15 Tips for Attracting More Offers on Your Home

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Selling a house can be stressful and time-consuming, but with the right strategies in place, it’s possible to attract more offers and ultimately get the best price for your property. Here are some tips to help you do just that:

1. Prepare Your Home for Sale

This means decluttering, deep cleaning, and making necessary repairs or updates. A well-maintained home will be more appealing to potential buyers and can also help increase the value of your property.

2. Avoid Selling As Is

One of the more significant mistakes some sellers make is to market their house as being sold as-is. Doing so brings with it a negative connotation. Buyers get the feeling a seller is either trying to hide something or sell a lemon.

Attract More Offers

3. Set the Right Price

It’s essential to price your home correctly from the start. If it’s too high, you may not receive any offers. You could potentially leave money on the table if it’s too low. Research recent sales of similar homes in your area to get an idea of the market value of your property.

You may also consider hiring a real estate agent or using online tools to help you determine the best price to set your home at.

4. Maximize Curb Appeal

The first thing potential buyers will see when they arrive at your home is the exterior, so making a good first impression is important. This means keeping the lawn well-manicured, power washing the exterior, and adding decorative touches like potted plants or a fresh coat of paint.

5. Stage the Interior

Home staging involves making the interior of your home look as inviting and appealing as possible. This can include arranging furniture, decluttering, and adding some personal touches like throw pillows or artwork.

6. Stand Out from the Competition

Make sure to highlight any unique features or amenities your home offers, like a pool, home gym, home office, or outdoor living space. In today’s market, buyers can scroll through countless options online, and you don’t want yours to get lost in the shuffle. 

7. Use High-Quality Marketing Materials

When marketing your home, it’s essential to use high-quality materials like professional photos and a well-written listing description. You may also want to consider using video or virtual tours to give potential buyers a better sense of what your home looks like.

8. Consider Alternative Methods

If you’re having trouble attracting offers through traditional methods, you may consider alternatives like selling to a company that buys homes for cash or listing your home on Airbnb.

9. Consider Rent-to-Own

This can be a win-win situation for both parties, as the buyer can build equity, and the seller can potentially sell their home for a higher price than they could have gotten through a traditional sale.

It also provides a steadier income stream, as the buyer will pay ongoing rent during the lease period. Rent-to-own can potentially attract a wider pool of buyers, including those who may not qualify for a traditional mortgage.

10. Find the Right Real Estate Agent

Working with a skilled and experienced real estate agent can be a great way to get more offers on your home. Look for an agent with a track record of success and consider using a discount real estate broker to save on commissions.

11. Host Plenty of Open Houses

Open houses allow potential buyers to see your home in person, which can be a lot more informative than only viewing photos online. While hosting open houses can be a bit of a pain, it is well worth ensuring buyers get a true feel for your home.

12. Advertise Your Home on Additional Channels

If more traditional methods aren’t getting you the offers you’re looking for, post ads on various channels like social media, local classifieds, and real estate websites. Your perfect buyer may just stumble across it!

13. Offer Incentives

Consider offering incentives to potential buyers, like covering closing costs or offering a home warranty. If you’re having a particularly tough time selling your home and want to sell it quickly, it may be worth sweetening the deal for your buyers to set it apart from the competition.

14. Address Worries

Address any potential concerns or objections buyers may have, such as foundation issues or an open insurance claim. Determining what may deter buyers is a significant first step in figuring out how to put their minds at ease.

15. Offer a Flexible Closing Date

Offering a flexible closing date can make your home more attractive to buyers who may be in a hurry to move, or conversely, buyers who need to wait until a lease is up or their home sells to close on your home. If you can be flexible, your home may be one of very few on the market that buyers with specific time constraints can consider.

16. Use Your Network

Get recommendations from friends, family, and other contacts to help spread the word about your home and attract more offers. You never know whose coworker, friend, or child may be looking to buy a house!

Following these tips can increase the chances of attracting more offers when selling your house and ultimately get the best price for your property.

