Things Homebuyers Do to Get a Better Deal That May Cause a Seller to Reject Their Offer

by Barry Shaw

Of course you want to try and negotiate the best price and terms when you’re buying a house. But in order to actually successfully buy a house, you need a seller to agree to your price and terms.

Unfortunately, some buyers make mistakes that don’t go over well with sellers, and they end up with a worse deal than they could’ve negotiated, or even lose the house altogether. Here are 8 things you might think will help you get a better deal, but could easily backfire on you:

1) Starting With Too Low of a Price
A lot of buyers have the philosophy that you can always go up in price, but you can’t lower your offer once it’s out there, so they feel like they can come in with a ridiculously low number initially. They’re often willing to pay more for the house, and expect to raise their offer, but when they come in too low it can get a seller so angry that they won’t budge as much as they would have, or even respond at all sometimes.

2) Asking For Too Big of a Seller Concession
It’s not uncommon for buyers to ask a seller to contribute to their closing costs. Depending upon the type of loan you’re applying for, a buyer can ask the seller to chip in upwards of 6% of the purchase price. While plenty of sellers are glad to accommodate, it’s still money they won’t be netting from the sale, so you need to be considerate about the amount you’re asking in relation to the price you’re offering.

3) Asking for a Home Sale Contingency
Unless you’re a first-time buyer, there’s a good chance you have to sell your current house in order to buy another one. But that doesn’t mean a seller is going to want to accept your offer, take their home off the market, and give you all the time you need to get yours sold. Most sellers (and their agents) will want to see that your house is firmly under contract and through many of the major contingencies in order to feel comfortable accepting your offer.

4) Not Being Flexible on the Closing Date
Whether you need to close quickly, or need 6 months before you can close, the seller likely has timing needs of their own. Not to say that your timeframe isn’t important as well, but not being flexible on when you can close is something that can cost you the perfect house if a seller has other buyers who can accommodate their desired closing date.

5) Asking Them to Throw in Their Stuff for Free
When you buy a house, anything that’s “affixed” to the property is generally considered part of the sale. For instance, the light fixtures, toilets, and the kitchen sink are part of the purchase price, but their washer and dryer, or a cool couch that really ties the room together, is usually something the seller is going to take with them. Can you ask for those things to be included in the sale? Yes. And sellers often agree to throw in some personal possessions during negotiations. But if you get too greedy or pushy, a seller can easily get turned off.

6) Listening to Mom or Dad’s Advice
Parents usually mean well when they give advice, but when it comes to real estate, they often don’t know what they’re talking about… especially if they haven’t bought or sold a house in a couple of decades. Many of the things on this list are things a parent tells a buyer to do, and then advises them to kill the deal and find another house to buy when the seller doesn’t agree.

7) Not Responding Quickly, or at All
Some buyers think that if they don’t respond to a seller’s counteroffer, or take their sweet time, that the seller will get desperate and be more willing to negotiate. But there’s a fine line between posturing and just giving off a vibe that you don’t really care whether you get the house or not. If a seller feels like you’re playing games, stringing them along, or aren’t interested enough, they can easily lose interest in dealing with you.

8) Take It or Leave It!
Issuing an ultimatum is rarely the way to go in any negotiation. Unless you truly mean it, it’s a tactic that can easily backfire. Nobody wants to feel like they were forced to take the short end of the stick, so there’s a good chance they’ll just tell you to leave it.

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Buyers • Local Real Estate Market • Sellers • Uncategorized • December 16, 2023

Fed Reserve Predicted to Cut Rates 6 Times in 2024, but buyers May Not Want (Or Need) to Wait

by Barry Shaw

If you’ve been thinking about buying a home, you’re probably wondering if (and when!) mortgage rates will come down. So the recent news that ING Economics predicts that The Federal Reserve will cut rates 6 times starting in the second quarter of 2024 is probably music to your ears!

But it also might be making you think that you still have a few months before rates start getting better, and that you should hold off until they lower rates next year to start searching for a house.

