The Worst Mistakes You Can Make Before Selling Your Home

If you've ever gotten ready to sell a home, you know that in order to fetch top dollar, you need to get your place in good shape. But that costs money—hiring contractors, painters, and other pros—so you might be wondering: Why not save some cash by tackling a few of these fix-its myself? 

That's fine and good if you know what you're doing. But unless your DIY skills are fairly advanced, experts agree that this is one of the biggest mistakes a home seller can make. If you bungle the job, you might end up making things worse, and shelling out even more money down the road.

To help you separate the tasks you can tackle from those best left to the pros, here are some DIYs to avoid when preparing to sell your home.

Drywall repair

If you have rooms that need a fresh coat of paint, go for it, says Bawden. But if you have cracks in the drywall from a shifting foundation or a little depression from years of doorknob slams, it's worth it to hire a pro.

"In my house, I wouldn't do the Sheetrock," says Bawden. "I'd hire someone to fix plaster or drywall. If you don't get the texture just right, when you paint the wall, the repair is going to stick out like a sore thumb."

You don't want your "fix" to look worse than the original problem. Contract out the drywall repair, then DIY the paint job afterward.

HVAC

"I’ve been in the construction business for years, and I don’t mess with anything inside an HVAC," says Bawden.

The heating and cooling systems in your house are complex, and often connected to both electrical and gas. Making a mistake could mean blowing out the entire system, setting you up for a much more expensive repair in the end.

Furthermore, you'd better believe that potential buyers are going to have their inspector go over the HVAC as thoroughly as possible. Even something relatively simple such as installing a smart thermostat can fry your wiring if done incorrectly. When it comes to your heating and AC, approach with caution.

Dishwasher installation

Unlike installing a refrigerator, stove, or washer and dryer (which can often be a simple DIY task), installing a new dishwasher is complicated.

"The complexities involved with setup, such as installing water and drainage lines under the kitchen sink cabinet, are best handled by a professional," says Doyle James, president of Mr. Rooter plumbing.

Doing this job wrong could mean flooding your kitchen, which will ruin your floors and more. And besides, most big-box stores offer installation for a fairly reasonable price if you're buying new units, or a plumber can handle it for $150 to $500.

Tree removal

"Even if it's not a really massive tree, you'd be surprised how hard it is to dig around the roots," says Bawden.

It's also dangerous, especially if you don't have the tools professionals would use to remove the upper part of the tree before taking out the stump. Do you really want to be that person who puts a tree through your own roof because you were too cheap to hire a tree removal professional? (No, you don't.)

Siding and window fixes

Bawden cautions against DIY siding or window replacement, because water can seep into the walls if you don't reseal the layers properly. It might not be noticeable at first. In fact, you may sell the house not even realizing there is a problem, but down the line, mold and water damage will start to appear.

Not only is that bad karma, it could also be what Bawden calls "lawsuit city."

Advanced electrical

While replacing a light fixture or ceiling fan could be fine to DIY, experts draws the line at any electrical work involving the breaker box. Not only could you hurt yourself, you could also create a fire hazard, especially if your home isn't brand-new.

"Older homes do not usually have safety devices like ground fault circuit interrupters, making it especially dangerous," explains Shawn McCarthy, owner of Handyman Connection of Colorado Springs.

"You reach the limit pretty quickly," agrees Bawden. "Anything that involves running new wires or repairing faulty wiring should be left to a professional."

Aside from the risk of fire or injury, serious electrical work done by an unlicensed electrician could have code problems, meaning you're likely to get a thumbs-down from the inspector later anyway.

Roof repairs

Even if it's just a little fix that the average DIYer could easily do (e.g., hammering down a shingle or two or replacing chimney pipe roof flashing), be cautious.

"It's very easy to get disoriented," says Bawden, especially on a peaked roof. This is why even pro roofers always use a harness in case of falls, so unless you take similar safety measures, steer clear.

Plumbing

Some plumbing tasks are doable: Fixing a running toilet or snaking a slow drain should be in pretty much anybody's comfort zone. The problem with attempting bigger DIY plumbing tasks, though, is that you often don't quite know what you're getting into. Disassembling leaky or blocked undersink pipes, for example, seems simple enough. But according to James, "Pipes are complex and very tricky to reassemble, particularly when they're in close proximity to other plumbing components and machinery, such as dishwashers or garbage disposals."

He notes that what might appear to be a straightforward problem, like low water pressure or a fractured pipe, could actually be a symptom of a larger issue with your system. Plumbing has a way of getting out of hand—i.e., broken pipes, flooding, and worse.

Contact The McLeod Group Network today to find out how much your current home is worth! 971.208.5093 or mcleodgroupoffice@gmail.com.

