Blog

How Real Estate Agents Determine How To Price Your Home

July 10, 2018 By Deborah Ward

Have you ever wondered how a Realtor determines the value of the homes we list? While the process may differ from Realtor to Realtor, we all use the same basics. It’s no big secret, so here are the basics.

A lot of experienced Realtors often have a “gut” feeling about what a home is worth, but we always back it up with the facts. One thing they use is a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA).

This is a pretty comprehensive report that takes a lot of things into consideration. First, a CMA will look at homes that are similar in size, features and amenities and that have sold recently.

That first part will give a starting range. Next, we look at home that are currently for sale.

While not as concrete as an actual sale, it can help narrow the range a bit by seeing what features and amenities are fetching a higher asking. In the same vein they also look at homes that failed to sell.

If a home that is very similar to the one we are pricing failed to sell, we can look to see why and avoid the same fate. Looking at all of these factors, along with anything special or unique about the property, such as it being waterfront property or having a lot of acreage will give the Realtor a tighter range.

Now we consider market factors. This is a big part of the equation. The market basically means are there more sellers than buyers, making it a buyers market, or more buyers than sellers, making it a sellers market.

Other things factor in, such as is there a lot of new construction in close proximity? What is nearby, as in shopping, dining and entertainment, and schools? How is the economy in the area; healthy and growing or downward and dying?

Using all of this, we then take the owner into consideration. Not only what the owner expects to sell for, but also how they will help or hinder the sale. Will they keep the home in showing condition or leave messes? Will they restrict showings and so on. The Realtor may lower their estimation based on the CMA and market factors a bit to compensate for an inflexible seller.

See, easy peasy… ok maybe not, if you want help pricing your Tampa Bay home, give us a call today! 727-216-9247

What You Need To Know About Financing Your First Home

June 26, 2018 By Deborah Ward

Want to be a home owner? You need to be aware if a few things financially before you get started. Here are a few.

As with any big purchase, knowing your credit score is important. You can get a free copy of your credit report from one of the big three reporting companies, or purchase a 3-in-1 credit report which will give you a report from all three. The three major credit bureaus are Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. If you find anything that is inaccurate, you should immediately start the dispute process.

Remember that the higher your score, the lower your interest rate will be. If there are no inaccuracies, you can move onto making sure you stay credit responsible.

So what, exactly, is being credit responsible? Start with don’t use your credit cards if you can help it. If you have balances on any credit cards, work on paying them down or off. Don’t make any big purchases while working on house hunting or while in the process of settling on a home.

So why is this important?

Most lenders want to see that you have a debt-to-income ratio that’s no more than 36 percent consistently.

Part of the process of applying for a mortgage involves providing financial documents. These documents will include: the last two paycheck stubs for all who are applying for the mortgage; W-2s for each applicant; tax returns for each applicant for the last two years; bank statements; proof of any income from any investments; and if anyone, such as friends or relatives, is gifting you money to help with a down payment, you will need letters from them documenting the gift.

If you are self-employed or work on a commission basis, the mortgage company will advise what they need, but you will need to provide proof of at least two years of income history.

Lastly, be realistic about what you can really afford to pay each month, keeping in mind that your mortgage payment will also include the monthly amounts of real estate taxes and homeowner’s insurance. Don’t mortgage yourself to the hilt and risk losing everything.

Financial Considerations For Move Up Home Buyers

June 12, 2018 By Deborah Ward

It feels like your home is bursting at the seams and figure it’s time to move up. Here are some tips to help make the move up easier.

The biggest thing that should be considered when you decide it’s time to move up is can you afford it. Needing space and being able to afford it are two completely different things. To get to a decision on affordability you need to do a few things.

First, find out what they payoff is on your current mortgage. Not the balance, the payoff figure.

Now you need to talk to a Realtor about what your home is actually worth. Obviously, if you’re upside down on your mortgage, meaning the mortgage payoff is more than the value of the home, moving up shouldn’t be on your list of things to do. If it is worth more than the payoff figure, your Realtor will help you determine by how much.

That should be your next determining factor. Are the net proceeds
enough to be a decent down payment on your next home?

So let’s say that your home will sell and give you a good down payment and all your closing costs for both the sale and purchase. Next you need to contact your lender, or a new one, and get yourself qualified for a new mortgage. To do that you’ll need to know what your price range for the new home should be. You can determine it the same way you did when you purchased your last home. You need to keep in mind that a bigger house will mean bigger bills.

Your mortgage, homeowner’s insurance, real estate taxes, heating and cooling costs and other bills will cost you more. You need to realistically sit and set up a budget.

Don’t move up if it means that you will be house poor. Be smart. Move up when you can afford it, and if that’s now, get moving!

If you are in the Tampa Bay area, now may be a time to move up. Home prices have risen and may have created equity in your home that can cover the cost of moving up. Give us a call today to find out if moving up makes sense for you! 727-216-9247

3 Ways To Get Ready For Your Showing! – Home Seller Tips

May 30, 2018 By Deborah Ward

It’s finally time to get your home shown! Do you know what you should be doing before you leave to let the Realtor show it? Here are some great ideas on how to make your home show perfect.

