Are You Ready to Buy a House?

Call (610) 420-8115 | http://www.hardyrealestategroup.com/ for more information.

Answering these eight questions will help you decide

The idea of owning your home is an exciting one, but how do you know if you’re ready? Before you take the plunge, answer the questions below.

What’s your financial situation?

Having a clear understanding of your finances is necessary when you’re considering buying a home. Prior to speaking with a real estate agent, you should make a budget to see how much you can reasonably afford to pay. Don’t forget to factor in the cost of taxes, insurance premiums, maintenance and other upkeep.

Can you afford even the initial costs?

Down payment amounts vary based on the type of loan you’re offered or if you’re eligible for a first-time homebuyers’ program, but remember that the more you put down, the lower your mortgage payments will be.

Other initial costs can be substantial: loan set-up fees, home inspections, insurance, property taxes and other fees will cost you about 2 to 4 percent of your home price.

Is your money organized?

Hopefully you’re the kind of person who balances your checkbook and understands where your money goes, but if you take a more lackadaisical approach to your finances, you’ll need to step up your game. Get organized, check your credit report and keep building your savings. Getting your affairs in order helps you improve your credit score, qualifying you for better interest rates, and good financial records will help you take full advantage of tax deductions.

What are your future expenses?

Think ahead to the next few years. Are you making any big life changes that will hit your wallet hard? If you’re planning to have children or start paying tuition soon, you should factor that cost into your decision now. It can become difficult to replace an aging car or take an expensive vacation once you’re paying a mortgage.

Do you have an emergency fund?

Before you devote all your savings into a down payment or upkeep for your house, look at the bigger picture. You need to build a financial cushion in case of financial setbacks like unexpected unemployment or serious illness.

It’s not just money that should affect your decision to buy a home.

Are you flexible when it comes to getting what you want?

Your first home may not have all the bells and whistles you’re looking for. Are you willing to defer on your wish list now in order to have a home of your own? In a few years, you may be able to find a home that better suits your needs, but in the meantime you could also consider fixing up a less expensive home, buying a home with friends or renting out part of your home for additional income.

Do you plan to move in three to five years?

There is a lot of effort, time and cost involved in buying a house – you want to make your investment pay off for you. In addition to the price of the house itself, you should also take into the set-up costs already mentioned.

If you’re planning to move in a year for work or school, you may want to wait until after that time. Otherwise, you might find yourself in a tough spot if you’re forced to sell your home for less than its purchase price in a slow market.

Do you enjoy home improvement?

If you’re already looking at homes, it’s hard not to imagine how adding a fresh coat of paint to the walls or changing the light fixtures will make a house truly yours. But if you’re used to calling the landlord for anything that goes awry in your home, owning a house might be a jarring wake-up call. When you own your house, any issue becomes your responsibility, from replacing blown electrical fuses to installing a new roof.

Now is the time to consider whether you enjoy home improvement projects. Are you confident in your ability to patch drywall or install a ceiling fan, or would you rather pay someone else to do it? If it’s the latter, consider that even if you hire someone else to handle your home improvement issues, you will still have to invest not only money but your time by researching contractors and supervising their work.

Once you’ve answered these questions and taken the first steps toward purchasing your new home, be sure to find out the going home values in your area – just plug in an address at www.themainlinehomesearch.com to see current rates and recently completed sale prices.

Why Won't My House Sell?

Call (610) 420-8115 | http://www.hardyrealestategroup.com/ for more information.

You are in a hurry to sell your home and are hoping for a quick sale at a top sale price. You placed your house on the market in the beginning of the spring and hoped to move by the beginning of the summer. It has been two weeks since any potential buyer has looked at the home. Why isn't the home selling or even being shown to potential homebuyers?

To ensure that you sell your house, hire a real estate agent. Home selling is best handled by the experts in the field. The real estate agent may need to reevaluate the marketing plan to sell your home. Here are some tips to get more activity on your home and hopefully an offer enabling you to keep to your summer plans.

Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
The real estate agent lists all details regarding your home in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) which reaches a worldwide audience. Review with the real estate agent the details on your home MLS listing. Ensure that all the details are correct. Refresh the wording in order to gain some new activity. Review the pictures of the house to see if the home is presented attractively and with lots of light.

