The Pros and Cons Of Buying a Home in the Winter

In order to successfully buy a home during the winter season it is important to understand the pros and cons of the situation.  When buying a home in the winter both sellers and buyers must be flexible and patient with one another when it comes to viewing properties and choosing a closing date. Never feel pressured to buy a home that isn’t exactly what you want.  If the inventory you are looking for isn’t there in December, maybe it will come available in January.
Winter can be a perfect time to buy a home even though not the traditional time to do so.  Buying a home during the winter season can prove to be cost effective for savvy, patient, buyers.  Below are some tips to making the most out of buying a home right now.

Understand the Pros

No matter what season you buy your home in there will be pros and cons, the winter season is no exception.  It’s important to view the challenges and benefits of winter home buying.  One benefit of winter house hunting is the decrease in competition.  Fewer buyers are out searching and there fore there is more room for negotiations.  During the winter there are fewer bidding wars and home prices are on closing, on average, for $3,100 or less.
Another advantage of buying a home in the winter is the speed at which you can go from finding the home of your dreams to closing on it.  Sellers are motivated to move, and buyers are ready to settle in.  With fewer homes on the market to view the decision-making process becomes a bit more limited and therefore the focus is more directed. 

Recognize the Cons

The major down fall with purchasing a home in the winter is that it is a mess.  The temperatures are not conducive to be in and out of the car and house all day.  Snow, puddles, and ice can be difficult to navigate.  The property can’t be completely viewed in all its glory when snow is covering decks, patios, and driveways.  Buyers must rely on photos or video taken when the snow was not covering the landscape.  The home inspection must also be done in the winter and thus certain aspects like the exterior of the home will not be able to be as thoroughly examined.  Make sure you hire an inspector that has experience in winter home inspections.

Be Flexible

The winter season is filled with holidays which we already know can be a stressful time of year. Even the most motivated seller can find themselves unable to drop everything to be prepared for a walk through. Be flexible in your scheduling of viewing homes, inspections, appraisals, and so forth. 

Research, Research, and More Research

It is important to ask for documentation for work that has been done around the home.  Find out when the roof was last replaced, when windows were last updates, furnace maintenance performed and so on.  This will give you an understanding on when you should expect upcoming repairs to be needed.
C21 Lady of the Lakes is a full-service realtor serving Livingston County and the surrounding areas with all their real estate needs.  More information can be found at http://www.ladyofthelakes.com/.

Embracing Winter When Selling Your Home

There really is no reason to wait until spring to sell your home if you find yourself ready right now.  The winter weather doesn’t have to give you pause.  In fact, if years past is a predictor of the future, selling your home during the winter months has gotten easier.  This is especially true as the inventory for homes continues to struggle to meet buyers demands, leaving home buyers to seek out homes throughout the year and not just during the spring and summer seasons.

When placing a home up for sale during the winter it may be wise to avoid marketing your home for sale during the holiday months.  November and December are filled with the chaos of the holiday season and therefore it can be quite stressful to have realtors and potential buyers in and out of the home all the while you are preparing to entertain.  There are many reasons not to wait until spring to sell your home and instead to list it for sale at the beginning of a new year including:

Winter Home Buyers are as Serious as Winter Home Sellers

Winter home buyers prove how motivated they are to purchase a new home each and every time they layer up to go house hunting.  Think about your motivation even with the idea of opening up your home for walk throughs even though the beauty of the snow has faded into the muck of melt.  Winter sellers and buyers are some of the most serious, motivated individuals.  They are ready to find what they are looking for if only to prevent having to trek out and about in the cold once again.

Days on Market Means Less in The Winter

Although there are fewer buyers throughout the winter months, their motivation is higher and therefore they are less concerned with the frivolous details that can lose a sale such as the number of days the home has been on the market.  During spring, a home that has been on the market over 50 days gives buyers the impression that something is wrong with the home.  This criterion however is not the same for homes for sale in the winter where homes are expected to be on the market a bit longer just because of the decreased number of buyers looking.

Lack of Competition

Let’s face it, there are fewer homes to choose from in the winter, so the competition isn’t quite as fierce as it can be in the spring and summer months.  Home sellers are most likely looking to sell their home because they have found one, they are interested in purchasing.  Negotiation when a contingency is in place may be more acceptable during the winter months where there are fewer buyers competing to buy your home.

