Ever go to the store to buy something for $5 only to take it to the
register and it rings up for $10? No? Don't like to be overcharged and
price gauged? Then why would you put up with it when buying or selling
a house!?
Here's what I mean: Most real estate companies whether they are big or
small charge junk fees. A lot of the time they won't let you know this
in advance until it's too late and you're at the closing table,
surprise!
They'll tell you that it's an "Administration Fee" or "Processing Fee"
or I've even heard "Filing Fee" cause you know, it takes a lot of work
to file something in your filing cabinet, I mean I'm exhausted when I
get up and take 2 steps, open a drawer and place a file in my filing
cabinet...
They should be called BS fees because that is basically what they are.
It's the greed of most real estate companies tricking their clients
into paying extra for absolutely no reason. I've seen the amount range
anywhere from $200 to $600 and I don't know about you but I don't like
to be ripped off.
I'm proud to say that my company, Hughes Homes Realty DOES NOT
charge these fees. We never have and never will. We are one of the few
companies I have seen that doesn't. So next time you are thinking
about buying or selling a home, try not to get scammed. Call Hughes
Homes Realty where we work 7 days a week, always answer the phone
and don't steal your money...
Nicola Hughes, Broker/Owner
Hughes Homes Realty
407-557-8775
nicola@hugheshomesrealty.com
Monday, April 21, 2014
Monday, March 10, 2014
How To Improve Your Property Value
When someone asks me how to improve their home value for the purpose of selling, refinancing or just because, I always offer the exact same tip: Start small. What I mean by that is don't go ripping out your kitchen and bathrooms and redoing them. Chances are you won't get your money back. Here is the list of things that are most important and what is most noticeable to someone entering your home whether it be a potential buyer, an appraiser or a friend coming to visit:
1. Trim trees and bushes. Let's be real, no one likes an overgrown bush. This will give the exterior a cleaner, fresher look, make the house look bigger, and give it a manicured appearance. Also, plant some colorful flowers out front. It is spring time so it's the best time of year to do so. Curb appeal is what attracts a buyer to the house from the get go. It's kind of like dating. First impressions count!
2. Clean and De-clutter. Ever see the show "Hoarders"? if not, look it up. Clean your house people! When I walk into a house and it's dirty and cluttered and looks unkempt, I immediately think that if the people that live here don't care what a mess it is, then they probably don't care about the rest of the house either. They probably don't care that the sink leaks a little and that little leak will eventually lead to mold. They probably don't care that there is a small brown spot on the ceiling and that spot means the roof is leaking, and so on and so on. When I say clean, I mean really clean. Don't just dust and vacuum. Make an effort to clean everything. I'm talking blinds, baseboards, fan blades, EVERYTHING! I do not want to see an inch of dust sitting on every blade of every fan in every room.
3. Wash your windows inside and out. This will make everything look cleaner and brighter. The cleaner the windows, the brighter a room will look.
4. Replace your light bulbs. Again with the brightening thing. Rooms that have a bulb or two out are going to look dim. Not the romantic kind of dim either, just dull and ugly.
5. Paint. Paint goes a long way when you are trying to spruce up a house. To me, it is one of the cheapest yet effective things you can do. You may be able to get away with just doing touch up in certain areas. If not, pick neutral colors. Yes I know, that really cool color you saw at such and such's house, the deep red looks great on their walls and you absolutely love it. Stop, think and reevaluate. Just because you like it, is not a guarantee that everyone else shares your love for that shade of red. The most appealing color palette to most buyers are calm and neutral. Shades that are easy to match with furnishings, beige, off white, taupe etc. Yes it's boring, yes everyone else has it and yes, obviously there's a reason for that! Oh and don't forget the baseboards. I just painted them at my house and it made a HUGE difference in the overall appearance. It's one of those spots that you don't typically clean but you do notice the scuff marks, dings and dirt.
