Not all upgrades are created equal—some will add definite value to your home, while you may not recoup the full costs of others. Check out these common upgrades that may cost more than they’re worth. Even if you don’t have the funds or the energy for a big improvement project or remodel, small changes can make your home a more enjoyable place to live, increase its value, and help you command the best possible price when you sell.

PUTTING IN A POOL

Unless you live in an area with year-round warm weather, the costs of routine maintenance and safety concerns for young children may keep buyers from paying top dollar for your home.

HIGHLY CUSTOM DESIGN DECISIONS

Keep upgrades fairly neutral, as no one wants to rip out something that’s been recently renovated because it’s not their style.

PERMANENT BEDROOM CONVERSIONS

Combining two bedrooms to make a mega-closet may be a good idea for your lifestyle today, but going from a three to a two-bedroom house can hurt the value when you try to sell.

INCREMENTAL SQUARE FOOTAGE GAINS

Big changes, like converting a basement, can be a good decision. But smaller additions may create an awkward floor plan and cost more than the added value.

When you’re ready to buy, sell or invest in real estate, you need a trusted local expert. Call me today to arrange a personalized consultation

Home improvement projects that add big value to your home.

Exchange light fixtures for ceiling fans.

A stylish new ceiling fan instantly updates a room and can add value to your home. Choose fans that create a rustic vintage look or add a cool island vibe to an outdoor patio.

Replace your kitchen faucet and sink.

If your sink is chipped and stained, or your faucet is grungy, new fixtures will make food prep and washing dishes more enjoyable. Even a basic but deeper stainless steel basin will sparkle, and a pullout faucet will add a modern touch.

Other simple changes in the kitchen and bathrooms can have a huge impact.

A new backsplash can tie together the colors in your counters, floors and cabinets and can be an easy do-it-yourself project. New drawer and door knobs are a lovely addition. Adding a medicine cabinet or changing the mirror in a bathroom will instantly update the room.

Simple tips like these can create a happier, healthier and more valuable home. Thank you for thinking of me for all of your real estate needs, and be sure to share my contact information with anyone you know of looking to buy, sell or invest in a home.

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You must keep your payments current on all your loan accounts, including credit cards and car loans.

The lender will look at your credit again before finalizing your mortgage, and if you have missed any payments, it may lead to you losing the loan.

2. Avoid changing jobs

It goes without saying that changing jobs is not something you should do in the middle of purchasing a home!

One of the things lenders look closely at is your employment

history.

They want to be sure that you are financially stable and capable of making your loan payments.

By changing a job before you get your loan, you make yourself less appealing to the lender.

Changing situations may cause the lender think you are unstable, or that you won’t have a steady income to keep up with the mortgage.

The word stability is something lenders love.

3. Don’t shift your finances around before getting the loan

When a lender pre-approves you, the approval is based on the current state of your finances.

You want to maintain that state – the one that got you the pre-approval – at all costs.

Sometimes buyers make the mistake of shifting their money around to better position themselves, but this is a mistake.

Wait to make any financial changes until after you have gotten your mortgage.

If a lender sees you moving money around various accounts, they will ask for an explanation.

You will need to give them a detailed accounting of why you moved your money around.

Avoid making this mistake and keep your money in one place before closing.

4. Avoid buying a car.

Without a doubt buying a car while also purchasing a home is a common mistake.

Doing so is also at the top of the list of what you shouldn’t do before buying a home.

Sometimes the feeling of knowing you are finally going to get a home of your own can be so exciting that you start looking at other ways to improve your life – like buying a car.

Unfortunately, purchasing a car can throw a wrench into your home buying plans.

Your loan pre-approval was based on the state of your credit and your debt load at the time of pre-approval before you bought a car.

Adding the debt that the car purchase will bring may make you unable to get the loan for your home.

5. Don’t buy furniture or household goods on credit.

Another mistake many home buyers make is using credit to start preparing for their new living arrangements.

You may want to start buying furniture and appliances to fill up your new home and make it truly yours, but hold back.

Taking on new debt, even for furniture or other household related items, will change the state of your credit and may throw up a flag for the lender that leads to the loss of your loan approval.

6. Don’t spend the money you are going to use to cover closing costs.

For many home buyers, the period surrounding the home purchase is one of financial scarcity.

Money may be tight right now, which can make the money you saved to cover closing costs.

The last thing you want is to be unable to cover closing costs when you are at the point where you almost have your new home.

Stay strong and avoid spending it if you can help it.

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The first thing you should do is sign a listing agreement with a Realtor you trust. This person will be responsible for helping you receive the best possible price for your home, so make sure to choose them carefully! Once a listing agreement is signed, the Realtor will put a ‘For Sale’ sign in a prominent location on the property, and the home will be listed on the market.

