Top Five Things To Do To Sell A Home

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Jesse

Selling a home isn’t the easiest of tasks. But it doesn’t have to be the hardest as well. ESolds provides a list of ten things that every home seller should know when putting a home for sale on the real estate market.

5. De-personalize
Pack up those family photos and personal belongings. These should be put away so as to avoid distracting potential home buyers. Religious objects fall under this category as well. A potential home buyer is deciding on what could be the biggest financial decision they have ever made, and even the smallest of things could derail their interest.

4. Maintenance
Maintenance is another important thing that must be done in order to sell a home for sale. A house that is even in the slightest disrepair can quickly turn off potential home buyers and make the home for sale that much harder to sell. Home sellers should work on even the smallest of tasks to ensure that the home is prepped and ready for sale. Here, both interior and exterior matter. Outside, gutters should be cleaned, lawns cut and weeds pulled. Inside, furnace should be cleaned, as well as fireplaces and light bulbs should all be functional, and if not, replaced.

3. De-clutter
An important key to selling a home is to have the home appear spacious. In order to do this, a home must be de-cluttered. It gives the perception of space to potential home buyers, thus makes the home more appealing. De-cluttering a home also creates the benefit of acting as a head start to packing when the home is sold as well.

2. Know the Neighborhood
Knowing the neighborhood is important, but what’s even more important is knowing what homes are selling in that neighborhood. Knowing what is selling in the neighborhood is key to understanding if a home for sale is appealing or possibly needs some work done in order to get it sold. Knowing what isn’t selling is just as important, as it can lay out the exact reasoning as to why certain homes aren’t being sold.

1. Price your Home Right
The home seller should ensure that they do not price the home for sale too high. If it’s too high, all the hard work listed above, will be for nothing. Home buyers not only won’t make an offer, they most likely won’t even take a look at the home. Home sellers should always remember that the longer a home is on the market, the less desirable it appears. If the price for the home for sale is within the right range, then the home will inevitably sell.

ESolds offers these five tips as an aid to home sellers, but advises that perhaps the best tip for any home seller is to find the right real estate agent. Someone who is knowledgeable, friendly, motivated and dedicated to selling homes and who will assist the home seller in every way possible.

Three Staging Tips That Will Help Sell A Home

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Jesse

Home staging is simply the preparation of a home for sale in the real estate market. The goal of this home staging is to make the house more appealing, thereby helping in selling the house more quickly and also at a fair price. The key to staging is to improve the home’s appeal by turning the home into a welcoming and attractive environment for potential home buyers.

ESolds provides three staging tips that if implemented, will help sell a home for sale faster and at a fair price.

DE-CLUTTER

Home buyers want two main things out of a potential home. They want it to be spacious and they want to be able to picture themselves living in it. Neither of these things can occur if a house is full of belongings. A home seller should make sure that they clear out at least 50% of personal belongings, thus opening up more space in the home and reducing clutter. The home seller should take down family photos (as these would not allow a potential home buyer to personalize themselves with the home). Closets and bathrooms are two areas that should be reduced by over 80%. The best thing about this staging tip is that it won’t cost a penny to accomplish.

CLEAN

This is perhaps the most important staging tip of all. If the house isn’t clean, the house will surely appear unappealing, and thus that much harder (if not impossible) to sell. When it comes to cleaning, it is important to note that every inch counts. Whether it’s the grime in the shower, dirty doorknobs or cupboard doors, every inch of the home should be cleaned so that the home basically appears almost brand new. A thoroughly clean home will increase the appeal of the home to home buyers exponentially. A key note with this staging tip is that the cleaning must be done again and again, until an inevitable sale is made. This staging tip involves an investment of time, but can also reap the most rewards.

MINOR REPAIRS AND UPKEEP

A simple burnt out light can change the perception of a home to potential home buyers. Whether it’s changing a light bulb, fixing small holes in the wall, repairing screens, or painting the garage door, all of these minor repairs and upkeep can play a vital role in helping in the sale of a home. The most important note here is that if a potential home buyer sees that the home seller is maintaining the small things, then they will automatically deduce that the home seller is maintaining the more important things such as the roof and furnace.

