March 2019 Real Estate Roundup

Spring is upon us with the end of March and that means the spring real estate selling season is about to heat up in many markets.  Whether you want to buy a home, sell a home or invest in real estate you will find more to choose from than during the other seasons.  As a result it helps greatly to be studied up and know the ins and outs of real estate in order to make it successful.  The articles in this month’s roundup do just that by providing insightful tips, information and more so be sure to check them all out.

25 Home Buyer Tips

To start things off is this great article from Eric Jeanette providing twenty five excellent homebuyers tips from real estate agents all over the world.  While the article is geared towards first time homebuyers if you have not purchased a home in some time the article is a great read.  A sample of the tips include getting your financing and pre-approval in order, finding the right agent to work with, understanding closing costs and many more.  

Home Loan Advice For Young Couples

With a majority of homes being purchased with the use of a loan it is helpful to have a good understanding the mortgage loan process.  Mortgages are long term debts and things like the interest rate, credit score, mortgage insurance, and more can affect how much you have to pay back over time.  Young married couples can make sure they get the best mortgage by following some of the great tips provided by Anita Clark. With interest rates still near record lows it makes sense to lock in those rates now for a home you may own for some time to come.

Mortgage Options For First Time Home Buyers

Continuing on with the mortgage theme we have this great article from Bill Gassett that covers  eleven great mortgage programs available for first time home buyers.  Home buyers may think they are required to have 20% down in order to buy a home but that is not correct.  There are in fact many different mortgage programs for home buyers that require less than 20% down.  Some of these programs even offer down payment requirements of zero and can help you with the closing costs.  While this article is geared towards first time home buyers it is helpful for those as well who have already bought a home or two in the past as well.

Learn About The Home Selling Process

The process of selling a home is not as easy as posting it online or posting on the multiple listing service (MLS) and expecting the home will sell.  In fact there is a proper process to selling a home to make sure it sells the first time it is listed for sale as Kevin Vitali points out.  Selling a home involves quite a bit of preparation prior to the sale and quite a bit of coordination once the home is up for sale. Any errors in that process can result in the home sale quickly becoming derailed and being forced to start over again. So it will pay to understand the whole process of selling a home and with working with professionals who are familiar with that process.

Learn About Seller Concessions

Seller concessions are not treats served at an open house, but instead are certain give backs that a home seller can provide to a buyer as explained by Michelle Gibson.  Sometimes a buyer wants to finance in the closing costs for a mortgage loan into the purchase price and as a result they will ask the seller to contribute a certain amount of money towards closing.  Seller concessions do effect the total amount the seller will get back from the sale so for instance a buyer offering to purchase a home for $300,000 and asking for $3000 in closing costs will only net the seller $297,000.  In a buyer’s market sellers concessions are easier to get, but for a seller’s market where the multiple offer situation is common seller’s concessions may come with a higher price or may lose the buyer the deal.

Whats Causes Homeowner Insurance To Go Up and Down?

One of the important facts about buying and owning a home is the requirement for homeowners insurance when you purchase a home with a mortgage.  That homeowner’s insurance policy protects you financially in the event anything happens to your home.  Homeowners insurance pricing can fluctuate based on a number of different factors as Danny Margagliano points out.  Through his article you can learn about how you can adjust your insurance premiums to best meet your needs.  Even if you don’t have a mortgage it still is a wise decision to have homeowner’s insurance coverage in case something does happen.  

Getting Ready For Photos Of Your Home 

One of the crucial steps in the home selling process is the photographs of the house.  With at least 90% of home searches beginning online the pictures of a home need to wow a buyer at first sight.  By getting the buyer’s attention home sellers are more likely to have that buyer follow through to request an in person visit and maybe even make an offer.  Eileen Anderson provides some great tips on how homeowners should be getting their home ready so that each of those thousand word pictures tell a great story about the home that makes buyers want to see more.

Home Flipping Tips

No matter where you look you are bound to find books, magazines and TV shows on purchasing a rundown house for the purposes of repairing and selling the house for a profit. Oftentimes the process shown for doing these fix and flips make it seem like anyone can do it and it does not take much effort or money to do so.  Quite the opposite the process of fixing and flipping a home does take some leg work and some cash to make sure it is done right.  Fixing and flipping should be treated as any investment is and the analysis should look at whether a fix and flip will lead to a profit.  This article provides some great tips on how to make sure it does.

Remodeling Your Bathroom On A Budget

Bathroom remodels while giving high return can also be very expensive if one does not go in with a pre-planned budget.  That does not mean bathroom remodels cannot be done on a budget as Sharon Paxson points out.  Remodeling a bathroom does not mean having to tear everything out and start over again, instead some simple DIY things can take a bathroom to a new level.  Even when using a contractor to remodel a bathroom does not have to be expensive if you know what you are looking for.  Be sure to check out the article for some great info on remodeling a bathroom on a budget.

Final Thoughts

We hope you like this months roundup articles.  Which in particular were your favorites?  Did you have any others you would add to the list?  Feel free to add your comments below!

The Real Estate Roundup For March 2019 was provided by Greater Cincinnati Area Luxury Realtor Paul Sian of United Real Estate Home Connections. Paul is a licensed real estate agent in the states of Ohio and Kentucky and has over 14 years of experience. Feel free to contact Paul for all your Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky real estate needs.