6. Fix the little things. All of those little nagging things that you have been meaning to get around to fixing but haven't had the time to. The broken doorbell, the cracked window on the back door, the drywall where little Timmy who's now in high school rode his tricycle into when he was three. These are usually inexpensive, small things that are going to make a difference when someone looks at the house and particularly when the inspection takes place. It will be the difference between a few things that come up on an inspection report and a whole page of things!
All of these items are inexpensive and easy to do. Just tackle each one at a time, go room by room so you don't get overwhelmed. Think about what you would like or not like to see in a house if you were out looking at properties.
As always, you can call or e-mail me at my office anytime with questions or tips!
Nicola Hughes, Broker/Owner
Hughes Homes Realty
407-557-8775
nicola@hugheshomesrealty.com
www.HughesHomesRealty.com
1. Trim trees and bushes. Let's be real, no one likes an overgrown bush. This will give the exterior a cleaner, fresher look, make the house look bigger, and give it a manicured appearance. Also, plant some colorful flowers out front. It is spring time so it's the best time of year to do so. Curb appeal is what attracts a buyer to the house from the get go. It's kind of like dating. First impressions count!
2. Clean and De-clutter. Ever see the show "Hoarders"? if not, look it up. Clean your house people! When I walk into a house and it's dirty and cluttered and looks unkempt, I immediately think that if the people that live here don't care what a mess it is, then they probably don't care about the rest of the house either. They probably don't care that the sink leaks a little and that little leak will eventually lead to mold. They probably don't care that there is a small brown spot on the ceiling and that spot means the roof is leaking, and so on and so on. When I say clean, I mean really clean. Don't just dust and vacuum. Make an effort to clean everything. I'm talking blinds, baseboards, fan blades, EVERYTHING! I do not want to see an inch of dust sitting on every blade of every fan in every room.
3. Wash your windows inside and out. This will make everything look cleaner and brighter. The cleaner the windows, the brighter a room will look.
4. Replace your light bulbs. Again with the brightening thing. Rooms that have a bulb or two out are going to look dim. Not the romantic kind of dim either, just dull and ugly.
5. Paint. Paint goes a long way when you are trying to spruce up a house. To me, it is one of the cheapest yet effective things you can do. You may be able to get away with just doing touch up in certain areas. If not, pick neutral colors. Yes I know, that really cool color you saw at such and such's house, the deep red looks great on their walls and you absolutely love it. Stop, think and reevaluate. Just because you like it, is not a guarantee that everyone else shares your love for that shade of red. The most appealing color palette to most buyers are calm and neutral. Shades that are easy to match with furnishings, beige, off white, taupe etc. Yes it's boring, yes everyone else has it and yes, obviously there's a reason for that! Oh and don't forget the baseboards. I just painted them at my house and it made a HUGE difference in the overall appearance. It's one of those spots that you don't typically clean but you do notice the scuff marks, dings and dirt.
6. Fix the little things. All of those little nagging things that you have been meaning to get around to fixing but haven't had the time to. The broken doorbell, the cracked window on the back door, the drywall where little Timmy who's now in high school rode his tricycle into when he was three. These are usually inexpensive, small things that are going to make a difference when someone looks at the house and particularly when the inspection takes place. It will be the difference between a few things that come up on an inspection report and a whole page of things!
All of these items are inexpensive and easy to do. Just tackle each one at a time, go room by room so you don't get overwhelmed. Think about what you would like or not like to see in a house if you were out looking at properties.
As always, you can call or e-mail me at my office anytime with questions or tips!
Nicola Hughes, Broker/Owner
Hughes Homes Realty
407-557-8775
nicola@hugheshomesrealty.com
www.HughesHomesRealty.com
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Short Sales in a Nutshell!
