Try these to buy or sell your home

Looking to buy or sell a home? We’ve have a few practical as well as unusual tips for you to consider as you prepare to list or buy in your area.

BUYING

Start your search early

If you are looking to purchase a home, start yesterday. You can’t start soon enough in this market, and the sooner you get your feet wet into some showings and get a feel for the homes on the market, the sooner you will find the home you have been dreaming of.

Comparison shop for mortgages

You should put as much time, effort and work into finding a mortgage as you do finding a home. Most people think only of the home prospect and forget that the mortgage is a huge element. Don’t assume a 30 year fixed rate is best - have your mortgage broker give you all of the options available to you. Mortgage rates are expected to approach 5 percent by the end of the year, but many consumers aren’t aware of the variety in mortgage products that can affect what they pay.

Consider a new home

If there’s anything that can ease the current housing crunch, it’s new construction. But, many people rule out the option of new construction, assuming it is too expensive. While new homes can be more expensive, they also come with everything in the home brand spanking new with warranties on structures and things like appliances. This means zero repair bills for a few years.

SELLING

Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Zillow.com, has collected statistics from his site’s database of 110 million homes to find trends in real-estate pricing. He has helped to write “The New Rules of Real Estate”. Of his findings, he has listed some fascinating statistics you should know.

All renovations are not created equal

The greatest return for your investment is a midrange bathroom remodel, a $3,000 job that returns $1.71 for every dollar spent. The worst home improvements for value are kitchen remodeling and finishing a basement. A top-of-the-line kitchen renovation will cost you $22,000, and you’ll only get about 51 cents back for every $1 you spend.

Use the right words in a listing

Avoid “unique,” “TLC,” “investment” and “potential” — these could lower sale prices by as much as 7 percent. But words like “luxurious” for bottom-tier homes and “captivating” for top-tier homes could add 8.2 percent to your home’s value.

Longer, more-detailed listings often sell for more

Listings with a nine in the thousand digit sell at least a week faster! (i.e., $449,000)