themarycoxteam.wordpress.com - Price

Increase Your Marketability

The seller has three tools available to affect the marketability of their home: price, condition and terms. Price is the easiest to adjust for the competing properties, amount of inventory or market conditions. However, lowering the price is not necessarily the best decision when trying to maximize the proceeds of sale.

If a home is in poor or outdated condition, updating can be done to make it show favorably with other homes that are currently on the market. Sometimes, sellers rationalize not doing the work by saying they believe the buyers would rather make their own choices. The truth is that most buyers are using all their resources to get into the home and will have to live in its present condition until they can save enough to make the changes…

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Tips for Buying Rentals

Buying rental property can be an excellent decision and the better informed you are, the more likely you’ll have favorable results.  The following suggestions can help you with your decisions.

Real estate is a long term investment affected by supply, demand and the economy.  It isn’t an investment that is easily converted to cash.  The costs to acquire and dispose of real estate are sizable and need to be spread over years to minimize their effects on the rate of return.

Invest in average price homes or slightly below average price to appeal to the broadest market not only when you are renting but later on when you sell it.  The average price is relative to the market you are in and those specific prices.

Lower-priced homes will rent for more…

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Discussion with your Insurance Agent

Insurance and homeowners go together like peanut butter and jelly. Lenders require fire insurance at a minimum for homes with a mortgage but many owners opt for a more comprehensive coverage with a homeowner’s policy.

However, comprehensive doesn’t mean that everything is covered. Filing a claim is not the time to learn that you don’t have the right coverage. Discuss the following issues with your insurance agent to get a better understanding of your policy and whether some adjustments might be in order.

Flooding?
Rising water?
Mold?
Earthquakes?
Pools?
Termites?
Certain kinds of pets or breeds of dogs?
Limits on jewelry and cash?
Deductible amount?
The whole concept behind buying insurance is to transfer the risk of loss that you cannot afford for an…

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Wait a Year…It Won’t Matter?

There is a frequently quoted expression “more money has been lost from indecision than was ever lost from making a bad decision.” Regardless of the extent of its accuracy, most people can recall when procrastination has cost them money. 

There are markets so short of inventory that buyers have become frustrated after losing bids for several homes and have decided to wait until more homes come on the market. In the meantime, the shortage of homes is driving the prices up more by the month.

There are buyers who can’t find what they want for the price they want to pay and think that waiting will somehow change things. In some cases, what they want just keeps moving farther and farther away from them.

The other dynamic in play is, of course, the…

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Who is Your Champion?

The Super Bowl and World Series determine the football & baseball champions. Since there can only be 1 champion, the other team loses. In feudal times, a knight might champion for the king or romantic or religious cause.

Fierce competition can occur when buying or selling a home. Each party wants to get the “best deal” possible. When the buyer &seller aren’t equally matched, and they rarely are, it’s important to have a champion on your side to fight for your cause.

The price of the home, type of financing and concessions, personal property, closing dates and possession are just a few things that can be negotiated in a contract. Since the seller wants to get the most for their house and the buyer wants to pay the least, their causes are…

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