your Realtor

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.

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

October 27, 2021 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.

Why Overpricing Your Home At The Start Hurts So Much

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

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.

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

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

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.

How To Price Your Home To Sell (Instead of Sit!)

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

When you listed your home for sale you wanted it to sell, not sit. So you trusted your Realtor to price your home to sell. Here is what your Realtor did to make sure of it.

The first thing that your Realtor does is meet with you

He or she will talk with you, even before touring your home, to find out what your motivation to sell could be. Why is this important? Well, because it could make a difference in how high or low within the range of market value to price your home. For instance if you need to sell quickly because you have to move due to a job relocation, pricing it lower will help it sell quickly. Or let’s say you want to sell to up or downsize. You know you’ll need the most you can get out of your home. Pricing it on the high side of the market rate will help with that. Motivation is very important in pricing to sell.

Next thing that your Realtor will do is check comps

Comps, or comparison listings, will show a Realtor what prices similar properties in the same area sold for and give him or her an idea of how to price your property. It doesn’t mean what your neighbor 2 doors down sold their home for, but what a home sold for that has similar features to yours. Your neighbor may have a bigger or smaller lot, better or worse upgrades or more or less living square footage than your home has. Comps are very important for pricing your home.

Now your Realtor will take your home into consideration

They will assess the condition of your home. They will take into consideration the upgrades, square footage, lot size and cleanliness of your home. They will also look at the location of your home. What is nearby? Proximity of shopping, entertainment and other amenities make a difference. How are the schools? Excellent school systems are a feature that many families, or families to be, are looking for. On the other hand being close to airports, railroad tracks, highways or in higher crime areas will lower the value.

When you want to sell, not sit, make sure your Realtor prices your home right!