Consider These 7 Things Before Buying a Home



Considering these seven things when buying a home will help you immensely.

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Making the leap from renting to owning can be really exciting, but you want to make sure you’re prepared. These are the top seven things you should consider when buying a home.

  1. Make a list of your must-haves and your wants. These are two different things, so make sure you have two lists. Really focus on your must-have list, and make sure your want list is realistic with your budget.

  1. Limit your daily showings. You really don’t want to see too many properties in one day. If you go over five to seven showings, the homes will start to blur together, and you’ll lose sight of what you’re looking for. It’s a good idea to bring a notebook to write down specific things about each home to jog your memory.
“
Bring a notebook to write down
specifics about each home.
”

  1. Drive by your favorite home at different times of the day. Once you have found a favorite, you’ll want to know what the neighborhood is like. Drive by around 5 p.m. to see what traffic is like or to see how active the neighborhood is in the evening.

  1. Don’t let interior decorations sour your opinion. These things can be easily changed and shouldn’t sway your opinion of a home.

  1. Find out what’s included with the home. When you submit an offer, you want to find out if appliances or anything else are included with the sale.

  1. Ask why the sellers are moving. You might have a little more power if a seller has to leave quickly. However, this mainly applies when the market is catering to both buyers and sellers. If you are in a seller's market, the home is probably going to sell quickly, so you’ll want to keep your offer aggressive.

  1. Find out the costs of taxes and utilities. In fact, you can ask for copies of the utility bills so you know exactly what those expenses are going be.

If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I am happy to help you with all your real estate needs.
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Location: Saco, ME, USA

How Can You Show Gratitude Every Day?



Showing gratitude is a great way to combat negativity. Here are five ways to show gratitude.


I wanted to do a little something different today. There has been so much negativity lately surrounding the recent elections. The media does a great job of putting that out there and creating fear and doubt in a lot of us. That negativity can get to us if we let it, so I just wanted to share five ways that you can show gratitude. I believe showing gratitude is a great way to combat negativity. Here’s what you can do:

1.  Write down five things you are grateful for every day before you get out of bed. This could be something simple or could be something deeper.

2. Give away things that you are no longer using. This includes clothing, furniture, computers, phones, and books.

3. Leave sticky notes around your home with inspiring messages on them for you and others to find.

4. Pack a lunch for yourself and a co-worker. Then take the time to sit down with them, talk with them, and listen to what they have to say. A lot of us are guilty of listening with the intent to respond, but this is a situation where you should just listen with the intention of listening.

5. Smile. This one is easy and it’s contagious. Just another simple way to brighten someone’s day.


“
I am very grateful for all of you.
”


I am very grateful for all of you, for our business, and the fact that we’ve been able to help so many people buy and sell real estate. We look forward to serving you in 2017 and hope you have a wonderful holiday season. Try and put gratitude first and foremost in your life.

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you.
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Location: Saco, ME, USA

The 5 Home Upgrades With the Best ROI



There are a lot of improvements and upgrades you can do to your home, but not all of them will come with a big return on investment. Today, I wanted to share the top five home improvements you can do to your home to increase the return on the money you invest.
  1. Replace the front door. If you can't replace the door, I recommend painting it. It makes the first impression on a buyer driving up to your home, and a new door or new color can really make the house pop. Buyers are looking to see things that are wrong with the house when they walk in, so the fewer objections you can give a buyer - starting with the front door - the better off you are when it comes to negotiation. This yields a better return than 96% of all other renovations.
  2. Wood deck additions. This yields an 87.4% return on your money.
    3. “
    Not all renovations offer a good
    return on investment.
    ”

  3. Attic, bedroom, or efficiency garage conversions yield an 84.3% return. It's unused space, so if you can convert it into something useful and get back nearly 85% of the money you invest, it's absolutely worth it.
  4. Garage door replacement. This goes back to first impressions. Buyers don't want to drive up to a garage door with dings and marks on it, or one that is not working properly. This yields an 83.7% return.
  5. Minor kitchen remodels will get you an 82.7% return on investment. Kitchens are really big for buyers, and they want to know that when they move in, they won’t have to invest a ton of money to make it more modern. Minor things like painting the cabinets, replacing the appliances, changing the countertops, or anything that can bring a modern appeal to the kitchen will give you a big return.
These home improvements will bring you the best return on your investment, so they are the things you'll want to focus on if you're thinking of putting your home on the market.

