Hey There 2020!!

We are just over two weeks into 2020, how are your goals coming along so far?? One of my goals this year is to be more transparent with my community. Letting you in more to behind the scenes, goals, successes, struggles and to be here each and every week giving you valuable insight into the real estate process. So here I am! =)

I have a question for you…. Is moving into a new home in 2020 one of your goals? 

If so, I’ve got you covered here. Whether your goal is to buy your first home, sell and buy a new home, buy an investment property, continue reading…..

Buying or selling a home is totally doable and not as scary as you think. But just like with any goal, planning and prep is key. Buying a home is not scrolling through an app on your phone, going to see it and then buying it. On the same from, selling your home isn’t just putting a sign in the yard and hoping for the best. 

To get your best outcome, plan to do the work and then execute. 

Selling

Let’s starting with selling. You own your home and you may be wanting a bigger home, a smaller home, your job is transferring you or you just a change of scenery. Almost always when someone is selling their home, they have to declutter. Decluttering is the best place to start. For some tips check out my blog post on Decluttering to sell your Home.

Remember less the stuff, the better when selling. Go Marie Kondo. If it doesn’t bring you joy or you use it on a daily bases, get rid of it or put it in storage. (PRO Tip: Rent a POD or something similar)

While you are decluttering, research and interview agents (like me!) This will not only help you knock two things out at once, but a Realtor can (and should) you give you additional insight into your decluttering process. 

The clutter is almost like a smell. You become immune to your own smells and you can’t smell them anymore. Same with clutter, you’ve been looking at it for so long, the pile of books in the corner “doesn’t look so bad” But I promise you it does. 

While interviewing agents, to get the best agent for you, have a list of questions to ask. I’ve got a great list of interview questions for agents, check that out here.

Repair the things you have been putting off forever. The cracked window pain, the light switch that doesn’t work, or the clogged side of the dual vanity? I know “it’s been like that forever” and “it’s never bothered you”, but it will bother a new buyer. Fix it, so you don’t have to worry about it later. Deferred maintenance will turn off buyers.

And lastly clean. Clean, clean and then clean one more time. A clean home will sell faster than one that doesn’t look like its been taken care of.

After you’ve tackled this list, get with the agent you have chosen from interviews (hopefully me) to talk about next steps. 

Buying

On to Buying. Yay! You’ve set a goal to buy a home this year. If you’ve never bought a home before, I also recommend interviewing agents (like myself).  You will most likely spend a lot of time with your agent looking at homes, but so it good to interview to get to know us, and our knowledge of the market.

 While you are interviewing agents, work on getting preapproved. Sometimes it’s better to interview agents first, but we have list of resources for lenders. But it’s not a must. But getting preapproved before you look at homes, is definitely a must.

Getting the paperwork you need to get preapproved will most likely take some time too. Here is a list to start:

• Last two years tax returns,

•  Last two year w-2s or 1099s, 

• Last two month banks statements, 

• Last two pay stubs

• And any other information on any other financial accounts you have. 

Your loan officer will run your credit so if you’ve put off paying off that credit card, do it now to help your credit score and your debt to income ratio.

Decide on a monthly budget and save for a down payment. Getting preapproved for a loan and deciding on a monthly budget are different. Chances are, you will be preapproved for more than you are comfortable paying. Be sure to communicate to your loan officer and your Realtor what you’d like your monthly note to be, so they can be sure to keep you within that budget. Last thing you want to do it is fall in love with a home, be preapproved for the list price and come to find out it is waaayy out of your comfort level for a mortgage payment. 

Is your goal to sell and buy at the same time? Check out my blog post on Buying and Selling at the Same Time. Here I go in depth to the Predication process.

Ok so there you have it. It’s a start to getting you on your way to your goals for 2020 of either selling your home or buying a new one.

Do you have questions, I didn’t answer? Shoot me an email, I absolutely want you to have the all your questions answered. robyn@robynbruno.com

Here are some other blog posts that may help:

Blog posts on all things SELLING a HOME

Blog posts on all things BUYING a HOME