Posts by : Tiffany Hereda

When you renovate your home, you want to get the most bang for your buck. Not only do you want to make your home a better place for you and your family to live, but you also want your renovations to add to your home’s resale value.

But what, exactly, are the features that will help your home sell faster?

According to recent data from Realtor.com (which analyzed more than 1 million single-family listings), the top three renovations that will help you sell your home quickly and at a prime price point are:

• A chef’s or gourmet kitchen
• A theater room
• A home gym.

These renovation projects were named the “most profitable home features for sellers banking on quick sales.”

Those three ...

When you hire a real estate agent to sell your home, there are obvious things you notice them doing to help your house sell. Things like: hosting open houses, bringing potential buyers on home tours, and marketing your property in multiple ways to make sure it gets enough exposure.

But when it comes to adding value to your home sale, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. A huge percentage of your agent’s job takes place behind-the-scenes, and they’re working around the clock to get your house sold — even when you’re not looking.

Here are 4 behind-the-scenes way your real estate agent is working to get your house sold:

1. Performing market research

When it comes to pricing your home, your ...

When you're looking to buy a home, you may wonder, "Does it matter if the property is listed with a real estate agent or the owners who are trying to sell it themselves?" Um, yes. It matters. A lot. The truth is: When it comes to signing contracts, handing over escrow money, and digging into the home's history, going it alone can end up costing homebuyers a bundle. The following are 6 reasons to avoid a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) home.

1. Are you sure it's legit?

via GIPHY

Unfortunately, scams abound and the real estate industry isn't immune. If you don't have an agent looking out for your best interests, it's easy to be duped. For example, would you know what a proper sales contract l...

Have you ever walked into an open house, or called a real estate agent about a listing, and within minutes, they’re asking you if you are “pre-approved” for a mortgage? If you haven’t, then you have never walked into an open house or called an agent. Or at least enough of them... Just wait. It’ll happen. And you’re going to feel like it’s pretty pushy for them to ask that.

It’s like a joke.

It makes you feel like telling real estate agents this knock-knock joke… You: Knock-knock. Real estate agent: Who’s there? You: Nunya. Real Estate Agent: Nunya who!? You: Nunya business if I’m pre-approved or not! Just show me the house, and I’ll get pre-approved if I even like the house. I can defin...

Thinking about listing and selling your home on your own? You might want to think again. According to the 2018 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers from the National Association of Realtors, FSBOs (for sale by owners) only made up 7% of home sales in 2018. And for good reason! Not only can selling your home without the help of an agent cost you time, energy, and frustration throughout the process—but it can also cost you serious cash. In 2018, FSBO homes sold for a median of $200,000, a whopping $64,000 less than agent-sold homes.

The Takeaway

If you're thinking about selling your home on your own, you may want to reconsider. Working with an agent will make the process of selling your h...

Chances are, if you're looking for a new home, you're ready for a change of scenery. And while that might mean just a new property or a new neighborhood, for many potential homebuyers, that often means a new city. And if you're considering buying property in a city other than the one where you currently reside, you probably have a lot of questions about the process. Will you have to fly to your new city every weekend to look at properties? Will you miss out on hot properties? Is it even possible to buy without physically being in your city? Buying a home from a distance certainly presents its own set of unique challenges, but by no means is it impossible. Here are four tips for buying a ...

When homeowners are preparing to put their properties on the market, one aspect is usually foremost in their minds: money. Setting the asking price accurately can mean the difference between getting an offer quickly and having a house languish for months, drawing little interest. With that in mind, it's important that potential sellers block out a lot of the noise that often surrounds the intricate art and science of pricing. There are plenty of myths that may cause sellers to lose sleep at night as they attempt to separate fact from fiction. The following are statements that can stand in the way of a successful sale.

1. 'If we keep waiting, a better offer will come along!'

via GIPHY

Thanks to record low inventory and heated competition, home values have been rapidly rising in markets across the country. But according to recent data, it looks like home price growth is finally showing signs of slowing. According to recent research from Redfin, home sale prices increased just 4.7% in August, capping off six straight months of declines and delivering the lowest price growth in four years.

The Takeaway

If you've been putting off buying a home because of the intense seller's market in the US, this is great news—low price growth means you won't be seeing the dramatic price jumps that have become commonplace in recent years. And as more inventory hits the market (accordi...

