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How Does It Work When You Have To Buy and Sell Your Home At The Same Time

August 15, 2017 By Shell Vazquez

For whatever reason, job transfer, family size change or whatever, you need to sell your current home and buy a new one. The problem is that you have no idea how it will work. There are a few scenarios, but for a seamless move here is how it can and should work.

1. If you sell first then buy here’s what should happen

First you list your home. Once you get an offer and go to settlement you start your hunt for the new place. What that does is give you money to put down, a paid off mortgage and firmer standing with prospective sellers.

Even though this is the safest plan to use, it does have drawbacks. First, you are basically homeless for a few weeks while you house hunt and wait for settlement.

You have to put all your stuff in storage and rent somewhere, crash with family or friends or do a rent back deal with your buyers, if they can do that.

2. Another plan

Another plan could be you buy your next home, then sell your current home. This will mean you can move into your new home, prepare your current one for sale and not be homeless. This plan is great if you can afford the financial stress of two mortgages for some time and paying utilities and maintenance for two homes. This tends to be the plan for an out of state move.

3. Probably the best plan

The last plan is probably the best, but the hardest one to pull off. It is selling and buying simultaneously.

You put your home on the market and start your search. It takes good organization, timing and planning, as well as money available for preparing your current home for sale and money to put as a deposit.

Your Realtor can be a huge help. There are ways to be sure you can afford this option. Planning settlement on both properties on the same day can keep the financial burden at bay. Plan your sale first, then your purchase. It also means working with your mortgage company for the new place so they know you won’t be stuck with two mortgages.

Plan your sale and purchase.

Why Overpricing Your Home At The Start Hurts So Much

August 8, 2017 By Shell Vazquez

In many areas, including yours, the real estate market has become a seller’s market. So does that mean you have carte blanche to price your home where you want to price it?

As always, the answer is no. Overpricing your home from the start is never a good idea and will hurt your chances of selling. Here’s why.

Range of prices

First and foremost, overpricing your home will keep your home from being seen by people who can afford and will want to buy your home.

Most people start their home search online. When they search they set a range of prices that ends with the top of their budget.

If your home is out of that range, they will never see it. So, you think, people who do see it can afford it, right? Wrong. Those who could afford it will be looking for a higher end home than yours. That will make your home look bad in comparison.

Let’s take a peek at Realtor.com where many buyers start their search!

As you can see here, the price breaks suggested by Realtor.com are at $120K, $180K, etc. If you try to “push it” and get $125K for your home, many of the buyers who are looking for affordable housing will not even see your listing.

Another thing to consider is that Realtors tend to search in bands like $250K-$300K. If you “pushed it” and did a listing for $306K you would be seriously shooting yourself in the foot!

Appraisal

So let’s say that someone in that lower range actually stumbles on your listing and falls in love with your home. Great, so you get an offer and jump at it. Problem will be that your home won’t appraise for the amount you asked and they offered. Sale falls through and you’re back to square one.

Days on market

So, you’re thinking, I’ll just lower my price if it doesn’t get any nibbles after a month or two or that sale falls through. Not a good idea either. That means that your home has been on the market for at least 60 days. That tells prospective buyers that because it’s been on the market so long and the price is lowered, there must be something wrong with your home. They see days on the market as an indication of how nice your home is, and you lose in the assumption.

Your Realtor

Work with your Realtor to find the best price for your home. Use their expertise and experience to make sure you set the best price.

Want To Sell Fast For The Most Money? Don’t Make These Classic Seller Mistakes

August 1, 2017 By Deborah Ward

It’s time to sell your home! You have a contract on a new home and need to sell fast. If you want to sell for the most money, don’t make these classic seller mistakes.

First classic seller mistake is overpricing your home

Your home is valuable to you, of course, but thinking that someone will pay more than what the market value happens to be is one quick way to watch it sit on the market. Instead, ask your Realtor to help you set the best asking price for a fast sale.

That doesn’t mean you will have to bargain basement it. Quite the opposite. However, setting the price high thinking you can lower it later will backfire in a big way.

Next classic seller mistake is leaving all your clutter around

There are two schools of thought on personal items: leave a few personal items out or completely depersonalize the home. No matter which your Realtor advises, leaving a bunch of clutter around will kill interest in your home very quickly. Clutter makes your rooms appear smaller and, to be honest, less clean. Pack it up, move it out and make your move later even quicker.

Lockboxes

Ok, so your home is priced right and decluttered, so the next classic seller mistake is not using a lockbox. Realtors use lockboxes to leave a key handy for other Realtors to show your home. The access to the box is controlled, but it makes showings easier. Use one.