By: Realtor.com, Audrey Ference

You DO NOT Need 20% Down to Buy Your Home NOW!

The Aspiring Home Buyers Profile from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) found that the American public is still somewhat confused about what is required to qualify for a home mortgage loan in today’s housing market. The results of the survey show that the main reason why non-homeowners do not own their own homes is because they believe that they cannot afford them.

This brings us to two major misconceptions that we want to address today.

1. Down Payment
A recent survey by Laurel Road, the National Online Lender and FDIC-Insured Bank, revealed that consumers overestimate the down payment funds needed to qualify for a home loan.
According to the survey, 53% of Americans who plan to buy or have already bought a home admit to their concerns about their ability to afford a home in the current market. In addition, 46% are currently unfamiliar with alternative down payment options, and 46% of millennials do not feel confident that they could currently afford a 20% down payment.
What these people don’t realize, however, is that there are many loans written with down payments of 3% or less.
Many renters may actually be able to enter the housing market sooner than they ever imagined with new programs that have emerged allowing less cash out of pocket.

2. FICO^®Scores
An Ipsos survey revealed that 62% of respondents believe they need excellent credit to buy a home, with 43% thinking a “good credit score” is over 780. In actuality, the average FICO^® scores for approved conventional and FHA mortgages are much lower.

The average conventional loan closed in May had a credit score of 753, while FHA mortgages closed with an average score of 676. The average across all loans closed in May was 724. The chart below shows the distribution of FICO® Scores for all loans approved in May.

Bottom Line
If you are a prospective buyer who is ‘ready’ and ‘willing’ to act now, but you are not sure if you are ‘able’ to, let’s sit down to help you understand your true options today. 971.208.5093 or mcleodgroupoffice@gmail.com.

By: KCM Crew

Saving for a Rainy Day: Your Home Repair Emergency Fund Should Have This Much Cash

A home repair emergency fund can save you from financial disaster. While it's easy to believe your house is in great shape, you never know when you’ll have to deal with an expensive plumbing bill or a flooded basement.

If you don’t have money set aside for repairs, you might be tempted to use your credit card. However, unless you're able to pay them off immediately, charging costly home repairs is never a wise financial idea—it'll accrue interest and leave you with an even larger bill later.

The better solution is to think ahead and create a home repair emergency fund.

What’s a home repair emergency fund?

A home repair emergency fund is money set aside to pay for unexpected home repairs—the cash you can grab at a moment’s notice. In other words, you don’t want to put that money into a long-term savings portfolio where you'll face massive fees if you pull money out early.

Homeowners don't need to get too creative with an emergency fund, says Byron Ellis, managing director of United Capital Financial Advisers in The Woodlands, TX. A savings account in a local bank will suffice.

How much money should you save in your emergency fund?

Ellis suggests homeowners create a cash reserve of three to six months of living expenses. You cash reserve target should be about 1% to 3% of your home value. So, if your home is worth $500,000, Ellis suggests setting aside $5,000 to $15,000.

Of course, each situation is different. A homeowner with a new home with all new systems and appliances might not need to tap into a home repair emergency fund. Fixer-uppers and old homes, of course, will likely require that money sooner.

General emergency funds

In addition to a home repair emergency fund, it's also wise to create two general emergency funds: an everyday emergency fund and a direemergency fund. Everyday emergencies—such as needing a new boiler in your home—can cut into your monthly budget, so having some cash stowed away will allow you to still pay your rent or mortgage. Shoot for having about 10% of your annual wage in your everyday emergency savings account, says Robert Reed, a partner at Partnership Financial in Columbus, OH. If you’re self-employed, Reed says to put aside 20% of your yearly salary since the income is variable.

The second emergency fund—the dire emergency fund—is for life’s calamities that interrupt your income. It could be losing your job, falling ill and needing to take time off work, or dealing with a death in the family.

“Our concern when something catastrophic happens is that people could risk losing their home because all of a sudden they can’t make their mortgage payment,” Reed says.

Reed recommends working toward saving 20% of your mortgage balance for the dire emergency fund. Put aside money from each check and you’ll quickly begin to get closer to your goal. For instance, putting aside $25 every week will get you $1,300 in a year.

Use a savings or money market account for your emergency fund. You shouldn’t use a brokerage account since that fluctuates.

What to do if you don't have an emergency fund

Let’s say your central air-conditioning system dies in the middle of summer and you desperately need to replace it, but you don't have a home repair emergency fund. Where do you turn? Two options are a home equity loan and a home equity line of credit, or HELOC.

Both of these let you tap into the value of your home to cover costs. A major difference is that the home equity loan is a lump sum and you often have a fixed interest rate. HELOC is a line of credit that you can borrow. A HELOC lets you draw money from the account as much as you need up to the available maximum amount. Also, a HELOC usually has an adjustable interest rate.