C21 Lady of the Lakes is a full-service realtor serving Livingston County and the surrounding areas with all their real estate needs.  More information can be found at http://www.ladyofthelakes.com/

Selling Your Home During the Holiday Season

The holidays are upon us!  Some of us are seeing snow flurries, the cold temps have settled in, and you need to sell your house!  While most of us are busy preparing for family gatherings, feasting on festive meals, and wrapping last minute presents some of us are preparing to relocate.  Yep, you probably guessed it, the holiday season is not ideal to be selling or buying a home for most of us.  Our plates are already too full and the last thing we want to be doing is having people trekking through our homes in wet boots.  It is also not an ideal time due to the already abundant financial and emotional stresses that find most of us during the holidays.
This is how the experts at Century 21 Lady of the Lakes can help!

Asking Price – Price Your Home to Sell

If you are trying to sell your home during the madness of the holiday season it is not time to over price your home.  Listen to your realtor, they know what they are doing when it comes to pricing your home to sell.  Buyers often have the luxury of waiting until the warmer weather approaches if they think your asking price is too high.  Buyers have the option to keep looking, do you have that same luxury?  All sellers want to sell their homes for the highest price possible, however it is important, especially given the time of year that you listen to your realtor.  They know what you can expect based on the current market, the sale price of other homes in your area, and the amenities your home has to offer.

Incentives

Create an environment that is open and inviting.  Offer buyers incentives to buy your home and deal with moving in the winter.  Consider updating the appliances in the kitchen or covering the buyers closing costs.  Sellers concessions and improvements to the home are just some of the many ways that you can make your home more appealing to buyers.

Decorate – Festive Displays

Buyers want to be able to picture themselves living in your home, so create an environment that does this for them.  Create the holiday spirit by staging your home with all of your very best décor.  Create curb appeal with outdoor decorations, fill the house with festive smells, and create a space that buyers cannot resist.  A space where they can totally immerse themselves in as their own.

Use the Weather to your Advantage

As miserable as it is to have people trampling through your house, think about the buyers who are trekking in and out of homes day after day.  Of course, this would put even the jolliest home buyers in a bad mood, so it is your job to make sure that doesn’t translate into how they feel about your home.

You can help create a more positive vibe by creating a warm, welcoming space.  Light candles, start a fire in the fireplace, provide warm beverages, and homemade treats.  The longer they linger in your space, the more likely for it to feel like their space.
C21 Lady of the Lakes is a full-service realtor serving Livingston County and the surrounding areas with all their real estate needs.  More information can be found at http://www.ladyofthelakes.com/.

Problems and Solutions to Common Issues in Real Estate

If you want a job in an industry where everyday is different and no two transaction are ever the same, you into real estate.  A boring day just doesn’t happen when you are working daily with a wide variety of people and personalities.  As much fun as it is to work with several different types of people on a regular basis, there are some challenges that can arise when working to find a buyer their dream home or a seller who is selling more than just a home, but an abundance of memories as well.

Common Real Estate Problems and Solutions

1. Market Conditions That Are Not Ideal

Realtors do not have control over local real estate markets.  It is inevitable that local real estate markets will have ups and downs that need to be dealt with.  The longer you are in real estate the more you will see the market conditions fluctuate. The market conditions will play a huge role in if a home sells or not and if it sells at, below, or above the average market value. Realtors must understand and recognize if they are currently dealing with a sellers or buyers’ market.  The advice that you offer to your clients will make a huge difference in their perception and the outcome of the transaction.

2. Emotional Sellers

Many times, the sale of a home can be quite emotional.  Real estate agents will get the full brunt of the emotion’s sellers are feeling during this process.  A wide range of emotion is felt from sadness, stress, excitement, uncertainty, and nervousness.  Selling a home is a time of mixed emotions for homeowners and you as their agent will need to help them overcome the feelings that they are having to get to the point of sale.  It will be important to remind the sellers of their initial motivation to sell, the benefits that come from the sale of a home, and how these play into their situation.  It is important not to become invested emotionally yourself in the sale of any home so that you can remain impartial throughout the process.

3. Listing Price

There are many sellers and buyers out there that will take your recommendation when it comes to putting an offer in on a home or listing their home for sale.  However, there are times when people will feel like their home is worth more than it is or that a lower offer is better for later negotiations.  Price points are the biggest challenge most realtors will face with their clients. It is important that you as the realtor educate your clients with concrete evidence and current stats to validate your reasoning.   Point out how long comparable houses have stayed on the market and the difference in pricing points.

