Selling Your Home: 3 Must-Knows Before You List

Sometimes the hardest part of selling a home is making the decision to sell it. Our homes give us roots, provide sanctuary, house memories and, hopefully, give us some financial security. It's a huge decision to sell a home.

Once made, however, additional decisions will come fast and furious, so take some time now, before the frenzy, to understand three salient points about the successful sale of a home in today's real estate marketplace.

What is Market Value?

One of the most challenging aspects of selling a home is determining the list price. Many homeowners will go online to find homes nearby that are for sale and base their price assumption on those that are most similar.

The list price of a home, however, is a fantasy. It represents an amount of money the seller thinks, or hopes the home will bring. Until the home sells, he may be right or he may be wrong.

Buyers set market value for homes in Shreveport / Bossier. What a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured buyer pays for a home is the home's true market value. Therefore, when pricing a home for the market, one must always look at the sold prices of similar homes nearby.

This is the method both real estate agents and appraisers use when determining a home's market value.

First Impressions Matter

Think back to when you were house hunting. Were there houses that you arrived at that you just couldn't bear to get out of the car to look at? Chipped or peeling paint, sagging window and door screens, and overgrown or dead landscaping do not make a good first impression.

Before you do anything else, clean your house, inside and out. Make cosmetic repairs, especially outdoors where the house makes its first impression. Even if it's merely a new coat of paint on the front door, shiny new house numbers and some fresh mulch in the planting beds, it may help folks want to see more.

Don't neglect the interior either. If you don't know where to start, take a look at some websites with ideas on how to declutter and stage the home.

Don't Attempt This on Your Own

I know what you're thinking: Of course a real estate agent is going to tell me not to take the for-sale-by-owner route. So, I won't ask you to take just my word for it. Let's look at the cold, hard numbers.

First, only 9 percent of homeowners attempt to sell their homes without the aid of an agent, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Of those, almost half said they took this route because they were selling their home to someone they knew.

The next most commonly stated reason that a homeowner gave for not using an agent was that he or she didn't want to pay the real estate commission. That's understandable when one isn't sure exactly what an agent does to get a home sold. Once you get a look at that list, you'll understand that you definitely get what you pay for.

You should also take into consideration the fact that a home that is for sale by the owner is considered a bargain to most homebuyers. Many will walk in expecting you to kick back some of that money you're saving by not using an agent. This is why, according to NAR, homes sold by agents sell for 16 percent more than those sold by owner.

Selling a home is a big deal and, thankfully, something we don't often do. When it's time to sell yours, start with the basics, as outlined above, and you'll be ready to list your home before you know it.

4 Common Roofing Choices for Your Home

Although often overlooked, a roof is one of the most critical elements of your home. If you're in the market to replace an old roof, or planning to build a new one, you have several common roofing types to choose from. Here's what you need to consider when comparing four popular roofing choices.

Asphalt Shingles

Easy to work with, modern asphalt shingles come in a wide variety of colors and styles. The traditional three-tab asphalt shingle – a form of strip asphalt shingles – still outsells newer architectural asphalt shingles, a thicker, heavier shingling that provides a rich, sculptured look to your roof. Premium asphalt shingles, sometimes referred to as laminated shingles, are distinctive in appearance. These shingles may look like "old world" shingles such as shake or slate. Premium shingles are generally more energy efficient and offer longer warranties (typically anywhere from 5 to 50 years depending on the asphalt shingle style).

Benefits: The advantages of asphalt shingles as a group include low initial cost, ease of installation and repair, fire resistance and the fact that they are DIY friendly. Additionally, if only one shingle is damaged or missing, you can generally perform a spot repair rather than replacing the entire roof. Some asphalt shingles offer mold, moss and algae resistance, and you can coat asphalt with treatments to seal and protect it.

Drawbacks: Asphalt is generally a short-lived roofing material. It also requires a lot of maintenance and is environmentally unfriendly, with premium asphalt shingles more efficient than the others.

Conclusion: While a good value, if you don't want to repair or replace shingles torn in storms or replace the roofing in the coming years, asphalt may not be the choice for you.

