Ideal home buying or selling experience

In the real estate world, buying and selling properties can be both stressful and worthwhile depends on how you will handle the situation. Just like in everything in this world nothing is perfect, so you have to be able to adapt to the things around you may it be good or bad. Your view and attitude towards the situation will define your actions specially your experience.

Ideally, the process of buying or selling a property should be just easy. Having the following scenarios would make it look like as easy as A-B-C.

• Have the best agent who will represent you throughout the process, who has your best interest in mind and will makes sure that you know and understand all your rights and responsibilities throughout the process and the contract.

 

• Easy house hunting or searching on different portals on the location you want with the price range you have.

• Smooth and readily available financial methods to close the transaction right away.

 

• Trouble-free inspections, title search, maintenance and warranties, so no delays.

 

• Complete and no issues on all legal documents necessary on the transaction.

 

• Constant and clear communication to all parties involved in the process, everyone is update on what is happening and everyone is complying with their responsibilities and timelines.

 

But yeah, we are in the real world, so it is safe to say that the ideal home buying and selling process we featured above doesn’t happen every day.

 

• Bad agents, not responsible or doesn’t have your best interest as their top priority.

 

• Tiring house hunting, can’t find a house you like on the area you want that will fit in your budget.

 

• Buyers not capable or ready to finance the home. Delays on financing institution processes.

 

• Incorrect or missing documents necessary on the transaction

 

• Inconsistent and unclear communication between the people involved.

 

• Tiring leg work, endless follow-ups, so many revisions, legal problems, etc.

 

More often than not these are the things that usually happen in a transaction so you just have to be ready for it. We cannot avoid issues like cancelled showings, miscommunications, delays and all but we can do something about it.

• Always be on top of the situation. Plan a head.

– Know what you want, what you have and what you need. Your budget, the processes, the people you need to be able to be equipped before getting into any transaction like agents, transaction coordinator, vendors, lawyers, lender, etc.

 

• Be responsible and be involved

– Get an agent, be sure that you tell him/her what you want and need. But you have to be hands on, whether you are a seller or buyer; make sure that you just don’t let the gent do all the work/task. Be responsible and be involved, in that the agent would know that you are a team with one goal, buy or sell the property.

 

• Work and hope for the best but be ready for the worst

– Organize, stick with the plan, have the timeline of events. Expect delays and hiccups along the way but those are just minor set-backs, as long as you know your goals, you have prepared for the things that might not go well, and be ready to have back-up plans or even allowances for those delays. You will be fine.

At the end of the day, nothing is really easy; it is how you handled it that matters. So you make the experience yours! 🙂

Listing Photos Matter

Photos have very essential role in marketing and advertising products or services. It is a means of targeting the people’s interest in getting to know more about your product, making them curious about it, getting your fancy to buy it. It is your visual weapon in making the market feel your product or services exist. But not using its full potential can also do your business more harm than good. It can be a double edge sword if your photos do not reflect the kind of product you want your market to see, so be careful and make sure that you use photos to your advantage.

We live in an era of digital world, everything is fast paced and digital even selling and marketing products, this include house in the real estate industry. Unlike before if you want to do house hunting, potential buyers would really invest time in dropping by and personally checking out the property but due to time constraints, most of the buyers now would go house hunting online and would just give efforts in checking the property further once it is in their short list or already got their interest and their fancy.

How do we capture their fancy… through your Listing Photos!

By having great photos of the property, you are making your online presence in digital marketing. Potential buyers will be able to see the property, highlight the best part of the house, and even see detailed designs and the condition of each part of the house without exerting much time and effort in the early stage of house hunting.

Great photos will give you competitive edge on the property you are selling; it will attract and get the interest of more potential buyers. Getting the buyers’ interest in checking out the property is something that your photos can do, once they check on the photos, buyers would know if they would want to know more about the property or not. Furthermore it will create traffic to your websites, or hype on your advertised property whether they are potential buyers or not, it help on your marketing strategy.

Here’s one story of how listing photos affected the period of time the property was on the market.

The property was on the market for eight months and when a real estate photographer Harry Lim re-photographed the property it was sold in eight days. Same house, same rooms and furniture but notice the difference on the photos.  Check this link and be amazed on how the photos made the difference: https://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelwmiller/these-photos-show-just-how-much-real-estate-photography-matt?utm_term=.hrOk76elN#

See how it made the difference; imagine being in the market for several months and being sold in just couple of days is one of the major effects of photos on marketing this property. So let’s make sure that we are on top of our game in using photos as our main marketing weapon, use the best photos of the house, proper lighting, good angle, great gears, get professional help if you must since it is really a good investment in showing the world the best photographs of your property.

