The Top 5 Home Staging Mistakes

Home staging is a critical part of the home selling process. It’s important to do it correctly in order to generate interest in your property.

 

However, home staging isn’t as easy as you might think. It’s not quite as simple as making sure your house is clean and presentable. There are a number of additional things you should be sure to do and not do.

 

By avoiding these five common home staging mistakes, you can help make sure that potential buyers have a great experience.

 

1. Bold Colors

Experimenting with bold colors on your wall and furniture can be fun, but it’s not the best idea when you’re trying to sell your home.

 

The reasoning is pretty simple: buyers want to be able to imagine your home as their own. If your living room walls are bright orange, it can be very off-putting for buyers that prefer neutral or dark colors.

 

When you’re staging your home, it’s best to stick to inoffensive colors like grey, beige, earth tones, and similar colors.

 

2. Personal Items

Personal items, like family photos, should be cleared out when you are staging your home.

 

These items can be very distracting as they remind buyers that the house they’re touring belongs to somebody else. This can make them feel uncomfortable as they may feel like they are intruding in someone else’s home.

 

In order to make sure guests feel comfortable when viewing your home, be sure to put away any and all personal family items.

 

3. Clutter

One of the most important aspects of home staging is decluttering. This applies to everything from furniture to small, insignificant items.

 

You should be sure to get rid of unnecessary furniture that takes up a lot of room in your home. Additionally, put away things like pictures, toys, small appliances, and other similar items.

 

Clutter not only makes your home seem messy and unpresentable, but it can also make the rooms in your house seem smaller than they actually are.

 

4. Pets

Potential buyers may not love your pets as much as you do. While your cats or dogs may not be dangerous or messy, an essential part of home staging is making sure your pets are out of sight and out of mind.

 

The solution is simple enough. You can put your pet into daycare, ask a friend to take care of it, or create a room specifically for your pets.

 

If you want to make sure your guests have a great experience during your showing, be sure to make a plan for your pets.

 

5. Over-Staging

Last but not least, be careful to avoid over-staging your home. Meaning, don’t go overboard on decorations, furniture, accessories, etc.

 

It’s important to design your home tastefully while still leaving room for imagination. Too much can make your home feel small and cluttered. It can also make it so viewers can’t imagine your home being decorated any other way.

 

Tasteful but minimal decorating is one of the most fundamental aspects of home staging.

 

By avoiding these common home staging mistakes, you can easily increase your chances of finding a suitable buyer.

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What’s the Difference Between Contingent and Pending Listings?

There are a lot of confusing terms in the real estate world. If you don’t know everything, it can sometimes feel like everyone’s speaking a different language whether you’re buying or selling a home.

 

Are you confused about the difference between a pending and contingent home sale? These are terms you’ll discover a lot on online listing websites, but what do they actually mean? If you come across a home with these terms, can you still place an offer? In this guide, we’ll uncover the differences between these two terms so you can enter the home buying process with confidence.

 

 

What is a Contingent Home Listing?

First, let’s talk about the term contingent. What does contingent mean in the real estate world? This term is always attached to some kind of condition. If a home sale is contingent, that means the offer has been accepted by the seller but the listing is still active until this condition has been met by both parties.

 

What are the conditions? These are defined by the parties involved with the home sale. It could be for the homeowner to replace the roof or make some other kind of repair. The listing will still be “active” status until it becomes pending status. Here are some of the most common real estate contingencies:

 

• Home inspection contingencies – The lender might want to make sure the home is actually worth the loan amount, so there will need to be an inspection to approve the value of the home.
• Appraisal contingencies – Most lenders also require an appraisal which is when the appraiser determines the value of the home as well as looks for features that add or subtract from the previous value.
• Financial contingencies – A financing contingency is a way out of the sale in case the loan falls through or the seller is no longer able to afford the home.

 

If you see any of these contingency conditions, you’re still able to place an offer on the home. However, it’s not guaranteed that the homeowner will look at it.

 

What is Pending Status?

