Given the advancements in technology, you might find it interesting to know that many home buyers remain interested in features that have been popular for decades. While there are some tech-focused features, other trends are for the purpose of convenience. Let’s delve a bit deeper into home buying trends.

Energy-Efficient Appliances

Energy efficiency is a big deal when buying a home. It’s something that can save you money every single month. Buyers understand this fact and want a smart home that contains energy-efficient appliances. This includes Energy Star certified heating and cooling systems. An energy-efficient home will likely do well on the market. Although windows are not considered an appliance, buyers are often interested in making sure…

2477 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Yards have always been somewhere on the checklist of most homebuyers. However, today, green space is more important to homebuyers than ever, meaning you’ll need to bring your green space A-game if you want your home to sell quickly. 

Green space Value 

Why is green space so important in today’s real estate market? Research is showing access to green space offers tremendous physical and mental health benefits ranging from stress and blood pressure reduction to ADHD-symptom improvement and creative boosts. So, the question isn’t if you should capitalize on your property’s green space... it’s how. 

Usability Is Key For Green space 

Green space of any sort is a commodity in certain metropolitan areas, such as New York City and Chicago, where the…

1519 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Homes for sale are surprisingly common targets for thieves. While they may seem empty to some, experienced thieves know that they are easy targets that can still be full of valuables. If you are putting your home on the market, you need to know how to keep it safe from intruders. 

Why Empty Homes are a Tempting Target

Empty homes are a tempting target for thieves because most home robberies are crimes of opportunity. Thieves may plan to come rob a home, but they are not concocting elaborate plans to circumvent security systems. Instead, they tend to look for homes that are easy targets - and no target is more tempting than an easy home. After all, there's no chance that a person will be home to call the police, and the odds of being interrupted in…

1485 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Finding your dream home is a massive undertaking. Because of this, it is always vital that you ask plenty of questions when you're looking into a specific property. Today, we're going to examine a few of the best questions you can ask to determine whether a home is right for you. 

What Are The Local HOA Fees?

HOA fees are a commonly unforeseen cost that plague new homeowners. Many neighborhoods have monthly HOA fees upwards of $500. We always recommend consulting with your realtor to determine the monthly cost of HOA fees. This will allow you to determine whether a property is actually within your price range. 

What Is The Value Of This Property

Although this point may seem obvious, many buyers often fail to realize the market value of…

1387 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Social media marketing is one of the most effective tools that you can use to sell anything, including your home. However, it requires more than just a few posts if you want to truly expand your reach. Below are a few tips that can help with using various social media platforms to sell your home.

Make an Announcement

One of the first steps that you’ll need to take is making an announcement so that everyone is aware that your home is for sale. You can use Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and any other social media platform. However, Facebook is likely where you’ll receive the most attention because you can get all of your friends to share your posts. You should also update your status so that everyone is clear on what’s happening. 

If…

1526 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Technology will not replace people when it comes to making a real estate buying decision. Algorithms and online listings cannot help the client nor real estate agent deal with human wants, needs, and desires when choosing your home. However, technology has several ways to provide factual information and increased efficiencies before, during, and after the house selection process. 

Online technologies before the sale of residences 

First, we will look at the effect drone photography has on buying a home. Previously, if you wanted to see the house lot and position on the block you could drive to the location or look at the pictures and try to imagine how everything fits. Today, with drone photography you can "see" online the house position on its…

1503 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

At some point, the space in which you live won't fit you quite as well. When this happens, you'll need to decide between selling your home and renovating. Understanding the pros and cons of each will help to make that choice a bit easier. 

Renovation Pros and Cons

Pro: Keeping Your Space

Perhaps one of the most important reasons individuals choose to renovate a space is because they aren't interested in moving. Renovations allow you to make alterations to a space that you already own, cutting out the necessity of moving and allowing you to keep all the other things you love about your home.

Con: Cost

Unfortunately, you're going to pay for the convenience of staying in one place. Major renovations can run into the tens of thousands of…

1524 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Preparing to sell your home is a lot of work, and you can forget about one important issue, security. Open houses are an ideal target for thieves to get a nice payday if you are not careful. Take the necessary steps to keep your home protected during your open house.

Put Away Expensive Items

Even honest people can be tempted to steal if opportunities present themselves. Remove all items that are tempting, such as jewelry, cash, and electronics. Store these items in a hidden location that is accessible only for you and your family members.

Get a Trustworthy Agent

Do lots of research before you hire a real estate agent. Not all agents are trustworthy and responsible, so rely heavily on word of mouth and internet reviews before moving forward. If…

1432 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

If you are planning on putting your home up for sale sometime soon, you might be hoping to sell it as quickly as possible. These are a few upgrades that are sure to help you achieve that goal.

1. Painting

Painting is an affordable project that makes a big difference in the look of your home. Consider going with fresh, neutral colors so that your home will appeal to more buyers.

2. Replacing Flooring

If the flooring in your home is worn out, stained or outdated, it might be time to replace it. Look into hardwood and other popular options.

3. Replacing Light Fixtures

Sometimes, all it takes to freshen up a room is to add new light fixtures. New light fixtures can also be added outdoors to give your home more curb appeal. Consider looking…

1431 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

There are several tax benefits of buying a home.

Interest

The first benefit is that all of the interest that you pay on the mortgage will be considered a deductible. This is as long as the mortgage that you have on the home is not over $750,000. The deduction is simple to do no matter if you are doing your taxes yourself or having a professional to do them. Plus, you are going to be able to include the interest that you paid as part of the closing of your home. All of this will be found on the settlement sheet.

Property taxes

The second benefit is some of the money that you have paid on your property taxes are also deductible on your taxes. At one time, you had the ability to deduct all of your taxes but now based on the new tax laws, you will…

1372 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post