Spotlessly Clean

First, make sure it’s spotless. Run the vacuum and dust through the whole house to pick up any dust, dirt or pet hair. No dust bunnies allowed!

If possible, change the filter in your vacuum to one that uses a room air freshener to freshen up the smell of your home. Make sure that you also clean through the kitchen and bathrooms. No spots on the mirror. Put away tooth brushes, toothpaste, floss, brushes and combs. Put away any clutter and wipe down counters. If you find anything broken, fix it.

Throw In Some Cookies!

Actually, before cleaning, throw some cookies in the oven to bake. The smell of fresh baked cookies is so homey and inviting. Since it would make a mess to whip up a batch from scratch, keep a package of “break and bake” packs of cookie dough to be able to quickly back up a batch. You could also make a batch of dough and then pull it out of the fridge when you want to bake a batch before a showing. While they bake do your quick (but thorough) clean through. Take the cookies out, put them on a plate, quickly wash the pan and put it away.

Let In The Light!

After cleaning, open all the curtains and turn on the lights in each room. All that light will make your rooms appear clean, bright and larger. A day showing will let prospective buyers see how much light streams into your home. An evening show will show how well lit your rooms can be. Light is your friend!

So set up your home for success.

5 Affordable Things You Can Do To Update Your Home For Sale

May 15, 2018 By Deborah Ward

Improving and updating your home doesn’t have to be expensive. Not improving and updating your home can mean less money in your pocket come time to sell. You can do many things yourself, but if you find serious problems being cheap on the repairs can not only cost your more down the line, but could be downright dangerous. So keep this in mind. Hiring an inspector to help you find any issues may be a good idea.

1. One easy way to spruce up your home is to paint. These days even high quality paint can be found for less than $50/gallon. Since you’re sprucing up to sell, choose a more neutral palette. You don’t have to go eggshell white the whole house, but don’t do too dark or bright when choosing colors. Light blues are calming. Butter yellows are brightening, but not overwhelming. For small rooms use lighter colors since darker shades make rooms look smaller.

2. Have carpets deep cleaned. If they are just too old or beat up, replace them or put down new flooring. If you don’t want to spend the extra money on hard wood floors, there are a lot of alternatives that look so much like hardwoods that people may be fooled.

3. If you have a yard, do some clean up and landscaping. New shrubbery and some colorful flowers make a dull house look better. If you don’t have much yard, plant a deck garden or put some herbs in a pot in your kitchen windowsill. Part of all of this outside sprucing up is also making your front door welcoming and up to date. If your door looks a bit out of whack with the rest of the house, put a new one up that complements your home.

4. Bathroom updates are also a great idea, but they can get expensive. Look at your overall budget and decide what you can do to spruce up those rooms too. Sometimes just adding some paint, new towels or shower curtains can add a more modern feeling to these super important rooms.

5. Last but not least, make sure you take a honest look at your kitchen. This is the “heart of the home” and if yours is looking tired and cluttered, you will not get those high priced offers you are looking for! Can you paint some cabinets or get some new laminate countertops? Simply putting things away can sometimes make your kitchen seem bigger. Make sure you scrub it until it gleams from floor to ceiling!

If you are looking at listing your home in the Tampa Bay area, please feel free to give us a call and I will be happy to schedule a walk-through of your home with “real estate eyes!” I can let you know all the things you could do to update your home affordably!

Home Seller Tips – How To Pack Up and Sell At The Same Time

May 1, 2018 By Deborah Ward

Whatever the reason, you need to pack up and get your home sold. Well, since you also need to get your home into saleable shape, kill two birds with one stone and declutter while packing up.

Start as early as you can so that maybe have a yard sale and also to give yourself enough time to get everything done. Even if you have to rent a storage unit or pod for the short term, do it. Your decluttered home and packed up stuff finished will take a lot of stress from your eventual move.

Start with your furniture. Make sure that rooms are easily moved through, that each room has good flow. Store the extra away. If you are moving immediately and need all your furniture, get a few things for each room on the cheap so it looks lived it.

Next, go room by room and clean out closets. Obviously, out of season things can be packed up and removed immediately. Whatever you need to leave make sure it is neat and sparse so the closets look bigger. If you have bookshelves, parse them down as well. You can leave some personal photos, but parse them down as well. Buyers need to imagine pictures of their own family on the walls, tables and shelves.

Then in the kitchen and bath pack away just about everything on counter tops, leaving only what you need, toaster or microwave, coffee maker in the kitchen, soap dispenser in the bath. Clean out the junk drawer!!! Yes, people go through cabinets, closets and drawers. Make them all look spacious. That means pack up all the extras.

Now that things are packed, yard saled out or given away, stash the boxes and stage the house. Clean towels for the bath, etc. Not sure what to do? Check out how homes are staged in the shows on HGTV. It doesn’t need to be expensive, but make your home look inviting, spacious and clean.

Deborah Ward & Associates