6 Reasons Your Home is Not Selling

Are you having trouble selling your home? There are many reasons why your home might not be selling. According to an article from RIS Media and many years of experience in the industry, here are some issues that may not be as obvious, but are still preventing the sale of your home…

1. Your Home Is Not Easily Accessible For Showings

Are you getting a lot of showing requests that you are turning down? Many sellers make the mistake of not accommodating a buyer’s request for showings because requested showing times are inconvenience to the seller. Try and remember that your home is a product for sale. Do whatever you can to cooperate with showing requests, even if they are last minute or on off hours.

2. Pets

Pet problems can go beyond unfriendly pet barking or jumping on a potential buyer. Pet owners need to go to extra lengths to make sure to remove pet hair and keep odor to a minimum. Take your pets out of the house during showings or make sure they are crated. A potential buyer is there to view the home that is for sale and should not have to worry what your pet is going to do.

3. Not Aggressively Marketing Your Home

Is your home listed on MLS and public websites? Most buyers are shopping for a home online these days, so having an online presence is highly important. If you are dissatisfied with how your home is being marketed, you may need to sit down for a brainstorming session with your agent.

4. Your Agent is Not Familiar With Your Area

Did you list your home with an agent from outside of your area? Do they know much about your market? If your agent knows little about the market how can they properly position your property for sale? They may be missing the important selling features of your home.

5. Pictures

89% of homes buyers start their search online before calling an agent. Even when they have an agent, they are still viewing your home online before setting up a showing. So their first impression of your home is through the pictures that are displayed on the MLS and other real estate websites. Make sure the pictures of your home make a good impression and invite buyers to want to set up a showing.

6. Price

Before listing your home, your real estate agent most likely showed you the comparables and market statistics for what others homes are selling for in your area. If your home is not priced properly, you could be missing out on potential buyers. The market stats don’t lie, make sure you pay attention to them and the advice of your agent to price your home properly for today’s market. No matter what you paid for it or how much money you spent fixing it up over the years, make sure to pay attention to the statistics.

What Does A Homeowners Association Fee Cover?

When looking to buy a home, make sure to check if the neighborhood has a Homeowners Association. An HOA will help regulate the neighborhood keeping up with common areas, restrictions and guidelines to keep the neighborhood in tip top shape, and more. If you are buying a single family home, there may not always be a HOA or an HOA fee to worry about. If you are buying a condo, there will always be an HOA with HOA dues that cover a laundry list of things for you.

Below are a few of the things that are covered but keep in mind each association is different and it depends on if you are buying a condo or single family home…

• City Services- Including services such as trash removal, water and sewage.

• Insurance- This only includes insurance for damage of the outside of the building and the property around it. You will still need to purchase your own insurance policy to cover everything on the inside of your home.

• Lawn Care- This covers snow removal, gardening and general lawn maintenance as well as essential tree removal and mulching.

• Pest Control- Most HOAs schedule a monthly inspection from a pest control company in order to avoid pest infestation.

• Maintenance and Repairs to the Outside of the Building- This includes things such as roof leaks, exterior painting, driveway pavement repairs, gutter repair, Carports, lighting, security systems, gated entries, mailboxes, etc.

• Amenities- HOA can sometimes cover community amenities such as a gym, tennis court, walking trails, pool or playground. It will also cover the cost of maintaining these amenities.

• Special Assessments- This is an account that the HOA uses to pay for unexpected communal expenses. If a tornado or fire destroys communal property for instance, HOA fees can cover a percentage of the repair costs.

• Premiums for Disaster Insurance- Keep in mind they do not pay for individual homeowners insurance coverage.

If paying HOA fees every month doesn’t bother you then you should consider purchasing a home with a Homeowners Association and the labor-free amenities it comes with. You do want to keep in mind however, that HOA fees can increase each year as the cost of services increases.

Read more here.

 

12 Fire Safety Tips for the Winter

Winter is here whether we like it or not! But there is something about getting cozy by the fireplace with hot chocolate, right? With all the perks of a fire burning in the winter, you need to keep a few safety tips in mind. Here are 12 Fire Safety Tips for the Winter…

1. Extension Cords: With all the holiday lights and decorations, you need to be careful where you place them, if the outlet is grounded, and not to overcrowd the outlets.

2. Candles: The holiday scents are a regular in my house every year. Be aware of how many you have lit so you remember to blow them out when you leave or go to sleep. Keep them away from papers, bookshelves, and other flammable items. Burn candles on a holder, not directly onto a flammable surface.

3. Holiday Decorations: Have a real tree? Make sure you water it regularly. A dry tree with hot lights wrapped around it is not a good mix.

4. Hot Ashes: Did you know you are not supposed to put ashes from the fireplace into a plastic bag or other flammable bag? Ashes can stay hot long after the fire has burnt out, make sure you use a metal container to put your ashes in when cleaning out the fireplace.

5. Space Heaters: Never point a space heater directly at anything flammable. Make sure your space heater has safety features such as if it tips over, does it have an automatic shut off?

6. Combustible Materials: Don’t store newspapers next to the fire. Even though you use them to light a fire and want them near, it is an accident waiting to happen. Same goes with clothing, pillows, dog bed, etc.

7. Leaves and Needles: Don’t let these things build up on your roof.

These might seem like easy, common sense tips but q quick reminder of what to look out for this winter never hurts! If you want more info on preventing fire tragedies, read the original article by Inman News here.

Boost Your Home’s Appraisal

An appraiser is someone who will come in and inspect your house to determine its worth in the current market. Remodeling, updating, and upgrading can really help boost your home’s value, but you don’t want to go overboard.

