Category: Real Estate

Letting go can be brutal. Often, we have no choice, such as when it’s time for our kids to leave the nest, or we decide to leave a relationship that has soured.

It is often the same for homeowners when they decide to sell their homes. For some, letting go of a home isn’t just divesting themselves of a structure, but also from the lifestyle it represents, the memories made under that roof – all that life lived in it.

Selling a home can be an emotionally-charged transaction, but it doesn’t have to be. If you can put your emotions aside for a time and realize that the sale of your home is a business transaction —and stay in that mindset— you’ll avoid the pitfalls we see some home sellers contend with.

Those pitfalls

There are several commonalities among home sellers who are attached to their homes. The first is that they tend to overvalue it for the market.

It’s important to keep in mind that what you feel the home is worth may not be the same as the value the buyer puts on it. Then, there’s the appraiser’s valuation.

Depending on the type of market we’re in, be prepared for buyers coming in with lowball offers. These buyers aren’t intentionally insulting you, but treating the transaction for what it truly is, a business deal.

Ditto when buyers appear to be criticizing your taste in décor, such as by asking you to remove the wallpaper in the kitchen or for new carpet.

No home is ideal for everyone, not even yours. When you approach the sale with less emotion, you’ll be better able to let these unintentional slights roll off your shoulders.

Vow to be flexible

If your attachment to your home is strong, it’s easy to talk yourself into little ways that may sabotage the sale.

Take showings, for instance. We’ve seen some sellers who become completely unreasonable when an agent requests a showing.

Yes, we know how very challenging it is to keep a home spotless while “real life” carries on (kids to get to and from school and lessons, pets, etc.).

Remind yourself that as busy as life is, if you want to sell the home you must be accommodating to buyers. Take some deep breaths, straighten the chaos and take the kids to the park.

An offer is just an offer, not an insult

There is a reason you may be intensely emotionally attached to your home. Whether it’s because of the memories it holds, the hard work it took to get it to its current condition or something else, this attachment can cloud your judgment.

Seldom is this more evident than when entertaining offers from buyers. As mentioned earlier, many homeowners who are attached to their homes treat a simple request, such as for new carpet or a minor repair, as a personal affront.

Remember, your home is perfect for you, but it may not be for everyone. The buyers certainly don’t mean to be insulting.

Even lowball offers can cause defensiveness. Keep in mind that an offer is just an offer and selling your home is a business transaction.

And, by the way, in a tough buyers’ market, a lowball offer may be worth negotiating. Put on your business hat so we can work together on a solution.

Additional coping strategies

“Sure, this house was perfect, but the home selling and buying process isn’t [about] finding ‘the one’ that sticks around forever,” suggests Catrina Sun-Tan at homelight.com.

“It’s more about finding the home that fits your needs best, based on your current situation,” she concludes.

She goes on to suggest that you keep your focus on your ‘why.’ That may be a particular lifestyle you crave, living closer to your children and grandkids or to have a snappier commute. Keep that ‘why’ top-of-mind.

Take photos of the home, especially those areas where you spend the most time and have built the most memories.

Some homeowners will take a plant or even soil from the garden to plant at their new home (let me know if this is your plan because we’ll have to move the plant to a pot before the home goes on the market).

Then, change your focus. Focusing on the future during the sale process is one way to alleviate that panicky feeling many get when they begin dwelling on the loss of their home.

Look to the future instead – where you’re going next, how you’ll furnish and use your next home.

Get excited about what lies ahead.

If you’ve toyed with the idea of moving up, downsizing or just craving a change of scenery, you may want to consider selling your home a.s.a.p.

In pockets across the country, the housing market is showing signs of change. Yes, in June we saw record high median home prices nationwide. But there are hints of change coming that you should be aware of if you hope to make maximum profit from the sale of your home.

Read on to find out why.

1. Homebuyers may start rethinking their decision to buy

Battle-weary homebuyers are starting to reconsider purchasing a home right now. In some areas of the country, they’ve chosen, “ever so slightly,” to rent a home while awaiting better opportunities for buyers, according to Rick Palacios, director of research for real estate research firm, John Burns.

