Best Bets For Home Improvements

If you're looking to improve the appearance of your home for resale, or you just want an updated look for your own enjoyment, there are a few things you must consider before beginning any costly project.

Sure, you can spend a lot on something purely for the personal pleasure of having it - like that outdoor Jacuzzi under the attached gazebo - or you can go the practical route and make an improvement that will increase your home's market value, such as installing energy-efficient air-conditioning or repairing those shabby shingles. Be forewarned, however, and don't expect to recoup your costs on both counts. Many real-estate brokers agree that just because you put $25,000 worth of improvements into your home doesn't mean that your house is worth $25,000 more!

Exactly how much of your investment you'll recoup depends on a number of factors, such as the "big picture" housing market, the value of the homes in your neighborhood, when you plan to sell and the exact nature of the improvement. Also, consider that the longer you live in your home after a project is completed, the less likely you are to recoup its value. Just try to convince a potential buyer that Harvest Gold is cutting edge.

Below are some examples of a few improvements that usually pay off - and some that rarely make a difference (no matter how much you paid for them) when it comes time to sell your home.

Painting If you're planning to sell your home in a year or two, a fresh coat of a neutral-toned paint could make the sale easier. A professional exterior paint job may also recoup close to 75% of its cost. Let's face it - we all like things fresh-looking.

Kitchen With just a few basic improvements, your kitchen can practically pay you back with interest! New paint, wallpaper and flooring are always appreciated; plus, you might even consider sanding, staining or painting worn-looking cabinets. Replacing old cabinet hardware is a low-cost improvement that makes a big difference in appearance. According to Remodeling magazine, the average spent on major kitchen-remodeling is around $39,000; refinishing an outdated one averaged $15,000. The full kitchen remodeling recouped 80% of its cost, the more moderate remodeling was valued at 87%.

Area Conversions Generally speaking, increasing the functional space of your home holds its value longer than remodeling just to make a house look better. It's also much less expensive than adding an addition to your home. Converting attic space into a bedroom, for example, usually costs around $30,000 and returns about 73% of its cost, according to Remodeling magazine. Turning your basement into extra living space costs, on average, $40,000, with a recoup average of about 69% of your costs.

Extra Bathroom You usually can't go wrong by adding an extra bathroom. At an average cost of $14,200, a new full bath can recoup 81% of its total cost!

Deck Adding a deck is a very cost-efficient way to add square footage to your house. Decks cost around $6,000 and generally recoup 75% of their value. Compared to other outdoor improvements (except painting), that's an excellent return. New Windows Your utility bill savings may make up for the iffy resale value, however, a good set of standard windows should get you around 68% back. If you start getting too fancy with custom shapes and sizes, though, don't expect to get as much in return. Swimming Pool In a word - don't! Unless you're putting it in for you and your family to enjoy, it's commonly agreed that a swimming pool has no resale value at all. Reason #1? Sure, they sound nice, but pools are very expensive to maintain. Running a close second is the fear of pool accidents - that's something nobody wants to experience. Picture-Perfect Gardens Another nicety, but who's going to spend all that time - and money? If the potential buyer is not horticulturally inclined, chances are your floral handiwork won't add to the offering price. The same can be said for expensive fences and stone walls - they look nice, but buyers don't pay up for them. Basic Is Better It may not sound very exciting, but it's the basic improvements you make to your home that may have the greatest return on its value: a beautiful new bathroom won't make up for a leaky roof. So if you're thinking of selling your house in the next year or so, be sure to address any problems the home may have before you, say, install those sunken gardens you've always dreamed of.

If you're considering upgrading your home and would like to be put in touch with professionals to help you get that done, give us a call, we're happy to help, 828-771-2300.

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The Puffer Team, Keller Williams Professionals, 828-771-2300, www.homefinderasheville.com

Mayday Mayday - Asheville Area Home Buyers Need Homes

A couple of weeks ago we talked about how housing inventory is shrinking.  We're starting to see properties go under contract having had multiple offers, buyers can't seem to get to homes quick enough, the great deals are slipping through their fingers, homes are selling after barely being on the market.

