Deborah Ward – Page 27

Homebuyers : How To Avoid Getting Into A Bidding War

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

The housing market has improved and homebuyers have to be aware that the chance of a bidding war is out there. Do you know how to give yourself the best way to win that bidding war? Here are a few things that should put your offer at the top of pile.

Financing

First thing you should do as a homebuyer, is make sure you have your financing in place before you start your house search. Find the lender you wish to use, apply and do everything the lender requires in order to give you a preapproval letter. Have it in hand before submitting an offer.

Keep a folder with current pay stubs, bank statements and all of the paperwork they will need to process it once you do have the pre approval. In some places, it’s common to accompany your offer with a financial information sheet detailing your job history, salary and bonuses, 401(k) balance, how much you have for a down payment, and where the down payment money is. Show the seller that you are serious and able to purchase their home, and you will win the war.

Next, make a fair offer. In a seller’s market, that means make a full price offer. If there have been other offers made, consider an above asking offer. Also make sure you have a higher than average deposit.

Contingencies

Another good idea is to keep the amount and type of conditions out of the offer. Things like contingencies for selling your current home, or extended times for financing approval. Some people will say drop the home inspection contingency, but that isn’t a good idea. Instead, read all disclosures and ask if the sellers have had a home inspection prior to listing the home.

If that is acceptable, you can still have your own inspection in order to provide information on the home’s condition. You can also have an inspection done prior to making an offer, or bring one along with you when you tour the home, and if they feel it is acceptable then make a non-contingent offer. If you do this you should have a home inspector ready almost the day the home goes on the market.

Being prepared will get you the home you want. Be prepared!

The Worst Home Improvements For Selling Your Home

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You’re thinking about selling your home but you know it needs some upgrading. You have a lot of ideas but you aren’t sure which will bring you the best return on your investment. Here are five things you shouldn’t do.

Pools

Pools sound like a good idea, especially in Florida, but they cost a lot to install, between an average of $20,000 to $60,000 or more. It will add value, but only about 6 to 11% for an in-ground pool doesn’t make the price tag worth it. An out of ground pool adds zero to value, so again, not worth it.

Garage as living space

If you have a garage and think that making it into extra living space, think again. Adding space onto a garage can cost up to $60,000 and only brings about a 60 percent return on investment. That’s not bad, but the problem becomes how the buyers will view it. If they don’t need the extra space won’t like it and if you make the garage itself into something like a man cave or family room may mean that those who would want a garage instead will look elsewhere.

Sun room or home office

Think making your deck into a sun room would be a good idea? Don’t! A sun room will actually drop your home’s value. The home improvement itself will actually lose 54% of it’s value. Keep the deck. Don’t think about adding an outdoor kitchen to that deck or patio area either. A barbecue is always a good addition, all the other additions aren’t and don’t add much, if any, value. If you have a bedroom set up as a home office, make it back into a bedroom for sale showings. If you think adding a separate space designated specifically as a home office think again. You can spend up to $30,000 constructing it and may only get about half of your investment back when you’re ready to sell.
Don’t make these costly errors.

The Top 4 Ways Your Real Estate Sale Can Go Sideways

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Your Realtor brings you an offer on your home and you think “Hooray! It’s SOLD!” and then it happens… the sale goes sideways. There are a few ways that it can happen and also ways you can either fix it or be proactive to keep it from happening in the first place.

Problem 1:

Your buyer can’t get a mortgage for the purchase. Having financing go awry happens. One way to avoid it is to reject offers from prospective buyers who are not pre-qualified.

Pre-qualified buyers have already started the mortgage process and are less likely to have issues being turned down before settlement. It can happen, for example, if they take out a large loan before settlement, but a buyer savvy enough to get pre-qualified is probably smart enough to not make those kinds of mistakes.

Problem 2:

The bank won’t appraise your home’s value high enough to support the mortgage requested. While this problem may seem to be out of your control, there are things you can do to avoid it. Have your home appraised prior to putting it on the market. Don’t ask a Realtor, ask a bank.

You can get a much better idea of what they will value it for, and can price our home accordingly. If a bidding war gets the price higher than the appraisal will support, ask that the eventual buyer put a large enough down payment to cover the “extra”.

Problem 3:

The home inspection turns up a lot of problems. There are two distinct things you can do if this happens. First, have a home inspection done prior to putting your home on the market. That way you know what issues are there and can fix them ahead of time.

If they turn up at contract, you can offer to contribute to the fix, or if they are minor issues, offer to fix them yourself prior to settlement.

Problem 4:

Buyers back out better known as buyer’s remorse. This one is a hard one to predict. It can happen for many reasons: They might have decided the price was too high, or found their monthly payments were going to be too high. They may have found that repairs were going to be too expensive.

You may be able to counter offer a lower price, or offer to help with closing costs.

these Realtor Tips presented by Deborah Ward, Clearwater Realtor

What Do Most Home Sellers Want Most?

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You have a home to sell, and like most sellers, you want your home to sell fast and for the most money. Seems all Realtors promise that too. So how do you find one who actually will sell your home fast and for the most money?

Sell for the highest dollar

Selling for the highest dollar seems to be a great idea…until that high dollar deal falls through because the buyer wasn’t vetted and didn’t have access to financing.

A great Realtor won’t promise the highest dollar. They will promise the best price from a qualified buyer. That high bid does you no good without an actual closing to give you the money. However, a lower bid that is within the market value of your home from a qualified buyer with a pre-approved mortgage means a check in hand and money in the bank.

Sell fast

Selling fast is something all buyers want as well. Fast is great, but fast for a price that is under market value isn’t. A great Realtor will take the time it takes to get you the best price. Selling fast means pricing your home correctly and making sure that your home has the needed repairs and upgrades to make it the “must have” property in the neighborhood. Once those are in place the time to sale will be no time at all.

Don’t sell your home short

Sloppy selling won’t get your home sold for the best price. Sloppy selling means that your home sits on the market. The longer it sits, the less money you will make. Choose a Realtor who will honestly tell you what your home needs, how it should be priced and which offer is the best, even if it isn’t the highest.

Getting Your House in Shape to Sell

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

If you’ve decided to sell your Florida home, getting it in tip top shape isn’t optional, especially if you want to get top dollar. You can start home staging on your own, with some of the tips below, but your best bet is to then have a great realtor come in and do a good walk through to see if you missed anything.

The first things you need to do in getting your home in shape to sell is clean and declutter your home. Realistically you will be doing both at the same time. Go room to room and look around. You should be taking down and packing up at least half of what is in it, and in closets and cabinets. You’re going to be moving and packing anyway, so get a head start. As you are removing things you will see areas of your home that need a good scrubbing or fixing.

Getting your home in shape to sell means making your home look less personal. Personal things should be the first to be packed. Buyers want to be able to picture their things in the house, and seeing your family pictures and memorabilia everywhere will make that difficult. Clutter also makes rooms look and feel smaller. Small doesn’t get you top dollar, spacious does, so the more it feels spacious, the better.

As you pack, scrub. The cleaning should be a deep, floor to ceiling and everything in between cleaning. Under furniture, in closets, behind doors because buyers look everywhere. Steam clean carpets, wax and buff hard woods and make every surface gleam.

Fixing things in the house helps you in getting your home in shape to sell. Once things are clean and decluttered, you will probably see things that need fixing. Fill nail holes in walls, spackle and touch them up. Chipped paint on door jams and woodwork are noticeable and make things look shabby. If you find that the touch ups don’t match the paint on the wall, repaint. This is especially true if your walls are dark or bright colors. Neutral is better. Make sure cupboards open and shut, that their doors are level and match and that no faucets are dripping. Bedrooms and baths should get new linens. Find bedding that looks modern and minimal.

Now you should have your realtor come in and let you know what still needs to be done. The owners that follow our advice frequently sell faster and for more money than they thought they would get!

Give us a call today to find out about listing your Clearwater or St Pete Home for Sale 727-410-0336

Top Tips for Buyers – What Happens When You Get a Bad Home Inspection?

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Here are some tips for buyers about what to do when you get a bad home inspection.

You spent weeks trudging through home after home and you finally found it, the perfect home. You offered and counter-offered and finally got it! But now your excitement has come crashing down. The home inspection came back with some problems that were a bit more serious than replacing some woodwork or painting. So what do you do now?

First, take a deep breath. Step back and remember the reason why you got the home inspection in the first place. Would you want to go through with the sale and then find them? Of course not. Home inspections are done to protect you; to find any troubles before you buy, so be glad things were found. Anyone who’s been through it will tell you that emotionally it’s no fun, so step back, get some perspective and then act.

Next, turn to your Realtor for help. They’ve been there before and know what is fixable and what you should run from. Your Realtor will be able to get professionals into the home to see the extent of the problem or problems and then get estimates for fixing it. Then you can make smart decisions about whether to walk away from the contract or negotiate who will fix it. You’re best bet is to remember that if the sellers won’t negotiate, walking away may be the best bet.

If the sellers will negotiate there are a few things that you need to decide with your Realtor. First, how much can you afford to contribute to the repairs? Then take that figure and decide do you 1) just pay out of pocket and do it yourself after settlement; 2) negotiate with the seller to reimburse them for your agreed upon portion of the repairs; or 3) ask for a credit against the selling price or closing costs, If you choose option 1 remember to let the settlement company know the sellers portion of the agreed upon repair costs so it can be paid to you out of the proceeds.

A bad home inspection isn’t the end of the world, or even the end of the contract. Remain calm and think it through.