Questions to Ask Before Buying a House

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What to Know When Buying a Home For The First Time

Buying a home for the first time can be daunting. Before you put down your hard-earned deposit and sign away the next 15-20 years of your lives, there are a few points to clarify, and this is the time to ask the questions.

When you are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars, there are no questions that are too trivial. If you have a real estate agent, make sure you lean on them for advice. If they are worth their salt, they will be someone to lean on for all the things you’re unsure of.

Having a first-time home buying guide is always useful. You can also seek assistance from family and friends that have already been through the process.

Consider a few of the following points as a first time home buyer. These are great questions to ask yourself as you journey towards owning your first house.

  • How far will you be from work, and how good is the public transport?
  • How long does the commute take?
  • Do you want to live near shops, schools, hospitals, cafes, and parks?
  • Will you be near enough to Mom and Dad so you can drop in for dinner?
  • If you are pregnant, how near is your hospital?
  • Can the kids walk to school? Homes in sought after school districts always sell really well! So even if you are not having children consider this fact from a resale perspective.
  • You want a neighborhood with a good community appeal, where you have a large enough population to support cafes and diverse restaurants, and possibly a good pizza/sub shop.
  • Do you have a dog? You will want an off-leash dog park, to take Fido for a run, and a local vet.
  • You are busy, so look for a home requiring minimal renovation. Major renovations are not affordable when you are in your first home. It would help if you got a bit more equity first. Having said that, even minor renovations require a handy hardware store nearby.
  • Try not to exceed your budget. The lender will look for some leeway in the budget, so when you choose a home, make sure, based on your combined salaries, that you can afford it. You want to keep your housing costs, including insurances, between 25% and 28% of your monthly take-home pay. This is a bit easier for a couple than for a single buyer.
  • Are you eligible for any first home buyer grants or incentives? The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) also provides grants to first home buyers. If you apply early in the new financial year, you may be eligible to receive one, important to apply early as the program has limited funds, is soon exhausted, and is not refunded until the following fiscal year. You just may qualify!

Questions to Ask When Buying a Home

Questions to Ask and Things to Do Before Buying a Home

Get a Mortgage Preapproval

Once you have everything in place, try to get your mortgage preapproval in writing from a well-known lender. It is always a good idea to comparison shop a few lenders as well before settling on one.

Be prepared to have your financial information (proof of employment and income) verified for written preapprovals.

These last for about three months and you are then ‘buyer ready.’

Make Sure You Have a Professional Home Inspection.

Have a look to be sure that the roof, foundation, HVAC systems, flooring, and walls are all in good order. Make sure you have a house inspection before closure done by a well respected local professional.

You really want to know before you put the escrow deposit down if there is anything to be done. Home inspections are also a great learning exercise about the property you are purchasing.

The home inspector will go over all the systems, especially the furnace, air-conditioning, and electrical. They will check the basement for dampness and mold. A good inspector will also have a keen eye for evidence of termites, other insects, and rodents.

Getting a home inspection done is especially important when you are purchasing a fixer-upper home.

Is The Home Low Lying?

Is the house near a river or a low lying flood plain. You don’t want to be paying for flood insurance as it is costly. If the area is a flood zone, it might be why the home is cheaper. Once a house is flooded, it is never the same again. So, avoid any possible flood area.

Is The House on a Busy or Noisy Road?

Houses on major roads are usually less expensive. If you decide to purchase on a major road, make sure that the house has insulation, as a major road can be very noisy and polluting. Avoid big thoroughfares if you can, because it won’t have a good resale value.

Think About Using a Buyer’s Agent?

If you are having difficulty sifting through the choices available, you may decide to hire a buyer’s agent. It likely won’t cost you anything as real estate commissions are typically paid by sellers.

A great buyer’s agent will be in your corner working hard to find you the right home. The best agents will not offer any pressure for you to purchase. If you are a busy professional, having someone scouring the multiple listing service for you every day can be a godsend.

Make an Offer Stick

Start attending open houses to get a feel for the market. Are real estate values rising, falling, or stable. If home prices are falling, that will be good news for you. It might be possible to find a house you previously thought to be unaffordable.

