Four Home Buying Tips

Today I’ll tell you the four biggest tips to get started with your home search.

1. Determine your budget: Before you even start looking, you need to know how much you can comfortably afford. Don't waste your time looking at homes that you can't buy - that's a terrible way to disappoint yourself in the end. You can start by checking out our mortgage calculator.

2. Get pre-approved: This relates to tip #1 but it's also a way to boost your standing in the eyes of a home seller. Buyers that are pre-approved are nearly as good as people paying cash. Click here to get pre-qualified now!

3. Differentiate between your wants and needs: What do you really NEED in a home? It might be storage space, or it might be three bedrooms. You may only WANT granite countertops and walk-in closets. Be sure to know what you need versus things that you simply want. I see couples argue about these things all the time, so be on the same page with everyone involved in the transaction.

4. Call me: I'm the best possible person you could talk to when you're looking to buy a home. I will provide you with the best mortgage experience possible!

As always, please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions! 770-824-9777

What Do Rising Interest Rates Mean For You?

Today, I'll talk about what you need to know regarding rising interest rates.

While a one percent raise might not seem like much, it can significantly affect both buyers and sellers. For example, let's say you're looking to buy a $200,000 home while rates are at 5%. If rates go up to 6%, you could only afford a $180,000 home. A one percent rise in rates is equivalent to 10% of home value.

Basically, while rates are low, more people can afford to buy your home. Low interest rates make it easier for sellers to sell their homes, and buyers will get lower monthly payments. I advise that you take advantage of these low rates now, as rates will continue to rise for the next few years. They will eventually come back down, but possibly not for a few years.

If you have any questions, please give us a call or send us an email. We'd be happy to help you!

How To Successfully Work With A Builder

Working with builders can be a real challenge. There are some things you should know about this process to make it go as smooth as possible. Today, we’ll offer advice when working with contractors.

Research the builder. Find out what kind of buildings they work on. Familiarize yourself with their experience. Speak with people that previously worked with the builder. This helps you understand the builder’s pace, for instance. Ultimately, find out the builder’s trades, where they build typically, and the last three houses they built.

Communicate with your builder to ensure everything is done by closing. If you aren’t proactive, this could make closing day a nightmare. Before signing a contract, get a list of all their contractors. You want to make sure the same contractors are used to finish the project. This could save you money by avoiding extra fees.

Understand a staged home is designed to look appealing. Likewise, your product as a new home is not the same thing. Often, different tradespeople are used for staged homes comparatively.

If you’d like more information about this, please reach out. I’m always happy to help!

Tips To Sell Your Home For Top Dollar

Today I'd like to go over some things that you should consider if you're about to list your home for sale, especially if you're trying to find the most accurate price possible.

You have to think of your home as a product when you sell it, so you have to figure out how to attract these buyers to your product.

A lot of people think they can overprice their home and then come back down on the price if they don't get any offers, but this is a risky move. You run the risk of alienating yourself from buyers because they simply don't respond well to overpriced homes.

You need to price your home at market value, and to do so, you need to look at area comparable sales. Take a look at pending sales and see what homes are selling for.

Remember the three P's of selling: promotion, position, and pricing. When you price your home correctly, you put yourself in a good position to get multiple buyers interested, which can result in a very high selling price.

There are a number of different things you can do to price your home attractively in order to bring in the largest amount of buyers possible.