Utilizing these three staging tips, a home seller can assure that the home for sale is more appealing to potential home buyers, but moreover, the home seller can be comfortable with the fact that they are doing everything and anything possible to sell their home.

Five Tips For Home Buyers In A Sellers’ Market

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Jesse

Home buyers will almost always be in competition with other buyers when it’s a sellers’ market. Obviously, for the home seller, this is the prime position to be in. For the home buyer however, it can be a frustrating, hair-pulling situation. In a sellers’ market, a property’s asking price and its selling price can be vastly different. Because there are multiple interested buyers, the selling price can be well above the original listing price.

Often in a sellers’ market, a home owner will be smart enough to develop a strategy with their real estate agent to initially under-price their property (to generate a lot of interest), which inevitably will lead to a bidding war. This tactic, although beneficial for the home seller, can make a home buyer feel as though there is no sense of control.

The seller’s goal is to obviously get the best price they can for their property, but the offer they choose could have to do with certain conditions that go along with the purchase offer. Here are five things that a home buyer can do to feel more in control, but moreover, can assist the home buyer in their bid for the home.

1. Fewer subjects make more appealing offers to sellers.

2. Ensure that home financing is secure.

3. Assess the competition. The home buyer should get their real estate agent to learn who the competition is, whether one or many. This can help the home buyer gain a solid perspective of the playing field.

4. The home buyer should do an advanced home inspection. This is in tune with the first tip, as this would be one last subject to include in the offer.

5. The home buyer should establish the price that they are willing to pay and also just how badly they want the home. The home buyer should make every effort to make an offer that they feel confident about.

One last word of advice, if all else fails to garner any sense of control on the home buyer’s front, is to make what is called a “bully offer”. This is where the home buyer, through their agent, presents an offer to the home seller before the indicated date. The hope here is that the seller will consider the offer without seeing any other offers. The key to a “bully offer” is to ensure that it is an enticing offer and includes little to zero conditions.

Finally, the home buyer should be aware that there may in fact be no competition, maybe their offer is the only real one on the table. But even then, the home buyer should still make an enticing offer, because if the home buyer wants the home badly enough, they don’t want to present an offer that may be considered insulting, thus alienating the home seller, and possibly be out of the running for the home for sale.

Two Tips When Thinking About Investing In A New Home

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Jesse

An important question in the mind of home owners is how long they should stay in their current home, in order to build up equity, before dipping into the real estate market and investing in a new home. A good approximation would be five years, as this gives the home owner enough time to build up sufficient equity to cover the future costs of closing on a home while still having enough equity available to make the purchase an affordable option.

eSolds offers three important tips to those home owners thinking about investing in a new home.

The first thing the home owner should understand is that when buying a new home, there are certain expenses that will need to be covered. These include legal fees, moving costs, cost of a home inspection, related fees and more. It is vital that the home owner makes certain that they have these costs covered, so that they don’t end up losing money in the transaction.

The second tip is actually something that the home owner should already be doing. Paying the mortgage on time, all the time.

The home owner should remember that when they first applied for a home loan, it was more than likely a lengthy and cumbersome process. The second time around shouldn’t be, so long as the home owner has been making mortgage payments on time every month. The hassle that the home owner may have endured when trying to get their first mortgage, should no longer be an issue if the home owner has proven themselves fiscally responsible. The home owner should be aware that, in most cases, it is a lot easier to step up to a second home than it was to make the giant leap forward to buy the first home.

Timing is everything when it comes to real estate. If a home owner needs any help deciding whether now would be a good time to reinvest in a new home, their best bet is to first talk to a real estate expert. Sometimes, the wait is worth it, but at other times, it would be beneficial to take the leap forward and invest in a new home.

The Three Best Tips to Market a Home

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Jesse

Selling a home takes more than just contacting a realtor. It takes a well-designed marketing plan that strategically assesses the real estate market to evaluate the best way to sell a home for sale.

ESolds is in the business of real estate and knows exactly what it takes to sell a home. They believe in three key tips, that when utilized, can ensure the not only is a home for sale sold quickly, but at fair market value or more.

1.     MLS

The first tip is MLS. MLS is Multiple Listing Service, and is a vital component of the home selling process.