Metal Roofing

Benefits: With a typical life expectancy of at least 50 to 100 years, chances are good your metal roof will outlive most any other roof around. Metal is also fire retardant, so you'll never have to worry about any fire spreading to your home via the roof. Lightweight, with a variety of colors and styles, metal roofing is also environmentally friendly since it's energy efficient and recyclable. You can also install metal roofing over existing roofs, eliminating the need to tear off the existing material.

Drawbacks: Metal roofing is expensive. A low-end metal roofing product is at least twice as expensive as asphalt and most other roofing choices, and at the top end it may be four times as much – generally more expensive than any other selection but slate stone. Metal is also more difficult to install, which may discourage DIY homeowners. Some metal roofs may require periodic painting.

Conclusion: Because it is wind, storm and damage resistant, metal roofing is superior to most roofing products in terms of protection and energy savings. While more expensive initially, it will save money over time.

Wood Roofing

Typically made of cedar, wood roofing includes both wood shakes and wood shingles. What's the difference? A shake is rougher, thicker, and generally lasts longer. A shingle, on the other hand, is smoother, thinner, and more vulnerable to damage.

Benefits: In addition to a fairly good life expectancy, wood roofing is generally considered easy to maintain and repair. Wood roofing also allows you to choose nontraditional patterns such as V-cut and fish-scale patterns.

Drawbacks: Wood roofing costs more than asphalt, although less than some other choices. Wood shakes and shingles can also be time-consuming. Plan to inspect your roof at least once a year and to apply a preservative every few years to maintain your roof in the best condition. Wood is not fire resistant and it's vulnerable to storm damage.

Conclusion: Nothing beats wood in appearance, and a wood roof will age beautifully. If you live in a very humid area, such as Shreveport / Bossier, where mold is likely to grow on the wood or in an area vulnerable to fires, wood may not be the best choice. Some areas even ban wood roofs.

Concrete Tile

You may have seen a concrete tile roof and never even realized it. With a variety of colors and styles, a concrete tile roof (sometimes called cement tile) may even look like it was made from slate or clay, without the weight those choices entail.

Benefits: No doubt about it, concrete roofs are tough. Hail won't dent it, and winds won't blow the concrete away. Concrete tile also helps insulate the roof and may last longer than 30 years. During its life you can expect little to no maintenance.

Drawbacks: Concrete tiles are expensive – at least three times greater than the cost of asphalt and comparable to the more expensive metal choices – and difficult to install. Professional installation is recommended.

Conclusion: If the cost isn't prohibitive, a concrete tile roof may be the best choice for you.

When comparing roofing options, balance the cost, vulnerabilities and desirable features of each in order to select the roofing material that best suits your home and situation.

How to Depersonalize Your Home for Sale

Making the decision to sell your home begins a journey of a thousand steps. From hiring a real estate agent to getting the home ready for the market, there is a lot to do.

Luckily, homeowners have a tool belt full of items that make the job easier. The most powerful tool of them all is decorating – better known as staging. Done right, staging your home will help it sell faster and for more money.

Before you hire a decorator, or decide to do it yourself, you'll need an appropriate backdrop – a clean, uncluttered space. Otherwise, staging the home is like putting lipstick on a pig.

Why Declutter?

There are several reasons homeowners should clear their homes of the clutter accumulated from daily living. First, clutter makes people anxious.

The results of a nine-year long UCLA study show that there is "real psychological stress associated with clutter."

The last thing you want a potential buyer to feel is stress or anxiety when touring your home.

Since most clutter in a home is a collection of personal items, depersonalizing the home goes hand-in-hand with clearing clutter. Sure, all those personal items are what makes your house a home, but too many of them may hinder its sale.

Buyers need to be able to imagine what it would be like living in your home, surrounded by their belongings. Your stuff detracts from their ability to do that.

Depersonalizing: What's Involved?

Depersonalizing is the act of removing most items of a personal nature. Family photographs, souvenirs, collections, DVD and CD collections and framed diplomas, degrees and awards are a few examples of items to pack up and store.

Getting Started

Since you'll need boxes for the move, buying them now saves work later on. Buy several boxes for each room in the house, and don't forget newspaper or other packing material to protect breakables.

