Rio Grande Valley Real Estate and Community News

March 28, 2021

Avoid These Common FSBO Mistakes When Selling Your Home Online

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There are many reasons homeowners decide to forgo the real estate agent and list their home for sales as an FSBO (For Sale by Owner). FSBO sellers can utilize many of the same national real estate websites used to showcase property online. Most homebuyers start their house search online, so the online listing must showcase the home to generate offers. To sell quickly, one must avoid the common mistakes home sellers make online.

  • Cell Phone Photos – Invest in professional photography. Pictures are the first thing buyers notice and poor-quality shots will prevent the buyer from noticing the home, or even setting up a showing.
  • Responding Slowly – When a potential buyer reaches out, they expect a prompt response. Catching buyers quickly is the best way to move the buying process into the next stage of setting an appointment.
  • Not Paying for Exposure – Regardless of the platform, there is an option to boost the listing to get featured exposure. The fee is a small price to pay to ensure more potential buyers see the home first when they search for properties.
  • Poor Grammar and Misspellings – Always double-check listing information is accurate, clearly explained, and written with proper grammar and spelling.

Listing on Only One Platform – More exposure only means more views. Consider all the major real estate platforms and use them all. Selling a home without a real estate agent involves more effort by the homeowner. The homeowner needs to be at every showing, and figure out how to write the contract. It certainly is not for everyone. If you are a FSBO seller and ready to let a real estate agent take over, contact us today!

Posted in Selling Your Home
Feb. 20, 2021

5 Reasons Selling Without an Agent is a Bad Idea

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Do-it-yourself projects are in vogue these days. You can find advice online for everything from investing in crypto-currency to tearing down the living room wall. When considering the cost of moving, it’s natural to wonder if real estate commissions are one way to save money, but it would be a mistake. A good real estate agent might make it seem easy, but the fact is that selling your own home could actually cost you thousands of dollars. 

1. The Safety of Your Home and Family is a Priority – Real Estate agents control access to your home.

 

2. Most Serious Buyers Start their Search Online – A professional listing area will market your home aggressively online, which is where the buyers are searching.

 

3. The Buyer Might not be Qualified – A real estate agent knows how to qualify a buyer and what to look for with lender letters. Selling your home on your own risks wasted time with an unqualified buyer.

 

4. You Don’t Know How to Negotiate Properly – Every aspect of a real estate transaction is negotiable; you don’t have the experience to know what to negotiate to get the best deal.

 

5. You Could Expose Yourself to Liability – Required disclosures and paperwork for a home sale is extensive; unless you plan to use an attorney, you could miss critical disclosures and expose yourself to financial harm.

 

Finally, more often than not, sellers net more when they use an agent than when they try to do it themselves. In addition to selling faster, a professional agent knows how to properly price and promote your home, ensuring you get the best possible sales price and terms.

Posted in Selling Your Home
Jan. 10, 2021

5 Questions Sellers Have about the Market during the Coronavirus Outbreak: Answered

 

There are so many questions and concerns amid the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. The real estate market is especially hard hit and sellers are concerned. Real estate at its core is a people business. It relies on person-to-person interaction and the coronavirus necessarily limits this contact. As the spring selling season gets started, home sellers will have questions and it’s important to acknowledge concerns and offer practical advice and concrete information to help sellers make the best decision for themselves and their families. 

  1. Should I still try and sell my home? Of course, there are many aspects to this question. First and foremost, the health concerns of the sellers’ family have to be taken into consideration. Unless absolutely necessary, the elderly and those with underlying health issues should not allow unnecessary people into their homes; including buyers and agents. If the household is essentially healthy and not considered high-risk, then this could be a great time to sell. Consider the advantages of lower inventory coupled with low-interest rates; as listings become rarer, the remaining inventory will get more attention which could create better offers. 

  1. Is it safe to have people through my home? – This is certainly a concern, but there are practical steps you can take to ensure safer home showings. 

  1. What can I do to protect my family during showings? - Protect the home, family and visitors alike by taking the following precautions. 

    1. Keep hand sanitizer at the front door to offer buyers and their agents when they enter the home.  

  1. If there is a guest bathroom, keep disposable hand towels and soap for guests to use and make the request known to the showing agent.

  1. Offer disposable gloves for use with a receptacle for used gloves. 

  1. Limit the showing days and hours so you can properly clean between showings. 

  1. Have cleaning wipes handy. Request agents to wipe surfaces, door handles, and banisters which are touched during the showing.