You can think of a home equity loan as a way to pay for a significant renovation project, while a HELOC is more likely going to help you with smaller projects that crop up over time. You tap into the HELOC only if you need it.

Contact the experts on The McLeod Group Network for all your Real Estate needs. 971.208.5093 or mcleodgroupoffice@gmail.com.

By and photo credit: Realtor.com, Les Masterson

Parents Say Kids’ Opinions Matter Big When Buying a Home

A recent survey conducted by Harris Poll and released by SunTrust Mortgage found that “55% of homeowners with a child under the age of 18 at the time when they purchased their home said that the opinion of their offspring played a major role in their home buying decision.”

When the results were broken down by the parent’s age, millennials (those 18-36) led the way with 74% of homeowners saying that their child’s opinion was a factor in choosing which home to buy. Eighty-three percent of renters believe that their child’s opinion would be a deciding factor when looking to purchase a home.

So what features in a home are most important to kids?

Coming in at 57%, it should come as no surprise that gaining their own bedrooms was the top most-desirable feature of any home for kids, followed by a large back yard to play in at 34%.

Todd Chamberlain, Head of Mortgage Banking at SunTrust explained the reasoning behind the survey,

“As a parent of two kids, I know from experience that including children in the home buying process is not only fun for the whole family, but also educational for our homebuyers of tomorrow.”

Bottom Line

If you’re thinking about selling your home this year, make sure to highlight all the kid-friendly features your home has to offer so that you can sway the real decision makers.

Let The McLeod Group Network help you find the perfect home for your family! 971.208.5093 or mcleodgroupoffice@gmail.com.

By: KCM Crew

Days on The Market Drops to New Low in April

According to recently released data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the median number of days that a home spent on the market hit a new low of 26 days in April, as 57% of homes were on the market for under a month.

NAR’s Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun, had this to say,

“What is available for sale is going under contract at a rapid pace. Since NAR began tracking this data in May 2011, the median days a listing was on the market was at an all-time low in April, and the share of homes sold in less than a month was at an all-time high.”

Strong buyer demand, a good economy, and a low inventory of new and existing homes for sale created the perfect storm to accelerate the time between listing and signing a contract.

The chart below shows the median days on the market from April 2017 to April 2018:
​
Bottom Line
If you are a homeowner who is debating whether or not to list your home for sale, know that national market conditions are primed for a quick turnaround! Let’s get together to discuss exactly what’s going on in our area, today! 971.208.5093 or mcleodgroupoffice@gmail.com.

By: KCM Crew

6 Lawn Care Secrets for a Yard That'll Make the Neighbors Green With Envy

There's a reason so many landscape painters seem to focus on rolling, emerald-hued hillsides: That lush, green look can seem magical.

Which is probably why we, as homeowners, try to re-create the magic in our own yards. But going from "Hey, I have a yard" to "I have a yard that will knock your socks off" takes some hard work. It goes beyond mere maintenance and mowing. It requires a bit of landscape and garden design know-how and a heavy dose of patience. It even requires some science.

Luckily, we have some insider secrets to get it done. These six landscaping and lawn care tips promise to transform your own personal patch of dirt into a lush, verdant lawn that'll make your neighbors green with envy.

1. Scratch the thatch

Over time, your yard accumulates a layer of dead or decomposing stems, roots, and other detritus near the surface. This is called "thatch." If you care about having your neighborhood's No. 1 lawn, it needs to go.

Picture your yard like a city grid. Each clump of grass is an individual building, and any bare soil is the city's streets. Thatch is the trash accumulating on the sidewalks—and your city can't thrive until someone cleans up the muck.

"Removing this allows the grass to grow better by allowing nutrients and water to more easily get to the grass roots," says Susan Brandt, who runs gardening service Blooming Secrets.

To remove the thatch, first mow your lawn to half its usual height, then use either a dethatching rake or a dethatcher (both available to buy or rent at home improvement stores) to clear out the dead layer. This is best done in spring or fall. Once you've finished, fertilize and water your yard to help your grass recover.

2. Feed your grass

You wouldn't expect your pups to go without dinner—why would you demand the same of your yard?

"Fertilization is a cornerstone of having a great lawn," says Mike Ricke, the owner of AAA Lawn Service, in Burnsville, MN. "A great fertilizer should supply your lawn with a series of micronutrients that help it to grow and get green."

But what makes a great fertilizer? It depends (surprise!) on your specific lawn. Get your soil tested to determine its levels of the three major nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Tests can also show if your soil needs lime. Talk to a garden store specialist to determine the best fertilizer for your particular soil.

Then, make sure to fertilize your lawn when it's growing. For cool-season grasses (e.g., Kentucky bluegrass), that's early spring and early fall. Warm-season grasses (e.g., Bermuda or St. Augustine) need fertilizer regularly throughout the summer.