If you're thinking about selling and you'd like to know what you can do in your home specifically to get a better return on investment, give me a call. I'd be happy to give you some advice on how to maximize your return.

If you have any questions about buying or selling a home, or you have any questions at all about real estate in Southern Maine, don't hesitate to contact me. I would be happy to help you!
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Location: Saco, ME, USA

5 Tips for Finding a Home Within Your Budget



Today I wanted to give you my five favorite tips for finding a home within your budget.

  1. Stick to a firm price. Before you begin looking for a home, you should sit down with a loan officer to find out what you can afford to buy. You also want to think about what you're comfortable spending. Once you've looked at those things and have come up with a budget, stick to it.
  2. Communicate with your real estate agent. We're your best friends during this process, and we're here to help you navigate through all the properties, find out whether your financing works for them, negotiate the best deal possible, and get the best terms. We want to hear from you and help you.
    3. “
    Your Realtor is your best friend
    during the process.
    ”

  3. Shop only for you. For example, when I bought my home, I brought along friends and family, and of course, everybody had an opinion. At the end of the day, you're the one who needs to live in the home, so as much as you value the opinions of your friends and family members, you have to make the best decision for you and your family.
  4. Search for fixer-uppers. Homes in need of a little repair help you get a better price, especially if the seller knows that there are other homes in the area that are more modern and need less work. It also gives you the chance to put your own personal touch on a property. Your Realtor will also help you understand whether your financing will work for the necessary repairs. Some fixer-uppers might need too much repair for the type of financing you have.
  5. Save for a down payment. Although there are some programs out there that allow for 100% financing, most require some kind of down payment from 3.5% all the way up to 20%. The more money you put down, the more affordable the house is going to be.
I hope you find these tips helpful if you're thinking about buying a home. If you have any questions about the home buying process or you have questions about the real estate market in Southern Maine, give me a call or send me an email. I'd be happy to help!
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Location: Saco, ME, USA

The Top Three Reasons to Get Pre-Approved in Southern Maine




Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation
When you’re looking to buy a home, one of the most important things that you can do is to speak with a mortgage professional before doing anything else. Before you start talking with Realtors and looking at homes, you need to know that you have the ability to purchase one. You have to find out what you can comfortably afford before you start searching for homes.

Most home sellers will not even entertain your offer if you haven’t been pre-approved by a mortgage professional. Almost every buyer needs to speak with a lender before going out and looking for homes. Try putting yourself in the shoes of the seller. Would you accept an offer from someone who has not even proved whether or not they can buy your home? You probably wouldn’t even look at the offer.


Another benefit of getting pre-approved is that it will save you time in your home search. By knowing what you can afford, it narrows your home search and speeds up the process. Searching for homes can be overwhelming, but not when you know what you can afford.

Lastly, your offer is strengthened through the eyes of a seller when you are pre-approved. It is as close to a cash offer as you can get, and sellers like the convenience that comes along with this. It will definitely help to push your offer to the top of the list.
If you’d like to know of any mortgage lenders that we recommend, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

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Location: Saco, ME, USA

Why Is Clarity So Important in Real Estate?



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Clarity is power. What am I talking about here? Well, I take pride in educating myself, and I’m a lifelong learner. A lot of the extra training I do has to do with mindset and how to think. One of the most important things I’ve learned is that 90% of your thoughts dictate what happen to you in life, only 10% is what actually happens to you. Another one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that clarity is power.