However, when The Federal Reserve raises or lowers rates, it doesn’t directly impact mortgages. Mortgages are tied to the 10-year Treasury yield. But to say that what the Fed decides doesn’t affect mortgage rates isn’t true. Obviously they’ve gone up considerably since they started hiking rates, and as such, one should expect them to come down when they lower them.

The reality is, mortgage rates don’t necessarily come down when the Fed changes rates. In fact, they tend to go up or down ahead of Fed policy moves, according to Business Insider.

Mortgage Rates Are Already Coming Down, But…

The National Association of Realtors recently reported that mortgage rates have already been dropping for the past couple of weeks, and are almost back down to 7%.

But they also note in the article that it appears some buyers may still be waiting for rates to come down further before buying a home. When the rates decreased from 20-year highs of nearly 8% just six weeks ago, it initially spurred some buyers to take action. But mortgage applications are still 17% lower than a year ago.

Fewer Buyers Are Willing to Wait for Better Rates

While rates coming down to around 7% may not be enough for some buyers, the number of prospective homebuyers willing to wait for rates to come recently dropped from 85% in June 2023, down to 62%, according to Bank of America.

Their research also revealed that buyers were not just willing to accept rates as they are, but to also sacrifice several features to find their home quicker. For example, nearly a third of people surveyed said they’d forgo buying a brand new home, living near family, access to public transportation, or living in an area with historical charm.

It seems that, for some buyers, this is the new normal, and they’re willing to do what it takes to buy a house now rather than wait for rates to come down even more.

Are They Going to Miss Out on Better Rates in 2024?

The obvious question for anyone sitting on the fence about buying is whether rates will come down substantially more in 2024. This CBS News article sums up the answer to that question rather well with three possible scenarios:

Rates could fall to 6.5%
Rates could fall to 6%
Rates could stay about the same… or even increase!

Unfortunately, that’s about as accurate of a prediction as you can hope for. It’s almost impossible to predict what rates will do in the future. You can only go by what they are at any given moment, and base your decision upon whether buying a home makes sense for you at the moment.

What’s the Risk of Waiting to See if Rates Come Down?

If you’re hoping and waiting for rates below 3% again, that’s probably not going to happen in the next year, or maybe ever again. Rates were historically low for a long time, for a variety of reasons driven by major economic events. This is a long overdue course correction that The Fed is trying to accomplish.

However, it’s understandable if you’re weighing whether or not to wait and see if rates drop to 6%. A 1% drop would certainly make a dent in your monthly payments, and it’s not out of the question for them to come down that much.

The issue you may want to consider (and avoid) is whether rates coming down that much will cause more buyers to flood the market, increasing your competition, and possibly driving home prices up again, or more. If that happens, it could erase any savings the lower rate affords you, and make it more difficult to even buy a home, unless the number of homes for sale jumps dramatically higher in the coming months as well.

It can take months to find a home, successfully negotiate a contract, and close on it.
So if you’re on the fence about buying now, or waiting to see what happens, it probably makes sense to at least start the process of looking at the available homes for sale, and being open to the possibility of buying one if it suits your needs and budget. Perhaps rates will have come down a bit more by the time you find the one you want to buy, and you’ll get a house you want before all of the other buyers who are waiting to see what happens re-enter the market!

The recent news that The Federal Reserve will cut rates 6 times starting in the second quarter of 2024 is great news for anyone thinking about buying a home. But buyers may not need (or want) to wait until they do, before starting their search for a home.

While Fed rate cuts do impact mortgage rates in some ways, they’re actually tied to the 10-year Treasury yield, and often adjust up or down ahead of any Fed announcements. In fact, rates are already down a good amount. Whether they’ll come down substantially more remains to be seen, and is impossible to predict.

Assess whether hoping and waiting for rates to come down more will outweigh the potential increase in competition from other buyers that may occur because rates come down further, and consider starting your home search now.

