Tag: Barksdale

Bossier home house photo Shreveport Bossier Expert Real Estate Agent Realtor Military veteran buy home sell house Ryan Wheeler

Common Home Selling Mistakes To Avoid?

Shreveport-Bossier City Homes and Lifestyle

Selling your home can be one of the most exciting times in your life. An opportunity to move to a new location and hopefully make a profit from the sale of your home is important. Before you get too excited about seeing the “Sold” sign out on your lawn there are several common mistakes that many home sellers make. From when to sell to not hiring a Realtor they trust to not knowing the current housing market conditions – all of these and more can lead to a frustrating time for you & your family.

With the trifecta of increasing prices, historically low interest rates for buyers, and the approaching summer sale season, you might be thinking of selling. But even with the latest jump in sale prices, you still need to maximize equity when your house hits the market.

 

Pricing Your Home Too High

  • By far, the worst home selling mistake a seller can make is hanging the wrong price tag on a home. If the home is priced too high, buyers won’t look at it. If it’s priced too low, sellers worry that they’ll give away profits.
  • If the home is overpriced, buyers might submit lowball offers, which tend to result in an immediate offer rejection. These extremely low offers tend to infuriate and insult sellers.

Home Is in Bad Condition

  • Getting your house ready for market goes beyond making the beds and washing dirty dishes. Although I’ve seen plenty of homes with toys scattered throughout and dishes piled in the sink; buyers can’t get out of those homes fast enough.
  • Dressing your home for showings is called staging a home. Think of the process like arranging flowers in an attractive vase. If you or your agent lack the vision or ability to stage, consider hiring a professional home stager.

Trying to sell it yourself

  • Statistics don’t lie.  89% of all “For Sale Buy Owner” attempts end up calling a Realtor for help.  Why?  Because they don’t have requisite expertise, knowledge or systems in place to properly market, advertise, engage or engage with a buyer.  Not to mention no experience with setting the right price, negotiating, figuring out all the paperwork, staying in compliance with local laws, etc.  FSBO homes usually are people that don’t know what they are doing and can lose big in the end.  Walking over dollars just to save dimes is never the best choice.

Home Is Marketed Wrong

  • Whenever I see a badly shot photograph in MLS, and perhaps it’s the only photo, I want to shake the agent and scream, “What are you thinking?” But agents and sellers make plenty of marketing mistakes.
  • Before selling your home you still need to examine your local and neighboring communities housing market statistics. If you live in a high-demanded area for tourists, executives or that has prime real estate value in terms of worth then your outlook could be better than a neighboring community that has 1/3 of their properties on the market, and has for the last 6 months.

Not disclosing problems or past history of your home

When selling your home don’t try to keep the home’s past history a secret. A home inspector could locate the problem(s) later into negotiations or the past history could affect the safety of the future homeowners. Be honest and take care of all repairs before attempting to sell your home.  The buyer could always sue you as well if you kept pertinent information to yourself.  Honestly is always the best policy.

Ignoring your Realtor’s advice.

If you’ve chosen correctly, your Realtor should be the one person you really listen to when it comes to strategies for selling your home quickly and for the best price. If they tell you that the home needs to be de-cluttered or staged, listen. Buyers react negatively to homes that need repairs or are messy.

**Ryan Wheeler is an expert real estate agent and military veteran serving buyers and sellers of homes in the Shreveport-Bossier City area.  Connect With Me Here

Shreveport Bossier Expert Real Estate Agent Realtor Military veteran buy home sell house Ryan Wheeler

What You Should Know Before Buying A House

Shreveport-Bossier City Homes and Lifestyle

Here’s some great tips before you buy that new house

1.  The advice your uncle gave you is not always the best

Be careful about following the guidance of family and friends who have limited experience in the process.  Having bought a home once every 5+ years does not qualify them as an expert.  Your agent does this every day so perhaps their advice is more timely and knowledgeable?  What other professional service would you allow family and friends to give you?  Legal, medical, business advice?  Likely not … treat this the same way.

2. Take the time to “sniff” out any issues with the property

Look and smell for mold as well as animal-related odors. Knock on walls to see if they sound hollow. Open the dryer and the dishwasher – you never know if pests are living in there. Does the toilet flush properly? Does the heating/air-conditioning work? Is the flue functioning above the fireplace? Is the water pressure okay?

3. Work with experienced professionals

Hire the most thorough, licensed home inspector you can find to pinpoint any issues that could potentially end up becoming costly repairs.  Your agent can help you find a great professional.

4. Use your head, not your heart

Don’t be afraid to walk away from a bad deal. There will be other properties, maybe even better ones. Remember that this is a financial transaction and that your terms must be met.  In order to get your best deal you must be willing to walk away.

