As more and more baby boomers enter retirement age, the question of whether or not to sell their homes and move will become a hot topic. In today’s housing market climate, with low available inventory in the starter and trade-up home categories, it makes sense to evaluate your home’s ability to adapt to your needs in retirement.

According to the National Association of Exclusive Buyers Agents (NAEBA), there are 7 factors that you should consider when choosing your retirement home.1

1. Affordability

“It may be easy enough to afford your home today but think long-term about your monthly costs. Account for property taxes, insurance, HOA fees, utilities – all the things that will be due whether or not you have a mortgage on the property.”

Would moving to a complex with homeowner association (HOA) fees actually be cheaper than having to hire all the contractors you would need to maintain your home, lawn, etc.? Would your taxes go down significantly if you relocated? What is your monthly income going to be like in retirement?

2. Equity

“If you have equity in your current home, you may be able to apply it to the purchase of your next home. Maintaining a healthy amount of home equity gives you a source of emergency funds to tap, via a home equity loan or reverse mortgage.”

The equity you have in your current home may be enough to purchase your retirement home with little to no mortgage. Homeowners in the US gained an average of over $16,300 in equity last year.

3. Maintenance

“As we age, our tolerance for cleaning gutters, raking leaves and shoveling snow can go right out the window. A condominium with low-maintenance needs can be a literal lifesaver, if your health or physical abilities decline.”

As we mentioned earlier, would a condo with an HOA fee be worth the added peace of mind in knowing that you do not have to do the maintenance work yourself?

4. Security

“Elderly homeowners can be targets for scams or break-ins. Living in a home with security features, such as a manned gate house, resident-only access and a security system can bring peace of mind.”

As scary as that thought may be, any additional security and an extra set of eyes looking out for you always adds to peace of mind.

5. Pets

“Renting won’t do if the dog can’t come too! The companionship of pets can provide emotional and physical benefits.”

Evaluate all of your options when it comes to bringing your ‘furever’ friend with you to a new home. Will there be necessary additional deposits if you are renting or moving in to a condo? Is the backyard fenced in? How far are you from your favorite veterinarian?

6. Mobility

“No one wants to picture themselves in a wheelchair or a walker, but the home layout must be able to accommodate limited mobility.”

Sixty is the new 40, right? People are living longer and are more active in retirement, but that doesn’t mean that down the road you won’t need your home to be more accessible. Having to install handrails and make sure that your hallways and doorways are wide enough may be a good reason to look for a home that was built to accommodate these needs.

7. Convenience

“Is the new home close to the golf course, or to shopping and dining? Do you have amenities within easy walking distance? This can add to home value!”

How close are you to your children and grandchildren? Would relocating to a new area make visits with family easier or more frequent? Beyond being close to your favorite stores and restaurants, there are a lot of factors to consider.

When it comes to your forever home, evaluating your current house for its ability to adapt with you as you age can be the first step to guaranteeing your comfort in retirement. If after considering all these factors you find yourself curious about your options, let’s get together to evaluate your ability to sell your house in today’s market and get you into your dream retirement home!

Client Resources:

In our line of work, we talk to many buyers and sellers who tell us they already have agents they’re working with. In reply, we ask how many agents they interviewed before picking the one they have. Nine times out of 10, the answer is none.

Buying and/or selling a house is a really big deal; it’s not as simple as using any person who has a real estate license to help you do it. It’s important to find out if you’re working with the right person because it can cost you a lot of time and money if you’re not using a professional agent—about 80% of all real estate agents only close about five to six homes per year. That’s abysmal. You wouldn’t want an agent with that record handling what could be the biggest asset you’ll ever own.

There are three critical questions to ask when you’re interviewing agents for your transaction:

1. “How much business do you do, and over what time period?”