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Buyers • Local Real Estate Market • Sellers • Uncategorized • December 10, 2023

Is “House Hacking” Your Ticket to Buying a Home

by Barry Shaw

Renting or buying a house is always one of life’s biggest expenses, but lately it’s been even more difficult than usual for many people to afford, which has led to a lot of young adults (and even some older ones) to move back in with their parents.

In the past, once you graduated from high school or college, it was common to get your own place to live and move out of your parents’ home. It was a natural sequence of events, and living at home beyond a certain age was often seen as “wrong” in some way. But according to this Yahoo Finance article, living at home — or moving back in after being on your own for a while — has become so common that it’s lost its stigma.

While it’s good that people who need to live with family for financial reasons aren’t being judged harshly, that doesn’t mean it’s ideal, or that most people don’t want a place of their own… if only they could afford to do so.

Which is probably why “house hacking” is so appealing to Millennials and Gen Z.

What Is “House Hacking,” and How Popular Is It?

CNBC recently reported that “house hacking” has become a strategy many Millennials and Gen Z use to become homeowners. Simply put, they rent out a portion of their home in order to generate some money to help make owning their home more affordable.

But it’s not just the younger generation who sees this as a useful strategy. While 51% of Gen Z, and 55% of Millennial buyers think it’s a good idea, 39% of recent buyers in all age groups thought it was a “very” or “extremely” important tactic.

Things to Keep In Mind if You’re Planning to Use the Strategy

With nearly half of all buyers considering this as a way to make homeownership more affordable and buy a house, there’s a good chance you may be considering doing it as well. If you are, here are a few things to keep in mind:

You can’t rely on the potential rent to qualify for a mortgage. In order to have a portion of your house to rent out to somebody, you need to first own a house. And in order to own a house, you probably need a mortgage. Lenders won’t consider the potential rent you may be planning on receiving each month for renting out a bedroom or section of your house. You’ll need to be able to qualify for a mortgage, and afford it on a monthly basis, without that anticipated rent coming in.

Try and line up a tenant ahead of time. Even though a lender may not consider the rent you’ll be bringing in, it still helps to know you have someone willing to rent, and how much they’re willing to pay you before you purchase a house, if you’re relying on that income to make ends meet.

Be careful who you allow to live in your home. This probably sounds obvious, but it’s something you may be less careful about if you’re desperate or anxious to generate some extra money each month. Ideally you can find someone you know and trust to live in your home, but that’s not always possible. If you advertise your space for rent and are considering people you don’t know, make sure to do some research into the person. Ask for references, and truly get a feel for who they are before taking the leap into living with them. Make sure they’re not just someone you can trust and feel comfortable around, but also someone you’ll enjoy living with.

Put things in writing. Create a lease with terms that delineate what they can and can’t use in the house. Perhaps create a schedule if there will be shared areas you may want some privacy in at certain times. Include rules that need to be followed, and remedies for any disagreements. To be on the safe (and legal) side, have a lawyer create a that protects both of your rights within the parameters of the local landlord / tenant laws.

Make sure it’s allowed before you do it. Look into the local rules and ordinances before buying a place. For instance, if the house is part of a homeowners association (HOA), there may be rules that forbid you from having tenants. Or city and town zoning may not permit such usage in the area your house is located.

Also Consider Buying a Proper Multifamily Instead…

Many people are looking at “house hacking” as renting out a portion of a single-family home they live in, but the term has been used by investors for quite some time as a way to buy real estate and build equity and a portfolio of properties over time.

Investors use the tactic by buying a multi-unit property to live in one unit, and rent out the other units to defray the cost, or even live for free if the other rents can cover the entire mortgage. They use the money they are saving per month to build up another down payment to buy another property, and then either sell the first investment, or keep it as a rental property, and buy another one.

While you may not envision yourself as an “investor,” or living in an investment property as opposed to a single-family home, buying a multifamily property would make it easier to have your own space, while also benefiting from rent that helps make the monthly mortgage more manageable. It will also make the landlord / tenant relationship a bit more formal, and as long as the property is legally zoned for multifamily usage, there shouldn’t be any concerns like you may run into renting out a portion of a single-family home.