Now let’s discuss pending status.  Pending is the period of time between the contingencies being met and the closing of the sale. This means the sale is still being finalized, but it likely will be finalized soon.

 

A home is pending sale when the offer was accepted and both parties decided to move forward to the sale. This is the final status before “sold,” which indicates the home is no longer on the market. If the home is pending, the homeowner is likely no longer taking any offers. There are only two common pending instances when a homeowner might still be willing to consider offers at this point:

 

• Pending short sale – If the home is under contract and still is waiting to be approved from the bank, it’s pending short sale. Short sales are a way to avoid the foreclosure process, but these sales can take especially long and they’re prone to falling through.
• Pending taking backups – Finally, another pending option is known as “taking backups.” This means the seller is concerned that the deal won’t be finalized, usually due to financial issues. If this is the case, you can still place an offer on the property which will be considered if the first one falls through.

 

Understanding Common Real Estate Terms: Contingent and Pending

As you can see, contingent and pending mean totally different things in the real estate world. When a home is listed as “sales contingent,” it’s already under contract between the buyer and seller. However, this contract is contingent on some kind of external factor, from inspection to financial.

 

On the other hand, a home listed as “sales pending” is in the final stages of a purchase. That being said, you’re still free to submit a backup offer that might be considered if the original sale isn’t completed for whatever reason.

 

You’re free to put in an offer in either situation, but realize the homeowner might not consider it right away. However, if you’ve found your dream home, feel free to go for it. When in doubt, talk to a real estate agent about the best offer for your dream property.

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What is Title Insurance?

Chances are you’ve never heard of title insurance. At least not until you’ve gone through the process of buying a house.

 

However, title insurance can be extremely beneficial for homeowners. This type of insurance can potentially save you a lot of money and protect you and your home.

 

If you’re a first-time buyer or a homeowner, it’s important to understand what title insurance is, how it works, and how you can find the perfect policy for you.

 

What is Title Insurance?

Essentially, title insurance is a type of indemnity insurance that protects you from any unknown claims being made against your home.

 

Common claims filed against a title include:

 

• Back taxes missed by the title company
• Conflicting wills
• Liens

 

In some cases, claims against a title could result in you losing your home. There are numerous scenarios in which a person could make a claim against your title, so it’s important to protect yourself against these claims.

 

Title insurance helps make sure that you, your family, and your home are protected in case someones makes one of these claims.

 

How Does Title Insurance Work?

In order to buy or sell a home, a clear title is a necessity. Before titles can be issued, they have to be checked for any outstanding liens or claims. Checking a title helps confirm that a party has legal ownership of a property.

 

If a title is not clean, then property owners and lenders are susceptible to damages and losses due to liens, claims, and ownership by another party. Whereas most insurance protects policyholders from potential future events, title insurance protects owners and lenders from past occurrences.

 

A basic policy will include coverage for:

 

• Flawed records
• Ownership by a different party
• Fraud
• Forgery
• Outstanding lawsuits or liens

 

Like any other type of insurance, you purchase title insurance as a preventative measure. While you may not end up needing it, it’s important to have this protection in place so that there are no surprises after purchasing your home.

 

Types of Title Insurance

There are only two main types of title insurance: owners’ insurance and lenders’ insurance.

 

Owners’ insurance is typically purchased by the seller of the home. This is used to protect the buyer against title defects, claims, and liens. Owners’ insurance is an optional measure. It is up to the buyer and seller to decide whether or not it is necessary.

 

Lenders, on the other hand, almost always require buyers to purchase lenders’ insurance. This helps lenders protect themselves in case the seller does not have the legal right to transfer the title to the buyer. Lenders’ insurance is a common closing cost that you’ll likely face when buying a home.

 

How to Purchase a Policy

You will typically only purchase title insurance during the closing of a real estate transaction. Sellers typically purchase owners’ insurance while buyers generally are responsible for lenders’ insurance. Unlike other types of insurance, title insurance requires a one-time, upfront payment.

