How To Determine a Selling Price For Your Home

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5 Mistakes First Time Home-Buyers Make

Most people dream of buying a home and know exactly what they are looking for and what they would like to spend on the mortgage, however, they do not consider several important details.

Along with the hot home-buying market comes heavy competition for the homes and many are making all-cash offers. But, if you aren’t familiar with all the complexities of purchasing a home, you may have future financial regrets. Here are five financial mistakes that first-time homebuyers often make.

 

  1. They don’t take into account all of their options. Although purchasing a home is often the best financial decision you could make, it doesn’t work for everyone. For example, if you know you’ll only be in the home for a couple of years it may not make sense to buy after you amortize the closing costs for that time period.

 

  1. They don’t consider costs other than down payment. Homeowner’s insurance, maintenance, or HOA (Homeowners Association) fees and closing costs may eat up your savings and leave you with no emergency funds.

 

  1. They don’t get a home inspection. Skipping the home inspection is not the way to cut the costs of buying a home. The defects a home inspector may find far outweighs the price of a home inspector and you may save thousands of dollars on future repairs.

 

  1. They fully expect their home to appreciate in value. Many home buyers think if they dump their life savings into a home and keep it for a few years they’ll get a significant increase in the value of their property. Property has historically increased in value over decades but there have been dips. And while home equity is nice, the home is one of those assets that aren’t very liquid if you need money fast.

 

  1. They don’t consider debt-to-income ratio before looking for a lender. A lender considers this ratio when looking at your ability to pay for a home. If you’ve accrued too much debt, you may not be approved. Show a history of saving – not getting into debt before you apply for a home mortgage.

 

(Also, keep a close eye on your credit score before applying with a lender. Even if you have a pre-approval letter, you’re not guaranteed for the loan. If your score changes a great deal you may find out just before closing time that you don’t qualify.)

 

If you’re a first-time or novice home buyer, it’s imperative that you spend some time with an expert, such as a trusted realtor, before rushing into the home-buying experience. Today, many home buyers rely on websites and may get a false sense of the true values of homes in the area. A great realtor can give you a reality check on home prices and they keep up with changes in current market values and how the various mortgage companies do business! Let’s chat about getting started on your home search today!

5 Tips to Ensure Your Home’s Showing Is a Success

The purpose of showing your home is to hook a buyer. You want the buyers to come through your house and be impressed – so impressed in fact, that they’re ready to make an offer! You’ll have one chance to make a great first impression on the potential buyers, so make sure to follow these five helpful tips to really make it count!

 

  1. Focus on the outside. Curb appeal can make or break the odds of someone even bothering to get out of the car to come in. If they pull up and see a home with a lawn that needs edging and has a flower bed full of weeds, they are going to wonder what else hasn’t been cared for properly. You want the outside of your home to be spotless. Clean the siding, the windows, and the doors. Make it pop!

 

  1. Take yourself out of the house. That means that you want to take out all the personal stuff. Remove the family photos, take down concert posters, and put away holiday decorations. You want the home to look neutral so that the potential buyers can look at your house and picture it as themselves living there. Everything should be as neutral as possible in terms of personal items.

 

  1. Remove all the extra clutter you see at first glance. If you look around, it’ll amaze you at how much stuff you’ve accumulated over the years. Some of it might very well be important, but that doesn’t mean that your potential buyers should see it. When you have a lot of clutter, it shrinks the living space of the house. It makes it look and feel cramped and smaller. Many homeowners get something called house blindness. They’ve lived in the home for so long with the same clutter that they don’t even really see it anymore. But a stranger will always notice. So clean out your house and make the space feel as big as possible.

 

  1. If you have a pet, no one that walks through your house should be able to notice it exists. That means no cat litter box, no dog to jump on anyone, no food sitting around in a dish. Your home should not have any pet odors or stains. You don’t want to lose a possible deal just because they can smell your pet’s presence, or your pet makes a bad impression. I know how difficult this can be when we love our pets like we love our kids. It is an important discussion to have prior to listing.

 

  1. Stage your home! You can hire a professional or you can do it yourself. Stage your living areas in a way that shows off your home. You can rent furniture to make your home furnishings look good if you don’t use a stager. Someone who knows how to stage a house knows how to play up the best features of your home and knows what to bring in or get rid of to make the entire house appeal to a buyer.

 

First impressions are HUGE when showing your home to potential buyers. By following the simple tips above, you will be well on your way to making a great impression and, hopefully, receiving an offer (or multiple offers)!  And if you are at all anxious about this important step, just reach out and I can help guide you through this process!