In addition, lenders will consider any rents that are on record or anticipated for a multifamily property, which will help you qualify for a mortgage. And if you plan on living in it, there’s a good chance you can qualify for a low down payment program!

Because housing costs have gone up, buying or renting a home has become difficult for many people, especially in the younger generations. This has made “house hacking” — which is basically renting out a portion of a home in order to generate some money to help make owning their home more affordable — an appealing way for nearly half of recent home buyers to buy a house.

If you’re considering this tactic as away to buy a home, make sure you:

– Can afford the home without the rental income you anticipate.
– Try and line up a tenant ahead of time.
– Only rent to someone you have vetted and feel comfortable with.
– Put all terms and conditions in writing, and consider having a lawyer draft a legal document for you.
– Make sure renting out a portion of your home is allowed in your area.

Also consider buying a proper multi-unit investment property. It will help you achieve the same benefits of incoming rent, while allowing you a separate place to call home by living in one unit and renting out the rest.

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Buyers • Local Real Estate Market • Sellers • Uncategorized • December 3, 2023

Some Things Sellers Leave Behind That Annoy Buyers

by Barry Shaw

You’re supposed to leave your house in “broom clean” condition for the buyer when you sell your house, which leaves a lot of room for interpretation. It often boils down to sellers feeling like they left the place looking immaculate, and buyers wondering if the seller even owned a broom.

The point is, it’s kind of subjective.

Which is probably why so many sellers think they’re being super thoughtful when they leave certain things behind, but buyers end up feeling like you just left them something to figure out what to do with or get rid of.

So here’s a list of 5 things you shouldn’t leave behind when selling your house, even if you think you’re doing the buyer a favor:

1) A Pile of Random Keys
Of course you need to make sure your buyer has the keys to all the doors in the house, but that stash of random keys you can’t figure out what they’re supposed to open isn’t something your buyer wants or needs. If you don’t know what a key is for, just chuck them in the trash. The odds of your buyer eventually coming across some random lock you never knew existed in the house that fits one of those keys are pretty low.

2) “Touch-Up” Paint
Is it even possible to buy just the right amount of paint? Judging by how many cans of leftover paint sellers leave behind in their garage or basement, it doesn’t seem like it. The go-to rationale most sellers use is that the buyers may want it to do touch-ups, but let’s be honest, paint is a pain in the neck to get rid of so it’s just a handy excuse to avoid dealing with it yourself.
(This goes for extra tiles and any other remodeling remnants you may have lying around as well…)

3) Manuals for Appliances You Haven’t Owned in 17 Years
It’s nice to leave the manuals and any warranty information behind for any major appliances or components of your house that are still working and included with the sale. But do your buyers a favor and get rid of the ones that went with the olive green oven from 1977. Having every manual from every appliance that ever existed in the house just makes finding the right one you need in an emergency that much more difficult and aggravating.

4) That Ridiculously Large Sofa You Couldn’t Get Out of the Room
It’s easy to forget how difficult a piece of furniture was to get into a room, until you try and get it out of a room… on moving day. It’s also easy to rationalize leaving it behind for the buyer to enjoy, free of charge!
But free or not, buyers don’t always want your old furniture that you couldn’t get out of the house in time. Feel free to offer any furniture you don’t want (or just can’t move easily), but plan on getting all of your furniture out of the house before closing day no matter how much pivoting it takes to get it out the door.

5) A Curb Full of Trash
The last resort for many sellers is to throw out everything they couldn’t fit in the moving trucks, or just don’t want anymore. The problem is, some sellers wait until closing day and put piles of garbage bags and furniture to the curb fully expecting the trash collectors will throw it into the back of the truck on garbage day. Maybe they will… But maybe they won’t!

Unless you happened to sell your house to Oscar the Grouch, don’t bet on your buyer being happy about pulling up to the house and seeing piles of trash at the curb. Either get rid of things bit by bit over a few weeks before closing, or plan on making a trip to the dump before closing day.

