How to Get Top Dollar When Selling Your Home in Today’s Marketplace

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Pick up any national real estate news magazine and you’ll quickly notice that Phoenix is being ranked one of the fastest growing areas in our nation in terms of home appreciation. The news is great! Especially considering that our marketplace was also one of the hardest hit back when the housing market crashed in the 2007/2008 years and beyond.

So what does this mean to us at ground level? It means that this could not be a better time to sell. In fact, with the market conditions as they are nowadays, it’s ripe with opportunity to yield top dollar on the sale of your home.

But it’s not just as simple as pricing your home higher and hoping a buyer will accept that higher price. A lot more goes into it. Here are three things that my team and I do to make sure you are getting top dollar on your property.

Going the Extra Mile on Research

Most homeowners have no idea how their home’s value is estimated. In fact, many do not realize that there are multiple ways a valuation can take place. One such way is through a Comparative Market Analysis. Done by those in the real estate profession, a CMA is a report that highlights recent past homes that have sold on the market; homes that are comparable to yours. Now as you can imagine, this can be a very subjective report because what one agent might find a reasonable comp, another might overlook.

That’s why my deep research into your neighborhood, seeking as much of an exact comparison as possible and putting on paper what I truly believe buyers out there will pay for you home – will make all the difference. I take the time to carefully study each aspect of your local and sub-local marketplace before presenting the ideal price range, looking at other factors such as absorption rate and specific details.

Exercising Strong Negotiation Skills

When it matters most, you need a strong player at bat for you. And these days, with buyers still used to a buyer-controlled market and sellers starting to enjoy multiple offers on their properties – a lot comes down to negotiation.

There is no reason that you should be shortchanged on higher returns for your property’s sale because an agent does not have enough property know-how. I bring strong negotiating skills to the table and I support them with the industry knowledge needed to back up my stance for a higher price.

Follow-Through, Not Just Follow-Up

There is a significant difference between following up with a transaction versus following through. This is particularly important during the appraisal process. When an appraisal is being done, I make it a priority to make sure the appraiser knows everything he or she needs to know before evaluating the property. If we can get our hands on blueprints, share information about any upgrades done on the home or anything else that would be useful – we do it.

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A lot more goes into effectively selling a house and I assure you that we do our best to make sure you get that well-deserved top dollar when we sell your home. I invite you to contact me today to learn more so we can begin making your real estate dreams become a reality!

Are Bi-Weekly Mortgage Payments Worth the Time and Effort?

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In most cases, yes! It’s essentially a process by which you make extra payments on your mortgage. That way, you save interest costs and pay off the loan faster.

How Does It Work?

You make a payment to your lender every two weeks instead of once a month. This means that each payment is equal to half of the monthly amount due. The result – you’re paying the equivalent of 13 full payments rather than the usual 12.

It gets even better! The full amount of the extra payment is applied toward the principal. And because the principal balance is the amount on which interest is calculated, paying down principal results in a reduction in accrued interest!

Let’s look a traditional payment monthly schedule vs. a bi-weekly schedule so you can see exactly how it works.

Example 1: Traditional monthly payments

Let’s assume you have a loan balance of $250,000 with a 6 percent interest rate and a 30-year loan term. In this example, your monthly payments are $1,498.88. So, over the life of the loan, you’d pay a total interest of about $289,595.

Example 2: Bi-weekly payments

Using the same loan balance and terms described above, the difference would be the following:

• $749.44 paid every two weeks

• About $225,490 paid in total interest

• This results in a savings of more than $64,000 in interest!

• In addition, the loan is paid off in 24 rather than 30 years

Bi-monthly payments are still a good strategy if you’re an individual who doesn’t plan to keep your house for 24 or 30 years. Why? Because bi-weekly payments still reduce principle, even over a short period of time.

For example, in the first year, the principle is reduced by nearly $1,600. And, at the end of the fifth year, the principle amount has been reduced by about $9,000!

How Do I Arrange Bi-Weekly Payments?

The first task is to contact lenders to find out if they do offer a bi-weekly payment schedule.

If they offer one, ask what the participation requirements are. In typical situations, lenders require you to have payments automatically withdrawn from your bank account since they dislike processing checks every two weeks.

Often, it’s the case that a one-time fee is charged for this service. The fee can be minimal or be in the several-hundred-dollar range, depending on the lender.

So, after all these benefits, how can there possibly be disadvantages to bi-weekly mortgage payments?

Well, the first disadvantage relates to a situation I mentioned above - the lender’s fee is very expensive for the service provided. In such a case, the costs may outweigh or cut down your overall savings.

A second disadvantage occurs when paying bi-weekly is too hard on your budget. Upfront, you need to make sure that you have the money available for the increased payments.

The final potential disadvantage relates to the length of time you plan to stay in your home. That can affect your overall savings on interest.

I recommend that you weigh the pros and cons of bi-weekly mortgage payments by using one of the many online calculators. Just enter your numbers and the calculator will give you a comparison.

If you’d like the assistance of an expert on the subject, contact us immediately!