It’s All About You

In past blogs I’ve talked about everyone involved in every transaction you do.  From the REALTOR, to the Lender, to the Inspector, the Appraisers, the Stagers, and on and on. There’s a lot, but I wanted to talk about the one person I haven’t talked about yet.  That is – Y-O-U! That’s right, you.  There wouldn’t even be a deal if you weren’t there.  The fact is, in every real estate transaction, it’s all about you. Whether you’re the buyer or the seller, it’s your deal.  It’s not just because you’re buying or selling a house, and it’s not just because you’re the client.  It’s also because every decision in the transaction is yours to make.   Now everyone involved plays a huge role, but for the most part, everybody else’s role is about giving you information, so you can make those decisions based on fact.

Let’s look at that, starting with the REALTOR.  If you’re buying, your REALTOR will show you homes you can afford in the areas you want to live.  They’ll tell you which prices are high, which are low, and which are right on the money.  They’ll discuss the condition, the features, and the pros and cons of each house.  They’ll examine the comparable properties nearby, what’s sold, for how much, and what did not sell.  That’s solid data, which helps you decide which house to buy.

If you’re selling, it’s the same drill.  Your REALTOR will give you data about the market.  About comparable home sales, about today’s buyers, and about your house, what’s good and what’s not so good.  What you can do to make it appeal to more buyers and how much to list your house for.  Again, solid data, which will help you decide exactly how to sell your house.  That’s just the beginning, your REALTOR will continue to provide solid information and market data throughout the entire transaction.  But again, every decision is yours.

The same dynamic happens with every other member of your team as well.  The Stager says they can either rearrange your existing furniture or bring in brand new rented furniture to make your house shine.  The decision is yours.

The home Inspector says the place needs a new roof, as the buyer you’ll decide whether to fight for it.  If you’re the seller, you’ll decide whether to pay for it.

The Lender tells you that if you pay a few points you can buy down the interest rate.  The decision is yours.

It even happens at the closing table, the title company will ask you if you want your profits wired into your bank account or whether you want a check.  The decision is yours, but do you really want to walk around with $100,000 check in your pocket?  It’s not a great idea, but still, the decision is yours.

You’re the boss and that’s exactly why it’s so great to have your very own real estate dream team.  They will provide information, data, and the facts and figures involved so that every decision you make in the biggest transaction of your life will be based on cold, hard facts.  And that is a dream come true.

How to Amp Up The Resale Value of Your Home

Whether you’re putting your home on the market this year or in the next five years, it is a smart decision to start building your home’s resale value now. Here are some ways to create a comfortable home while making it easier to put more money into your bank account on closing day.

Small Maintenance and Repairs

If you think that home maintenance on the weekends is a low priority, think again. The small chores you do around your home prevents it from losing value. Neglecting small maintenance and repairs causes 10% of your home’s value to walk out your door and slip through your windows. Most appraisers claim that homes showing little to no preventative maintenance can depreciate from $15,000 to $20,000!

Preventative maintenance can also actively increase your home’s resale value — according to a recent study, by about 1% per year! Also, because homebuyers generally notice any repairs needed upon buying a new home, proactive maintenance lets the homebuyer know that he or she will not have to spend extra money to maintain the basics. This makes your home more attractive, and thus more likely to get higher priced offers.

Remodeling Ideas and Tips That Work

Studies show that a home valued at $150,000 could increase its value between $8,300 and $19,000 with the addition of landscaping. These studies also note that positive landscaping can reduce the amount of time your home spends on the market!

Changing out the doors of your home is also generally a smart design choice. Lately, fiberglass and steel doors are a coveted aesthetic by homebuyers. A steel door costs $1,335 but has a whopping 91% return on investment. A fiberglass door, on the other hand, costs about $3,126 with an 82.3% return on investment. Likewise, a new fiberglass or steel garage door distinguishes your home from the rest on your block and provides a 91.5% return on a $1,652 investment.

Finally, matte paint finishes are trending this year because of their transitional qualities. With a matte finish, your potential homebuyer can easily match his or her stainless steel or black and white appliances. It’s touches like these that make your home appealing to a wide variety of homebuyers, and that drives up its resale value.