When you find the home that makes you happy, you’ll want to pounce on it, especially if it is an excellent deal. Get together with your real estate agent and write the offer. Be prepared to have some give and take, which is often the case. Negotiating is something buyers, and sellers do. Try to make it a win-win if you can.

If the seller has already bought elsewhere, you will probably be in the driver’s seat as there will be some urgency to get a deal done.

On the other hand, if you are in a hot seller’s market, be prepared to move quickly. There could be multiple offers and bidding wars. Unfortunately, there will be less flexibility. To get the house you really want, you’re probably going to need to step up to the plate and give the seller their desired terms.

It is vital to be proactive at this stage, as you want to get into a house before your preapprovals expire. The financial markets are very mercurial, and especially in a rising market, conditions change very quickly.

Prepare For Moving

One of the most arduous tasks when buying or selling a home is moving. The move can not only be physically stressful but mentally as well. There are so many things to get done. Did you change your address with the post office? How about getting one of the best moving companies in the area?

Maybe you have found that hiring professional movers will be too expensive and rent a moving truck instead? Lots of folks choose to rent a moving truck from U-Haul because of the convenience and lower cost.

These are all things that should be thought about well in advance. Proper planning goes a long way when buying your first house.

Final Thoughts on Buying a First House

Once you have the finance approved for your new house, it is important to be ready to recognize and grab a good deal when it comes along. Buying a home for the first time can be a full time and stressful job. You will have a limited amount of time to perform what seems like an endless list of tasks. The good news is, it will soon be over, and you will be in your own home.

Hopefully, you have found some of these first-time homebuyer tips to be useful.

7 Signs of a Trustworthy Real Estate Agent

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Choosing a real estate agent is a significant financial decision whether buying or selling a house. After all, your home is one of the most important purchases you’ll ever make, and a good agent can pay serious dividends.

For buyers, they can help you find a home within your budget and negotiate on your behalf. If you’re selling a house, a trustworthy real estate agent can give you honest advice about how to prep your home for sale and ensure you follow laws and guidelines so your sale goes smoothly.

If you’re looking for a new Realtor, here are seven signs of a trustworthy real estate agent.

Trustworthy Real Estate Agent

Treats You Well Regardless of Your Circumstances

Your real estate agent’s actions toward you significantly reveal their integrity. For example, they should be willing to help you regardless of the type of mortgage you have and your housing budget. 

If you’re a first-time homebuyer, choose a real estate agent who is patient, willing to answer all your questions, and happy to negotiate on your behalf, even if it means less commission for them.

If you have a history of bankruptcy, work with a real estate agent who understands the challenges of buying a house after bankruptcy and is willing to go the extra mile to help you find a home you love.

Quick Communication

Another sign your real estate agent is trustworthy is that they care about responding to your questions. You shouldn’t have to wait days on end for a response. A quick answer from your agent should show you that you’re a priority.

It’s also a good sign if your real estate agent responds honestly to your questions and gives you realistic answers, especially when doing that will benefit you more than them. This is a sign of a true advocate using their knowledge to protect you in the complex world of real estate. 

Real Estate expert Bill Gassett of Maximum Real Estate Exposure explains that communication is one of the most vital traits of any exceptional Realtor.

Most consumers expect proper communication skills, and rightly so. It is one of the most essential aspects of customer service. A lack of trust can quickly ensue when an agent does not respond in a reasonable time frame. Anyone selling or buying a home should expect their hired person to be attentive to their needs.

 

Ethical Standards and Professionalism

Home sales sometimes fall through. Plenty of things can cause this to happen, but quality real estate agents can help you avoid many. Professionals will work with their counterparts on the other side of the deal to ensure both sides have what they need and do what’s necessary to make it to the closing table. However, an ethical real estate agent will never ask you to hide things about your home or skip steps. They’ll be professional throughout the process, and you should be confident they’ll represent you well.