Here are some big bonuses that can help to boost your home’s appraisal value!

Kitchen

• Open Layouts sell best
• Get stainless steel appliances (if possible)
• Make sure you have matching appliances at the very least
• Granite countertops are another great seller

Bathrooms

• New fixtures and mirrors.
• A clean, freshly painted, updated bathtub/shower
• Windows and/or skylights
• Good ventilation
• Clean, new looking cabinets

Before the appraisal…

• Make a list of all recent home improvements (from painting trim to remodeling your kitchen)

• Talk to the appraiser; make sure he or she is credible, experienced, and knowledgeable about homes in the area

• Ask your real estate agent to walk-through your home with the appraiser. Your agent will make sure that the appraiser knows about all of the improvements you’ve made and can help to ‘sell’ the appraiser on the value your home.

 

Information in this article was summarized from Inman News.

 

4 Rules for Gutter Replacement

When you own a home, whether you plan to sell or not, you need to keep your systems in working order. This includes the sometimes-overlooked-but-still-important gutters. The rules of thumb regarding gutter replacement are actually very simple. Here are 4 rules for gutter replacement:

1. If your original gutters are straight, solid and don’t leak, they don’t need replacement, period.

2. If they do leak, there’s a fair chance they can be repaired. In the case of steel or copper gutters, contact your local sheet metal shop. For redwood gutters, have a good handyman determine if they can be caulked or patched.

3. If you do decide on replacement, demand gutters that are at least equal to the originals in quality. Ask a knowledgeable but disinterested party (not the roofer doing the work) to recommend the best material.

4. Lastly, put at least as much thought into choosing the gutter profile as you do into choosing the roofing material. Don’t let the contractor make this choice for you; many will simply fall back on the style of gutter that’s the least trouble to install.

Three Big Costs Associated With Your Home Loan

We all write down, log, and mentally burn into our minds the amount of our home loan. What we often forget though, are the costs associated with getting a home loan. It’s not only what the loan document says, but also a bunch of other, smaller, but still significant, costs. Here is a list of the three biggest costs associated with your home loan.

Closing costs: Closing costs are related to the loan application and the house itself. Application costs include updated credit reports for all of the applicants, paying the lender to process the application, and a loan origination fee. Additionally, you must pay to have the property appraised. This usually costs 2-3% of what you are borrowing. Talk to your lender ahead of time about these fees so you are fully prepared to buy your home.

Loan discount points: Loan discount points are basically prepaid interest. One discount point=1% of what is being borrowed. The point must be paid in cash to the lender at the time of closing as interest. These points lower the stated interest rate on your loan. You probably won’t want to pay points, because it doesn’t really save you any money, but, in some cases, new home builders or employers offer to pay a certain number of points for you as an incentive to buy.

Prepaid items: On the day of your purchase, the lender will require you to set up an escrow account, which is a savings account that the lender holds and that the buyer puts money into for property taxes and homeowners insurance; this is in addition to the regular loan payment. On the purchase day, the lender will require you to deposit enough money into this account to roughly cover 9 months worth of taxes and 2 months worth of insurance. Additionally, you will be required to pay in full for the first year’s insurance policy.

This information was found on Realtor.com.

5 Real Estate Myths For Buyers and Sellers to Forget

Between the media and your friends’ gossip, it’s hard to know what real estate information you can trust. Well, for starters, here are five popular real estate myths, busted.

1. Renting a home is cheaper than buying. It used to be true that renting was cheaper than buying a home, but for the most part, the recent housing recession has changed this. During the recession, the rental market was seized by an influx of previous homeowners, which inflated the rental market. A higher demand grew for rental properties because of the inability to own a home, so prices in the rental market rose as well. According to the real estate site, Trulia, the cost of renting is now as much as, or more than, the cost of buying.

2. You need to own a home. With the American glorification and status associated with home ownership, it is easy to be swept away with the idea that you need to own a home. However, there are many factors to take into account when considering buying a home. For instance, are you going to be in this home for less than 5 years? If so, you might want to consider renting instead of buying. That way, when it is time to move, you won’t be stuck trying to sell a house. If you are still fairly mobile and immature in your finances, renting may be the better option.

3. Greedy greedy sellers. Your home (once you own it) is probably going to be your biggest financial asset; the same is true for these sellers. Additionally, a lot of work goes into restoring, updating, and owning a home, so this time, effort, and money is taken into account by the sellers when they publish an asking price. Moreover, many sellers still have mortgages to pay off at the time of the sale. Of course, some sellers have an unrealistic idea of their home’s worth, but many of them are simply considering their investments in the property, and therefore unwilling to settle for too low of a price.

4. Cheap cheap buyers. Especially today, people are trying to get the most for their money; this goes for buyers and sellers. However, even in the slow housing market of today, many buyers are willing to pay more than the asking price of a home. Buyers will do this for many reasons, the big ones being security, not having to compete with other buyers, and ease, not having to deal with the seller’s bank. Additionally, if the buyer comes across a home that is in great condition in a great area with multiple attractions, chances are they will buy.

5. Name your own price. Because the housing market is in a bit of a slump, the media claims that buyers can name their own price, and this is simply not true. The seller doesn’t want to be shorted anymore than they buyer wants to pay too much. It is all about compromise and understanding the market. By working with a real estate agent, a seller and a buyer can learn what it takes to make a sale, and it is not selfishness, it is understanding.

To view the original article from Inman News, click here!