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Buyers • Local Real Estate Market • Sellers • Uncategorized • November 25, 2023

Qualify as a 1st-Time Homebuyer for a Mortgage, Even If You Owned a Home in the Past!

by Barry Shaw

Many first-time buyers could use some help qualifying for their first mortgage, which is why the government and financial institutions have developed specific first-time homebuyer programs to help ease the burden and make the dream of owning a home a reality.

By the sounds of it, a first-time homebuyer loan probably sounds like it’s only available to someone who’s never bought a home before. But what about people who could use a second chance at getting some of those benefits in order to buy a home?

For instance, perhaps you once owned a home, but life threw you a curveball, and you need to sell that home and rent a place to live, or move in with family. Or maybe you were just relocated for your job for a period of time and it didn’t make sense for you to own a home for a while.

No matter what the reason is, buying a home again when you don’t currently own one can often be like you’re starting from scratch for many reasons. Fortunately, you may be able to qualify for a first-time homebuyer loan even if you have owned a home in the past!

As Bankrate recently reported, the term “first-time homebuyer” can be misleading, because you can actually qualify for some first-time buyer programs as long as you haven’t owned a home in the past three years.

The Main Benefit of First-Time Buyer Programs

While there could be other benefits to going the first-time buyer route — such as a lower down payment, potential down payment or closing cost assistance — the main benefit is likely to be that they have more relaxed qualification requirements for a buyer.

You should certainly be concerned with getting a competitive interest rate, but don’t be surprised or alarmed if the interest rate isn’t lower than other types of mortgages. In fact, they may even have additional costs or higher rates than other types of loans, but they serve the purpose of making it possible for you to buy a house when it may have otherwise been difficult for you to qualify for a mortgage.

What Are Typical Qualifications You Need to Meet?

There are many different first-time home buyer programs and the requirements will vary from one to another, and each lender may even have different guidelines they adhere to.

But according this recent article from The Mortgage Reports, the typical first-time buyer guidelines for 2023 are:

At least a 620 credit score, although you may need at least 640 or 680 for some programs.

A 3% down payment.
A debt-to-income (DTI) ratio of 43% or lower.
A consistent income.
Two straight years of employment history.

Of course, there are exceptions and some gray areas that a lender may be able to work with if you don’t meet all of those criteria, and some programs may have slightly more lenient qualifications than those.

The Best Way to Figure Out If You Qualify (And If It’s Even Your Best Option)

Don’t judge whether or not you qualify for a first-time homebuyer program based upon those typical guidelines. Trying to figure it out on your own is difficult, and ultimately you’ll need to be approved by a lender anyway, so your best bet is to speak to a few mortgage reps who are well-versed in helping first-time buyers.

A good way to find mortgage professionals is to speak with a real estate agent you trust, since they deal with so many of them in their career. He or she will have a list of lenders they recommend, and can give you the scoop on ones they feel would be best suited to helping you understand all of your options.

A first-time buyer program may be your best option… but it also might not be! Just because you’re a first-time buyer doesn’t mean you won’t qualify for other types of loans, nor does it mean that the benefits of first-time buyer programs will be better than other types of loans and programs potentially available to you.

Once a mortgage expert has the full picture of your qualifications and situation, he or she will be able to explain the pros and cons of each type of loan you qualify for, and help you decide on which one to choose.

By the sounds of it, a first-time homebuyer loan probably sounds like it’s only available to someone who’s never bought a home before. But you may be able to qualify for one even if you’ve owned a home in the past, as long as it wasn’t in the last three years.

This can be helpful if you need more flexible qualification criteria in order to qualify for a loan, but it may not be your only (or best) option.

Speak to a real estate agent you trust and ask him or her for a list of mortgage experts they recommend who are great at helping first-time buyers. A great mortgage rep can help you figure out all of their options, and which one is the best one to choose for your overall qualifications and situation.