Another thing to consider is a real estate agent’s reputation in the community. Look through online reviews and ask your friends and family for recommendations. This can be one of the best ways to get an unvarnished review of working with a particular Realtor. 

Listen to Your Requests and Concerns

Buyers and sellers are naturally stressed about this sometimes complex process, and the best Realtors know how to put their minds at ease. It’s vital that your real estate agent listens to and understands your requests or concerns. These could range from worries over the state of your home to issues with a particular offer or anything else on your mind.

Great agents can often develop practical solutions or reassure nervous clients that things are on track. 

Honest About Commissions

Real estate agents should be upfront and honest about their commission structure. They should explain precisely how and when they get paid and what percentage of the home sale price goes to them. No matter what they say, buyers and sellers should remember you can always negotiate real estate commissions or use one of numerous discount real estate brokers.

Even saving fractions of a percent on real estate commissions, especially with large home sales, can save you thousands of dollars. So, take the time to research companies with the lowest real estate commission fees. 

Experienced Track Record

Choosing a realtor with a solid track record is also important. If they regularly get several offers on the homes they sell, then it shows they have experience in pricing properties and presenting them to buyers. Although you might want to help out a friend or family who is a Realtor, it’s best to choose an agent with the experience you need to handle whatever pops up during the transaction. 

How Do I Find a Trustworthy Real Estate Agent?

Taking the time to find a trustworthy real estate agent is almost always worth the upfront work. Here are some of the best ways to conduct your search.

Get Personal Recommendations

Chances are, you know a couple of homeowners. Whether they’re friends, family, or coworkers, someone you trust has used a real estate agent, often within the past few years. Ask them for recommendations, but be specific; ask what they liked and didn’t like about their agent. Satisfied clients are often more than happy to sing the praises of their Realtor.  

Read Reviews

If you don’t know anyone who can recommend a real estate agent, you can always do a deep dive into online reviews. You can learn a lot about many Realtors this way.

Don’t expect a perfect showing of five-star reviews, however. A few negative reviews don’t mean a real estate agent is untrustworthy as long as positive ones outnumber them. However, those with over a handful of low ratings are likely worth skipping. 

Attend Open Houses and Meet Agents

When you go to open houses in your area, talk to the agent hosting it. See how they interact with people viewing the home. Get a sense of their energy and how they handle themselves.

Follow These Tips to Find Your Perfect Realtor Match

Finding someone experienced, trustworthy, and willing to put your best interests first can feel daunting if you’ve never worked with a real estate agent. However, following the tips above, would-be buyers and sellers should have no trouble locating their ideal partner. With some help, they can guide you through the process so you can buy or sell a house quickly, pack up, and move on to your next place. 

8 Ways to Transform Unused Spaces in Your Home

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Studies have consistently shown that people spend most of their time in just one or two rooms of their house. There’s a lot to be said for taking ownership over your entire home by utilizing and transforming all your space, especially the space you may have been neglecting.

Whether you’re preparing to sell your home on the advice of your real estate agent or you’re just trying to liven up your space, transforming a “dead space” into a useful storage area or cozy writing nook instantly makes your home more desirable, warm, and welcoming.

From that weird triangular space under your stairs to the vertical space you may not even realize you have, here are the best ways to transform your unused home space.

Look up

The area on top of your cupboards can be valuable and useful space that many homeowners simply overlook. Placing baskets or bins up there can double your storage space, and if you’re feeling really ambitious, you could even commission a carpenter to install built-in shelves, bins, or extended cupboards.

This space can also be useful visual real estate. If you already have enough storage, consider placing flowers, glassware, or other decorative items on top of your cupboards. It will warm up the room and can even make the ceilings look higher. 

If you have double-height ceilings, you could build a full loft to recapture some of that vertical real estate, though this is more of a suggestion for a buyer versus a renter. The loft could be used as a reading nook, home office, a spare sleeping area, or simply as extra storage. Because storage is one of the first things buyers look for in a home, it’s reasonable to assume that increasing your home’s storage space will also increase its value.