In fact, the high home prices resulted in a 6% decrease in mortgage applications in mid-July. This represents a decrease of 18% over this time last year.

Selma Hepp, deputy chief economist with data analyst firm Core Logic feels that “There are signs that the hottest days of the market are behind us.” She predicts an increase in housing inventory for the remainder of the year.

Yes, the market is still red-hot for home sellers, but if you’re waiting for it to get even hotter before placing your home on the market, you may be disappointed.

Take advantage of the current pool of homebuyers to get the most money for your home.

2. What will interest rates do?

Some economists are predicting rising mortgage rates throughout the latter half of 2021, cooling off the housing market.

In late July, “The average rate for 30-year fixed loans increased slightly to 3.11% after two weeks of declines,” according to Diana Olick at cnbc.com.

“So far, the increase in rates has come with ups and downs marked by a gradual rise over time,” Stauffer claims. As this incremental rise continues “as some experts have forecasted,” he adds, the market will cool, even if it’s just slightly.

3. You’ll have little competition from other homeowners

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, the inventory of available homes in June increased 1.4%, month to month.

“We may have turned a corner on inventory,” the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors tells Olick. “There is some softening in the demand.”

When the inventory of homes for sale increases, expect home prices to soften. When this will happen is anyone’s guess, so keep an eye on housing market news. Or, give us a call; we’re happy to share with you what we’re seeing in the market.

The bonus for you as a home seller right now is that you’ll have little competition from other sellers. A well-prepared home in a decent area can easily become the belle of the local market and receive multiple offers from qualified homebuyers.

Don’t try to time the market. By the time it turns a corner for sellers, it will be too late; you will have missed the top of the market.

4. Money, money, money

Chances are good that you’ll be surprised how much equity you have in your current home.

Last year, American homeowners, on average, gained $33,403 in equity. Let that one sink in a minute. That figure represents a nearly 20% increase from the previous year, according to the number crunchers at Core Logic.

Summer appears to be heralding yet another hot real estate market for sellers. Give us a call to find out how much your home is worth.

What happens – or doesn’t – between the curb in front of your home and the home’s front door is known as curb appeal. It makes or breaks the potential buyer’s first impression.

It’s that important.

But, it’s the area around the front door that’s considered the focal point of the exterior of the home. While they may not be conscious of it, this area will be the potential buyers’ first impression.

Many homeowners are quite successful taking the DIY route to staging this area for maximum appeal. We’ve gathered some tips from the experts to help you get started.

Understanding landscape design is important

One of the principles of landscape design, according to the experts at Environmental Landscape Associates (ELA), a Doylestown, PA landscape architecture firm, is to ensure the landscaping near the entry area matches the home’s architecture.

For instance, while a free-flowing cottage garden in the home’s front yard may be the perfect choice for a Tudor cottage, when planted in front of a modern home it creates confusion and appears chaotic.

“Is your home a traditional colonial or a casual contemporary? The style of your home should trump your personal style preferences for the greatest curb appeal,” caution the pros at ELA.

Staging the exterior of the informal-style home

Informal-style homes, such as bungalow, ranch-style, Craftsman and cottage demand informal landscaping. Here, you can be creative in your use of hardscaping and plants. The aforementioned cottage garden works well.

Additional ideas to help you update the front of an informal-style home include:

• Line the walkway with flowers or evergreen plants to help draw the eye to the front door.
• Place lanterns near the front door.
• Add a coordinating door mat.
• Change the door hardware and house numbers to compliment the home’s architecture.
• Check all the lighting to ensure the covers are clean and the bulbs function.

Tips to spiff up the exterior of a formal-style home

Popular formal-style designs include colonial, Georgian and Greek revival. To coordinate and compliment the home’s exterior, landscaping should rely on organization and symmetry.

A good example of this is a carefully staged entryway with “two of everything,” according to the experts at betterhomesandgardens.com. Identical planters holding identical plants on either side of the door creates symmetry and balance.

