Author: Cuselleration

Finding Beautiful Homes for Sale in Rancho Santa Margarita

Posted on | by Cuselleration

Shopping for new homes for sale in Rancho Santa Margarita doesn’t have to be as difficult as it may sound. We have compiled a list that you should check off as you from open house to open house to find the right home for your needs.

Location

Location, as they say, is everything. When considering all of the homes for sale in Rancho Santa Margarita, don’t take its physical position as the only piece of information when determining whether or not to buy.

The distance the home is from your work, or at the very least the nearest freeway, is something to consider seriously. Few people want to be so close to the freeway that you can hear the cars, but you don’t want to drive 30 minutes of streets to get to the highway you need either.

Having children means figuring out where you need to live to get them in the district that you want them in (if you are even looking into a public school.) Another thing to consider is how close you would be to city parks, and anywhere they will be for reoccurring extracurricular activities. If you are steps away to their school but 45 minutes away from their piano teacher, you might want to look somewhere in the middle of the two.

Size

When it comes to homes, size definitely should matter. This goes both directions though. You want a house large enough to accommodate the needs of your family, and possibly for the event of a growing family.

When looking at homes for sale in Ranch Santa Margarita, don’t just go with the bigger is better mindset. Especially when it comes to the square feet of your property. If the home is huge, but you have no yard for your dogs and children to play in, you may want to reconsider. The same can be said about the opposite situation, a 2-bedroom home for five people probably won’t cut it, even if you have all the backyard you could ever want.

Finding something that meets the needs of everyone, and allows some space for fun and hobbies is the way to go. Take everything into account about the house, the activities your family enjoys, and even the plans for the future before blindly signing a contract!

Cost

Of course, the price matters but for more reasons than just the actual price of the home. Buying a dream home is an amazing feeling, but only if you can truly afford the dream.

Making the necessary payments on your mortgage, property taxes, homeowners insurance, car payments, car insurance, field trips for the kids…getting the idea yet?! Things come up, and life can be expensive. What we want everyone to do ahead of time is figure out if buying the home and still having a life are possible.

Owning the dream home, but not being able to afford to do go out to dinner or the movies is not fun. If you have to work extra just to go camping in your own backyard, you have a major issue!

Having the right amount of money for everything that your family wants is vital, so finding a home that allows you to have activities still is essential. If you can’t afford the house you truly want, don’t worry! You can always sell your home down the road and use the money to secure something better.

When in doubt, ask yourself the most important question: do I really want to be living on a budget for the next 30 years?

Get Help

Going about buying homes for sale in Rancho Santa Margarita alone is a mistake unless you are a realtor yourself. For the majority out there who are not, get one!

A good realtor will be able to help you find something that will allow you to continue to live the life that you have imagined for your family, without running the risk of putting you in the poor house. Let’s face it, we all overestimate how well we can handle a financial situation, but realtors have the foresight to make sure that you can manage the mortgage along with all of your other expenses.

Don’t just sit around looking at realty websites, hoping that you can someday own a home. Call The Kovacs Connection at 949-350-0146 or email us at Debrakovacs@cox.net and we can help make your dream a reality. We know all of the homes for sale in Rancho Santa Margarita, and we will match you and your family with the perfect house immediately!

What Are The Costs of Selling Your Home in Southern California?

Posted on | by Cuselleration

Do you want to sell a home? You’ve probably asked yourself about what would be the cost of selling your home. This article is going to help you with everything that you need to know in order to do the math yourself. However, don’t forget to first learn how The Kovacs Connection’s 21st Century Real Estate Marketing Plan can set your home apart from others and earn you more.

Let’s get started!

When a real estate agent comes to list your home, they are going to have a net sheet with them. A net sheet shows approximately how much the seller will be paying or receiving during the sale. In total, the seller needs to pay between 6-7% of the purchase price of the home.

So, now you’re probably asking yourself what do these costs include. Let’s break down each one of them in detail. In order to explain how the whole process goes, we’re going to use a $500,000 home as our example.

Commissions

The most common commission charged is between 6-7%. In case of a 5% commission, 2 ½ % goes to the agent that the seller hires to sell the home (listing broker), and then the same amount goes to the agent that represents a person that’s buying a home (selling broker).