MLS is a sophisticated computer database of properties indexed by price, location, type of home, number of bedrooms, amenities and so forth. It is a co-operative marketing system that ensures maximum exposure of homes for sale. Basically, MLS is a central registry of properties used by realtors to match home buyers with homes for sale. Realtors use MLS every day to match home sellers with home buyers and most homes sold in Canada are sold via MLS systems.

Of course, a realtor may already be aware of potential buyers for a home, but listing a
home on MLS will ensure exposure to all other realtors in the area. Thus, having a home listed on MLS ensures maximum exposure to a broader range of interested home buyers. Because of this, the home seller can be assured of the best possible sale price for the home for sale.

2.    Setting the ‘Right’ Price

The time eventually comes when a realistic selling price must be set for the home for sale. A realtor comes in handy in that they have intimate knowledge of current market conditions. A realtor can also use MLS to determine sale prices for homes that have recently sold in the same neighborhood as the home for sale. A realtor thus, is the best bet for determining an appropriate price range for the sale price of the home.

The home seller should always disclose everything they can about the house and the neighborhood to the realtor. This helps the realtor find potential home buyers whose needs and wants match what the home and neighborhood have to offer.

3.    Open House

An open house can be an extremely effective marketing tool. During an open house, it is important that the home buyer remember that any other family members (including pets) are absent, so that a potential home buyer will feel relaxed and open when viewing the home. The most important note regarding an “Open House” is that the home buyer ensure that the house is clean and uncluttered (both inside and out), as they want to give potential home buyers who are viewing the home the ability to envision themselves in it.

Selling a home is often the most important financial decision that people can make, and if contemplating selling a home, that home seller should always be fully aware of the potential of the home for sale and the marketing tools available to them.

eSolds Reveals Three Advantages Of Buying A Fixer-Upper Home

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Jesse

A good way to break into the home market is taking a look at some great fixer-uppers that obviously have the potential to become either a dream home or a profitable resale. Some of these older homes simply need a fresh coat of paint, new carpet, new blinds, curtains, or even new flooring to revive the home and the interest of other home buyers.

eSolds reveals three advantages that come with purchasing a fixer-upper home.

1.     LOW COST

It isn’t simply investors who are purchasing older homes to ‘flip’, but rather a lot of single people, couples and families as well, as the lower cost makes the home for sale much more attractive.

Of course, the home buyer doesn’t have to settle for the home as is. They can easily renovate and transform the house into something they envision it to be. Which presents another advantage of buying a fixer-upper.

2.    GRADUAL COST

If the home buyer chooses to renovate and transform the fixer-upper, the great thing is that the home buyer doesn’t have to have all the funds needed to do this right away. Rather, they can take their time, be it a month, a year or more, to gradually transform their house into something beautiful. Once the first set of renovations is complete, the home buyer can relish in pride as their dream home is finally starting to come to fruition.

3.    TURN A PROFIT

Of course, once that transformation is complete, some would cherish the home, but others would look at it as a commodity. If that’s the case, then the home owner, now home seller, can be assured, due to the renovations that have sparked life into the house, that they will be able to turn a profit from the sale of the home. More than likely, substantially more than what they paid for the home.

The key to finding the right fixer-upper is through a home inspection. A qualified home inspector can evaluate the home to ensure that the cost of future renovations won’t be so excessively high that they would be unfeasible. An older home with serious problems with structural damage, plumbing and/or electrical irregularities should immediately be a cause for concern. In the case of a home with such serious problems, it more than likely will cost thousands of dollars in repairs.

eSolds advises all potential home buyers interested in fixer-uppers to keep in touch with their reatlor, as the realtor can notify them of potential fixer-uppers that come on the market, before the home buyer would obviously hear about them. After all, the fixer-upper market is, in itself, quite competitive, and the home buyer wants to ensure that they have that extra edge needed, to get the home, which may start off as a fixer-upper, but can eventually be transformed into their dream home.

Six Tips to a Successful Move

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Jesse

ESolds understands the stress that comes with buying a new home, or the stress involved with any real estate transaction for that matter. Once a purchase has been made, the move has to occur and that can lead to additional complications and much added stress as well.

