Tag: selling your home

Getting an Estimate: 5 Things that Will Determine the Value of Your Home

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

While some home buyers rely on love, at first sight, that kind of chemistry is hard to quantify. Luckily, there are some objective criteria most realtors – and most buyers – use when measuring the value of a home. If you aren’t sure about the value of your home, there are a few elements that will go into pricing strategies. Typically, these elements will vary on a case-by-case basis, but there are a few common characteristics that will contribute to the value of a home across the board. Below are five major elements that will help determine to price when listing a home for sale.

Location, Location, Location

Unfortunately, this is one component of pricing sellers won’t be able to easily influence. Location is based on several factors. Walk-ability, for example, is a measure of whether or not stores and restaurants are within easy walking distance. Having good schools in the area is another factor. Then there are crime statistics, the average commute to the nearest metro area, and the cost of comparable homes in the neighborhood. While you can’t change the location of your home, it’s important to be aware that the location can be a great selling point in and of itself. When pricing the home, consider the surrounding amenities that could make the property more valuable.

Square Footage

This is another characteristic that you might not have much control over, but unlike location, there are some tweaks homeowners can make in this department. One way to add to a home’s square footage, and therefore its value, is finishing the basement. Another way to increase square footage would be to build an addition—this is an expensive update, but can also add long-term value. After you examine the physical location, you can assess the value of the home based on the actual home size, number of bedrooms, and yard space.

Updates and Upgrades

Here is the element that homeowners have quite a bit of control over. If your home is outdated either in style or function, that will lower the value of the home overall. Any updates made to the home will help to justify a higher price. Kitchen and bathroom upgrades in particular tend to add the most value to a home. However, they are also the most expensive rooms in the house to renovate, so prospective sellers need to walk a fine line between having an appealing, modern home and spending more than they will recoup in upgrades. According to the home professionals of A Plus Quality, who offer air conditioning service in Toronto, modest upgrades, such as new cabinet doors, energy-efficient appliances, and updated counter-tops and fixtures, as well as a new coat of paint, will provide the biggest bang for the buck.

Curb Appeal and Landscaping

First impressions are important. Studies have shown that a well-landscaped home sells for a higher price, and that yard upgrades can easily pay for themselves. New sod, well-maintained flowerbeds, and an appealing walkway can all add to a yard’s appeal. It is also important to trim existing overgrown bushes and trees. While a well-manicured yard will add to the home’s value, you must be careful not to overdo it. If the yard is too elaborate and will require a lot of intensive work for the homeowner, that can be a deterrent to a potential buyer. Finding the right balance of a nicely groomed yard that won’t require extensive labor for the homeowner will help drive up the value of the home.

Overall Soundness

If your home is overall “sound,” it means that major, expensive fixes won’t become the buyer’s responsibility. This includes a roof and windows that won’t need replacing within a couple of years. It also includes making sure that the HVAC, the water boiler, the plumbing, and the electricity are all in good working order. Buyers don’t want a lemon, and responsible sellers will make sure their home is in good repair before putting it on the market. This is why little updates here and there over the years will really pay off if you are planning on selling. If the potential buyer can find little to no issues with the home, you’ll be able to value the home much higher than if you’re trying to pass off a home that will need a lot of TLC (and money) in the next few years.

While it may be difficult for buyers to implement all of these changes prior to selling their home, even minor fixes in these areas can yield big returns. Some paint, some sod, and some basic home repairs can be just the polish a home (and a buyer) needs. Even if you aren’t planning on selling your home for a few years, you can see the value of good maintenance. Taking good care of your home and investing in repairs will help you reap a greater reward in the end when it comes to pricing your home. Any updates you can make to your home, no matter how small, will contribute to the overall value and will be worth the investment when it comes time to sell.

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

Is Your Home Sale-ready?

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

The Orlando real estate scene is looking up, but selling your home can be quite a tedious task. Right from finding a good realtor to getting the right value on your property, a series of things need to be taken care of while selling your house. An important aspect of the process is knowing how sell-able your house is. Considering you’ve lived in your current home for a while now, you need to estimate whether or not your house needs a makeover. Here’s what you need to know before listing your property with an Orlando realtor.

What do buyers want?

