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Inside Main Criteria When Looking At Selling a House

Many individuals are beginning to invest in real estate because they want to earn money in the foreseeable future. If you may buy a house now for a certain value, it’s going to be more expensive in the next Five years if the real estate market will remain stable. Before you do this, you should first understand how tough it is to sell a house. You will see tons of articles saying that selling a property is extremely easy or there are some ads informing you that they could sell your home in just a few months. You could bring the price down, but this is not an advisable thing to do.

Today in the real estate market, the supply totally surpasses the demand, but you can find different methods to sell your house effectively. We’re going to offer you a few simple tips on how to do this.

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Check The Curb Appeal of your home

First impression lasts so your house should give the buyers a good impression once they see its exterior. You can put yourself in the shoes of the customer and see if the curb appeal of your home can attract them. You must find out if the house can offer a good impression to possible customers or it needs maintenance.

The possible customers will first see the outside of the house. You need to understand that they always pay attention to curb appeal. You should get everything ready fix anything that needs fixing.

Do Some Renovations In Your house

You must make the required upgrades inside and outside of your house to make certain that you can attract the customers. They always want a complete package when buying a house so you need to make certain repairs. If you’re the seller, you should make sure that you may fix everything. However, you must not over improve the house as there are some enhancements that will not really make a huge difference to the price of the house. Upgrades will absolutely boost the value of your home together with its odds to be sold, but you can’t make any renovations which will not provide any benefits to you. You must do your research and put money in the things that can offer the best ROI.

Start Depersonalizing your house

Most folks will say that adding more design to the interior can make it more appealing to the buyers, but it’s an error because personal items, art works and collectibles will not really attract them. You could remove these items and leave out the important furniture so your house will absolutely look bigger. The objective is to enable the customers to picture themselves in your house.

They will begin pointing at the different parts of your home while visualizing what they want to put in there if they are likely to buy it. It implies that unnecessary and personal items should be eliminated in the house since it’s going to make it difficult for them to imagine.

You should Offer a Reasonable Price

If you are going to sell a home in [LOCATION], you must place a competitive value for the property. If you will put a low value, it will be similar to leaving money on the table and if you priced the house too high, it will be unattractive to buyers. If you are speaking about home buying, the buyers always look for houses that are very similar to yours and compare the costs. If your property is too costly, the buyer will certainly ignore your house and check others. Most buyers are counting on home financing so they can’t really afford houses that are very costly. You can sell the house very easily if you will set a low value, but you can’t get your investments back.

Locate A Real Estate Agent

You’re making a big mistake if you believe that you could sell your house by yourself. If you’re not a professional real estate agent, it’ll be difficult since you do not have the experience and knowledge to do it. In case you’re planning to do this on your own, there is a chance that you will not be able to sell your house or you won’t obtain a great deal. You may get lucky and obtain an excellent deal for the house, but you can’t rely on luck when you’re selling a property because we’re talking about a lot of money. You should hire an agent and allow them to do everything for you. You will need to pay them, but this is much better than getting a bad deal as you do not know anything.

Before you start selling your property, make sure that you understand how to do this efficiently. The real estate market is surely complicated so you need to know how this works before you sell your house.

When you are looking at homes, and find some that you really like, you should absolutely be driving through the neighborhoods at different times of the day and week to get a realistic sense of the communities. Visiting a home in the afternoon and evening also helps you learn about the area and if there are problems with noise or traffic. Check with the police and ask for a crime report to gain as much knowledge as possible regarding the neighborhood.

You’re not only purchasing a house, but you’re also purchasing the area in which you buy it. You must investigate the condition of the neighborhood. By doing this, you’ll be able to determine whether it’s “coming back,” or showing serious signs of decline. One way you can do this is by researching how many homes in the area are in foreclosure.

Are you considering a home in foreclosure? Although homes in foreclosures can mean good deals, be sure to know the status of a home and whether or not it’s short sale eligible or purchasable if its in foreclosure. If not, you may be making an offer on a home that a bank already owns.

If you’re considering a “fixer upper” house, you should proceed with caution. A fixer upper is cheap but you need someone to tell you what it’ll cost to get it to code or market standard. If you aren’t interested in dealing with a home that needs serious renovations, you should walk away.

Are There Home Inspection Issues? 

You must get a home inspection, no matter how much the home costs. It should be obvious, but any home you purchase should be based on the outcome of the inspection report. So many buyers decide that they aren’t going to order an inspection report, because they don’t want to pay for it. They only cost a few hundred dollars. You are talking about spending a few hundred thousand dollars (or more, depending on your income).

Just because a home looks nice to the naked eye, doesn’t mean that there are not underlying issues. Always get an inspection. That way, if there are issues, you can go back to the seller and negotiate. And more importantly, you can decide if you should buy the house. An inspection should give you a good, fair understanding of what’s wrong with the house. Always be sure to check the inspectors credentials and referrals. Read this article Top 10 Red Flags To Look For When Buying a Home for even more information.

Getting a great loan, and an excellently low interest rate doesn’t just fall into your lap. It starts with small steps. Below are some great steps to follow that will help you land the house of your dreams…or at least a house!

Budget wisely! Knowing the type of home and mortgage you can afford is all about budgeting. Search around for the kind of home you want in your area and compare prices to get a ballpark figure. Figure out the following for creating your budget: your income, your monthly debt, your living expenses, and how much you have saved for a down payment.

Then you can look online at mortgage calculators to get an idea of what your monthly payments could be. Don’t take this too seriously, as it is an online tool generated by only numbers, and the bank looks at much more than that. Your mortgage shouldn’t exceed 40% of your monthly income.

Figure out what mortgage you want. The type of home you want and any assistance you need will decide what kind of loan you’re eligible for. This is why it is important to talk with the bank, so you can find out the various types of loans, what kinds interest you, and which one you’ll qualify for. Read: How to Get Pre-Approved for Your First Mortgage.

Decide if you want a mortgage broker, or a lender. There are two ways to find a loan: dealing directly with the lender or seeking help through a mortgage broker. If you go the solo route, you have to do all the legwork and shop for a loan, which includes going from lender to lender, comparing interest rates and other loan terms.

Check your credit score. Now’s the time to check your credit report for any mistakes. Please note, that this is something you should frequently be doing. There are too many free and secure websites that allow you to check your credit constantly for free. Of course, they are not completely accurate, but they are very close. By law, you can obtain one free credit report from each credit report company; TransUnion, Equifax and Experian, annually. 

Gather all necessary documents. Your finances will be under the microscope, so make sure you have everything you need to back up the numbers. Have you opened a bank account in the past six months? Have been gifted any money recently? Be prepared to tell the lender why. These are the documents that you are going to be expected to bring with you: government identification, two years of your tax returns, two years of your income statements, and proof of all of your assets.

Lastly, you’ll need to get approved. While a pre-approval won’t guarantee you a loan, consider it a diploma of the mortgage process. During pre-approval, the lender will do a credit check and go over your income statements to determine your financial capability. A good rule of thumb is to try at least three lenders to ensure you get the best deal possible. See: How Much Can I Borrow? Home Affordability Calculator – myFICO

Any family member or friend with great credit, good standing, and decent income probably is going to at some point be asked to cosign for a loan. Whether its college tuition, your sister wants help purchasing a house. There are endless things to get a loan for. Usually, the cosigner in question feels that maybe if they say no, they aren’t being supportive. However, you are going to be left for the entire loan, no matter what the reason the person defaults. Experts say that there is never, ever a good reason to cosign a loan for anyone.

You’re completely responsible.

When you co-sign, you are promising to pay the loan in the event the borrower cannot. In other words, you agree to be on the hook for someone else’s debt. You are banking on this person to be responsible in repaying this loan. You are also taking on the full responsibility of inheriting the debt should that person become unable to pay or act irresponsibly in repaying the loan. This kind of trust can end badly and have life-altering financial consequences for a co-signer.

Your credit score can plummet.

Cosigning can destroy your credit report. Even if the loan is paid on time, the potential new debt you have taken on will most likely drop your credit scores, because 30% of your score is based on the amount of debt you carry. Co-signing also will increase your debt-to-income ratio, making it harder for you to qualify for loans you may need, such as for a mortgage or a new car. And that’s the best-case scenario. The worst case is when your family member or friend defaults on the loan. For further reading: Understanding the Reasonings & the Risks of Cosigning a Loan.