  1. Ask your agent to offer virtual showings or host virtual open houses

  1. What happens if my buyer loses their job? – Most real estate contracts include a contingency for the buyer loan approval and funding. Now more than ever, it’s critical to keep that contingency in place. In the unfortunate event the buyer loses their job or can no longer qualify for the loan during the contingency deadline, the parties typically cancel the contract.

  2. Will I get a higher price if I wait to list my home? – The truth is no one knows. We don’t know how long or short the crisis will be and we don’t know how the financial market will weather the outbreak. While this is a question the seller will ultimately need to decide, the old adage about a “bird in the hand” is important to remember. 

This spring selling season has proven to have unique circumstances – please contact your real estate agent to learn more about the current outlook and opportunities in your local market.

Posted in Selling Your Home
Dec. 20, 2020

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission November 2020 Real Estate Market Update

The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission real estate market is still roaring! In November, the median home price climbed up 19% and active listings decreased 38.9%. More than 100 economists and real estate experts are forecasting home prices to increase and continue growing in 2021, according to a recent survey sponsored by Zillow. Call us at 956.408.0268 or message us to help you sell your property.

 

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission real esate market

Posted in Real Estate News
Dec. 5, 2020

Tips to Quickly Make Your Home Show-Ready

Staging Home

 

Everyone dreams of living in a model home – a beautiful modern room with the perfect vase of flowers sitting decoratively on a glass side table. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always work this way. Our homes tend to look more “lived in” with a pile of shoes by the front door, school books on the kitchen table, and cat hair on the sofa.

If you have your home listed for sale, then you also know the stress of looking around your home after a phone call requesting a showing with a few minutes’ notice. You want your home to show well so the buyers can see the beauty of the home you love, but with such short notice, how can you convert the lived-in look to a show-ready property?

Fortunately, there are a few tricks for helping you keep your home show-ready at any time. 

  • Plan in Advance – Before you even list your house, consider the adjustment you’ll need to make in your lifestyle. Move non-essential items to a storage unit, to not only create visual appeal but make it easier to clean quickly.
  • Containers – A simple way to quickly eliminate toys, clothes, shoes, sports equipment, and other items is storage bins. Keep some handy to throw excess items into before a buyer shows up, and move them to the garage or basement, or even the back of a vehicle.
  • Establish a Routine – Get everyone in the family involved in establishing a daily routine. The less clutter that accumulates, the easier it is to move out of sight quickly. All family members should have morning and evening duties to keep the home tidy. If things are kept up on a daily basis, it will make the clutter and mess less overwhelming.

Unfortunately, your life doesn’t stop just because you’ve listed your home for sale. Keep it show-ready by preparing in advance, so those last-minute buyers can see your home’s charm and not the day’s clutter.

Posted in Selling Your Home
Nov. 28, 2020

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission October 2020 Real Estate Market Update

The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission real estate market remains strong in the 4th quarter! Low inventory and historically low mortgage interest rates appear to be the main drivers for the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission real estate market. Call the real estate experts today to learn how we can help you sell your property fast! Call us today at 956.408.0268 or message us today!

Market Update

Posted in Market Updates
Nov. 28, 2020

Seller's Market? Consider New Construction Homes

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Most of the country is experiencing a very tight real estate market. Inventory levels are historically low, perhaps owing to the concern of strangers traipsing through the home during this time. Additionally, because most people are staying home, they have been able to focus on their property and how it fits into their lifestyle, emphasizing the need to right-size their environment. With properly-priced homes moving quickly off the market, homebuyers are frustrated. For those who can be flexible with their timing, new construction offers an appealing alternative to the resale market.

New construction offers the buyer a fresh, blank canvas on which to create their perfect home. In any market, this can be appealing, but when resale inventory is low, this is even more attractive. Yet, new construction is more than modern floorplans and beautiful finishes. Before buying new construction, it’s important to ask a few questions first:

  • How long will the property take to build, and what possible delays could affect that timeframe? How does that timeline fit in with selling your current home or finding interim housing?
  • Is your completion date affected by the sale or occupancy of other units or phases?
  • What is included in the base unit and what are the additional costs for custom add-on options?
  • What are the HOA (homeowner’s association) fees and what do they cover?

In addition, it’s important to understand the exact location of the new home and any planned developments or improvements which could affect the home in the future – road noise, parking or traffic congestion, view, etc. For those trying to compete in this resale seller’s market, it could be time to buy new. Developers are offering some great incentives in this climate, and it can be a great alternative for those with a little time to wait. 

Posted in Buying a Home