Consider well-manicured boxwood shrubs, grown as a hedge, to line the walkway.

The key to success with a formal home is to avoid over-staging the exterior entry area. Keep it sophisticated and simple.

There is a lot to consider when it comes to increasing curb appeal. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have.

A Dallas homeowners association (HOA )sent a letter to homeowner Frank Larison, a 58-year-old Vietnam veteran, threatening to have his car towed, at his expense. His crime? Displaying Marine Corps decals on the car’s bumper and in the rear window.

Jim Lane decided that the common areas in his community needed some sprucing up so he planted pansies. The HOA slapped him with a fine and, when he refused to pay it, they placed a lien against his home.

Joseph Prudente’s sprinkler system died and, subsequently, his lawn started turning brown. Prudente, 66, had fallen on hard times and couldn’t afford to repair the system and, in the Florida heat, the lawn began turning brown.

His HOA, the Beacon Woods Civic Association, requires homeowners to have lawns in the front yard and notified Prudente that he was in violation of the community’s covenants. He pleaded his case to the board, but to no avail. They filed a complaint in court, which Prudente ignored, landing him in jail.

For not re-sodding his lawn.

Say the words “homeowners association” and many Americans conjure an image of a group of meddling, power-hungry, petty tyrants. Think Elmira Gulch in “The Wizard of Oz,” and you’ll have a picture of how this group is portrayed in the media and pop culture.

The reality

Despite what we read in the media, 70 percent of Americans who live in communities governed by homeowners associations say they are satisfied with their communities, according to the Community Association’s Institute 2020 Homeowner Satisfaction Survey.

71% of those surveyed say that their HOA’s rules and regulations “protect and enhance property values.”

Whether their reputation is well-deserved or overhyped, HOAs offer both advantages and disadvantages to residents living in managed communities. One of the most obvious disadvantages are the fees or dues required of residents. Don’t pay them, and the HOA can not only slap a lien against the home, but push you into foreclosure.

Why homeowners have to pay dues

When you buy a condo or single-family home in a managed community you are essentially agreeing to share in the costs of maintaining the common areas and amenities shared by all residents.

The payments are a lot easier to swallow if you think of them as helping to ensure your property’s value.

HOA fees vary, depending on amenities and services provided by the association. “Some estimates claim these fees are between $100 and $700, with roughly $200 as an average,” according to the staff at Investopedia. Payment due dates also vary, from monthly to quarterly, semi-annually or yearly.

Where does the money go?

The HOA uses the fees collected to pay for expenses, such as the improvement and maintenance of landscaping, parks, clubhouses, pools and tennis courts. HOA responsibilities and duties vary, however and may include:

• Paying taxes on the common areas
• Enforcing the rules
• Legal fees
• Insurance for the common areas

The reserve account

The HOA also uses a portion of the fees to fund the reserve account. This money is set aside to pay for major or long-term projects, such as replacing the roof on the clubhouse, installing a new pump for the community’s pool and painting or landscaping projects.

The reserve fund will also pay for any needed natural disaster emergency repairs

Special assessments

The HOA reserve fund may not hold enough money to take care of an unexpected large expense so homeowners may be asked to pay a special assessment. Typically, the governing board will determine whether or not an assessment is required and in what amount.

The HOA board is typically required to use these funds only for the stated purpose and, if there is money left over, the bylaws should outline whether it is to be redistributed to homeowners or held in the general fund.

If you are considering buying a home in a managed community

Shortly after signing the agreement to purchase, you’ll be given a huge packet of HOA documents to look over. Filled with legalese, this paperwork isn’t light reading.

In fact, we hope that our clients will consult with their attorneys if they find anything in the paperwork that they don’t understand.

Once you sign off on your acceptance of the HOA documents, there is no turning back. If you purchase the home, you are bound by them.