If you're thinking about putting your house on the market, obviously you want to do everything you can to increase the value before you sell. And if you want to add to that value without breaking the bank? Try a little paint.

According to Zillow's 2018 Paint Colors Analysis, which analyzed the effects different paint colors had on home values, choosing the right paint colors—and incorporating those paint colors in the right way—can make a huge difference when you list your home.

Which colors will give you the most bang for your buck? According to the analysis, painting your door black can boost your home's sales price by 2.9% while covering the bathroom walls in a periwinkle blue can ad...

A lot of people think the best time to buy a house is during the Spring market. And, it is... ...in the sense that more houses are listed for sale in the Spring. But, there's also a heck of a lot more buyers trying to buy those listings. The thing is, some of the houses listed back in the Spring don't end up selling. (Usually just because they were overpriced.) Now, it isn't like new listings don't happen in the Fall. There's always new listings coming on the market. But it's not like, just because it's Fall and not Spring, prices are necessarily going to fall. In other words, new listings aren't likely to list for a lot lower than you would have seen in the Spring. However, the homeowne...

True or False?

When you’re selling a house, you should bake cookies before a showing or an open house.

I guess you could say the answer is a hard and fast “true” because, after all, it can’t hurt. Who doesn’t like the smell of freshly baked cookies? But it’s also kind of false… It isn’t like you can Betty Crocker your way to a sale, let alone at the highest price possible. Your entire house still needs to be appealing. A batch of cookies isn’t going to hide bad odors enough or divert people’s attention from a messy house that needs repairs.

If only it were that simple...

Picture (and smell) this — a buyer shows up to a house and the homeowner has:

• Two dogs laying on the sofa (wet f...

1. Be flexible with your closing date.

This sounds so easy and simple. And it is. Many buyers simply cannot be flexible with their closing date. T...

When homeowners are preparing to put their properties on the market, one aspect is usually foremost in their minds: money. Setting the asking price accurately can mean the difference between getting an offer quickly and having a house languish for months, drawing little interest.

With that in mind, it's important that potential sellers block out a lot of the noise that often surrounds the intricate art and science of pricing. There are plenty of myths that may cause sellers to lose sleep at night as they attempt to separate fact from fiction. The following are statements that can stand in the way of a successful sale.

1. 'If we keep waiting, a better offer will come along!'

via GIPHY...

When you sell your home, you want to make sure you’re getting the best price for your property. The best way to do that is to sell when demand is high and supply is low. And if you look at supply and demand, there’s never been a better time to sell your home.

According to the most recent Home Price Insights Report from CoreLogic, there are four times as many renters looking to purchase a home in the next twelve months than there are homeowners looking to sell. And as rents continue to rise around the country, the number of renters looking to transition to ownership will only increase.

(According to Realtor.com’s most recent Market Outlook Report from Q4 2017, rents rose in a whoppin...

According to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors, home values are at an all-time high in 64% (or nearly two-thirds) of the markets across the United States. Single-family home prices increased in an astonishing 92% of markets, with 15% of metro areas seeing an increase of 10% or more.

While these price increases are clearly bad news for buyers, they're excellent news for sellers—especially sellers who struggled with negative equity after the recession.

According to a recent CoreLogic report, Evaluating The Housing Market Since The Great Recession, the average house price is now 1% higher than it was at the peak of the real estate market in 2006, which means even ho...

There’s no denying that it’s tough out there for buyers. The inventory shortage has created a market that’s more competitive than normal. As a potential buyer, you might be thinking “I should probably wait until next year to make a move.”

But if you want to get the best deal on a home, you should probably rethink that idea.

According to the most recent US Home Price Insights from CoreLogic, home prices are expected to rise 5.7% year-over-year—meaning a house you might be considering buying today will be 5.7% more expensive if you wait until this time next year to make a purchase.

What does that look like? Let’s say the house you’re considering making an offer on today is priced at $...

There are millions of homes bought and sold every year, most of them with the help of a real estate agent. However, there is still a segment of the population that chooses to go it alone when it comes time to sell or buy a home. There are different reasons for this, many of which aren't very good. The only good reason might be if you're an agent yourself, and even then, it might be better to work with another agent so that you're not letting your own emotion cloud your judgment. Here are some of the worst reasons for not hiring a real estate agent:

1. To save some money

You might think you're guaranteed to save yourself money by not hiring a real estate agent, but that's not true. It's ...