In this, my first blog, I am going to give you the ins and outs of a short sale. Short sales have become a HUGE part of the real estate business. I would say that they make up for about 90% of the business that comes through my office. So many homeowners today find themselves owing more on their mortgage than their home is now worth or finding that they can no longer afford the payments. It used be that the only way out from underneath this situation was to foreclose. Now, courtesy to the United States Government, we have the option to do a short sale rather than a foreclosure. Many people do not understand what the difference is between the two so I will give you the Cliffs Notes! Essentially, a short sale is a blemish on your credit which, after as little as two years, you can possibly buy another house. Whereas a foreclosure stays on your credit for 7 years, much like a bankruptcy. You would need to wait about 5 years to buy again. By doing a short sale, you’re not only saving your credit from some major bruising but you can stay in the house while the sale is approved by your lender which can take several months. Also, if you can afford to do so, you can continue to make your mortgage payments and buy a house right away.
So basically, a short sale is where the property is sold for less than the balance owed on the mortgage. What we do as the listing agent is list the property and market it as normal. The home is advertised on the MLS, Realtor.com and all the other avenues normally used. Once an offer is received, we then submit the paperwork to the lender and work with them to get the property closed. The whole process can take anywhere from 2 months to 12 months from start to finish depending on which lenders we have to work with, whether there are 1 or 2 mortgages, whether we are dealing with an HOA and many other factors. The process can seem overwhelming for those who are not around it on a daily basis but honestly, it is such a normal thing nowadays.
Many homeowners are concerned with the ramifications of doing a short sale and think maybe they need to hire an expensive attorney to take them through the process. I have met many sellers in my time that have forked over $3,000 or more to an attorney who is going to help them with the process. The truth is that as long as the home is your primary residence, you can short sale with no penalty. You get to walk away and the debt is forgiven. You really don’t need an attorney to help you with that. Just make sure that you go with a reputable Real Estate Agent who has a lot if experience in the field of short sales (Ahem, me!)
Check out the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=179414,00.html This is where you can find the information on the bill that was passed that allows homeowners to short sale their homes without penalties or tax liability providing the property is their primary residence.
The best part of doing a short sale is that the bank, your lender pays the closing costs. They pay the title fees, filing fees, closing fees and real estate commission. It doesn’t cost the homeowner a penny!
If you would like more information on your options, you can call me anytime at my office or feel free to e-mail me. Anything we talk about is confidential and there is no pressure to do anything. I am available 7 days a week via phone, face to face or e-mail.
Nicola Hughes, Broker/Owner
Hughes Homes Realty
407-557-8775
hugheshomesrealty.com
info@hugheshomesrealty.com
So basically, a short sale is where the property is sold for less than the balance owed on the mortgage. What we do as the listing agent is list the property and market it as normal. The home is advertised on the MLS, Realtor.com and all the other avenues normally used. Once an offer is received, we then submit the paperwork to the lender and work with them to get the property closed. The whole process can take anywhere from 2 months to 12 months from start to finish depending on which lenders we have to work with, whether there are 1 or 2 mortgages, whether we are dealing with an HOA and many other factors. The process can seem overwhelming for those who are not around it on a daily basis but honestly, it is such a normal thing nowadays.
Many homeowners are concerned with the ramifications of doing a short sale and think maybe they need to hire an expensive attorney to take them through the process. I have met many sellers in my time that have forked over $3,000 or more to an attorney who is going to help them with the process. The truth is that as long as the home is your primary residence, you can short sale with no penalty. You get to walk away and the debt is forgiven. You really don’t need an attorney to help you with that. Just make sure that you go with a reputable Real Estate Agent who has a lot if experience in the field of short sales (Ahem, me!)
Check out the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=179414,00.html This is where you can find the information on the bill that was passed that allows homeowners to short sale their homes without penalties or tax liability providing the property is their primary residence.
The best part of doing a short sale is that the bank, your lender pays the closing costs. They pay the title fees, filing fees, closing fees and real estate commission. It doesn’t cost the homeowner a penny!
If you would like more information on your options, you can call me anytime at my office or feel free to e-mail me. Anything we talk about is confidential and there is no pressure to do anything. I am available 7 days a week via phone, face to face or e-mail.
Nicola Hughes, Broker/Owner
Hughes Homes Realty
407-557-8775
hugheshomesrealty.com
info@hugheshomesrealty.com
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