Here's what USA Today is saying:

"Nationwide, the supply of existing homes for sale has fallen for seven straight months, hitting an almost eight-year low in January, the National Association of Realtors says.  Competing offers for the same homes are rising in more markets, especially in the West.  Much of the country is now a seller's market, the Realtors group says, just one year into a potential housing recovery following the worst downturn since the Great Depression."

If you are looking to sell your home and you are in a position to do so, now is the time to do it.  Call The Puffer Team today at 828-771-2300 for your free, no obligation, market analysis, or contact us online here.

Inventory Is Shrinking, Sell Your Asheville Area Home Now!

With housing inventory being so low, now is the time to sell your home, buyers are running out of options.  The Puffer Team will be happy to provide you with a free no obligation valuation if you want to see what your home is worth in the current market.  Call us today, 828-771-2300, or contact us through out website, www.homefinderasheville.com, we would love the opportunity to help you get your home sold. 

In the meantime, here are a few great tips on how you can get top dollar for your home:

• Follow the three C’s –
• Cleanliness: deep clean all interior, clean windows & doors, power-wash exterior.
• Clutter Reduction: Remove and pack up the majority of knickknacks and family photos from tabletops and shelves—also from the front and side of the refrigerator.
• Color: Neutrals from the warm end of the palette are most appealing.

• Highlight your homes architectural features by using hi-gloss whites/creams or contrasting warm neutrals on trim, built-ins, unique ceilings, and whatever else makes your home charming and special.

• Re-arrange furnishings to emphasize clear pathways (unobstructed by furniture) and create conversation areas that are cozy, balanced, and within comfortable speaking range.  Rent a storage unit to store extra furniture and belongings, if necessary.

• Clean out closets—pack it up and send it to the storage unit, or a charity—to create a feeling of spaciousness in all.

• Add live plants, leave on lights (during showings) and keep the blinds/curtains open.

• Depending on your budget, consider the following (in order of importance)—
• Minor landscaping: fresh mulch, trim shrubs/trees, add 2 big red or black pots of red flowering plants by the front door.
• Update paint.
• Update fixtures.

• Traces of food, pet and smoking odors can kill buyer interest, and alert them to look for associated damage. Put away the clues (animal food dishes, ashtrays, etc.). Consider keeping the pet outdoors and smoking outdoors until the home is sold—and use fans while cooking.

We hope you found that information helpful.  If you're ready to get started and get your home on the market, call us today, 828-771-2300.  We look forward to the opportunity.

10 Worst Things to Forget Before a Major Move

So you're moving out of your current home, now what?  Here are 10 things to be mindful of when packing up and moving out.

By Jason Notte of TheStreet (soucrce)


1. Your local government
If you don't have a driveway for a moving truck to pull into or a storage container to be dropped in, chances are you need to put it on the street. If that's the case, in some places you're going to need a permit. To get that permit, you're going to need some sort of proof that the company you're working with is insured or bonded with the local government. That's the case in Massachusetts, Florida and elsewhere. It can really put a crimp in your moving plans if you don't check first and your belongings end up in the impound lot.

2. Your hidden belongings
It seems pretty obvious, but taking another few sweeps around the house can help you avoid leaving grandma's china to the new tenants or going without holiday decorations for a season or so. AMSA spokesman John Bisey says the easiest items to forget are those tucked away in crawl spaces, attics and built-in cabinets. If there's a spot in your house or apartment that's out of sight, chances are that's where your last box full of stuff is coming from.

© Chronoscope/The Image Bank/Getty Images

3. Your items on loan
Wondering where your reciprocating saw or popcorn maker got off to? Check in with the neighbors. The AMSA says items lent to neighbors, family or friends tend to cause customers the greatest headaches once they realize they're gone. Take a quick inventory and make some rounds at the going-away party.


4. Your sleeping arrangements
So you've packed up the truck or container and are ready to take off in the morning. That's great, but where are you going to sleep tonight? The first night at the new destination isn't that big of a problem, as you'll get to your bed eventually, but the last night after the big load-up can be tough if you don't pack the bed last or plan to stay with someone else.

5. Your records
It's a lot easier to do things electronically these days, but that's not always the case with medical, dental or school records. Sometimes it's just easier to keep these things on hand, so try to get copies from everyone as soon as you're ready to pack them up. Once you have them, keep them all in the same place so they're easy to refer to once you're setting up your new home.