Most buyers prefer a house that in a good shape and doesn’t need any fixing, so they can move in immediately without having to bother about renovation concerns. Other buyers don’t mind fixing the house themselves as long as the fixes required are cosmetic repairs and it’s reflected in the price. This could be re-painting or replacing fixtures in the house, basically, repairs that won’t burn a hole in their pockets. It is highly unlikely you’ll find a buyer who is willing to tear down the whole house and renovate it altogether. But if the buyer needs to do major changes, like replace the roof, he will probably ask you for a significant discount on the property price. However most buyers will shy away from going through the trouble of replacing a roof, as it might bring in additional costs from having to change the sheathing or the rafters.

Home-modifications you cannot compromise on

Fix any faucets that tend to leak.

Re-paint walls if they are stained or the paint is chipping out.

 If the carpets are tattered, replace them.

Make sure the roof isn’t in a run-down condition.

If the fans or lighting fixtures are outdated, replace them.

Make sure you patch all holes, if any, in the walls or ceilings.

Replace curtains, linens if they are in a bad shape.

 Make sure that the HVAC systems and appliances are in working condition, and if not , get them fixed.

Broken windows need to be replaced.

A smart seller will estimate the return on investment on his home improvement before diving into it.

Making a note of the amenities in the neighborhood houses can also give you a hint on what prospective buyers might be looking for. A little bit of repairing can take you a long way rather than presenting your house in a dilapidated state.

 

 

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

Putting Your Home On The Market: 5 Curb Appeal Tips For The Winter

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Selling your home in the winter is a little harder than selling it during the summer. Shoppers are so busy with the holidays that they don’t want to even think about buying a new home, and other shoppers hate dealing with the snow and ice. Increasing the curb appeal during the winter can help you get your house sold.

Change the Lighting

Depending on where you live, the sun might set as early as five pm at night, which is the same time that people leave work. Adding some new lighting to your home can make the house look brighter and livelier, but those lights will also give potential buyers a better look at the property. Outdoor lighting is something that is often forgotten about in homes. By giving your home a good look at night you can see where a little extra something would be very welcomed.

Add Some Decorations

While some experts tell you that you should get rid of clutter and anything that makes your house look lived in that advice doesn’t apply during the holidays. Shoppers want to imagine how they would feel living there, opening their gifts on Christmas day and celebrating with friends. Adding an inflatable Santa, decorating the trees and shrubs with lights or hanging pine from your porch gives your home a festive look.

You basically want to make the house look a bit on the neutral side, so your potential buyers can see themselves in your home, but also homey. It is a bit of a fine line, but portraying the right look with your home during the holidays can really help your house fly off the market.

Take Care of Pests

When the temperature drops, rodents and pests look for places to hide. You might find squirrels living in the eaves, mice hiding in your porch or even raccoons nesting under your home. If you need help with companies can help. You don’t need to worry about sliding on the ice, injuring yourself under the porch or even suffering from bites.

Eliminate Ice and Snow

As much as you might like the look of those icicles hanging from your roof, shoppers look at those icicles as a potential hazard. Now is the time to shovel the walk, take care of the built up snow that ice trucks left in your yard and get rid of snow and ice hanging from the roof. Remember that the way your home looks says a lot to the potential buyers. By staying on top of these seemingly small ideas, the message can say a lot more.

Bring in Some New Plants

A bright pop of color can make your home instantly look more inviting and welcoming. While you can’t use all types of flowers during the winter months, you can find some cold-weather plants. Poinsettias, certain types of ivy and witch hazel all thrive in cold weather.

Despite what some people might say, you can sell your house easily during the winter. You need to get your house ready for potential buyers with a little bit of curb appeal from holiday decorations and cold-weather plants you place outside.

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

Top 3 Factors That Devalue Your Home

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

When trying to sell your home, you want to make sure you do everything you can to get the best price possible. Buyers are often picky, and it is up to the sellers to identify their needs and try to make the best possible impression in order to close the deal. You need to be aware of the factors that devalue your property and do everything in your power to change those that are under your control. However, some of those factors are not easily changed.
Here are top three factors that can affect the value of your property negatively:

1 Neighborhood
This is a major factor for any prospective buyer and can impact the price they are willing to offer for your home. Living near airports, train tracks and pubs equals noise pollution, while highways, plants and landfills mean pollution altogether, and affect home value extremely negatively.

Also, if your neighborhood is known for high amount of criminal activity, that won’t benefit your home value either. You should be honest with crime level in your neighborhood as this is something a prospective buyer can easily check online or at a local police station. If there is a Neighborhood Watch at force, be sure to mention that, as it might help prospective buyers feel more secure.

