Author: Cuselleration

3 Reasons Selling a Home Is Easier Than Ever

Posted on | by Cuselleration

Selling a home is a process, but it has become easier than ever in the last few years. There are several reasons why, but we want to talk about three main tools that you can utilize now to make selling a home much easier.

Technology

Everyone knows that technology is an absolute game changer in the world, but its impact on the real estate industry has been huge. In the past, every house put on the market would have to go up through printed media like newspapers.

While this isn’t altogether a bad route to go if you want to increase your awareness of your home, it is being seen by fewer and fewer people these days. Online home listing websites are now the best and most used tool for selling a home quickly.

The other reason online listings are great is that they allow you to see what homes similar to yours are selling for. Using this information will aid you in setting up your initial price when putting your property on the market.

Another great tool to use is social media. You can post on your social media page about putting your home on the market and ask your friends to share it. You might just be able to reach a buyer just using this tool.

Using your Facebook or other accounts can even be ramped up by using their advertising tools. Advertising is best left to your realtor, but that might be one of the many online tools that they will implement when putting your home on the market.

If you aren’t utilizing the internet, you need to do so today!

More People Than Ever

The population of the world continues to grow, which is great if you’re trying to sell a home because everyone needs a place to live! Knowing this fact, it isn’t hard to see why the old open house method is still so effective.

Utilizing for sale signs and an open house is still one of the most efficient strategies to find a buyer that we implement when selling a home in Coto De Caza, Rancho Santa Margarita, and Mission Viejo.

The main reason it works so well is that people want to see things first hand. It’s very similar to buying groceries. Most people are fine with buying most things online, but when it comes down to picking out fresh produce, you want to handle it yourself to make sure you’re getting the best quality.

The same can be said about real estate.

Finding a beautiful looking home online and buying it doesn’t make sense, especially with the magic angles that photographers can use to make a room look bigger than it actually is. When it comes down to it, everyone wants to see a home first hand.

The truth is, people still find signs on houses they want to look at by driving around in neighborhoods they want to live in. Use that!

Put the for sale signs up and have the open houses, you never know how many people will walk up off the street to take a look. This happens at least once with almost every open house we do!

Realtors are Always Improving

Not only are there more real estate agents now than at any time before, but they are also better trained! The advances in technology have made it easier to get a top notch education in real estate much more accessible.

The number of highly trained and effective realtors is higher than ever, which means finding a good one isn’t as complicated as it used to be. Years ago, you had to search through ads or hope your family had a good referral. Now, the number of quality realtors is much higher, and so is the number of available homes out there.

Thanks to condos and new housing developments, the market is continuing to thrive and grow evenly with the number of new realtors out there. What that means for you is that you won’t have agents trying to steal you from another agent like was more common when the market took a turn several years ago.

The stability of the housing market today means that you’re able to find high-quality realtors to aid you in selling a home in pretty much every area you could imagine in the US!

We Want To Help!

If you’re thinking of selling a home this year and could use more information, please call us at 949-350-0146 or email us at Debrakovacs@cox.net and we will give you more details on everything that we offer!

3 Ways to Find A Property in Mission Viejo

Posted on | by Cuselleration

It’s not hard to find a property in Mission Viejo if you know what you’re doing. Unfortunately, most of us don’t! That’s more common than most people think, but we’re going to arm you with some information to make your home search much easier.

Searching Online

First and foremost, we suggest looking for homes online. This works for you in two major ways; you’ll see what the advertised prices are and get a feel for what home styles are are available in the areas you’re looking. When trying to find a property in Mission Viejo, we suggest looking at an MLS site (multiple listing service.)

The huge benefit to searching MLS is the granddaddy of home information. In fact, they contain information that no other newspaper or online listing will have. You can sign up for emails through an agent, but even these emails won’t be very detailed when compared to the information that an agent will get from the website.

This is just the way it is, but you will be getting a more inside scoop on what is available than you would on other consumer websites. This brings us to our next big tip…

Get A Realtor

Hiring a realtor is going to be the number one way to find a property in Mission Viejo, for the exact reason that we just talked about. They have access to resources that the average person just doesn’t. The other important thing they can do for you is help you find a home by your preferences.