Real estate agents
Real estate sales are best handled by knowledgeable real estate agents. Choose an agent that has many years of experience. Before hiring a real estate agent, review the track record of his home sales. How long do homes sit on the market? Ask the real estate agent what strategies are used to handle homes that are not selling as quickly as desired. Inquire as to what marketing and advertising tools are at the real estate agent's disposal. How much will the agent spend on advertising? A top real estate agent will be forthcoming as to the game plan of selling and presenting a home for sale.

Virtual tours and open houses
An excellent marketing tool used by top real estate agents is a virtual tour of your home or an open house. A virtual tour of the home opens access to all of the key features of your home twenty four hours a day for anyone searching for a home. The real estate agent will send a photographer to photograph panoramic shots of each and every room in the home.

Be sure to have your house clean, with the drapes open to let in the most light possible. The internet will allow your home to be showcased on a virtual tour for potential homebuyers. A virtual tour option may be the trick you need to sell your home. Make sure you thoroughly de-clutter your home, as you would for a home staging. This way the potential buyer can picture themselves living in it, without all of your personal belongings getting in the way of their own vision.

A traditional approach to selling homes is an open house. An open house may bring curious neighbors to view your home. Statistically, open homes have brought in real buyers who can potentially make a quick offer to purchase your home. On the day of the open house, have only the real estate agent present to show potential homebuyers around your home. If you have pets, take them on a day trip. By the time you return you will have had some activity on the home which will translate to a sale.

Pricing your home to sell
In order to sell your home you will need to price the home to market demands. A home that is overpriced will not appeal to buyers and will be overlooked. A home that is priced correctly will not get stale and will have the opposite effect, gaining more traffic and home viewings.

Common Home Selling Mistakes

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If you’re planning to sell your home, there are things you can do to set yourself up for success – or failure. Learn from the errors of sellers past and follow these tips.

Don’t go with the cheapest real estate agent available
Finding the right Realtor® for you is extremely important. Don’t rush this step. Look for someone with experience, who has had recent sales. Make sure to ask questions, get referrals and do your homework.

Some agents might offer you a deal on their commission. This could be a warning sign that they are desperate for work. Don’t just go to the cheapest agent.

You need someone who keeps up with the latest technology for selling homes. Also pick someone who understands your needs. You should feel comfortable with them and know that they will represent your home properly.

Don’t set the price too high
If you set the price too high, it will scare off potential buyers and lower the number of offers you will receive. People look for a home within a certain price range, one they can afford. If yours is out of their bracket, they won’t even look at the pictures.

What you paid for the house cannot enter into your calculation. You must look at the other homes that have sold in your neighborhood, homes that are comparable to yours and price your house accordingly. In the end, you’ll make more money if you set the price correctly.

Don’t pester the prospective buyer
You’re excited. You’re eager to sell your home and want to make sure that every prospective buyer knows how much love and attention you put into your home. The tiles you purchased on your trip to Italy, the molding in the entry way, all the little details that are important to you.

You must curb your enthusiasm and leave your buyers be. Allow them to walk freely through your home and notice things for themselves. They need privacy. Prospective buyers want to try out your home for themselves, to see if it might work for them. If you’re following them around, from room to room, chatting with them, they can’t do that.

Don’t skimp on the necessary improvements
Repairs cost money. You’re interested in selling your home. Can’t the buyer just make the repairs when they move in? Well, the first step is to get a buyer. It may be hard to do that if there are obvious flaws. Your Realtor® can advise you about what repairs are important.

Remember, too, that the little cosmetic changes can make a big difference. Unpleasant odors, unappealing stains, messy rooms and overgrown lawns will turn buyers off. They are easy to fix – you just need to look at the house through a buyer’s eyes.

Don’t fill your home with personal clutter
When a prospective buyer is looking over your home, it's easy for them to get distracted by your personal family photos and decorations. They want to pretend that this could be their home, with their belongings. It’s best to pack up most of your knickknacks and leave just enough decoration to give buyers the feeling of a furnished home. And make sure that the counters are all cleared of clutter. Your goal should be to make your house look like a model home.

Don’t accept a buyer who isn’t pre-approved
If you accept an offer from a buyer who isn’t qualified for a loan, you could end up wasting months. And if you have a standard contract, they will be entitled to receive their deposit back.

Make sure they get pre-approved. This means that they can get a loan, given their current situation and that a lender has reviewed all their documents and everything is good to go.