The best way to go about depersonalizing the home is to do it one room at a time.

Living Room and Family Room

Since this is where families spend most of their time, these rooms will most likely take the longest. Items to remove include:

Toy bins or boxes.

Toys (including pet toys).

Family photos.

DVDs, video games and CDs.

Excess magazines and catalogs.

Newspapers.

Craft items.

Clothing.

Kitchen

Now we move from the most challenging room to the easiest room to depersonalize – the kitchen. The biggest clutter catcher in this room is the refrigerator. Remove the magnets, sticky note reminders, kids' artwork and personal photographs. In fact, remove everything from the front, sides and top of the refrigerator. Unless it's decorative, pack it all up.

Many families use the kitchen counter as a mail drop. There's nothing particularly wrong with that, but mail is highly personal and needs to be put away, out of sight.

Bedrooms

Since bedrooms are the most personal of all the spaces in a home, they can be challenging to depersonalize. Remove family photos, of course, but you may need to go beyond that. Imagine a posh hotel room and remove anything from the bedrooms that you wouldn't find in one.

Bathrooms

Bathrooms tend to become cluttered with personal products. While it isn't necessary to pack these items up, it is crucial that they be put out of sight in cupboards and drawers.

Don't forget the shower stall or bathtub. Buyers will pull back the shower curtain. Would you want to be greeted by pumice stones, shampoo bottles or kids' water toys? Again, think of a posh hotel bathroom and try to imitate that look.

Home Office

The home office is typically one of the most cluttered rooms in the home and also a hot selling feature, so it's important to create a vignette that appeals to the target market for the home.

Attack the walls first, taking down awards, diplomas and degrees, and photos.

Clear the desk of mail, work papers and professional journals and magazines.

As you work on depersonalizing each room in the home, don't just throw the items in the boxes. Wrap and pack for the move and then take the boxes to a storage facility.

Don't forget to organize what's left in the room – it puts you one step closer to staging the home.


Feeling a little overwhelmed by the home selling process?  Talk with your real estate agent.  He can help with every stage of the process to take the stress out of selling your home.

How Homes are Valued | Realty 101 www.realty101.com

How Homes are Valued

Homes are valued a lot like everything else: They are worth what people will pay for them. The Maybach Exelero, the most expensive car in the world, sells for $8 million because that's what people will pay for it. By the same token, you can ask for $8 million for your Hyundai, Ford or Chrysler, but don't count on getting it – you'll get what the market says it's worth.

So, how do we know what a willing buyer will spend for a house? Although we may never be certain, by looking at the recent past, we can come up with a pretty good idea. This is why the market value of a house is based on sold homes that are comparable in various ways.

In other words, it doesn't matter what amount Tom, the next-door neighbor, lists his house for. The only thing that matters is what Jessica, your former neighbor, got for her house. List prices are fantasies while sold prices are reality.

Determining an accurate asking price for your home is vital, and the best way to find that price is by having the home professionally appraised. The second best way is to ask a real estate agent for a comparative market analysis. While both the appraiser and the real estate agent use the prices of sold homes as a basis, the appraisal process is a bit more in-depth.

The Appraiser

Licensed appraisers aren't house experts, but they are analysts, able to pull together myriad facts and statistics to arrive at a home's value.

To avoid a conflict of interest, most lenders adhere to the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) and use the services of an appraisal management company.

The First Step in the Appraisal Process

Shortly after you've accepted an offer to purchase, you'll receive a call from the appraiser to set up an appointment to see the home. The time he or she spends inspecting the home varies, depending on the appraiser, but plan on it taking at least 30 minutes.

The appraiser makes note of the floor plan and any improvements, and takes measurements of the exterior of the home to determine the square footage.

Step Two

The appraiser uses statistics from the multiple listing service, public records, or a combination of both to find recently closed sales that are similar in age, size, location and features to your home. Typically, the appraiser relies on sales within the last 90 days, but may go back as far as six months. They will also use homes within a 1-mile radius of yours.

The Final Steps

The final steps of the appraisal involve comparing your house, which the appraiser calls the "subject," to the comparable homes. They'll use a list of criteria that includes the age of the homes, size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, location and any improvements made to the homes.