Being at home

A classic seller mistake that is, well, awkward is being at home when your home is being shown. Being there will make prospective buyers hesitant to really look at your home. It’s expected that they look in closets and cabinets to see how big they are, but you being there will make them feel weird about doing so. They won’t be as apt to ask the important questions about your home because they might feel you will be offended. Go find yourself somewhere to be for about a half an hour to an hour.

Declining offers

Lastly, don’t make the mistake of declining offers just because of a couple hundred dollars. If an offer is for a bit less than expected, talk with your Realtor to see if there are other things that might make it the best offer to take.

A Few Tricks to Make Sure Your Offer Gets Accepted

July 25, 2017 By Deborah Ward

You found it. The perfect house. Now the battle to get it begins. Whether you are the only person who is putting in an offer or one of a few or many, there are a few tricks that can help make sure you get your new home.

First, your best bet is to offer just over asking price

Assuming that your Realtor isn’t showing you fixer uppers, offering just over asking price is the perfect way to show that you are serious. Even just $100 can make all the difference. If you combine that with being in great financial shape and being pre-approved for your mortgage, your offer will shine.

Write to the seller

Think about sending the seller a letter explaining why you want and need their home. Talk about what you love about it. Talk about how it will enhance your life and the lives of your spouse/children, etc. Whatever your situation may be, telling the seller that you love their home and want to make it yours can sway them to your offer. Now be aware that not every agent will give the seller the letter, but if they do it can make a huge difference.

Keep in mind that sellers usually plan on taking their items with them

Unless it’s a fixture, basically something attached to the house that isn’t easily removed, or something that is usual that is left in the home, such as a washer or dryer, don’t weird out the seller and ask for their personal items.

Be flexible

Lastly, be as flexible as you can be with settlement and move in. If you can close quickly, do it. If the seller needs more time, do it. If you need to rent back to them, do it. Add an escalation clause to your offer. An escalation clause in a real estate contract allows you, the buyer, to tell the seller “I will pay x price for this home, but if the seller receives another offer that’s higher than mine, I’m willing to increase my offer to y price.” Of course, only do an escalation clause if you can afford the price to increase!

How To Make A Strong Offer When You Find The Home of Your Dreams!

July 18, 2017 By Deborah Ward

You’re ready to move on up and out, but aren’t sure how successful you will be finding the home of your dreams. Relax! It can be done! Just put a few things in place or in motion before you start the hunt and you’ll be golden.

Here’s how to make a strong offer a home seller will find hard to refuse.

First, be preapproved for your mortgage. I can’t say it enough that a buyer coming in with financing in place is much more attractive to a seller. It says to them that you are serious about buying, you’re financially ready to pull the trigger and will have a much shorter time between offer and closing than a buyer who isn’t pre-approved.

If you have a home to sell, put it on the market now. Having your home under contract and ready to settle, or even sold, will mean that you don’t have the need for a “I need to sell my home” contingency. That seller knows how that can go, and you having to sell your home first will not be as attractive to them as a buyer without that encumbrance.

If you are renting, let your landlord know you are home shopping and when you expect to move. Giving your notice will mean less problems in getting back a needed security deposit or delay settlement because you can’t afford rent and a mortgage payment.

Agree to shorten up inspection times. This doesn’t mean give up the right to inspections, but have a company ready to go for your home inspection, water testing, termite inspections, etc. Lining them up early means you don’t have to delay and you’ll know the answers to questions about them should a renegotiation be needed due to inspection issues.

Lastly, if the area you are looking is a seller’s market, make your offer over asking. Even if it’s over by just a few hundred dollars, it will make your offer irresistible to a seller.

Should You Ask For Seller Concessions In A Hot Market

July 12, 2017 By Deborah Ward

It’s a hot seller’s market and you finally found the right home for you. When walking through it you noticed some issues that you might want to ask the seller to fix, or know you need some help with closing costs or want a home warranty.

Should you ask the seller for those concessions? Probably not. Concessions dig into the profit the seller will be making on the sale of the house.

Clean offers

In a hot seller’s market there are others who will be willing to make an offer without any requests for concessions. Those clean offers will definitely compare better to yours, even if you are offering more money.

Replacing carpet, fixing a roof or fixing other items in the home can be expensive. Paying a portion of the closing costs is as well. So even if your offer is a few thousand dollars more than a clean one, the savings to the seller in taking a lower clean offer can mean more money in their pockets.

So what can you do?

See if you can live with the needed fixes. Carpet is a mess? Have it cleaned before you move in. Even renting a carpet cleaner is only $30-$40 for a day. If the flooring is worn, see if it could be covered with a throw rug or furniture until you can afford to get it fixed.

See what the inspection report says about the roof or other fixes. No home is perfect. If it isn’t feasible, or the fixes are necessary and more than you can afford, it might be time to look for a different, lower priced home.

Home buying is always a negotiation, but knowing the market can mean starting off with the best offer you can give. Be smart and purchase the home that is best for you!