What this means is that anytime you obtain the information necessary to make a good decision, it’s called getting clarity. And it’s powerful. Let’s say for example you want to lose some weight. To help you reach your goal, you may do some research, or reach out to an expert, or someone who has done it before. They will then be able to tell you exactly what you need to do in order to succeed. A recipe for success, if you will.

How does this tie into real estate? Well, if you want to sell your home, there is a recipe for success. In order for you to get that recipe, you need to reach out to someone like me, who is an expert in the Southern Maine real estate market. That’s where you will find your clarity. If you’re just starting out the process of buying a home, the first thing you should do is get pre-approved before even talking to a Realtor. Being able to get clear on something you want gives you so much more power to make the best decisions for yourself.

If you have any questions for us, or you’re thinking of buying, selling, or investing in Southern Maine real estate, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you!
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Location: Saco, ME, USA

Four Things That Turn Buyers Off




Spring is here and the market is starting to heat up in Maine. If you’re thinking about selling your home, you’ll want to make it as appealing as possible to buyers. Today we are excited to share with you four surprising things that turn buyers off in our market. Here they are:



1.  Dirty or crowded houses.
Cleaning and decluttering a home is essential before coming on the market. Buyers want to see your home, not your things.

2. New upgrades for specific tastes.
While upgrading a kitchen can give you a pretty good return, it needs to be done with neutral tones, so it appeals to the highest number of buyers possible.

3. Irrational seller expectations.
Be aware of how your home compares to other homes like it on the market. If you’re overpriced, it can be a disaster.

4. Bad listing photos.
Make sure online listing photos show your home in the best light possible and give a true sense of the space.

These are just a few of the things that buyers don’t want to see here in Maine. If you’re thinking of buying, selling, or investing in real estate, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you!
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Location: Saco, ME, USA

How Can You Avoid Buying a Problem Home in Southern Maine



Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation
You’ve probably heard of CarFax reports, but have you heard HouseFax? HouseFax reports are a new value-added service that we are providing our clients. We will give you a report on a property to let you know whether there has ever been a fire, any building permits are missing, it’s in a flood zone, or there are any general dangers you should be aware of. Essentially, it is a way of finding out everything you need to know about the home before you spend a bunch of money on it.

A HouseFax report is beneficial to sellers as well. If you originally bought the home from someone else, there might be prior insurance claims on the home. When a buyer comes along and starts looking at insurance claims themselves, and they see something you may not have known about, it sends up red flags. We recommend pulling a HouseFax report ahead of time so you can see if there are any red flags you need to address ahead of time before selling.

If you are interested in the value-added service, whether you’re buying, selling, or investing in real estate, please reach out to us. We’d be happy to help you with all of your real estate needs!
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Location: Saco, ME, USA

How Is Southern Maine Real Estate Performing?




Today we are going to talk about what’s been happening in the Southern Maine real estate market lately and what it means for you as a buyer and/or seller.
In many areas around Southern Maine, we have very low inventory. This is a great thing for sellers, because there are still plenty of buyers out there. Homes that haven’t been selling are selling now and some homes are going on the market and going under contract within a week!
Right now, we’ve got 54 days left until spring. If you’ve been thinking about selling at all, it may be a good idea for you to get your home on the market now before the competition has a chance to. Inventory will significantly increase in spring. By listing now, you will likely net more money than you would if you came on the market in the spring.

On the buyer side, rates did go up a bit in December. However, they are still incredibly low and some of the best we’ve seen in years. The only thing that isn’t so ideal for buyers has been the low inventory. A lot of buyers are having to wait for homes, and aren’t able to negotiate as much with the sellers because they are in control. We don’t know when interest rates will go up, but we do know they are extremely low right now and when they do go up, you will lose a lot of purchasing power.

If you’re thinking of buying, selling, or investing in Southern Maine real estate, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to speaking with you!

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Location: Saco, ME, USA
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