Sell Your Home This Winter!

Happy Wednesday Readers!

I think that Winter has finally arrived in Ohio! The Real Estate Market is on FIRE despite the cold temperatures outside! Grab your cup of coffee, keep warm, and let’s talk about selling your home this winter!

Have you have finally decided to put your house on the market, but you heard somewhere that it’s better to wait until the spring? Is it really better to wait? While I’m sure that you’ve heard that selling a home in the spring is a better bet. Flowers with beautiful colors are everywhere, thick green grass, and sunny skies make homes look their very best best, or so the thinking goes!

But…..Nope! There are very valid logical reasons why listing your house in the winter, rather than waiting for spring, can actually be the best choice! Of course everyone’s situation is different,  but here are a few things to consider when deciding when to list your home for sale.

1. Less Competition

It’s true that fewer people tend to list their homes during the winter months, but this means that your home has a better chance of standing out, as there will be fewer competing listings. Wouldn’t you rather be the only home for sale in your neighborhood, than have two or three of your neighbors also selling at the same time?

2. Motivated Buyers

It takes a little more motivation to bundle up and go look at houses when the weather gets cold. Not to mention that packing and moving in the cold is not much fun. But these small hurdles to house-shopping just mean that you will likely avoid wasting time with buyers who aren’t serious and ready to make an offer. The curious neighbors or “we’d like to buy a house in the next year…or two” buyers are not as likely to be making the rounds. Motivated buyers are more likely to be pre-approved for a mortgage and to know what they want, and so you are more likely to have showings turn into serious offers.

Another possible reason you will find more motivated buyers during the winter is that January is when many companies do corporate relocations. Someone who is being moved because of a job is not going to have the luxury to leisurely shop for houses for three months.

3. Buyer loans could be processed quicker

Because the housing inventory is generally smaller during the winter, lenders are less busy. This means that when your buyers are ready to go under contract, they can get their financing ready to go that much faster, and everyone can make it to closing quicker.

4. Homes listed in winter sell faster and for more money

The National Board of Realtors looked at 2011-2013 and found some surprising statistics. Contrary to popular belief, homes listed for sale in the winter sold faster (by an average of one week), were 9% more likely to sell within six months, and sold for 1.1% more money relative to list price.

There are so many different factors that go into the decision of when to list your home for sale, but if you are considering listing in the winter, or circumstances have forced you to list in the winter regardless, you should keep these things in mind as you weigh the pros and cons of listing now versus waiting until the spring.

As always, Josh and I are here to help you in anyway that we can, and are pleased to answer any questions about your home, or the Real Estate Market in general!

Thank you for reading 🙂

To get an instant estimated market value of your home emailed to you… click here!

To find out more about Josh and Kayla, HER Realtors… click here!

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Selling Your Home… What Do You NEED To Know?

Happy Thursday Afternoon Readers!

We have been quite busy here in the Real Estate Industry. With home prices all over Ohio steadily rising, and mortgage rates still at an all time low – it has been a perfect environment for both sellers and buyers alike. When Josh and I meet with sellers we sit down and discuss matters both big and small. When you are selling your home, one of your biggest investments, there is not detail too small! After our last appointment, I wanted to recap a few important discussion points that will be helpful if you’ve been thinking about selling!

1) Make sure that you are certain that you want to sell your home!
Now is not the time to have one foot in the door and one foot on the way out! When you and your family decide that it is the time to make a move, make up your mind and be confident in your decision to sell your home, and start the process. When you are ready to start the process call a Realtor, (Me 🙂 )! I know that selling your home may not always be an easy decision. There are more than a million factors that go into selling a home, but the biggest one is your emotional attachment to your home, and being ready to let go. While your memories are near and dear to your heart, you must be ready to move past them and make decisions based on solid selling advice from your Realtor, and not clouded by emotions. This first step is so important in moving towards getting your home sold, and can often be hard for a seller. That is what we are here for, as your Real Estate Professionals.