Pay close attention to the following documents:

• The Declaration of the Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions — A fancy way of saying “rules and regulations,” the CC&Rs, as they are known, dictate how you can and cannot use the home. Some HOAs also issue a separate document outlining rules and regulations.
• From pet ownership, landscaping and the appearance of the exterior of the home to whether or not you can smoke in your backyard and what color your mailbox can be painted, everything you need to know to decide whether or not the HOA is too restrictive for you can be found in these documents.
• Financial documents – How well does the HOA’s board handle the association’s finances? You can find out in the financial documents. You should find a statement of the amount of the current dues, the history of special assessment requests, the amount of money in the reserve fund and the HOA’s budget.
• Meeting minutes – Most HOA document packages contain copies of minutes from recent HOA meetings. Read through these with an eye toward finding frequent and repeated homeowner complaints. Repeated complaints may be an indication of an unresponsive board.

Buying a home in a managed community not only adds to your house payment each month, but it means allowing an association to govern how you use your property and, thus, impact your lifestyle.

Take your time reading the HOA documents so you go into the process with your eyes wide open.

One of the choices you may be faced with when you decide to buy a home is whether to buy a newly-built home in a new home community or an existing house. Sure, you can remodel an older home to suit your needs, but do you have the time and the money to do so? A new home, on the other hand, can be built to your specifications.

Building a home isn’t without its drawbacks, however. There are many decisions to be made along the way and if you aren’t careful you may end up spending more than you’d anticipated.

There is something to be said for both choices, so let’s take a look at some things to consider while making up your mind.

What you’ll spend

Although most homebuyers claim they want a brand new home, according to a Harris Research poll, few said they were willing to pay a 20 percent premium for it.

What these respondents failed to understand is that a new home may cost them less over the long haul.

Most new construction features energy efficient appliances, windows and other items. These help save money on heating and cooling bills. Then, because the home is new, maintenance won’t be as expensive as it is with an older home, at least for the first few years.

Builders often offer incentives if the buyer uses the in-house lender. If the builder offers a discount on points for the loan, the savings over the life of the loan may just be enough to offset that new construction premium.

Your lifestyle

If you need space for hobbies or if you work at home you may appreciate the perks of being able to choose how your home is laid out while it’s being built. If, on the other hand, you enjoy the charm of tree-lined streets and mature landscaping, an older home may fit the bill.

When deciding whether to buy a newly-constructed home or an existing home, it all boils down to your lifestyle. Existing homes are typically in closer proximity to city conveniences so if you enjoy walking to your favorite eatery you may want to consider an older home closer to downtown.

If the thought of an after-work dip in the community pool gets your pulse pounding, a new-home community may be your answer.

Whichever you decide, we’re happy to show you homes that fit the bill.

The real estate industry loves to harp on “location;” so much so that we repeat it three times to let you know how important it is.

Location, location, location not only determines a home’s value but the homeowner’s enjoyment of the home as well.

For instance, if you can’t tolerate noise, don’t buy a home near an airport or railroad tracks. If traffic drives you nuts, avoid looking at homes on busy streets.

We know how easy it is to focus on the homes you view and ignore the location. So we’ve come up with three things for you to consider before you sign on the dotted line of that purchase agreement.

1. “There are no homes on either side of this one!”

Yes, open space nearby is an attractive enticement, but beware. If the land isn’t a government set-aside (meaning that it’s privately owned), you’ll need to do some investigating.

A few years ago, the residents of a peaceful, 25-year-old Minneapolis suburb were shocked to find out that the open space nearby was zoned for commercial development.

They learned about it while reading news reports that the city approved construction of a 24-hour superstore directly across the street from the subdivision’s entrance.

Imagine living there after the store’s completion—the traffic, the huge trucks making deliveries in the middle of the night and glaring parking lot lights pouring through their windows.

The lesson here? Check the zoning of all vacant land in the vicinity of the home you have your eye on.

2. How’s the neighborhood?

If that adorable house you’ve fallen in love with is the only adorable house in the neighborhood, you may want to think twice about it.

The condition of surrounding homes has an impact on the value of all of them. Nearby homes with peeling paint or trashy yards drag down the value of those nearby.