The selling agent actually brings the buyer, which can be a bit confusing, but that’s just the way it is. There are some cases where the listing broker can make a deal with the seller by offering a reduced commission if they are able to find and represent both the seller and buyer of the home.

If it comes to that, then that situation is called a dual agency. Okay, now let’s take that $500,000 home. If the commission is 5%, that is going to come to $25,000, which means that each side is going to get $12,500.

Brokerage Processing Fees

Most Real Estate offices are going to take from you between $300-$500. That is if you are running the transaction through one of these offices.

Title Charges

The home seller will need to pay approximately $1,320 for Title Insurance on our $500,000 home. But, that is the insurance policy that a seller buys in order to ensure a clear title. There are also some other Title Fees which, when combined, will cost the seller an additional $100.

Escrow Fees

Both sides of the transaction pay their own escrow fees. In this case, escrow fees are going to cost $1,500. We reach that number by taking a fee of $250 and then adding $2.50 per one thousand of the full price of the home. A seller is also going to pay a documentation fee of $75, a loan payoff fee of $50 per loan payoff, a wire fee of $25, and an archive fee of $50.

Governmental Retrofit (Los Angeles County)

A Retrofit certification needs to be performed on homes that are being sold in Los Angeles County. This can get pretty expensive for the seller. The cost of this depends on what needs to be installed in a home.

HOA (Home Owners Association) Transfer Fees

This applies only when the seller has HOA’s involved. The cost of these documents can vary, but some of them can even cost from $300-$400. But, the buyer of the home is going to want to get these documents, so they can review them and determine what the HOA is going to expect of them. In turn, the buyer can decide if they want to buy the home with the particular regulations.

 

Termite Inspection

Some time ago, this was the seller’s responsibility. But, as of November 20, 2014, the termite inspection needs to be done by the buyer of the home. However, if it happens that the buyer’s termite inspector finds some damage that was done by the termites, he can ask you to perform the needed repairs or give credit for the needed repairs to be performed.

Flood Certification

The seller has to have the home certified because that way they can show the buyer how much it’s going to cost them to buy the flood insurance. This certification can be pretty expensive. It can cost the seller $500. It can also cause some issues for the seller while trying to sell their home.

Home Warranty

The buyer has the option to ask for a home warranty. However, the seller is not required to purchase a home warranty plan. But, it would be good to do so because that would be a good faith gesture by the seller to the buyer. The warranty plan for one year generally costs from $350-$550.

Transfer Taxes

The home seller needs to pay State and local transfer taxes. In Los Angeles County and Ventura County, these taxes cost approximately $550.

Natural Hazard Disclosure

A Natural Hazard Disclosure costs approximately between $85-$125. These reports are very detailed, and they are actually very interesting to read.

Requests for Repair

The cost of selling your home can increase if there is any damage in the home. That is because the buyer has the opportunity to inspect the home to see if there is anything that needs to be repaired. If they find something that’s damaged, they can ask the seller to either perform the needed repairs or give credit for the repairs to be done.

So, to make the cost of selling your home as small as possible, it is important to tell the buyer everything they need to know early on in the transaction.

Paying Off the Mortgage

In case the seller didn’t pay for the home in full, it is vital that they pay off the balance of their loan or mortgage. If the seller happens to have any liens on the home, then these will need to be settled, too.

As you can see, it is not always possible to precisely calculate how much would the cost of selling your home be. But, it is very easy to approximately calculate costs.

It may seem like quite a bit of fees to digest, but the correct pricing will get you on the right side of a sale (the one that makes you a healthy profit.) We hope that this article will help you understand the calculation progress, so you can sell your home with no stress.

While you’re selling your home, it’s likely that you’re looking for another home to move to. Be sure to check out our Featured Communities to give you a better idea of what’s out there!

Need Help?

This guide should be able to answer most of your questions, but if you need more help please call us at 949-350-0146 or email us at Debrakovacs@cox.net and we can help understand the costs of selling your home in today’s market.