6. Your heat and lights
If you don't turn the electricity, gas or oil heat on, nobody's going to do it for you. The AMSA advises turning off all utilities two to three days after you load out and turning them on at the new place two to three days before you move in. It's not great to get a bill for lights that someone else is using forwarded to the address you're already being charged for. Speaking of forwarding ...

7. Your mail
Oh yeah, you're going to want to check in with the Postal Service and make sure it knows you're leaving. It will forward mail to your new address only if you check with it in advance, and even then it's not permanent. Forwarding basically gives you a couple of months to change your mailing address with various institutions. At some point, that yellow forwarding label will stop appearing.

8. Your insurance
"Be careful when referring to 'insurance,'" Bisey says. "Very few movers offer true insurance, which is regulated by the states and is offered by an insurance agent."

The best you can get from the movers themselves is valuation protection, which covers only a percentage of what your goods are worth. In May, a federal regulation took effect requiring interstate movers to include the cost of full-value protection in their initial written estimate. This should give consumers some second thoughts about choosing the minimal valuation option, which is only 60 cents per pound.

9. Your paid labor
If you tip someone for carrying a tray of food to you, you may want to consider tipping the people who just lugged a dresser to your fourth-floor walk-up. There's no hard-and-fast rule about this, but if you're not at least offering some water afterward, you have no sense of empathy whatsoever.

"Not sure if people forget to tip or if they just don't think they should," Bisey says. "It's certainly not a requirement or even expected by most movers, but it is appreciated."

10. Your mess
Whether there are a few nail holes left in the walls where your family photos once hung or a huge paint spot in the closet from when you knocked over a gallon of Periwinkle Blue, it's usually in your best interest to take care of it immediately. Your security deposit or even a sale could hang in the balance.

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Hope that was helpful, we thought it might be.  If you aren't in the process of moving just yet but are beginning either the home buying/selling process in the Asheville area, give The Puffer Team at Keller Williams Professionals a call, 828-771-2300, www.homefinderasheville.com.  We're happy to help with all of your real estate needs!

Staging Shockers: 9 of the Worst Staging Decisions Ever Made

When it comes to selling a home you want to make the best impression possible, not leaving the buyer to be turned off by certain decor.  Below is another great article from Trulia about the worst staging decisions one can make.  Remember here when we talked about 10 Ways NOT to sell a house?  Read on

(source)

At the end of every year, my mind naturally drifts to what did and didn’t work this year, in an effort to double down on my successes and avoid repeating my mistakes. Occasionally,I’ll take a look back at my whole lifetime in this same way, reflecting on poor past decisions ranging from old high school sweethearts to bad fashion choices, misguided career moves to things I said and wished, instantly, I could take back.

Rather than letting them fester into regrets, it’s best to look at our mistakes as holding lessons - pitfall avoiding, action-inspiring material we can draw on as we move forward in life. In fact, I actually call my painful past mistakes “tuition”: the price I’ve paid to learn a valuable lesson. The keyword here is valuable. In school, tuition is worth paying because the learning you get in return holds economic value or is otherwise worthwhile.

Tuition is a lot like staging, really: they’re both up-front investments with the potential to make or save you money, in your life, your career, or the sale of your home. As we grow older and wiser, the goal should be to learn not just from the mistakes we’ve committed - but from those that others have committed, as well. Think of them as tuition-free lessons. I say we should try to do the same with staging - let’s take these ten shockingly bad staging decisions that other home owners have made and continue to make every single day, and boil them down into lessons every home seller can use to drive their own home staging success.


1.  Bizarre collection overload. Let’s face facts: it is very difficult for almost any collection to look orderly and neutral, two high-level aims of home staging. Unless you have attractive, high-end built-in cases for your collections and target buyers are share your affinity for the objects, even your cool clock collection or the dolls your grandmother gave you can come off as a pile of space-consuming clutter. 


But when it comes to shockingly bad staging decisions, the choice to give your taxidermy collection or your gun collection a starring role in your home’s staging ranks up there in the top few. These collections are highly likely to trigger (pardon the pun) ethical and sanitation concerns in the minds of many home buyers, and are completely distracting from the strengths and features your home has to offer.


