Monday, July 1, 2019 / by Jody Lee
Regular house-hunting isn't always easy, but adding distance into the mix can present challenges you don't have when looking over a few neighborhoods for a new home. While it may not be a walk in the park to buy a home from far away, it is possible. If you find a great agent and follow these steps, you can take away some of the stress that comes with moving long-distance.
1. Start Your Research
Knowing what is in your neighborhood is something we tend to take for granted. You know where the best sushi place is and exactly what grocery store is closest to your home for those last-minute runs. When moving to a new neighborhood, especially in a new state, it is key to decide what is important to you when it comes to proximity. Does your new house need to be near a park for your kids? Do you need to be 5 minutes from the closest coffee shop? You'll also want to look into crime rates and school ratings if you have children. Researching your potential neighborhoods will help you feel bette ...
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Sunday, May 26, 2019 / by Connie Tracy
You have been searching for a home for months and finally got an offer accepted and then....the house doesn't appraise for the negotiated price.
Now what?
TAKE A DEEP BREATH
It can be heart wrenching for the buyer and seller if the deal falls apart because of the appraisal. Low appraisals happen more often than you might think, especially in rising markets.
Sometimes there are not enough comparable sales applicable to the home you want, or maybe distressed sales have conflicted with the appraisal.
Generally, lenders will only lend funds up to a certain percentage of the appraised value. If the appraisal is lower than your offer, you may need to come up with more cash.. but there are other options.
1. Look over the appraisal contingency in your contract.
The appraisal contingency clause built into the contract allows you to reevaluate the situation or renegotiate if needed. But sometimes, even with this clause, you may end up spending more or j ...
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Sunday, May 26, 2019 / by Connie Tracy
May is coming to an end, schools are almost out, and summer officially begins! That means one thing... home selling season is HERE! With the kids home from school and vacations are planned, both buyers and sellers are ready to enter the market as the weather heats up. So now that the season is here, what do you do to make your home stand out amongst the rest? Here are a few tips to make sure you catch the eye of potential buyers during the busy season!
1. Tour Other For-Sale Homes
Go ahead and check out other homes that are similar to yours. Open houses are the BEST way to see what the competition may be for your home. As you are preparing to list, use these tours to see what decor and design-types are attractive to you and potential buyers. If you see things that you do not like yourself, remove them from your own home if you have them. Sometimes stepping out of the box, or in your case, your own home, will allow you to look at your home through the eyes of a potential home ...
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Monday, April 29, 2019 / by Elizabeth Sorensen
In this DIY-age, it is easy to want to do everything by yourself. Saving money is great, and there are so many things today that we can do on our own after a simple Google search and a YouTube video or two. While sometimes doing it yourself saves you a few dollars, that isn’t always the case when selling your home.
When looking at it from the outside, the For Sale By Owner option, or FSBO, may seem great. With a standard Realtor commission of 5-6%, wouldn’t it make sense to save yourself that money? Think again. In most cases, people choosing to take the FSBO route end up losing more than that when they try to sell on their own. Here are a few reasons to consider forgoing FSBO and hiring an agent.
1. Keeping emotions out can be difficult
Your home typically means something to you. It is where you’ve created memories. Because of that, it can be difficult to remove your emotions from a sale. Agents are there to be a mediator for rejections or nega ...
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Monday, April 29, 2019 / by Sara Koenig
If there is one room in the home you need to think about as you begin to sell it is the Kitchen. Period. This room is a BIG deal!
Think....You are selling your kitchen! Especially in this millennial age of home buyers. Millennials make up over 66% of first time home buyers currently, and over 35% of buyers overall, and the Kitchen is a BIG deal for them!
We are all thankful for the many drawers and cabinets in kitchens today, but they make it easy for us to hide our clutter instead of getting rid of it. If you have reached the point where you can no longer open a door in your kitchen without having something fall out, it is time to de-clutter your kitchen. No judgement here, but IT. IS. TIME.
Follow these steps and you can begin a clutter-free life, starting with your kitchen!
The utensil drawer - Sort through your utensil drawer. Toss out any broken or unused utensils.
Open your pantry and get rid of anything that is ex ...
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