Here are some frequently asked questions in Real Estate. If you can’t find you questions here, do not hesitate to contact our team. We are happy to help you!
Questions asked by Sellers:
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO SELL MY HOUSE?
There are many factors that can influence someone to sell. The market, interest rates, buyer demand, or simply you want to upgrade, downgrade, or have to move for work. Ultimately it’s really up to what’s best for you in your situation. However there are times that can increase your chances of selling your home. Besides what was already mentioned, the weather, holidays, and school year can affect the amount of people looking to buy. This can affect your sales process. However, depending on all these factors it is best to talk to a professional to go over all your options to determine the best time for you to sell in your unique situation.
HOW DO I PREPARE MY HOME BEFORE I SELL IT?
Walk through and pretend you are a buyer. If you would buy your home for top dollar, what realistically would you expect to be done? Landscaping, Sealing, updates, painting, and deep cleaning are some of the normal things you would want to do prior to selling your home. If you’re not sure where to start give me a shout and I’d gladly walk through and give you suggestions.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO SELL MY HOME?
This is dependent on how quickly you can get your home ready to be listed, how long it will sit on the market, and cash and/or loan type. Typically it takes a seller 1-3 weeks to prepare their home to be listed and then 20-45 days for a normal loan to close. Unfortunately there is no crystal ball to tell us how quickly you will receive an offer.
HOW MUCH IS MY HOME WORTH?
Many factors affect how much your home is worth. Current market trends, buyer and seller demand, interest rates, size of the home, floorplan, location, upgrades or downgrades, condition, and other relative homes that have sold in the area. This is why online estimates are incorrect and it is important to as a realtor. It doesn’t mean you have to sell but at least you have a professional to guide you in the right direction. All of those factors could be perfect, but it still comes down to buyer demand and the market.
WHY IS MY HOME’S ASSESSED VALUE DIFFERENT FROM THE MARKET VALUE?
The assessed value is used to calculate property taxes, and it's based on a set of guidelines that determine the value of the property. Market value, on the other hand, is based on the current real estate market and is used by consumers when buying or selling a property.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A LIST PRICE AND SALE PRICE?
List price is the price you listed your home for, and what you're asking/willing to sell it for. Sale price is the actual price you sell it for. Sometimes the sale price is higher than the list price. This can happen in multiple offer scenarios when offers go into bidding wars and exceed list price (aka: asking price). Sales price can also be lower than list price if an offer comes in lower and the seller agrees to take lower price.
HOW MUCH IS THE COMMISSION FEE? ARE REAL ESTATE COMMISSIONS NEGOTIABLE?
Commission fee is completely negotiable and can be dependent on the type of service you are being provided. Beware the cheaper it is, the cheaper service you could receive, selling your home is one of your biggest financial assets and you want the person handing that to take it seriously.
HOW MUCH DOES A SELLER PAY IN CLOSING COSTS?
Typically a seller will pay title fees and prorated taxes for themselves. This can completely change depending on how much title charges and how much taxes are for your home. Other fees a seller could pay are RE commissions, buyers closing costs, any repairs that were negotiated due to inspections, and any liens on the home.
QUESTIONS ASKED BY BUYERS:
WHAT IS THE FIRST STEP OF THE HOME BUYING PROCESS?
Talking to a realtor to determine if buying is right for you. If it is the next important step is determining your budget, and the only way you can do that is to get pre-approved with a lender. Check out my blog “What to look for in a home for First time home buyers”.
SHOULD I SELL MY HOME BEFORE BUYING A NEW ONE?
This depends on if you need to sell your home to use the money for the next one, if you want to try to keep your current home as an investment, and what the current market is like. Sometimes you can list after, other times you must list first. Did you know that there are bridge loans. A bridge loan allows you to use the current equity in your home to buy the next home. Then you can close, move, then list your old house without any stress!
SHOULD I DO A HOME INSPECTION?
YES. A home inspection give you an idea of what’s going on in the home you are about to buy. Reminder though, an inspection is just a snapshot of that current day.
WHAT IS A SELLER’S MARKET?
A balanced market is 6 months of inventory. When there is less than 6 months of inventory the market shifts to a sellers market. A seller's market is when there are more buyers than homes being sold, therefore the demand for homes is high. This pushes home prices to increase, homes tend to go into bidding wars, sell for higher than list price, sell quickly, with offers that will take homes “as is” and waive other items.
WHAT IS A BUYER’S MARKET?
A balanced market is 6 months of inventory. When there is more than 6 months of inventory, we are in a buyers market. This means that there are more homes listed than there are buyers. Homes tend to sit on the market longer, sell for list price or lower, and more items can be negotiated.
SHOULD I DO A FINAL WALK-THROUGH?
YES. If you can make it out for a final walkthrough, do it. I recommend doing a final walkthrough either a few days before up to the day before. This is a quick walkthrough that allows you to make sure the home is in the condition you are ready to receive it in. As well as make sure all items that might have been negotiated to be repaired. (If you do negotiate repairs it's better to look a few days prior to closing, that way if something needs to be fixed still, we have plenty of time to do so, rather than scrambling the day before closing. )
HOW DOES EARNEST MONEY WORK?
Earnest money can be for any amount. It is like a down-payment on your home and shows the seller that you are serious. Earnest money gets applied to your closing costs. Typically earnest can be around $1000 or 1% of total purchase price. But it can be more, and sometimes less.
WHAT KIND OF CREDIT SCORE DO I NEED TO BUY A HOME?
Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) baseline is 580 credit score in most cases, however every brokerage can tack on their own requirements for credit score and what they are willing to lend.
HOW MANY HOMES SHOULD I VIEW BEFORE BUYING ONE?
That is up to the buyer. Some buyers see one and make an offer and get it and love it, Others see 4-8 homes before they make an offer. There are also some people who can take years of looking before they make a decision.
WHAT IS A MORTGAGE AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
A mortgage is a loan. Kind of like a credit card, however once you pay off your home loan you then own the house outright. A mortgage payment includes house payment, taxes, and insurance.
HOW LONG CAN THE SELLER TAKE TO RESPOND TO MY OFFER?
This depends on what is written in the contract. If contract is left blank, they have 5 days to respond (KS and MO).
WHAT IF MY OFFER IS REJECTED?
This means they either didn't take you offer because they didn't like the terms, or they chose to accept another offer from a different party. If they just denied it and it's still for sale you could choose to change your offer and resubmit or you can chose to walk away and continue to look for another home.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I DECIDE TO BACK OUT OF BUYING A HOUSE?
If it is before you have an accepted offer then no harm no foul (unless buyers agreement says otherwise) If you are currently under contract then the ONLY true time you can cancel is during the inspection period. However if financing fell through, or no agreement was made during resolution, or if an appraisal came in low and neither party came to an agreement within 5 days, you could possibly cancel in specific circumstances but don't rely on it. (KS and MO contract)
HOW MUCH DOES A BUYER PAY IN CLOSING COST?
This is dependent on the taxes, insurance, title fees, and lender fees (if you are using a loan to buy the home).
