Shea Reeves, Residential Real Estate Agent

4 Tips To Make Your Strongest Offer on a Home

Are you thinking about buying a home soon? Remember these four tips to make your best offer.

1. Partner with a Real Estate Agent
Rely on a real estate agent who can support your goals. Agents are local market experts. They know what’s worked for other buyers in your area and what sellers may be looking for. That advice can be game changing when you’re deciding what offer to bring to the table.

2. Understand Your Budget
Knowing your numbers is even more important right now. The best way to understand your budget is to work with a lender so you can get pre-approved for a home loan. Doing so helps you be more financially confident and shows sellers you’re serious. That gives you a competitive edge.

3. Make a Strong, but Fair Offer
It’s only natural to want the best deal you can get on a home, especially when affordability is tight...

4 Tips To Make Your Strongest Offer on a Home Are you thinking about buying a home soon?

The Latest Trends in Housing [INFOGRAPHIC]

With the number of new listings going up and average days on market going down, buyers may have more options, but will still want to move fast. For sellers, inventory is still low and houses are selling fast, meaning your house should stand out and may get multiple offers if you price it right. If you want to know more about what’s happening in our area, let’s connect.

The Latest Trends in Housing [INFOGRAPHIC] With the number of new listings going up and average days on market going down, buyers may have more options, but will still want to move fast.

Your Home Is a Powerful Investment

Going into 2023, there was a lot of talk about a possible recession that would cause the housing market to crash. Some in the media were even forecasting home prices would drop by as much as 10-20%—and that might have made you feel a bit unsure about buying a home.

But here’s what actually happened: home prices went up more than usual. Brian D. Luke, Head of Commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices, explains: “Looking back at the year, 2023 appears to have exceeded average annual home price gains over the past 35 years.”

The big takeaway? Home prices almost always go up.

As an article from Forbes says: “. . . the U.S. real estate market has a long and reliable history of increasing in value over time.”

In fact, since 1980, the only time home prices dropped was during the housing market crash. Fortunately, the market today isn’t like it was in...

Your Home Is a Powerful Investment Going into 2023, there was a lot of talk about a possible recession that would cause the housing market to crash.

Finding Your Perfect Home in a Fixer Upper

If you’re trying to buy a home and are having a hard time finding one you can afford, it may be time to consider a fixer-upper.
Sometimes the perfect home is the one you perfect after buying it.

Here’s some information that can help you pinpoint what you truly need so you can be strategic in your home search. First, make a list of all the features you want in a home. From there, work to break those features into categories like this:
• Must-Haves - If a house doesn’t have these features, it won’t work for you and your lifestyle.

• Nice-To-Haves - These are features you’d love to have but can live without. Nice-to-haves aren’t dealbreakers, but if you find a home that hits all the must-haves and some of these, it’s a contender.

• Dream State - This is where you can really think big. Again, these aren’t features you’ll need, but if you...

Finding Your Perfect Home in a Fixer Upper If you’re trying to buy a home and are having a hard time finding one you can afford, it may be time to consider a fixer-upper.

What To Know About Credit Scores Before Buying a Home

If you want to buy a home, you should know your credit score is a critical piece of the puzzle when it comes to qualifying for a mortgage. Lenders review your credit to see if you typically make payments on time, pay back debts, and more. Your credit score can also help determine your mortgage rate.

That means your credit score may feel even more important to your homebuying plans right now since mortgage rates are a key factor in affordability. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the median credit score in the U.S. for those taking out a mortgage is 770. But that doesn’t mean your credit score has to be perfect.

Working with a trusted lender is the best way to get more information on how your credit score could factor into your home loan and the mortgage rate you’re able to get.

If you’re looking for...

What To Know About Credit Scores Before Buying a Home If you want to buy a home, you should know your credit score is a critical piece of the puzzle when it comes to qualifying for a mortgage.