6 Ways to Sell Your Home Like A Pro!

Posted on | by Cuselleration

You have been on the market for months now, and you cannot figure out why the heck everybody is selling their homes and yours has been listed for months with no buyers. Is there something that you are doing wrong? Well, there most certainly is something that you are not doing.

So, we are going to take a look at the things that you should do before you even consider putting up your house for sale. The ways to sell your house are not hard to understand or implement and you will have an easy time doing it.

1. Appearances Sell

Your house might be a dump, but there are things that you can to do that will make it appear perfect. First of all, you need to start with a fresh paint job. That will make everything from the walls, the ceilings, and the windows look smart!

A home is only as good as it looks and it should be a beauty in the eyes of whoever sees it. The lawns and the fences are supposed to be trimmed and well watered. Try to make the house like new and worth putting on a realtor’s catalog.

2. Clearing Out

One of the ways to sell your house is to make sure that you clean it out. We have noticed as of late that when people want to buy a house, they will first look around and they tend to shy away when they find old tattered furniture in there.

This has caused many changes in the market that will help you get the furniture out quickly and make sure that the house looks better than ever when combined with your new paint job. Also, any house looks bigger than it is if there is no furniture inside.

3. Reasonable Prices

We know you want to set your home above the market price, everyone wants the most money they can get out of their residence. What this really does is leave you with a house you no longer live in with two mortgages sucking you dry!

All that will happen is you’ll get more losses in the time you’re waiting that will not be covered by the price you will eventually HAVE to sell at to attempt to break even.

So, start with an ordinary and reasonable price that will attract people. Of course, you shouldn’t be giving it away, but try to be economical. Remember to be practical and make sure that the houses being sold around you can’t compete with you much.

There is also a nifty tactic called charm pricing, it’s not entirely new but it’s likely a new term to you. What you do is, you don’t price your house at 500,000 but at 499,999. The price subconsciously attracts people, hence the name charm price!

4. Timing the House Hunters

There are many more ways to sell your property apart from the paint jobs and the charm pricing, and good timing is one of them. During the fall and spring, many people are going around and looking for houses. At this time, kids are finishing the school year, and people have not gone on vacation yet.

The house hunters among us are going around looking for a deal during the time when many are struggling to make ends meet (hint: spend less on holiday spending if you don’t want to be forced to sell your home under similar terms!)

However, you will have only this one chance to sell at your preferred asking price. The considerations that you make on timing should maximize the likelihood that your house will sell.

You have one big shot, make it count!

5. Being in Top Form

Buyers are usually hesitant to buy houses when you have not gotten an inspection recently. Remember, they want exactly what you would want when you are buying a house. This means you need to make sure that your home has been inspected and that you are in top form.

Getting proper renovations done where necessary will also make the advertising pictures reveal the house in a positive light and will make the property look bigger and better. Inspection, renovation, and maintaining appearances are your guiding light to a big sale.

6. Get a Realtor

A real estate agent is a tour guide. They know where to find the buyers, how to persuade them to buy, and how to get you the best deal that will ensure a financial gain. So, when it comes to finding ways to sell a house quickly, hiring a realtor is the most successful method.

If you get a good one, you will experience the joy of an easy sale with no problems.

The last part of our article on ways to sell a house is mentioning advertising so people know the house for sale is paramount. A good realtor should be doing that for you, but if you need more information we have you covered.

Contact Us

We hope our tips have been helpful in getting you ahead of the pack. These tips may seem obvious sometimes but people often overlook or ignore most of these guidelines.

This guide should be able to get you there, but if you need more help please call us at 949-350-0146 or email us at Debrakovacs@cox.net and we can show you more ways to sell a house or condo today!

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/rusticpic

5 Signs You Are Terrible at Marketing Your Home

Posted on | by Cuselleration

Buying and selling property is so common nowadays that you can find houses for sale in newspaper advertisements or even on Facebook. The price of a property may be a large factor in whether you’re able to find a buyer.

Nonetheless, marketing plays a huge role as one of the deciding factors, and you just might be doing it all wrong! Read on to find out why you may be bad at marketing your home.

1. Using a badly photographed image of your home

Have you ever seen a blurry picture of a house and thought to yourself “I would love to buy this house”? Probably not.

