Should I Sell My Home First or Buy the Next One First?

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Welcome back! Now is the time that most people are thinking about moving. The question then is how do you get from your current house to your new house. Do you sell first or do you buy first?

You have a few different options. If you want to purchase before selling, one of those options is a contingent offer. A contingent offer tells the seller you will purchase their home as long as your home sells. Now, as you can imagine, sellers aren't always excited about this.

Sellers will be less likely to negotiate on price with contingent offers. They also will want to continue to market their home. What if you find another home you like? You're locked in to that contingent offer.

When it comes to buying and selling, it's important that you work with an experienced agent who can help you explore all the options and find which one is best for you. Give me a call today and let's talk about your next real estate move!

What a Buyer Can Expect from the Negotiating Process

Welcome back to my video blog!

Over the course of my career, I’ve completed a couple thousand transactions. Buyers and sellers are always curious about how offers are actually constructed. What can they expect from the negotiating process?

Over the next few videos I want to help answer your questions. Today, let’s talk about what a buyer can expect.

When we construct an offer for a buyer, we look at three different components.

1. Does the purchase make sense? - The whole point in buying a new property is finding something that fulfills your needs: square footage, bedrooms, location, etc. Is it better than where you are staying now?
2. What are their finances? - The buyer needs to be preapproved and they have to be comfortable with the outlay of cash.
3. Does the value match the price? - A buyer wants to know they are getting a good deal. Is the property worth what they are paying?

These are the three most important elements to consider when it comes time to make an offer. In the next video, we’ll go over what a seller can expect.

Thanks for watching!

How You Can Get the Highest Return on Investment Part 1

Hey, guys. We’ve been talking a lot about price increases lately. In fact, in the last 12 months we’ve had the highest price increases since 2006.

Because of this, a lot of homeowner’s have finally gotten around to those home projects they’ve been avoiding. A lot of homeowners want to know what type of financial return they can expect from their projects.

Well, for the average project you can expect about a 60 percent return. I have a list, though, of some things you can do to improve your home and get a higher return!

1. Front door. Your front door is the threshold of your home. It’s one of the very first impressions the buyer has. Find a complimentary color and a design that matches the home. You can expect around an 86 percent return.
2. Siding. It’s important for your home to be up-to-date. A popular siding is hardiplank. Adding or replacing siding can give you an investment return of around 80 percent!
3. Deck. Everyone loves a good deck to enjoy beautiful weather or to have friends over for entertaining. If you build a sizable deck (around 10x16) you can see a return of 77 percent.

These are just a few things that add tremendous value to your home. Next week I’ll have even more for you!

If you have any questions, please give me a call at 814.880.2308!

What Can We Expect for the Rest of 2013?

Check out our Free Home Value Report to see how much your neighbors sold their homes for!

What price points are selling and what can we expect to see the rest of the year?

Any homes priced up to $250,000 are doing remarkable. If a home is priced fairly and in good showing condition, it can sell in a matter of days.

There is also exciting news for homeowners in the higher price range. Currently in State College there are five active homes on the market and eight in pending sales. That is a great ratio of homes under contract vs. homes available.

There are only about 750 active listings. Unless there is an increase in inventory, it will remain a sellers’ market. Buyers made be frustrated with their limited selection, but builders are starting to dig and build again. A great sign for our economy!