Knowing what type of home you like and what you require from your home is a crucial step in the process. Not knowing these details is ok, that’s why getting a real estate agent is so important. Talking about the styles you like and the needs of your home will allow them to narrow the search scope so that you’ll only be looking at homes that are a good fit.

Another important thing to consider is your plans for the future. You may not have any plans cemented in your head yet, but a realtor knows the questions to ask to better place you in a home that will fit the needs of your future household.

If you don’t have kids but are planning to, or you plan on getting an English Mastiff and are looking at homes without a yard, your realtor can steer you in a direction better suited for your family down the road.

Be Honest With Yourself

Being honest about your wants and needs is the most important thing about the home buying process. It is, of course, important to be able to make enough to pay the mortgage, but if you know in your heart that you are going to be spending big on lavish trips or shopping for a wedding, that might be something you want to do before signing a mortgage. The last thing you want to do is set yourself to fail.

Another thing that happens often is people get wrapped up in a good deal and don’t consider the possibility that they might be unhappy in that home. Getting a home at a steal is incredible when it happens.

But, if it doesn’t fit the needs of your future household or catch your interest, then maybe your should pass. The only time we think that it is a good idea to go ahead and get a property that you aren’t interested in living in is if you’re planning on flipping it or renting it out.

Lastly, don’t buy a fixer-upper home if you don’t have the know-how or capital to fix it up! It might be fun to find a property in Mission Viejo at a huge discount, but if you’re planning on doing a “Do It Yourself” renovation, and you have no experience in DIY home repairs, you may want to rethink the situation.

Buying product to fix a home can add up, especially if errors occur and you need to buy it a second or third time. Also, if you haven’t done a home makeover and are hiring someone to do it for you, just know that quotes on the home renovation tend to always be under the actual amount and they don’t typically stay on schedule.

That’s just the nature of home improvements because once you start, you generally find more issues than you thought were there at the onset. Do yourself a favor and be honest with yourself and your expectations before going all in!

We Can Help!

If you’re still trying to find a home in Mission Viejo and need a little help from a professional, please call us at 949-350-0146 or email us at Debrakovacs@cox.net and we can discuss your future dream home!

4 House Staging Tips That Sell

Posted on | by Cuselleration

Making your home look appealing is one of the most important things you can do to get your house sold, so you’ll likely need some house staging tips. We have more information on home staging than we could probably ever fit on paper, but there are a few broad strokes that will work wonders for your buyer’s interest levels.

Declutter

Everyone thinks, “cleaning is a no-brainer” but we are talking specifically about clutter. Unfortunately for most, their prized possessions are actually cluttering up the look and feel of the home when we do a showing. Our advice is to start thinking about the home from an outside perspective, that of the potential buyers.

When you come into a home that you’re looking to possibly purchase, you typically don’t want to walk into a cramped looking home. Over time, the things we accumulate end up just taking up a significant amount of space that would be better left open for maneuvering. This is something that you should do for anyone coming into your home.

Opening up your home by decluttering the knickknacks will allow them to do two important things mentally: believe the home is bigger than it is, and start imagining their items cluttering everything up! That may sound silly, but it is exactly what people want to do when they purchase a home to make it feel like their own.

Make It Neutral

The color of your paint and decor can actually go a long way. These days, a lot more colors are considered to be neutral because of their ability to work well in any setting. I grew up with off-white walls, but nowadays tans, honey, and soft blue-greens have made a lasting mark on home staging decor.

One thing to note, the appeal of the home seems to go down with overly bright colored walls. This could be for a number of reasons, and honestly, research into the matter isn’t too clear, but for whatever reason, it acts as a repellent. So when you’re sprucing up your home, keep the colors warm and inviting rather than shocking and eye-catching to keep your interest levels higher.

Mix Your Walls Up

We mentioned keeping the walls simple for a great reason, what the color of the walls doesn’t do, artwork can! As far as house staging tips go, some well-placed artwork is a heavy hitter. Oddly enough, buyers often remember a home by a particular art piece, and even if the home doesn’t come with it, they mentally pretend it does.