They'll add or subtract value from your home depending on how it stacks up to the comparable houses until they arrives at the market value of your home.

What to Do if You Disagree With the Appraisal

An appraisal obtained by the lender is paid for by, and therefore belongs to, the buyer. So the lender won't send you, as the seller, a copy. It is up to the buyer to supply you with a copy if he or she is willing.

That said, if the appraised value is determined to be lower than what the buyer has agreed to pay, the lender will typically not lend on the property and the buyer and seller have some decisions to make.

The buyer can come up with a larger down payment (which brings down the amount of money he needs to borrow). Most buyers think long and hard about this option – nobody wants to overpay for a house.

The seller and the buyer can agree to split the amount that is over the appraised value, with the buyer bringing half the cash to the deal and the seller lowering the price of the home to meet his half of the deal.

Another option, and the one most commonly used, is that the seller lowers the price of the house to meet the appraiser's evaluation.

Finally, the seller can simply walk away from the deal.

Before any of these steps are taken, however, the buyer and the seller should review the appraisal to ensure that the appraiser used accurate information in his determination. Appraisers are human and do make mistakes. If errors are found, the buyer can notify the lender and ask for another appraisal.

Your real estate agent is a great source for pricing your home.

Congratulations on your decision to buy/sell a home.

 How Homes are Valued | Realty 101 www.realty101.com

      

                  www.ComeHomeToShreveport.com

Understand Your Credit Report

What is Your Credit Score?

Credit card companies and lenders rely on credit scores, which determine someone's chances to borrow money - and how favorable the terms will be. Scores range from 200 to above 800. Scores below 620 are considered risky; 720 and over are excellent.

There are five categories of scoring:

• payment history (35%); 
• amount owed (30%); 
• length of credit history (15%); 
• new credit (10%); 
• and types of credit (10%). 

Lenders receive your score and "reason codes," which are the keys to improving your score.

It is a good idea to check your own score yearly by ordering reports from the three major credit scoring companies: Equifax (www.equifax.com), Experian (www.experian.com), and TransUnion (www.tuc.com).

And be sure to notify the credit bureau of any inaccuracies you find on your report, along with copies of documents that dispute incorrect entries. Close accounts not in use and request that late payments older than seven years be removed. Verify and update accounts and account numbers as well as your address and Social Security number.

To improve your score:

• Pay your bills on time. 
• Reduce outstanding debt. 
• Build up your savings. 
• Don't fall for illegal schemes that help create a new credit identity.

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Wondering if it is the right time for you to buy that new home?  I would be glad to discuss your options with you.  Give me a call today to learn more about the current market in Shreveport / Bossier City or visit my website for more information.

Are You Ready to Buy a House?

Let's take a look at a few ways to get prepared to purchase a house.

Check Your Credit

The highest credit scores garner the lowest down payment requirements and lower house payments. Homebuyers with scores under 620 will find it a challenge to obtain financing and, if they do, they'll pay a higher rate.

You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report once a year. Make sure you order the reports at AnnualCreditReport.com, the only site authorized by the federal government.

When you get your reports, either online or in the mail, go over them, looking for mistakes or anything else you can challenge. It is not at all unusual to move your score up dramatically by disputing and having the agency remove even one negative entry from your credit report.

Pay Your Bills

Lenders determine how much they will loan by using what is known as a debt-to-income ratio (DTI). To determine where you are right now, add up all your monthly payments, including auto loans, credit card payments and any other debt. Don't forget to add in your current mortgage or rent payment.

Divide the sum of your monthly debt payments by your monthly gross (before tax) income and then multiply that result by 100. This is your DTI, expressed as a percent.

What is considered an acceptable DTI varies by lender, but they typically want to see it no higher than 36 percent.

If you find that your DTI is on the high side, pay off some bills or increase the amount you pay each month to bring down the balances. Also, don't take on new debt as this will negatively impact both your DTI and, possibly, your credit score.

Save Your Money

Loans from the Veterans Administration and USDA have no down payment requirements. FHA, on the other

hand, requires 3.5 percent of the purchase price as a down payment, unless your credit score is between 500 and 579, in which case expect to put 10 percent down.