Your Needs and Buyers’ Wants

On that note, if you need to renovate your home, be sure to consider how those changes will affect its appeal to future buyers. Knowing design trends will give you the opportunity to make changes to your home based on where your needs and your potential buyer’s desires intersect, thus increasing your property’s resale value drastically.

Designers and design websites provide great ideas when you’re brainstorming home renovations. Keep in mind as you research, however, that you don’t want to sacrifice your needs for a comfortable home just for the sake of what you think a future buyer will want!

Therefore, before you begin making any changes to your home, consult your real estate agent. Real estate agents, because we are constantly working with new buyer clients, have insider insight into what home buyers are looking for now and in the future. We’ll be able to help you make smart choices when remodeling or renovating your home.

If you think you might want to remodel or renovate your home in the near future, or if you are just curious about other ways you can increase its resale value, please reach out to me!

 

How to Buy a Home: 7 Tips and Tricks from Real Estate Insiders

No matter if you’re in a buyer’s or seller’s market, there are a few critical steps you can take to make a smarter purchase. Since buying a home is likely the biggest single investment you will ever make, being prepared will help you make a better purchase. Here are our best tips to buying a home.

 

Know your buying power

What is your buying power? It is the combination of your credit-worthiness and how much you can realistically pay for a home.

First, you need to understand the hidden costs of buying a home. You will need to save not only for the down payment of your home — which is typically between 10% – 20% of the offer price — but also for any additional transaction fees, such as transfer tax, PMI, title insurance, and legal fees.

Then you need to know what you can realistically afford each month to understand how much house you can buy. Your mortgage rate will depend on your creditworthiness — if you have a high credit score, your lender will likely approve you for a lower mortgage rate, which can save you thousands of dollars per year in interest.

How much of your budget should go to your monthly home costs? According to SmartAssets, you can use the 36% rule as a rough guideline. This means that your monthly obligation shouldn’t be more than 36% of your monthly gross income.

A loan professional can help you figure out how much house you can afford.

 

Fix your credit with the help of a loan professional

According to CreditKarma, a good credit score is usually 720 or above. You want to clean up your credit as soon as you can, and definitely before you go to a lender for a loan preapproval.

When you apply for your loan pre-approval, you don’t want to have anything to hide on your application. So don’t lower your credit score by doing anything that will originate more inquiries into your credit. For example, don’t open any new credit cards. Also, don’t omit any debts or loans when you apply. If the loan officer discovers them in the application process, they may deny you a pre-approval.

Get a loan professional to check your credit score for you. A professional can give you a clearer idea if your score is in the ‘good’ range, or if you need to do some credit cleanup before getting a mortgage preapproval.

 

Work with a knowledgeable buyer’s agent

Do you understand what kind of market you are buying into? Even within a city’s limits, there can be micro markets that are increasing or decreasing in value.

That’s why it’s important to hire a highly competent real estate agent who knows the specific market. You want to make sure that the professional who you’re working with really understands what the market is like and will help you find the home that you desire.

How can you tell if your agent knows the market? See if they can provide you with a buyer’s market analysis.

A buyer’s market analysis report outlines which neighborhoods are still up and coming — with potential for increased property value — versus those that have peaked with inflated home prices. Having this analysis at your fingertips will help you know if a home’s list price is above comparable properties so you don’t overpay for a home.

 

Don’t try to time the market…

Even in a hot market, there’s never a perfect time to buy a home. It can take a while to know exactly what you like, and you may have to look at 10 or more homes before you can recognize what suits your lifestyle best. While you’re shopping, take photos of your favorite properties and the details that you liked the best so that you can remember what you liked.

Another good reason to slow down the buying process: you might find a better deal if you do. Investigate expired listings. Expired listings may have gone off the market because they didn’t get any offers at the listed price, so you may be able to underbid the original listing price. It’s not likely worth your time to look at FSBO (for sale by owner) listings, though. Since they are not represented by a professional, they are often overpriced.

When you start shopping, have a one-hour initial consultation with your realtor. Give them every single detail that you know about your lifestyle, buying power, needs, wants and desires for your home. The more detail you can provide, the easier it will be for them to help you find your future home. Your agent may also know of exclusive listings not available to the general public.

 

… But make the offer as soon as you find the right home

If you love it, make the offer. Otherwise, that dream home may disappear faster than you think, especially if you’re buying in a hot market.

