Tag: moving

Need to Get Your House Sold Quickly? A Few Tips to Help it Sell in a Flash

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Do you need to get your house sold quickly? Whether you need to get rid of the house due to a short sale, downsizing, or because you found a job in another location, there are a few strategies that you can use to sell your home quickly and at a reasonable price. Selling a house requires a lot of work on behalf of the seller, and it can be stressful if you are crunched for time. Try a few of these tricks to help you get your home sold in time, and still get a reasonable amount for it.

Price the Home Below Market Value

The easiest way to sell your home is to sell it for less than market value. By looking at other homes in your area and asking for 10 percent less than that amount, your house looks a great value in a great part of town. In many cases, you will start a bidding war between buyers who want to snap up the best deal on the market before it goes away. Obviously, you still want to get a reasonable amount for the home, but you’ll be surprised at how much it helps to set your price at a little below market value—it will surely draw plenty of buyers in for you.

Hire a Cleaning Crew

If you’re in a rush to get your home sold, it will be worth the investment to hire a cleaning crew to come in and get the home ready for showings. You’ll be much to busy with preparing other things for the move to clean it yourself, and you’ll be surprised how much better your home will look if you leave the cleaning up to the pros. Let cleaners and movers clear the home so that you’re prepared for when people come to look at it. Getting professionals to do things like clean the carpets, spray for bugs, or fix broken window panes will truly go a long way with potential buyers. If the move is a bit unexpected, your home might be a disaster zone, and this definitely won’t help you find a buyer any faster. Presenting a clean, sanitized, and organized home for those who come to look at it gives you a much greater chance of finding a buyer quickly.

Sell When Others Are Selling

Do your best to sell the house at a time when others in the neighborhood are selling. This takes advantage of extra traffic that will be driving by your house due to the other sales in the area. If your home is priced less than the others, your home will be among the first to be sold. You may not have much of a choice if you’re pressed for time, however, if you can start looking for buyers around the same time as others in the neighborhood, you’re more likely to find interested buyers to come take a look at the house while they’re in the area.

Keep the Appliances With the House

For many buyers, furnishings and other appliances can be a huge selling point. By keeping the new refrigerator in the home or offering to leave behind some of your furniture, you sweeten the deal for a prospective buyer. You also benefit because you won’t have as much to take with you if you have a long move ahead of you. Although this may seem like a small thing, for some buyers it could really help seal the deal. If your appliances are still in good condition, consider leaving them in the home in order to draw interest from prospective buyers.

Offer Closing Cost Assistance

Coming up with the money for closing costs and a down payment is the biggest hurdle for a potential home buyer. Offering assistance with the down payment and closing costs could help you sell your home with ease. Typically, a seller is allowed to offer a rebate of up to 6 percent to help with closing costs and other fees. This could save a home buyer as much as $6,000 for each $100,000 being spent on the home. This can help if you find a buyer who isn’t in as much of a rush as you are. If you’re trying to get the home sold as soon as possible, helping with closing costs could help you find the perfect buyer.

When you need to sell your home quickly, you need to be willing to entice buyers and negotiate whenever possible. By offering closing cost assistance, pricing the house below market value and timing the sale just right, you could have an offer on your home within 24 hours of showing the property. While selling a home is stressful (especially when you’re constrained by time), if you put in a little extra effort, you’ll have the home sold in no time—allowing you to focus on moving to your next destination.

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Before You Settle In: Five Critical Details for First-Time Home Buyers

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

So you found a home you love and you just closed. Finally, your dream has come true. But before you hit the closest furniture store and start picking out chesterfields and credenzas for that gorgeous little nook, you’ll want to sort a few things out. By taking a few precautions upfront, you can save yourself plenty of heartache in the future. So before you settle in, consider these five tips for first-time home buyers.

Meet the Neighbors

Although it seems like such a small thing, you never know when you’ll need a hammer or screwdriver during the moving process. Who better to help you out than your neighbors? Plus, you’ll likely be living next to them for several years, so getting on good terms early can only make your tenure in your home a much more pleasant experience.

