Posts by : Tiffany Hereda

You only get to make a first impression once, which is why curb appeal is such a critical part of selling your home. And while curb appeal is always important, it’s especially important now, when COVID-19 is preventing would-be buyers from touring the inside of your home as freely as normal.

While restrictions are being lifted, and life is getting back to some form of normalcy, you will likely still find buyers who are not entirely comfortable going into a lot of homes for quite some time. So, make sure to make the biggest impact you can from the outside while the effects of the pandemic continue to affect how buyers look for their new home.

A recent article from realtor.com outlined si...

COVID-19 and the resulting stay-at-home orders had many people putting their real estate plans on hold. But as restrictions are lifted and the country continues to open, it looks like the coronavirus has actually made people more eager to buy than they were pre-pandemic.

According to a recent survey from LendingTree, 53 percent of home buyers said they were more likely to buy a home in the next 12 months due to the coronavirus outbreak. There are a variety of reasons these buyers are keen to make a post-pandemic real estate purchase, including taking advantage of lower interest rates (67 percent), being able to save for a larger down payment due to reduced spending (32 percent), and a dr...

Ask any real estate agent if now is a good time to buy a home. Chances are good you’ll probably get the impression that it’s the perfect time to buy a house.

Makes sense, right? Most agents wouldn’t want to discourage anyone from buying a house.

However, it’s almost impossible to truly say that now is the perfect time for someone to buy a house without knowing a lot more about them and their entire situation. It depends upon their personal wants, needs, and qualifications. It depends upon the real estate market overall. It depends upon mortgage rates. And it depends specifically upon the price range and areas they’d be looking in.

There are a lot of variables, so you can’t truly ever s...

To say the economic news coming out lately has been disconcerting would be an understatement. Statistics concerning job losses, furloughs, and unemployment figures have pointed to upheaval in the global economy as a result of social distancing measures, which were put in place by governments to contain the global COVID-19 pandemic.

But according to recent data from Realtor.com, there is one statistic that should give homeowners (especially potential sellers) some comfort—home prices still appear to be on the rise. In the week ending April 25, the median home list price ticked up by 1.6% annually, compared to one year ago. The data comes from the 99 largest metropolitan areas.

To be sure...

The coronavirus is completely changing the real estate industry, and stay-at-home orders have presented unique challenges for buyers. Not only are they unable to tour properties in person, but, in some areas, they also can’t walk around the neighborhood and get a feel for whether it’s the kind of neighborhood they want to call home.

But just because you can’t explore an area in person right now doesn’t mean you can’t get a feel for a potential neighborhood—and whether it’s the right fit for you, your family, and your new home.

A recent article from realtor.com outlined strategies buyers can use to “test drive” a new neighborhood while they’re sheltering in place, including:

• Check out...

It’s no secret that having a better credit score can help save you money on your mortgage. But even though you know you could cut mortgage costs by bumping up your credit score, the amount of money you may be able to save is truly astonishing.

According to a recent study from LendingTree, the average borrower with a “fair” credit score (between 580 and 649) will pay $261,076 in interest over the course of their mortgage. The average borrower with a “very good” credit score (between 740 and 799) will pay just $219,660. That means increasing your credit score from “fair” (between 580 and 649) to “very good” (between 740 and 799) could help you save a whopping $41,416.

The Takeaway:

So,...

If your house isn’t selling as quickly as you’d hoped, now is the perfect time to reevaluate your strategy—and make your home as appealing as possible before the spring real estate boom hits in a few months.

But how, exactly, do you do that?

In a recent article on Forbes.com, real estate experts shared their top tips for reviving a listing, including:

• Switch up the lighting. Improving the lighting in your home is a simple and relatively inexpensive way to feel the home feel brighter and more open—and adding new light fixtures can improve the look and feel of a room, making it more appealing to buyers.
• Spruce up your outdoor space. Outdoor space can be a huge selling point to buyers....

Much of the country is practicing social distancing—and doing their part to stop the spread of COVID-19 by staying at home.

Social distancing at home can be a challenge and limit what you can do with your time. But if you’ve been thinking about putting your property on the market, this offers the perfect opportunity to get your home ready to sell.