 

Your lender will likely have a preferred insures. In which case, you may be better off going with this choice. However, buyers can purchase from whichever insurer they choose.

 

It’s important to research and compare coverage from different providers to find the best insurance policy possible for you and your lender.

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How Pricing Your Home For Sale is a Marketing Strategy

When you’re selling your home, it’s the small details that matter the most. One of the most overlooked ways to generate excitement about your home is actually with pricing. Think about it this way: you never hear about the home for sale with the crazy-high asking price, do you?

 

On the other hand, you’ve probably heard some buzz about a home priced competitively. These are the things that get the word out and that drive home buyers to take action.

 

When marketing your home, you need to consider the facts. You need to think seasonally, understand your home’s unique characteristics, and take a close look at local marketing conditions. Only then can you think of how pricing your home for sale is a marketing strategy in itself. In this guide, we’ll talk about how to leverage your home’s selling price as a marketing tool as well as the best strategies for naming your price.

 

 

Consumer Psychology and Mindset

One of the biggest factors in understanding how home pricing works is to think about consumer psychology. This is the psychology that plays a role in everything we purchase. It’s how we interact with stores and products, and it’s also at play when buying a home.

 

Any time you make a purchase, you most likely look into the price. For buying a home, most buyers are shopping online. They usually use price to guide their search, and we can use this knowledge to price our property accordingly.

 

There are 3 key ways psychology influences price:

• $19.99 Syndrome
• The Power of 4 and 7
• Utilizing Zeros

 

While these might seem a bit out there, they’re based in research and fact. Let’s break each of them down in greater detail.

 

1. $19.99 Syndrome

According to Robert Mctague, $19.99 Syndrome is a common belief in marketing that by pricing something at $19.99 rather than $20, you’ll make it seem like a better deal. You see this with any number of homes priced $199,999 for instance.

 

This actually hurts your listing since the people searching in the $200,000+ range aren’t likely to see your listing online in a refined search. That means you’re actually not attracting the right buyers with this mentality. You need to understand how people search for homes.

 

2. The Power of 4 and 7

Why are the numbers 4 and 7 so powerful in pricing? It’s because a home priced at $334,000 will seem much more precisely priced than one priced at $330,000. This makes a point to the buyer that the seller knows what he or she is doing.

 

Another reason this is so valuable is the Right Digit Rule. This rule states that consumers look to the right digits first, meaning that the price of $227,000 looks better than $229,999.

 

3. Utilizing Commas

Finally, the way you use commas matters as well. The more zeros you add to your price, specifically a promotion, the more significant of a deal it seems to be. If you’ve discounted your property by $10,000, for example, listing it as a $10,000.00 price cut looks more significant.

 

How You Price Your Home Matters

So how do you actually price your home now that you understand how this number can be used as a marketing strategy? While these ideas about consumer psychology are important to keep in mind, you’ll still need to consider your particular home and the competition in your local area.

 

Your home’s price is often the first thing buyers see when they’re browsing for properties. Make sure your price stands out, whether you choose to price it below the competition to start a bidding war or you choose to rely on the rule of 4 and 7.

 

There’s most definitely a psychology behind pricing homes. Price can be one of the largest motivators for selling any product, including property. You need any edge you can get over the competition, so why not be smart with pricing? This is a free marketing tool. Why not take advantage of it?

 

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Trust & Why It Matters in the Home Buying Process

The home buying process can be complicated. From finding a great realtor and looking for the perfect home to negotiating prices and closing deals, buying a home can be difficult.

 

In order to make this process easier for all parties involved, it’s important that you are able to trust your realtor and the home seller.

 

When buying a home, you’ll depend on your realtor to help you find the right home, perform market analysis, and get you the best deal possible on your dream home. Additionally, you’ll have to trust sellers to be honest about the condition of the home and to make a reasonable offer.

 

Without trust, the home buying process becomes much more difficult and stressful for you, your real estate agent, and the seller.