5. Negotiate as much as you can … but be careful

Your agent will be doing the negotiating for you, so make sure you tell them what it is you are willing to concede and what you aren’t.  Just remember, there is a fine line between being a hard negotiator and being unreasonable.  Pushing to hard can (and does) sink deals with sellers.  Just be aware … and listen to your agent’s advice

6. Gardens and yards are work

Almost everyone likes the idea of having a garden, but if you’re not used to maintaining one, you might want to think twice about whether you want to spend your weekends weeding and mowing the lawn.

7. Buy property you can afford now, not later

Even if you’re pretty certain that you’ll be earning more in a year or two, you might also find that circumstances increase the other expenses in your life. Children, schools, new cars and travel plans are substantial costs. Make sure there will be room in your budget for you to live the life you want.

8. The search can take longer than you think

Don’t operate on someone else’s timeline and don’t make commitments that will make things challenging if your property hunt takes a few months longer than you anticipated. If you’re renting, stay on a month-to-month agreement so that you are able to move without penalty.

**Ryan Wheeler is an expert real estate agent and military veteran serving buyers and sellers of homes in the Shreveport Bossier City area.  Connect With Me Here

Bossier home house photo Shreveport Bossier Expert Real Estate Agent Realtor Military veteran buy home sell house Ryan Wheeler moving

5 Tips for Home Buying

Shreveport-Bossier City Homes and Lifestyle

Looking to buy a home? Here are five essential tips for making the process as smooth as possible

Get your finances in order

You will want to start by getting a full picture of your credit.  You’ll want to get copies of your credit report from all three credit monitoring bureaus.  Make sure the information is correct and ensure that you fix any problems that you find.  The next step is to find a great lender and get pre-qualified for a loan.  This starts with having a number in mind based on your financed but it is actually determined by a loan officer based on numerous factors to include your credit score, debt to income ratio, current finances etc.  Once you have your pre-qualification letter from the lender that does two things for you:  1) Now you know the amount of home you can by so there’s no need to look above that number and 2) it puts you in a better position to make an offer and be taken seriously from a home seller so you don’t risk losing a home you love to another buyer.

Find a house you can afford

There’s a general rule of thumb when it comes to home buying and a lender will make sure you are within these limits as well.  That rule is no more than 2.5 times your annual salary.  There are a number of tools and calculators online that can assist you in better understanding all of this.  But again, that is also what a lender is there to help you with.  Don’t forget that there are numerous other factors that go into a home mortgage: taxes, insurance, HOA fees if applicable so make sure you don’t leave those figures out when you are doing your due diligence.

Work with a professional

While the internet gives buyers unprecedented access to home listings and numerous resources nearly every single aspect of the home buying process requires a very high level of expertise you can’t figure out on your own or from surfing the web.  Your best choice is to work with a local real estate agent who is specifically trained, qualified and experienced in the process, paperwork and the law who buys and sells homes every month.  And why wouldn’t you?  Using an agent to buy a home costs you nothing.  So let the professionals do what they are good out and give you the peace of mind that you need to get the home you want.

Do your own homework

Before making an offer on a home you wish to buy make sure to do your own due diligence to determine the overall state of the market.  Is it more favorable to buyers or sellers?  The time of year can often impact this question.  Also, look at sales trends of similar homes in the area or the neighborhood you are interested in.  Ask your agent to see the data of prices and sales over the past few months as well.  With your agent’s guidance come up with an asking price that is both fair and realistic.  Remember, the seller doesn’t have to sell if the don’t like your offer and the last thing you want to do is tick off a seller with a low-ball offer.

Think long term

As you look at your family situation and determine your needs make sure you take into consideration the length of your stay in this location.  Also, make sure to think about what matters to you the most:  Great schools for the kids, affordability, resale potential, and the like.  Even if you don’t have kids at this time you open up your buyer options if you buy where families also want to live.  When it comes to the house itself, you should hire a very reputable home inspector who has the experience and expertise to point out potential problems with the home so they can be fixed during contract negotiations

 

**Ryan Wheeler is an expert real estate agent and military veteran serving buyers and sellers of homes in the Shreveport-Bossier City area.  Connect With Me Here

Shreveport Bossier Expert Real Estate Agent Realtor Military veteran buy home sell house Ryan Wheeler moving

Veterans: 5 Tricks for Making an Offer That Can’t Be Refused

Shreveport-Bossier City Homes and Lifestyle

There are many of benefits to buying a home with a VA loan. You’ll may pay less upfront than other buyers. You might get a lower interest rate. And you can use your benefits again and again.

But although you may have a leg up on the other guys when it comes to home financing, making an offer on your dream home could be trickier than you expect. VA loans can work a bit differently than conventional loans, but understanding VA and lender guidelines will help you make the strongest purchase offer possible.

