How to Determine Your Wants and Your Needs When Buying

When looking for your next home, it's important to be able to separate your wants from your needs. 

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When you're looking for a home to buy, it's important to determine both what you need and what you want. Oftentimes, we see homebuyers confuse the two.

One of the first things you need to do is get pre-qualified for a mortgage because most sellers won't even entertain an offer if you don't have a letter of pre-qualification. It also helps narrow your search by keeping you from wasting time looking at homes you can't afford. 

Once you've been pre-qualified, you want to sit down and write out your wants and needs. Your needs list might include a two-car garage, a large yard, a nice school district, and three bedrooms. These items should be non-negotiable, meaning you won't even look at homes that don't fulfill your needs.

Most of your wants will be cosmetic things that can be added later.

Most of your wants are cosmetic. You might want granite or quartz countertops, but a home not having them shouldn't be a deal-breaker. They can always be added later. That's why you need to determine which items you can and can't live without. Examine homes that fill all your needs before you start considering your wants.

If you have any questions about this step or you're thinking about selling or investing in real estate, give us a call or send us an email. We'd love to hear from you!

5 Habits for a Successful Home Purchase

If you’re looking to buy a home this year, you need to start these five habits right now. 

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If you vowed to buy a home this year, it’s time to get moving. Even if you’re months away from hiring an agent and looking at houses, there are things you need to do right now to make your dream of homeownership come true. In fact, there are five habits you need to start now to ensure a smooth transition from renting to owning a home.

Always be ready when you have the opportunity to lock down that perfect home.

     1. Automate your down payment savings.

     2. Build your credit and keep it clear.

     3. Practice living on a budget.

     4. Get your tools and make repairs.

     5. Prepare to pounce on a great deal.

As always, if you’re looking to buy, sell, or invest in real estate, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you! 

Sell Your Home Quickly Using These 3 Tips

Today I want to share three tips that will help your home sell as quickly as possible.

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How can you sell your home as fast as possible in 2017?

While many factors that affect how long it takes to sell a home are beyond your control, there are some things you can do to speed up the sale.

One of the best things you can do in order to sell faster is price your home competitively. Your home is going to sell much faster if you price on the lower end of the average prices in your area. Additionally, pricing your home competitively could spark a bidding war, ultimately driving up your sales price.

Complete any repairs that need to be done prior to listing.

Completing any repairs that need to be done is also going to help keep your home from sitting on the market too long. Sprucing up your home prior to putting it on the market is just as important as actually listing it. Buyers are going to be able to tell if you let a few projects go unfinished.

Lastly, make sure the home is staged and decluttered. This last tip is incredibly important because staged homes sell 88% faster and for more money than non-staged homes.

If you're looking to buy, sell, or invest in real estate, feel free to give us a call. We'd be glad to help!

Why Are Professional Photos So Important in Today’s Market?

Professional photography is the most critical piece of your home’s marketing because professional photos sell homes. How? We’ll go over that today.

Buying a home? Search all Greater McAllen Area homes for sale

Selling your Greater McAllen Area home? Get a free home value report

Professional photography is one of the most critical pieces of your home’s marketing and, ultimately, its sale. Why? 

In today’s market, 90% to 95% of buyers start their home search online. If they don’t like what they see, then you won’t get them in the door. In fact, a few bad pictures of your home might take your property totally off of a buyer’s radar. 

Today’s buyer wants to see your home in perfect condition online, which means that professional photographs will help you get the right buyer in the door and help you sell your home. 

Over 90% of today’s buyers start their home search online.

That is why we have a professional photographer and videographer on our team. We know that buyers love photos and videos and that professional photos and videos sell homes. 

If you have any questions about professional photography or about preparing your home for the market, just give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!