Most of the time real estate professionals can work out issues with their clients by listening to them and providing concrete information to reassure them.  Proper wording and empathy can often overcome any challenge that arises to help facilitate a compromise.
C21 Lady of the Lakes is a full-service realtor serving Livingston County and the surrounding areas with all their real estate needs.  More information can be found at http://www.ladyofthelakes.com/.

The Most Important Repairs to Make Before Selling Your Home

Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance… I can’t stress the importance that keeping up with your home’s maintenance, repairs, and overall general well being can make when it comes time to sell.
For many buyers it is important to get into a home without having to do a ton of repairs to make it inhabitable.  It is also not on many buyers’ agendas to make an offer on a home only to determine upon inspection that there are issues that they just don’t want to deal with.  With a little bit of preparation before you place your home for sale, along with regular maintenance and consistent updates while you are actively living in the space your home should be buyer ready when you decide it is time to sell.
Listed below are just a few of the areas to pay special attention to as they are high on the list of priorities that buyers are looking at when buying a new home.

Kitchen & Bath Renovations and Updates:

• These two spaces have the potential to make or break the sale of a house.  They also employ the most technical mechanics of the house from appliances, to plumbing and electricity, there is a lot that can go wrong.  If not kept up on kitchen and bathroom spaces can easily fall into despair. 
  • Kitchen Appliances: Although it can be beneficial to have updated, energy efficient appliances when selling your home, the most important aspect is that they are all in solid working condition.  Maintenance is key in keeping appliances running properly.
  • Cabinets: Cabinets are an essential visual and functional element in both the bathroom and kitchen.  Not only should cabinets be free of damage and in good working order, new hardware never hurts to modernize a slightly older space.
  • Faucets, Sinks, Showers & Tubs: Not only are aesthetics important so is the functionality of drains and faucets. The drains within sinks, showers, and tubs should all drain properly, free and clear of any problems.  Overflow drains should also be in proper working order.  The hot and cold faucets should be properly installed.  (Believe it or not many homes I have remodeled have the hot and cold feature set up backwards) Exhaust vents should be working and clear of debris. Check all surfaces for cracks, chips, and peeling.  Homes that undergo routine maintenance should have addressed all of the above issues as problems arose. 

Walls & Ceilings:

• • As part of regular maintenance homeowners should take care to repair nail holes, dings, and dents that occur. If discoloration is seen on the ceiling this will instantly turn off a buyer.  Damage from water should be repaired and brought back up to par aesthetically before placing a home for sale.  All water damage and repairs should be properly documented to give future homeowners a record if asked upon inspection how the problem was solved.

Flooring:

• Flooring does not need to be replace before selling a home. What is important however is that it is clean and in good condition.  Chips and cracked tiles have been replaced, carpet has been cleaned, and hardwood refinished if scratches and dents are an issue.

HVAC:

• The heating and cooling systems in the home should be in working order with updated filtration installed. Thermostats should work properly or be replaced.  Hiring an HVAC tech to complete a tune up can be a bonus to ensure everything is in proper order and can be used to market your home. 

Electrical Panels and Circuit Breakers:

• Take time to have the electrical panels in your home meet current codes. This is a perfect time to have the electrical in your home inspected by a professional.  This documentation can be given to your realtor to use as added bonuses that prove maintenance on a home has been done.  This looks really good in the eyes of a buyer even if there is a hiccup somewhere else in the home.

C21 Lady of the Lakes is a full-service realtor serving Livingston County and the surrounding areas with all their real estate needs.  More information can be found at http://www.ladyofthelakes.com/.

Essential Terms to Know in Real Estate

There are several industry specific terms used in real estate that are crucial to have an understanding of when looking into becoming a first-time home buyer.  When the lingo is unfamiliar to you it is easy to become overwhelmed which leads to added stress to an already stressful situation.  To prepare yourself for a fast and efficient transaction we have compiled a list of terms you are sure to hear throughout your transaction.

Appraisal: This is the estimate given by professionals that values the home, property, or combination of.  An appraisal is sought by lenders when looking to verify that a property is worth the amount of money the buyer is seeking to purchase it for.
Buyer’s Agent: A buyer’s agent is a real estate professional that works on behalf of the person buying a home.  They seek to represent the buyer’s best interest throughout the entirety of the transaction.