Source: Miami.Curbed.com


Lesson Learned: Pack up your clown collection and put your bowling trophies in storage before you start showing your home. And if it once ran, flew or swam, think twice before putting its body out on display as part of your staging showcase (unless, of course, your home is a hunting lodge or in an area where hunting is de riguer). 


2. Echo chamber staging. In an echo chamber, sounds are amplified because they simply bounce around in that closed space.  The same can happen with your thoughts and ideas about staging, if you don’t open yourself up to outside input.  And unfortunately, it seems to be the bad staging ideas that get amplified, more than the good ones. For instance, no matter how great your taste is, if your home is heavily customized around your personal preferences, it can be very difficult for buyers-to-be to envision themselves, their families and their belongings in the place. Echo chamber staging happens when the sum total of your staging team is you, yourself and you - so that the only conversations that take place about your home’s staging plan are those that take place in the echo chamber of your mind. For that reason, I’m a big believer in professional staging (if you have the budget) and in professionally-assisted staging (if you don’)t.  That’s because the sellers who stage with zero external or professional input, are often the sellers who are unable to see:

• that their homes are still significantly cluttered or over-full,
• that their furniture is too plentiful and too large to show how spacious the home truly is, or
• that their sweet feline companions are also rather malodorous to strangers.

The truth can hurt - so many home owners avoid it. Don’t fall into this trap. Bring in some trusted pros who are both invested in your success and willing to tell you the unvarnished truth.


Lesson learned:  Get input from the pros - and get out there on the market, to see what your competition is like, from a staging perspective, rather than being your own, sole staging adviser. Read some books on staging. View model homes or professionally staged homes that are on the market. Get input from your real estate agent. If you have a bare bones budget, consider hiring a pro stager for just an hour’s worth of advice - let them come into your home and tell you what they would do, if they were you. (And write it down!)


3.  Failure to edit. You’ve heard thirty-somethings who still live at home diagnosed with failure to launch? Well, failure to edit is a close cousin of this syndrom.  As the New York Times recently put it, “the job of stagers is to reverse the accumulated creep of hundreds of small and misguided design decisions, and to erase any hints of the messiness of daily life.”  You might have a fantastic rug, a beautiful sofa, amazing tchotchkes and the highest-end personal effects are high style. But chances are good that their cumulative first impression to a buyer viewing your home will still fall short of the “one broad stroke of gorgeousness” the Times piece correctly says home sellers should aim for, with their staging.


The failure to edit is a generalized syndrome which can manifest in all sorts of specific staging woes, from garden variety clutter to disastrous decor style mashups. 


Lesson learned: When you think you’ve edited as much as you can edit, edit again. Think of it as pre-packing. The goal should be to remove virtually everything that would allow (or force) a buyer to picture you or your family, or your daily life functions taking place in the home. As well, you want to create as much ‘visual white space’ in your home as possible.  If you’re a do-it-yourself stager, ask your agent and your friends to come in and help you decide what still needs to go, once you think you’re done removing furniture and personal effects.


4. Silly scenarios. The difference between staging and interior design is simple: staging is cost-and-time efficient design undertaken with the specific objective of showing a home off to its best advantage, playing up its features and helping prospective buyers visualize the best lives they could possibly live in the home, should they choose it. Unfortunately, this has led some well-intentioned sellers and stagers to believe they should stage one bedroom as a Parisian boulevard (Eiffel tower mural included), another with a full-blown butterfly theme and the third as the beach - complete with umbrella, towels on the wall and sunscreen bottles on the nightstand.  I saw this house, folks. With my own two eyes.


Lesson learned: Stage your home to show off its space, light and conveniences, and the best, basic purposes that unusally small or large spaces could be used for. If your backyard is a huge selling point, stage it with outdoor dining or living room furnishings. Or, for example, if you have a very large Master bedroom sitting area and your home is in a school district sought after by new parent buyers, talk with your agent about staging your sitting area as a nursery with a compact bassinet and appropriate decor. Similarly, if your home is a 2 bedroom with a bonus room in an area of 4 bedroom homes, staging the bonus room as a bedroom or home office helps buyers understand the solutions that can minimize the brunt of your home’s challenges. Staging your home to create “cute” scenarios with no relationship to the selling points or solutions buyers care about is of no value and can create a low-budget feel - which is the exact  opposite of your goal.


