NH Real Estate with Victoria Mead

  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! 

  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 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...

  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 ...

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.      ...

   What do the different real estate listing statuses mean? When searching for homes online, you may have noticed different labels on each listing also known as the status. Here is a look at what the different statuses are that an agent can label a listing in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) as well as what some of the online search sites call them. Active/Available-  This is the first listing status you'd see when a home first hits the market. Just as it sounds, the property/listing is active or what some sites call, available. This means the seller has not yet accepted an offer. Call your real estate agent quick to set up a showing! Active Under Contract/Contingent- This status is one you see happening second, the property is under contract. This means the seller has accepted an offer but they will allow for back up showings. Another note with active under contract is that this status allows for the home searching sites to continue to market the property. You may se...