 

Trust Your Real Estate Agent

Real estate agents perform an incredibly important job. While it can be tempting to take on a more involved role in the home buying process, you need to trust your agent to help you find the perfect home for the right price.

 

First and foremost, real estate agents are extremely experienced and well-connected. They can help you find listings that you wouldn’t be able to find via your own methods.

 

Additionally, when it comes to negotiating, real estate agents are experts. Leaving negotiations to the professionals will help ensure that you are able to get your home for the lowest price possible.

 

Lastly, for first-time buyers, real estate agents and realtors can help guide you through the entire buying process — from getting a mortgage to closing the deal on your new home.

 

Real estate agents and realtors have to abide by a strict code of ethics, so you can feel confident that your agent will always have your best interests in mind.

 

Trusting Sellers

It’s also important to trust sellers during the home buying process. Though, it can understandably be difficult to do so. After all, you and the seller have conflicting interests. Primarily, you want to purchase their home for the lowest price possible while the seller wants to get as much money from the sale as possible.

 

Be that as it may, you, as the buyer, have to depend on the seller to be truthful about the details of the home that they’re selling. First, the homeowner will know of any potential safety issues present in the home. Ideally, a home inspection will be performed before closing. But, even if an inspection is completed, there still may be some issues present that only the homeowner is aware of.

 

Moreover, it’s important to trust and verify that sellers are being fair in their listing prices. Listing a home for a higher price than it is actually worth in order to create more room for negotiation is a common, deceptive practice.

 

It’s important to find a home seller that you can trust in order to ensure that you are not taken advantage of when buying a home.

 

Be Cautious

While trust is incredibly important, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still be cautious.

 

Buyers, particularly first-time buyers, are always susceptible to being taken advantage of. It’s important to always verify information and do your own research in order to ensure that you are getting a fair deal.

 

By trusting your agent and the home seller, but still being cautious when appropriate, you can make the home buying process a much better experience for everyone involved.

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Old House Or New Build: Which Is The Better Investment?

The main question that seems to come up when someone gets ready to build a new investment property is whether or not it is better to invest in a brand new home or an older place. Unfortunately, there is no golden answer. Each one of these options has advantages and disadvantages. We’re going to be discussing some of those options so that you can hopefully narrow down your choice!

 

 

Why To Buy New

 

Everything In The Home Is New

Appliances and construction features have come a long way, even in the past few decades. There are many modern characteristics of homes that are extremely popular at this point, including open-floor plans, granite counters, high-tech electrical systems, and stainless steel appliances. If you buy old, you’ll likely have to upgrade these things to help sell that home to the large majority of buyers.

 

Less Of An Introductory Cost For Upgrades

With older homes, you typically need to account for renovation costs so that the home is livable. You’ll have to take more time to fix those necessary items, which may mean hiring third-party contractors to do work. Not only does this require a lot of effort, it also requires you putting trust in others with the property that you just purchased.

 

Increased Energy Savings

Thanks to modern systems, newer homes tend to be far more energy-efficient than newer homes. You can save a massive amount of money if you end up paying for it yourself or you can use it as an incentive when trying to entice renters.

 

 

Why To Buy Old

 

Unique Character

While newer homes might be more “comfortable” and “clean” for the modern family, they often lack the character that you find in older homes. Think of the gorgeous crown molding, casement windows, Spanish tile, and wood panelling, that you’ve likely seen in older properties. These characteristics give you a huge selling point.

 

Low Purchasing Cost

While you may have to spend some money on maintenance and upgrades, you might still end up paying far less than you would with a new home. Many buyers can find old homes in the same range as new homes for initial costs more than 20% lower. You’ll also have a better ability to get a lower price on the home, as it is easier to make deals with current homeowners vs. developers.

 

Better Location Choices

Many great neighborhoods in prime locations have already been completely developed, meaning housing developers often have to look in less desirable areas to build. This means that you might not be able to find a new home in a popular district or local hotspot. Location is one of the biggest deciding factors in home-buying, meaning you may have an easier time selling, even if you get a house that is more run down in an attractive neighborhood. Just think of the million-dollar shacks that line the streets of San Francisco.

