5 Improvements That Can Increase Your Home Value

by mstrickland | Jul 22, 2017 | CT Real Estate News

The value of a home is always something important that the owner should constantly work to maintain and increase. Whether you’re looking to stay in the home for 5,10, or 20 years you should always do things to increase the value of the home. Some people often don’t know the things that directly add value to a home. Here are 5 improvements that increase the value of a home. New Kitchen The place that will usually draw a buyer to a home is the kitchen. The newer and shinier, the more appeal the home will have. If you don’t have the ability to overhaul the entire kitchen, start with little projects and go from there. Starting with new fixtures, flooring, appliances, and paint can change the entire look of that kitchen. While cabinets and counter tops may be huge renovations, saving for them over time will defray the cost and make things easier. Bathroom Updates While its usually the smallest room in the home, it can possibly have the biggest impact. Just like in the kitchen, starting small is the best plan of action. Changing the vanity, paint color, or fixtures can update and change the entire look of the bathroom. Being that the bathroom is small, laying new flooring wont break the bank and will change the entire scheme of things in the bathroom. Another thing to possible consider if you have tiling would be to re grouting the tile may be a very inexpensive option. Lighting  The brighter the space appears, the bigger it feels and seems. If you’re listing the home for sale, you want that...

4 Reasons Your Home May Not Be Selling

by mstrickland | Jul 18, 2017 | CT Real Estate News

Selling your home isn’t always an easy task. There are many variables that go into a successful transaction, and most are usually in the control of those directly handling the home. Here are 4 reasons why your home may not be selling. The Smell of Your Home The old adage is, “If you can smell it, you can’t sell it”. Potential buyers walk into homes and a strange or unwelcoming smell can push the buyer out of that house a lot faster.  Pets are a part of our families but the smell can ruin a buyers feeling on the home. Scented candles and air fresheners go along way in changing the way a home feels to those looking. The Home May Need Some TLC Repairs are usually seen by buyers as a burden, and many don’t look to take them on. We all want the most for the least, and potential home buyers are no different. Looking to get the most for your home will sometimes require you to make the necessary repairs to warrant that amount. Small fixtures, updates, and cleaning can go along way. Presentation is all wrong The first place your home is seen is typically online in a quick flip through on a phone and computer. . With that being said, what will make the buyer want to take the time to see your property? Professional photography and staging in some cases can go a really long way in making your home stand out. Secondly, listing the immediate benefits of the home (location, size, proximity to areas of interest) may peak the interest and lead...

5 Things To Know Before You Finance A Home

by mstrickland | Jul 11, 2017 | CT Real Estate News

Most people that buy any type of home, usually finance it. With that being said, that is the biggest purchase one will make in life. With something of that magnitude, you should be very cautious and know what you’re doing beforehand. Here are my 5 things you need to know before you make the jump into financing a home. 1. Understand the full cost of owning a home There are four parts of a mortgage; Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance. While the taxes are usually set, the insurance is dependent upon the property (size, area,pool,pets). Principal is the amount being financed and interest is the amount being charged to borrow that. Another aspect is your monthly bills, home maintenance, and other repair costs. Its is very important to have a mortgage that you are very comfortable with. 2. Know your credit Your credit history will determine if you ultimately get approved. By knowing where you stand credit wise, it makes the process that much easier of knowing what needs to be cleaned up and addressed beforehand. You should pull a free annual credit report and know where you stand. (Annualcreditreport.com) 3. Match your mortgage type with goals If your income isn’t going to grow over time, you will probably be in the home longer term, so you’ll want a loan with a payment that won’t change, like a 30-year fixed. Or maybe you expect your income to increase sharply within five years and you’re going to upgrade homes within that time, so you’ll want a five-year ARM, which has a much lower rate. If you don’t have a 20-percent down...

5 Steps To Start Improving Your Credit

by mstrickland | Jul 6, 2017 | CT Real Estate News

Credit is a vital part to success and ease in your adult life. Having bad credit will result in you having to pay more in interest rates on cars, homes, credit cards, and even personal loans. If your credit score is really low, you’ll likely come across a denial in more cases than not. So what do you need to do to start on the path to improving your credit? Here are my first 5 Steps to Improve Your Credit KNOW WHERE YOU STAND In order to solve the problem, you must first know where you stand. There are several places online that offer a free estimate of where your score is (most popularly www.creditkarma.com). Visit Annualcreditreport.com to pull a report from all three bureaus. Although you wont have a score, you will see the things that are reporting and things you need to address and have possibly disputed. START TO BUILD YOUR CREDIT HISTORY While removing bad or inaccurate items off your reports are helpful, they wont necessarily make your score rise. You have to maintain and have all credit accounts in good standing. The easiest and best type of credit to get is a revolving credit or secured credit card. They usually report monthly to all three bureaus and if used correctly will lift your score. The biggest rule of thumb is to keep every balance under 30% of the available limit. RESEARCH CREDIT OPTIONS AND DON’T JUMP AT FIRST OFFER Just because you get a card offer, don’t just accept. Most people don’t read the fine print of the card info. Be careful to see what the...

5 First Steps To Improving Your Credit Score

by mstrickland | Jul 5, 2017 | CT Real Estate News

When it comes to improving your credit there is no “instant” fix to make it happen overnight. The best and fastest way to make sure that your credit stays great is to never let it go bad. Life happens to us all, and things happen. Here are the first 5 steps I direct my clients to do to improve their credit scores: Get a copy of your credit report and address errors According to a recent poll, 1 in 5 consumers have an error on their report. You should visit annualcreditreport.com and download your report (every citizen gets a free copy once a year), and see that everything is accurate and up to date. 2. Write a letter, or have credit repair company handle the errors found If errors or maybe a late payment is found, contacting the company that reported it should be your next step. It isn’t easy to get a creditor to remove a late payment, but there is a dispute process. Most lenders really only factor in the late payments within the last 12 months. Removing a negative account from your report can drastically improve your score once done. 3. Lower your credit card usage 30% of your credit score is your outstanding and current debt. Lowering that (under 30% of your limit on each card and overall) balance will definitely help your score within 30 days as well once the creditor next reports. Another option, is to request a balance increase from your creditor, which will lower how much is being used if increased. 4. Don’t apply for any credit Seeking new credit in...

5 Easy Home Upgrades To Get Your Home Sold Faster

by mstrickland | Jun 22, 2017 | CT Real Estate News

With the current market as busy as it is, putting yourself in the best position as a seller is vital. Selling your home for the highest amount possible, and in the fastest time is every seller’s goal. So what does it take to achieve that? Price is always the determining factor in your home selling and how fast it sells. What are some other things you can do to get that home sold for more money and faster? Here are 5 helpful tips in making it happen: Neutral paint Paint goes along way in the appearance and presentation of  the home. When buyers walk in, the more neutral the colors, the warmer and appealing the home is. Light Blue or gray seem to be the most popular of the colors at the current time, as that’s what you see on a lot of HGTV programs. Homes with walls that are painted light blue or a pale blue-gray color could bring in as much as $5,440 more than if the home had white walls, according to Zillow’s Paint Color Analysis of more than 32,000 photos of homes sold nationwide. Knobs and fixtures This may be one of the cheapest and effective things that can be done, changing hardware and fixtures all throughout the house. Changing the hardware on the cabinets, drawers, and handles in your kitchen with a stainless or brushed nickel look can drastically change the appearance. While you’re at it, getting matching plumbing fixtures can fully compliment the new look. When it comes to bathrooms, these simple things can go even further, as a vanity change can alter the...