Finally, your neighbors have a huge impact on a prospective buyer. If your neighbors are hostile and argue with you over every little thing, chances are they will continue arguing with the next owner. If it seems that you have a dispute with your neighbors, many buyers will either pass or offer a lower price. Nobody wants that kind of trouble. Also, keep in mind that your neighbor’s criminal history, like being a registered sex offender, can impact the value of your property, and also prolong the time needed to sell it.

2 Yard and house exterior
The first thing a prospective buyer will notice is the condition of your yard and the exterior of your home. Everyone wants to live in a beautiful and well-maintained home. Strong curb appeal is essential when trying to sell your house. A poorly kept landscape will devalue your property or even turn a buyer off for many reasons, one of them being the cost of redoing landscaping and the time they will need to invest in that project. A rotting fence or an old shed will not help your house feel welcoming either. Even water elements, such as pools and ponds might have a negative effect, as buyers might be worried about costs of maintenance, and also security for their children near such elements.

The outside of your house needs to make a good first impression as well. Chipped or faded paint, dirty windows and busted sidewalks will certainly not go unnoticed by a prospective buyer. It will make them wonder if the exterior of your home and your yard is so neglected, what is also neglected on the interior, and give them an overall negative feeling about your home. You should invest in a fresh coat of paint, wash your windows, and make any necessary repairs. Make sure to pick neutral colors, like grey, white and shades of beige for the most of the exterior, while painting the front doors in a bright color to make them stand out.

3 Outdated kitchen and bathroom
There are two areas buyers will inspect carefully – kitchen and bathroom. Kitchen is the central part of every home and it needs to leave the right impression on the buyers. They need to absolutely fall in love with it and easily picture themselves cooking for their family there or hosting dinner parties. This is why people often consider it a good move to remodel and renovate their kitchens when trying to sell their house. You don’t need to do that much and spend too much money on some big renovation. A few simple things will do the trick, like a fresh coat of paint on the cabinets, new door pulls, fresh laminate on the countertops and sparkling new sink. All these renovations require a small budget, but make a huge difference for the buyer and the price they are willing to offer.

Just as they want updated kitchens, buyers want updated bathrooms, so consider making small changes to update it, like adding new fixtures, new lighting, new coat of paint, even new tiles, if possible. Your bathroom needs to welcome the buyers in, and be clean and well-decorated. You don’t need to go overboard with some big renovation. Sticking with these simple updates will serve you better.

Even though there are some things you can’t influence, like your neighborhood, there are always things you can do to minimize their effect. It’s not easy to sell a house these days, but don’t give up, there’s always someone looking for a house, and yours will find its buyer sooner or later.

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields

A Few Simple Tricks That Will Help You Maximize Your Profit When Selling Your Home

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

When people are moving to a new place it is quite normal that they will actually not need the previous one anymore. You have two options on how to proceed here: you can either sell the property or give it for rent.

Selling is considered the most reasonable action you can do in this situation as you only sell the place once, take the money and stop worrying about it. However, here comes the very important part of how to successfully sell your place so that you can be sure you will take it at a good price. The next piece of advice should give you some basic details on what you have to do in order to maximize the profit of your home sale. The first thing you have to do is make sure your place is visually exciting. After all, everyone is interested in appearance no matter what they say. So if you want more prospective buyers make your place visually attractive. Clean it well and make sure to repair everything that is broken or malfunctioning.

Remember, the most important rule that applies here is that if you want to sell your place at a great price you should make people find in your home something they cannot find anywhere else. So if you have a beautiful garden make it gorgeous, plant as many flowers as possible, clean everything unnecessary and make sure to remove all the weeds. We understand that renovating procedures might be a bit expensive but they are the way to a successful deal. And we can assure you that the amount of money you are going to invest in order to renovate the place will return as a part of the price. The truth is that there are people who want to pay more money but to make sure they are moving into a really great house. You can also think about whether you want to sell the place with the furniture as many people prefer to buy already furnished places so that they could simply move in. And if this is the situation and you are looking at selling your place this way you can be sure that any investment is absolutely worth it.

The simple truth is that when you announce your home is for sale you are actually publicly exposing it to be viewed and commented on. And you should arrange everything to present the place in the best possible light. A simple sign saying “For Sale” is not enough to bring you, customers. You need to actively promote it via all possible means such as the Internet, local newspapers and magazines even in the local shop. Make sure the place looks appealing not only from the inside. After all who will wish to come and see it from the inside if it does not look attractive? Make sure the lawn is well mowed and there is no trash in the garage or in the basement. And if you have too many items at least make sure you have arranged them in a way to looks organized and tidy.

Let's Keep In Touch!

New ORC Form Lead

"*" indicates required fields