Realtor Tips – Page 2

Three Things You MUST Do Before You Get Ready To Buy A House

November 17, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Whether you are a first time home buyer or selling a home to up or down size, there are three things you must do before you buy a home.

First thing you must do is make a reasonable wish list.

Sure everyone wants a perfect house with nothing to fix or maintain, but that’s not reasonable. When you make your list, think about what is most important to you. Start with location. City, suburbs, rural area?

What about how close you want things like mass transportation or entertainment? What about schools? There is a lot to consider. Then move onto type of home. Single family, townhouse or condo? Ranch style, split foyer or colonial? How many bedrooms? Bathrooms? Square footage? a lot of group or not?

When you make an offer on a home, keep in mind that there will be some things that the inspection will find that will need to be repaired. Be reasonable in what you ask be fixed or replaced. It’s reasonable to ask that items the inspector found be repaired or an allowance given.

It’s not reasonable to demand a brand new HVAC system because the inspector says that the current system is in good condition but “will eventually fail.” No kidding, every system will eventually fail!

Next, get pre-approved for a mortgage.

That way you know what you can realistically afford. It also gives you a leg up in the negotiations once you find the home you want to buy. It’s a big plus for a seller knowing that the buyer won’t have to lengthen the time to closing to get approved for a mortgage.

Lastly, set a timeline for buying.

If you need to be moved into the area by a certain date, make sure you are leaving yourself a reasonable amount of time to search for and purchase your home.
Now, share all of this with your realtor and get looking!

You Really Do HAVE To Get Your Home Ship Shape To Sell

November 17, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You want to sell your home, but you don’t want to put the time or effort into changing it at all. Why should you? It’s been great for you since you bought it, someone will love it too. Right? Wrong. And even if it’s right, how long are you willing to wait while your home languishes on the market to find out? If you’re selling you must get your home ship shape.

Make a good impression

The first reason you should clean it all up is because you want to make a good impression on prospective buyers. From the first glance at the front door to the rest of your home, a dirty, clutter screams “I AM A LOT OF WORK THAT WILL COST YOU EVEN MORE MONEY” to prospective buyers. That should reel them right in. A clean, uncluttered home will invite them to buy because it is little to no extra work.

Packing

The second is that no matter if you clean it before you sell or not, you will eventually have to pack it all up and move it. Why not do it now, in a more relaxed manner. Doing it ahead of time will give you time to sort through and get rid of things that you don’t want or need any longer. If you do it later when you’re under pressure to get moved in time for settlement, you won’t have time to pack in an organized way or weed out things you don’t want. Why wait and move it too?

Want to get top dollar?

Lastly, if you want to get top dollar for your home, cleaning, decluttering and getting it in top shape is the key. Who’s going to offer asking or above on a house that looks dull, or worse, terrible. No one. In fact, if your home isn’t show ready you probably won’t even get an offer, let alone asking or above.

Do yourself and your bank balance a favor and make your home shine.

Should You Put In A Pool Before You Sell Your Home

November 17, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You’re contemplating selling your home and wonder if you should put in a pool to help it’s “resaleability”. There is no short answer yes/no, it’s a bit more complicated than that. So let’s look at the pros and cons of the decision to add a pool.

First, the pros

If your home is a luxury home, add it. Buyers of luxury homes expect certain amenities and a pool is certainly one of them. In fact a pool and spa is an even better decision.

While it may not hike the value exorbitantly, it will certainly put you in the running with homes of similar value that have a pool and spa.

Be sure to add all the bells and whistles, as well as all of the safety features. Best bet? Check with your Realtor and see if it is a good investment for your home. He or she might just tell you to spend the money inside the home.

Now, the cons

You won’t get your money back. Whatever the pool costs to install will not add that much to your asking price, if anything at all. If your home is a starter home, or a next step up for a small family, a pool can actually detract from it’s value and attractiveness.

Why? It’s a safety issue for small children. Even with safety features like a fence. Unless you have an alarmed fence and cover, most families will see a pool as a drowning risk. Adding one in order to boost your home’s value is a bad idea. Take the money and update baths or the kitchen instead. You’ll get added value there.

Even in Florida think about a decision to add a pool. Don’t do it to add value or sell your home. Still not sure? Ask your Realtor. They know your area, expected amenities and values. Then take their advice.

Selling Your Home? What NOT To Do 6 Months Out

November 17, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Last week we talked about what you should be doing six months out from listing or selling your home. So now let’s look at the reverse…what NOT to do.

Don’t go above and beyond

You know that list that your Realtor gave you about what needs to be fixed and what doesn’t? Don’t go above and beyond. What does that mean? Well, fix and update where they say needs it. Your Realtor understands the return on investment of updates and upgrades to your home.