A recent article from Redfin outlined different ways sellers can productively use this time at extended home to get their properties ready to sell, including:

• Clear the clutter. Have you been meaning to organize your garage, get rid of old furniture, or finally clean out your closets? Now is a great time to tackle any clutter-clearing proje...

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, social distancing is our new normal—and could continue to be the norm for the foreseeable future. But staying at home and keeping a safe distance from others isn’t preventing real estate agents from helping their clients or potential buyers from exploring and finding their dream homes—they’re just having to get creative.

Thanks to video conferencing tools like Zoom, Skype, and FaceTime, virtual tours are becoming the go-to method for real estate agents to show their properties—and for would-be buyers to continue to explore homes while they’re social distancing at home. Just how popular are these video walkthroughs? According to recent data from R...

A recent article from realtor.com outlined key strategies for keeping your home germ-free during the coronavirus pandemic, including:

• Kill germs before they enter your home. Leave cleaning supplies at your front door and disinfect everything before you bring it into the house.
• Immediately remove and wash your clothes. The coronavirus can live on fabrics. If you go out, make sure to immediately remove your clothes when you return home—and then wash them in the warmest possible water.
• Focus on high-touch surfaces. It’s impossible to keep every inch of your home 100% clean, 100% of the time. Instead, focus on keeping high-touch surfaces (like doorknobs, light switches, and remote contro...

There are currently over 16 million self-employed workers in the United States—and as the gig economy continues to grow, the number of self-employed individuals only stands to increase. But even though working for yourself is becoming more common, it still presents certain challenges when obtaining a mortgage—and if you want to successfully buy a home, you need to know what mistakes to avoid.

According to an article from Realtor.com, there are three crucial mistakes self-employed individuals need to avoid when obtaining a mortgage, including:

• Erratic income. As a self-employed person, you’ll be required to submit at least two years of federal tax returns. This proves to your lender th...

When you’re selling your home, the steps you take to get your property ready for buyers can mean the difference between a quick and profitable sale and your home sitting on the market for months. And often, the best steps you can take to sell your home are the steps that other sellers overlook.

According to a recent article from Realtor.com, there are a few often-overlooked steps you can take to help sell your home faster and for a higher profit, including:

• Make the right use of your rooms. You might be using rooms in your house for a variety of things (like a bedroom as a playroom or a den as a storage area), but staging each room to reflect its original purpose can help buyers see t...

Fall is officially upon us. And while it’s important to take the time to enjoy the changing leaves, mild temperatures, and all-things-pumpkin-flavored, it’s also important to keep in mind that winter is right around the corner.

Fall is the perfect time to tackle the home maintenance tasks that will protect your home when the temperatures dip into freezing territory. According to a recent article from Realtor.com, there are six maintenance tasks homeowners should plan to tackle in the fall to prepare their homes for the winter, including:

• Properly store your yard equipment. You won’t be mowing your lawn in the snow—so before it gets too cold, make sure to properly store your lawn equip...

When you go to sell your house, there’s a good chance you’re not going to agree with what a real estate agent suggests for a list price.

It’s one of the most common issues real estate agents deal with, and help homeowners understand.

Problem is… many homeowners don’t necessarily see it as agents trying to help them, so much as convince them to do something they don’t want to do.

Naturally, you want as much as you can get for your home. And, you’ll certainly have your own opinion on the value of your home. You’re totally entitled to your opinion. And it’s totally your call to ignore the agent’s advice, and list your house for as much as you like… if the agent is still willing to work wi...

If you consider buying a new construction home, there’s a good chance you’ll question whether or not you even need to use a real estate agent.

You might even wonder if there’s an advantage to not using a real estate agent…perhaps thinking you can get a lower price, or more upgrades thrown in, if the builder isn’t paying a real estate agent their commission.

Or, you just might not give it any thought whatsoever, and stumble into buying your new construction home, without having your own real estate agent to represent you.

So, do you need to use a real estate agent when buying new construction?

Technically? No.

Should you? Yes.

Beyond Just Signing A Little Paperwork

One reason people...