Those who are looking to sell a home have the perfect opportunity to sell at a time when buyers are still looking to buy and mortgage rates are low.  Homes continue to sell at record fast pace in many markets and multiple offers and bidding wars are the norm as a result.  Whether one plans on buying or selling a home being prepared is important so as to avoid leaving any money on the table.  Check out the articles in this month’s roundup for some of the great real estate reads from February 2021.

Home Value Add Tips

Whether you plan on selling your home soon or just want to keep it up to date and help retain its value, making updates to the home is an important step to take.  Sharon Paxson talks about the important areas of the home where updates make the most financial sense.  Making updates that are too unique or in areas where buyers may not care for could result in the opposite effect.  That being a reduction in value of the home, so make sure to stick to tried and true updates.

Road Map For The Home Buying Process

Check out this article with a great infographic that provides a detailed path of how the home buying process should go.  In the article Kevin Vitali explains step by step what first time or experienced home buyers should be doing in order to buy a home.  Skipping steps in the process or not working with the right professionals will result in disappointment or failure.  On the other hand, following the process laid out by Kevin can result in a low stress home purchase.

Real Estate Contingencies To Know About

When buying or selling real estate most offers will contain some sort of contingencies which are designed to protect the buyers and sellers during the transaction.  Bill Gassett looks at the various important real estate contingencies that buyers/sellers will be seeing in their purchase contracts.  Home inspection, appraisal, financing, title, insurance and other contingencies will be part of the real estate purchase contract.  Regardless of the type of real estate (residential, commercial, retail etc.) these types of contingencies can be found in those contracts and should be understood by both sides of the transaction.

What Does A Property Manager Do?

Two options available for managing rental real estate are self-managing and hiring a property manager to manage the property.  Joe Boylan takes a look at the typical duties of a property manager while they manage investment real estate for others.  While not every property manager do things the same, there are also different levels of service provided depending on the agreement the owner and the property manager come to.  This article is a good starting point for investors to learn what all a property manager can do and whether it makes sense to hire one.

Home Buyer Closing Costs

When purchasing a home there are closing costs involved.  Even in the case where the home buyer is buying a home with a zero down payment (USDA or VA mortgage for example) there will still be closing costs associated with the home purchase.  Conor MacEvilly breaks down some of the common closing costs that buyers can expect and explains the reason behind those closing cost fees.  As part of the home buying process the buyer needs to have the closing costs ready to pay upon closing otherwise the closing will not happen.

Luxury Home Buyer Tips

When buying a luxury home the need to be properly prepared is important.  Making an offer on a home without proof of funds, without a mortgage pre-approval letter or without the right expert in your corner will set the luxury home buyer up for failure.  Paul Sian provides some important steps luxury home buyers need to take before they even step foot in the door of a luxury home that they are interested in buying.  Miss or skip any of these steps and the whole process of buying a home can be very frustrating or even worse, result in failure.

Should You Sell Your Home As-Is?

When selling a home, the ideal situation would be to make sure everything is in tip top condition in order to get the best selling price possible.  Petra Norris provides the pros and cons of selling a home in as-is condition and provides some scenarios where selling as-is may be the ideal option.  Even when selling a home in as-is condition there are still steps one can take in order to have the best sale possible.

Property Managers and PropTech

Property management can be a highly labor-intensive business as many property managers will share.  PropTech or property technology refers to electronic or computer systems designed to help make a property managers life easier as explained by Haley Fox.  In the article five upcoming PropTech trends are analyzed and the benefits for property managers are explored.  The article also points out that PropTech is not just for property managers but can also benefit those real estate investors who choose to self-manage their properties.

Have any other articles you found insightful or entertaining?  Please share them in the comments below.  

The Real Estate Roundup for February 2021 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. Do you have a home you are ready to sell now in Greater Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky? Be sure to contact me now!