Veterans: Make sure to check your eligibility for a $0 down VA loan if you haven’t already, and then take this guidance to heart when you’re looking for your dream home and making an offer.

1. Be cautious—but not dismissive—of older homes

Before you get down to the business of making an offer, you’ll need to ensure you’re making an offer on the right kind of home. When you’re buying with a VA loan, you’ll have to get the home approved by an appraiser, and the VA’s standards can be stricter than those for the average home buyer. In short, they want you to find a home in good condition. That leads many buyers to believe historic homes are off-limits, but that might not be the case.

“The VA’s rules about homes and what they will and won’t approve is probably one of the most argued-about things I’ve seen,” says Bobby Middleton, a VA-savvy Realtor® with Texas Premier Realty in San Antonio. “I’ve seen houses that were built in 1929 that didn’t have a problem with the VA, and I’ve seen new houses and you just knew the appraiser wasn’t going to approve it.”

“I suggest to my clients to avoid HUD and short sale properties,” adds Rob Racz, managing broker for Windermere Real Estate in Everett, WA. Many of these properties have been damaged or fallen into disrepair, making them unlikely to win approval for a VA loan. If you really want an older home, look for one that’s already been remodeled. Of course you can always try to buy these kinds of homes but doing so with a VA loan is not likely your best option.

2. Work out repair requests with the seller

Even if you’re buying a newer home, you’ll have to be on the lookout for potential problems. The need for a little updating in the kitchen or a fresh coat of paint won’t matter much to a VA appraiser, who’s looking at broad health, safety, and marketability issues. But bigger issues can cause a problem with your VA loan—and, subsequently, your offer.

“The lender is not going to loan you the money to buy the house unless the repair is made,” Middleton says.

The problem is the seller doesn’t have to make any repairs. The seller could decide to just walk away from the deal and wait for another buyer. Your best option is to have your Realtor work with the seller’s to reach an agreement. Often, the problem simply boils down to a lack of understanding. The seller might not realize that as a VA buyer, you need to have the repair done to get your loan approved.

This is where choosing a Realtor who understands the VA loan process comes in. In the Shreveport, Bossier City area Ryan Wheeler is considered a leading expert with 95% of his clients being military members. Connect With Me Here

“If you’ve got a buyer’s agent that can explain all that to the listing agent, nine times out of 10 we’ll get the repair done,” Middleton says.

Buyers can also look to pay for repairs themselves if the seller won’t budge but this is not generally an option with a VA loan.

3. Do a thorough market analysis before making an offer

Making an offer with a fair price is key to getting that offer accepted. But what’s considered “fair”? This is where your agent comes in because they know the market better than you, the buyer, will.

Striking the right tone here can be challenging. You could lowball the seller in hopes of saving some money, but you risk driving the seller away and offending them. On the other hand, if you offer more than the VA is willing to approve, you’ll have to either come up with the cash to cover the difference or risk losing the home.

Here’s where you and your real estate agent will need to do a little homework to see what the home might appraise for before you make the offer—and that can get tricky.

“Sometimes we find with older homes that sellers are basing their prices on the new homes being built 2 miles away,” Middleton says. “Basically, they want to price their 1990s house as a brand-new house, but the appraiser might not always agree.”

The key to finding a good balance comes down to the comparative market analysis, or comps. Your Realtor should run a market analysis on similar, recently sold homes in the area before you come up with an offer price. If you land on a price that looks good to the seller and matches up with the appraiser’s valuation, you’ll have an easier time getting your offer accepted and getting approved for that VA loan.

4. Be conservative with demands

There are plenty of myths about the VA loan process—that it takes a long time (not true) or that the seller won’t make a profit (not true again!). Being a VA buyer shouldn’t keep sellers from accepting your offer, but still aim to make your offer shine—especially if you’re buying in a competitive market where multiple offers are common.

That means you might want to dial it back with the demands. Take, for example, closing costs. If you don’t have the funds you need to cover the closing costs yourself, it makes sense to ask the seller to foot some of the bill. But you stand a better chance of getting your offer accepted if you present it carefully.

Middleton recommends trying to roll those closing costs into the total cost of the home.

“You have to put yourself in the seller’s shoes a bit. If you just say, ‘Hey, I want you to cover $6,000 in closing costs just because you’ve been on the market for 71 days,’ it may not go so well,” he explains. “Rather than offer $173,000 for the house and then ask for $6,000 in closings costs, absorb some of those costs into the asking price. Offer $179,000 instead.”

With this approach, you’re effectively financing your closing costs—with interest—over 15 or 30 years. But do keep in mind the home will need to appraise for that higher amount.

5. Make yourself stand out

You should also find creative ways to make yourself stand out from the other buyers.

“We often ask our buyers to write a ‘love letter’ to the seller,” Racz says. “For instance, what they like about the house, why they are moving, how long they have been looking, etc.”

It could mean the difference to sentimental sellers who want to see their home go to someone who will love it as they did. Even if it doesn’t, you know you pulled out all the stops to make a solid offer that not only will be accepted by the seller, but will also get your VA loan approved.

**Ryan Wheeler is an expert real estate agent and military veteran serving buyers and sellers of homes in the Shreveport-Bossier City area.  Connect With Me Here

Shreveport Bossier Expert Real Estate Agent Realtor Military veteran buy home sell house Ryan Wheeler moving

6 Tips For Buying a Home When Overseas

Shreveport-Bossier City Homes and Lifestyle

**Ryan Wheeler is an expert real estate agent and military veteran serving buyers and sellers of homes in the Shreveport Bossier City area.  Connect With Me Here

Service members know that life doesn’t go on hold while you’re deployed. If your financial goals include buying your own home, you can fulfill that goal while you are overseas serving our country.

A survey from the National Association of Realtors found that 51 percent of surveyed service members between 18 and 35 owned homes, whereas their non-military peers had a homeownership rate of 34 percent. Your dream of owning a home BEFORE you arrive at your next duty location can be very easily accomplished.

How to Buy a Home from Afar

We’ll walk you through the basic steps to purchase your dream home during your overseas time.

  1. Narrow Down the Neighborhood Let the internet do the heavy lifting as you decide on your new neighborhood. Check out the city’s website for basic information like school ratings, parks, events, activities and property taxes. You can use a street-view map like Google Earth to see recent images of the area and exterior shots of the homes you like. This research will help you figure out what your budget should be and what the essential elements are for you and your family. It will also help you weed out areas that don’t meet your needs. We recommend researching a couple of zip codes for easy comparison.
  2. Hire an Expert Agent:A local real estate agent should be your ‘boots on the ground’ as you search for your new home. You will also want to seek out an agent who understands the relocation and home-buying process for military personnel. Some realtors choose to earn a Military Relocation Certification from the National Association of Realtors. Agents with this certification understand common issues facing current and former military members, and they’re familiar with the programs and benefits for which military members qualify. Hiring a real estate agent may also help you be the first to know when houses go on the market.  A great agent can set you up with your own Web Portal of homes pulled directly from the MLS.  That way you can have homes come to you where you can then manage them as opposed to searching and trying to keep track of all the ones you like.
  3. Tour Homes on Video:                                                                                                  Employ your spouse, family member or a friend to attend viewings of your top-choice houses. This representative can measure rooms, drive around the neighborhood and tell you any other specifics that your internet research did not uncover. Get creative: explore the home alongside your friend or family member using video chat.  Of course, in order to do this, you will need to have your expert agent already lined up.  If a spouse or friend is unavailable then your agent can do this for you.
  4. Exercise A Power of Attorney:Speak to a lawyer about using a power of attorney, which is a legal document signed by one person granting another person the power to represent the signer in signing papers, title documents, contracts and other activities. If you can’t be at closing, the person you have selected (like your spouse, for instance) can represent you under the power of attorney. If you are getting a VA loan, there may be additional hoops to jump through, such as an occupancy requirement. Your spouse may be able to fulfill the occupancy requirements for you, or you can file for an extension.
  5. Almost Everything is Done Digitally!                                                                                  When it comes to the paperwork to make an offer on a home, don’t sweat it!  As long as you have internet access and an e-mail address your agent can send all the paperwork to sign digitally to make an offer on a home.
  6. Use Snail Mail if Necessary                                                                                                      If you are single and don’t have family or friends in the area who can sign for you under a power of attorney, your lender may need to mail the documents for you to sign. This isn’t ideal, as shipping the documents can extend the buying process but it can easily be done.  This is colloquially known as a “FedEx close”.  Your mortgage company will let you know beforehand what their process is.
  7. Enjoy the BenefitsOne huge perk of homeownership is the tax benefits that come along with it. If your move is the result of a military relocation, you may be able to claim unreimbursed moving expenses as a tax deduction. With a VA loan, you may also be able to claim the interest paid as a deduction. Work with your real estate agent and tax professional to identify applicable benefits and perks.

Buying a home is an exciting milestone, and one that deployed military members can achieve. Homeownership is a step towards putting down roots and belonging to a local community. The buying process may feel complicated (even on a good day), but your own home will be a haven for your family while you are away, and a joyful place to return to when you come back.

**Ryan Wheeler is an expert real estate agent and military veteran serving buyers and sellers of homes in the Shreveport-Bossier City area.  Connect With Me Here

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