ESolds provides three secrets to reduce the stress of a move and make it a successful one.

1.    If planning to use a moving company, be sure to contact the company well in advance. Moving companies, especially during busy seasons, can be backlogged with appointments, and it is best to give at least six weeks’ notice, or more if the move is a long distance one.

2.    Get rid of stuff that isn’t needed or won’t be used in the new home. There is no sense in moving things that will never be used or are not needed. Look through the house and get rid of rarely used items. Have a yard sale to get rid of those things that have value, or even better, donate to a worthy cause to help those in need.

3.    Make sure that detailed notes are made about the new home. Take room measurements, door measurements, identify and note location of electric, cable and phone outlets. This aids in determining exactly where specific furniture is going to be placed. Also measure appliances, so as to make sure that they fit within the space available in the new home.

4.    Measuring windows is another important task, as the home buyer may want to purchase fitting blinds or curtains for areas of the home where immediate privacy will be needed. By immediate, meaning the time after the move has occurred. Rooms such as bedrooms and bathrooms are usually the only ones with immediate privacy needed.

5.    Don’t wait until after the move to set up cable, internet, phone and utilities. The home buyer should already have made arrangements before the move. For phone companies, internet, etc., usually a few days notice is needed before a technician can come to the house to do the setup.

6.    One box should contain absolute essentials. This box should contain a telephone, a few change of clothes, pots/pans/dishes/utensils, toiletries, medications, and laptop/computer. This box will enable the home buyer to get through the first few days after the move, without the need to open any other boxes. This box should not go with the movers, but instead, it should go in the car of the home buyer. If there are any problems with the move, possibly a box or more are misplaced or lost, or any other accident occurs, the home buyer can be assured that they can at least get through a few days, since their one box has the basic essentials.

With those six tips, moving to a new home can be made a smoother and less stressful process, thus ensuring that the first day in a new home is a remarkable one for the home buyer and his family.

eSolds Reveals Five Things To Look For In A Home Inspector

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Jesse

Buying a home is a major investment, and real estate is always a smart investment. It is key that home buyers utilize the expertise of a professional home inspector, because after all, the home buyer needs to ensure that they are protecting their investment.

While most homes have their homes inspected prior to a purchase, the home buyer should always be weary of exactly who it is that inspected the home. After all, you’d never ask a car enthusiast to take a look at your car, but rather, you’d seek out a licensed mechanic who has the expertise to assess and fix any problems identified.

It is important for home buyers to make sure that a home inspector is well trained and insured, especially since the home buyer is relying on the home inspector’s professional assessment and advice in order to help them decide on whether or not they will take the leap into home ownership.

eSolds reveals five things to look for in a home inspector.

1. Ensure that the home inspector has the proper training in all aspects of home inspections, as well as ongoing support for questions and changes in residential construction techniques and systems.

2. Make sure that the home inspector is properly certified. Certification should be from a reputable training institute, which requires re-testing annually. Here, home buyers can seek the advice of a real estate professional to learn what authorities provide the right certification.

3. The home inspector should have insurance coverage, including general liability, worker’s compensation and especially E and O (Errors and Omissions) insurance, which is comparable to malpractice insurance.

4. The home inspector should provide a proper guarantee. Home buyers should be aware that a qualified home inspector will never hesitate in providing a written guarantee to back up their inspection findings.

5. The home buyer should ensure that the home inspector is doing their job full-time. The worst thing a home buyer could do is hire a home inspector who does inspection part-time, as well as being a contractor, which obviously becomes a conflict of interest. If the home inspector is only doing it part-time, and it is learned they are contractors as well, it’s obvious that they may purposefully use defects found as an opportunity for themselves to do the repair.

In the end, the worst possible scenario a home buyer could face is a faulty inspection. Not only does the home buyer have a bad investment in their hands, but the future costs of repairs could prove overwhelming.

Five Factors That Determine If Buying A Home Is An Affordable Option

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Jesse

Paying a mortgage is more gratifying than paying rent, because a mortgage leads to ownership, while renting leads to more renting. ESolds advises first time home buyers to understand all the costs involved in buying and owning a home as only then can the home buyer determine if they are ready to step into the real estate market and buy a home.