Your buying agent should contact the listing agent before you submit an offer so that they can decide what’s important to include in the offer. If you’re serious about it, you want to increase the chances that your offer is accepted.

Show that you’re serious about the purchase by creating a buyer’s offer packet. It should include your lender’s preapproval letter, a screenshot of your down payment money in your bank account, and comps that support the rationalization of the offer you are presenting.

 

Get a home inspection

Once you’re in the negotiation process, it’s essential that you get a third-party inspector to run a thorough home inspection. The inspector will be looking for major structural issues, including problems with the foundation, plumbing, and electrical systems. Your inspector should be extra picky, pointing out the most minor faults.

Make sure to have the inspection conducted before it is too late to back out of a deal. If there are any major structural issues, you may be able to make the seller repair them as a contingency to solidifying your offer. Minor issues that you can repair on your own may be points for negotiating a lower offer.

 

Protect your credit before you close

Don’t raise any red flags with your creditworthiness in the weeks before closing. Any one of these moves could mean that you’re denied the loan and the deal falls through — even if you’ve already been preapproved!

• Keep your spending to a minimum and don’t make any major purchases before closing — that includes buying furniture, or a car, truck, or van, or any excessive charges on your credit card.
• Keep your bank accounts stable. Don’t change banks, spend any of the money you have set aside for closing, or make any large deposits to your accounts without checking with your loan officer first.
• Keep your employment situation stable — do not change jobs, quit your job, or become self-employed. Any sudden change in your income can have that preapproval offer rescinded.
• Do not cosign a loan for anyone. It will open an inquiry into your credit and add to your debt, which could raise your mortgage rate and cost you thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.

Looking for a home in our area? Let us help you find the home of your dreams. We’re well versed in the our local real estate market, and we can provide you with a buyer’s market analysis to help you find the right neighborhood for you. Contact one of our trusted agents today.

 

 

How to Stay Out Of a Hotel

That’s right, how to stay in your own place and not be a short term renter.  I’m talking about home sellers.  Because in today’s market many homes sell fast. You might put your house on the market and get an offer that same day.  If you like the offer and you take it, you’re headed to the closing table.  But, do you already have your next house lined up? Because that could take a lot more time than you think.  So there you are, you’ve sold one place and you don’t have another one under contract.  It’s time to look into what, month-to-month renting, long term hotel stays, time to ask your friends if you can move in for a month, time to panic? I hope not, but there are ways to avoid that situation and it’s all about carefully planning every step so you don’t end up in that hotel.

First, talk with your REALTOR.  They’ll know how long it takes to sell a house in your neighborhood.  That’s good intel.  They’ll also know how long it takes to buy a home.  Talk to a REALTOR about where you plan to buy about whether there are enough homes for sell.  If so, you can probably relax.  If however, inventory is tight you need to get ready to buy right away.  The first step is to get pre-approved for a mortgage on that next house, get that all lined up.  Now in some markets your REALTOR can help you prepare an estimated net sheet on the house you’re selling.  So you’ll have a pretty good idea on how much you can put down on the next place.

So get the mortgage on your next home lined up first.  At the same time get your current house ready to sell.  Have your REALTOR tell you what needs to be done to bring in the maximum profit in the minimum time.  Get that place in tip top shape, already for the “For Sale” sign.

Then ask your REALTOR if you should go house hunting first or should you put up the For Sale first?  Again, there’s no one answer for every market out there, but your REALTOR knows your market.  They’ll give you advice based on the current market conditions and they can tell you whether it’s best to start looking first or to list your house first.  Or maybe do both at the same time.  But remember you’ll probably have more power as a seller than as a buyer.  Now you can use that power to your advantage.  For instance, if you list your home and you get a fast offer, you can specify that closing will be 45 to 60 days out.  Hopefully, that will be enough time to get you into your next place.  You can also ask for a home of choice contingency, in which you accept the buyers offer subject to finding your next house.  If your market is red hot, that might work.

Now on the buyer’s side you will probably have less control.  You might have to move faster and have fewer contingencies than you’re accustomed to.  But, even though the seller holds most of the cards, they’ll probably be willing to work with you.  As long as what you’re asking for doesn’t cost them money or time.

Again, the goal here is to sell one place and move into the next without moving into a hotel.  But remember one thing, if you sell your current house for so much money that you’re willing to move out before you find another place – well, there are worse things than a month of room service.