5.  The ‘lived-in’ look. When your home is being shown for sale, it must be immaculate, every single time it’s being shown. It should actually look like no one lives there: no toothbrushes, curling irons, protein shake mixes or paperwork allowed. No bowls of cereal on the counter - actually, nothing on the top of a counter or a table that is not intended to be a design element.


Is this difficult to keep up?  Absolutely, especially if you have children or animals living in the home while it’s being shown. But you’d be surprised at how bad an impression just a few personal toiletries or dishes can make, distracting prospective buyers and making them wonder why you didn’t care enough to pick up before you let them in.


Lesson learned: Work with your agent to set up ideal showing windows, and to come up with a reasonable advance notice requirement they can communicate to buyers agents. And work with your family to set up a system for putting everything away and wiping down all kitchens, bathrooms and other daily mess hot spots every single time your home is going to be shown.


6. Paraphernalia gone wild.  Similar to collections, any sort of paraphernalia that is allowed to take over a space has the potential to create an instant turnoff for buyers-to-be viewing your home.


This can include:

• work-at-home electronics, supplies, cords and paper clutter
• pet supplies like litter boxes, cages and food
• children’s toys and sporting goods
• cooking and crafting supplies
• books, magazines, notebooks, piles of mail and writing implements.

Lesson learned: See #6, above. If you’re going to live in your home while it’s on the market, create a system for putting all your paraphernalia and supplies entirely out of view every single time your home is going to be shown.


7.  Closet cramming.  If you have years worth of personal belongings of multiple family members that need to be out of sight, but not discarded, it can be very tempting to cram everything in a closet, shove the door shut and call it good. Problem is, home buyers today are desperate for storage space, so will undoubtedly open those same, crammed-tight doors in an effort to evaluate how your home ranks for storage. 


Beautifully organized closets with ample room create an impression in the buyer’s mind that they, too, can have an orderly life in your home, a life where there is a place for everything - and everything has a place.  And even huge closets, if crammed to the gills, make buyers wonder how they’ll ever get by with so little closet space. (Closet cramming also makes some buyers wonder what else you might be hiding, whether or not that concern is justified.)


Lesson learned: Use the exercise of staging as an opportunity to sell, donate or throw out things you no longer need - then consider moving as much as possible of what remains to storage for a few months, if your closets are too full.  Your agent can help you decide whether your closets show well, vis-a-vis what local buyers are looking for. 


8.  Failing to stage for all the senses. A house that smells like pet mayhem or smoke or has a noisily defective heater is a tough house to sell, no matter how beautifully it is staged. Unfortunately, smells and sounds are very easy to get acclimated to, when you live with them. Buyers, though, will detect them the second they walk in - and the moment they do is the moment we in the business call “turn-off time.”


Lesson learned: Ask your agent to reality-check you on how your home smells and sounds. And don’t get offended if they have bad news - work with them to fix it, for your own good.


9.  Not to. Ultimately, the most shockingly bad of all staging decisions is the surprisingly frequent decision not to bother staging your home at all. This explains homes like the one I once viewed which had residents still sound asleep in their beds, in the dining room, as the listing agent walked myself and my mortified buyer clients through the property. On the less bizarre end of the non-staged spectrum, this is how lovely homes with vast potential - and vast, overstuffed 80’s couches and 60’s decor - end up selling at a discount, as cosmetic fixers at a discount. This is a particular tragedy in cases where the owners could have painted, spruced, moved loads of things out and a few newer things in and made much, much more money on their homes.


Lesson learned: Not staging at all - not even bothering to do DIY staging - happens every day, and it costs more than the costs of putting some time and effort into getting your home ready for the market. If you’re on a budget, talk with your agent, get some books and, again, consider hiring a stager just for a brief advisory session. It will, I assure you, pay off.

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Are you ready to meet with a professional and start discussing what it is you need to do to get your home market ready? Call The Puffer Team today, 828-771-2300, or visit our website, www.homefinderasheville.com. 