Contract: A sales contract is a legally binding document between the buyer and seller that states the terms of the sale.

Closing: This is the moment the sale of the home is final.

Closing Date: This is the date that is set in place as a marker for when ownership of the home occurs.  It is the expected date that the home inspection is to be completed, a mortgage obtained, and keys exchanged.

Contingencies: Conditions within the contract that need to be met for the sale to move forward. 

Counter Offer:  Once an offer has been received if it is not deemed acceptable to the seller they can respond with an offer they deem acceptable.

Debt-to Income Ratio:  This is a number that is used my mortgage lenders to determine how much outstanding debt you have including the mortgage vs how much income is coming in.  Debt is divided by income times one hundred.

Due Diligence: This is the process in which a person takes reasonable actions to satisfy legal requirements of a contract.

Earnest Money: This is the financial portion of the initial contract, typically 1 to 3 percent of the cost of the home, that is held in escrow and is applied to the buyers down payment when the sale goes through or is paid to the seller if the contingencies are not met and the buyer reneges on the contract.

Escrow: Money that is kept in the custody of a third party until certain conditions are met such as paperwork is signed, or taxes are paid.

Equity: The market value of the home minus the liens against it equals the money left over.  Equity refers to the money that is left over as “profit” from the sale of the house.
Inspection: This process involves a professional that is hired by the buyer to assess the homes condition.

MLS: A database of properties that are up for sale.

Offer: The initial agreement that is made with conditions that the buyer gives to the seller with terms in which they would like to purchase the home under.

Principal: Is the amount of money the buyer needs to borrow to purchase the home.
Seller Concessions:  These are incentives offered by the seller to make the home more desirable to buyers.

Title Search: This is the process that is taken to determine proper ownership of the home.  It assures buyers that the seller has the legal ability to sell the home free of outside obligations.

Learn more about C21 Lady of the Lakes Realtors and the numerous services they offer including: buying a new home, selling a home, or renting a home at www.ladyofthelakes.com.  To contact one of our real estate agents call 734-426-6060 today.

Buying and Selling a House at the Same Time

The process of buying and selling a home can be very stressful especially if you find yourself in a situation where you are doing both at the same time.  Depending on the housing market in your area it can be tricky for to juggle both process at the same time.  It becomes incredibly important to rely on a reputable, local realtor to facilitate.

In this installment, we will provide valuable tips and recommendations to educate homeowners in the process of achieving what may seem like an impossible task, to sell their current home while purchasing a new dream home.

Understand the Housing Market

Before you jump right in and look to buy and sell a home, you want to be sure that you find out about the housing market. If you are looking to buy a new home in the same market that you currently live it should be slightly easier than if you were leaving the area for whatever reason.

Create a Plan of Action 

One of the best ways to ensure that you will be more likely to be successful in buying and selling a house at the same time is to plan. This plan should be as realistic as possible, make all your goals actionable and attainable. There is no sense making a goal that is not achievable, that would be one sure fire way to be unsuccessful. Including a professional real estate company in the process is a must.

Don’t Rely on Timing

When buying and selling at the same time there are so many things that can go wrong and timing may seem right, but it could easily change when the buyer of your home runs into problems during closing. It could also happen to you when you are set to close on purchasing your new home and then something sneaks up and throws a monkey wrench into the works and you are stuck. Sometimes even the best plans can go awry, and you will have to go back to the drawing board to salvage your overall goal.

Align Your Finances

One way to make buying and selling houses simultaneous much less stressful is that if you are able to work with a new lender that is willing to work with you to establish your new mortgage and discuss the possible need for a bridge loan to help with paying both mortgages until you can sell your home. You can also request a contract contingency option which means that your home purchase is contingent on the sale of your home. This may or may not be a viable option in all circumstances.

Don’t Let Fear Make Your Decision

When it comes trying to buy a new home and sell your existing home at the same time it can be a bit unnerving. The likelihood that you could be stuck carrying two mortgages for a brief or not so brief amount of time is fairly high. However, you must at all cost not allow yourself to let the fear of not being able to afford the two mortgages at the same time to make a bad decision that could end up costing you a lot of extra money.

C21 Lady of the Lakes is a full-service realtor serving Livingston County and the surrounding areas with all their real estate needs.  More information can be found at http://www.ladyofthelakes.com/.