Your Realtor will have access to Multiple Listing Service or MLS. While most individuals search for properties on Zillow or Realtor.com, the MLS network helps other Realtors discover that a property is for sale. After listing on MLS, your Realtor will execute a marketing plan. Often this includes social media marketing, flyers, and at least one Open House.

A successful Open House takes planning. Your Realtor should market your Open House a few days in advance so that prospective buyers or even just casual browsers can plan to drop by. You never know who will decide this is their dream home! Everything from refreshments to atmospheric music should be carefully considered and planned out at least a few days in advance.

After the Open House, you will have requests for a private tour. Your Realtor will handle all of these and work with you to schedule them at a convenient time. If you have already moved, a lockbox will be installed for the Buyer’s Agent to show the property. This flexibility is very helpful, and all visits are supervised by the Buyer’s Agent or your Realtor.

Once a private tour has completed, you will receive an offer. It is critical to take your time and review it carefully with your Realtor! This is probably one of the largest financial transactions of your life. It is okay to sleep on it and before making a decision. Also, don’t forget you have the right to negotiate terms until you and the buyer have a satisfactory agreement. When you choose to accept an offer, the buyer has three days to deposit escrow to the Title Company.

From there, you will have a specific period of time to allow the buyer to complete an Inspection. When the inspection is finished, they will let you know if they want any repairs made on the home. You have the right to negotiate this, too. They can ask for anything they wish, and you have the right to say no if you feel it is a deal-breaker. Your Realtor will let you know if the requests are reasonable and ordinary for the situation. After you’ve worked this out, the lender will schedule an appraisal to confirm the property is worth the amount of the loan.

The last step is the best, you sign papers at closing and receive a check for any proceeds! As you can see, it’s a straightforward process that leads to a great reward.

The post A Quick Guide to Selling Your Home appeared first on Safetynet Realty.

Unfortunately, that is rarely an option. Instead, you have to face and conquer the stress-ridden road of selling your house to buy the one you want, not vice versa. Doing both at the same time may be a major challenge, but it is often the only viable option. And if it is the only option, you want to get through it with your sanity intact.

If you decide to take this path, here’s what you need to know to make both processes much easier.

First things first, find a realtor who can help you juggle both processes.

Before you start searching for a new home or put your current property on the market, you need to know what the housing market looks like in your area and the area you plan to move to. Is it a buyers or seller’s market? How quickly are homes like yours being sold? What does the inventory look like in the area you want to move to?

A reliable real estate agent will have these answers for you and will help you put together a thorough understanding of what you can expect to happen. Nobody wants to buy too fast and have to carry two mortgages for several months, or sell too fast and be stranded.

During this planning phase, it’s a good idea to pay for an appraisal of your own and price your current home fairly. This will help you avoid surprises and get buyers to your open house. Even if your home needs some updating, setting a reasonable price will almost always get buyers interested.

When you are putting together your plan, make sure you anticipate possible problems.

Real estate transactions almost always come with drama. It’s the nature of the beast. And when you are trying to buy and sell at the same time, you are twice as likely to hit a speedbump. You should ask yourself critical questions and give yourself honest answers. Things like:

• Can I carry two mortgages?
• What if the best offer on my home is below the listing price?
• How will I handle a poor inspection result on the property I have an offer on?
• What other major responsibilities do I have on my plate that I cannot push off until after the dust settles?

The more of these questions you have answered, the better. Knowing these answers ahead of time will help your realtor work through the difficulties while you walk the tightrope.

There is some good news: the end of this process comes with you sitting in your dream home! As challenging as it might be to work through it all, keep this ending goal in mind. Being able to envision the joy you will experience as you sign the papers at your second closing is the best way to keep your stress levels low.

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The first thing you should do is put together a team of people who can help you. At the top of the list is a qualified estate attorney who knows the laws of your area. A Certified Public Accountant may also be valuable to you. And if real estate is involved, an experienced realtor is a good idea, too.

The estate attorney will answer the two biggest questions: Can you sell the inherited home? And if so, who is the authorized executor?

Some of these answers may need to wait until after the estate has gone through probate. During probate, the executor has the responsibility to keep all assets well-maintained and secure. The house must be insured, heirlooms must be safeguarded from damage or theft, and any maintenance issues that come up have to be addressed.

During probate, you will discover if there is money owed or mortgages on the property. It’s possible there may be more than one mortgage. You need to know all about this because if the market has moved, it may not be possible to sell the property for what is owed on it.

The sale of inherited property can come with a number of tax pitfalls. Your estate attorney or CPA will be able to walk you through those scenarios and share the information with your Realtor to help you come up with a plan to sell.

When you decide to sell, you have a few options. First is to prepare the property for sale or choose to list it ‘As-Is’ if you do not have the means or the desire to make repairs and updates to the property. There are pros and cons to each option, and you should discuss them at length with your Realtor.