Most potential home buyers forget to factor in various costs when assessing affordability of a home. Factors such as down payment, insurance, as well as costs associated with moving, purchasing major appliances, and more, all seem to go missed when most potential home buyers are looking at the cost to purchase a home.

Here are five factors that a potential home buyer should assess in order to determine if buying a home is an affordable option.

1. The potential home buyer needs to get an estimate for closing costs. These closing costs include points (the dollar amount paid to a lender for obtaining a lower interest rate on a loan), taxes, recording, inspections, prepaid loan interest, title insurance and financing costs from a mortgage lender or a real estate professional.

2. Adding the down payment requirements and the closing costs together will determine an approximate amount of money that the potential home buyer will need right from the start.

3. The potential home buyer needs to think about moving costs as well. They will need to hire a moving company or rent a truck. Regardless of how it is done, it will cost money. One key to remember is that the more the potential home buyer has, the more costly the move will be.

4. Property taxes. Many lenders require an impound account in which monthly payments for property tax (and often insurance) are paid together with the monthly mortgage payment.

5. Finally, the potential home buyer should determine a budget for maintenance and repairs.

Once the numbers are determined, the potential home buyer may find that they are a bit short, and at that point, ESolds advises that they investigate ways to reduce costs. Here, ESolds is always available to help, whether it’s determining how to reduce costs, or even looking for a different home that meets the budget of the potential home buyer.

eSolds Reveals Five Tips That Can Help Increase A Home’s Potential

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Jesse

Finding a new home is an exciting experience, but one that can be nerve-wracking at the same time. eSolds realizes that first time home buyers know exactly what they want in their first home and can become extremely particular. At the same time though, eSolds advises those first time home buyers that unless their first home is being built from scratch, it’s nearly impossible to find everything desired.

Also, if the first time home buyer is looking for a home in a seller’s market where homes are being snatched up as soon as they go on the market, the first time home buyer will quickly realize that being too choosy can actually be detrimental.

One of the most important things that a home buyer should understand is that most homes have potential, and this potential can deem certain homes a perfect fit for the home buyer. The key is to look past the hideous wallpaper, wonky light fixtures and 70s style green carpet, and understand that these things can be changed, thus the home in question could have great potential.

eSolds lists five tips that can help increase a home’s potential. These five tips revolve around five specific features of a home: Floors, Walls, Landscaping, View and Kitchen.

FLOORS CAN BE UPDATED

Carpet or floor surfaces that are old and outdated can easily be replaced, thus increasing a home’s potential. Some home buyers can discuss with a realtor and could possibly get an allowance to upgrade the carpet in their bid for the home, but usually only if in a buyer’s market.

WALLS CAN BE PAINTED

Walls are probably the easiest feature to fix within a home. A simple can of paint and a brush can do wonders to change the look and feel of a home.

LANDSCAPING CAN BE FIXED

Another potential easy fix. If a home for sale doesn’t look appealing because of the landscaping, the home buyer shouldn’t simply dismiss the home, as a simple thing as planting and watering can rejuvenate the garden and lawn, making the home much more appealing. A noted plus with regards to landscaping is that the home buyer could have free reign with the design and can do it all from scratch, as landscaping, although sometimes time consuming, is an extremely easy project to tackle.

BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Windows can do a lot to make a view look horrible. Something as simple as dirt can blind the eyes to what is actually visible. Home buyers should be aware immediately, that if the view is not to their liking, maybe a simple window clean will do the trick to change that.

THE KITCHEN AND APPLIANCES CAN BE UPGRADED

Perhaps one of the most important rooms in the house. This is the one room that every member of the household probably enters numerous times a day. Home buyers should not let outdated color schemes deter them as a fresh coat of paint can change that quickly. Another thing that can quickly spruce up the kitchen is a minor upgrade of appliances, which would do wonders for the home’s potential.

With all of those features in mind, home buyers need to be keen on not what a home appears when they go to have a look, but what a home can become, as long as they are willing to invest a little time and money. If a home’s systems are in working order and the home has everything except a few minor things, home buyers should make an offer, as features such as walls, floors, etc., can be spruced up later, in order to achieve the home’s true potential.