Chances are you’d have something in your home that’s just been gathering dust that a lot of people around the world would want. So while doing your spring cleaning, just pile all the stuff that you don’t need for further sorting.

Inventory. You still have to weed through the stuff that’s just basically garbage and really need to throw out. It’s also good practice to know detailed information like brands, models, and serial numbers.

As for the pricing and other concerns, you can check out similar used and old items online to get a ballpark of how much these cost. Or you can always find an appraiser to take a look at higher value items such as family heirlooms. Many garage sale experts would say that taking snapshots of the items would also be great practice.

Sell. The great thing about selling today is that you’ve got so many options to do it. You can have a good old fashioned yard sale and ply your goods in front of your home and have your neighbors take away your junk for their cash. Online is also another way. Have people bid over your stuff on eBay.

For higher value items like family heirlooms, you can even consider having a consignment store or even an auctioneer to sell them for you.

The credit provision was made available as part of the economic stimulus package. The credit is basically up to $8,000 or 10% of the purchase price and applies to those who have not owned a home in the previous three years.

A similar tax credit was made available in the trail end of the Bush administration back in 2008 but the new provision for this year’s tax credit is that you don’t have to pay back the credit. And if you want to avail of this, you need to purchase before it lapses on December 1.

The thing is, you can’t simply just walk up to a house with your cash (if you have something that big to spend on one go), it takes 90 days to close on a house after contract signing. That means the clock is really ticking on this thing.

Source: CNN

The recent months have seen rising trends in the housing market in general. Existing home sales have also spiked due to affordability. Some repossessed homes sell as quick as just a few hours of being listed. The low prices and the tax breaks that first-time home buyers can avail of has helped boost the figures up.

“There are many economic conditions that led to the surge,” said Bob Walters, chief economist for Quicken Loans. “But certainly low mortgage rates, huge price reductions on the high inventory of new builds, and the first-time homebuyer tax credit have been instrumental in getting consumers to take the plunge into the real estate pool of opportunity.”

Many of those with comfortable nest eggs to have seen that these past months have truly been the best time to buy homes given the choices and the low costs.

Source: CNN

Lenders now say that repossessed homes go quickly. Once lenders put them back on the market (like in sites like Foreclosure.com, it only takes them 24 hours or less to sold to buyers. One of their quickest sales came in less than 90 minutes of listing. How quick is that? Some people decide on clothes hours longer than that.

All of that is thanks to the prices. Most lenders are really pricing foreclosed homes as very good bargains. When home prices were priced at $300,000 when they were initially sold, they can now be had for as low as $130,000.

And competition among buyers is tough. Listings often get more than ten offers in just days. Makes one wonder how many people have enough money to spare. But with the really bargain prices and the tax credits that can be availed, anyone who has some spare cash stashed away should really be looking into real estate.

Source: CNN

Many buyers are putting off buying a computer until late October when Microsoft officially launches Windows 7. Who would want to buy a PC with a bound-to-be obsolete OS, right? Computer manufacturers, however, are telling you that there’s no need for you to do so. Quite a lot are offering free upgrades to Windows 7 if you’re buying a computer with Windows Vista packaged with it.

Dell is currently offering free upgrades for purchases made between June 26 and December 31 this year with no shipping cost. Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo will have a one-month over Dell’s offer with theirs extending until January 31. Lenovo, however, will charge shipping and handling for the upgrade kits. For HP, fees will vary depending on the vendor.

Microsoft promises that the upgrade is a straightforward process.

Personally, I’ve been putting off a PC purchase until later this year when prices of current models are bound to drop and wouldn’t want to go through the hassles of upgrading my OS. But if you really need one just before school starts, there really is no reason holding out for a few months just to get the new OS. These upgrade kits have you pretty well covered for that reason alone.

Source: WSJ