tamparealestate Archives | Home Solutions Real Estate Team

ADD A SPRING TOUCH TO YOUR HOME

Even if the weather isn’t cooperating quite yet – spring is on the way! Cheering up your home with some spring decor is the perfect way to prepare for warmer days and more sunshine. Here are some options to prepare your home for the next season!

ADD AN HERB GARDEN

While they may not last outdoors with the sporadic weather of spring, bringing potted herbs into your home and letting them soak up sunlight in a kitchen window is the perfect way to add life to your home and have access to fresh herbs while you’re cooking.

THINK SPRING

If you are all about DIY-ing, creating simple decorations can add a pop of seasonal color to your home. Take that pair of rain boots you don’t wear anymore and turn them into planters – add bright floral arrangements and use your new decor item as an inviting piece by your front door.

POPS OF COLOR

Neutral and sleek is all the rage right now, but adding a pop of color in your normal decor can add a cheerful touch to your home. Swap out your kitchen napkins or tablecloth with something a little bit more colorful, like soft blues or pinks. Small changes can do enough to make your home feel different without being overwhelming.

FLORALS ARE ALWAYS THE ANSWER

Whether or not you already include florals in your home decor, take the time to swap out or add something new that feels like spring. While fresh flowers are a great choice, consider picking up some faux florals for the majority of your decor and saving the fresh flowers for a centerpiece. Don’t be afraid to add pops of color, specifically yellows and pinks, to create a focal point for the room.

TOUCH UP TIME

Is there a room in your home that is just feeling drab? Maybe it is dark and uninviting, or maybe it has white walls that have started to fade. While you are spring cleaning, consider adding a fresh coat of paint to a place in your home that needs a boost of light. Spring is all about being fresh and new, so your home should feel that way too!

SPRING FORWARD INTO YOUR NEW HOME

This past weekend, we turned our clocks an hour ahead as we ‘sprang forward.’ You may have lost an hour of sleep, but that doesn’t mean you should lose hope on finding a home you love. If you’ve been thinking about buying a home but haven’t seen anything on the market that checks off the list of everything you’ve been looking for, this spring might just be when your dream home hits the market. At the end of every year, we see a major drop in the housing inventory. Homeowners are less likely to sell in the winter months, and most closings happen before it gets too cold. The good news for you is that this encourages sellers to put their homes on the market after the new year when both the weather and the market start to warm up again!

We have seen the inventory climbing, and we expect spring to bring the biggest jump in available homes. So why should you buy now, if this is a yearly spring trend? According to CoreLogic, a leading provider for housing market statistics, home prices are projected to increase by 4.3% over the next year. If you’re thinking of waiting a few seasons, think again. Get a head start and beat the summer rush and higher prices.

Don’t wait to find your dream home – save some of your hard-earned money and call us. We’ll help you spend spring in your new house!

First-Time Buyer Advice

If you’ve never purchased a house before, you may have no idea where to begin when preparing to become a homeowner. You may be on the fence about buying, or you may feel like you are ready to buy a home today. Either way, these tips can help anyone feel a little more prepared for their first home purchase!

MONEY IS KEY

It is easy to begin scrolling through beautiful homes on the market without considering your budget. Sale postings can be all over your social media feeds, tempting you to just take a peek. While looking can be fun and exciting, you should prepare financially before you start eyeing any homes. It is much better to know what your price range is so you don’t fall in love with a house you just can’t afford (for now!)

MAKING A LIST, CHECKING IT TWICE

While you need to be realistic and recognize that you likely are not going to find a home with every single thing you wish to have in a house, making a list of the things that are a priority for you (room count, big backyard, master walk-in closet, etc.) will help you to make sure you’re only looking at houses that will fit your wants and needs.

PHOTOS DON’T TELL THE WHOLE PICTURE

It is easy to fall in love with a home after seeing the listing photos. These perfectly lit, well-staged photos show off houses in their best light, but that doesn’t mean you are getting the whole story. Listing photos are a great place to start, as they will help you to narrow down your options. Unfortunately, there are home traits that may not be portrayed well in photos, whether it be low ceilings, a drafty build, or anything in between. Once you’ve made a short list of the homes that appear to be a fit for you, always do a home tour.