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Buyers • Local Real Estate Market • Sellers • Uncategorized • November 20, 2023

Selling Your Home? Make Sure to Avoid These Common Buyer Turnoffs

by Barry Shaw

When you sell your home, you want it to appeal to as many buyers as possible.

But there are certain things that can instantly make buyers say “no thanks” to your home, even if the issues are easily fixable and the home could actually be a good fit for them.

So what, exactly, are those turn-offs, and how can you avoid them to ensure your home is as appealing as it can be?

A recent article from realtor.com outlined visual elements that can be a major turnoff for buyers, including:

A junk-filled yard.
As they say, you can only make a first impression once. If buyers drive up to your home and are immediately greeted by a yard full of junk (for example, a broken down RV, or old, broken children’s toys scattered around the yard), many will just keep on driving. Before you start showing your home, make sure to clear your yard and other outdoor areas of any junk, trash, or debris.

Dated wallpaper.
Some buyers have a hard time seeing a home’s potential. So if the home features extremely dated or out-of-style wallpaper, many will see the property as dated and undesirable, even though swapping out wallpaper is a pretty simple fix. If your home’s wallpaper seems dated, consider replacing it with something more modern, or removing the wallpaper and painting the walls in a neutral color — like off-white or gray — which is almost universally appealing.

Mismatched flooring.
Homes with multiple types of flooring can lack visual flow and make the home feel disjointed. If you have a variety of flooring styles (for example, multiple types of tiles and vinyl flooring), consider installing hardwood floors throughout. While it’s a big project, it can help sell your home for a higher price and, as far as home projects go, has a solid return on investment. According to the article, the ROI on installing hardwood floors generally falls between 70 and 80 percent.

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Buyers • Local Real Estate Market • Sellers • Uncategorized • November 13, 2023

Moving? Avoid These Common Mistakes

by Barry Shaw

Moving can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re moving to a new city or state. There’s a lot to do, and if you don’t know how to navigate the process, you might make a few mistakes that can make the process more stressful and expensive than necessary.

So what, exactly, are some mistakes homeowners make when moving to a new city or state and, more importantly, how can you avoid those mistakes?

A recent article from realtor.com outlined some of the most common mistakes homeowners make when moving, including:

Not locking in a mortgage when relocating for a job. If you’re relocating for a new job, and are looking to buy a home before you relocate, there are certain lending requirements you’ll have to meet. But many homeowners accept a position without looking into those requirements, and end up having trouble securing a mortgage as a result. Before you accept a new job, talk to a lender and ask what their requirements are and then make sure you meet those requirements and lock in the mortgage before you officially accept the new role. For example, the lender may require both an offer of employment and confirmation that all offer contingencies have been met.

Expecting your things to arrive immediately. Many homeowners ship their belongings with the expectation that they’ll arrive at their new home when they do. But the truth is, it can take a few days, or even a few weeks for your belongings to reach their final destination. To avoid any issues, make sure you box up the things you’ll need for your first few weeks — like clothes, medications, and toiletries — and bring that box with you to your new home.

Ignoring your new home’s layout. Many homeowners want to replicate their old home in their new home. But if your new home has a different layout, your old setup may not translate. Instead, get creative with where you put your furniture and decor; a new home is a fresh start, so decorate the space in a way that suits the new layout, not in a way that replicates your old place.

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Buyers • Local Real Estate Market • Sellers • Uncategorized • November 6, 2023

Thinking About Selling Your House? There Is Buyers Out There!

by Barry Shaw

It’s hard to escape the talk about rising interest rates and how they’re supposedly scaring away potential homebuyers. So if you’ve been thinking about selling, there’s a good chance it might be causing you to put those plans on hold and wait for buyers to re-enter the market.

But before you put your home sale plans on hold, there’s a timeless truth that bears repeating: there are always “life happens” buyers in the market looking to buy a home, as Marketplace recently reported in this article. While interest rates are a significant factor, they don’t deter everyone from pursuing their dream home.