Figure out the Circuit Breaker

File this tip under “things you don’t think you need until suddenly it’s critical.” Figuring out which outlets go to which switch on the circuit breaker is a challenge under normal circumstances, but when the lights are out, it can be nearly impossible. Consider tackling this task early on, before things get hectic. That way, the next time the power goes off, you’ll already have mapped and labeled your circuits.

Start a Maintenance Fund

Now that you’ve purchased a house, you’re in the clear, right? Time to go buy furniture? Not so fast. Even in a custom home, you’re likely to run up against maintenance issues from time to time. Start saving now and you’ll be sure to have enough cash stashed on a rainy day. It may even be worth putting off major purchases (like credenzas) in order to start saving up today.

Paint Hard-to-Reach Spots

Before you start moving things into your new abode, consider painting. Custom homes typically start off white or off-white. Estate home builders in Orlando and elsewhere aren’t sure of new occupants’ color preferences, so many homes start off neutral. If you want to inject personality, consider painting before your home is full of stuff. This is especially critical for hard-to-reach places, like ceilings and closets. Painting before you move in means you don’t have to worry about moving objects out of the way or staining your belongings.

Start a Filing System Right Away

Now that you’re a homeowner, you’re going to have plenty of paperwork. Taxes may become slightly more complex, you may need repairs or you may just want to track how much the interest on your mortgage is. If you start a filing system when you first purchase a home, you can avoid staring down a huge pile of paperwork in the future. Plus, you’ll always know where your important home documents are.

It can be so exciting to buy your first house that it’s hard to know what to do next. Fortunately, a little preparation and work now can make owning your first home that much easier. Before you get comfy in your new home, make sure you use these five tips to prepare yourself for the future.

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Five Tips For Making Your Move As Smooth and Quick as Possible

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Moving is an enormous chore that requires extensive planning and preparation, and that’s without any hiccups or roadblocks. When complications arise, it can make your move even more tedious, which can leave you feeling physically and mentally drained. However, by taking certain steps during the process, you can make the move easier on yourself and reduce the likelihood of inconvenient hold-ups.

Pack Ahead of Time

You can never get started on your move too early, so about a week prior, start packing up everything you won’t need. Extra clothes, spare dishes, home decor, and storage items can all go into boxes where they’ll be out of the way. If you pack away all but the important things now, you’ll endure that much less stress on the big day.

Have Necessities on Hand

On the day of your move, you’re likely going to be pressed for time and energy. The last thing you’ll want to do is rummage through boxes looking for your food, utensils, or paper towels. For that reason, it’s wise to keep these things in a separate container where you can access them easily. This can be especially helpful after arriving in your new home, as you’ll probably just want to eat and go to bed.

Mark Boxes Clearly

If you want to avoid a lengthy and disorganized unpacking session, it’s essential to mark all of your boxes clearly. On each box, write which room it corresponds to and what it contains. This will also allow the movers to unload the boxes into the appropriate rooms. Unpacking is a breeze when everything is already in its place.

Hire a Reputable Company

Hiring a reputable moving company is one of the most important parts of ensuring a smooth and successful move. When looking for a moving company Surrey residents should choose movers that are experienced, professional, and properly equipped. This will help ensure the safety of both your belongings and your home.

Leave the Kids With a Sitter

Kids tend to get underfoot, especially when they’re excited about something. On moving days, you may not have the time or energy to keep them out of trouble. If you want to make things a lot easier, consider leaving the kids with a sitter until the move is over. That way, you can focus on what needs to be done.

Although moving is a large task, it doesn’t have to be so stressful. Try doing some of these things during your move and you’ll be surprised how much more smoothly it goes.

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New House: What to Check Before Moving Day

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

It’s an exciting time, with moving day to a new house creeping up. As you look forward to the new house, it’s important to have a checklist of things to do to prepare. Preparations can be extensive, so a checklist really helps. These tips will help you as you begin your new home adventure.