The takeaway here is, use art to your full advantage. Buying different shapes of canvases like original and split canvas, contrasting themes, and unique color schemes to put in the rooms of your home is an absolute must. The eye appeal will increase the interest of any buyer.

A word of advice: if you don’t have any artwork and want to purchase some, get the help of your realtor to keep things looking classy. They also may have staging artwork, and that is a great option. Not only is it faster, but it’s more cost effective.

The biggest advantage to buying beautiful pieces yourself is that you get to keep them for your new home and keep that in mind when you’re shopping as well. These paintings should look good, but also be something that you’d want to see around every day in your new home.

Be A Little Odd

This is one of those house staging tips that makes you wonder how much time people put into researching the subject, but odd numbers sell better than even numbers. At least, when it comes to decorating your home for a staging. Why this is, we aren’t sure, but the fact is that it does sell.

Performing two showings with the same home, when the number of items on a table setting was changed from even to an odd number, it was better liked by clients. This seems to be the home staging secret that has eluded many people trying to do it on their own. It’s still a hard to believe fact, as most people prefer to buy items in round numbers. The proof shows, however, that even though we’d rather buy four plates, we’d rather see five items on a coffee table.

We Want To Help You!

If you’re still trying to figure out house staging tips for your future home on the market, please call us at 949-350-0146 or email us at Debrakovacs@cox.net and we can give you more information on everything we offer!

4 Tips on Marketing Your Home in Rancho Santa Margarita

Posted on | by Cuselleration

There are few things more important when selling a house than learning about marketing your home in Rancho Santa Margarita. Properly marketing your house is a game changer. A good marketing campaign can have your property sold in days instead of months!

We’ve compiled a few tips to help you get started in the right direction.

Get Online

It is said that up to 90% of all home buyers research homes online before ever going out and looking at one. It has been admitted by the online viewers that if a home’s online presence is weak, they won’t ever go to view it in person. That is nine out of 10 people you’re missing out on if you’re listing is not online!

What’s worse, if your listing is up but looks bad, those same nine people will move past your listing. You need to make sure that your listing has well-done pictures, and at least 6 or more to properly showcase the high points of your home.

One thing you need do is to make sure that you find a realtor that knows what they’re doing in when marketing your home. While interviewing realtors, it’s not a bad idea to check out their other listings to see what they’re doing for other clients.

Social Media Is Your Friend

Facebook is definitely the heavy hitter as far as social media is considered, especially for putting your listing up and spreading the word to people you may know that are looking for a new home. The reason that it is better than other forms of social media is that there isn’t a character count that you have to stay under and since it has been around so long almost everyone has it!

One tool that some people have incorporated in their posts is taking a video of their home and the environment to better give buyers an idea of the home and people in the neighborhood. It is successful because it personalizes the home by showing them the neighbors they’ll be living with and the cool things there are to do in the area. An exceptional video shows the home, the neighborhood, and things around the area that your family enjoys doing.

Always Be Accessible

Marketing your home in Coto De Caza is all about being accessible. So try to have your property fixed up and show ready at least during the daylight hours. This is crucial because the job market is changing and people are now becoming available at times that they weren’t able to be in years past. Being able to show your home off at virtually anytime makes you a huge threat to any competing houses in town.

We aren’t trying to push for you to be able to show your home in the middle of the night, but being more available than everyone else will do worlds of good for your selling speed.

Following Your Agents Advice

Let’s be honest; everyone wants to get a real estate agent to help them market and sell their home until they give you unpopular advice. This can come in many shapes or forms. Often your home needs to be fixed up, whether that means repaving your driveway or fixing up some structural damage. This is going to cost you some money to fix, which no one wants, but it will make you more money when you find the right buyer, and they aren’t deducting from your price for repairs that need to be done.

Another unpopular piece of advice to follow is getting rid of your prized possessions. The fact is that many people don’t like the same things that you might, and seeing a home covered in (sports décor for example) can be an instant turn-off. The worst part is that your home may have everything that they are looking for, but the decorations of your home have them making excuses as to why it won’t work out.

our realtor isn’t trying to get you to throw everything you love away just to sell your home, but packing it up in order to make a sale isn’t a bad idea. The personal touch here and there is great, but follow the advice on what your realtor thinks should stay and what should go because they are only doing it for your own good.