Compare whatever figures they give you to your next alternative. You’ve got to work with someone who spends time out in the field, using and gaining experience that will help you with your own transaction. Markets can change in a relatively small amount of time, so if your agent hasn’t been active for long periods because they simply don’t do much business, then they’ll be out of touch.

2. “How are you different?”

There are many factors that can make an agent stand out, but we’re focused on two. First, does the agent have access to off-market properties? Many people are interested in selling their homes, but don’t want to put them on the market. An agent with access to these kinds of sellers will be able to provide you with a wider pool of potential homes, ones without competing buyers.

Secondly, does the agent have team members specializing in different processes? No one person can do everything. We have a team who each handle different areas, like frontline communication, pricing analysis, contracts and addenda, and so on. For you, that is all behind the scenes, since you’re only communicating with the agent you hired.

3. “How much will you spend to market my home?”

For sellers, if your agent is only doing five or six transaction per year, they won’t have the money to do your property justice when it comes to marketing. A good agent should be marketing your home to as many people as possible so that you can get as many viewings as possible, in turn getting you as many offers as possible. You can’t do that without a marketing budget.

The bottom line is: Don’t make the mistake of not interviewing your agents. Buying and selling homes is a huge deal that needs to be handled by a seasoned professional.

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d love to help you.

Client Resources:

As a homebuyer, it’s incredibly important to keep it real—and by that, we mean you need to be realistic about buying in today’s market.

First of all, everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to the shopping process. You need to understand what your situation is from a financing and risk-aversion perspective so that you look at the right properties right from the start. You want to look in the right price point for the area that you’re shopping in. There’s nothing worse than looking at $500,000 homes and finding out you should have been looking at $400,000 or $420,000 homes.

You need to make sure that the home is priced accurately for the area. There are a lot of factors that go into home value, including how long the home has been on the market, and your agent can guide you to make sure that you're looking at the right homes.

Secondly, it’s common knowledge that most homes are selling well above asking price. If you have the right agent representing you, they will tell you what the house is likely to sell for. They will also tell you which contingencies to remove from the offer in order to win the house. Your agent will tell you what price to offer, what steps to take when it comes to escalating your price, and how to create a strategic offer.

Finally, once you are under contract on a home, you have to deal with the inspection. If the seller didn’t provide you with a pre-inspection, then you have the chance to inspect the property. An inspector can uncover all kinds of problems on a property, and every inspector is different when it comes to reporting issues.

Keep in mind that inspectors look for major problems that will be expensive issues for you down the road. They aren’t worried about cosmetic issues like making sure the electrical plate is perfectly aligned. They are looking for big, costly problems.

You should also remember that if you request too many repairs, the seller can always refuse and put their home back on the hottest market Seattle has ever seen.

Since Seattle is in such a hot seller’s market, you have less leverage as a buyer. It’s important to be realistic. If the seller counters your first request, be flexible and go back with an alternative.

If you’ve made several offers in this market already and haven’t been successful, don’t give up. Just give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you win in this hot market.

Buyer Resources:

Sellers often ask us whether it’s worthwhile to order a pre-listing inspection before putting a home on the market, so we’d like to share our thoughts on this common query today. 

One of the major drawbacks to a pre-listing inspection is that once you’ve gotten the results, you are legally required to disclose the findings to the buyer. Also, if you choose to repair these items, doing so can hold a hefty price tag. And to top it all off, the buyer may go on to order an inspection of their own later on in the deal. Some buyers simply aren’t comfortable trusting the results of an inspection ordered by the seller.

Of course, pre-listing inspections aren’t without certain advantages, too. First, ordering a pre-listing inspection can lower the barrier of entry for buyers to submit an offer. In other words, buyers who trust your inspection report enough to forgo ordering one of their own may be glad to have one less bill to tackle as they move forward with the purchase process. 

Next, while repairing issues found by your inspection could be expensive, it can also help you to win the favor of buyers. Many buyers will feel at ease when they see that you’ve taken it upon yourself to uncover and address problems they would’ve otherwise encountered for themselves. 