For a conventional loan, you'll need at least 20 percent of the purchase price as a down payment on the house. Again, more is better – the more cash you put down, the better the interest rate. The amount of the down payment may also determine whether or not you'll have to pay for private mortgage insurance.

Don't forget about closing costs as you save – those are all those fees that can pack quite a wallop at the closing table. Some of the fees are negotiable, and the total varies. Use 3 to 4 percent of the loan amount as a ballpark figure

Arrange Your Financing

In many parts of the country investors are snatching up any house that's in decent condition and reasonably priced. Because they typically offer cash, their offers are the cream of the crop to home sellers looking for a clean transaction and a quick close.

Investor offers are mighty hard to compete against – especially if you go into the process unprepared.

When you look over a standard purchase agreement you'll notice a section regarding financing. It will typically state that the buyer has so many days to obtain a mortgage at specified rates and terms. If the buyer hasn't been pre-approved by a lender for a mortgage, there is always a chance that he won't qualify for a loan.

A savvy home seller knows this. Faced with multiple offers on his home, he isn't about to go under contract with a buyer who is a gamble.

Rule number one, then, when considering the purchase of a home, is to see a lender to get your mortgage preapproved. No, this doesn't put you ahead of an investor with cash, but it puts you in front of other buyers who don't have their financing arranged.

Make up Your Mind

As you get closer to finalizing the first steps toward buying a home, it's time to determine just what it is you want. One story or two? Condo or single-family home? Urban or rural? Determine how many bedrooms and bathrooms you simply must have and any other features that you can't live without.

Hire a Real Estate Agent

There is absolutely no reason to not hire an agent when purchasing a home. The commission is paid by the seller at the close of escrow, so the services cost you nothing. Not a bad price to pay for expert representation by someone who is legally required to protect your interests.

A good real estate agent is, overall, available to show you homes at your convenience. He or she is also familiar with the areas you've chosen for your house hunt. The right agent will follow your wish list to the letter, not wasting your time showing you homes that don't fit your criteria.

Congratulations on your decision to buy a home.

      

                  www.ComeHomeToShreveport.com

What is Debt-to-Income Ratio?

The debt-to-income ratio is, simply, the way that mortgage lenders decide how much money you can comfortably afford to borrow. It is the percentage of your monthly gross income (before taxes) that is used to pay your monthly debts (not your monthly living expenses). Two calculations are involved, a front ratio and a back ratio, written in ratio form, i.e., 33/38.

The first number indicates the percentage of your monthly gross income used to pay housing costs, such as principal, interest, taxes, insurance, mortgage insurance and homeowners' association dues. The second number indicates your monthly consumer debt, such as car payments, credit card debt, installment loans, etc. Other living expenses are not considered debt.

So a debt-to-income ratio of 33/38 means that 33 percent of your monthly gross income is used to pay your monthly housing costs, and 5 percent of your monthly gross income is used to pay your consumer debt - so your housing costs plus your consumer debt equals 38 percent.

33/38 is a common guideline for debt-to-income ratios. Depending on your down payment and credit score, the guidelines can be looser or tighter, and guidelines also vary according to program. The FHA, for instance, requires no better than a 29/41 qualifying ratio, while the VA guidelines require no front ratio but a back ratio of 41.

What if you already have a house or don't plan to buy a house for a good period of time? You still need to know and control your debt-to-income ratio so you can avoid creeping indebtedness, or the gradual rising of debt. Impulse buying and routine use of credit cards for small, daily purchases can easily lead to unmanageable debt.
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Debt-to-income ratio not only affects your ability to buy a home, but other purchases as well. Debt-to-income ratios are powerful indicators of creditworthiness and financial health. Know your ratio and keep it low. Your consumer-debt number should never go higher than 20 percent regardless. If you let it rise above 20 percent, you may:

• jeopardize your ability to make major purchases: cars, homes, and major appliances.
• not get the lowest possible interest rates and best credit terms. 
• have difficulty getting additional credit in emergencies.

If you keep a stranglehold on your spending habits and therefore your debt-to-income ratio, you can: make sound buying decisions, and refrain from frivolous credit purchases and loans.