THAT GUT-FEELING

If you walk into a house and it feels like home, trust your gut. There is no better way to know if you should buy a home than seeing how you feel when you walk through the front door. Your home purchase will probably be one of, if not the largest, purchase you’ve made in your life so far. Pictures can only do so much, and nothing can help you decide whether or not a house is made for you better than getting inside it!

NOTHING ELSE WILL DO

Do you get upset at the thought of losing the house you just toured to someone else? Does it already feel like home when you are inside? These are two signs that you have found the home for you! If you see a home and are ready to stop looking at others, you are one step closer to buying a home you will love.

THE BEST AGENT

Finding a great real estate agent is going to be the part that ties everything together. A quality agent will help you find homes within your budget that possess your must-have items and they’ll offer you guidance through every step of the process.

If you’re looking for a real estate agent to help you find and buy your first dream home, call us today!!

Simple Tips For Your Next Open House

Selling your home can feel like a daunting task, but it shouldn’t. It is our job as agents to walk you through every step, including your open house. We are going to give you all the tools we have to ensure that your home has the most potential to sell when someone walks through the front door. Your open house is the best place to make a lasting impression on potential buyers. While online listings can provide a glimpse into what your house looks like, buyers are able to really see if your house feels like a home to them during an open tour. Here are some tips that will help you maximize the chances of a potential buyer falling in love with your home:

1. Temporarily remove personalized items in your home. When a potential buyer is touring your house, they want to be able to feel at home. While staging the house to look like a home is important, removing items like family photos can help the space feel more personal to buyers, rather than an intrusion into someone else’s house.

2. Keep it simple. While you may be adjusted to the clutter that comes with everyday life, a potential buyer is going to notice messes you don’t even realize are there. Cleaning closets, putting away toys, and other organizational practices will help remove any distractions from your house that could put a bad taste in the mouth of a potential buyer.

3. Don’t create a ‘no-go’ zone. While it may be easy to use a room or a closet as a place to hide clutter, creating a space where potential buyers are not allowed can easily turn them away. Keep in mind that they are considering making your home their own, so they are going to want to see every part of it.

4. Keep your children and pets out of the house. While plenty of people love babies and puppies, it is easy to get distracted by a dog who won’t stop barking while someone is trying to tour your home. Use this time to take a trip to the park or set up a play date for your children – even the furry ones – so I can sell your home while you relax!

Let’s get in touch! We will get your house sold in no time.

Make That Small Closet Look Bigger

If there is one thing that can turn a potential client away from a home they may be on the fence about, it is a tiny master closet. When a potential buyer falls in love with your large bedroom only to find that the closet is a fraction of the size they expected it to be, it could make them want to keep looking at other houses on the market. While that may not be the case for everyone, there are plenty of women (and men) who enjoy having a nice closet space. While you may not be able to expand the square footage, here are some steps you can take to make that small closet look bigger and more appealing to potential buyers!

1. Marie Kondo your closet

The KonMari method is all the rage today so many people are cleaning out their closets – and the rest of their homes – in an attempt to live a little more like a minimalist. With this movement being so popular, many people searching for new homes might be even more aware of clutter, especially in small spaces. Declutter your closet and donate anything that doesn’t “spark joy.”

2. Add some paint and light

Even large closets can look small if they are have dark walls and not much light. Since most closets don’t have windows, consider adding a light fixture to brighten the space and a mirror to multiply the amount of light bouncing throughout the closet. By painting the walls a nice bright white or off-white, the room will expand and look inviting.

3. Organization is key

Once you’ve removed the clutter, you may still have a lot of items that you aren’t willing to let go of. By adding shelving or even a closet organizational system, you can fit more into your closet without taking up as much space. If you want to stay on budget, try a DIY closet system that is easily installed and can be purchased at your local home improvement store!