Finally, in addition to giving you a clearer picture of your property’s condition, a pre-listing inspection can also give you a better understanding of your listing’s fair market value. This knowledge will help you develop a fair, but competitive, pricing strategy before you ever list. 

Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer as to whether a pre-listing inspection is worthwhile or not. It all depends on your personal circumstances. 

If you’d like any help deciding what’s best for you, if you have any other questions, or if you would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Seller Resources:

Today’s new homes offer more benefits than ever before. Here’s a quick list of the Top 10 reasons why so many home buyers prefer new homes to used houses:

1. Design Your Dream Home Your Way

Why settle for someone else’s choices when you can select your favorite cabinets, countertops, appliances, carpets and flooring? While you’re at it, you can choose gorgeous bath and kitchen fixtures, lighting and other options that you love. Your new home will reflect your style, not someone else’s taste.

2. Choose a Floor Plan and Room Layout that Meets Your Needs

Want a master bedroom on the first floor? It’s yours. With massive his and hers walk-in closets? Done! Want high ceilings and a luxurious, resort-style master bath? Perhaps you’d like a sitting room with a fireplace in your owner’s suite or French doors that open to your private patio or the pool? It’s easy, when you build your master suite your way.

3. All New, Under Warranty

A used home likely has tired products that may soon need replacing. Your new home — and the products that comprise it — are brand-new and under warranty. What’s the cost to replace a roof, appliances, countertops or a water heater on a used home? Those components of your new home feature the latest designs and building materials and should offer you years of comfort and enjoyment before needing replacement.

4. Energy and Cost Savings

Today’s new homes are far more energy efficient than homes built just five years ago. Versus homes built ten or 20 years ago, It’s game over, advantage new. Why settle for drafty, energy-wasting single-pane windows in a used home? Many new homes offer double or even triple-pane windows. Special window coatings and inert gases between the layers of glass are often available, saving you even more energy and money in both heating and cooling season.

5. Comfort and Indoor Air Quality

Today’s new homes meet stringent energy standards and codes not in place in the past. They combine high-performance energy efficiency with state-of-the-art ventilation and air filtration. The result is year-round, draft-free comfort and higher indoor air quality.

6. Low Maintenance

New cars today are computer-designed and computer-equipped. That’s why they perform much more reliably than a car that’s 15 or 20 years old. Homes are the same. Today’s new homes have open floor plans and high ceilings that reflect the way we live today. They’re also made of cutting-edge building products that require less care and maintenance. Another plus? The latest building systems and components are designed and engineered to work together.

7. Community Amenities

Many new homes are built in lavish master-planned communities with resort-style community centers, pools and clubhouses. Many new home communities also feature hiking trails, protected open lands and some of the best new schools and shopping near (or even within) your new home community.

8. Advanced Technology and Design

It’s possible to replace all of the single-pane windows in a resale home with today’s high-performance windows. It’s also possible to add insulation to a used home. However, it’s very expensive to replace dated appliances, cabinets and countertops in a used home — and you still won’t have the high ceilings you dream of on the first floor of an older two-story home. All are reasons to build your new home your way, to reflect the way you live today.

9. Safety

State-of-the-art circuit breakers. Electric garage door openers with infrared beams that stop if a tricycle or child is too near. High-efficiency furnaces and air conditioners that use the latest environmentally-friendly coolants. Cabinets, carpets and paints that use fewer volatile organic compounds, so that you and your family can breathe easier.

10. That New Home Feel

A used home was someone else’s dream, not yours. It reflects their choices and family memories. You may learn to love avocado-green appliances (and you may be willing to scrub stained countertops or grease-encrusted ovens and cooktops) but more and more people prefer that never lived-in feel.

If a new home isn’t for you, that’s fine too! Contact us to see how we can help you easily navigate the waters of home buying or selling.