3. Maintain year-round gardens

Create curb appeal with a year-round garden.

Solidago/iStock

Think about the yards you most envy: They always seem to have color, even in the dead of winter. Jealous? You don't have to be. Creating the same look doesn't have to be difficult.

"Add living curb appeal with an evergreen garden space to ensure that it looks like there is life year-round," says Kevin Guzior, a vice president of Pioneer Landscape Centers.

For spring and summer, flowers and seasonal shrubs provide a bright burst of unmistakable color to offset your lawn. For fall and winter, plant evergreen trees and foliage, along with some hardy pops of color—such as the red flowering quince, hellebore (sometimes referred to as Christmas roses), or winter jasmine.

Or for a beautiful, low-maintenance yard that will last year-round, consider xeriscaping.

4. Trim your trimming

No, you can't skip the lawnmower. But you should carefully consider the height of your blades. Trimming your grass too close to the soil hinders lawn growth and makes your yard look less lush.

If you're angling to be the envy of the street, here's Brandt's rule of thumb: "Be sure you're not taking off more than one-third of the grass blade when you mow."

Here's another pro tip: Leave those clippings in the yard. Not only do they smell wonderful (OK, unless you're allergic to grass), they also serve as cheap lawn food.

5. Create a path

Garden path

LeeYiuTung/iStock

Sleek pathways can be the difference between a blah yard and one with some serious va-va-voom.

Imagine how much the yellow brick road pops out against the wide emerald fields. That could be your yard. Minus the poisonous poppies. And the dangerous witches.

"Use gravel or other smaller decorative rocks for a pop of color," Guzior suggests.

Want to add some extra oomph? Guzior recommends bordering pathways with landscape edging, pavers, or riprap—large, decorative rocks such as those found on lakeshores—"for a more stunning appearance."

Bonus: Pathways encourage visitors to stay off your growing baby grass.

6. Become a regional expert

Here's the difference between you and your neighbors: You're willing to do the research needed to perfect your lawn. Every region is different, and lawn tips you picked up living with your parents in the Northeast might be wildly inappropriate for the Southwest.

"Do some research on how often lawns in your region should be watered," Ricke says. "It's different all around the world and even in different parts of the country. You may be doing just as much damage by overwatering your lawn as you could be by underwatering."

Look for your state's master gardeners. These experts can tell you exactly how often to soak your grass—and they'll have tips on creating your evergreen garden, too. In the end, you'll have a yard that promises to be the envy of the block.

Contact The McLeod Group Network for all your Real Estate needs! 971.208.5093 or mcleodgroupoffice@gmail.com.

By and photo credits: Realtor.com, Jamie Wiebe

4 Reasons Why Summer Is a Great Time to Buy a Home!

Here are four great reasons to consider buying a home today instead of waiting.

1. Prices Will Continue to Rise
CoreLogic’s latest Home Price Insights reports that home prices have appreciated by 7% over the last 12 months. The same report predicts that prices will continue to increase at a rate of 5.2% over the next year.
Home values will continue to appreciate for years. Waiting no longer makes sense.

2. Mortgage Interest Rates Are Projected to Increase
Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows that interest rates for a 30-year mortgage have increased by half a percentage point already in 2018 to around 4.5%. Most experts predict that rates will rise over the next 12 months. The Mortgage Bankers Association, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the National Association of Realtors are in unison, projecting that rates will increase by nearly a full percentage point by this time next year.
An increase in rates will impact YOUR monthly mortgage payment. A year from now, your housing expense will increase if a mortgage is necessary to buy your next home.

3. Either Way, You Are Paying a Mortgage
There are some renters who have not yet purchased a home because they are uncomfortable taking on the obligation of a mortgage. Everyone should realize that unless you are living with your parents rent-free, you are paying a mortgage – either yours or your landlord’s.
As an owner, your mortgage payment is a form of ‘forced savings’ that allows you to have equity in your home that you can tap into later in life. As a renter, you guarantee your landlord is the person with that equity.
Are you ready to put your housing cost to work for you?

4. It’s Time to Move on with Your Life
The ‘cost’ of a home is determined by two major components: the price of the home and the current mortgage rate. It appears that both are on the rise.
But what if they weren’t? Would you wait?

Look at the actual reason you are buying and decide if it is worth waiting. Whether you want to have a great place for your children to grow up, you want your family to be safer, or you just want to have control over renovations, maybe now is the time to buy.

If the right thing for you and your family is to purchase a home this year, buying sooner rather than later could lead to substantial savings.

Let’s talk about your options! 971.208.5093 or mcleodgroupoffice@gmail.com.

By: KCM Crew