Top 5 Questions We Get About Real Estate

For anyone that has bought or sold a home, you already know how complicated the process can be! As your real estate experts, we are here to help make the process less stressful and answer any question you may have. This week, we wanted to highlight the Top 5 Real Estate Questions we get. They may be something that you wonder as well!

1. How long does the process to buy a home typically take?

   Finding and buying a home can be slightly different for everyone! It completely depends on your goals on when you aim to be in a home. In general, most of our clients actively search for a home for anywhere from 1 week - 2 months before making an offer. In the current market, homes can fly off the market quickly, so once you are actively searching, the biggest thing is to be ready to make an offer on a home if you really like it.

   Once an offer is accepted, it's usually a 30 - 60 day waiting period until the closing. All in all, you probably want to plan a minimum of 2 months if you have a hard deadline, but 3 to 4 months of total time should give you enough time to find the right home and be able to close when you are ready.

2. Am I really going to find what I want in this market?

   Obviously, we can't make any hard guarantees, but 9 times out of 10 YES you will find a home that is right for you and your family! The key thing to remember is that no house is 100% perfect. Most of the time you will need to make a few adjustments once you are in the home even if it appears "perfect". Part of our job is to help you find something that will check the most items on your list, and give you something that is in your comfort range to work with.

   When looking for a home, we recommend that you pick about 5 must haves and 5 would like to haves, also known as just bonuses. Most of the time, if the house has items that are the must haves on your list, you will probably love it. Mallory talked about how they used their list in her post about buying her first home, you can read about it here.

3. Should we find a home before we sell our house?

   This is something that is dependent on your situation. In the market we're currently in, it can be challenging to buy a house if you still are contingent on the sale of your current home. The challenge comes in usually in a multiple offer situation where another offer may not be contingent, and it stands out to the seller as a "stronger" offer. However, the market changes day to day, so it doesn't necessarily mean it's impossible. We would be able to meet with you and help you determine what the best game plan might be depending on your timing.

   In some cases, we may refer you back to your lender to see if they can help find a solution so you could buy a home non-contingent on the sale of your current home. This can appear better to a seller when you submit a purchase agreement in some instances. If you need a lender to talk to, we have a few that our clients have worked with and had great experiences with.

4. What is the showing process?

   Showings differ depending on if you are buying or selling! Here's what to expect for each:

   As a Seller: Part of our strategy is put your home on the market at a time right before a weekend to try to drive a high volume of showings over that first weekend. You will need to make your home "showing ready". We have a list of items to do to help make your house shine prior to showings. Many times, we may recommend that you just get out of the house or out of town for the first weekend so you don't even need to worry about tidying up.

   Showings are usually scheduled for about an hour and you should plan to be out of the home for them. The buyers agent will be with the buyers in the home to walk them through. You should also prepare that people may be running late times, so it may last a little longer than the hour scheduled.

   As a Buyer: In finding you the right home, we try to find the top 5-7 homes that fit what your looking for. We do not recommend seeing more than that in one day, as it can be extremely overwhelming. Trust us, when you're going through trying to picture it in every home, you'll be worn out. This also will keep us from seeing homes that do not fit some of your top needs so we don't waste your time, or the sellers.

   We always try to give the seller as much notice as possible as well. This will give them time to tidy up, or to have enough time to get out of the home. Being prompt is also extremely important as a buyer. If you know you're going to be late, please always let us know ASAP so we can warn the sellers. The showing is meant to help you determine if it's the home for you, so take a good look around and feel free to look in storage rooms/closets, but ALWAYS respect the sellers personal items.

   If you really like a home, but need to see it again before making an offer, we can always schedule another showing. We provide feedback to the sellers after a showing so they know if we have any interest in the home.

5. Are there any renovations worth the time and money for us to do prior to selling?

   This is a great question and something many sellers consider! We have discussed top returns on renovations in a prior post that you can read here. For really large projects, like a complete kitchen remodel or bathroom remodel, it may not make sense for your budget to do it right before you would sell. However, if you can enjoy it for a year or two, those are two areas that buyers are generally most concerned with.

   If you are looking for a way just to spruce it up a bit, we will have our interior designer come meet with you to help. Many common updates we would recommend might be:

   Fresh paint through the home
   New countertops in kitchen & bath
   Updated hardware & light fixtures
   New kitchen appliances