Fill your corners

A single chair or small end table placed in an otherwise empty corner can be surprisingly useful and make a room feel much warmer. This is especially true in rooms such as the bathroom and kitchen, which generally don’t receive as much attention during the design and furnishing process. Books, photos, and other decorative items placed on a chair can lend a room a more personal, lived-in feeling. If you don’t want to furnish your empty corner, consider a potted plant or floor lamp to lend visual warmth to the space.

Repurpose your fireplace

Many older homes have unused fireplaces that are used as storage cubbies or simply left empty. If you have an old fireplace, consider installing a set of custom-built shelves in the space to make it more efficient and more visually pleasing. It’s a manageable home improvement project that will take only a day or two and won’t require you to take out a construction loan.

If you don’t need the extra storage space, consider painting the inside of the fireplace a bright, eye-catching color or painting a small mural in there to make it a focal point of the room.

Add green to the space

A plant or two is a great way to activate an unused space. Studies have shown that plants are proven mood boosters and stress relievers, and they also improve indoor air quality. There’s a reason adding plants to a home is one of the first things real estate agents suggest to eager home sellers.

Snake plants and cacti are low-maintenance plants that thrive in low-light conditions, so they’re perfect for your dim corners and alcoves. Once again, don’t forget to think vertically. If you don’t have room for a big potted plant on the floor, consider hanging plants from the ceiling. 

Think big

Don’t get so fixated on your unused nooks and cubbies that you overlook your unused rooms. Home buyers tend to buy as much house as they can afford, so it’s not uncommon for homeowners to have a few rooms, such as a den or guest bedroom, that they’re not really using on a daily basis. 

Design experts suggest making those rooms into multifunctional spaces. For example, installing a fold-down desk in a guest bedroom allows you to use it as a home office during the 51 weeks of the year you don’t have a guest staying. Other options include a home gym, yoga studio, or home library. Although some of these projects can be pricey, there are a lot of home improvement loans available, even to homeowners with bad credit. 

Hang mirrors

Mirrors improve a space in multiple ways, from reflecting and increasing natural light, to creating the illusion of a larger space. Experts suggest hanging them across from windows to maximize your light. If this isn’t possible, you can also create a “window effect” by placing a floor or table lamp near a wall mirror. Mirrors should be hung near eye level, although oversized mirrors can lean against a wall for an interesting visual effect. 

Use color

Activating your unused space can mean giving it a function, such as an office or reading nook, but it can also mean giving it a visual purpose. Painting a vivid accent wall in a neglected section of the room can bring it to life. So can wall hangings, such as artwork, mirrors, floating bookshelves, or a bold-print wallpaper.

Storage is a great last resort

If you can’t come up with a function for a space or a way to make it visually interesting, you can always make it into storage space. You can never have too much space to put extra clothes, bedding, or books. If you’re willing to build or commission custom-made shelves for your unused alcoves and bins, you can make full use of the space while keeping it looking clean and professional.

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How to Protect Your Home Sale from Falling Through

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It’s every home seller’s worst nightmare: You’ve agreed with the buyer on a sale price, found your next home, packed up, and gotten price estimates from movers. Then, out of nowhere, the sale falls through, and you’re back to square one.

When a home sale falls through, it’s often due to circumstances beyond the seller’s control. But sometimes a sale falters because of issues that could’ve been avoided. Issues that emerge during the inspection, a survey that reveals a smaller-than-advertised lot, a disastrous appraisal — these are the kinds of problems that sellers can sidestep with a little preparation on the front end. Let’s go over some of the easiest ways to protect your home sale from falling through. 

Get a Pre-Sale Home Inspection

Once your home goes under contract, the buyer will very likely order an inspection. Most sale agreements have a contingency stating that the buyer can back out of the sale if the inspection uncovers significant issues, so if something like a cracked foundation or leaky roof is discovered, the sale could fall through.

But why wait until the last leg of the sale to find out if your home will pass inspection? Smart sellers will get a pre-listing inspection to make sure there aren’t any hidden problems. A pre-sale inspection will make sure the foundation and roof are in good shape, that all major systems are functioning, that all renovations were done properly, and look for hazardous materials like lead or asbestos. 