Then there are the bigger impacts on nearby home values. These include homes near:

• Foreclosed homes
• Power plants
• Funeral homes
• City dump
• Noise pollution
• Sex offenders
• Poor-performing schools

When you tour a home that you’re interested in, drive through the neighborhood at different times of the day, weekdays and weekends.

Then, drive around the area surrounding the neighborhood to check for anything that may impact the home’s value now and down the road when you sell. This includes railroad tracks, airport noise, dumps, etc.

3. Crime rates

Especially if you’re a single woman or a family with children, checking the area’s crime rates is critical. Even the cutest neighborhoods could be in high-crime areas.

You can find crime statistics online at various websites. Neighborhood Scout offers reports for a fee but many police departments offer them free, online.

The United States Department of Justice offers, at no charge, a way to search for sexual predators on its National Sex Offender Public Website.

Knowledge is power, especially when shopping for a home. Ensuring that the location of a new home fits your needs and desires is part of your due diligence. Neglect it, and you may be sorry.

It’s hot out there, and we don’t just mean the weather. The real estate market is one of the fastest moving in the country’s history and, although there are signs it may be slowing, we aren’t holding our breath.

Sellers are large and in charge and know it. They have the luxury to be uncompromising in what they want for the homes, both in price and terms.

This, in turn, helps fuel bidding wars on homes in good condition and located in decent areas.

Getting swept away in a multiple offer situation is common, but be on guard. It’s ok to compromise on the lesser important aspects of the purchase, but carefully consider any decision to waive the home inspection.

What a Home Inspection Won’t Do

Just as a professional home appraisal won’t let you know about the problems with a home’s systems, a professional home inspection can’t determine a home’s market value.

Not directly. It may impact the value if something major comes to light, but it isn’t something a lender requires before lending money for a home.

Because a home inspection is visual, it won’t give a potential buyer any information of anything that may be hidden behind the walls or beneath floors. It won’t tell a homebuyer if there are dangerous levels of toxins in the air, such as radon.

The inspector will look at the home’s roof, structure and major systems, such as electrical, heating and cooling, ventilation and plumbing. Even among these items, if there is a defective part or component that can’t be seen with the naked eye, it won’t end up in the report.

The home inspection is also not a guarantee that the home will be in the same condition when you take possession as it was when the inspection was performed.  Anything can happen between those two periods.

What a Home Inspection Will Do

Most of all, a home inspection provides the homebuyer with at least some peace of mind.

Inspectors who are worth hiring are those who have extensive experience and know the signs of hidden problems. They don’t hesitate to recommend additional inspections by a specialist.

For instance, if she notices evidence of wood destroying pests, such as termites, she may recommend that you have the home looked at by a pest inspector.

Should you Skip the Home Inspection?

In a multiple offer situation, with price and all other terms being equal, the offer from a buyer who waives the home inspection is most likely going to be the one the seller chooses.

If you have a hefty home maintenance or emergency fund, it’s worth considering waiving the inspection contingency. If not, doing so is a gamble.

Buying a home without having it checked out by a qualified inspector is the same as buying a home as-is. Understand that you may be buying someone else’s problems.

This isn’t the same as buying a used car as-is because the potential problems you inherit with a home can cost into the tens of thousands of dollars.

While it’s true that a home inspector can’t possibly tell you about all of the problems a home has, or is about to have, the peace of mind that you’ll get with at least knowing that the home’s major systems are in working condition is something to carefully consider before giving it up.

 

 

Let’s face it, looking at homes for sale is a lot more fun that sitting down with a lender to find out how much you can spend on a home. Unfortunately, the latter is the very first step you should take and, sadly, not doing so is the biggest mortgage mistake homebuyers make.

Secondary to that is the assumption that once someone is approved for a mortgage, nothing else can go wrong.

Loan preapproval isn’t a loan guarantee. The preapproval is conditional on a number of factors and it can be revoked at any time during the process – including just before closing.

Do yourself a favor and avoid some of the more common mistakes homebuyers make when it comes to getting a loan for a home.

