How Can You Buy Your Dream Home in Maine?

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Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

When there aren't many homes for sale on the market and you're trying to buy one, things can get a little tough. However, that doesn't mean it's impossible to buy a good home. As a buyer, there are many different ways to strengthen your offer to get the home that you desire.

One thing that you can do as a buyer in a seller's market is to become pre-approved with a local lender. This will make your offer comparable to a cash offer in the eyes of a seller, and it also allows you to figure out how much you can comfortably spend on a home.

Don't forget to put a good portion of money down on a home. You don't need the traditional 20% down, but if you can afford to pay that upfront, I suggest you do so. The more you can put down, the better your offer will look to the seller.

Get yourself organized, and know where your bank statements are, your W-2 forms, and any other piece of information that you're going to need in order to buy a home. Sellers want to see someone that's ready, willing, and able to buy a home. Being organized is one way to show that you're a serious buyer.

Don't make a lowball offer, especially in a bidding war! You need to come in hot with your best offer. You may be ignored by the seller if your offer is too low, or you may run the risk of offending the seller with a low offer.

Keeping your contingencies reasonable is another way to capture the eyes of sellers. They want to find the buyer that will make selling their home easy, and they don't want to negotiate around contingencies with a buyer. The less contingent your offer is, the more attractive sellers will find it.

Those are my top five tips to help you buy in Southern Maine when the market heats up. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me!

With Zillow, You Have a 7% Chance of Success

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

As a real estate professional, I'm continually bombarded by the question, "Why does Zillow price my home in Southern Maine differently?"

If we go on Zillow's website, this is how they explain it: The Zestimate is created by an automatic software process designed by statisticians, and there is no ability for humans to manually alter the Zestimate for a specific property.

To make that more clear, let's say a home is estimated to be worth $500,000. If the Zestimate is off by 10%, that's a difference of $50,000! If the home is under-priced, you're missing out on tens of thousands of dollars. If your home is overpriced by 10%, it will sit on the market for awhile, and you might have to drop the price, causing buyers to wonder what's wrong with the home.

Remember, Zillow can't take features or upgrades on your property and compare them to other recently closed homes in your area, even though doing so gives you a more updated value on your property. Zillow doesn't walk through your home, and that's where my team can come in and place an accurate value on your home.

Ultimately, if you want the most accurate price for your home, make an appointment with a real estate professional. We will go over your home and the local market data in order to give you the most accurate home value.

If you have any questions, or if you're interested in a home valuation, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

Successfully Sell Your Home During the Holidays

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

Today, we'll share the top five reasons to sell your home in the winter. Though it might be strange to want to list during the holidays, but I've been in this industry since 2003. Some of the best sales happen during the holiday season!

1. Buyers are more serious. Since a lot of people think homes don't sell during the holidays, there aren't as many properties for you to compete against. Supply increases in January, meaning you have to work harder to make your home stand out on the market.

2. Homes show better. Buyers are emotional around the holidays, and sometimes even have more free time during the typical work week. Houses tend to look nicer, neater, and cleaner this time of year.

3. Big companies do job transfers during this time of year. Those people need to be in a new home by January 1st. These buyers start to look in November. If your home isn't listed, you will miss out on motivated buyers!

4. We can negotiate a January closing date. You don't have to pack up and leave during the holidays. Don't worry about moving during the holidays.

5. You can look for a new home this spring as a non-contingent buyer. Contingent buyers still have to sell their homes, but you can make an offer on a new one without worrying about your old property.

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

What's Happening in York and Cumberland Counties?

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Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

Today, we'll discuss the real estate market in York County and Cumberland County. Is it a buyer's or seller's market? What does the current inventory look like? How does inventory affect home value? What are interest rates doing?

In York and Cumberland, we have sold more homes year-to-date compared to 2014. Right now, we have a little over 3 months of inventory, placing these two counties in a seller's market. Inventory is down from 2014, but the homes that sell quickly are in good condition. Homes that show more wear and tear are still on the market.

Home values have gone up in both counties this year. In Cumberland, the median sales price for 2014 was $245,000. Today, the median sales price is $249,990. In York, the 2014 median sales price was $214,900. Now, the median sales price is $225,000. Meanwhile, interest rates are still hovering around 4%. Some government programs even offer rates around 3%!

What does all this mean for you? If you've been thinking about selling your home, now is a great time to do so quickly and for top dollar. It's also a great time to buy! You have to pay for housing anyway, so why not make an investment in your future and lock in a low rate?

If you have any questions for me, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!