What they don’t want you to do is to start ripping and tearing everything out like you’re on Property Brothers on HGTV! Most renovations won’t give you much bang for your buck. This is especially true if you are doing renovations to your specific taste. Sure, baths and kitchens usually do give you a decent ROI, but that pink tile and $800+ bidet you’ve been dying to get for your bathroom that you just KNOW buyers will LOVE will most likely kill off any money you should have seen from the renovation.

Don’t DIY the renovations

Another don’t: unless you are truly a professional in the home renovation field, don’t do any renovations yourself. Sure it looks easy on HGTV or DIY Network. It’s not and you could very quickly find yourself in way over your head. Leaving projects unfinished is much worse for your home’s value than not updating in the first place. Not to mention that what you destroy you’re going to have to pay a lot more to fix than if you paid a professional in the first place.

Think plumbing fix that ended up in a flood ruining carpeting and hardwoods. Now you have to fix the plumbing AND the flooring. But even if you don’t have any disasters, the long reaching consequences will have a future buyer shelling out more later to fix your fixes.

Actually, the only DO that I’ll say here that you should do is STOP WATCHING fix-it networks. Your future buyer will thank you!

Three Things You MUST Do Before You List Your Home For Sale

November 17, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Selling your home entails a LOT of things to do. Some are musts, some are not. Here are three things that you MUST do before you list your home for sale.

First, your home must be show ready for that first day on the market

What does “show ready” mean? Let’s start with it means it’s CLEAN, and we mean clean enough to eat off the bathroom floor! Move furniture and appliances. Clean them inside and out. Deep clean floors, carpets, walls, air duct covers, air intake covers, woodwork, windows… basically every inch of your home should be clean. To get it clean that also means removing CLUTTER. Remove most of your things from the home, including oversized furniture. Big furniture and clutter make rooms look smaller. A few things are ok, minimal is better. Your home will look and smell better. Now that all the scrubbing is done, time to touch up paint, or repaint. You want the place to look neutral (color is ok, but don’t go overboard), light and roomy. It also needs to look as move in ready as possible.

Second, make sure to find out the fair market price for your home

Overpricing your home is a REALLY bad idea. Underpricing it as well. Getting to the fair market value takes some wrangling and is best left to an expert, like your Realtor. Rely on them to know the market’s well enough to get the right price the first time.

Third, have an exit plan

Know where you are going and have a backup for that first plan. So where are you going when you sell your home? Don’t know? Well you better or you’ll end up homeless! If you are buying, have your Realtor help you with timing, but also have a backup in case one of the home sales falls through. For instance, don’t sell your home, counting on the purchase of the next one to be worry free. The seller could flake out, not like your demands or reject your offer. What then?

Make sure these MUSTS are done, and you’ll have a few less worries.

Moving To Clearwater? Three Insider Secrets To Know

November 17, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You’ve been considering it for awhile. Moving to Clearwater, Florida sounds like heaven, but after watching the news about Hurricane Matthew and his path of destruction, you are reconsidering the move. Don’t. Clearwater is a great place to live, and here are some insider secrets to help you make up your mind.

What about hurricanes?

First of all Hurricane Matthew or any of the other “biggies” that hit the East Coast did just that, hit the EAST coast. Clearwater is on the WEST coast of Florida and unless those hurricanes come up the Gulf, they will, at worst, bring rain.

Clearwater doesn’t actually get hit with that many hurricanes. Even the ones that come up the Gulf tend to be out further over the gulf by the time they get even with Clearwater. So give that sigh and calm back down. Your home and property is not as likely to be damaged in a hurricane as if you lived along the East Coast.

However, Florida requires new construction to be built to standards that include measures to make them more likely to withstand a hurricane.

Refreshing afternoon showers

Yes, summers are hot and humid, but the humidity is “released” by quickly passing afternoon storms. It’s really not that much hotter or more humid than other places on the East Coast. Have you been in New York City, Baltimore, Washington DC and further south in the summer? Humidity and high temps are not an aberration. Can you say in the 90’s with 70+% humidity? If you can take that you’ll be fine!

If you’re used to less humidity and heat in the summer, remember that just about everything is air conditioned! Also, all the other months of the year are very temperate. If you think wearing a sweat jacket in January is great, you’ll love it here!

“Snowbirds”

All those “snowbirds” you hear about? You know, the retirees who live in the northeast in the spring, summer and fall, but come south for the folder months? Yes they exist and yes, they make the traffic in the winter months a bit worse, but only from about mid November until March, then life is back to normal. If you’re moving from a high traffic area you won’t even notice it until it’s not there!

The Deb Ward Team