Most potential buyers generally do an online search of houses they would like to buy in certain neighborhoods. The first thing that would catch their attention is visuals. A good photo is crucial if you intend to make a sale anytime soon.

A good photo is not necessarily just a high-resolution photo, though it helps a lot. You also have to photograph various parts of the house.

Prospective buyers want to see not just the front or the back of the house, but also the bedrooms, the living room, the kitchen and even your swimming pool if you have one.

This is a real example of how you should market your house.

2. Failing to leverage social media

Digital marketing is, no doubt, one of the most efficient ways to sell anything, including your house. Instead of spending your time liking photos of cute puppies on Facebook, you should use Facebook as a platform in marketing your home.

There are a few ways to do this. You can join Facebook groups that are solely for buying and selling of property. More precisely, if your property is in California, you should find a specific group for properties in California. Doing so will get your house listed in the eyes of targeted prospective buyers.

Another way to market your home is through Facebook advertisements. A great thing about Facebook ads is that you can target an audience of your choice. This means that ads can even be displayed based on locality, which narrows down your audience. Furthermore, Facebook Ads is quite cheap to use. A mere $10 can get your post to reach thousands of users. If you want to succeed in selling your house, a small investment may be necessary.

3. Not putting a proper signage

Listing your home for sale on social media, or on websites like Craigslist is only one form of promotion. You should implement physical advertising as well. You would want your neighbors to know that you’re selling your home by putting on proper signs. Word of mouth spreads faster than you may think. You never know if your neighbors are itching to buy your house as an investment property.

Furthermore, signs can be a useful way of marketing your home, especially if there are people driving by the neighborhood looking for a new place to stay. Sometimes, all that you need to make a sale is the right timing.

4. Failing to perform home staging

Firstly, if you want your house to look favorable to potential buyers, you need to de-clutter. Listing your home for sale is only the first part. The next step is letting potential buyers view your home. If you wouldn’t want to buy a house that looks like a hoarder owned it, more likely than not, buyers won’t want to either.

Tidy up everything that does not look presentable. Rather than keeping everything, throw away items that you no longer need. As a rule of thumb, if you haven’t used it for a year or more, get rid of it.

Apart from getting rid of clutter, you should also get your house repainted and your interior done by a professional. Having a proper home staging done by a pro increases your chance of selling the house by a large margin.

5. Choosing the wrong real estate agent

Getting a real estate agent is the common thing to do if you have no idea how to sell a house or its procedures. However, not all agents act in your best interests. You need to find someone whom you can trust and rely on as you may need to work together for a few months.

It may be better to find an agent who has at least a few years’ experience though that’s not mandatory. You should interview several agents to determine who the best fit for the job is. You must also ensure that the agent has the requisite license issued by the relevant state.

If you happen to be looking to buy or sell property located in the Orange County, The Kovacs Connection might be the right agency for you. They employ a great marketing plan which includes drone videography, exceptional home staging, and social media marketing, amongst others.

Let’s Talk!

Marketing your home may seem daunting to first-timers. However, as long as you follow the right steps in marketing your house, you should be able to sell within a few months. Please call us at 949-350-0146 or email us at Debrakovacs@cox.net so we can help you today!

Pros and Cons of Buying Foreclosures

Posted on | by Cuselleration

Everyone has seen a sign at some point in their life on a foreclosed home. While it may be a sad situation for the previous owner, you can’t help but think about the possible benefit to yourself of buying this home and selling or renting it. The question is: “is it worth it?”

Foreclosures come in all shapes and sizes. You can find pristine homes with huge ceilings and vast acreage, and you can find homes the size of a broom closet that are in total disrepair. The fact is, buying a foreclosure is more often than not going to require some work on your end to get the property in an inhabitable state.

Still interested? Great! We’ve compiled some pros and cons to help you with your decision.

Pro: Financial

You stand to earn money from your purchase if you plan on selling or renting the property. You may need to put some repairs into it to get it attractive to buyers or renters, but a big payout from flipping or a steady monthly rental income both come with a huge bonus: more money!

However you go about it, foreclosures are an excellent way to get a home under the market value and use that to make you a lot more money. Just be sure to do your research, everyone is still trying to make money, and you can easily overpay if you aren’t careful.