Mistake #1: Not checking their credit reports

Did you know that nearly 34% of Americans’ credit reports contain errors? According to the experts at consumerreports.org, these errors often result in a lower credit score and the denial of credit.

Mortgage experts recommend that homebuyers check their credit reports before visiting a lender for loan preapproval. Find a list of the most common errors on credit reports at consumerfinance.gov.

Get your free copy of your credit reports (once a year) at AnnualCreditReport.com. This is the only source that is authorized and recommended by the U.S. government to provide free credit reports with no strings attached.

Dispute any issues on your report before applying for a mortgage.

Mistake #2: Not being honest on the mortgage application

Prior to the Great Recession, lenders were busily providing what have come to be known as “liar loans.” These were mortgage loans to people that couldn’t afford them and were obtained by means of a “no document” process, meaning the applicant didn’t have to prove his or her income or verify assets.

Those days are over and obtaining credit is nowhere near as easy as it once was. Although you may be tempted to stretch the truth on your application to ensure you get the loan, don’t give in to the temptation.

More than half of the mortgage fraud cases that the FBI deals with are those with lies on the mortgage application, according to a FBI special agent at fbi.gov.

There is no such thing as a “little white lie” on a mortgage application. Mortgage fraud penalties, by the way, can be … “… as high as 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine,” according to Kirk Haverkamp at credit.com.

Lenders verify everything on the application.

 Mistake #3: Taking a new job before the close of escrow

One of the first things the lender will look at is your employment history, looking for a minimum of two years with your employer or in your current line of work.

While switching employers during the loan application process may not derail the loan, it will most likely delay the process while the new employment and salary are verified.

Mistake #4: Making major purchases on credit during the escrow period

When you finally get an offer accepted on a home, it’s normal to think about shopping for furnishings and appliances.

Don’t do it.

Lenders typically pull a borrower’s credit history one last time just before closing to ensure that the financial picture hasn’t changed.

The new debt will raise your debt-to-income ratio and you may no longer qualify for the loan.

Put the credit cards away and save the shopping for after the loan closes.

The mortgage process isn’t nearly as fun as house hunting, but it’s the most important step in the process.

Don’t make any major financial or life changes between applying for the loan and closing escrow and you should have no problems.

 

If you’re thinking that finding the perfect real estate to help you sell your home is akin to finding a white cat in a snowstorm, you’re not alone. In fact, ask Google “how to find a listing agent” and you’ll get 189,000 answers.

The task isn’t quite as challenging as it seems when you understand that the listing agent’s primary job is to market your home. So, yes, you want to find an agent you feel comfortable with and one with experience listing homes.

Beyond that, there are three important qualities to look for as you interview agents (and please interview more than one) for the job of selling your home.

Communication is so important

One thing I hear most often from my clients is that their last agent was unresponsive. I understand that selling your home is stressful and that you’ll have questions along the way.

It’s a pity that not all agents feel the same, so ensure that the one you choose will respond to your calls in a timely manner and keep you updated on the progress of the sale.

You, on the other hand, should communicate to the agent you choose exactly how often you expect to hear from him or hear and through which medium (text, phone, email, etc.).

Pricing your home to sell takes experience

Yes, determining an accurate market value for a home and suggesting a strategic listing price is very much a part of an agent’s marketing plan. Homes priced right sell faster and the quicker your home sells, the more money you’ll get for it.

Despite the booming sellers’ market that we find ourselves in, beware of the agent who suggests a price considerably higher than others you interview.

This is an old, dishonest trick known as “buying the listing.” Thankfully, not many agents attempt this but those who do will price your home high at the outset, just to get the listing, and then continually ask you to drop the price. All while your home sits languishing on the market.

The bottom line: Marketing

Homeowners hire a real estate agent to not only list their home but market it as well. The listing aspect is merely sticking a sign in the yard and information in the Multiple Listing Service database.

Marketing it is how he or she will get the word out about your home to other agents and unrepresented homebuyers.

Ask the agent to explain his or her approach to marketing homes and exactly how your home will be marketed.