 

Enjoy the benefits of home warranty

A home warranty is a contract that covers costly home repairs and replacements due to normal wear and tear usually for a period of one year. The price and its coverage widely vary so homeowners should make sure that they choose the home warranty that fits their needs.

Home warranties cover your basic home system and appliances, repairs and replacements of these systems/appliances are covered given that they are working properly when you get into the contract and also given that the reason for the breakdown is wear and tear.

Home warranty companies give a variety of Home warranty plans, prices and even add-on options so it is best that you truly understands the coverage and all the clauses in the contract so you will be able to get your money’s worth and maximize the benefits of home warranty.

 

Here’s a list of some benefits of home warranty.

Peace of mind

– You can relax, be stress free and just gain peace of mind knowing that once the unexpected happens like break down of your systems or appliance, you got it covered. It is like an investment that you made to ensure that your home will have a well-functioning system and appliance every time.

For example, your air conditioning just suddenly stop and needs replacement, your home warranty vendor company will be happy to replace it for you as long as it is part of the coverage plan of your home warranty. Just call them and they will be the ones to ensure that you will have a new functioning air conditioning on your home in no time. Isn’t that amazing?

 

Save Save Save!

– Time, Energy and Money.

Save time and energy, in case you need repairs or replacements, no need to search for companies who will do it for you. Just call your home warranty company and they will fix or replace it in no time as long as it is covered in your contract.

Money – instead of you shelling out a huge amount of money on repairs, worse on replacements. you will not even need to give a dime, your appliance or home system will be fix or repairs with no cost so long as it is part of the coverage plan. No unexpected repair or replacements cost, no hassle on your budget. 🙂

 

Attracts more buyers

– If you’re selling your home, it attracts more buyers since they will be able to have  peace of mind if something bad went wrong on the home system or any appliance, there is no need to worry since it it covered of the warranty contract. It adds value to the home you are selling.

Avoid Delays in selling your home

– selling your home turnaround time varies, sometimes it’s fast but there are times that it is slow too. That is just for the listing time, you also need to consider the time the selling process itself, 15, 30 45 days, depends. But let’s say that during that period something went wrong… something broke down and it will definitely cause delay and hassles in the entire transaction but if you have home warranty, it will be just a call away from your vendor company and they will take care of the situation in no time so long as it is covered in your contract.

I have written down “…as long as it is covered in your contract.” several times already, that is because it want to reiterate its importance. Make sure that you know and understand the contract, what is covered, what is not. It will save all the parties involved a lot of hassle and you will be able to maximize the very reason why you get the home warranty, to gain peace of mind and save time, energy and money once that unexpected happens.

Let’s learn more about loan pre-approval

First let’s check the meaning of it. Based on Wikipedia this is the meaning of PRE-APPROVAL-

 

 “People interested in buying a house can often approach a lender, who will check their credit history and verify their income, and then can provide assurances they would be able to get a loan up to a certain amount. This pre approval can then help a buyer find a home that is within their loan amount range. Buyers can ask for a letter of pre-approval from the lender, and when shopping for a home can have possibly an advantage over others because they can show the seller that they are more likely to be able to buy the house. Often real estate agents prefer to work with a buyer who has a pre-approval as it demonstrates that they are well-qualified to receive financing and are serious about buying a home. A pre-approval is based on the documentation the borrower supplies at the time of application, and any actual eligibility to receive the pre-approved loan depends on the terms and conditions of the pre-approval and ability to secure the loan before the pre-approval expires. ” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-approval

Remember in the Real Estate world, when you are buying a property you have different financing terms to use, cash or loan. Most of the time people tend to use the latter in financing their dream to buy their new home. Hence Pre-Approval is very important in the Real Estate process. It is the way you can convince the seller of the property that you are capable of providing the financial aspect of the sale. That is how we see it on the borrower’s side.

 

On the lender side, here’s how it goes. Prior to helping anyone with buying their dream house, they need to do several things, checking the information of the borrower, their financial history, credit report and score and other financial information to check if they will qualify and pass their guidelines in providing grant to their loan request. This is to ensure that the person has the ability to pay them back, there are even times that borrowers may need a co-maker or even a co-lateral just to be approved for the loan for the lender’s assurance that they will be able to get their money back plus the interest and other fees, after all it is the nature of their business.

