Real World

So you own a great home that you’re really proud of? You love the interior and large spaces throughout the home, your kids love the school they go to, and the neighborhood is safe.

However, you found your dream home and want to sell your current home to someone who loves it as much as you did when you first saw it! You price it according to how you feel about it. It’s an amount that you see fit to get back everything you put into the home.

But how do you determine if your home is overpriced? If you are not sure how to price your home, here are some factors to help you determine the true value of your home.

What is Your Neighbor’s Home Worth?

By finding out your next-door neighbor’s home cost, you can better understand the value of your own home. If it’s a substantial amount lower than the price that you set for your home, then you may want to rework those figures to ensure that you are in balance with the homes nearest to yours.

Where is Your Home Located?

Take a look at your neighborhood. Consider everything from the curb appeal of your street to Price a home rightyour school district to crime rates. How far are you away from entertainment or the nearest grocery store? Sure, these factors are out of your control, but unfortunately they still play a role in how much you can charge for your beloved real estate.

Even if you live in a beautiful home, the quality of the surrounding area will drastically affect your home’s value for better or for worse. There’s an old saying in real estate that you should, “buy the cheapest house in the nicest neighborhood.” This helps give you the biggest resale bang for your buck. When you have the nicest house in the crummiest neighborhood, the reverse happens; you have a tough time making all your money back in the resale. Depending upon what city your home is located in, you may want to adjust the value of your home sale price accordingly.

Have You Made Updates?

If you have not made updates to your home, you may want to start. Your home may be beautiful on the outside, but if you have not updated your 40-50 year old home since you first bought it, then you should consider fixing or renovating parts.

Even though items that you update may depreciate, even the most minor fixes to your home will add value to your open house. Do you really think people want to come to an open house to see that awful carpeting from 1955 still in the living room? No. So clearly, minor updates are not going to add much value to the home, but they will definitely help sell your home faster.

It isn’t an easy time for so many suffering from not being able to make mortgage payments, however there are things that homeowners can take to get on the road to a speedy recovery.

Things to do to avoid foreclosure

The Top 5 things to do:

1. Decide to sell your home as a Short Sale

Actually coming to the decision that a Short Sale is the route you should take to avoid foreclosure is often the most difficult decision any homeowner will make. It’s not easy to leave one’s home and quite often denial will set in before homeowners realize it’s not going to get better anytime soon. Simply hoping that things will get better so you don’t have to deal with it as if to bury one’s head in the sand is never a recommended course of action.

2. Hire a REALTORⓇ who knows Short Sales

This can make all the difference in the world on whether your home sale would be a “long” sale or a “short” sale, time wise.

A Short Sale is indeed handled differently than a traditional Real Estate sale. Short Sales require a lot more work than a traditional Real Estate sale and it also requires a REALTORⓇ who is committed and determined to gaining Short Sale approval along with a homeowner’s release of any deficiency balance (balance left on mortgage after the home sells).

It requires getting the correct financials from the homeowner up front. It requires knowing what steps are involved during the Short Sale process and following up to make sure all is moving along efficiently towards Short Sale approval.

Time and time again I hear people refer to Short Sales taking 6 months or longer. When you know what you’re doing, Short Sales won’t take 6 months. 3 months is usually the longest it takes to gain Short Sale approval. I’ve been negotiating Short Sales since 2008 and I’m happy to report on quick approval times and high closing ratios. Quick approval times and high closing ratios are what you need to look for when a Short Sale REALTORⓇ represents you to sell your home as a Short Sale. In fact, a recent Coral Springs Short Sale of mine was approved in just 32 days.

3. Communicate with your Lender

Never avoid communicating with your Lender. Silence is not golden when you need your Lender to understand your circumstances. It’s important to communicate with your Lender so they know your particular situation. They will let you knSell home as Short Saleow what your options are going to be and how to go forward. You want to make sure that you have exhausted all of your options to save your home from foreclosure. Perhaps you know that a Short Sale is indeed your choice, then it’s important to advise your Lender of your decision as long as you qualify for a Short Sale.

4. Be prepared to provide your financials

Most recent financials that include such things as pay stubs, bank statements, tax returns, financial worksheets and a hardship letter are just a few of the documents that a Short Sale Seller needs to be prepared to provide. Timely submission of any requested document will keep a Short Sale moving along quickly. In fact, all of these documents should be presented before your home is even listed for sale as a Short Sale. I will review said documents to confirm the homeowner is eligible to be considered for a Short Sale.

5. Plan to buy a home again

Yes, you heard me! Plan to buy a home again. With the proper planning, you will be in the position again to be able to buy a home again. Pay your bills on time, clean up your credit, save for a deposit and money needed to be a homeowner in order to maintain a home.

We buy houses in Virginia Beach