First Time Home Buyer Tips

You'd love to sell your home for more money wouldn't you? Well of course you would! It's no surprise that most home sellers have high expectations when selling their home. They want it to be fast and highly profitable! Below are some proven ways to ensure you get the most for your home. 1. Understand what buyers are looking for and then emphasize what makes your home desirable. Are there certain architectural features, views, or amenities that set your home apart from others. 2. Intelligent Renovation. What is that you ask? Things like structural, electrical and plumbing should be in tip top shape. After these are in order, start looking at cosmetic changes; things like paint, fixtures and hardware. 3. Beauty from the road to the door. This means that the home should be beautiful and inviting from the exterior including the driveway on up to the front door. Add some color the outside or bright flowers to make the home pop. 4. Pricing it correctly will ensure that more buyers view the home, which can ultimately lead to a quicker sale. 5. Effective online marketing is essential. We live in a digital age where more consumers begin their searches online. In fact, statistics show that nearly 90% of home buyers begin their search online. A good agent will know how to properly market the property online with high quality photos and videos to bring out the best in your home! To read more, click here !

Whether you’re selling your 3 bed suburban home or your 2 bed lake house, putting your home on the market can be very stressful. Week after week, showings require that your house be showable at all times, not to mention the inconvenience of leaving at a moment’s notice. If you have pets or children, that stress is even greater! Keep in mind though, your home will the most attention and activity the first few weeks it’s on the market — so you need to hit the ground running and sell before your listing grows stale. “To sell a home quickly, it needs to show well, be marketed well, and priced correctly,” says Goran Forss, broker at Allison James Estates & Homes in Temecula, CA. If you need to sell your home fast, these tried-and-true methods can help you get offers much quicker. 1. Get a Storage Unit Most people will place any clutter into their closets. Don't so this! People that tour your home will most certainly open the closets to check out the storage space. The general rule? Get rid of a third of your stuff. “If you don’t use it every day, store it,” says Justin Seeby, principal at the Graham Seeby Group with Keller Williams Intown Realty in Atlanta, GA. Not to mention, if you use a portable storage unit, it can easily be transported to your new home! 2. Hire a professional to stage and take photos Hiring a professional home stager ensures that your home is seen from a buyer's perspective. The first place a potential home buyer looks is the listing photos. Studies show that a listing with more than 6 photos will be twice as likely to be viewed by purchasers. 3. Find the right real estate agent Do not hire an agent just because they are from your hometown or a fan of the same football team. What matters is a track record that proves they can sell your home and for top dollar. Do they know the benefits of your neighborhood, can they give you advice on what buyers will like and not like about your home? You also need to make sure they promote their listings on social media as the majority of buyers today are beginning their search online. 4. Promote it yourself Do some of the marketing yourself! Promote it on your personal social media forums and send the listing to friends and family. You never know who may be looking to buy in your area! Take a flyer around to your neighbors! 5. Remove personal items Removing personal photos will allow a prospective buyer to envision themselves living in your home. Your children's pictures are most certainly cute, but they are your pictures, not a potential buyer. 6. Make small upgrades Updates things like fixtures, kitchen hardware, towels, shower curtain, etc. Rather than spending a fortune on a full kitchen remodel, upgrade the appliances instead. Minor upgrades can have a major impact. 7. Light it up Brighten up the home with high wattage light bulbs, more natural light and lighter paint colors. 8. Amp up curb appeal The first thing people see about your home is the curb appeal. If it doesn't appeal to them and welcome them to your home, they more then likely won't want to see the inside. Minor things like trimming hedges ad bushes, refreshing the mulch and edging can go a long way. 9. Sell at the right time It probably comes as no surprise that Spring and Summer are typically the best times to sell your home. You also need to price the home right. Just because you feel your home may be worth more doesn't mean that someone will pay your magic number for it! Your home is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. To read more about how to sell your home fast, click here !

You’ve finally settled into your new home. You’re hanging pictures and pinning ideas for your favorite bath. But in all your excitement, are you missing something? Now that you’re a bonafide homeowner are there things you should know that you don’t? Probably so. Here are six mistakes new homeowners often make, and why they’re critically important to avoid. #1 Not Knowing Where the Main Water Shutoff Valve is #2 Not Calling 811 Before Digging a Hole #3 Not Checking the Slope of Foundation Soil #4 Not Knowing the Depth of Attic Insulation #5 Carelessly Drilling into Walls #6 Cutting Down a Tree To read this article in it's entirety, click here !

Buying a house: It’s a big deal. It’s not like purchasing a pair of shoes, a new suit or even a car, for that matter. While it’s certainly fun and exciting, it can also be downright confusing. While brunching with a friend the other day, our discussion turned to real estate. She’s a 28 year old ready to dip her toe in the market. Like most first timers, she quickly realized that she had no idea where to start. “Tell me how to buy a house. I’m like a baby… I know nothing.” Her words, verbatim. Two hours (and several mimosas) later, she had a darn good idea of the process. Here, I’ve recapped our discussion, broken down into ten basic steps. If it’s your first (or even your second) time buying, you’re going to have lot of questions and will need guidance and a bit of handholding. But this outline will set you in the right direction. 1. Establish Your Real Estate Goals 2. Start Building Your Dream Team 3. Talk To Lender 4. House Hunt 5. Get an Accepted Offer 6. Do Your Due Diligence 7. Loop in an Attorney for the Purchase and Sale 8. Secure Your Mortgage 9. Pass Papers 10. Celebrate! To read the article in it's entirety, click here !

Rylan Realty has chosen the winner of our Date Night for 2 drawing at the Wedding Dreams Bridal Show at the Pinnacle in Maumee, OH August 27, 2017.