Getting To Know The Neighborhood Before Buying A Home

There is a reason the term “location, location, location” is used so commonly within the real estate industry.  The location of a property is one of the most important considerations when selecting a home, as it will affect the value of your home, your day-to-day life, and even your own and your family’s safety.  So what can you do to find out a little about the area in which you are considering a home purchase, and what in particular should you be looking for?

Know Your Needs

The biggest obstacle to finding a home in an area that can meet all of your needs is not knowing clearly what those needs are.  While it may be nice to live near the lake, or by your favorite restaurant, what is it that you and your family will need and want in order to have an enjoyable and functional lifestyle?  Facilities such as grocery stores, good schools, and community centers may be necessary for families, whereas access to theaters, good restaurants, and a vibrant nightlife may be important to young professionals.

Get The Info

When searching for your dream home, knowing where to look before starting out can help make the task easier and faster. So before getting started with the house hunting, do a little neighborhood hunting first.  There are a number of resources online, from municipal Web sites to forums, that you can use to find out about prospective areas that may be right for you.  Contacting a real estate agent is also another great resource in finding an area that can meet your needs.

Check It Out For Yourself

All the research in the world can never replace experience, and if you are planning to purchase a home you will want to be sure the location is right before making what will likely be the biggest investment of your life.  Taking a walk in the area, trying out the local facilities, and getting to know some of the locals can really help you to determine whether the area will be a fit for you and your family.  You may also want to check out the area at different times of the day, or even the year, if these are considerations that may affect your happiness in your new home.

A little extra work can really mean not only choosing a home that is right for you, but making sure it is in an area that can meet all of your needs.

 

Ten Tips To Successfully Market Your Home

There is a lot more to putting your home up for sale than placing a sign on the front lawn.  Selling your home quickly and getting the best price possible requires marketing your property and using the services of an experienced agent.  Here are some of the strategies you can use to market your home.

Hire A Professional REALTOR®—The ability to market your home is always best served by hiring a real estate expert.  They have access to resources that you as an individual do not, and their experience and knowledge are certainly worth the commission.

Photograph The Exterior Of Your Home—Good high quality photographs of the entire exterior of your home can really spark the interest of potential buyers. These photographs can be used in a variety of online and print marketing campaigns.

Photograph The Interior Of Your Home—Be sure you also have good quality photos of every major room in your home, especially the kitchen, bathrooms, and master bedroom.  Also ensure that these pictures are taken in good light, and from angles that best highlight the space they are to represent.

Purchase A Virtual Tour—Virtual tours are one of the latest and most effective marketing methods in the real estate industry.  Essentially a virtual tour allows potential viewers to get a 360-degree perspective of your property from the comfort of their home or office.  This method is also a great way to assure that only interested buyers show up at an open house. Your agent can have these tours put on multiple listing websites as well as on their own pages.

Print Advertising—While this may seem to be a costly and outdated marketing method, there are still a considerable number of potential buyers who use print resources to find prospective properties.

Signage—Be sure you have clear, visible signage on your property that indicates it is for sale.  Also, be sure your agent’s contact information can be seen from a distance so that those passing by can take down their name and number.

Direct Mail—Again, this may seem like an outdated method of advertising, but it is still effective, especially if your home may appeal to an older demographic.

Open Houses—This is still the most effective way to get a sale.  Be sure your home is in clean and presentable condition before hosting an open house, and ask your REALTOR® for advice about preparing your home for such an opening.

Agent Tours—These tours can give agents a better look at your home without having the general public in your house, and can assist them in matching your home with their clients. Your agent can arrange these tours.

E-marketing—Like print advertising, this is a fairly inexpensive and effective method of marketing your home that your REALTOR® can offer to you as part of their services.

 

Home Buying Negotiating Tips

When it comes to buying a home, the ability and willingness to negotiate is a must for both the buyer and seller.  In general, sellers ask for more than they are actually willing to accept and buyers offer less than they are willing to pay.  The trick is to find the perfect balance so that you, as a buyer, feel good about the purchase price without leaving the seller feeling insulted.

Know Your Market

Real estate is a business that either favors the buyer or seller, hence the terms buyer’s market and seller’s market.  When negotiating a purchase price, it’s important to know which of the two you are in.  As the buyer, you will have the best chance at a successful negotiation if you research the price of other comparable homes in the area before making an offer.

Make It Personal

When you make an offer, the seller will see nothing more than a piece of paper with some numbers on it that represent the price you are willing to pay.  If you really want the seller to take your offer to heart, let them know why you want to buy the home.  You can do this by preparing a handwritten letter expressing your interest and the reasons you fell in love with their house.  If you have a family, tell them about everyone who will be living in the home.  Let them get to know you and allow them to picture the happiness that you can bring to their house.  Believe it or not, some sellers actually look at the process like finding a good home for a lost puppy.  They want quality people to buy their home, so do your best to show them that you are sincere.

Nobody Likes Rejection

Not every offer is accepted, so don’t be disheartened if your first offer isn’t a winner.  In some cases, the seller will make a counteroffer for your consideration.  Have you ever heard the old saying, “never take the first offer?”  The same is true in real estate, and almost every seller knows it.  Your first offer is likely to be less than you are actually willing to pay, which leaves you some bargaining room.

Why Your Offer May Not Be Accepted

There are a number of reasons why a seller may choose to reject an offer, including a feeling that the offer was just too low, the house is newly listed on the market or another offer may be higher than the one you created.  In some cases, sellers may also reject an offer that includes owner financing or other requests that are impossible to meet.  One example may be an offer that requires the house be available within a certain amount of time.  Most contracts require that the seller move out within 30 days, but anything less would require negotiation.

Read The Fine Print

Before you sign anything relating to a real estate transaction, make sure that you read over every detail of the agreement.  If you have any questions, ask your REALTOR®.  After all, real estate is their business and they are there to help you through every step.