. And Panama's economy is one of the few in the world that was virtually untouched during and after the economic crisis. There are other markets, too, that are good to look at overseas. To learn where you should be investing in real estate overseas, check out the video above.

It took James Peterson only six days to sell his house for the full asking price. He did it, says Dallas-Fort Worth real estate agent Geoff Walsh, by making some strategic improvements that were key to getting the house sold. Walsh -- Peterson's neighbor as well as his agent -- advised him to upgrade the appliances and countertops in the kitchen, replace worn carpet and tile, and add some simple landscaping.

In Peterson's neighborhood, where comparable homes sell in the $400,000 range, the investment paid off in a quick and profitable sale.

How much money a homeowner should put into enhancing a property for sale is a thorny issue. You don't want to spend too much, because you're unlikely to get it back. But you also need to make upgrades that will help your property compete in a crowded market.

When determining how much to spend, consider price range, region, and what comparable homes for sale in the neighborhood are offering. "You can overdo it for the neighborhood, and your home is not going to command a higher price as a result of [the home improvements]," says Matthew Coates, a Phoenix, Arizona agent with West USA Realty Revelation.

Coates suggests spending around 1 to 2 percent of your home's value for home improvement costs. That means, for a $200,000 condo, a seller would spend between $2,000 to $4,000 on pre-sale upgrades.

Sometimes the hardest part is knowing where to start, so here are eight home improvement ideas that can help get your home ready for the market for a minimal amount of money:

SLIDESHOW: Home Improvements That Help Sell Your Home

Transform unfinished space into storage: $300-$500

Match your kitchen appliances: $1000-3000

Paint your walls and consider moldings: $300-500 per room

Stain cabinets and upgrade the kitchen island countertop: $3000-$5000

Replace toilets and clean grout: $500-800

Update light fixtures and ceiling fans: $300-$500 per fixture

AOL Real Estate

Instead of plopping down millions for an overrated Hollywood party pad, why not invest your money in a truly unique piece of property: a European castle. We're not talking just the abandoned ones (although some of those can be had for as little as one euro, apparently). Some of these castles, with their stately, old-world exteriors, have been entirely modernized on the inside for today's luxurious ideals.

According to The Wall Street Journal, there are about 5,000 castles in Germany left over from its days of nobility, and 20 to 40 of those grand homes hit the market every year. And it just so happens that for what you'll be getting, many of these properties are a great value. Take one Victorian manor about a half-hour outside of Hamburg: Built in 1894, it has 28 rooms, five bathrooms, four garages and sits on 20 acres. How much? Just over $5 million. But, hey, there are plenty more castles to sink your teeth (and perhaps your pocketbook) into. Watch the video above to check out other German castles on the market.

SLIDESHOW: Palaces, Castles and Chateaux, Oh My!

Victorian castle, County Wicklow, Ireland

SLIDESHOW: Real Estate Under $400K Across Canada

Victoria Oak Bay condo, $289,000, MLS: 319465

Calgary bungalow, $369,900, MLS: C3560485

Edmonton townhouse, $285,000, MLS: E3327080

Montreal apartment, $375,000, MLS: 9043801

AOL Real Estate

For those of us who haven't read "Fifty Shades Of Grey," you might be as surprised as us to learn that the major events of the steamy book series take place in the penthouse of the Escala tower at 1920 4th Avenue in Seattle. Even if you haven't read the book, you're probably not surprised to learn that the real-life penthouse has sold for the massive price tag of $6.2 million. According to brokers, it's the highest price for a Seattle condo in three years.

No, author E.L. James wasn't the seller. She's never actually set foot in the penthouse she's made famous, merely using it as a stepping-off point for the one in her novels. However, the 5,100-square-foot condo with a 1,000-square-foot terrace looks extremely similar -- to those who have read them. We don't know much about buyers Ed and Cynthia Maletis, but we hope they understand that everyone is now going to assume they're constantly doing bondage role-playing all the time. Have fun, kids.

SLIDESHOW: See the 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Penthouse

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We've already told you that first impressions are everything when it comes to listings. Keep your place neutral (put those family photos away!) so that it will appeal to everyone who walks through, yada,yada,yada. But even that isn't always enough. So what makes for the perfect listing? You'll never guess what house hunters are looking for the most.

Homeowners and Realtors spend a lot of time beautifying the inside of their homes: the sleekly designed living room awash in natural light from tall windows, a gleaming granite countertop in the kitchen, the perfect luxurious master suite. But the majority of people perusing online listings aren't staring at photos of all these gorgeous features (though they are beautiful, we're sure). According to The Wall Street Journal, 95 percent of viewers of online listings spend the most time looking at what you generally see first: the exterior shot. What do they spend the least amount of time looking at? The lair many of us hold so dear to our hearts: the master bathroom.

But please don't spend a lot of time talking up the features of the home you want buyers to see. Most of them aren't really paying attention. Twenty percent of listing viewers spend time actually reading the the descriptions and realtor comments, according to the Journal. The photos, naturally, are the most important feature: 60 percent spend the most time looking at those. Find out more about what the perfect listing looks like in the video above.

What you need to know before buying a condo.

Condos offer first-time buyers an affordable entry into home ownership but buying a condo isn't the same as buying a house. One major difference is that, on top of your mortgage payments, you'll be responsible for maintenance fees for the building.

And there are other things to think about. Consider these four "R's" before committing to buying a condo.

Each month WalletPop searches the MLS listings for reasonably priced, attractive homes across the country. We've limited our picks to homes selling for less than $400,000, a bit more than the national average, which clocked in at $354,754 in January 2013, according to CREA, down 2% from a year earlier. And many of the properties we highlight this month are much less than that.

With low mortgage rates and a softening market there's no better time to go house hunting and lock in at a low rate. Click on the images below to launch the slideshow, and let us know whether you like our picks for this month.