Con: Repair Costs

The huge benefit of buying a foreclosed home will be totally lost if the repairs needed amount to thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is why you always need to get the property inspected before you buy.

Homes that look great can have serious foundation problems, or the owner could have been doing patchwork for years on the roofing. Whatever the case, the property may look fully functioning, but without getting an inspection, you may stand to lose money.

Be careful, get inspections and realize that a home that needs multiple repairs might just turn out to be a money pit if you don’t have the funds necessary for to get the property functional.

Pro: Upgrading From Your Old Home

Finding a foreclosure in a better area of town, a better town, or just a better home on your block at a low price is a tremendous opportunity. This will allow you to upgrade your lifestyle immediately, and who doesn’t want that?

The added bonus to this scenario is, if you already have a home, you can spend a minimal amount of time fixing it up and sell it for above your purchasing price. Then you can use this money in a number of ways like creating a nest egg, buying and selling more properties, or just pay down your new mortgage (as long as there is no penalty for doing so, in other words, get this kind of mortgage.)

The benefits of this situation aren’t just financial; they can be felt by your entire family when you move to a better town. You will likely move to a cleaner city, it will probably have better schools, and it might just have better services provided by the city.

For example, many more well off towns hold events for its inhabitants like the Christmas event in Manhattan Beach. Also, better cities hold more opportunities because the people around within them are usually more successful.

Upgrading your home may just set you up to change your career and improve your entire family’s life.

Con: Speaking of That Mortgage

Most lenders aren’t fans of offering standard loans on foreclosed properties. This is due to the value and the condition of the house.

The value may be extremely low because of the condition it is in. This is a double strike against you getting a mortgage.

Why?

Most mortgages need a home to be of a particular value to qualify, and they also have to be in above a certain level of condition to be eligible.

This is fine for the non-fixer-upper properties, but those needing extensive work will require an extensive search for a mortgage lender. Unfortunately, the laws require that foreclosed properties be sold as is, so there isn’t a chance to improve the quality of the home for them to sell it to you in order for you to find a mortgage lender with less stress.

Don’t let that stop you though! Foreclosures are still a great opportunity.

If you’re looking to purchase foreclosures and need help, please contact us by calling us at 949-350-0146 or emailing us at Debrakovacs@cox.net and let’s talk about your options today!

Photo Credit: Pexels-Photo

Home Staging Tips to Sell in Under a Month

Posted on | by Cuselleration

One increasingly common situation we are encountering lately is clients asking for tips to sell in under a month. The reason isn’t always the same, although it’s often a job promotion in a different state or country, the necessary result is.

When you are put on a strict time limit to move on to your next location, you need your home to sell swiftly so you can stop paying a mortgage on a property you don’t even live at anymore.

Here are some tips to move your home in under a month that we have seen great success with:

Store Your Belongings

You’re going to be moving anyway, so why not just get all of your stuff put away? Let’s face it; no one likes your stuff as much as you do. Besides, a stranger looking to buy your home probably won’t appreciate your oversized foam finger collection, and it takes up a ton of space!

Get your stuff into storage as soon as possible. It will get you ready to move, and it will get you ready to sell. A good realtor will be able to stage your home with their furniture that will play up the features of your home while exaggerating the elegance of it.

This is what you want, a home that catches the eye and imagination of the buyers.

While we are on the subject, if you have already moved all of your belongings out, it might also be a great idea for you to follow suit. If you are heading somewhere for a promotion, try to get over there as soon as you possibly can to look for a new place.

This might mean staying in a hotel for a little while, but the big picture is that the realtors can get your home sparkling and set up with the staging furniture way sooner. This means they can also start your showing much earlier.

This may sound like a temporary setback, but having your home sold in a few short weeks will completely wipe away the difficulty of the situation!                                       

Home Repairs

Getting your home into storage wasn’t an easy task, but it will make finding out what services your home needs much easier. This is one of the most valuable tips to sell in under a month because very few people want to move into a house that isn’t ready to be lived in immediately, besides home flippers.