4. Show off your favorite items

While decluttering is key, displaying the things you love on nice hangers or placing those handbags/shoes you adore on your newly installed shelving can help potential buyers picture their own favorite items in your closet. Keep it neat and organized, but show off the things you love most!

These tips will help you ensure that your closet space doesn’t prevent you from selling your home. Remember, if you are ready for a home with a bigger closet, call us and we will find you the walk-in of your dreams!

Your Need to Know Guide to Buying a New Home

If you’ve been following along, you know that last time around we covered a lot of the important things you should be thinking about when buying an older home. They’re great, but they can also be expensive and needy — definitely not for everybody.

Today, we’re looking at buying a new construction home. Although it’s a chance to get the house you’ve long wanted, buying a brand new house can also be fraught with problems.

New Construction Homes and Their Builders

There are no two ways about it, a new construction home can be the best decision you’ve ever made. Not only are they up to current building codes, they’re well-insulated, nothing needs to be fixed — all you have to do is move in and keep your new house clean.

There are essentially two distinct types of builder: custom and speculative.

Custom home builders wait for a person who wants a house built to come along, then they work closely with the home buyer, architects, electricians and other home pros to create your dream home. That being said, custom home builders tend to be on the upper end of your local housing market, but some also cater to people who want a smaller home.

Speculative builders (also known as production builders) build a bunch of houses and hope someone will come to buy them. These folks are generally responsible for creating whole neighborhoods out of thin air. One day, you’re driving by a field, the next week it’s a 100-lot development with 20 houses already going up. Speculative builders are nothing if not fast. You won’t necessarily get the house of your dreams unless your dreams are pretty vanilla, but you will have a home that’s new, up to code and that will keep you out of the rain. Super important, that.

New Construction Pros and Cons

You may be considering a new house, but aren’t sure you’re totally willing to wait for one to be finished. If only there were a place you could get an overview of the pros and cons of buying new. Wait, there’s a list below!

Pros of New Construction:

Owning a brand new house is a pretty sweet deal for most people. Here’s why:

Low maintenance requirements. A new house is, well, new. From the bottom to the top, everything is yours to break in. What this means for you is that you can expect to have several years to ease into learning how to do home maintenance and the bigger ticket items like your air conditioner condenser won’t need replacing (with normal use) for at least a decade.
Warranties on pretty much everything. Did you know that most new homes come with a warranty? Sometimes it’s a builder’s warranty, meaning the builder themselves will fix any problems that crop up during the specified period. Sometimes it’s a home warranty through a warranty company. Either one will help you sleep better at night knowing that you’re not on your own if something breaks.
Less risk of neighborhood blight. Unless you buy an infill home (a new house that’s built in an older neighborhood), new homes virtually guarantee you won’t have to worry about neighborhood blight for a while. Blight can occur in any neighborhood, but it’s far less likely where most of the occupants are owners and the houses are all the same age. It’s the ultimate in peer pressure, really.
It’s a blank canvas. Your new home has never been lived in by anyone, ever. You probably realize that, but it can still be sort of a shock to know that you are the one who will start this particular home on its road to being a quaint and charming place fifty years down the road.

New House Drawbacks:

Of course, a new house isn’t for everyone. There are a few drawbacks to building from the ground up, including:

Higher monthly costs. Unlike an older home, where you may find an owner who just wants to get out from under their loan so they can move across the country, a brand new house is pretty much priced where it’s priced. You’ll have to pay what the builder is asking if you want it, which may push the price of your house to the top of your price range. If you request any changes to the plan of a home in progress, or one that hasn’t had the ground broken yet, you may be asked for a larger escrow deposit in case something happens to prevent your being able to close when the house is finished.
It’s a blank canvas. As noted above, a new house is a blank canvas. For some people, this is pretty intimidating, since that also means that more often than not, there’s not a lot in the way of storage systems or other handy aftermarket items that houses that have been lived in are generally fitted with. You can ask your builder about closet systems that go beyond a single bar for hanging clothing, but generally you’re better off to install these yourself so you can get exactly what you want.
You’re probably subject to an HOA. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a homeowner’s association, but it’s an additional cost that you may not have budgeted for. The additional amenities that an HOA provides are often worth the extra spend to homeowners, but if you’re already tight, it’s going to make things even tighter.
Flexibility is key. Building a house is an exercise in patience. Sure, you think you’re going to be able to move in on February 1, but sometimes things get in the way and construction is delayed. You’ll need to be flexible, otherwise you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to guess when you’ll have the keys.

