Selling A Home

Are you on the fence about selling your home? Has your family size outgrown your current home?  Maybe you are looking to downsize because retirement is around the corner or maybe a new job is on the horizon which requires you to leave the area. Whatever the reason may be there are many things to consider and to know in advance of taking that leap. 

Picking an Agent:

Picking a real estate agent is going to be a very important part of the process. I personally recommend interviewing your real estate agent options. Get a feel for who you are most comfortable working with. Ask them questions that concern you and make sure they are answering those questions. 

Commission:

Real estate commission is a tough discussion…. Everyone wants the best deal and to pay the least amount out in cost, but is that really the best option for you? An agent will in most cases negotiate from the standard 6% commission rate but do you really want to pay them less?  Does this mean the agent is less experienced, less confident in their skills? Not always but yes sometimes it does mean these things. A real estate agent may negotiate a lower rate when you are purchasing a home with them and they will have two deals with you. Some will lower the commission for less services offered. Make sure the agent you choose has the skills, knowledge and experience you want and need to sell your home. 

Determining a Sales Price:

Sales price is another touchy subject. A real estate agent can suggest a price based off of the current market, the location of your home and the condition of your home (see where skills, knowledge and experience come in handy). This home has been your home for however many years and most people become very emotional during the sale of their home. But it is best to place your emotions aside to consider the actual data, not confusing the value (what a buyer is willing to pay for your) home with the actual price or cost of your home (what you paid for your home, how much money you put into your home). If you price your home too high you won’t get any showings meaning no buyers are going to even see your home, you won’t get them in the front door. Pricing your home correctly right away gets those buyers in your home and those offers in front of you. 

Prepare Your Home:

The current data for York County as of end of February indicates that the average days on the market for a home is 9 days. Wow! I recommend prepping your home in advance for the sale. Your real estate agent should be able to assist you with what projects should be done to optimize the sales price. You have one chance to make a great first impression on those buyers. You want to wow them when they walk in the door so that they know this is the home for them. 

Home Showing Appointments:

We recommend to all of our sellers to be sure to leave the home for showing appointments and to be sure to take your pets with you. There are so many individuals with pet allergies and who would want to create the extra stress on your beloved pet having strangers in their home while they are caged.

Offers:

Once an offer or hopefully multiple offers are received, your agent should be able to go over the details of each offer with you with confidence to explain each item and answer any of your questions (here’s where that skills, knowledge and experience comes in again). 

Home Inspections:

Next step would be after accepting an offer if there is any home inspection requested by the buyer. You will receive a copy of the inspection report along with any request the buyer might have for concerned items of repair. Your agent will be able to go over this report with you and let you know your options (again skills, knowledge and experience, do you see a pattern here). 

Closing Day:

Finally your closing day has arrived and you will be receiving a check and the buyers will be receiving keys. This should be a happy day but can also be an emotional day. Your home should be cleared of personal items, swept clean and ready for it’s new loving owners. A final walk-through will be completed by the buyer with their agent. You’ve sold your home. 

My husband and my years of experience, vast knowledge, negotiating skills above others, honesty and pure service of others helps us stand out as real estate agents. We are confident in both listing and selling homes. We would be available to be interviewed if you are considering a home sale. Home inventory is low and we would like to add your home to our list of sold homes.

BUYING TIPS IN A SELLER’S MARKET

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A quick definition of a seller’s market, this is when the demand for homes exceeds the supply of homes.  Currently interest rates are at a record low and many individuals are taking advantage of these low rates to purchase a home.  Most are finding that the monthly mortgage payments on a home purchase are lower than they are currently paying in rent.  This all equals LOTS of buyers.  I have some tips I’d like to offer to buyers during a seller’s market. 

Buyers should analyze their search area with their real estate professional well in advance, so that they can be prepared for the prices of the homes similar to their needs.  

Buyers should be pre-approved.  They need to be prepared to make an offer. The seller needs to see that they have prepared for this and have aligned themselves with a team of professionals to help complete the purchase.  

Buyers need to make an appointment with their real estate professional as soon as a home goes on the market.  Homes are selling at a rapid pace and if a buyer doesn’t jump to see it right away, the home will be sold before even getting to see it. 

Buyers need to be ready to act.  Once they have seen the home they will need to be ready to make that offer.  If a buyer takes too long to decide if it is the “perfect” home they may miss out. 

Buyers need to put their best foot forward.  They should be ready to place their highest and best offer.  When the demand for homes is so high with so little inventory they wouldn’t want to realize that they let the home of their dreams pass by because they were trying to haggle on the price.  

Those are my tips for a home buyer in a seller’s market.  My husband and I work with buyers and sellers daily and hope that you found this information helpful.  

Buying a home in your twenties

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Buying a home in your twenties…. can it be done why absolutely. I bought my very first home when I was only nineteen years old. Thinking of the economics of it, you need a place to live and you are going to pay for those four walls and a roof, why not invest in yourself and purchase versus paying a landlord’s home off with your monthly rental payments. So how do you go about buying your first home…….

  • STABLE EMPLOYMENT obviously is a must but I put in there “stable” because there is nothing more stressful than having a home and not knowing how you will continue to pay your mortgage and the maintenance. Working hard to establish yourself a secure position helps secure your financial future.
  • CREDIT – yes you will most likely need to finance your home purchase and you will need to have credit to do so. Start off with a small simple credit card to pay for every day expenses. The key is to pay this bill in full each month so that you are not placing yourself into unnecessary debt but that you are establishing a credit history for future creditors to determine if you are creditworthy.
  • PRE-APPROVAL – once you have the job and you have the credit established before you look at any homes you will want to work with a reputable lender to get pre-approved for a mortgage. This prepares you for the sales price range you will be in. Keep in mind most lenders will pre-approve you for well more than your personal budget for that monthly housing so be sure to write down a budget to know what you are personally comfortable with paying.
  • ESTABLISH A TEAM – you want to have a team of professionals working for you at this point. LENDER, REALTOR, HOME INSPECTOR, TITLE COMPANY. These are all examples of professionals you will want to team up with to make sure that you have a great first time home buying process. Most Realtors will have a good list for you to start with. Do your research make sure that you feel comfortable with the professionals you work with and that they answer all of your questions. Working with local professionals is best as they will know and understand the market you are in and be best prepared to assist you with this very important purchase

Getting those keys on your settlement day is so exciting.  Know that you can do it with hard work and determination, anything is possible.