Leland and Carrie Howard

Featured

5 Tips for Buying a Home

By Leland Howard, Medway Realty in FL

Use a Real Estate Agent

Buying a home seems easy. Just find the right one and make an offer, right? Well, the process and transaction involved in buying a home is actually very complicated and fraught with potential problems for you. Using an expert Realtor agent to represent you in what is likely one of the most expensive financial transactions you will ever have is the smart choice. A Realtor does more than show you houses. The expert knows how to properly handle things for your benefit. An agent knows how to properly price a property and negotiate the best terms. Moreover, there may be as many as 20 (or more) people involved in a real estate transaction – title companies, underwriters, loan managers, inspectors, contractors, lawyers, other real estate agents, and, of course, the buyers and sellers. A Realtor knows when, how, why and at what cost things need to be done and by whom. A good real estate agent will assist you through the entire transaction, protecting you along the way, and ensuring that you end up in your new home under the best circumstances.

LET US HELP YOU – CLICK HERE.

Make Lists of What You Want

Knowing these three things is really important when searching for a new home: What MUST we have. What would we LIKE to have if we can find it. What do we NEVER want. We have been involved in a lot of transactions and we often see people start to get confused with the LIKE and MUST lists. When you start searching properties for your next home, it can be overwhelming and it is easy to forget what exactly you NEED in your new home vs. what you would just LIKE. And that can cause you to lose out on a really good property that you would have loved if you had bought it (all because in the moment you thought you NEEDED white cabinets, forgetting that was a LIKE and a fairly easy and inexpensive fix). Tell your Realtor your lists and let him or her guide you through the search process, focusing on that NEEDS list.

Don’t Expect an Older Home to Be Brand New

If you are buying a home built in 1995, you shouldn’t expect everything about the home to be in perfect, brand new condition. There are going to be some scrapes and bruises in a house 20+ years old. Don’t make the mistake when negotiating a purchase price of demanding that the Seller replace every appliance, the AC, the water heater, the roof, and repaint everything. If all of that was done, undoubtedly the price of the home would be higher. Remember what you are buying.

Always Get a Home Inspection

Please don’t make the mistake of choosing not to get a home inspection so you can save a few hundred dollars. Again, home inspectors are experts. They crawl around homes all day, every day. They know more about the conditions of homes than you do – no matter how many basements you’ve drywalled or new outlets you’ve put in. Take advantage of the opportunity to have a real expert examine the home and identify any potential costly issues BEFORE you continue with the transaction.

Get Your Financing in Order

It is best if you actually talk to a lender or mortgage broker before you start seriously searching for homes. This will give you an idea of what you can afford and how much it will cost. These answers will guide your home search. A lender will give you a basic pre-approval letter that will be necessary to send along with any offer – so you don’t want to be in a position where you’ve found a house you love but don’t have the necessary paperwork to actually make an offer. Further, if you need to repair some credit or save a little more before proceeding, a lender can let you know those things as well and give you some advice about how to move forward.

Buying a home can be one of the most fun, yet challenging, things you ever do. Make sure you plan ahead, use experts, and get the home that is perfect for you.

Featured

6 Things to Consider When Selling Your Home

by Leland Howard, Medway Realty in FL

Why are you selling?

You want to ask yourself – “Why am I selling my home?” Are you selling because you have a new job and need to relocate? Are you retiring to a new location? Are you ready for a life free of shoveling snow? Are you moving to be near family? Are you ready to cash in on your equity that has been accumulating in my property over the years?

The answer to these questions will help you and your Realtor determine the timing of your sale, the flexibility in pricing and whether any improvements need to be done prior to listing. So, what is your motivation for selling?

2. Get it ready.

It is important to get your house ready for the market. With your Realtor helping you, determine areas and items in your home that may need to be repaired, updated or changed prior to listing your home. It’s not a bad idea to have a pre-inspection performed on your home. For the cost of a few hundred dollars you will have valuable information that any buyer will eventually obtain and have the opportunity to address anything that the inspection reveals.

Some things may cost some money – like a new coat of paint, repairs to screens, and installation of new appliances. However, there is a lot you should do that won’t cost anything but are just as important: keep the lawn and landscaping well manicured (even plant some flowers) because how your home looks from the street is the first impression for a potential buyer; de-clutter your home – a lot; remove and store knick-knacks, personal family photos, items on the kitchen counter, everything from the front of the refrigerator, and messy office areas; and, organize your closets – they are a big selling point and a tidy closet looks bigger.

3. Hire the right Real Estate Agent.

Don’t try to sell your home yourself. You hire experts all of the time because they are the experts – doctors when you are sick, lawyers when you have a legal issue, dentists for your teeth, etc. Real estate is no different. Studies show that people who attempt to sell their home on their own receive an average of 26% less on their sale. That’s way more than the commission you pay a real estate agent. Hire someone who knows what they are doing, who has marketing experience, who knows how to negotiate real estate transactions, and who can manage the paperwork and transaction. Hire an expert that will do a great job of selling your home, on your time table and at the highest price. Don’t choose one just because they will charge 1% less in commission. That is short sighted and will actually cost you more in the long-run.

4. Always be ready to show your home.

One of the biggest mistakes we see sellers make is not having their home available for showings. You should be 100% ready, all of the time, to be able to leave your home at a moment’s notice and have it shown by a potential buyer. You never know where the real-deal offer is going to come from. Why would you want to exclude a potential buyer – just because you don’t like getting up early, or because it will be a hassle to leave your home for an hour in the evening? Not showing your home to ANY potential buyer at any time is self-destructive to your goal of selling your home at the highest price. Always be available.

5. Don’t take offers personally – be flexible.

You are eventually going to get an offer to buy your home, but it is likely not going to be the perfect offer at first. Avoid getting mad. Avoid getting your feelings hurt. We know – this has been your home for a long time and it is perfect to you – but a Buyer is looking at it from a different perspective. That isn’t saying anything bad about you or your home – it is just a different viewpoint.

When an offer does come in, listen to your realtor. Ask questions about the good, the bad and the ugly points of the offer. Talk it through with him or her. Then, make a decision about whether to accept, make a counter-offer, or reject it. But always remember, it is a financial transaction – not a dialogue about the history and memories you have in the home – those aren’t for sale along with your house!

6. Have a plan for moving.

Know where you are going to go after your house sells. Have a moving plan. It is rare that the sale of your current home and your new home will close on the same day. There is likely going to be some time gap in between. Have a solid plan of where you are going to go – you and your stuff – in the interim if need be. You will have enough going on as your home closing approaches, this isn’t something to try to pull together at the last minute (way too much stress).

Carving a Great Pumpkin …

From Leland Howard, Medway Realty, Sarasota, FL

For years, I have enjoyed watching Bob Vila. He has great home ownership tips on almost every subject. This is an article from 2020 that he wrote about creating a fun jack-o-lantern. Enjoy!

To ensure your jack-o’-lantern is primed for Halloween, follow these tips.

While Halloween may look a little different this year, there’s no reason you can’t still have an amazing outdoor display. If you’re not interested in shelling out big bucks for a 12 foot animatronic skeleton, or if your style is more autumn chic than gothic gore, you have plenty of options when it comes to the traditional jack-o’-lantern. Before you cut into your sacrificial squash, check out these top tips for making a carv-tastic display.

Pumpkin selection

There are no rules for what size or shape makes for a great jack-o’-lantern. Any pumpkin can rise to ghoulish greatness. Do look for a pumpkin that isn’t bruised and has no mold around the stem. Who wants to cut into a rotted pumpkin? Also, look for a pumpkin with a flat bottom that will sit firmly without rocking.

Tools

Every job is made easier by the right tools. A kitchen knife is not the best — or safest — thing to use for pumpkin carving. You can get a set of pumpkin carving tools at many hardware or drug stores around Halloween, but you can also use items already in your possession — power drills, awls, wood gouges or even cookie cutters. Don’t forget a big spoon to scoop out the guts!

Carving

Rather than giving your jack-o’-lantern a cap by cutting it at the top, draw a circle on the bottom of your pumpkin and cut your opening there, making sure to angle your blade toward the center to create a ledge for support of the finished cut area. Clean out the guts (save the seeds and roast them for your post-carving snack!) and scrape the insides of your pumpkin until they are about an inch thick in the areas you plan to carve. If you’re using a pattern, tape it on and transfer it by tracing with a poking tool. Then you’re ready to carve! If you’re using a pumpkin saw, it’s easiest to keep the pumpkin on your lap, holding the saw like a pencil and using a steady up-and-down motion. Saw at a 90-degree angle with gentle pressure.

Preservation

To extend the life of your jack-o’-lantern, spritz it with water and keep it in the refrigerator while it’s not on display. Spread some petroleum jelly on the cut edges to keep them from drying out. If your pumpkin starts to shrivel, submerge it in cold water for a couple of hours. It should come back to life. Just make sure to dry it well on the inside to avoid mold. You can also ward off mold and insects by spraying or soaking the pumpkin with a water-and-bleach solution.

Display

If you are using a candle, cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin toward the back to act as a chimney for smoke and heat. A candle will be more secure if you drill a hole for it. You can also use battery-operated LEDs, Christmas lights or even a nightlight to illuminate your pumpkin. If you carve a design in the back of your jack-o’-lantern, you’ll produce a shadowy effect on the wall behind it, making it extra spooky!

However you choose to carve your jack o’ lantern, use your creativity and have fun.

By: Bob Vila at BobVila.com October 2020

Sellers Who Repaint the Bathroom May Earn $5K More

From: Leland Howard, Medway Realty in Sarasota, FL

Check out this recent article from the Orlando Sentinel (quoted in it’s entirety) that we found interesting:

While sellers’ ultimate goal might be presenting a home that looks like new, a study found that even small improvements can translate into higher resale values.

ORLANDO, Fla. – A new study from Zillow found that every little home improvement helps.

Rather than spend thousands of dollars on expensive home renovations, the study found that something as simple as painting the walls light blue can improve a home’s price by up to $5,000.

Zillow tested 15 paint colors, ranging from blues to shades of grey, to see what colors in selected rooms would increase buyer interest or willingness to pay more for the house. The survey of nearly 1,300 recent or prospective U.S. home buyers found that a light blue bathroom wall was a hit, leading home buyers to offer 1.6% more for the house – almost $5,000 on a $290,000 home.

Colors like gray, dark gray, light yellow and off-white fared well as backups for the bathroom. A dark blue bedroom and a white kitchen also sparked buyer interest.

However, some colors turned buyers off, including a bright red kitchen, which led one potential buyer to offer $1,500 less on the home.

“Homeowners who are preparing to list their home for sale can be strategic about the paint colors they select to get the most bang for their buck,” says Amanda Pendleton, Zillow’s home trends expert. “Interior painting averages $385 per room, but the right colors can pay for themselves.”