It can ruin your future financially.

If your friend or family member defaults on the debt, you, as the co-signer, will not only suffer bad credit ramifications, but you also will be obligated to pay the money back.You could end up defaulting, and having your own bank account frozen.

Your relationship certainly will suffer.

Nothing comes between friends or family like borrowed money; it’s a no-win situation. The borrower feels guilty about it. You feel uncomfortable asking the borrower about the loan payments. And that’s when things are going well. If the person for whom you co-signed fails to make good on the debt, your relationship can go south very quickly. See: Is it Really Ever Worth Asking Family to Cosign a Loan? Cosigning is a financial agreement with no upside.

You are enabling bad behavior.

Don’t let your emotions sway you to be a cosigner. Your daughter might be begging to go to the college of her dreams, and needs you to cosign the loan. As much as you love her, it could hurt you if she were unable to pay. And this is highly possible as student loans are often paid well into adult-hood depending on the college. Can you predict what her life will be like from right now for the next twenty years? That should scare you off enough right there. It also hurts her, because if she were to default on her loans, her credit would be destroyed before she even got a chance to build it. 

If, for whatever reason, you ultimately agree to be a co-signer on a loan, consider it a gift. Assume that you will be paying for it yourself, and be happy to do it, if that is the case. This way, you’ll be less disappointed if things go badly. So, if you are going to be a cosigner, make sure you can afford it if the borrower can’t pay, and make sure you can also afford to lose the relationship. See: 7 Loans You Should Never Cosign.

How Contractors Trick You

It’s true that contractors get a bad rep. There are many scummy contractors out there. You can find a great one if you keep your guard up, and take the necessary actions it takes to ensure you get an honest, ethical one. There are also great ones though, too. Just to be on the safe side, when scouting out for a contractor, you should watch for these red flags. Read: Building Materials & Supplies at Lowe’s.

Flag: “I need money upfront”
A contractor looking to scam you might will tell you he needs at least half of the money up front. Once you pay him, he either disappears altogether, or does sloppy work. He knows you can’t let him go, because he already has thousands of your dollars. Unfortunately, this practice is not limited to contractors. Generally, when you pay anyone for a service before work is completed there is less of an inclination to do a good job, because that person has already been paid.

Never pay more than thirty-percent at the most of the job upfront. It is enough money to show the contractor that you are able to pay for their services, but small enough to where they have motivation to get the job done right. A lot of people fall into this trick because they “feel bad.” The contractor will convince them that they need more money than this before they begin in order to pay for things ahead of time. Know that if they are experienced, they will have ties with certain companies who provide to them on credit, because they have a good history with them. See: Get Quotes from Real General Contractors.

Flag: “Trust me”

When you first meet with the contractor, he’s very agreeable about all of your needs. However, somewhere along the way, he does little things without discussing them with you, and claims that they were “necessary,” but did not speak to you about them, until after the fact. These “little things” often amount to a pretty penny. Rest assured, that those details he “suggested,” and performed without asking you about, will show up on your bill. See: An Excellent Video on How to Find a Great Contractor.

Flag: “We don’t need a permit”

A contractor is legally required to get a building permit for any construction project that is considered significant. This is so that building officials can come to the site as often as is needed to be sure that the project is meeting any and all safety or building codes. On smaller jobs, an unlicensed contractor might try to tell you that the building officials won’t notice, or that its “not a big deal.” Read: Check a Contractor’s License.

Flag: “We ran into issues…”

This is the most notorious scam to look out for. This usually comes into play mid-project, and even better, after the job is complete. Suddenly, the price you had previously agreed on is 3x higher than discussed. He will place blame on everything but himself. He will tell you that there were structural problems, or wall damage before he began.

Flag: “I have extra materials I’ll let you have”

This is a great one. Usually this is because they have materials that can’t be returned to a supplier. So they’ll come and drop it off and even quote you a fantastic price. Even if it is a bargain, taking this offer is very risky because you don’t know where these materials came from, and they could break or fall apart in a year or two. Here is a video on how to spot a bad contractor: