New Home Countdown

Life is busy as ever for us and a large part of that is our new home. We started this process last November/December and we will be closing on our new home just before Thanksgiving!
We are so excited! We have put all of our thoughts, dreams, money, time, and hopes into this home. It is so exciting to see it all come together. We broke ground in August and at times it seems like it is crawling by and other times it seems like it is flying by. We went to the house today to check it out and the painters have started. We did some different things with the paint that we were very nervous about but I think they will turn out really well. I will wait and post some pictures once the painters get a little further. Right now it will just look like a mess but hopefully by next week the home will look a lot more complete. So with the painters in there now, here is what is already done on the home….
Obviously the home is all framed and all of the wiring is in, the sheetrock is in as are the cabinets. Brick is on and the stone guys are supposed to start this week as well as the rest of the guys to finish the exterior trim. The granite has been cut and will be installed soon. A lot of the crown molding/trim has been installed with just a little bit remaining. Once the painters are done the tile work will start. That is for our tile flooring and tile showers. The rest of the flooring will go in, the light fixtures, appliances, speakers, and the exterior (landscaping, driveway, fence, etc).
We can’t wait and I will post some pictures in a different post soon. The next month will fly by as there is a TON to do in just a month but hopefully it will all get done!

 

New Home Progress

So I am awful about blogging regularly but maybe this will change. I decided it would be good for this blog to not just be about buying and selling home but to include some personal stuff as well.
We are in the middle of building our home and it really is a dream. We are so excited and can’t wait for it to be finished. I attached a picture and will hopefully post more as the home progresses. We are actually further along now than this picture shows. We have sheetrock hung, brick is going on the home and we are making steady progress.

My wife and I have worked for many years to get to this point. Often people don’t believe me when I say that but it is true. We have talked about building this home together since before we were married (3+ years ago). We weren’t in the right situation with credit and income and stability to be able to do this and now that the time has arrived, it is all surreal.

We are extremely happy to be working with the superintendent that we have. He does an exceptional job and I couldn’t be more pleased. The home is really starting to look like a home now that the sheetrock is up. It is nice to see all of the little touches we put into the home come to life and really make a difference. Some neat things that we just finalized this week are the outside living areas. We are going to have a deck and a covered porch which I think is great. We are also going to have a firepit outside which I think will be amazing. We found a nice cozy area for the firepit that will be private yet accessible. We will build a brick bench seat/wall on one end and have chairs around the firepit on the other end. It will be wood burning to get the nice smell/sound/heat from a true wood fire. I can’t wait. More soon!

 

Time for renovations

Are you thinking of doing some home renovations this spring? Spring is a very popular time for people to remodel. The weather gets warmer, the days get longer, and people get their tax refund. All of this cabin fever makes people want to get out and better their homes. That is great and I hope everyone can improve their home this year to make it just that little bit better for themselves.

There is some caution that I would like to give to those do it yourself-ers!  Making your home a better place is great.  It brings new life to any home, it makes it more modern, and is an exciting project to tackle.  There are however financial considerations.  A lot of people believe that if they add $5000 in hardwood flooring then their home will go up in value by $5000 or more.  The same goes for kitchen renovations (new cabinets, granite countertops, new appliances, etc).  Word to the wise, do not expect to break even or profit from your home renovations!  NO!  You might be thinking of the tv show you saw last weekend.  You know, the one where they did all these wonderful things to the home, basically gutted it and rebuilt the home and bam, they sold the home and made money on it!  Yes, that is great.  That is also on tv.  Your home is not on tv and there are special circumstances to almost all homes you see on tv that get flipped.  To begin with they are usually distressed properties and being bought and sold well below market value.  Just because you see something on tv doesn’t mean it will apply to your situation.  I don’t want to discourage people from improving their home because that is not my intent.  I think home renovations are a great project and even a family bonding experience.  I do want people to have their eyes wide open going into the project.  Expect it to take twice as long, twice as much money, and be twice as aggravating.  With that said, once done your home will be even more beautiful than it was before.  Do it, enjoy it, just don’t expect to profit from it!

 

Why Isn’t My Home Selling?

So you want to sell your home but you haven’t had much luck? 

You are not alone.  Many people are trying to sell their home but are having trouble finding a buyer for their property.  It is important to understand things from a buyers point of view.  If you look at your home through your eyes it will be much more difficult to sell. 

What you paid for the home, what you like about the home, and what you want to do with the home are of little relevance to a buyer.  A buyer is going to think about what the home is worth to them, regardless of the amount of money you owe.  Also, people are going to compare your home with all of the others in the market.  Often sellers will compare their homes to only those found in their own neighborhood.  When you are looking for a home did you only look in your neighborhood?  Odds are the answer is NO.  You need to make sure your home is the absolute best home on the market at all times. 

How do you be the best?  You have to work hard.  If you are competing with new construction and foreclosures then it is very tough to stand out but you have to do it.  If builders are offering granite countertops, green construction, tile and hardwood floors then you have to make sure you are being competitive.  Your home either needs to have those same features or be priced less to attract buyers.  I can promise that if a brand new home has all of those features and a resale doesn’t then the buyer will almost always choose the new home.  The same goes for foreclosures.  There are a number of foreclosures on the market that are in rather good condition.  Not all foreclosures are destroyed.  If a foreclosure is in decent condition and priced very low then it is tough competition. 

The point of this blog is to make sure that sellers are fully aware of their competition.  It is one thing to look at a market analysis with just numbers comparing prices/sizes/location/etc.  It is a completely different thing to actually look at the competition in person and see what you are up against.  Knowing your home is one of the best on the market in price, condition, and features will help make sure your home sells before your neighbors.  Now is not a sellers market, it is very much still a buyers market so make sure you are positioning yourself appropriately to accomplish your real estate goals.