It’s best to sink the money into repairs instead of allowing the buyers to talk you down on your price because of all the work that needs to be done. Doing the repairs yourself also gives you a better understanding of what the new value of your home is, and it’s a great to list “$12,000 in recent upgrades” for the folks looking to buy your home.

Kitchen and Bathroom Remodels

Everyone seems to look at the bathrooms and the kitchen with more scrutiny than the rest of the home. While the answer as to why will vary from individual to individual, the fact remains that a quick upgrade will wow all who enter your home.

Upgrades don’t need to be substantial, but they should attempt to show off the bathroom and kitchen. Giving both rooms new fixtures, polishing, and if you can afford to upgrade the countertops and flooring will instantly transform the room and have buyers asking “how much?!”

Sell Appropriately

We know you love your home, and it has been great to you, but the fact of the matter is you can’t factor your sentimental value into the price. No one wants to pay over the market price, but between the repairs and remodeling, you might be able to do just that.

This doesn’t mean you’ll be getting $300,000 over what it’s worth. In fact, you might have to take it for under what you want to move the home quickly. If you might lose money from what you originally bought the home for, ask yourself if the new job is worth the loss.

Often, moving for a career opportunity will reward you in hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of your life, especially if this is just the first promotion of many. If you stand to make a considerable amount of money due to this move, then relax! You may be taking a hit up front, but you’ll be richer for in the long run.

If you’re interested in more tips to sell in under a month, contact us by giving us a call us at 949-350-0146 or emailing us at Debrakovacs@cox.net or realestatebyrana@gmail.com and we can help you get your home sold today!

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Photographee.eu_

First Time Home Buyer Help That Works

Posted on | by Cuselleration

The real estate world can feel like a big and scary place; this is why we always offer the first time home buyer help. Going in guns blazing will only cost you a lot of money. It’s great to have enthusiasm, but it’s even better to some knowledge and research to back your every move.

Here are some tips that will help any first time home buyer seem like an expert and get you a great deal in the process:

Home Markets, Where Are They?

“This home is only $300K? That’s great! We were considering spending much more. Where do I sign?!” Stop, breathe, let’s go about this slower.

Had you researched the neighborhood, you would have realized that this home is only worth $225K and you were about to overpay big time!

Do your research.

Have you ever been looking at homes in an expensive area, such as the Hamptons, and then compared the same size houses in the middle of rural Ohio? You might not be shocked to see the price difference to be several million dollars, but they are in entirely different states, so the price difference makes sense.

The same thing happens between bordering cities, and even neighborhoods within the same city for reasons such as accessibility to freeways and malls, nearby schools, or even the crime rate of the area.

Doing some research will ensure that you don’t make a huge mistake and overpay for a home in an unsafe neighborhood.

Can You Even Pay That?

First, you want to figure out what your mortgage would be; you can easily find a mortgage calculator online to help you determine what your monthly payment would be.

Next, you want to factor in the closing cost, depending on the home, it is not unusual to pay upwards of $15K on closing costs. If you weren’t expecting to pay this on top of the price you agreed on for the home, you might just be in big trouble.

Then figure out what your monthly expenses as a household would be. In other words, add up the internet, gas, electricity, expected grocery bill, and any other monthly expenditures you incur and add them to your mortgage payment.

Now you’re getting much closer to what you’ll be spending every month, of course, try to have some financial wiggle room in case of an emergency.

Last, figure out your budget. With all of the expenditures added up, what will you have left over? Is it enough to live comfortably, or will you be risking a missed mortgage payment every time you take the family out to a monthly dinner?

If you can barely make everything work and don’t have much leftover for savings and fun, you might want to consider a different home. There is no shame in choosing a different home in order to avoid a foreclosure down the road. In fact, the smart move is to take this into account and travel towards the more affordable home.

You can always sell your home and upgrade down the road!

Get Your Money!

You likely don’t have the money for the house upfront, so you’re going to need to get a mortgage to be able to afford it. Well, you should take a few steps first.

Checking your credit is ground zero in the loan process, if you don’t know it, find out immediately. If your credit is good, move forward, if it isn’t you might want to consider taking some action over the next few months to raise your credit score.

The interest rate a good credit score can get you will save you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is crucial to try to have your credit at its absolute best when applying for a loan.

