JOANNE CASH AND ASSOCIATES, INC. REALTORS
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0226012183
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Realtor Tips

Real Estate Tips

Buying a Home is a Good Idea

The Best Investment

As a fairly general rule, homes appreciate about four or five percent a year. Some years will be more, some less. The figure will vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, and region to region.

Make No Major Purchase of Any Kind before Buying a Home

 This includes furniture, appliances, electronic equipment, jewelry, vacations, expensive weddings and automobiles.

Don’t Move Money Around

When a lender reviews your loan package for approval, one of the things they are concerned about is the source of funds for your down payment and closing costs. Most likely, you will be asked to provide statements for the last two or three months on any of your liquid assets. This includes checking accounts, savings accounts, money market funds, certificates of deposit, stock statements, mutual funds, and even your company 401 K and retirement accounts.

If you have been moving money between accounts during that time, there may be large deposits and withdrawals in some of them.

Writing an Offer to Purchase Real Estate

Once you find the home you want to buy, the next step is to write an offer – which is not as easy as it sounds. Your offer is the first step toward negotiating a sales contract with the seller. Since this is just the beginning of negotiations, you should put yourself in the seller’s shoes and imagine his or her reaction to everything you include. Your goal is to get what you want, and imagining the seller’s reactions will help you attain that goal.

In an offer to purchase real estate, you include not only the price you are willing to pay, but other details of the purchase as well. This includes how you intend to finance the home, your down payment, who pays what closing costs, what inspections are performed, timetables, whether personal property is included in the purchase, terms of cancellation, any repairs you want performed, which professional services will be used, when you get physical possession of the property, and how to settle disputes should they occur.

Important Tips for Selling Your Home

  • Hire a top-notch sales agent.  You need a good agent, an agent who knows your neighborhood.  Your agents understanding of the community your home is located in is crucial in developing a winning sales plan.

  • Price it right. The No. 1 thing that will sell a house quickly is price.  If you price it right, it will sell. If you price it wrong, it won't sell.

    OK, so just how do you play the home-sale version of "The Price is Right"?  Your agent should have a good sense of what price will help sell your home sooner rather than later. As the owner, your objectivity is diminished, so give your agent free rein, within reason, to set the price. The broker will look at the average days a home in your neighborhood is on the market, how your home compares to others in the area and its condition.
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  • Create an adjustable sales plan. Come up with a sales strategy, but make sure it's flexible. What's your initial asking price? How long will you insist on it before making a reduction? How much of a cut will you accept? What about after that? Having a plan in place will help you react quickly and will move your home that much more quickly.

  • Clear out the clutter.  Get the clutter out of it... It will make your home more inviting to buyers.  After you think you got out the clutter, take out more. Get it spare, open and fresh.