 

 

Conclusion

Hopefully this article has helped to narrow down your decision as you look for a new investment property. Each choice has its own pros and cons, so it’s up to you to decide which path you want to take and how much work you want to put in or money you want to save.

 

Have you ever purchased a new or old property before? What was your experience like? Let us know in the comments!

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Is It Worth It to Buy a Beach House?

The sun, sand, and fun all make a beach house an alluring dream for many people. Who doesn’t want somewhere to call home that’s right on the beach? However, you might be asking whether it’s worth it to buy a beach house in reality.

 

Sure, on paper a beach house sounds amazing. You have somewhere to vacation every time you want to get away, and you might even be able to rent it out when you’re not there for some extra cash. The being said, there are a lot of downsides to owning a beach house that you need to consider before you sign on that dotted line. In this guide, we’ll discuss whether it is worth it to buy a beach house once and for all.

 

 

The Pros of Owning a Beach House

First, let’s talk about why you might consider a beach house in the first place. As you might expect, this goes beyond the pretty view. There’s a popular saying that the only way to avoid feeling homesick while on vacation is to simply buy property, and this is definitely true.

 

Why might you want to buy a beach house? Here are a few of the top reasons:

• Location, location location – Buying property in an ideal location (like on or near the beach) is usually a good indicator of a positive return on investment. You know there will always be interest in the location, so you’ll feel more secure in your property.
• Instant retreat – Another perk is always having somewhere to vacation that you’re comfortable with. If you frequently vacation to the same area, this can even be cost-effective.
• Rental potential – Finally, you always have the option to rent out your vacation property, leading to a passive income stream.

 

As you can see, there are a few major pros to owning your own beach house. However, like everything in life, things aren’t always picture perfect.

 

Cons of Owning a Beach House

When reality sets in with your beach home, you’ll quickly realize the beach comes with its own challenges. Whether you choose to vacation in your beach home or live there full-time, there are a lot of unique things to consider.

 

Some of the cons of owning a beach house are:

• Rental challenges – If you choose to rent out your property, that comes with its own problems. If you don’t live nearby, you’ll need to hire a third-party or a manager to handle any day-to-day rental issues. In addition, there are limits to the rental season, so you likely won’t be able to rent your property out year-round.
• Insurance – Unlike at home, you’ll probably pay more in insurance for your house by the beach. You’ll need additional coverage for things like storm insurance, flood insurance, and so on depending on the location. This adds up quickly.
• Maintenance – It also goes without saying that the beach itself will take a toll on the property. You can expect to spend 1% (or more) a year of the home’s value in repairs alone. This doesn’t include the cost of a property manager if you choose to rent.
• Vacation blues – Finally, having a vacation home by the beach ties down where you can take your vacations. If you like to explore new places when you get away, you’re likely better off just renting a home or staying in a hotel.

 

It comes as no surprise that the beach brings its own difficulties to owning a home. That being said, it still might be worth the investment for you to own a beach home.

 

Should You Buy a Beach Home?

It’s absolutely possible to own a beach home and get a good return on investment. If you get a good rate on the property, factor in the costs, and have a plan for renting it out, you can make your beach home a valuable asset for yourself.

 

However, if you think your beach home will be a quick and easy getaway property, think again. There’s a lot of maintenance to consider, and renting your vacation property isn’t as easy as it sounds. You’ll need to be prepared to put in the work. At the end of the day, if you want flexibility in where you vacation, owning a beach house probably isn’t right for you.

 

Are you planning to buy a beach house? Make sure you consider the pros and cons before making the decision. A startling 33% of vacation home buyers purchased a home in a beach area, so clearly, this is a popular choice. However, you need to make sure it’s the right one for you and your goals.

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source https://nationalcashoffer.com/is-it-worth-it-to-buy-a-beach-house/