Buyer Resources:

Today we’re back with a bit of a controversial topic in the real estate world: the automated home valuation. Websites like Zillow and Redfin have tools that allow you to get an instant value of your home. Should these algorithm-based estimates be trusted?

We get questions about these estimates all the time. While these tools can be handy at giving you a rough estimate, there are some issues that you should be aware of so that you can interpret this data properly. We actually spent over a decade working at Zillow and dealing with Zestimates, so there’s arguably nobody that understands how to deal with them better than we do.

The first thing that’s important to remember is that none of these websites have ever been to your home. That means they don’t have all the information. The condition of your home is absolutely critical to its value, as is its location. Sites like Zillow and Redfin don’t take this information into account.

Secondly, the vast majority of information that these sites collect is coming from county tax records. It’s not just based off your home, but it’s also based off all the information for all the other homes around you. If those numbers aren’t accurate, that can really throw off the value of your home.

Finally, most of these sites use comparable areas that are far too large to pull in similar homes and come up with a home’s value. This makes it very difficult to come up with an accurate value. They use mile wide zones to compare when it should be closer to a quarter mile.

This topic is something we know a lot about and if you have any questions about pricing your property or about the real estate market in general, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email today. We look forward to speaking with you soon.

Seller Resources:

So you found the home of your dreams and the keys are in your hand! That means there’s one final thing. Moving. Though getting a new home is exciting, the thought of the moving process is often majorly stress inducing. The best way the make the move as smooth as possible is to be prepared! To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of useful tips, info, and advice! Good luck!

Best Common Advice

1. Are you planning on hiring a professional moving service? If so, make sure you book early! Two to four weeks in advance is ideal. If you wait until the last minute, there may not be an opening on the day you want to move!
2. Get those vehicles! If you’re not working with a moving company and instead opting to do the work yourself, make sure you have the proper vehicles. Call and reserve any moving trucks you may need in advance, and do a tally of all your friends and family who will be helping so you can estimate exactly how many vehicles will be available to help transport your belongings. The goal is to minimize the time and number of trips necessary!
3. If you’re working with professional movers, make sure you do your research! How is the company rated? Do they drug check their employees? What’s moving insurance cover? Don’t be shy about asking questions!
4. Make sure you know what types of items the moving company will not move. Some laws prohibit moving companies to transport certain hazardous materials, so things like your grill or lawnmower may be out of the question.

Is it Worth Hiring a Professional Moving Company?

Odds are, unless you’re doing a relatively small, local move, then yes, it is worth it! Moving is both a mentally and physically draining activity and having trained professionals in the mix can make your life so much easier. Not only are you spared the physical strain, but you will also find the process much quicker and more organized than if you did the move yourself. Not to mention the practicality of long distance moves.

Moving as a Family or Single?

Whether you’re just moving yourself, or a group of individuals will make a rather large difference. If you’re moving alone, that means far less stuff to move. Though more convenient, as a single mover you are far less likely to require a moving company. Whereas a family means more stuff, more things to keep track of, and more confusion! By far, the moving process is much easier for families when a good moving company is hired.

Unpacking and Settling In

Once you’re done with the physical move, it’s time to begin unpacking. For many, this is just as stressful! But believe it or not there are ways to make unpacking far less taxing!

1. Get started ASAP. It’s tempting to live out of boxes for a while, just leaving things where they are, but the sooner you begin putting things away, the less stressed you’ll be, and the more like home your new house will feel!
2. Moving is a great time to downsize! Want to kill two birds with one stone? Make sure to have some bags and boxes at hand so you can pull aside things you want to toss or donate while you work through your boxes!
3. If possible, have family or friends over while you work! Having someone to chat with can keep your mind off the task and make the work much easier!
4. Make sure that when you pack your items up before the move, you put the belongings to each room in like boxes. Kitchen items in the kitchen boxes, so in. Organization will make the unpacking process far less of a nightmare!
5. Focus on one room at a time. Rather than randomly going through all of your boxes, pick the ones associate with a single room and work through it before moving on to another. Start with rooms you’ll need the most, such as your kitchen and bedroom!

