How to Determine the Value of Your Home

Are you wondering what your house, or the house you might buy, is really worth? The short answer is however much someone is willing to pay for it. The long answer depends on the market and whether you have reached out to a lender. Although it is wise to hear from a professional, it's also smart to do your own research. Knowing how to calculate your home's value with the help of online tools while gaining insight from a professional will better prepare you to buy, sell, refinance, or tap into your home's equity. Learn how to determine the value of your home:

Use Online Valuation Tools

A simple google search of "how much is my house worth" will bring up a list of home value estimators. These tools will use public records of property transfers, deeds of ownership, and tax assessments to predict your home's value based on recent sales and listings in the area. Take advantage of these online tools will help you gain insight on the current real estate market in your neighborhood and allows you to compare the prices of home against each other.

Get a Comparative Market Analysis

If you are ready to dive deeper into your home market value, consider asking a local real estate agent for a comparative real estate analysis. Although this is not as detailed as a professional appraisal, a CMA provides an agent's evaluation of a home to provide an estimate value. This is typically done for listing purposes, but can also be a useful tool. The agents at Choice Properties are eager to assist you with any needs, helping you get on the right track to selling your buying your home!

Hire a Professional Appraiser

Lenders will require an appraiser before they will approve a mortgage, but as a property owner you are able to hire an appraiser any time to receive a home estimate. Other key points an appraiser will evaluate include:

• Market: including the region, city, and neighborhood in which the home is located
• Property: Characteristics of the house, including improvements and the land
• Comparable properties: This includes sales, listings, cost, and vacancies within the area

Choice Properties offers you a chance to find the home of your dreams. We work with your budget and ideas in mind to support your ultimate vision. Call us if you are ready to check out the available inventory or to speak with a reputable agent who can assist you with your home buying needs.

3 Steps to Prepare Your House for Sale

Selling your house and preparing for the next step in life is an exciting moment. When putting your house on the market, there are a few key points to remember to help attract the best buyer. Here are three steps to prepare your house for sale:

Get Organized

The importance of cleaning and de-cluttering cannot be overstated. Some of the following ideas help to streamline the process to make it easier.

• Declutter before cleaning. Get rid of unnecessary and unwanted items. Donate them to charity or consider selling or giving away items on Craigslist or neighborhood share groups. People who recycle may be willing to pick up and haul away large metal items as well.
• Deep clean the house. The biggest investment of time will come from getting everyone involved to spiffy up the home from floor to ceiling. Kitchens and bathrooms are especially important. Clean the inside and outside of windows to create a better overall aesthetic for the home.
• Storage areas should be clean and organized. This ends a signal to potential buyers the home is cared for and not in a haphazard way. Keeping spaces up will benefit sellers.

Make Repairs

Problems with the house need to be taken care of prior to resale. Look for easy fixes that can be done without too much help from outside contractors (which can cost lots of extra money).

• Fix leaky faucets and running toilets
• Replace caulking around tubs, showers and sinks
• Freshen up and repair grout as needed
• Repair walls and repaint them in neutral colors
• Fix cracked or broken windows
• Replace or repair damaged screens
• Replace bulbs that are burned out

Curb Appeal

First impressions go a long way to making a deal on a property for sale. Potential buyers want to love the outside of a person's home before stepping inside. Extend spring cleaning to the outside of the home for maximum appeal.

• Trim bushes, shrubs and trees. Vegetation should not touch roof or siding.
• Repair broken downspouts and gutters
• Apply mulch, river rock or pea gravel where appropriate to improve landscaping
• Dress up the outside with seasonally appropriate plants to freshen up the yard along with hanging plants near the front of the house

With a little bit of elbow grease, a home can look good as new for potential buyers who are excited to see the beautiful, welcoming home of their dreams.

Choice Properties helps sellers and buyers get off on the right foot with tips, tools and resources. Call us to find out how our top notch realty specialists can assist you with your buying and selling needs.

Legal Benefits to Using a Licensed Real Estate Agent

Whether buying or selling, a professional, licensed real estate agent can provide great benefits in finding a dream home. Legal obligations to clients can provide a safety net for the client. Find out what legal benefits exist to using a licensed real estate agent and how to take advantage of the opportunity.

OLDCAR

The acronym OLDCAR is used to describe legal obligations afforded to clients by licensed real estate agents. The benefits included are listed as follows:

Obedience

If an agent represents an instruction with financial implications, the agent is required to follow it even if disagreement ensues. This pertains to anything that is legal and does not contradict a contractual agreement.

Loyalty

An agent is obliged to put the interest of his or her client above those of anyone else involved in the deal (including the agent). Loyalty gives the client a sense of peace and reassurance the agent has his or her best interests at heart.

Disclosure

If an agent knows any fact that is 'material' to the sale, the agent is obligated to share the information with his or her client. It is more beneficial to the agent to find out as many material facts as possible.

Confidentiality

The agent must protect his or her client's confidentiality. Any information about the client cannot be shared without permission to any other party in the deal.

Accounting

The agent is responsible for keeping track of funds which factor into the deal.

Reasonable Care

An agent must use 'reasonable care' and diligence while handling affairs of the client. This may end up being decided by a judge in court depending on the specific transaction being handled.

The Agent

Fiduciary responsibilities mentioned above only apply to a real estate agent working for the client. This includes having had a written or verbal agreement. An agent may come into the picture who is part of the deal but is not formally representing one's own personal interests. If the agent represents the seller, the obligation exists to the seller not the buyer and legal obligations do not apply to interactions with the buyer.

Every agent has an interest in maintaining good relationships with other agents. Agents can sometimes be too friendly if things get cozy and carelessly disclose information. Over-sharing may involve collusion where two agents work together on the side to structure a deal which benefits both the agents or a hidden outside party which goes above the client's interests. Getting a different agent is always an option if the individual no longer wishes to be represented by the agent or it is believed the behavior is unethical. The other option is to turn the agent into the company for illegal practices.