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It’s always a quandary: can I buy my new home and sell my old house so that the timing of both matches? Well, yes! There are several ways to do this. Here’s a breakdown of how it can work.
Just what is a contingency? It’s an agreement you make with the seller that your purchase of their home is “contingent” on — or based on the successful completion of — the sale of your current home. That way, if your house doesn’t sell, you aren’t required to buy the new one.
The distinct advantage is that you get what you want, a well-timed move. But if your house doesn't sell within the given time frame, you could lose out and the house you’re looking to buy goes back on the market.
The clear disadvantage is that it's a less than stellar offer to the seller. Given two proposals to consider, the seller's urgency — not your need, determines if they accept your offer or not. Look at it from their vantage point. They know nothing about the house you're attempting to sell.
A second option is to make the offer without a contingency but ask for a longer-than-normal time to close. That allows you to sell your current house during the closing period. You'll need to rely on your agent to properly market your home and price it to sell within the time allotted. This type of option works if you don't need the funds from the sale to make the purchase or to qualify for the loan.
Another way to do this is to extend the closing on the home you’re selling. To do this, you sell your home first with an extended closing; then you find a home to buy, make an offer, and time that closing to match.
In this case, you may risk not being able to close on the new home on time, but the overlap might be small enough that you could bunk with a family member or friend.
Each of these scenarios requires careful timing with your real estate agent, mortgage brokers and the market. Before embarking on any of these plans, thoroughly discuss how it needs to work with your agent but build in some leeway in case you have a few days of uncertainty.
In most homes, the base lighting is drab and dull, often doing little to light up your life. Thankfully, it is quite easy to transform the lighting in your home and create the perfect atmosphere for your everyday activities. All you have to do is follow these four tips and watch as your efforts turn the lights up to 11 in every way possible.
The reason your home’s lighting may not be knocking your socks off is its base temperature. Most homes have a rather warm light temperature of 2700K, which leaves everything looking a bit yellow. This is especially apparent as you try to take pictures inside, as they turn out washed out and grainy.
So, for a quick fix, all it takes is a switch to cooler bulbs, typically marked 3500K to 5000K. To go one step further, layer the lights in your room by using different temperature ranges and intensities, allowing you to customize the lighting to your mood and activities.
If the light fixtures in your home are bumming you out, you may feel inspired to make a switch. Unfortunately, that step usually requires some wiring work, which could put you at risk of electric shock.
To make a big change without the risk, simply look to replace the shades instead. Using the original shade shape and size as a guide, select the colors and materials that make your heart sing to transform the lighting in an instant.
Chances are that your lighting woes link directly back to not having enough light for all your tasks. Your kitchen might be too dim for cake decorating or perhaps the dining room lacks the light needed for building models.
Thankfully, fixing this problem is as easy as setting up task lighting in those key areas. You can choose from magnetic LED fixtures to articulated lamps that clip on your desk, giving yourself just enough light for every task.
One of the biggest changes you can make is going with smart lighting systems in your home. By simply switching to smart bulbs, you can change the color and intensity as you wish, forever altering the ambiance in your living space. In fact, you can even set the changes ahead of time and ensure your lighting lives up to expectations every hour of the day.
In addition to creating the perfect atmosphere, your smart bulbs can even save you money by switching off automatically at each preset time. And since they are LED, they use 75 percent less energy than incandescent lights when you do have them turned on.
By following these four tips, your home’s lighting will be forever changed and for the better. You can continue to make adjustments as you wish to customize your living space to your needs and preferences. The sky is the limit in what you can do when you set your mind to optimizing your lighting.
Buying a home can be fast and easy for just about anyone. However, becoming the "perfect" property buyer can be challenging, particularly for those who are shopping for a house for the first time.
The perfect homebuyer understands what it takes to land his or her ideal house at the best price. As such, he or she will know how to handle difficult homebuying situations and streamline the process of going from property buyer to property owner.
Ultimately, becoming the perfect homebuyer may be easier than you think – here are three tips to help you acquire your ideal residence quickly and effortlessly.
1. Study the Real Estate Market Closely
The real estate market has many ups and downs, but the perfect homebuyer will know the ins and outs of the housing sector. By studying the real estate market closely, this property buyer will be able to identify the right opportunities and overcome any potential homebuying hurdles.
Spend some time looking at the prices of homes that are currently available. This will allow you to find homes at price that you like – and homes at prices that you don't like – and map out your homebuying journey accordingly.
Also, take a look at homes that recently sold in cities or towns where you'd like to live. This will enable you to differentiate between a buyer's market and a seller's market.
2. Know What You Can Spend on a Home
The perfect homebuyer should have no trouble avoiding the temptation to overspend on a house. In fact, this homebuyer will understand how to get pre-approved for a mortgage, which will ensure that he or she can establish a property buying budget.