The 5 Most Expensive Ways Buyers & Sellers Sabotage Themselves

Trulia always has great articles available, check out this one on how not to self-sabotage a real estate deal:

(source)

It’s easy to see the experience of buying or selling a home as an adversarial one: you vs. the people on the other side of the bargaining table, with one chess move by your opponent potentially costing you thousands of dollars.

In my experience, though, the average real estate consumer’s biggest potential enemy is him or herself. Buyers and sellers routinely take approaches, make moves and make omissions that cost themselves much more than anything the other side could ever do.

The first step of any cure is diagnosis. Here are some clues to detecting the costliest cases of real estate self-sabotage so you can stop them in their tracks, get out of your own way and get back to the business of buying or selling your home:
1.  Hesitating.  I’m a big proponent of buying or selling - making any real estate move, really - on whatever time frame makes sense for your life, your family and your finances, rather than trying to time the market. That said, once you’ve done the math, saved your pennies, prepped your property and otherwise decided to move forward on your home buying or selling plan of action, hesitation can cost you.  

• Buyers who hesitate to make an offer can lose out on a home entirely - or can wait so long another offer comes in, forcing them to offer more to beat the other folks out.
• Sellers who hesitate to take an offer can lose out on a buyer, when a new listing comes on the market that catches their eye or better meets their needs.
• Mortgage borrowers who wait too long to lock their interest rates can end up paying more when rates creep up instead of down.

And here’s one more for buyers: hesitating to move forward after you get into contract can also cost you untold stress and deal complications if it snowballs into a situation where you run late removing contingencies - having to ask the seller repeatedly for extensions can cost you negotiation goodwill that you could otherwise have leveraged into repairs or closing cost credits.

I’d say 90% of hesitation is a result of fear, and fear most often arises when

• we second-guess our life decisions connected to the real estate transaction,
• we don’t understand or are intimidated by a subject, or
• we feel powerless to make a wise decision because we don’t know our options all the factors we should be taking into account.

Accordingly, you can eliminate hesitation-related self-sabotage by:

• working through the life and financial decisions that are intertwined with your real estate matters completely and on paper before you start the process, so you can revisit them if and when you’re tempted to hesitate

• getting as educated as possible in advance about your local market dynamics and neighborhood home values, as well as the home buying or selling process in general, and
• diving head first into the discomfort and uncertainty that everyone experiences when they make these major decisions, sitting down with your agent and other pros involved to get every question you have answered in a timely manner so you can move forward, rather than putting decisions off and “sleeping on it” night after night.

2.  Not taking expert advice.  Have you ever taken an indecisive friend out to dinner, watched them hem and haw over the menu, ask the server what their favorite dish is and then order something totally different than the server’s choice? That same phenomenon takes place every day in real estate. Many smart buyers and sellers invest much time and energy into agent-finding, asking around for referrals, checking agents out online, interviewing them and even calling around to check references, only to completely disregard their advice!

If you have a reputable, competent agent, you might be surprised at how often they can save you money with simple nuggets of experience-laden advice specific to a given scenario, like:

• act fast
• list it lower
• offer less/more
• counteroffer for more
• be aggressive
• take the bank’s terms
• don’t buy that house
• get one more inspection/bid
• don’t remove contingencies yet/remove contingencies now
• ask for X, Y or Z repair, price reduction, credit, free rent-back, furniture, or longer time to close.

Experienced, local agents have a strong sense for some of the precise things that are so tricky for a buyer or seller to wrap their heads around, like pricing and negotiations. You should definitely ask your agent for data and the logical rationale behind their advice, and should keep asking until you understand and are comfortable with the decision that you make (whether or not it agrees with their recommendations). By no means am I suggesting that you blindly take every piece of advice you are given by any agent, trusted or not.

That said, if you’re having a hard time getting satisfaction or making progress on your home buying or selling aims and your typical reaction to advice from your agent is to reject it, at least consider that being more receptive to that advice might actually help you get out of your own way.  

And if you have a truly hard time trusting your agent’s advice for whatever reason, consider that you might simply not yet have found the right agent for you.