Once you have a pre-approval letter from your lender, you already have a pretty good idea of how much you can get to finance your house hunt; this can help in filtering the number of houses as your options. You already have a price range of the house that you are looking for. Also some sellers may ask for a copy of pre-approval letter together with your offer so that they are secured that you are a serious buyer and has the means to get to the closing of the transaction.

Remember, especially in a transaction with multiple offers, you have to make sure that your offer stands out and having a pre-approval letter is plus for you.

That’s why my tip for you if you are looking into buying a property, before getting your mind so much into house hunting, secure a pre-approval first. Trust me it will save you, time and energy even heartache, ha-ha! Happy House Hunting!

Home-buying process

Buying a new home? I understand that this event is really exciting and can make you very impulsive when it comes to decisions and all. But we don’t want to ruin your life’s milestone just because of a single mistake of being unaware of the process. So here is the home buying process you might want to check on first before getting your new house.

Buyer searches for a property through various portals
-First of course you will look for houses, designs, sizes, location, neighborhood, prices. You can check different portals in looking for your new home. It’s like doing a window shopping; take your time in checking different houses, the more options you have the better. Then get into a shortlist of the houses that you liked best, from that list you will move to the next step of filtering which is the best for you until you came up with your best choice.
Buyer gets a loan pre-approval or obtains proof of funds

-Now that you already know which house to buy, get a loan approval if you are going to use mortgage or just obtain proof of funds for Cash payment. This will be needed in the process of buying your new home so secure these documents from your financial institution.
Buyer gets a buyer’s agent to represent them and assist in offers

– Now you need to get an agent who will represent you throughout the whole process. This person will not only help you with all the leg work but will also provide you legal advice, walk you through laws and legal documents that are necessary in the process, and help you draft your offer on the house that you want to buy. Also part of his responsibility is to make sure that your rights as a home buyer are secured and the standard processes and procedures are followed.

 
Respective agents will exchange offers and /or counter offers
– After much Marketing effort, we expect buyer’s offers to come in. There could be just one or multiple buyer’s offer for a property. It is the seller’s agent duty to gather them and submit it to the seller for review and approval. We can technically call this the negotiation phase, wherein the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent are in communication and discussion through offers and counteroffers. The price, conditions, requests, timelines are discussed until the buyer and seller come into an agreement.

Purchase agreement is signed Escrow phase begins

– Once the contract has been signed by the seller and all parties involved in the transaction, it is called the contract ratification. Escrow Phase begins. This is the process in which documents are being kept by a third party administrator and is held until the closing of the transaction. The turnaround time for this phase depends on how the buyer will pay for the property.
The mode of payment that you will use will determine the turnaround time you will have in the escrow phase.
Cash – 15 days
Loan – 30 days
Renovation Loan – 45 days
Escrow closes once a new deed is recorded in the buyer’s name
– This is the end of the sale process. There are a lot of events before we can finally close the transaction. Exchange of keys, all financial terms and obligations are settled- to the seller, the agents
(buyer’s and seller’s), the Escrow Company, and all the other vendors and the deed or the title is now under the name of the new owner.

Home-selling process

There are a lot of things you have to consider before deciding to sell your property like the pros and cons of selling your home, financial status, where to move from here and the list goes on and on and on…

Now that you have finally come up with the decision to sell your property there’s another list you have to know, the process of home selling. This is a must know list in order for you to ensure that the sale will be smooth, fair, legally binding and hassle free.
Here’s the step by step home selling process every home seller must know:

 

First, look for an agent who will represent you

– Get a Seller’s Agent also known as Listing Agent. This will save you a lot of time, money and effort. This agent will represent you throughout the transaction process. He/she will be responsible in marketing, listing your property on MLS and other different portals which will help in getting potential buyers for your property.

 

 

 
Title Search, Property Inspection and Valuation
– In this process, there will be several tasks to be done by vendors who will help you provide a fair price for your property. Title search is also very important to ensure that the title is clear of any issues and ready to be transferred to a buyer anytime.

 
Now, Seller’s Agent lists the property in MLS
– Marketing of the property begins, listed in MLS and other portals, creating flyers and video tours that will help in getting more people, potential buyer’s interest in getting/buying the property.