If your pre-sale inspection does uncover problems, you’ll be able to proactively tackle them before your home hits the market. This can be a big financial benefit for a seller. If a buyer’s inspection uncovers a problem with the roof and asks for a $10,000 credit, you may have no choice but to take the hit. But if your pre-listing inspection finds the problem, you could fix it for a fraction of that cost.

The main drawback of a pre-listing inspection is that you’ll have to pay for it out of pocket. (The buyer will pay for their inspection.) In an era when many sellers are looking to cut costs by finding the agent with the lowest commission rates or even selling without the help of an agent, an inspection can be a daunting upfront cost. But it’s probably worth it. Not only does it give a seller peace of mind, but it can also attract buyers who are looking for a home that’s free of problems. 

Look for Qualified Buyers with Fresh Approvals

When you’re evaluating prospective buyers, you’ll want to look for ones with mortgage prequalification or preapproval letters. These letters are proof that they’re qualified buyers who don’t have the kind of financial or credit problems that come with, say, having co-signed a student loan that’s now in default. 

But what many sellers don’t know is that a mortgage preapproval isn’t necessarily a guarantee that a buyer will get a loan. If the buyer experienced a change in their financial circumstances since acquiring their preapproval letter — something like job loss, taking on more debt, or taking a hit on their credit score from something like a missed debt payment — their financing could very well fall through. 

Look for buyers with a fresh preapproval letter. Preapprovals are generally valid for 90 days, but a lot can happen in three months. Buyers with newer preapprovals are probably your best bet for a smooth sale. 

Try to Avoid Contingencies

If you’re selling a highly desirable property, or you’re in a strong seller’s market, you’ll probably be able to find a buyer who’ll agree to a sale with no contingencies. On the other hand, if you’re in a market where you might have a little trouble attracting a lot of buyers, you’ll probably have to accept a few contingencies in the sale agreement. If a contingency isn’t met, the buyer can walk away from the sale, so these can potentially derail a sale if you aren’t careful. 

The inspection contingency, which we touched on above, is one of the most common — and is generally considered pretty fair. So is the loan contingency, which simply states that the buyer is released from their obligation if their financing doesn’t come through. 

Some contingencies, however, can be a little troublesome. A home sale contingency, for example, states that a buyer won’t close on the purchase until they sell their present home. This contingency puts the seller at the mercy of the market, and can lead to some anxious waiting. (In fairness, most home sale contingencies allow the seller to walk away from the sale if the buyer’s home doesn’t sell within a certain amount of time.) Sellers who want a fast sale should target buyers who have already sold their home, or don’t need to use the equity on their current home to fund their purchase.

If you’re looking for a smooth home sale, reject offers that come with a ton of contingencies attached.

Get a Pre-listing Appraisal

A low appraisal has derailed many potential sales. If an appraisal comes in significantly below the agreed-upon purchase price, the lender will only approve a mortgage at that lower appraised amount. If the buyer can’t make up the difference in cash (or if the seller won’t lower the price), the sale can’t advance.

The benefits of a pre-listing appraisal are similar to a pre-listing inspection: It takes a lot of guesswork out of the equation. If you have an unusual or large home, you may not even have a very clear idea of how much your home is worth. A pre-listing appraisal will help you set an accurate list price, and an accurate list price is like elite SEO — it helps your ideal buyers find you with the least effort.

Consider Getting a Survey

If you have a large lot, a survey will determine its exact boundaries — information that a buyer will certainly want to know. It can also help you avoid the embarrassment of finding out the property you thought you sold is actually smaller than advertised. More importantly, if you have a fence around your property, a survey will ensure that you’ve built within your legal boundaries, and that the buyer won’t have to worry about future legal entanglements with neighbors. 

Some property boundaries are viewable on Google Maps, but not all are. If it’s been a while since your last professional survey, it’s a good idea to get one before you put your home on the market.