And, since most homebuyers start their search online, clear, compelling photographs act as bait to get them off the couch and into your home. Take a good look at the photos from each agent’s previous listings.

Yes, homes are selling quickly right now. If you’re thinking of selling, don’t hire the desperate agent, hire the one with the skills it takes to get the most money in your pocket.

Hiring the right listing agent is critical to the successful sale of your home. Take your time and don’t rush the process.

On the face of it, there seems to be no rhyme or reason that home prices are rising and how quickly they’re rising.

Right now, the main reason for this seemingly uncontrollable rise is supply and demand. There are just not enough homes for sale for the amount of buyers in the market.

Whenever anything is in short supply, yet demand is high, it becomes more valuable.

Although mortgage rates are ticking back up as of this writing, they’ve been at record lows. Cheap money draws people into the market.

These factors are two among several other reasons homes are so expensive right now. If you’re in the market to buy, it pays to understand the how and why behind a seller’s pricing strategy.

Let’s take a look at some of the more important factors when it comes to deciding the price of a house.

The Impact of Location: A Lot More Than Just Crime Rates

There are general factors that influence the price of any particular house, such as the economy, the number of foreclosures in the area and current available housing inventory.

Then there are more specific factors, such as environmental aspects and location that may affect, positively or negatively, a home’s value.

The location of a house, above all else, determines its value. “Location” refers not only to region, but also to the neighborhood, the street and even to the location of the lot within the neighborhood.

Homes in regions with steady job growth and rising incomes tend to be worth more than those in areas with stagnant or negative growth. In beach communities, houses with ocean views are worth more than those without. Houses on cul-de-sacs are more in demand than those on busy streets.

A home located near a landfill will depreciate in value much more quickly than one further away, according to Brian Johnson of the Pima County Assessor’s Office.

Location, therefore, encompasses many aspects. Additional location considerations impacting the value of a house include:

• nearby restaurants and shopping centers
• proximity to highways or freeways
• size of the lot
• traffic issues
• transit systems
• zoning issues

A neighborhood’s crime rates do have a bearing on home values. With the advent of the National Sex Offender Registry, created by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2005, home buyers have an easier time of determining the number of convicted sex offenders living near a home they may be interested in purchasing.

Not only is this important information for your personal safety, but homes within one-tenth of a mile of a sexual predator’s residence are worth 9 percent less than those further away, and take 10 percent longer to sell, according to researchers at Longwood University.

While most residents are aware of the crime ridden areas of their city, newcomers are not, so databases such as this, and a phone call to the local police department, can provide the statistics needed to make a better-informed purchasing decision.

Condition

While it goes without saying that a well-maintained home is worth more than a fixer-upper, appraisers take far more into consideration when checking a home’s condition.

A home that has been updated, with energy-saving windows and appliances will be worth more than the house next door that hasn’t been updated.

Certain remodeling features add value as well, such as bathrooms and updated kitchens. In an area with older homes, those with updated wiring and plumbing have added value.

A neighbor’s home also has an impact on the value of those around it. A homeowner can sink thousands of dollars into home improvements but if Jack next door has a rusting auto carcass and dying trees in his front yard, all houses on the block suffer, in terms of lower values.

Time of Year

Real estate sales are seasonal, so when you shop for a home may have an impact on its price.

You may hear that the best time of year to buy a home is spring. Remember, that’s when there are the most buyers in the market, so it’s actually the second best time to sell, not buy.

Another good time of the year to sell a home is summer. Most families wait until after the school year ends to make a major move, so homes tend to sell much more quickly and for higher prices in the summer.

But that means competition for buyers. While spring is when neighborhoods tend to look their best, with everything in bloom, winter provides the best opportunity to get a bargain on your home purchase.

If a seller is motivated enough to place his home on the market in the winter, especially around the holidays, he may just be motivated enough to negotiate on price.

Granted, you will need to be able to look beyond bleak landscaping, but, aside from a good price, you’ll face less competition.

These are just a few things to keep in mind when home shopping. If you need to buy or sell now, reach out to us for some money-saving/making tips.