New Year, New Home?

If you think a new home is for you, your Realtor can recommend some great home builders in your area. Just log into the HomeKeepr app and ask for a connection! Your HomeKeepr community can also help you connect to home pros like interior decorators and architects, the kind of people who will help you and your builder turn pile of lumber into a home you’ll love for a long time.

The Benefits of Buying a Home in Your 20s

Most twenty-somethings envision a life in the big city, working a big city job, and paying rent on a tiny apartment that’s barely big enough to fit a couch in. This is the real estate reality for some millions of young people in the twenty-first century.

But in increasing numbers, young adults are saying goodbye to the city in favor of buying a home in residential areas, out of the neon lights.

Why is this?

Homebuying can be a truly smart investment when handled properly, especially for people who are just starting out.

Homebuying puts you in a mindset of long-term growth.

Shelling out hundreds of dollars each month for rent might not sound horriblecompared to 1,000 or more so dollars for a mortgage, but think about it. Where are those hundreds of dollars taking you? Renting, unlike a mortgage, is not an investment. It’s a short-term proposition that keeps a place to put your head at night.

There’s no reason to think a mortgage will tie you down.

Some young people think that having to pay a mortgage means they will have to sacrifice their freedom. While owning a home does take a certain amount of management and upkeep, there’s no reason to fear the commitment of home ownership. You’ll likely need to save a little longer and keep splurges to a minimum in order to afford the things you used to, but believe it or not, there’s benefit in that—you’ll be a little wiser with your money and learn the value in the things you want.

It’s not always cheaper to rent.

The real estate market has ups and downs, and while it is often a little cheaper to rent, there have certainly been times in specific markets where the cost of rent outweighed the cost of a mortgage. Like we said before, renting provides little to no return on your investment, whereas homeownership can offer you long-term growth. Paying a little more per month isn’t always a detriment.

You could experience benefits to your taxes.

There’s nothing more brutal than looking at your paycheck and watching your hard-earned money drift away in taxes, but it’s the reality. If you’re renting, you likely aren’t benefitting from many tax breaks that you could be getting should you choose to own a home. Homeownership can actually lower your taxes in some cases, and makes you more likely to get a tax refund.

Homeownership can be a scary prospect, especially for people who are just starting out in life. But it’s also an investment that can pay off tenfold with the right guidance.

Why You Need An Agent For New Construction

Are you ready to buy a home and considering going in the route of new builds? It may seem like an easy enough process, where you get to call the shots of how you want your dream home to be, but there is a lot of risk when it comes to new construction if you are going in blindly. It’s unfortunately not as trouble free as we’d like to hope, if you don’t have the right representative by your side to help with the things that need to be looked out for from a professional’s eye. Below, we’ll dive into the many reasons you need a professional buyer’s agent representing you in the sale. They are, after all, on your side. And it’s their role to ensure you aren’t taken advantage of by the builders and their representatives in the transaction.

1. HIRING THE RIGHT BUILDER

The most important part of finding an agent is having a professional’s perspective to finding a builder with a great reputation. You get to benefit from your agent’s network of vendors, lenders, and home builders. They have the industry expertise to connect you with a builder that matches your needs, and more than likely, have already had experience with the builder with a past client. Or, if they haven’t worked with a builder you want to use directly, they can gather person-to-person recommendations from other agents to know the expected experience with said builder. They will help you find one, that not only delivers exactly what their clients want, but in a timely fashion.