Here are some examples of “life happens” events that cause people to buy a new home:

New job opportunities:
People are always being relocated by companies to new areas, and they’re often given a “relocation package” to help them buy a house in the new area. But it doesn’t even have to be an out-of-state move that causes someone to buy; they could just be getting a much better paying job and they now have the financial capacity to invest in a larger or more desirable property.

Need for more space:
Growing families, the desire to accommodate aging parents, or simply a need for additional living space can drive the decision to buy a new home.

Access to better schools:
For families with children, the quality of local schools can be a motivating factor to purchase a new home in a specific area.

Less competition:
Some buyers who struggled to successfully buy a home in the past due to intense competition are seizing opportunities as the market evolves.

Getting married:
Whether it’s a first marriage, or a couple on their second trip down the aisle, starting a new life together often involves buying a house together.

Getting divorced:
Unfortunately, some marriages don’t last, which can cause one household to become two, causing at least one of them to buy a new home, if not both of them.

It makes more financial sense than continuing to rent:
Rent isn’t always less money per month than buying a home, and even if it is, rents continue to rise and people become aware that they are not building equity by owning a home.

Security and stability:
Owning a home provides a sense of stability, preventing renters from being at the mercy of landlords when leases expire unexpectedly.

Downsizing:
As empty-nesters or retirees, some individuals choose to downsize, selling their larger homes to buy smaller properties.

They came into some money:
Receiving a financial windfall, such as an inheritance, a significant bonus, or even a lottery jackpot can prompt someone to buy a new home.

It’s important to remember that interest rates are just one piece of the puzzle. Sure, it may deter some buyers, but people buy homes in every real estate market, regardless of the interest rates for a variety of reasons. In fact, buyers who are in the market now despite the rates are likely highly qualified and motivated, making this a perfect time to capitalize on the market.

There Is Still High Demand and Low Supply… for Now
It’s also important to note that there is still a significant demand for homes in many areas. The limited inventory of homes for sale continues to create a competitive market. So, if you’re contemplating selling your home, you may find that you can still get a premium price for your home, and sell it quickly in many areas.

While the current real estate market remains favorable for sellers, there are potential challenges on the horizon. One factor is the Federal Reserve’s active efforts to influence the housing market through interest rates. The Fed’s commitment to ongoing intervention suggests that the market might continue to fluctuate.

Another looming factor is the aging Baby Boomer generation. As they approach retirement age, projections are that more of them will put their homes on the market, which could significantly increase the amount of homes for sale, creating more competition among sellers and potentially lower sale prices.

So, if you’ve been hesitating to list your property thinking that it might be smarter to wait until interest rates come down and more buyers flock to the market again, it might be time to reconsider. There are always “life happens” buyers in the market, and your house may be the home they’ve been desperately waiting to see come on the market.

Rising interest rates have certainly priced some buyers out of the market, and made others take a break from their home search hoping that rates will come back down. In turn, this may cause some potential sellers to not list their house for sale, and wait for buyers to re-enter the market.
But there are always buyers in the market, regardless of interest rates, because life events cause them to buy a house. Considering there is still high demand from buyers and not enough homes to satisfy that demand in many markets, it’s a great time to sell now, rather than wait for the market to potentially shift in buyers’ favor due to move the Fed is making, or because of a large number of listings hitting the market due to Baby Boomers in the near future.

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Buyers • Local Real Estate Market • Sellers • Uncategorized • October 30, 2023

Buying a Home? Here’s What Home Inspectors Want You to Know

by Barry Shaw

A home inspection is an important part of the home buying process, which is why there are certain things that home inspectors wish they could tell buyers before the inspection to make the process easier, smoother, and less stressful for everyone involved.

So what, exactly, are those things?

A recent article from realtor.com outlined the top things home inspectors wish buyers knew, including:

Expect problems. Many buyers panic when they get an inspection report and see a list of issues with the home. But, according to inspectors, many of these issues aren’t a reason to panic. Even homes that are in great shape will have at least some problems come through on the inspection, so don’t panic when those problems come through. Instead, remind yourself that almost everything is fixable, and once you know what the issues are, you can then take steps to address them, or have the sellers address them before the sale is finalized.

Take care of water ASAP. While many maintenance issues can be dealt with on a somewhat flexible timeline, according to inspectors, one issue that needs to be dealt with ASAP is water. While water-related issues don’t have to be a dealbreaker, it’s important to deal with them before (or immediately after) moving in; otherwise, you could find yourself dealing with significant water damage, and the expenses that go with it.

Home inspectors can’t predict the future. Often, buyers want inspectors to speak in certainties. For example, they want to know exactly when a home’s roof will need to be replaced. But inspectors can’t predict the future. What they can do is give you insight into the current condition of the property and, in certain cases, a rough estimate on how much longer different elements (like a roof) will last. So, while it’s fine to ask your inspector to explain or expand on their findings, don’t ask them to tell you exactly what’s going to happen with the home in the upcoming years, because they can’t read the future any better than you can.

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Buyers • Local Real Estate Market • Sellers • Uncategorized • October 20, 2023

10 Things Most Home Sellers Overlook When it Comes to Keeping Their Home “Show Ready”

by Barry Shaw

According to a recent study, the average person’s home is only completely clean 11 days per year! It also revealed that the definition of “completely” is a bit generous. Many of the people surveyed admitted that they tend to focus their attention on a few obvious things, like their rugs and floors, but ignore the finer details like wiping down shelves, appliances, and countertops.

Hey, everyone has their own level of comfort when it comes to the cleanliness of their home, and they shouldn’t be judged or shamed just because of a few dust bunnies or crumbs! Well, unless you’re selling your house…

When preparing your house for sale, it’s not only important to focus on cleaning the areas that are obvious to the naked eye, but also some cracks and crevices that often go unnoticed by a homeowner, because neglecting these areas can leave a negative impression on potential buyers.

If you want to set yourself apart from the competition when selling your home, here’s a list of 10 things to clean before putting your house up for sale that many home other sellers might overlook:

1) Baseboards
Whoever originally decided baseboards should usually be white wasn’t thinking! These things are magnets for dust and dirt, yet they often don’t get the love and attention a floor or rug does when a room gets vacuumed.

2) Ceiling Fans
You’d think a ceiling fan would be self-cleaning, right? How does the dust stick to it when it’s whirling around like that?
Pro tip: Make sure you turn the fan off before cleaning it…

3) Windows
Remember: windows have two sides, and if you don’t clean them from the inside of the house and the outside, you might as well not do it at all. And no, that is not permission to just avoid doing it.

4) Window Tracks
It’s not like every buyer will open every single window in your house, but there’s always a chance that a serious buyer will open a window or two. Unfortunately, there’s no guessing which two windows it’ll be, so make sure you clean the window sills and tracks of every window.

5) Blinds and Curtains
Let’s be honest, blinds are annoying to clean even with those fancy gadgets they sell made specifically for sliding through a bunch of the slats at one time. But it beats having a buyer judging your house (and you!) poorly when they take a peek out of your window to get a glimpse of your yard.

6) Switch Plates
You get so used to where your light switches are when you live in a house that you probably never even look when you slap the lights on. But buyers and their agents love to turn on every single light in the house when they come for a showing, so there’s a good chance they’ll be looking more closely at every single lightswitch as they’re trying to figure out which light it turns on.

7) Underneath Furniture
Are buyers going to rearrange your furniture and lift up your sofa? Probably not, but they might still notice the layer of dust, pet hair, and crumbs you might not notice peeking out from under chairs and tables.

8) Vents
These are like close cousins to ceiling fans. How does something that’s constantly blowing air in or out of a room collect so much dust?

9) Cabinet Interiors
Don’t let those plates and mugs fool you! Dust, dirt, and cobwebs collect on the shelves even in the cabinets you use on a daily basis.

10) Appliances
If your appliances don’t look clean on the outside, buyers are definitely going to wonder how dirty they are on the inside!

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