To get pre-approved for a mortgage, a homebuyer should meet with several banks and credit unions. Each meeting will enable a homebuyer to learn about the mortgage options that are available from a variety of lenders. Plus, a homebuyer can ask questions and discuss myriad mortgage options with these lenders.
With pre-approval for a mortgage, a homebuyer will be able to enter the housing market with a budget in hand. Then, this property buyer can narrow his or her search for the ideal residence.
3. Collaborate with a Housing Market Professional
Becoming the perfect homebuyer may require you to receive housing market guidance at times. Fortunately, if you work with a real estate agent, you can get top-notch support as you navigate the homebuying journey.
A real estate agent is a housing market professional who will go above and beyond the call of duty to assist you. He or she will be able to provide homebuying recommendations to help you make informed decisions. Also, a real estate agent will be able to keep you up to date about new houses as they become available, guaranteeing that you can speed up the homebuying process.
When it comes to buying a home, it is essential to do whatever it takes to acquire a first-rate residence at a budget-friendly price. Take advantage of the aforementioned tips, and you can move one step closer to doing just that.
Image by Amy Hirschi from Unsplash
Situations arise where prospective buyers find themselves in a bidding war with another buyer over the house they desire. Circumstances like this occur in a seller’s market where the demand for property is higher than the market can provide. It’s not uncommon to see multiple buyers vying over the same property in a seller’s market. In these cases, buyers often attempt to best their competitors by submitting ever-increasing offers. To help you win a bidding war, you need to stand out from other buyers. Consider the following methods that may boost your chances of securing the home you desire.
In a bidding war, the person with the highest bid ends up with the home. If you want to increase your chances of becoming the owner of a house when you have competitors, offer more money for the home. You do not have to go overboard when increasing your offer; a few hundred dollars more may make a difference. In this case, follow the guidance of an agent experienced in negotiating bidding war situations.
To give yourself a winning edge during a bidding war, show the seller you are a serious buyer and that you are prepared to see the transaction through to the end. Sellers pay more attention to buyers that come prepared and ready to finalize the contract. A pre-approval letter from your lender can give you that edge.
A contingency is asking the seller to make a concession on your behalf. Examples include closing delay contingencies based on your current home selling or your receiving proceeds from probate of a will. Other contingencies might be asking the seller to repair a roof or broken window before the close of the agreement. If you decide to waive your contingencies during a bidding war, it speaks volumes to the seller of how badly you wish to proceed with the transaction. You want to be careful though when waiving contingencies so that you do not end up in a situation where you lose your earnest money – be sure it’s a risk worth taking.
Offering to make payments for the house in cash gives you a chance over other competitors. It’s not an option everyone can afford, but if you can pay cash rather than getting financing, put the offer on the table. If you are offering to pay cash for a property you are in a bidding war to purchase, it eliminates third parties, reduces closing time, and makes the seller understand that you are serious.
An escalation clause is an addendum included in your offer telling the buyer that you are willing to increase your purchase offer by a certain amount if another buyer is matching your offer. An escalation clause comes in handy when you are trying to win a closely fought bidding war.
To win a bidding war over a home you like, you must be strategic and ready to go the extra mile. Make sure your real estate agent knows your maximum budget to negotiate for you appropriately.
If there’s one battle that all homeowners fight, it’s the one to get organized in their spaces. There’s a few actions that you can put into play to help you finally get organized once and for all. Follow the tips below to develop your own plan to get organized.
If you know the areas of your home that drive you crazy, you’ll know where to start to get organized. Does your entryway get cluttered easily? Is it difficult for you to find things in your kitchen? start in these rooms to be on your way to organizational greatness.
The first thing that you should do when you’re trying to get your home organized is make a list. This will make your organizing duties much easier if you can see your plan on paper. Decide where you want to start in your home with organization. If you approach your home room by room, the task will be that much less overwhelming for you. Have your priorities set. Which room do you really want to be the first to have some order in it? If you start there, then it will be easier to get moving on the other rooms that need some semblance.
A big part of organizing is decluttering. To reduce the amount of clutter that you have in your home, you’ll need to get rid of some things. As you go through each room, include a donate pile and a throwaway pile. Old things that you aren’t using can either be repurposed or gently trashed. Try to keep the rule that if you haven’t used the item within a year, it’s time for it to go! Plenty of things that you aren’t using can be put to good use by families in need.
It’s important to set goals throughout your organizational process. You don’t want your project to be going on for years with no end in sight. Plan a party, for example, and be sure to get the majority, if not all of your organizational tasks done in a timely manner. You can show off your newly straightened out home to friends. Your home will feel like a new place when you can find everything with ease.
Undoubtedly, you’ll have some things that will need to be stored. To make things easier for yourself, label all of your boxes and keep them in convenient places close to where you’ll need them. Anything that is stored in the attic or the basement should be labeled and put away by by category. All of your Christmas decorations should be in one place and labeled, and so on. As a bonus try to get all of the same colored boxes for each purpose if you can.