We Want to Help!

Call The Kovacs Connection at 949-350-0146 or email us at Debrakovacs@cox.net and we can help make your dream a reality. Marketing your home in Rancho Santa Margarita is what we do, and we will have your home featured the way it deserves to be!

4 Practical Home Selling Tips for Coto De Caza

Posted on | by Cuselleration

It is a buyer’s market right now, so you might want to consider some home selling tips for Coto De Caza that will earn you a hefty profit. If you bought your home at a good time for the market, or have had your home for a long time, it’s the perfect time to sell your home and make your money back and then some!

Make Your Home Inviting from The Outside

The concept of curbside appeal is very popular, and for a good reason, it’s the first impression a buyer gets of your home. Not only should you make any of the foliage in the front look great, but you should also add a little flair to your front yard as well.

Front yard flowers look better when cleaned up, and they look even better with some tasteful lawn ornaments and decorative pathways leading to the front door. If your front porch has enough space, add some comfy chairs and decoration. When it looks like a nice comfortable porch that you can sit and drink lemonade on during the summer, people instantly become more interested.

When in doubt, ask your realtor for help on making your home look the best it can from the first time they walk up to it. Most realtors have the right idea when it comes to tastefully decorating your porch and walkway.

Make It Personal

Many people tell you to completely stage your home in order to increase its appeal, and that is great advice. However, it’s not exactly practical for most people. Instead of moving all of your things into storage and living out of a hotel, start getting rid of old items or storing the less important ones in the garage neatly.

This will have two main advantages; it gets you started on your future move, and it allows you to give your home a personal and professional look. Staged furniture can be great, but often times it leaves the home feeling too planned. Leaving some of your items in will give potential buyers a better idea of what it will look like when it becomes their home.

This is a fantastic idea because many people become more sentimentally attached to your home with some of your family’s belongings than they would to a home full of staged furniture. So, feel free to keep a few of your personal decorations inside, but be sure to consult with your realtor to make sure that you’re utilizing the space the best way possible.

Open Your Space

One of the other great tools that you can use after packing away the loose items in your home to look tidier, is to rearrange everything. Moving the furniture around to open up space can do wonders for the appeal of your home. Just because the furniture was functioning a certain way for you where it was doesn’t mean that it looks good that way.

Moving your furniture to open more space will make people more interested because there is a growing sentiment in America. That sentiment is “bigger is better” and that goes double for purchasing a home. Everyone wants the most for the money they’re paying, so help it make look bigger.

Other great home selling tips for Coto De Caza include utilizing mirrors and opening closets. You might have a sliding mirror on your closet, but keeping it closed so the mirror makes the room look double the size is something you should consider. On the flip side, a closet with regular doors should be left open to help exaggerate the space you have in the home.

Make It Interesting

Some home selling tips for Coto De Caza work better than others, and making your home look appealing is one that will pay off. Often times, buyers go into a home and get bored because the house looks bland or the last home was closer to what they were hoping for. This can spell disaster for you!

An uninterested buyer will walk through your home in a daze, or worse; they’ll leave without searching the entire home. You have to make each room interesting in its own way. We suggest a stylish painting or decorative piece that will strike the eye and draw people inside. Once they appreciate the decoration, they’ll be more apt to looking around and taking in what your house has to offer.

We Can Help!

If you’re interested in more home selling tips for Coto De Caza that will get you a sale quickly, please call us at 949-350-0146 or email us at Debrakovacs@cox.net or realestatebyrana@gmail.com and we can help you get your home moving today!

5 Tips on How to Avoid a Foreclosure in Mission Viejo

Posted on | by Cuselleration

Facing a foreclosure in Mission Viejo? Not to worry, just because things look bleak now, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have any options. In fact, there are a few important things that you can do to put an end to talks of a foreclosure for good.

1. Renegotiate with Your Lender

Here’s the low down fact that you may not have thought of, a foreclosure is a lot of work! No lender wants to go through mountains of paperwork and process after process if they can easily avoid it. So, your task is just that, avoid it.