Most sellers find it easier to list the home without the previous occupants’ personal effects in it. A garage or estate sale can help get unwanted items out of the home, and give you a little more money to help maintain the property while you wait for a buyer. Remember: the lawn needs to be cut, hedges trimmed, and maintenance kept up. The same thing goes for insurance and utility payments. You still have these responsibilities, even if the home is on the market.

You should also consider how you are going to secure the home against possible break-ins or vandalism.

After all this, you will have the home on the market and ready to receive offers! Work with your Realtor ahead of time to make sure they know what concessions if any, you are willing to make. There is no obligation for you to do so, but the more flexible you are, the easier it is to sell the property. It’s up to you.

After the sale process and closing, you need to settle all property-related finances and report the sale proceeds to the IRS. This will likely bring your estate attorney and CPA back into play. You may also need to write checks to other family members who had a stake in the proceeds.

As you can see, this process is very involved. Make sure you work with the members of your team closely and set the right expectations for all parties. Often, you will be pressured by other family members to hurry up and get on with it! Setting those clear expectations (including a general timetable) upfront will help keep the stress levels down during an emotional time for everyone.

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1. Do not overprice your home

Everyone wants top dollar for their home. That’s natural and often comes from the emotional attachment you have to it. However, if you price your home too high, you will price out buyers who would otherwise be interested or turn off those who can afford the higher price but have better options.

This causes your home to languish on the market and is terrible for your negotiating position. After a couple of months on the market, buyers and their agents will begin to believe something is wrong with it. Your only options will be to pull your home off the market and relist at a later date or decide to slash the price to less than you wanted.

2. Do not hide problems

If you are not willing or able to correct problems with your home prior to selling, it is critical, to be honest, and transparent at all times. You may have a legal responsibility to potential buyers about what needs repairing. A failed home inspection is one of the most common reasons real estate deals fall through. And if the buyer thinks you knew about the problems but did not tell them, who could blame them for pulling out?

Do not waste your time or the buyers. Disclose any important information, price your home accordingly, and be transparent.

3. Do not drop by during a showing

Many sellers get anxious about strangers being in their home. That is perfectly natural. It is also one reason why you have a real estate agent. Your Realtor is there to protect your best interests and will be keeping a careful eye on the prospective buyers.

Other times a seller will feel like they could answer some detailed questions or point out a special quirk of the home that they found especially useful. While these sellers have the best of intentions, it is best to give the buyers a little freedom to imagine themselves in the space. Let your agent help them fall in love with the property naturally, and the offer you’ve been waiting for will come.

The post 3 Things You Should Never Do When Selling a Home appeared first on Safetynet Realty.

There is a very good rule of thumb that will help save you time, money, and heartache when working with a fixer-upper: Everything will cost twice as much and take twice as long as you think it will. Unless you are using a Realtor who understands how to fix and flip properties, if you are, you should heed their advice.

If you have spent any time at all watching the many HGTV shows about fixing up worn down homes, you’ll know problems usually happen during a renovation. There are always two or three calamities that happen to provide drama that keeps us engaged until after the next commercial break.

The market for fixer-uppers is a bit separate from the general real estate market. The rules are a bit different when you’re dealing with homes that aren’t quite ready for the buyers to move on in. In many cases, you have more buying power than you would with a turn-key property. Sometimes you have a lot more buying power based on the condition of the property. This is why you need to ensure you have the help of a qualified real estate professional who can guide you through the process.

You have to make sure that you go into the buying process with as much information as possible. That means inspections. Possibly multiple inspections. And even a walkthrough with licensed contractors who can give you a ballpark figure of what it costs to purchase and install those Shaker cabinets you want in the kitchen. If you go it alone, you might make a mistake. Your Realtor will have all the connections you need to ensure you can fit everything within your budget.

Of course, there is no guarantee with anything in real estate, and the same goes for when you buy a fixer-upper. You need to have a bold vision for what the home can become, but also a prudent financial plan.  Start working with your real estate agent to narrow down your options in terms of location and properties, and you are sure to find the fixer-upper of your dreams.

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Before doing this, you should ask yourself some questions. The very first one should be: “Is this truly my dream home, or is it just a nice house?”

There is a difference, and that can be tough to see when you know many other offers are probably being prepared while you are thinking about what to do. Having a great realtor by your side will help make this thought process a little easier. They will not have the emotional investment in the outcome and will be able to objectively talk you through all the relevant factors.

You need to be honest with yourself about how much you want the house. Sometimes a buyer’s competitive spirit will take over, and they don’t realize that they’re spending more than they want for a home. It goes back to the first question. Is this truly your dream house? Or do you just want to win the competition?

While offering above the listing price is a great way to help your offer be accepted, there are also some possible negative outcomes. First and foremost, it could turn out you had no competition and could have purchased the home at the original asking price. If that happens, you could be paying more than what it is really worth. This could become a mess if you need a mortgage, and the appraisal doesn’t justify the loan to the lender.

If you decide to offer over the asking price, determining just how much over can be challenging. It is possible to lose the property with an offer as little as $1 more than yours. And you would have no way of knowing until it is too late.

Unfortunately, there is no magic formula. It would depend on the market and how much you are comfortable buying the home for. Your Realtor can help you come up with a competitive offer, but they also cannot know with 100% certainty what the other offers will be. At the very least, they are the ones who truly understand the market and how quickly you could locate a similar home.

Ultimately, if this is truly your dream home and a place you plan to stay for the rest of your life, it is likely worth doing what is necessary to secure the property. Work with your real estate agent to take a big step back and try to see the bigger picture—and consider that maybe it isn’t just about price. The seller, for example, might want a strong buyer who can close escrow quickly. Your Realtor will have the experience necessary to help you navigate this.

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So is the home inspection required?

The short answer is no. Inspections are generally not required when using a mortgage to buy a home you intend to live in. Lenders almost always require an appraisal before they will approve a home loan, in order to determine how much the house is worth. The lender doesn’t care about nuisance issues you may run into on a daily basis—they care about their investment. And a mortgage is an investment in you, backed by the property that they will take away from you if you do not meet your obligation.

So a home inspection isn’t required, but it is necessary. The inspection is to ensure you are getting a hazard-free property, making a good investment, and that you won’t have an overwhelming amount of repairs to make before moving in.

When you don’t require a home inspection, you’re trusting the seller to honestly disclose everything that’s wrong with the house. Some sellers may have no idea that the cast iron sewer pipe is pitted and a few months away from bursting in your basement while causing tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of damage. Other sellers may know, and that’s why they put the home on the market, but they don’t want to tell you because it would lower the sale price. This is why it is so important to have an impartial expert come in and evaluate the house. They will give an honest, informed opinion.

With that being said, a home inspection is not a guarantee that you’ll uncover every problem. A home inspector will focus on the condition of the property and all of the installed systems. They will also keep an eye out for any potential health and safety issues.

For example, you probably didn’t go into the attic or crawl spaces while you were at an Open House, but the home inspector will. They will carefully search these areas for structural damage or signs of pests such as mice or termites. You do not want to buy a house and discover you are sharing it with a family of raccoons that live over your bedroom, or that the electrical box isn’t wired to code and is a fire hazard.

It is entirely possible they will miss something, and if they do, there is no recourse. However, the best home inspectors have a long track record of Success and can save you thousands of dollars. Your Realtor has probably worked with many throughout their career and can recommend one to you who they trust. You will receive a report at the end and can present the items you want to be fixed to the sellers. They will agree with some and disagree with others. Often you can negotiate the cost of the repairs into the sale price of the home, then have your own professionals come out and do the work.

A home inspection is all about reducing the risk in your investment. Make sure you insist on one.

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The first thing you should do is select a Realtor to represent your interests as a buyer. Having an advocate on your side will ensure each step of the process goes smoothly, and that you select a fantastic home. He or she will ask you to go to a lender for a Pre-Approval. This will ensure you know what your budget is and will get you a pre-approval letter that shows the sellers what you qualify for.

Next comes the fun part-time to go shopping! The home search process should begin with making a list of your ‘must-haves’ and sharing them with your Realtor. You will review a number of homes electronically and attend a few open houses and showings until you locate the right one.

Once you have found the right home for you, talk to your Realtor about what a fair price would be. Everyone wants a good deal, but you need to weigh the pros and cons of each part of your offer. A quality real estate professional will submit an offer on the home and will negotiate terms you are willing to accept.

After the offer is accepted, Normally you have three days to deposit escrow to the Title Company. You also have a specific period to get an inspection completed. This step is critical because it tells you exactly what condition you are buying the property. This will also give you a chance to let the sellers know what you want to be fixed. There may be some renegotiation here as the sellers could be willing to fix some things but not others.

While this is going on, an appraisal will be scheduled by the lenders to ensure the home is worth its purchase price. Stay in close contact with your lender here so that they receive all requested documents in a timely fashion. If they do not, they will reschedule your closing.

The final walkthrough is generally scheduled just before closing to ensure the home is in the same shape it was when you put the offer in. You want to look for damage before moving to the closing carefully. All of the seller’s belongings should have been moved out, and the floors swept.

Finally, you will get to the big moment—closing! After all the fun and hard work of finding the perfect property, you sign the final paperwork and receive the key to your new home!

There are several steps to this process, but it really isn’t too bad. Your Realtor will be with you throughout the entire process. Work closely with them, and you will be closed before you know it.

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