Spring cleaning can be a daunting task for many, but it doesn’t have to be. By breaking it down into smaller, manageable tasks, you can make your home look and feel refreshed without feeling overwhelmed. Here are 10 easy ways to spring clean: By following these 10 easy steps, you’ll have your home looking and feeling refreshed in no time. Happy spring cleaning!
Today, I’m diving into an important topic that could make a big difference in the amount of money you net from your home sale. The market is hot. There are more buyers who need houses than houses for sale. That means your home is in demand and it’s not even listed yet! That sounds like great news for you and it is! As a result of this, I know potential sellers are thinking… Hmm maybe we should just put a sign up in the front yard and see what happens. The truth is, the worst thing you can do as a seller in a hot market is to do it alone. So before you head to the local hardware store for that “For Sale By Owner” sign, keep reading. I know you’re doing the math and figuring out how much selling your home on your own could potentially save you… but I wanted to shed some light on a few important things to consider before you decide to go that route. If you’re looking to the internet to determine what price to list your home at, you could be losing a significant amount of money. Online home values aren’t always entirely accurate which means basing your list price on what the internet is saying could result in you leaving money on the table. Contracts and Negotiations can feel like a foreign language if you’re not a real estate professional. Not understanding how to navigate these or have someone work in your best interest could result in sticky situations and money lost. Demand – when you’re in a hot market, one of the greatest benefits to the seller is that they’re typically in the driver’s seat. When there are more buyers than listings for sale, your house can spark a bidding war when it hits the market. However, without an agent helping you prep your home for the market, price it strategically, market it with modern methods and really get it out there, you’re missing out on that demand. You might have a buyer or two but that isn’t going to drive the price up like it would if you had someone working for you. My best advice I can give to someone thinking about selling is this – Before you make the decision to do it alone, do some research and find an agent who has good reviews, comes highly recommended and who you can learn something about before reaching out. What does their experience look like? What are their clients saying? Then schedule a consultation with them to see how they can help you net the most money possible from your home sale. Successful home selling is rooted in doing your research and making smart decisions that are going to position you in the best place possible when your house hits the market!
How to Make House Hunting as Easy as Binge Watching Netflix. You know the feeling when you struggle to find something to watch on Netflix because it’s just so overwhelming with the number of shows and movies to choose from? Well the same thing can happen when it comes to house hunting! There are so many real estate websites and so many houses to look at. Digging through countless websites, having your phone glued to your hand, constantly hitting refresh to make sure you don’t miss anything can get a little tiring. Instead, there is a simple method you can implement to make it a whole lot easier. When you learn how to house hunt “Netflix style” it’ll save you a ton of time and prevent those feelings of overwhelm – I promise! So here’s how to do it! Step 1 – Find your Homestyle Genre: This is about going beyond the general criteria of 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a 1 acre lot. This is about diving deep and figuring out what you’re specifically looking for in a house. Ask yourself questions such as: -Which space in a house is most important to you? -Which room will you spend the most time in? Is the living room where you’ll spend quality time every night or is the outdoor space more important because you want to be surrounded by nature and have ensured privacy? -Next think about words that would describe your ideal home. Do words like cozy and full of character come to mind? Or does modern and luxury sound more like your taste? -What is a space or feature you don’t currently have but would love to have? More space to entertain? A private yard with mature trees? A designated home office space that will allow you to do more focused work? By thinking outside the box about the lifestyle you want your future home to provide, you’ll begin to paint a better picture of which home features to pay more attention to and which style of home will be the best fit. STEP 2 – Determine What’s Trending: Just like Netflix gives you a list of “Trending movies” you’re going to make your own list of what’s trending when it comes to what is important to you in your future home. After writing down answers to the previous questions, create a list of your top 3 home must haves and deal breakers. Next you’re going to review everything you wrote down. Do you see any themes or details that pinpoint the type of house you are going to fall in love with aside from the number of bedrooms? Your list could be painting a picture of an open concept style home with lots of storage and natural light. Or maybe your style is a home with more separated spaces with a major focus on the style and layout of the kitchen. STEP 3 – Create Your Home List Based on Your Preferences: Before starting this step, you’ll want to make