Negotiating with your lenders saves them a great deal of time that they can be spending on something that will ultimately bring the company more revenue. They want to renegotiate with you because it means that they can refocus on the bigger fish. This is the easiest way to avoid a foreclosure because the lenders are actually hoping for the quickest way out of the situation, just like you.

2. Sell Quick

Selling your home is another way to avoid a foreclosure in Missions Viejo, and the best part is that if you find a good deal, you might just make some money too. This is another one of those situations where a considerable amount of time is saved on the lender’s side because they would be trying to find a buyer after foreclosing on you anyway.

A good point to remember after the lender files the NOD (Notice of Default), any legitimate offers you get from a potential buyer must be considered by them. This sale can potentially save you and them a lot of time and money. Be aggressive, if they are foreclosing you need to try to sell your home as if your life depends on it!

3. Deed in Lieu

This option is when you sign the house back over to the bank. Great, right?! Not exactly. It will still affect your credit just like a foreclosure would. This is assuming, of course, that you can get one.

Lenders don’t often grant a deed in lieu because many homeowners will turn around and sue stating that the terms were unclear and therefore didn’t know what they were signing. Also, the second or third mortgage you took out on your house would need to be paid by the lender.

Even if you can document your financial hardship, you’ve had your home on the market for a good stretch of time with no luck, and there are no liens on the house, it’s still fairly rare to see a deed in lieu granted.

4. Have Your Buyer Step Up


There are two other ways that you can save your home from a foreclosure in Mission Viejo that involves your buyer. The first is an assumption and the second is a lease-option. Both are good options but might be tricky to navigate.

An assumption will basically have your buyer pay off the end of your loan. To do this, you’ll need the lender to delete the portion of your loan that requires you to pay off the loan at the time of sale. It may sound complicated, but this is actually a much-preferred option for lenders, buyers, and sellers alike to avoid a foreclosure.

A lease-option is when your buyer, in a manner of speaking, becomes your “tenant” until they can pay an adequate down payment. This agreement is usually for those that don’t have the upfront money, have poor credit and are trying to raise it or are in the process of selling their old house in order to get the funds necessary to purchase your new home.

In any event, you’ll be using their money to aid in paying your mortgage until they can properly take over ownership. A word of caution, though, be sure that you have enough money coming in with total to pay your mortgage and for wherever you will be living while these proceedings are going on.

5. Bankruptcy

Your last ditch effort should always be bankruptcy, especially because all it really does in the case of a foreclosure Is to freeze it until a later date. The way that this will work for you is this gives you time to recover financially by the time the negotiations start for your debt repayment on the home. Don’t go it alone; you should get a bankruptcy lawyer to help you get the best deal possible!

Need More Help?

If you need more hands on tips on avoiding a foreclosure in Mission Viejo, call us at 949-350-0146 or email us at Debrakovacs@cox.net and we’ll help you sell your home today!

How to Get the Best Realtor in Rancho Santa Margarita

Posted on | by Cuselleration

Whether people are buying or selling their first or tenth home, they always want to know who the best realtor in Rancho Santa Margarita is. Unfortunately, the answer to that question is not easy. The reason it is so difficult is that there are no specific criteria to judge who is the absolute best in real estate.

Take two different real estate agents, one has the quickest sales, and the other has the highest customer satisfaction in a given town. Each is qualified in their own way, and both of their clients are likely satisfied. So, can you say one is better than the other? No, because the one that is the best depends on what qualities you are looking for in an agent.

In other words, you need to figure out what characteristics matter the most to you and make your choice based on your criteria.

What is Their Specialty?

Some realtors are great at selling homes, others at finding and negotiating the best price for your perfect future home, then there are buyer’s brokers, dual agents, discount brokers, and e-brokers. What does all of that mean?! Let us help.

Realtors

Regular realtors typically make their commission on the sale of a home, which means they will often keep quiet about any problems with the property and try to sell homes as quickly as possible. This is great if you’re selling because that means that they have your best interest in mind.

Buyer’s Broker

For buyers, a buyer’s broker is probably the better option. This means that they will be on the buyer’s side, and they will do everything in their power to find you that perfect home you’re looking for. As a buyer’s broker, they will actively search out any problems with a home to ensure that you aren’t buying a lemon.

The thing to be conscious of is that you will either be paying them a commission based off of the price you buy the home for, or an hourly wage for their help. The best thing about hiring them is they will keep everything you say confidential.

Dual Agents

Dual agents can work for they buyers or sellers and typically work in a conventional real estate office. This means that confidentiality that you get with a buyer’s broker does not apply for them. That doesn’t mean you can’t trust them, but it does mean that information you give them about your interest in the home can potentially be shared with the owners.

To save yourself from being represented by an agent that is helping you buy, and the owners sell, look for a Split Agent. They may do the exact same job as the dual agent, but they don’t represent both parties in any transactions.

Discount Brokers

Discount brokers will typically save you money, but you will be trading your time for it. Discount brokers don’t charge as much on commission, but they also don’t offer the same level of marketing resources that a conventional realtor would.

E-Brokers

E-brokers don’t own a location, which saves them a great deal on renting a business property and allows them to charge less. This means that you will be doing the majority of the legwork yourself, like finding homes that you might like, and they will just set you up with someone to show you the homes you’re interested in.

Knowing what you need, what you’re willing to pay, and how much time you’re willing to spend to save money are the main things to consider when choosing a realtor type.

Don’t Let an Agent Buy Your Listing

The best realtor in Rancho Santa Margarita will not tell you that they will sell your home for much higher than their competitors or what the market price is at the moment. A realtor that makes these promises is trying to push the buttons that make you act without thinking.

Going with them will only benefit themselves because the promises they made you are false, and you will be stuck with someone who is willing to stretch the truth just to get business. If they are willing to lie about something like that, what else will they lie to you about? These are the realtors that make you feel like real estate is a shady business; stick with an honest realtor, and you’ll enjoy the entire process!

 

Interview More Than One Candidate

Now that you’re armed with the information you need don’t just pick the first realtor that seems ok. If you want the best realtor in Rancho Santa Margarita, you’re going to need to interview a few to see who fits your needs.

You’ll want an agent that can do the job, but also one that fits your personality and does things ethically. You ought to consider seeing them in action at one of their open houses if the interview goes well. You might be between a few agents, even after interviewing several, but going to an open house might just be the information that you need to make the right decision.

Let’s Get Started

Getting the best realtor in Rancho Santa Margarita is easy, just give us a call at 949-350-0146 or email us at Debrakovacs@cox.net so we can help you today!

Fastest Way to Sell a Home in Mission Viejo

Posted on | by Cuselleration

Almost everyone who wants to sell a home in Mission Viejo is trying to sell it fast. Actually, it seems to be the trend in real estate because when you decide you’re ready, you already want the process to be over with! We understand the selling process can be stressful.

Getting rid of your old property isn’t as problematic as most people think if you take some simple steps to get started. Here are a few tips to get you on the right foot.

Get A Real Estate Agent

Unless you are a practicing realtor, we suggest you get an expert to help you out. A realtor thinks about selling and buying homes all day and likely dreams about it too. This is exactly what you want!

Who would you put your money on; a person who has a home and is deciding to sell for the first time or with a realtor who sells a home every week. It’s a no brainer who would win in a competition, so hiring a pro should be number one on your list.

A seasoned realtor would also know the ins and outs of selling in Mission Viejo as well as what trends get homes sold well above the market price. Plus, the rest of the tips we’re going to suggest, they would start doing on day 1.

Get Rid of Your Pets!

Ok, not forever, but at the very least during the time that you’re trying to sell your home. Let’s face it, we all love our animals, but they can stink! Even worse, they seem to enjoy destroying your expensive things.

Even if they are the cleanest and most well-behaved dogs in the world, people don’t want to see them running around what could be their new home. Why?

They assume that they run around stinking and destroying nice things because that’s what most people complain about with their animals. Do yourself a favor, after getting your home cleaned out and ready for showing, have the animals stay with a friend or family.

The potential for damage to occur with animals is way higher than without. Plus, they will inevitably leave fur (dander) around the newly cleaned home. You never know who is going to enter your home and there is always a chance that someone might have an allergy to your beloved animal.

Those allergies are guaranteed to get them out of the house in a sneezing fit without even giving your place a decent look around. Avoid missing out on the perfect sale, send Mr. Softpaws over to Grandmas for a few weeks.

Make A Great First Impression

Making a memorable impression is one of the most important things to do when trying to sell a home in Mission Viejo. The majority of people want to buy a beautiful home that can be moved into that day if possible.

Making sure that the home looks stunning from the very second you set eyes on it from the street is step one. This means to trim and care for the foliage and even add more if possible. Bright beautifully colored flowers in the front yard can go a long way.

Next, a fresh coat of paint on the exterior is essential. Also, making a few repairs or improvements is an excellent idea. If you have a gravel driveway, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get fresh high-quality gravel or to pave it to improve its appeal.

On the inside of the house, cleanliness is the key to a fast sale. This doesn’t just mean getting a cleaning service out to get the nooks and crannies of each room. Getting your old furniture out and into storage and allowing your realtor to get staging furniture takes top priority.

As with the exterior, repairs should be done if needed. No one sees cracked bathroom tile and thinks happy thoughts. All the people looking at your home see when they see needed repairs is added money into the purchase. Don’t let that happen!

A few repairs, a fresh coat of paint, and some furniture handpicked to showcase your home’s strengths will work wonders on the interior. This is, again, why it is so important to pick a realtor that knows what they are doing. With these tips, you can be light years ahead of your competition!

Let’s Talk

If you’re still trying to figure out the fastest way to sell a home in Mission Viejo, please call us at 949-350-0146 or email us at Debrakovacs@cox.net and we can give you more tips that can get your property moving today!

Popular Styles of Homes for Sale in Coto De Caza

Posted on | by Cuselleration

Looking at homes for sale in Coto De Caza isn’t hard if you know what you want. Not everyone does their research before going out and looking for a home. Figuring out your top styles of a home will significantly reduce the amount of time you will spend looking at homes that you won’t be happy with.

The types of homes out there all have their perks and pitfalls. Just how smaller homes are more energy efficient but have less space, different styles are better suited for your needs than others. Many of the styles came from a historical origin, and others serve a purpose for the environment they were created in.

We’ll talk about some common styles and why you should be considering them for your next home purchase!

Cape Cod

Now, this may seem a little out of place seeing as it is named for a style of home made popular on the other side of the country, but it’s the beautiful design that makes it suitable for Southern California as well. Many sought after homes for sale in Coto De Caza are actually considered this style.

Cape Cod style is known for having steeply slanted roofs and larger than average chimneys. This was inspired by cottages but adapted for the harsh winters in Cape Cod way back in the 1600’s. The purpose of the original design may not be necessary in SoCal, but the other features make it an attractive style to build anyway.

What features?

Tons of windows! Windows both on each side of the door, and directly above them on the second floor. They are also known to have cedar shingles, but that isn’t absolutely necessary to be considered a Cape Cod.

If you’re looking for a home that feels quaint while never skimping on space, you should consider the Cape Cod style in your search.

Contemporary Vs. Modern

Contemporary homes are very well-liked and actually different from the Modern style homes. While they are similar in aesthetics, the contemporary style is fit for the future.

Contemporary homes for sale in Coto De Caza are going to be much more energy efficient than their Modern counterparts. They will utilize windows intuitively for getting the most out of the sun’s natural lighting. They will also use the newer technologies in lighting, plumbing, and possibly even allow for the addition of solar panels.

In addition to being energy efficient, they are built with more eco-friendly and sustainable materials. Being contemporary basically means using safer quality materials that will save you a lot of money down the road.

While Modern and Contemporary have several similarities in the way they look, both internally and externally. The difference comes down to whether you want to pay a little more for a more earth friendly home built with nontoxic materials.

We think that going Contemporary if you’re leaning in that direction, is an excellent choice that may just make you money if you decide to sell in the future. Many home sellers have to do costly repairs before the home is ready, but you might save yourself the trouble by going with the more sustainable materials.

Spanish

Unlike the Pueblo Revival style, which is inspired entirely by the indigenous natives of Northern and Southern America, the Spanish style pays homage to European ancestors. The Spanish style does incorporate a bit of the Native American architecture and blends them with a Mediterranean design.

The bulk of the Spanish style best resemble the old missions, of the 20th century. They usually have arched porches, arched corridors, clay roof tiles, bell towers, and square pillars.

Many different layouts exist, but they will frequently have many of the previously mentioned features as well as quatrefoil windows that take on the appearance of flowers. Quatrefoil windows have the appearance of a four-leaf clover, having four circles coming from a central point.

This is one of the best parts of the style because so much can be done with these types of windows. If you’re looking for a little inspiration, you can take a look at examples from history by googling it. This kind of window was very popular in older European churches, and many still stand today!

Let’s Talk

We’ve covered a few of our favorites, but there are so many other home types out there to choose from. If you’re still trying to figure out what styles of homes for sale in Coto De Caza are right for you, please call us at 949-350-0146 or email us at Debrakovacs@cox.net and we can give you more information on everything this beautiful town has to offer!

How to Locate the Top Realtor for Finding a Home Near You

Posted on | by Cuselleration

Getting the perfect new home isn’t an easy task, which is why you need to hire the top realtor for finding a home in your area right away. But just how do you find the top realtor when each and everyone claims to be so great?

There are a few ways to separate the best from the rest that we think will really help you out with your search.

A Long Time in Business

It may not be the absolute best marker because it is unfair to the newer realtors who might be incredible, but it is effective. Real estate agents that have been in business for a long time are successful; otherwise they would be out of business.

There is one obvious drawback to using this method we should mention, however. It isn’t just the company they work for that you should be paying attention to, but the realtor themselves. If they work at a big national real estate company, and they have been a realtor for 12 years, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve been with them for 12 years.

Find out if the realtor you are considering has been with the same company for a while or if they have been bouncing around from place to place. It may just happen that they are new to this company and could have a poor record previously.

The opposite may also be true, but find out through casual conversation how long they’ve been around at their current company.

In the smaller realty companies, particularly with the name of one or more realtors in the company name, it’s usually a pretty safe bet that if they share the name is on the door that they are good. The only way to get your own realty company is by making a good amount of money doing exactly what you want them to do in order to afford to get their business started.

The Credentials to Prove It!

When it comes to finding a home, a top realtor will likely have gotten some awards along the way. When you meet with them in their office, all you will have to do is look around. Most will have their license and awards posted all around on the walls.

Those that have quite a few awards on display usually have a good deal of skill, as they don’t just hand them out to everyone. Don’t get us wrong, if they don’t have awards all around that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But having some awards is undeniably a huge bonus!

You may also want to quickly walk around the room and take a look at all of the awards. We’ve never heard of anyone putting up fake awards to impress potential clients, but these days you can’t be too careful.

While you’re taking a look around, check to make sure the license is real and everything is up to date. Again, it doesn’t hurt to be careful.

Ask Your Friends

We know you’ve probably heard to ask for a referral a thousand times, but we suggest only asking specific friends for their recommendations. Who do we think is the best to ask? The friends of yours who have bought and sold a house at least once if not multiple times.

Knowing people who upgrade their home every few years or that flip homes is a great source of information. If they have a trusted realtor in your area, you can be pretty sure that they are at the very least up to the challenge.

The friends that don’t live in the area might be able to ask their realtors opinion about who to go with in your area. The real estate world may seem huge, but for the most part, it’s actually a pretty tight knit community. This is great news for you!

Since everyone knows each other, it is a pretty sure bet that your realtor will either know the top realtor for finding a home in your area, or know who the best is. This is an excellent way to slim down the competition without having to do a lot of legwork.

You may want to ask your parents or your neighbor with the house slightly better than yours, but if they haven’t done multiple real estate transactions, don’t bother. They will usually point you in the direction of their real estate agent, and they might not even know if they actually did a good job or not.

Still Not Sure?

The top realtor for finding a home in your town will likely be the top at selling homes as well. That’s because they will usually be the best, and have the best team working with them.

If you’re looking for the top realtor for finding a home near you, call us at 949-350-0146 or email us at Debrakovacs@cox.net or realestatebyrana@gmail.com and we’ll help you get a home today!