Get ready for a showing in 15 minutes.

You just received a phone call from your listing licensee and they are requesting a showing on your house in 15 minutes! Wow, what do you do? You can say that you aren’t ready and another day is better, then you run the chance of this being the “one” buyer that will be just perfect for your house! You agree to the showing, but your house is a disaster, so much to do and so little time to do it. Where do you start? Start on one room at a time and focus on the major items first and then move on to the next room.

Bonus Tip

While short notice showings aren’t the norm, they do happen. It’s not the end of the world and you never know, this just might be the “one”. Here is a fool proof plan to get your house in good shape in short notice.

Start with the kitchen, stack your dirty dishes in the dishwasher, straighten up the countertops, clean up any spills and give a quick spray with an air freshener.

Pick up any newspaper & magazines laying around in the living room. Straighten any pillows or blankets on the furniture and give another quick spray with an air freshener.

Moving on to the bedrooms. Make the beds, pick up any clothes lying around and pick up any big items that are out of place.

Next move on to the bathrooms. Straighten up the countertops, put the used towels in the laundry, replace with a fresh clean set of towels, rinse out the sinks, flush the toilets & close the lids.

Clean up the pets area. Add clean litter to the cat box, make sure the food/water bowls are in order.

Make sure if you have any stairs that they are clear of any obstacles.

Turn off the TV, and turn on some relaxing music and relax. You have made it, and your house is ready for a showing!

Right time to Buy?

I’m frequently asked when is the best time to buy or sell? And the answer is always the same, now! If you are sitting on the fence and thinking you will wait and see what happens with the market, you could be waiting a long time. Our local Kenai Peninsula market is still in good shape and hasn’t seen the decreases we hear so much about elsewhere. Interest rates are still near all time lows and the market has shifted from a seller’s market to buyers market. The best time to buy is when everybody else is selling!

Got Credit?

A bad credit score can mean the difference between getting a loan or not getting a loan! If you have bad credit it’s better to start working on it early and get it fixed before you try buy a home. Start by obtaining a copy of your credit report. Once you have a copy of your credit report, review it carefully and look for mistakes. If you find some problems, make sure to dispute them with all 3 credit agencies. Not paying your bills on time is a very common cause of poor credit. Make sure you are caught up on all of your bills and keep paying them on time to increase your credit score.

Bonus Tips!

Why should you be concerned about your FICA score? Your FICA score plays a major role in the interest rate your lender is going to give you.

Click here for your FREE copy of your credit report available from AnnualCreditReport.com. This is the only approved source for your yearly free credit reports. You can receive a report from all 3 credit agencies at once or spread them out over the year.

Skip the toys & new car until after you have closed on your new home. Buying big ticket items before you close on your home can have a drastic effect on your credit and could affect your loan approval.

Credit cards also carry weight when it comes to your credit score. Don’t go open a bunch of new cards in hopes that it will boost your score; it will more than likely have the opposite effect. If you carry a balance each month, try paying those amounts down instead of transferring it to another card. They also like to see your balance between 30 & 50% of your credit limit. If you have a $10,000 credit limit, your revolving balance should be between $3,000 and $5,000 to maximize your credit score. A higher balance will have a negative impact on your FICA score.

Closing Cost & Down Payment

You have found your dream home. Now it’s to see if you can make it a reality.  Can you afford the monthly payment & closing costs? Make sure your lender provides you a copy of your Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and you fully understand all of the costs & expenses on it. A GFE provides you with a breakdown of your expected closing cost and how much of a down payment you will be required to have.  You will also want to clarify if your total monthly payment is going to include your property taxes and insurance.  These can add several hundred dollars onto your monthly payment.  If you get to your closing and your closing costs differ greatly from your GFE, contact your lender immediately and ask for an explanation. 

Receiving a Low Ball offer! 

Receiving a low ball offer isn’t the end of the world, so don’t get angry or upset at the potential buyers. When submitting a low offer, buyers should be aware they run the risk of insulting the sellers and getting their offer flat out rejected. Rejecting a low ball offer is one of the worst things a seller can do.  Even if you counter back at full price, this is better than completely disregarding the low offer.  You have to remember that this is now a negotiation process between you and the buyers.  Try to figure out the buyer’s motivation behind the low offer, are they serious buyers who didn’t know what to offer or are they bargain shoppers looking for a steal?  

Getting your Low Ball offer accepted!

So, you’ve decided to make an offer on a property that is substantially lower than the listing price, often called a “low ball offer”.  Before submitting your offer, there are several things to consider which might help you get your offer accepted.  Do you have specific data that shows your offer is in line with recent sales?  Are there contingencies in your contract?  Fewer contingencies increase your chances of getting accepted.  Make your offer as appealing in other areas of your contract as possible.  For example, offer to close within a very short time frame, allow the sellers to stay in the home for a month or two until they find a new home.

Welcome to HomeBuyingSellingTips.com, we hope you find our new look and feel to be much improved over our old webpage.

 Our buyers & sellers tips can still be found every Friday in the Peninsula Clarion, at the bottom right hand corner of page 3.  Past tips will also be available in the coming days as we migrage everything to the new blogging platform.