 
Respective agents will exchange offers and /or counter offers
– After much Marketing effort, we expect buyer’s offers to come in. There could be just one or multiple buyer’s offer for a property. It is the seller’s agent duty to gather them and submit it to the seller for review and approval. We can technically call this the negotiation phase, wherein the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent are in communication and discussion through offers and counteroffers. The price, conditions, requests, timelines are discussed until the buyer and seller come into an agreement.

Purchase agreement is signed Escrow phase begins
– Once the contract has been signed by the seller and all parties involved in the transaction, it is called the contract ratification. Escrow Phase begins. This is the process in which documents are being kept by a third party administrator and is held until the closing of the transaction. The turnaround time for this phase depends on how the buyer will pay for the property.
The mode of payment that you will use will determine the turnaround time you will have in the escrow phase.
Cash – 15 days
Loan – 30 days
Renovation Loan – 45 days

 
Escrow closes once a new deed is recorded in the buyer’s name

– This is the end of the sale process. There are a lot of events before we can finally close the transaction. Exchange of keys, all financial terms and obligations are settled- to the seller, the agents
(buyer’s and seller’s), the Escrow Company, and all the other vendors and the deed or the title is now under the name of the new owner.

Signs of an overly priced home

 

Shopping a home is a really exciting task, especially for first time buyers, they tend to be very excited and become an impulsive buyer. In the real estate world being an impulsive buyer is a big NO-NO. It’s not like your usual shopping day in a mall, in buying your real property, you need to make sure that every course of action is well thought of, research- know about the details of the property, about the neighborhood, market trends and status. Take time to look on other houses on the market. I no you can’t wait to move in to a place you can call your own, but of course you have to make sure that every hard earned money that you will use to buy it is worth it, thus you have to know if the house you are eyeing for is fairly priced.

 

Here are some signs that can tell you that a property is over priced.

The time the property is in the market

– this is one of the very obvious sign that you can see in checking the listing details. The longer the time the property sits in the market, the higher the possibility that it is over priced. There are a lot of properties that gets sold in just few days or weeks. So if there are very few to none interested buyer of the property, it only indicates that something is wrong with the price.

 

 

The property already had home improvements

– sometimes the seller based their listing price to the amount they have paid for the home improvement. Home renovations or updates like remodeling the bathrooms, land escaping, new recreational room or kitchen cost lot of money, yes it will help in getting more potential buyers but take note that those improvement may also boost the price of the property making it over priced.

 

The property price is higher than most of the property in the neighborhood.

– When we mentioned research earlier, this is part of it. Having a comparative market analysis is great help in knowing if the property you are looking for is fairly priced. Check the prices of the properties in the neighborhood that is also on listing as well s the recently sold properties, this way you will have a better understanding of the price range of the properties on the said neighborhood.

The property location

– Location has a great impact on your property’s value, it can either boost it or pull it down.
There are a lot of factors to consider and be aware of the area where the property is at so you can have better idea if it is fairly priced.
> any near by establishments like school, church, mall, convenience store
> near to main road or highways
> close access to public transportation
Hope the list above can help you be more aware and knowledgeable in choosing your new home. Also another tip is to get help from a buyer’s agent who can help you out in checking if the property is fairly priced.

On your way to your new home

Buying your first home is one of the major milestones in one’s life; it can be very exciting at the same time it can be bit scary too. Just like any another first time, it is memorable and we have to make sure that it will be one of the best moments in your life.
Finally deciding to buy your first house is not something that you can just think of out of the blue. This decision needs planning and a lot of thinking, there is no turning back once you get into it so you have to make you that you are 101% ready and prepared.

Here are some things that may help in your preparation for your new home
Am I financially ready for it?

In buying your first house, it is not just the purchase price of the house that you need to pay off, there are a lot of other fees and charges that will arise throughout the transaction, better make sure you are ready for it.
Also save and prepare the Earnest Money Deposit and save for the down payment.
– Do you have enough cash for it, if not? How will you plan to pay the house, mortgage? are your credit ratings and debt-to-income numbers good. Once you get your mortgage approved, how much will it take on your monthly payable?
– Will you be the only one paying for it? Or you have a partner or spouse who will help?
– You may need to consider the utility bills that will come with your new house – electric, water, gas, cable and maintenance. All these will also go to your monthly payable.

Am I physically and emotionally ready?

– Having your own home will definitely change a lot in your life. You are on your own now; you set the house rules now at the same time you are responsible with everything that you need to do in the house. All the household chores, cleaning, designing, security and maintenance. And are you ready to wake up without the breakfast prepared by mommy or the car wash bonding time with daddy?

