buyers

How To Have An Amazing Open House | Clearwater Realtor Tips

November 11, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You need to sell your home and have heard the suggestion to have an open house to generate interest. It’s a good idea, but it takes some planning to have an amazing open house.

First, get your timing right

Talk to your Realtor about when the best time to hold it would be, and start on advertising and marketing the open house. Check the newspaper or online to see if others are also having open houses nearby and try to hold yours then as well. People like to hop from open house to open house, making an afternoon of it, so others will help generate traffic for yours.

Clean and declutter

Next, clean it, declutter it and make the home look spacious, light and NOT yours. Stow away all extras to make counters look bigger in both your kitchen and bath. Buyers don’t care about your stand mixer and coffee maker, they care about how much room the counters have. Set your table. Make your dining room look fancy and your kitchen homey. It adds a touch of class, and helps the buyers picture THEIR dinner parties. Buy and put out a new doormat at the front door. It makes people think your home is clean and you take care of it.

Fresh baked goodies smell

It never hurts to “bribe” buyers. Put out baked goods (if you don’t bake them, warm them in the oven just before the open house to get that fresh baked goodies smell) and beverages for people to enjoy. It’s a small thing, but it will get you remembered.

A sign in sheet

Be sure to have a sign in sheet so people can leave their contact information, then use it afterwards to call and thank each person who came by. That extra step, which buyers won’t expect, may just pay off in a contract. Also leave something for them to take with them. Make sure they have a property flyer to take with them including a color photo of the house and all of the necessary information about it.

Lastly, LEAVE

Don’t hang around. It makes buyers uncomfortable and will keep them from asking questions about the property and getting honest answers. Be sure to take your pets with you and stay away until your Realtor gives the all clear.

Real Estate Buyers – Why You Need Title Insurance

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

One of the larger costs for buyers when buying real estate is buying title insurance. Buyers, especially first time home buyers, often wonder what it is and if it is truly necessary. The answer to that last part is a resounding YES!

What is title insurance?

Title insurance is an insurance policy that protects the owner of the policy if there is a defect found in the title, or ownership, of the property. While it would seem that looking at the ownership history of a piece of property is a simple thing, there can be many things that complicate it. Some examples? Well, what if a mortgage that was recorded against the property was never shown as paid in full? Or if a tax bill was paid, but never taken off the record? What if several decades ago someone wrote down a property line wrong on an older deed? All of these things can complicate the title, and if it isn’t cleared up, you could lose your real estate.

A cloud on the title:

All of these issues cause something called a “cloud” on the title. Title insurance protects the policy owner against the costs of getting rid of that cloud. There are two types of title insurance, lenders’ and owners’. The lenders policy protects your bank or mortgage company. They have a vested interest in making sure that the title is clear. In the event that you default on the mortgage, they will eventually be the owners of the property and will have to sell it. They can’t sell a property with a cloud on the title. The lenders policy will usually be in the original amount of the mortgage. If there is a claim, the policy will pay out up to the amount the lender is out, the original mortgage amount, and pay off the mortgage. The benefit to you is that you won’t owe your bank a dime if you lose in court.

Owner’s policy:

The owners policy is for you, the deeded owner to the property. This policy does a few things. First it protects over and above the lender’s coverage. Second, it protects you once the mortgage is paid off. The owners’ policy stays with you, the owner.

Mortgage companies or banks will require a lender’s policy, but purchasing an owners policy is a good idea. Protecting your interest over and above the lender is smart!

Want more? Check out our post In A Clearwater Real Estate Transaction Who Pays For What?

Why Do Real Estate Markets Swing Between Buyers or Sellers Markets?

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Real estate markets change. Sometimes a buyer’s market, others a sellers. So why does it change? There are a lot of reason why it could.

Real estate markets swing between a buyer’s market and seller’s market. When there are a lot of houses for sale and not a lot of buyers, the buyers have the upper hand and it’s their market. When there are a few sellers and a lot of buyers, the sellers have the upper hand and it’s their market. It’s a cyclical thing and it changes from time to time.

The biggest factor in changing the market from one to another are economic factors. The perfect example of this was before, during and since the real estate bubble burst. Before, the markets everywhere were strong sellers markets. There were a lot of buyers with access to easy financing, and home values soared. Then the bubble burst. Suddenly homes weren’t worth what they had been. Financing became harder to get. While the market was bad for both buyers and sellers, buyers had an edge. For a long time it stayed a buyer’s market. Sellers were desperate to sell but there weren’t enough buyers. Now that things have improved the markets in some places have changed again. Home values are improving and sellers are again getting the upper hand.

Things like jobs can make a difference too. If a new employer moves into the area, then people come for jobs and homes become a need. If an employer leaves the area and takes jobs away, then the market switches over again.

A buyer’s and seller’s market is a fluid thing. If you are looking to sell your home, or buy one, knowing which market is hot in your area is important. Knowing what contributes to each is important as well. It can help you not only decide if now is the time to sell or buy, but whether a market change is coming.

Now That You Are Under Contract- STOP – 4 Things NOT To Do

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

So you’ve successfully listed your home and now you have a buyer under contract. Congratulations! Your home is technically still yours, but there are things that you can no longer do to it with a contract in place. Buyers, you’re not off the hook either!

Sellers, first thing, unless you have an agreement with the buyers to make improvements to the home, don’t. Don’t change out high end appliances for lower end ones. They agreed to buy your home in the state it is in, and with the items and appliances in it that were included in the contract. If you wanted to keep the appliances, you should have put that in the contract. Another no-no: don’t turn off your utilities. There are several reasons for that. First, it may cause problems for the buyer to get them switched over to their name. Second, if you live in an area where winters get cold, lack of heat can cause issues with plumbing and frozen pipes. Any billing discrepancies will be handled at settlement.

Buyers, you’re not off the hook either. Some no-no’s for you too. First, don’t run out and buy appliances, furniture and all the stuff you think you need for the home. If you run up credit cards or empty your savings you could jeopardize final approval and disbursement of your mortgage. The mortgage company makes decisions about your creditworthiness based upon the amount of savings and debt at the time of application. What you may not realize is they monitor your financial activity until the mortgage is disbursed. Buying binges will change your creditworthiness. Second, stop looking at listings. You have your new home sweet home, so looking further is a waste of the Realtor’s time.

Sellers and Buyers- Being under contract is kind of a limbo. Don’t do things to jeopardize the contract and sale.

Tips to Make Your Open House a Success | Tips For Sellers

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Make your open house a success by being smart home seller! Make your house shine inside and out and you will have a successful open house and sell quickly.

You’ve listed your home and scheduled an open house. A great first step. Now get busy on making your home look great.

Start with the outside of your home. Make sure the lawn and landscaping are mowed, neat, weeded and watered. Freshen up the front door. You don’t want to turn buyers off before they even step in the door.

Once buyers get inside your home, appeal to their every sense. Start with smell. If your home smells stuffy or like pets, kiss their interest good bye. Obviously, if you live with them day in and day out, you won’t notice them. So how can you be sure? Baking! Nothing says “you’re home” like the smell of freshly baked cookies or muffins. Of course another way to make your home smell fresh is to make sure it’s clean from top to bottom. The smell of “fresh baked” will only cover so much.

Make your home light and bright. If it’s warm out open the windows to let in fresh air and sunlight. If it’s cold, open blinds and curtains to get the same effect. This is especially important in smaller rooms. If a room doesn’t get enough natural light, light lamps. Light gives the illusion of space and cleanliness.

Next, play music. Why? Music can greatly affect mood. No hard rock, or elevator music, but jazz or classical are good choices. Play it softly, in the background.

Have a fact sheet about your home. Buyers looking will have many of the same questions, such as when it was built, how old the roof and heating system is, schools, etc. Unless you want to be answering the same ones all day, a fact sheet is very handy. Also helpful if your property is family friendly, have a small area set aside for children with coloring books, crayons and small toys. That way mom and dad can look while the kids are occupied.

Stage your home. Set the table, set out flowers, light fireplaces, light candles. Rearrange furniture to make rooms look larger and less cluttered. Make sure the temperature is comfortable, and then if you live in a seasonal area, set out pictures of what your home looks like in different seasons.

Do Luxury Real Estate Buyers Care About Amenities? Yes They Do!

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

People looking for luxury real estate expect certain amenities, and they really do matter. So if you have a high end home, you have to know that luxury buyers will be looking for the most up to date amenities.

Especially in Florida, certain things are expected in high end real estate. One of those things is a dock. If you have waterfront property, having a dock to keep your boat is a huge plus. More outdoor life in luxury homes also includes a pool and spa, all out on the huge lanai. Pools offer a serene place to relax, or a fun place to entertain. Luxury pools are often surrounded by waterfalls, amazing lighting and a hot tub or spa. One popular luxury pool type is an infinity pool. Many times they are also “indoors” by being contained in a screened lanai, screened to keep out the nuisance of bugs or worse!

Don’t forget the inside either. Luxury buyers are looking for things like high end wall finishes, imported woods for floors and woodwork, stone surfaces like granite for bathrooms, kitchens, bars and even outdoors for built in grills. Kitchens also have plenty of room and high end, chef quality appliances. Baths have double sinks, separate tubs and large showers, high end finishes and spa like qualities.

Large luxury homes also have amenities like custom built in cabinetry, bars, media rooms with top of the line surround sound systems. Others have wine cellars, game rooms, libraries and multiple bedrooms with their own baths.

All of these things are expected and are expected to be top of the line, high end and spotless. If you are looking to sell your luxury home, make sure that all of your luxury amenities are up to snuff. It matters to those who will buy.

What is title insurance?

A cloud on the title:

Owner’s policy:

The Deb Ward Team