Real estate shopping can be a high-stress time. Looking for your home, whether it be a starter home or your forever property will take a lot of time and energy. Searching for a home will also be a learning experience. If you are looking for a house in the Greater Portland Area or Sebago Lake region, be sure to learn a little about the real estate terminology that you will see in some ads and how they affect what you are looking for.
Build your nest egg and net worth by investing in a multi-unit building. Unless you are a commercial investor, most folks buy residential multi-unit buildings. A multi-unit building is more than one family residing in the same building and can be a duplex or a 10 unit complex. Before you buy, there are some important points to consider.
Reverse Mortgages are programs designed to enable senior homeowners 62 years and older to convert part of their home equity into cash. They can do this without having to sell their home or give up the title. Seniors do not have to take on any new mortgage payments either. Instead of making monthly payments to a lender, the reverse mortgage lender makes payments to the senior homeowner.
Buying a home is a BIG deal, it is probably going to be the biggest investment in your life so why would you even think about buying a home and not doing your research or going into the process haphazardly?
Home buying is primarily based on emotions. Sellers should capitalize on this in every possible way. Have a showing plan in place. Stage your home, clean it immaculately and do the extra things that make your home shine in the best possible light.
Here’s a checklist of things that you should do before you ever list your home on the market:
Beautify your home. The cleaner, prettier, and larger your home looks, the higher the offer price will be. So give your home a makeover by doing such things as trimming your front hedges, cleaning out the gutters, mowing the lawn, and giving the exterior/interior a fresh coat of paint.
Benefits: A single-family home may be spacious or small, but generally offers more than one bedroom and bathroom and some sort of outdoor space. Unless you are in a private community, single-family homes do not come with homeowners association (HOA) fees and you can choose the exterior design and style of landscaping. This type of flexibility can be great for someone who likes do-it-yourself projects. Or, if you have the funds to hire a landscaper, snow removal services and repair personnel, you can live in a single-family home comfortably.
Myth #1: Sellers should still price their home higher than market value to allow for negotiating room.
Truth: Pricing too high is a big mistake. If your home is overpriced in this current market, then agents showing your home might use your property to sell one of the other properties currently listed and in competition with your home.
Short Sale: These homes are offered for sale by the owner but because they do not anticipate getting a high enough sale price to pay off their mortgage, the bank that holds the mortgage (the lien holder) must approve of any deal. You will frequently see these advertised as “third party approval required” or “lien holder approval required.”
We believe that, as Maine State Law allows, everyone buying real estate in Maine should be represented – EVEN IF YOU HAVE PURCHASED REAL ESTATE IN THE PAST!
Every transaction is different and the slightest complication will make you wish that you had engaged the services of a buyer agent.