What are your plans?

– Do you want to live on the place or just buy it for investment?
– Do you see yourself living in that house in the next 5 to 10 years?
– Do you plan to have an additional member of the family in the next 2 years?

What do you want?

– Are you looking for a particular style of house or anything that catches your fancy during tours?
– Any preferred number of rooms/ baths?
– What type of neighborhood do you want?
– Do you want your place near a school, mall, church, etc.?

What do you know about the it?

– Do you know anything about the process of buying a house, or anything about the property itself? Don’t worry; all you need is good buyer’s agent who will help you throughout the process. Tell your agent what you are looking for, what are your plans, and your financial capacity. Your agent will be your guide from looking for your first house, drafting your offer, all the legal advice and leg work until the time that you already have the key to your new home.

Take time to think and answer all these questions. Just like in any action in our lives, those that are well planned, invested with time and effort will turn out to be the one of the best decisions and life changing moments in our lives.

Mortgage Your Way To Your New Home

 

 

 

Finally found that new dream home but can’t buy it, yet? Set your hopes up and get excited to finally buy a home you have been dreaming of. It is still possible through mortgage! Here are three things that you need to know to have that mortgage application approved.

 

Have a stable source of income

Stable employment, good source of income are the things that they will consider in checking your capacity to pay. Since lenders will be giving you the money to buy your new house, definitely they will make sure that you have the capability and the source to pay them month over month until it is fully paid. They have to ensure that it is worth their time and effort granting you the mortgage loan.

Have a good credit history and rating

Credit history or rating is a biggie in the United States. Lenders will definitely do their background checks and investigation about your financials. They will be able to see how are you paying your all bills, utilities, cards, everything. It is best to ensure that you always pay them on time. Make sure that you have no issues or bad record on your credit rating or history, this will help your application gets approved easily.

Have a good debt to income ratio

This is the percentage of a person’s monthly gross income that goes toward paying debts. Of course even if you have a stable source of income if almost all your monthly income goes to debt how can you handle another debt. Based on studies, 43% of debt to income ratio is important because it tells the lender that you have the ability to manage your payments and gives them the assurance that you can pay them month over month until you have paid the loan in full.

Just like what I have said, just secure these three and you will surely make the lender approve your mortgage loan for your way to your new home.

 

 

A day in the life of a real estate agent

Real estate agents have one of the most tiring and tedious job there is nowadays. Their main goal is to help people throughout the process of buying, selling and renting houses and other properties. They have a very long to-do list and action items. Daily tasks and responsibilities are not limited to, staying updated and current about the market, looking for potential leads, digital online marketing, schedules of open houses, closings, and such plus all the leg work and paper work that come with an ongoing transaction. It is interesting how they can juggle all these task day in and day out. Of course every day is unique and this is what can be typical day of a real estate agent.

First is getting yourself ready for the day by making yourself update about the market, news, locally and internationally.
Once you arrived at the office the administrative tasks begins. Checking and responding to emails, phone calls and voice messages. Updating social media sites and websites; coordinating appointments, meetings, events like open houses, showing etc. Managing and updating databases, listing, contacts. Monitoring paper works on going transactions, creating marketing and promotional materials like flyers, video tours, etc.
Aside from the administrative work, agents also need to be on the social tasks and activities. Meetings with the clients, potential clients, providing advises about the contracts, reviewing and scrutinizing legal documents to ensure that their clients will have smooth and hassle free transaction. The leg work to and from different individuals involved in the transaction like, lenders, home owner association, escrow, transaction coordinator, title company etc.  Also, doing a lot of site visits, tours, showings, joining in home inspections and final walk through.Over seeing the processes of every transaction you have may it be the plains real estate process, real estate owned process, Short sale and such from the start to the end of the transaction.

It is time consuming and really tedious job that some of the agents tend to look for people to assist them doing most of the administrative tasks like Virtual Assistants, In order for them to focus their time and effort more on the tasks and activities that may need then to be there personally like meeting with potential clients or leads, consultations with regards to contracts, contingencies, concessions, etc. They get to focus on the income generating tasks and the virtual assistant will be responsible with the paper work and other administrative task. It is a win-win solution for a real estate agent.It is indeed a challenging job but very fulfilling as well knowing that you get good pay while helping other people in the process.You meet a lot of people, hone your skills in data management, time management, marketing, sales, legal and business at the same time get a very rewarding return of investment. No wonder lot of people wants to be a very successful real estate agent.