sure you’re working with a Real Estate Agent so they can set up your custom home search for you. They will take all of the general criteria that you’re looking for and customize your home search so that you can will receive a list of all the homes on the market that match the main criteria you’re looking for. This is where it’ll narrow down your minimums for bedrooms, baths, lot size, square footage, year built, etc. This is also the time you may want to browse through any other sites that you’ve been searching on and write down any homes you’ve had your eye on so you can bring everything together with your real estate agent. STEP 4 – Preview Homes: Once you’ve compiled the entire list of homes that meet your search criteria you’re going to want to preview them online before scheduling a showing! Looking at homes online is considered a first showing because there is so much you can see and learn about a home before ever stepping foot in the house. When you’re previewing the homes, have the list of the questions you answered handy so you can see which ones fit what you’re truly looking for. If a common theme was entertaining space and open concept rooms – you’ll probably want to avoid homes that have a smaller kitchen and living area or lack open areas. STEP 5 – Narrow the List Down to Your Top 5: Here’s an example of how this looks: Let’s say your favorite space in a home is the living room, you want a house with lots of character and charm and your deal breaker is a cookie cutter subdivision. Along with that, you need at least 3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. When your custom search comes up with the list of homes and one of the homes meets the 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths criteria but was built last year in a new subdivision of homes with the same builder, all on quarter acre lots and has a smaller living room, you’ll probably want to consider eliminating this one because it isn’t meeting your main needs. After previewing the homes and comparing each one to what you have on your list, it’s time to narrow the list of homes down to your “Top 5”. These are the 5 homes you’ll want to schedule showings for and begin your search with. From there, if none of those work for you, keep your search going this same way. Watch for new homes to hit the market (like the new releases on Netflix) and if they meet your detailed criteria, set up a showing! By house hunting with this method, you’ll eliminate the stress of feeling like you need to see every single 3 bedroom, 2 bath home when you truly know what you’re looking for and can eliminate many of them online. That way when you schedule a showing to see a home that
This fact might surprise you: The average home improvement project does not tend to have a 100% return on initial investment. You might be thinking – why would I remodel then? The reasons range from the added enjoyment you’ll get from having that brand new kitchen to staying in line with other homes in the area who are investing in these upgrades. However, if you’re looking for a project with 100% ROI, these are some of the top options you should consider. Upgraded Landscaping: Were you thinking I was going to say kitchen or bath? Surprisingly landscaping is a top runner for maximum return on investment. Your curb appeal is the first impression of your home so it makes sense that landscaping would have a good return. If your yard is one area your home is lacking, adding in some color and cleaning things up can make a big difference. Consider incorporating some flowering shrubs, large planters with bright flowers, fresh mulch and maybe even a new flagstone walkway to really spruce things up. New Roof: This one doesn’t sound like the most fun but it’s a big deal when it comes to selling your home. If you’re seeing water leaks in your roof, put this in the #1 spot before you do anything else. Plus, the ROI on a new roof is over 100%. How do you know if you need a new roof? Here are a few signs.. If you notice shingles missing or curling up, the sun shining through your attic or you see stains on ceilings and walls, then it’s probably time for a new roof. Hardwood Floors: The timeless look of hardwood floors are a top feature to love and they are probably the one feature that will always be a good investment. The trending style of hardwood floors may change over time but they’re always going to trump any other style of flooring when it comes to holding their value. You know the feeling when you find out there are hardwood floors underneath old, outdated carpeting? It feels like you hit the jackpot! Hardwood floors are timeless so refinishing them is a no brainer. If you don’t have them, they’re also going to be worth the initial investment down the road. Patio or Deck: Say hello to outdoor entertaining and Summer BBQ’s. We already know that landscaping is the #1 project for ROI so it makes sense that a patio or deck addition is really going ot up your backyard game! Now you’ll even have a place to sit with a cocktail and appreciate all that landscaping work you did. To give you some examples, the average cost of a patio is $6,000 and the average return is 102%. For a deck, the average cost is $9,450 with a 106% average return. Are you thinking tonight’s dinner conversation will go something like “Honey, we’re getting a new deck!” Which remodeling project have you been considering? Always consider the ROI on any home projects you decide to tackle. Spending $50,000 on a kitchen remodel will not necessarily add that amount to the value of your home so keep that in mind when deciding where to spend vs where to splurge.