After you get a better credit score, it’s time to choose a lender and get preapproved. You actually have several options. Big banks, most credit unions, and even the government offer mortgage loans.

Each of these institutes will have its perks and pitfalls, so be sure to shop around and try to get the best interest rate you possibly can. If you’re able to take your time, between an increased credit score and some careful shopping, you can easily save yourself $100K over the next 30 years of your mortgage.

This just happens to be one of the most overlooked tools for first time buyers, don’t be like the rest of them. Take it slow and push for the absolute best deal, your bank account will thank you some day.

If you’re a first time home buyer and need help that will get you into a great home quickly, please contact us by calling us at 949-350-0146 or emailing us at Debrakovacs@cox.net or realestatebyrana@gmail.com and we can help you today!

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Jirsak

How to Buy Real Estate, Made Simple

Posted on | by Cuselleration

You want a home to call your own, but when you set out to find one, you realize you don’t know how to buy real estate. It’s actually a pretty common problem; not everyone has been informed on how to find a place to call your own. Luckily The Kovacs Connection has got a bulletproof plan to get you the home of your dreams!

What Can You Afford?

Along with researching the styles of home that you like, neighborhoods that you would like to live in, and searching a bit to see what the market currently has to offer, you should decide what you can afford to spend.

It is often suggested that you look for homes no more than three to five times your annual household income, but that isn’t necessarily the best advice. Many people these days are starting their side projects, or even creating their businesses from the comfort of their home office.

This affords an opportunity for income growth, and often it is an exponential increase over time. Even those with a steady paycheck that are guaranteed to have future raises and promotions should also consider this fact when buying.

If you’re going to be in a much better position in the future than you are currently, you may not want to skimp on the home you purchase. This may be a little difficult to convince your bank when getting a loan, but that shouldn’t hinder you from trying.

This is also the time to figure out if you can get credit for a mortgage. Telling them of your situation, especially if there is a guarantee for future growth is important in getting approved. That being said, even a guarantee from you might not convince a bank seeing as things happen all the time.

Do not let this discourage you! You might have to go to several banks to get preapproved for credit for your mortgage, but these interactions are new lessons on how to buy real estate. You don’t take the first house you see, and you might not get the first bank to go to bat for you.

The process of purchasing a new home isn’t meant to be rushed especially for the first-time buyer. Our next tip, getting a mentor, will help you through the process.

Get A Realtor

Real estate agents should know how to buy real estate if you encounter one that doesn’t then kindly run the other direction! The seasoned realtor is like having your own personal mentor, at least for buying and selling homes.

When looking for a realtor, there are quite a few details to consider about them that will help you figure out if they’re the right man or woman for the job. Here are a few;

  1. They have some years of experience.
  2. Their clients speak highly of them.
  3. They are punctual in answering your calls/emails/and to meetings.
  4. They have a reliable professional network they use for buying and selling.
  5. You get along together.

They don’t have to have everything on the list, but we highly suggest that you find a realtor that has all five qualities because those that don’t aren’t going to be as successful as you want. On top of that, they will end up wasting your valuable time.

Get the House Checked Out by A Professional

Once you and your realtor find the home you see yourself in, it’s time to get it inspected and appraised. Anyone that skips these steps is in for a major headache down the road for two reasons.

First, you might be overpaying.

Second, you might be moving into an unsafe house.

The inspection will assure you that the home is safe. They will find out if the structure is sound, and in the event that they find it unfit, both you and the seller will know. This gives you the power to either negotiate the price or to have the seller fix repair the home before you close the sale.

If the inspection is passed, the appraisal will be your next best friend. It will be your last defense against overpaying for the property. The appraisal will give you and the seller a crystal clear idea of what the house is worth, and if you are paying a reasonable price, if the numbers are extremely off we suggest renegotiating the price.

If you don’t know how to buy real estate and want some help figuring out the system, please contact us calling us at 949-350-0146 or emailing us at Debrakovacs@cox.net or realestatebyrana@gmail.com and we can help you get started today!

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Rawpixel.com

Home Selling Tips That Will Earn You More

Posted on | by Cuselleration

Some home selling tips are more valuable for the first-time home merchant than others, and without them, you would never get a decent sale price. Although there are tons of guidelines available, we have compiled a few tips that are proven to help separate your home from all of the rest. You will be on the top of every potential buyer’s list!

Good Lighting

Here is a home selling tip that cannot be stressed enough, the lighting in your home should be perfect. This doesn’t mean you need to get an entirely new lighting system. However, putting in higher wattage bulbs for the showing, for example, is highly recommended.

Also, you should take down the drapes, trim any trees or bushes directly obstructing the light coming in your window, and clean the windows themselves. Natural light from outside is incredibly flattering for displaying your home. Not only that, it’s cost-effective seeing as it is entirely free.

If you have lamps with shades, make sure they are clean or even consider replacing them. Lamps of all sorts are great, but often their shades blunt the light from the bulbs with a particular purpose, such as with reading lamps. When you want that effect, they are brilliant.

When you are lighting a house, you should consider removing the shade, upping the wattage, or going the opposite route and removing the lamp altogether. The best option is to let natural light in, use the ceiling lighting (if possible), or get a new lamp that will brighten the entire room.

You will want as much light as possible to flood the space in your home and show off its cleanliness. People want to be able to see the fresh paint, the clean carpet, and that there are no major issues with the home. The easiest way to showcase this is with tons of bright lighting.

Don’t forget these ideas when lighting your new home as well, here’s a video that will help you start your new home off looking stylish and impressive.

Get Rid of Your Furniture

You may love your furnishings, but they work against you in a couple of ways.

First, your furniture will compete with all of that beautiful light we just worked so hard to bring into the house.

Second, your furniture will mentally block many prospective buyers. When they come, they are visualizing the home the way that they want to set it up.

Your furniture will be an obstacle to them seeing your home as their new home. Don’t allow that to happen!

If you already have a new property, we recommend moving everything out to the new house. If you don’t have your new place yet but are comfortable with putting your furniture in storage, we highly recommend going this route.

It might be a bit of a pain, but we assure you, this tip will sell your home much faster than if you keep your furniture inside.

Love Your Kitchen

You may not be much of a cook, heck, the buyer might not even be, but this is one area that every potential buyer pays extra close attention to. If you want a home selling tip that will work wonders, then show your kitchen some love!

You don’t have to redo your entire kitchen, but make it look presentable. You should consider re-grouting the tiling. Even if the tiles aren’t new, the vibrant white of a new grout job will give the appearance of a fresh new kitchen.

Just like any other alterations, you perform to get your home ready for an open house, keep this cheap. Why?

Buyers almost always look at the restrooms and the kitchen for immediate remodeling. Getting a new home seems to be the only excuse people need to get the kitchen and bathroom they’ve always dreamed of.

So, sinking a lot of money into remodeling your kitchen will likely be for not. We advise that you keep any and all repairs simple. We also can’t stress enough the way the kitchen looks to the eye.

Photo by Andy Dean Photography

We want to make sure that we have that gorgeous light flooding the entire room, and then you should add some polish to your appliances, metal fixtures, and all of your countertops. This will give your kitchen a sparkle that will get buyers picturing this as their new kitchen.

If you’re interested in more home selling tips 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 really get things moving today!

Debra Kovacs

Posted on | by Cuselleration

The Kovacs Connection

Debra has been with Century 21 Award, a Premier, locally operated Orange County Real Estate Firm for over 18 years. She has been in the Real Estate Industry for over 30 years and has learned that there are many qualities and skills that go into being an excellent Realtor. In her opinion the most important is the ability to discover and address the diverse needs, wants, expectations and concerns of different home sellers and buyers. This ability can only come through really caring about people together with a whole lot of practical experience and education. My interior design and building industry skills have put me ahead of most real estate agents because she is able to show your home at its best and market your home with the best services known.

Debra takes great pride in her work and is a highly motivated, energetic individual who always gives 110% to the entire transaction. Her services will give you a true sense of security. Because of her knowledge and hard work she has been awarded time and time again the highest awards through the Century 21 system and is in the Top 1% of Realtors Worldwide. She is certified in corporate relocation, a home staging specialist and has extensive experience with short sales and foreclosures.