We hope these tips have been helpful for you! We wish you all the luck in settling into your new home!

Client Resources:

A higher number of individuals might decide to apply for a U.S. home mortgage instead of signing another expensive lease for an apartment. According to RealtyTrac, investing in a house is more affordable than renting in most major counties.

A higher number of individuals might decide to apply for a U.S. home mortgage instead of signing another expensive lease for an apartment. According to RealtyTrac, investing in a house is more affordable than renting in most major counties.

Renting rates increase, making buying more affordable. RealtyTrac’s Buy-to-Rent analysis revealed 66 percent of U.S. counties have better home affordability than rent.

The analysis considered median incomes of 285 counties in the U.S. and how much is needed to pay fair-market rent for a three-bedroom apartment, then compared it to the amount that would be needed for monthly mortgage payments, property taxes and insurance for a purchased property, noted Mortgage Daily News.

The results indicated 29.96% of household income was needed to pay for rent, while only 29% was necessary to buy a home.

“As home price appreciation moderates and aligns more closely with trends in rental rates, the returns in the buy-to-rent market are stabilizing and becoming more predictable – if not as lucrative as they were for investors who purchased a few years ago near the bottom of the market,” Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac noted. “Buying rentals continues to be a brilliant strategy that allows investors to hedge their bets in a real estate market shifting away from homeownership and toward a sharing economy.”

The number of buy-to-rent returns also decreased in 59% of analyzed counties when compared on a year-over-year basis. This is the first time this has occurred in the last five months. According to the analysis, three-bedroom rental rates jumped 3% on a year-over-year basis for all 285 major counties included in the report. In 2014, the year-over-year change was only 1%.

Some counties better to buy. There are a number of regions where, on average, rent is notably more expensive than buying a home. Some of these include:

1. San Bernardino County, California
2. Clark County, Nevada
3. Miami-Dade County, Florida
4. Wayne County, Michigan
5. Broward County, Florida

The rising rent in regions like South Florida, coupled with historically low interest rates, encourage more individuals to purchase homes due to financial circumstances.

In addition, wage increase also may contribute to a higher number of interested buyers deciding to enter the market and buy homes.

Buyer Resources:

When the real estate market is hot, a common misconception arises that anything will sell and a seller shouldn't foot the bill for a full-service brokerage.

Consider this: Last year, 1,600 homeowners put their homes up for sale and failed to sell in the hottest market in the country. That's a huge inconvenience for those home sellers, who both lost money and now face an uncertain future.

Based on what we found, more of those failures were tied to discount brokers as opposed to traditional brokers. Since your home is your biggest asset, it is not the place to skimp on the professional you hire to sell it.

Things to Consider when Looking at a Discount Brokerage:

1. If you do not pay, they cannot market. If you are paying 1/3 of the industry norm for commission, that money is going to go to the brokerage and paying its people. It is not going toward getting attention to your home. Without this attention, your home will not get as many offers. If they do not have the money, they cannot spend it.
2. You may end up doing your own work. There are different types of discount brokerages and some will have you do everything including filling out paperwork and negotiating your own deal, only stepping in when you are under contract. Others will offer better service, but you are still stuck figuring out the process on your own, which is something you do not want to do on your own.
3. Most discount brokerages and brokers are not interested in the outcome of your sale. I cannot tell you how many times I have sent an email to a discount brokerage only to get an auto response from an agent saying that they're only available on certain days. Or, I send in an early offer only to find out that the home has been taken off of the market before anyone's had a chance to see it.

There are two different schools of thought here:

1. How do I list for the absolute lowest fee possible? 
2. How do I extract every last dollar I can out of my largest asset? 

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to ask. I look forward to speaking with you soon

Seller Resources: