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Tips On Getting Your Home Ready For The Spring Market!

  It’s that time of year again—when the birds start chirping, the flowers begin to bloom, and the real estate market wakes up from its winter hibernation! If you’re thinking about selling your home this spring, fear not! I’ve got some tips that’ll help your home to stand out from the competition. First off, let’s tackle the biggest challenge for majority of home sellers: decluttering. Remember that sweater you swore you’d fit into again? Yeah, it’s time to let it go—along with those stacks of magazines from 2003. Potential buyers want to envision themselves in your space, not navigate through your collection of nostalgic memorabilia. One point I mention to my clients is that you’ll need to move all of your belongings anyway, so you might as well save some money on moving boxes and muscle power and donate the items or trash them instead ahead of time! Next up, let’s talk about curb appeal, because first impressions are everything, right? I’m talking about sprucing up that front ...
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Mobile Home Versus A Condominium

  With home prices being so high, home buyers are looking to keep costs down and are exploring the market for either a condo or a mobile home. Let's go over the pro's and con's for both so that you can decide which options will work better for you. First, a disclaimer: All associations are different, and I am sure some readers will argue my points, but this is just general from what I see local to me in my market in NH. Mobile Home Parks- Every park comes with its own set of rules. Some more in depth than others. Some parks are co-op's, other's aren't. When I talk with my clients on which would work better for their situations, I explain a few factors about mobile home parks. Potential Cons:  You don't own the land, but with most associations you have to maintain your own landscaping as well as exterior of your property.  Aside from the park covering plowing the roads, you will have to maintain snow in your own driveway and walk ways in most parks.  Another ...

What Is Equity In Real Estate?

  What Is Equity In Real Estate? It sounds simple when someone is talking about it but what does equity actually mean? Equity is basically a fancy word for profit. When someone is talking about how much equity they have in their home they are saying that their home is worth more than what they owe on their mortgage. If you were to sell your home for $450,000 and all you have left to pay off on your mortgage is $200,000 then that means you have $250,000 in equity on your property. Equity is definitely a nice thing to have! 

Why Hire A Real Estate Agent?

  I first want to start off by saying that not all real estate agents are created equal. There are plenty of people that think selling houses will be so fun because they love seeing homes or love watching HGTV so they decide to get their license. Seeing homes is only a quarter of the job. The real truth is selling real estate is hard. It's an 80/20 career with only 20 staying in for the long haul.  That is the professional I am talking on in this blog when I recommend you hire one. Someone that is actually good. Not someone that pretends to be! They know houses. Just like any professional you hire whether it be a plumber, contractor, attorney etc.. a good real estate agent knows, loves and has a passion for houses. They will be able to explain different heating systems and point out items at showings you may not notice or think anything of. Or if they're helping sell a home they'd know the specific features that are valued differently, just one example. They know the market...

House Showing Formalities and Etiquette

House Showing Formalities and Etiquette Are you a buyer wondering what a showing will be like, or a seller curious on what happens while a prospective  buyer is in your home? Let's go through showing formalities and etiquette to answer some of your questions! Let's start at the beginning-  When a buyer sees a home online that they'd like to view in person, they will contact their real estate agent to schedule a showing. To request a showing, the buyer's agent needs to either reach out to the listing agent/seller's agent directly, or schedule their request through a showing service- whichever the listing agent prefers. Once confirmed with the seller, the listing agent will give access information to the buyer's agent and let them know they are good to go. With each showing confirmation there is a set of instructions for the buyer's agent to know. Sometimes the instructions may have notes for the buyer's agent to point out to their buyers while walking thr...

Choosing the Right Lender for Home Financing

  With So Many Options Out There, How Do You Choose the Best Lender for Financing Your Home Loan? The options can be overwhelming with all of the tv commercials, ads online and flyers in the mail that you see for different financial institutions. Choosing the right lender for your home buying purchase is important- here's the easiest way to figure out who you should go with. Ask your real estate agent: If you find a real estate agent who you plan to hire, you work well with and trust, then you should ask them who they would recommend for financing. Chances are, if you work well with that agent, then you would also work well with the trusted lender that they team up with.  One benefit to working with a lender your real estate agent uses frequently is they can then rave to the listing agent about how good that lender is when submitting an offer. A lot of times, if a listing agent hasn't heard of a company, they ask the buyer's agent if they have any past experience with that ...

The Top 5 Big Ticket Items to Check During a House Showing

Besides figuring out where your furniture will fit best and the cookouts you plan to have on the back patio, it is important to check for 5 key items when you are at a house for a showing.  Having an idea of what needs replacement before finding out at your home inspection will help you to make the most educated offer possible and will also help you to get ahead of the planning/budgeting in advance. Here is a list of the top 5 big ticket items to check during a house showing.          1)  Roof  The first item to make note of is the roof.  If the home has shingles, take a look at how the shingles are laid. Does the roof look like it has a lot of texture? If so, chances are that the roof is newer and has plenty of life left. Are the shingles really flat, with signs of cupping or just has overall signs of wear? That would mean the roof is getting close to the end of its lifespan and you should plan for replacement.      ...