Call to Turn on the Utilities

It’s important to have the phone, electricity, and other services turned on. Though it sounds like a pain, calling to have them put into your name is relatively easy and straightforward, with a simple call-in to service providers serving as the activation for these services. Set aside perhaps an hour to make these calls.

Hiring a House-Cleaner

Having the house cleaned ahead of time makes a lot of sense. Working with the realtor to arrange the house cleaning makes sense if you set it up for the closing day, or just afterward, as you make the final transition from your previous house or apartment. Be sure to hire someone who can do the work thoroughly, and up to standard. Simple interviews don’t always indicate the level of a person’s work. Ask for recommendations through the realtor.

Change Address

Sending out change of address cards makes sense, and will aid in making the transition smoothly. You can either make these or buy them. These cards simply announce your new mailing address to friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintances.

Having a Key Made

After closing, you are going to wish to have keys made, perhaps right away, to ensure that you have backup keys available to you to avoid locking yourself out.

Meet the Neighbors

Before you move into a new house, it’s important to meet the neighbors, so you may wish to set aside time before closing, to pop over with a friendly face and some good cheer. This relationship will be central to your life while you live there, so it makes sense to take it seriously.

Take Care of Formalities

You’ll need to have your address changed, and that is something you can do ahead of time with the postal service offering change-of-address forms that make moving a cinch. Ask for their moving package, which has the form and some coupons included in it. Make sure you are ready with your finances and mortgage payments from Orlando Mortgage Companies as well. You’ll want to have everything set up formally before you move.

Last, be sure to have a good attitude. Moving doesn’t have to be boring or exhausting if you have the right attitude and break the work into manageable chunks. Look into the formalities and change addresses at reputable places like Orlando Low Mortage Rates dot com to avoid a hassle later on.

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5 Great Ways To Get Rid Of Unwanted Items Before A Move

Posted on by John Conde

Although moving can be a stressful time for many people, it also provides a great opportunity for you to purge your life of items that you no longer want or need. Your moving costs will also be less expensive if you have fewer household items, and you will be able to start a clutter-free life in your new home. Fortunately, several ways exist for those who are moving to get rid of items that they would prefer not to take with them. Following are five options for you to consider when deciding how to dispose of certain household items.

1. Consignment Shops

If you have clothing or accessories that are of good quality and show minimal wear and tear, you may be able to sell them through a consignment shop. Consignment shops will keep a certain amount of the sale price and send you the rest after the items are purchased. Although consignment shops frequently only deal in fine clothing, jewelry, handbags and other accessories, some carry items such as furniture and household decorations.

2. Good Old-Fashioned Thrift Shops

While consignment stores are usually somewhat selective about items that they will accept, thrift stores will generally take anything as long as it is clean, in good repair and usable. Many thrift stores will also pick up items from your home, saving you the hassle of loading things into your car and driving to the store locations. Keep in mind those items given to thrift stores are donations that you will not be paid for. If the value of your donations is of considerable worth, however, you may be able to obtain a tax credit.

3. Have a Garage Sale

Having a garage sale is a good way to quickly get rid of things you don’t need anymore. Be sure to advertise your garage sale in your local paper as well as put up signs around your neighborhood. Some people offer leftover items for free after their sale is over.

4. Craigslist

If you have household or personal items that you would like to sell but don’t want to organize a garage sale, consider putting an ad on Craigslist or another free advertising site. You will be able to show the items to interested parties at your own convenience, and it’s possible that you will be able to make a significant sum of money on your unwanted personal items and household goods. Another option is having an online garage sale through an auction site, but you may not be able to dispose of things as quickly as you like if you go this route. You will also have to package items and ship them if the buyers do not live in your geographical area.

5. Give Things Away to Family and Friends

If you have household things that you won’t be needing in your new home, take a look among your family and friends to see if anyone needs anything that you would like to discard. For instance, if you are moving to a smaller place because you are downsizing or retiring, that large dining room table may be perfect for the young family in your circle.

Most people find that getting rid of superfluous items allows them to feel as if they are starting fresh in their new environment.

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