Your Home Value

Topics on how to increase a homeowners home value, get the most out of the sale of their home and avoid the least amount of expenses in preparing the home for sale.

Home Improvements That Will Make You Lose Money

Mario Avalos2 Comments

Choose your home improvements carefully

I recently got off the phone with someone who insisted on making home improvements with the goal of increasing their home value. While home improvements do help the value of your home, it is not always the case.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love updating my home when I have the resource to do so! Making improvements is beneficial in keeping the home updated with your current taste in décor. Moreover, it also helps keep your home in good conditions to decrease the chances of any major repairs. I even made a post on Four leading home projects everyone is doing.

Now, how does it affect your home value when it comes to making improvements to sell? Well, if you are not careful on what you choose to do on your property, you may break-even or even worse, lose money.

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Break even or lose money?

As a homeowner thinking of selling your home, your goal is to maximize profit! I mean, who does not want to make the most out of their sale? As a result, most homeowners believe their home needs to be top notch to compete in the housing market. Therefore, they start doing home improvements to make it the most presentable home possible.

Usually, what happens is that homeowners get carried away and truly believe these improvements will make a huge impact on their home value. The reality is, most times, it will not.

Depending on the updates and repairs, it may not be worth the work when it comes time to sell. In short, homeowners realize that the updates done did not deliver to their expectations and did not impact the buyers to pay more for it.

Why will home buyers not pay more for my home improvements?

Look, we all have great memories and a certain attachment to our homes. The improvements we make have always been with our family in mind. In the end, what we think of our own home is not what the buyers walking through will think. What they are thinking is not about the present, but of the future. They are thinking of how this home will fit their family needs and how to make it their own. Buyers will always want to change something or improve on something no matter how perfect we think our home is.

RELATED: How do buyers determine home value?

How to avoid losing money?

Therefore, the best way to approach this is by detaching from the home. Looking at the home like it was a product. So, with that in mind, do what is necessary to the property and not what you “feel” is the right updates to do.

If you are unsure of what home improvements to make to maximize the amount of money you make on your home when it’s time to sell, do not hesitate to reach out and ask me. I am happy to assist you in making the right decision!

Is Living in Miami Becoming Too Expensive For You?

Rocio CasalesLeave a comment

Looking for a less stressful lifestyle

Recently, I am encountering more and more clients that are considering moving away from Miami. In the past, I have helped a handful of my clients sell their home to move out of Miami in pursuit of a less stressful lifestyle. Today, this number of clients have increased.

There is no question that Miami is becoming an expensive city to live in. As a result, it is becoming, for many, a stressful financial and living situation. Keeping up with the mortgages and property maintenance is literally a full-time job. In addition, a family to support and provide the best we can.

Therefore, if you see yourself in a similar situation, rest assure, you are not alone. Similarly, these clients of mine are tired of waking up every morning to deal with the daily grind: morning and evening rush hour traffic, rushing to get to places, keeping up with the monthly bills, making sure to pay the mortgage on time (for most of your life), keeping your family happy. I think you get the picture.

RELATED: #1 location the average home seller moves to; from Miami

More Feasible than you think

Believe it or not, moving away from Miami is more feasible than you think. It is not a distant or unreachable goal. Most of my clients do not realize that they have enough equity on their home to start a new life elsewhere. It can be a small move, within the state of Florida, or a big move, to another state. Regardless, I have had both scenarios and in both cases my clients have agreed that it has improved their quality of living.

Keep in mind, the standard of living in most places is a fraction of what it is in Miami. Therefore, liquidating what you have here, in Miami, can work out for you. Not only can it be a feasible opportunity, but also the start of a less stressful lifestyle. Not to mention, improving the quality of time with your loved ones.

Improving your quality of life

In the end, it is the reason why we work long hours and grind every day. To give our families the best life they deserve. Imagine doing so without having to sacrifice most of your time, but instead, spend time with your loved ones. It can happen to you too.

If you have been thinking of the possibility of moving away from Miami or even curious to know if it can be a possibility, do not hesitate to Contact Us Today!

“Take the Offer or Leave It!” Here’s How to Handle “Bully” Home Buyers

Rocio CasalesLeave a comment

“Bully” Buyers

Many times I have been in a situation where I am representing the seller and a buyer comes and tells me “You know what Mario? We are not going to offer a single penny over this offer amount. Your client can either take it or leave it!”

First of all, do not take this ultimatum to heart. Buyers will say things like this to pressure you to accept an offer you really do not want to. Therefore, how can you make more money when someone makes you this kinds of offer and tells you this is their final offer? You counter back.

Counter back!

I proceeded to call the seller and instead of telling the seller what the buyer told me word by word, I advised my client to simply counter back the offer. The reason I do this is that by me telling the seller the buyer’s ultimatum all I am doing is allowing the “bully” behavior reach my client. I do not want to add burden or additional stress to my client, that is why I am here, to help make this process as smooth as possible.

RELATED: 3 Reasons Why Your House is Not Selling

Control your emotions during negotiation

Therefore, what happens after I present the counteroffer to the buyer? Well, at times the buyer will complain and whine about it, but in the end, it is all about negotiation. Negotiation has very little to do with what people say and it is more about controlling your emotions.

Furthermore, most often then not, the buyer will counter the sellers’ counter offer. If the buyer is a serious buyer, they may up their initial offer and hope to meet in the middle. Or if the price is at market value, accept the sellers’ counter.

