4 Things That Can Kill Your Home Sale

Just because an offer has been accepted on a home does not mean it is a done deal.  Instead there are many steps that need to be accomplished prior to the actual homebuyer and sellers being able to close on the home and transfer ownership.  Before closing there are a number of issues that can pop up that may not only stall a home sale but can kill the deal completely requiring the home to go back on the market.  This article looks at where issues may pop up and some ways to prevent those issues from causing a deal to fall apart.

Buyer or Seller Cold Feet

While not as common this does happen from time to time where either the buyer or the seller decide they no longer want to buy or sell a home.  If the homebuyer announces their intention ahead of time not to buy the home then sellers may only have lost a few days on the market and can quickly have the home back on the market.  On the other hand if homebuyers declare they don’t want to buy the home at the last minute this can leave the home sellers in a tough situation especially if they have packed everything up and maybe even moved out of the house.  Often these situations can result in a lawsuit to recover money for expenses made in anticipation of selling the home and the buyer could be forced to buy a home if a court ordered them to complete the terms of the contract they agreed to.

In the event the seller decides not to sell the home hopefully they also announce that decision early and not force the buyer to spend money to hire an appraiser, home inspector and more in order to make sure the home is in good condition.  If done early enough then maybe the buyer...

Do You Need An Open House To Sell A Home?

In the past when real estate was mainly advertised through the newspaper and listings came in an actual soft cover book published on a weekly basis, open houses were a great tool to get buyers in the door to show off a home.  Generally those listing books included only one picture of the front of the house and had statistics about the house in general (bedroom count, bathroom count, square footage and more).  In order for buyers to get a real feel of the home it had to be visited in person.  What better time to get a bunch of buyers into a home than during an open house.

In the current days of the Internet with high definition photography, videos, 3D tours, virtual reality tours, aerial tours and more buyers are better able to get an overall view of a home and better decide if they want to see it in person.  If a buyer does decide they like a home they are more likely to want to view the home when no one else is around to obstruct views or make them feel rushed in seeing parts of a home.  Where open houses were needed in the past, in this current market their use and effectiveness is not as high.

What Types Of People Come To Open Houses?

To truly understand whether an open house is a good idea it helps to have an understanding of who comes to open houses and what their motivation is.  When one hosts an open house it truly means the house is open to anyone and everyone to walk in and tour to their heart’s content....

Using Checklists For When Selling OR Buying A Home

Whether you are selling a home or buying a home, going into the process organized is key in order to make sure things are done right and in order.  Getting a pre-approval after making an offer on a home is a surefire way to failure as the homebuyer does not know whether they can afford the home they are making an offer on or whether they will be approved for a mortgage with the lender they apply with.  Similar with sellers is a home seller who does not prepare their home first hand and instead decides to list as is the chances of them getting a good price for their home is greatly reduced.  Instead both homebuyers and home sellers will be better off by keeping a checklist of things they need to do and the order in which to do them in order to ensure a successful sale or purchase.

What Should Be Covered In A Home Sellers Checklist?

Home sellers should have a pre-listing checklist which covers the preparation of the home prior to putting it on the market as well as a checklist to cover what is done to the home prior to showings while the home is on the market.  By having a home properly prepared home sellers can help ensure homebuyers are not distracted by readily apparent flaws in the home like uncleanliness, clutter, pet smells or more.  Home showings are just as important as pre-sale preparation since during the actual showings homeowners will learn if buyers are actually interested in their home.

Any pre-sale checklist should include items like painting the house (indoors and outdoors), update/refresh landscaping, tune up mechanicals of home (like HVAC, garage door openers, plumbing, windows, doors...

How Should I Price My Luxury Home For Sale?

Real estate pricing is one of those areas where it is not an exact science whereby a homeowner can point to certain aspects that a home has and then on that basis determine an accurate price.  For instance a luxury home that has five bedrooms with each bedroom having its own bathroom, a four car garage, two kitchens, a pool, sauna and more could very well be priced lower than a three bedroom, two full bathroom home that is located in a downtown area of a large urban city.  Due to space limitations and location exclusivity a smaller living space in New York could very well be priced higher than a larger more spacious home in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Location is critical in pricing a luxury home as well as the features and amenities of the luxury home.  This article explores some different pricing strategies luxury homeowners may face when listing their home for sale.

Overpricing A Luxury Home As A Strategy

Some homeowners and real estate agents believe that by overpricing their home for sale they are leaving themselves room to negotiate down towards the asking price.  In fact this rarely is the case and often times by overpricing a home homeowners are preventing buyers who can afford the home from discovering it and coming to visit.  Homebuyers search for home prices based on a number of criteria.  The primary criteria for homebuyers are location, price, bedroom and bathroom count usually in that order.  If location is not as big of a concern then price is still always one of the top search criteria for homebuyers.

A majority of ...

7 Smarts Things To Do Prior To Buying A Home

Owning a home is a long term commitment that takes proper planning and preparation in order to make sure homeownership is successful over the long term.  The preparation period prior to purchasing a home is not short.  Instead the preparation time can be many months or more in order to ensure that homebuyers are in the best situation possible to apply for a mortgage to buy a home.  The tips in this article will help homebuyers navigate through the preparation phase so that they can get the best possible mortgage now and not worry about having to seek better terms or better interest rates later on down the line.

1.  Pay Down Debt

Paying down debt is something everyone should be doing regardless of whether or not they want to buy a home.  More importantly though future homebuyers can greatly benefit by paying down debt by being able to get better interest rates as well as better terms for mortgages.  If a homebuyer has too high of a debt to income ratio then the amount the homebuyer will be pre-approved for will be lower than if they had fewer or no debts.  At a certain point of debt to income ratio the homebuyer may not be able to qualify for a mortgage at all.

Best strategies to pay down debt is to either pick the account with the smallest balance and pay that down first and then move onto the next account or to pay down the debt with the highest interest rate.  Some psychologists suggest there may be a psychological benefit to paying off the smallest account first since that...