3.  Overpricing or lowballing.  It might run contrary to conventional wisdom, the idea that asking for more money or offering less can be acts of self-sabotage, but ignoring the damage that these acts can do to your real estate plans is unwise. In real estate, pricing is just more nuanced than that. It’s not the case that you can simply pick your price, ignoring the financial complexities involved and the psychologies of the folks on the other side, and expect for good things to magically happen.

Those nuances include these truths: setting a list-price that is significantly above what other, similar homes have recently sold for will not only not get you that price, it poses the potential to turn buyers off, keep them from coming to see your home, make your place sit on the market longer than it needs to and ultimately, it can result in low or no offers. At the extreme, overpricing can force you to cut the price, sometimes dramatically, to activate buyers who have learned to disregard the obviously overpriced listing in their online house hunt search results.

And buyers beware: making lowball offers significantly below the fair market value of target homes has a similar impact. Sellers ignore them or counter them up higher or they get beat out (often repeatedly) by more realistic buyers. I have seen the tendency to lowball cost buyers thousands over the months they are trying to get a fantasy-land deal, in terms of home price increases or money that same buyer ends up throwing at their eventual home, out of desperation and frustration.

Don’t let your emotions be the ruler of your pricing or offer decisions. Motivation is one factor to consider, but the data on recent, comparable sales should be given much more weight, to keep the threat of price-related self-sabotage in check.

4.  Cutting corners.  Getting a home ready for sale is a marathon endeavor, not a sprint - especially if you’ve been living there for a number of years. Same goes for working on your credit, savings and financial plans in advance of making your first buy: smart buyers-to-be start years in advance. So, it’s tempting to get near the end of your preparation action plan, lose patience and start cutting corners on staging, property preparation, even vetting your own financials and family wants and needs.
 
Don’t submit to temptation - well, don’t submit without the input of your agent and loan officer.  

Depending on your situation, there are some corners that might be okay to cut - the ones that will have very little impact on the eventual outcome of your real estate endeavors. But give the pros you ‘hired’ the opportunity to give you their input before you unilaterally skip steps on your original action plan. If you tell your agent you need to cut your property preparation budget down by a bit, they can help you decide where the corners you cut will have the least impact on your home’s overall presentation to buyers. If your loan officer says that paying a particular credit account down by $4,000 instead of $5,000 won’t really do too much to your qualification status, you might be fine kickstarting your house hunt a few months before you had planned to.

Unfortunately, it’s all too common to see homes where the sellers have poured cash into great, fundamental repairs and neglected some essential, inexpensive cosmetic items - or buyers who have fallen just a tad short in cash or credit and end up scrambling to boost one or both under pressure. Bring your professional team into the conversation before you cut any corners, and ask them to help you understand and minimize any consequences of cutting costs.

5.  Failing to read documents all the way through. Hundreds of your signatures will be requested and required during the process of buying or selling a home. But perhaps the single-most expensive way real estate consumers stab themselves in the back is by failing to read and understand nthe documents they are given - from contracts to disclosures to inspection reports and even closing/loan documents - all the way through.

Many a condo owner has been surprised to learn that they are being assessed a hefty special bill for common area repairs, when that “surprise” was predictable from a few of the hundred pages of HOA disclosures they received before closing escrow. Seller disclosures can be cryptic and boring, but also often contain red flags to guide buyers and their inspectors to the real areas of concern. (Their guiding power is nil if you don’t read them, though.)

And the same goes for sellers - your agent should read and help you understand offer(s), buyer’s inspection reports and requests for repairs or credits, estimated closing statements and everything else, but ultimately you are responsible for reading and understanding all of these influential, binding documents before you sign them.  

So read them. And don’t be afraid to ask questions or insist on clarifications and corrections, if indicated. If you were quoted a certain interest rate or monthly payment, make sure that matches up to what you see in your closing docs - or that you understand and accept the reasons why it doesn’t, before you sign. This sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised at the major lender-borrower disputes and buyer-seller legal dramas that have arisen over the years because of errors in loan or closing documents that could have been detected and resolved simply, easily and inexpensively before closing.  Don’t be one of them.

How have you sabotaged yourself - or seen others do the same - in the process of buying or selling a home?

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Need an experienced buyer's agent or listing agent to help you through the buying/selling process? Call The Puffer Team, 828-771-2300, www.homefinderasheville.com.