As long as you can control your emotions during this process, your chances of winning are high.

Have questions or need further advice on how to handle these “bully” buyers?

Call or Text (305) 305-1535 Today!

Selling Your Home Fast And on Market Value

Rocio CasalesLeave a comment

Do you need to sell your home fast?

Selling a home is no easy task. Even more so, if you are under the pressure of having to sell your home fast. The reasons can be from job relocation to unexpected life events that are forcing you to sell now.

Being under pressure to do anything may cause you to do rash decisions. When it comes to the sale of your home, making rash decisions can cost you a lot of money!

Many homeowners believe if they need to sell their home fast, they need to price it way under market value. As a result, they end up losing money on the sale. The truth is, you can still make a quick sale (and I mean, within a month!) still on market value!

How do you sell your home fast and on market value?

By pricing the home right on fair market value. How do you find out the right fair market value for your home?

Your best chance is by hiring a top real estate agent in your area. You need to have someone knowledgeable of your neighborhood market and with experience in getting the job done fast!

A top real estate agent will guide you step by step through the whole process, relieving you of that added stress.

Questions about selling your house?

With 16 plus years of real estate experience, we have helped many homeowners sell their home on time and on price.

Fill out the form below for a FREE consultation, and we will be in contact right away!

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3 Reasons Why Your House is Not Selling

Mario AvalosLeave a comment

3 Months have passed and my house is not selling

I spoke with a homeowner who had their property listed for three months and had zero buyers go see it. I could not believe it when I heard it, I was in disbelief because we are in a sellers’ market and their house was not selling. There are many buyers out there searching for their ideal home. Therefore, if a home is not getting any showing requests within a month, then there is something up.

Why is my house not selling?

Here are the 3 reasons your house is not selling:

1. Price

Is your house properly priced? This is the first and most important question to ask if your house is not being shown. Odds are, it may be overpriced and buyers are discouraged to go see it.

Now, how do you overprice a home? Many homeowners compare their homes to their neighbor’s homes that may also be for sale. Do not compare your home value with currently for-sale homes in your neighborhood. Your best bet is determining your home price based off the recently sold prices in your neighborhood and the condition of those homes. Similar homes to yours may have upgrades while others don’t and the condition varies. All these factors help determine the correct value of your home.

Read more: One Way to Get the Wrong Value on Your Home? Ask Your Neighbor!

2. Bad marketing

First impressions count! Having good professional quality pictures of your home is a must! Your house pictures are the first impression buyers will have and you want to make it a good one so they can set the appointment to see it.

In addition to good professional quality pictures, your house is not selling due to poor advertising. Where these pictures and details of your house are being advertised are very important. They need to be advertised in at least every major real estate website, such as Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, etc.

Furthermore, with so many people on social media all the time, it has become as important as the major real estate websites, for advertising your home for sale.

3. How does the property show?

So now you know you need good professional pictures, but how will your house show in those pictures? It is not enough to have good angles and lighting in the pictures, but the actual house needs to look good too.

Therefore, ask yourself these questions. Is your house nicely organized? Is it de-cluttered? Are the walls painted in appealing colors?

Many times I have encountered listings with poor pictures or pictures where the home does not show well and my buyer clients do not even bother booking an appointment even though the description fits their criteria.

Get clear answers to why your house is not selling

If you are working with a real estate agent and your house is not selling, you need to get clear answers from your agent as to why this is happening.

My point is, in real estate, things can move quickly while other times, they may not. Therefore, no matter what direction the housing market is heading, you need to be aware of the causes. Not only that, you need to know why certain things are or are not happening. And have a clear understanding of those reasons. If you feel like you are not getting clear answers, it may be time to move on to a different agent.

Need help selling your house?

We can help! With over 16 years of experience we are confident to get the job done!

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2 Reasons Zillow Gets Home Values Right, Half The Time

Mario Avalos2 Comments

Nine times out of ten people check their home value on Zillow or Trulia prior to calling a real estate agent. I personally think these sites are great considering they get it right about 50% of the time. Even more so, when you consider that an algorithm is trying to determine a very complex ordeal such as the value of a home, so props to them!

Why do they miss the mark the other 50% of the time?

I don’t really know, and I doubt anyone else truly knows, but here is my educated guess: Because they can only see what’s on the outside of the property through the eyes in the sky – aka satellites –  and they can only analyze what can be found on public records such as number of beds, number of baths, square footage, etc.

RELATED: One Way to Get the Wrong Value on Your Home? Ask Your Neighbor!

Therefore, the two reasons Zillow gets home values right half the time are the following:

1. Often, public records are incorrect

This can happen when updates, such as expansion, added bathroom or bedrooms, that are yet not recorded in public records.

For example, say you added a family room to your property. You may have expanded to the covered patio to do so. This adds more value to your home since the living square footage under A/C has significantly increased. But this information will most likely not be reflected on public property records, which is where these sites get their information. Therefore, the lack of accurate information can distort what’s reported in sites like Zillow.

RELATED:How do buyers determine home value?

2. These sites can’t see the interior of your home

These sites can only determine the value by the exterior and what has been sold in that neighborhood in recent years. Therefore, if your home has interior upgrades, or modifications that would significantly add value to the property, it would not consider these factors.

Questions about your home value? Contact me today!