2. THE RIGHT LOT IN THE RIGHT NEIGHBORHOOD

The lot you choose to go with in a new build can either be a positive to your new home, or detrimental. In the excitement of the process, we tend to overlook important features of a property. It’s important to have a professional to ensure you make a purchase that will best serve you. They’ll be able to find a neighborhood that best fits your lifestyle and a lot that has a location that works for you. Whether you’re single with pets, or a family with children, the lot location can really make a huge impact. Especially when it comes time to selling it in the future. These are important things your agent will be able to help walk you through, so your decisions work in your favor in the long term, as well as now.

3. UPGRADES AND PLAN MODIFICATIONS

Not only will your agent be able to ensure you get the upgrades and modifications that will best suit your lifestyle, but will also help you make decisions that will increase the value of your home in the long term. They are working for your best interest long term, and with an agent’s guidance, you can be sure to make changes that end up benefiting you.

4. HANDLING CONTRACTS AND PAPERWORK

Your agent will handle the contract and all of the paperwork, and they will be sure to review it to ensure that it is in your best interest. They will be able to help you break down the best loan types, purchasing processes, and steps to take that benefit YOU, not the builder. They are, after all, working for you. They’ll make sure there are no overlooked terms in a builder’s contract that could end up hurting you after you move in. Or even during the building process. You want to make sure you have a professional who is experienced with the paperwork and contracts and knows how to make revisions that work in a way that make you happy.

5. NEGOTIATIONS

It is imperative in the purchasing process to have an agent that is able to represent you and negotiate for you. The building process is so much more than having the builder put in your favorite counters and floors. They will be able to get you a price that actually benefits you – not the builder. They will be able to run a comparative market analysis to ensure you are paying a fair price for the property. You don’t want to end up overpaying for the home – it could put you in a tough spot when it comes time to sell. They’ll also be able to negotiate terms around building time frame, closings costs, and so many other aspects of a contract that you may otherwise overlook.

6. BUILDER’S AGENT REPRESENTS THEM, NOT YOU

It may seem easy just to pop into an office of a new build, or a builder’s office, and use the onsite agent. But keep in mind that this agent works FOR the builder, NOT for you. So they will be working to make sure the builder gets the best deal at the end of the day. By having a buyer’s agent of your own, you can ensure there is a professional on your side that can walk you through the process and avoid being taken advantage of during the transaction. They will also have a better handle on things when you hit bumps along the way. If you end up working with a builder who isn’t holding their end of the deal, they will have the power to make connections that ensure the builder holds their end of the contract terms.

You’re Making Your Landlord Rich

While you’re fussing over your bills, did you realize you’re making your landlord rich? Rentals are the most lucrative business to get into. It turns ordinary people into multi-millionaires. The next time you’re afraid of committing to a mortgage, keep in mind that you’ve already committed to paying off the mortgage of someone else – every single month you rent. The only time home buying doesn’t make sense is if you’re still living with your parents rent-free. Or you prefer to live out of an R.V. or tent. But if you prefer to live in a home, or a condo, it always makes the most sense to buy.

Stop making your landlord rich and start building your own net worth. You can still enjoy owning a home – even if you don’t intend to stay in an area for long. You can always resell your home, most often for more money than you put in, or turn it into a lucrative side business by hiring a property management company to rent it out on your behalf. Whatever you decide, don’t be afraid of a mortgage commitment – you’re paying one regardless. Now ask yourself, do you want to make yourself money or make your landlord money?

All My Single Ladies!

In 2017 alone, 60% of women millennial buyers were single! Buying a home seems to come with the idea that it’s the step AFTER you get married and have a family – but that simply isn’t true! Not only is home buying an incredible investment, it provides stability. If you’re worried that a home is too much of a commitment, while you still enjoy travelling around the world, having a great Realtor on your side can help ensure you aren’t tied down by a home.

No one ever said your net worth is a burden. Build your net worth by owning your own dream house and recoup your investment when the day comes to sell. If you’re paying the same amount on rent as you could on a mortgage payment, doesn’t it make sense to put that monthly amount into a home you could actually get the money back on? Of course it does! Since we know you’re a smart woman, give us a call!

It’s time to invest in yourself and your future.