2) Pricing Your Home!
This point ties in directly with discussion point #1. When speaking with your Realtor, know that they have done extensive research on the value of your home (or at least we do). It is extremely important that you price your home based upon fair market value, and not how you feel about your home. It is crucial for you to remember that a buyer will only be willing to pay fair market for your home, and they do not have the emotional attachment that you may have. There are several factors that we use to determine a home’s value, but feelings on a home do not get factored in unfortunately.

3) All Things, Both Big And Small Matter!
A lot of sellers we meet focus on the “big” ticket items in their home in an effort to get a sale. While larger upgrades, depending on the location of your home, are very relevant – so are the smaller things as well! Stainless Steel appliances can go a long way in a kitchen in areas that the market is used to this being the norm, but what about your faucets, cabinet hardware, and sink? When getting your home ready to sell, it is important to think about the smaller items because often times they are just as important as the larger ones! Another great thing about making small changes to your home is that often time buyers actually appreciate the little things, and they don’t break the bank!

These 3 discussion items are the most common that we encounter when meeting with sellers. These items are both smart, and will put you in a position of strength when it comes to selling your home. Josh and I always tell our clients that in negotiating, it is always better to negotiate from a position of strength. We always put our clients’ needs first, and to help them accomplish their goals it is imperative that we help give them the tools to do so!

Thank you for reading, and be sure to check out our links at the bottom!

To get the market value of your home on today’s Real Estate market, click here!
To learn more about us, get our contact information, and our Real Estate background, click here!
Find us on Facebook, click here!

Tips To Sell Your Home This Fall!

Happy Thursday Afternoon!

If you are anything like me… you are ready to embrace fall! This happens to be my favorite time of year, and what is not to love about it? You have beautiful scenery, pumpkin spiced everything, and family get-togethers! Today we are going to talk about preparing your home to sell in the fall. We all already know that Springtime is one of the most popular time to list a home for sale, there is absolutely no reason to wait if you are ready to sell now. Buyers are on the hunt year round, and are prepared to buy anytime of the year. This can work to your advantage, especially if you know how to prepare your property to sell!

The great thing about this time of year, is that there usually are fewer homes on the market, so you have less competition. Having a home readily available can draw buyers right to you for a high priced sell, in minimum time. Take a second to read a few of these awesome tips to get your home in tip top shape to sell quick in the fall!

1. Embrace Fall – Just because you are selling your home, don’t skimp out on fall decorations. Keep the overall feel of your home in tune with the holiday that is approaching whether it is Halloween or Thanksgiving. Buyers will be able to see themselves, and their families enjoying holidays in your home. When a buyer can start envisioning themselves in your home… that is a great thing!
2. Make Sure Your Home Is Ready – Work with your Realtor *aka* “ME 🙂 ” to think of options and/or repairs to make your home the best it can be! Buyers appreciate things like good insulation, and energy efficient furnaces, especially when cooler weather is on the horizon!
3. Keep It Clean – Curb Appeal.. Curb Appeal… Curb Appeal. It is extremely important that no matter what season  you are selling your home in that you maintain the curb appeal to your home. In Fall, you especially want to make sure that the exterior of your home is clean! This means raking leaves, clearing out decaying plants that may still be lingering from Spring & Summer, and making sure that you keep it going because in Fall it is an ongoing process! While taking away the Summer plant favorites, bring out some Mums to really make your home have the feel of fall!
4. Let Your Realtor Help You Price Accordingly- This is a very important step, and without following through with this one… steps 1-3 are almost pointless! To sell your home, it needs to be priced to compete in the current market, no matter what time of year you sell! The longer a home sits on the market, the more prone that home is to gaining a stigma and making it an even harder sell! It is far better to price your home right THE FIRST TIME, and get the very best offer you can! Sometimes we use a strategy to price slightly below market value to bring in more buyers. The theory behind this strategy is that a well kept home, reasonably priced, will bring in far more buyers to compete with each other… than an over priced home will.

If you are serious about selling your home, there is no “bad time” of year to do it! Follow these helpful suggestions and you will be prepared to sell your home before Winter arrives… which brings a whole new set of selling tips!

If you are interested in selling your home, or buying a home… get our contact information by clicking, “here”

If you would like a fair market value of your Central Ohio home emailed to you just click “here”

How To Obtain A Home Loan & Buy A Home

Welcome Readers! It is Monday again, we’ve survived the weekend, and now we have to survive the week! I spoke to a few new home buyers this weekend, and as my clients usually do… they are inspiring today’s article! I want to talk to you today about home loans. The majority of home buyers obtain a loan to purchase a home, but if you’ve never purchased a home, or if it has been awhile… you may need some information to get you started. I’ll list the basics from start to finish, and by the end of reading you’ll be ready to call a lender to get started!

1. What is your credit score? If you’ve never checked it out for yourself… there is no time like the present. A website that I would recommend is www.creditkarma.com. This website is free, and you will get your credit report from 2/3 of the credit agencies. What is a good credit score? The scores between 740-850 will get you the very best rates on your home loan. Credit scores between 620-740, you will get marginal rates on a loan, and are still in a wonderful position to buy a home! If your scores are 620 or below, now is most likely not the right time for you to consider buying a home. If you fall between the 620 credit score, or below, and would like to know how you can raise that score contact me!
2. Get a pre-approval – If you fall into the category of a credit score of 620+, now it is time to talk to a lender. I have contact information for many lenders that I work with, and could happily give you a couple of referrals for you to speak with. A common misconception about a pre-approval is that it will hurt your credit score. Please stop believing this! It is not true! A pre-approval from a lender is a tentative commitment that a lender gives a buyer based upon these common factors: Income, Debts, Assets, and Credit Scores. What does a pre-approval do for you as a buyer? It will tell you exactly what you can spend on a home, thus making it one of the most valuable steps when buying!
3. Start looking for your new home! – As a Realtor, this happens to be my FAVORITE step! Now that you have steps 1 & 2 completed the fun part can begin! We can start looking at homes that best fit your family needs.
4. Don’t make mistakes at the last minute!-  As a Realtor, this happens to be my LEAST favorite step! More often than you may realize, buyers make these last minute mistakes while in the home buying process, and they ruin the entire transaction. Many lenders will need to recheck your employment status and credit right before you close on your new home. Do NOT under any circumstances do these three things: quit your job, take out any new loans (like an auto loan), or apply for any new lines of credit or credit cards. By doing any of those three things, you will likely be denied the home loan.

I hope that this article was short, sweet, and informative to you as a potential buyer. If you have any further questions, I am always open to answering any that you may have. It is my goal to give readers as much information as possible to make buying and selling real estate in Central Ohio a great experience, with me as your Realtor 🙂

Click, “HERE”, for my contact information.

Click, “HERE”, if you would like to receive a free & instant value of your home to your email!

It’s Time To Buy & Sell Homes In Central Ohio!!

Happy Thursday!! I know for many of you… Thursday is not nearly as happy of a day as Friday is… but in the world of Real Estate, my week is just starting to take off!!

As of today, Thursday 8/20/15 @ 3:24PM, I see that in the greater Columbus area we have 10,855 homes for sale! If you’ve ever thought about buying or selling a home, I can confidently say to you, “There is no time like the present!”

• If you have been looking for a home in the country with a little bit of land – I have it.
• If you have been looking to move to a home with more square footage to fit the needs of your growing family- I have it!
• If you are an empty nester looking to sell your large family home, and downsize to a smaller ranch home, or a condo – I HAVE IT!

Right now, there are homes ready to fit the needs of any buyer.

Contact me today if you have thought about buying or selling a home in Central Ohio… I’d be happy to meet you 🙂

Click HERE for our contact info – or if you’d like to get started on the search for your dream home today – email me at:
kayla.staup@herrealtors.com

If you’ve thought about selling your home, and would like to know what it may be worth on today’s market… click here!

Central Ohio Neighborhood Info! Thinking of moving, and want info? Read this!

Happy great Tuesday afternoon! I hope while reading this article you are in both good spirits, and good health! Autumn is slowly approaching, and the real estate market is still booming in Central Ohio! I’ve focused a lot of the last few articles on helping home sellers. Today’s article can be used to help anyone looking to buy a home, and may be unsure about a neighborhood or school district. As a Realtors, Josh and I cannot steer you towards any one neighborhood or school district. This is called “Steering” and is illegal! It is up to you as the consumer to show us where your interests are. When we tell our clients this, a lot of them just don’t know where to start. What I started to do is find some great consumer websites to help our clients get some really good solid information to help them make their decision making a little easier!

I’m going to list a few good resources that will hopefully provide any information a potential buyer may be looking for when moving to a new city! If you know of any additional websites that I can offer my clients, I would love to hear from you!

1. http://www.greatschools.org/
2. http://www.city-data.com/
3. http://www.crimemapping.com/

If you just look at the name indicated on the website, you can just about tell what the use of each site is. I’ve used these websites myself, and found that they were very simple to navigate, and user friendly.

Josh and I are always looking for additional real estate business in the Central Ohio area. We are currently welcoming new clients that are looking to buy or sell a home. If you, or someone you know is looking to buy or sell a home in the Central Ohio area… please contact us!

As always, thank you for reading and have a wonderful remainder of your Tuesday!

To learn more about us, and to obtain our contact information CLICK HERE!

If you would like to get a complete home value analysis sent to your email CLICK HERE

Buyer’s Agent? Listing Agent? Who does what in a Real Estate transaction?

In a real estate transaction there are so many key players, and it can sometimes become confusing to the consumer on who does what. What does the Buyer’s Agent do? What does the Listing Agent do? As the Seller, what are you responsible for? As the Buyer, what are you responsible for? I’ve written up just a quick cheat sheet to help you out a little, and hopefully you’ll feel comfortable knowing the roles from all sides!

Buyer’s Agent:
– Exactly what it sounds like; an agent that represents the buyer of a home
– This agent is responsible for educating their buyers on the real estate market and helping the buyer make the best possible decisions throughout their home purchase
– The Buyer’s Agent will counsel their buyers on property disclosures, and ensure that their buyer’s interests are protected in all aspects of the deal
– In Central Ohio, it is very UNTYPICAL for a buyer to pay for their Realtor. The Buyer’s Agent, generally speaking, shares their commission, and is paid at closing from the Selling/Listing Agent.

Seller’s Agent/ Listing Agent:
– You guessed it! This agent represents the seller in the real estate transaction
– This agent is responsible for helping the seller get the highest possible price for their home, in the least amount of time possible
– The Seller’s Agent is responsible for negotiating with the Buyer’s Agent on all aspects of the transaction
– This agent has a fiduciary responsibility to their clients (the sellers) and must always do what is in their best interest, even when it is not in the agent’s best interest
– In Central Ohio, the Selling/Listing Agent, splits their commission with the Buyer’s Agent when the deal is closed

The Buyer:
– Did you guess that the buyer is the person(s) in the transaction that is purchasing the home? If so… you’re right!
-The great thing about being a buyer is that, as a buyer, you do not pay a commission fee! You get to be represented by the Realtor of your choice (it should be me 🙂 ) absolutely free!
– Just because the buyer chooses to be represented by an agent.. doesn’t mean that you’ll cost the Seller anything additional. The Seller’s Agent will share the commission with your Buyer’s Agent.
– There are currently about 10,000 homes for sale in the greater Columbus, Ohio area. The chances of you finding your dream home… are pretty good!

The Seller:
– The Seller… you guessed it… is the person(s) in the transaction selling a home/ other real estate
– The Seller chooses the Realtor they feel best represents their needs ( pick me 🙂 )
– Generally speaking, the Seller is responsible for paying the commission out of the sale of their home
– In Central Ohio, the average and most common commission percentage is 6% of the sales price. As stated above, the Seller’s Agent is responsible for splitting this commission with the Buyer’s Agent. After the Seller’s Agent splits this commission in half, they also must split their commission with their Brokerage (which is anywhere between another 30-40% of the split commission).
– The Seller works with their agent in a partnership to complete the sale of their home for the best possible net price that can be obtained

In summary, as Realtors, we wear many hats… multiple times a day. We can flip from being a Buyer’s Agent, to a Seller’s Agent in the blink of an eye. I personally think that it is very important to be able to do so, and to be able to handle both roles seamlessly. It is crucial to be able to understand both sides of the transaction to fully help your clients, on either side of the table. As a consumer, it is important to know who is responsible for what in the transaction. Buying/Selling a home is the biggest financial decision you will make in your life, and the more you know the better prepared you can be!

As always, thank you for reading!

If you’ve thought about selling your home, and would like a quick market value analysis of your home sent to your email… click here!

To find out more about us, and why you should choose us to represent you in your Real Estate transaction… click here!

Real World Real Estate – VS – Reality TV Real Estate!

Happy Friday Readers! I hope you’ve made it through the week in tact!

Today I was in the office finishing up a closing file from a condo I closed on in German Village yesterday. We were talking about all of these Real Estate Reality TV Shows, and how they are absolutely NOTHING like Real Estate in the real world! If you’ve ever bought or sold a home… you know exactly what I’m talking about! I wish that everything the good ole TV said was true, but it just is not the case! Let me show you a few examples of why you should not “buy” into the Home Buying/ Home Selling/ Home Flipping – Reality Shows!

REALITY TV SHOWS BUSTED!

1)Buyers look at 3 homes, and then choose 1 of the 3 to buy – FALSE
The majority of buyers look at more than a handful of homes before making a decision to buy one of them! If you only had to take all buyers to three homes, all real estate agents would be jumping for joy, and fighting to the death to represent buyers!

2) The “Buyer” on TV, has not yet made their decision – FALSE!
There is no way to show the entire home buying process in one thirty minute episode. Buying a home can take 30 to 60 days! TV shows select consumers who are already completed, or almost completed with the buying process to simplify the show. Sorry… it really is all make believe!

3) All Real Estate Agents regularly make six-figure commissions – FALSE!
Trust me… no one wishes this one were true more than me!!! What the TV doesn’t explain is that the listing, and the buying agent split the commission 50/50 (in most cases) and then split that split again with their brokerage, and then pay office dues, marketing fees, and taxes out of that! It’s not all that it’s cracked up to be folks! A career in Real Estate isn’t for the faint of heart!

4) When you buy a home to “Flip It”, the only expenses you need to worry about are the repairs – FALSE!
This is probably one of THE most common TV lies! The storyline goes something like this: The buyer buys a super cheap house, fixes it up in 30 days, and then gets $30,000 more than what he invested… and there were no other costs! Boy oh boy… who could pass up such an easy deal? Sorry folks… when you buy a home that you want to make a quick buck on, there are still other costs to think about! Investors still have to take into account taxes, utilities, closing costs, insurance, interest, and in some cases commissions! While investing in Real Estate is a very smart decision… doing so blindly, and because you think TV makes it look easy… that’s a very bad decision!

Before making any kind of Real Estate decision, contact an expert; preferably me 🙂

To learn more about us click here!

To find out why we would be Happy To Meet You… click here!

The Realtor you choose… it matters!

Happy Monday Readers! I trust that you had a glorious weekend, and are hitting this Monday head on! I know I am! We had quite a busy weekend in Real Estate transactions ourselves! We got a condo in contract in German Village, and also got another new listing in Grove City. We are taking on a ton of business this year, and looking to double the business that we had last year.

While meeting with clients over the weekend, we got to discussing,  “what makes a difference in the Realtor you choose to represent you?” Well, I have hundreds of reasons you should choose us 🙂 but in all seriousness… what are the key things I find that clients are looking for when they are choosing us to represent them? I’ve thought of a few that I’m going to list for you here, but just remember… these are just a few of many!

HONESTY – Having an agent that is honest to you is extremely important. What is a great way to tell if an agent is honest, and a good choice? Ask for an address and contact info from a recent past client. Keep in mind that the seller/or buyer must give their permission to give out their contact information. If your agent cannot even pull one good reference out… it may be time to move on to someone else! (We have plenty of great references 🙂 )

STRONG NEGOTIATING SKILLS- As Realtors we wear many hats. We represent buyers in one transaction… and sellers the next. When you are choosing a Realtor it is important to have an agent who can understand both sides of the transaction to get you the best bang for your buck! When representing a seller, our job is to get the most money for our clients in the least amount of time. When representing a buyer, our job is to get them the best deal on their dream home, while negotiating things like: appliances, possession date, and whether or not that hot tub stays or goes. It is our job to be a voice for both sides. Your agent has to not be afraid of conflict, and needs to have the negotiating capabilities to get you what you want/need to the best of their abilities!

EXPERIENCE & PROVEN RESULTS- It is very common for a seller to choose an agent because they are a friend, a workplace spouse, or an usher at church. Sure, any one of these could be a GREAT agent…. but how do you really know? Selecting the first agent that you know, just because you are close to them could be a big mistake, and cost you thousands! When potentially choosing the person who you know closely think about these three things: Are they full time agents? Do they have experience selling similar homes? How many expired listings do they have, and why do they have them?  You will want an agent with experience, and proven results representing you, so think of those things before going with your cousin’s uncle twice removed!

FREQUENT COMMUNICATION-  Without a doubt, this is the #1 complaint I hear from the public regarding their current agent, or past agent; lack of communication. “My Realtor didn’t return my call for 5 days,” “The last Realtor I had didn’t explain anything to me!” … and on and on. Selling/Buying a home can be very stressful, and when you are not getting proper communication from your agent, matters can go from bad to worse quickly! It is very important to be on the same page with your agent in regards to how communication will work in your relationship. Some of our clients prefer calls, other texts, and others email. While communication styles are different… it must still be apart of the agent to client relationship! I recently picked up a cash buyer client, because an agent they were trying to pursue previously wouldn’t return their call. What a horrible way to represent yourself, and your business.

In summary… it is important to pick an agent that will be your biggest backer, your strong armed negotiator, and a salt of the Earth person!

Thank you for reading and to learn more about using us as your selling/buying agents… click HERE!

We would be, “Happy To Meet You”!

The Importance Of Curb Appeal!

Good Wednesday Afternoon!

I spent the majority of my evening out showing homes yesterday, and those showings helped to inspire today’s article. CURB APPEAL! My clients viewed several homes yesterday, and they expressed their displeasure in the curb appeal for at least two of the homes.

Now, when my partner and I list a home for sale, one of the first things that we encourage our sellers to do, is to walk in the home using the front door. Does that sound a little fishy to you? Well, if you think about it, when you pull your car into the garage, and walk into your home from your garage…. how often do you really even see your front door? The front of your home is the first visual a buyer sees before entering! Sure, they may be blown away by granite in every room or that full finished basement… but if when they are standing on the front porch while the Realtor is opening the door, and they look around and see chipping paint, broken porch railings, and a bird’s nest above your front porch light… it’s going to take away from some wow factor and the over all price they’ll dish out for your home!

So — before you think about selling your home… THINK CURB APPEAL! Here are a few things to check for:

1) Roof and Chimney (if applicable) – Your shingles should be intact with none missing, and the mortar between the bricks should be secure. Although expensive to have to replace… a roof or chimney in bad shape will discourage potential home buyers!

2) Gutters – You should repair and clean your gutters regularly! Nothing says, “poor home maintenance” better than weeds sticking out of a gutter!

3) Windows and Trim – Check the paint around your windows. If the paint is peeling, scrape and repaint! Replace any broken glass, and clean the windows from both the inside, and out!

4) Get Nice, New Numbers For The Home Exterior – Replace those old digits on the outside of your house, and give your address a makeover! Stop by a Home Depot or a Lowe’s and find something that matches your house!

5) Power Wash Your Home – Buy, rent, or borrow a power washer and give your home a good cleaning!

6) Rid Your Front & Back Porches Of Any Unwanted Residents – If while walking the perimeter of your home you notice a bird’s nest above your front porch light, or a bee hive hidden in your back deck… remove the unwanted guests immediately!

As always thanks for reading and to find out more about us… click HERE!

We would be Happy To Meet You!