A Foyer whether big or small is a space that you welcome your guests. This is a space that you can vamp up with color, glamour or make it cozy and intimate. A foyer can add value to your home when selling it.
What is the use of a foyer in a home?
Your foyer is a space that you greet your guests or anyone that happen to knock at the front door. It gives you an opportunity to greet an unexpected visitor without them entry into your family space.
Is a foyer necessary?
I believe a foyer is necessary for any home. It can be the one area that is kept neat and tidy to greet guests that calls on you unexpectedly. You can create an illusion of a grand entry to your home to wow your guests.
What do you need in a foyer?
Since we live in Florida you should have
RUG – a weather-resistant rug. This should add a wow factor to your foyer.
SEATING – I also love having a bench with a couple of bold color pillows.
MIRROR – I love having a mirror in a foyer. It can open up a small space and make it appear larger.
TABLE -Have a console table for things like keys and other knick nacks.
FLOWERS -Have a nice flower arrangement or a couple of books.
Buying a home can be the most exciting time for you and your family. But don’t lose out on the home of your dreams by doing this alone. This is one of the biggest financial transactions of your life, and I want to help you by making this experience less stressful.
As you go through the process you may have questions on –
Downpayment – How much is required as a downpayment of a home?
How do I get a Mortgage for this home?
How do I complete the Mortgage application?
Do I have enough money saved up to buy this home?
Do I have a good credit score?
How do I write up an offer on my dream home?
How do I negotiate to get the best price?
How do I submit an offer on my dream home?
What do I do when the Seller accepts my offer?
How do I get the home inspected?
How do I negotiate repairs?
How do I get a title search?
How do I get a survey?
What are my closing costs?
There are so many things to think about when buying your home. Don’t go through this alone. Call/Text 727-422-9340 I can help you buy the dream home for you and your family.
You’re ready to sell your home, and although you’ve always kept your home in great condition you still need to do some extra maintenance. When selling your home your property has to be in tiptop shape if you’re going to get top dollar when you sell. If you’re selling your home you still want to have your home looking good on the inside as well as the outside. Even if your home is on the market for 3 months or more, you have to keep giving that home your love, even if you have already vacated the home. When your home looks like its well cared for, you get more people interested in looking at it and even get top dollar. Here are some tips that you may already be doing or neglecting.
Landscaping – your lawn should be mowed, trees and shrubs trimmed, flower beds should look lush. Your driveway and walkways should be well lit without weeds and leaves on it.
Gutters – people tend to forget that you get all sorts of debris in your gutters. Make sure that your gutters are cleaned out. By not doing this you can have all sorts of issues with your roof, walls of home and drainage issues. You don’t want to deal with overflowing drains if it rains, or damage walls or foundation issues or drainage issues when selling your home.
Fix Broken things – Buyers tend to check to make sure the doorbell works. It’s one of the things that people tend to forget when getting their home ready for the sale. Lots of times it doesn’t work. This may be something small to you, but to buyers, this can be a big deal. Fix leaky faucets and running toilets.
Critters – go around your home and make sure you don’t have squirrels or other critters living in your attic or other areas of your home.
Clean Windows and Doors – If your home is on the market for more than a month you will have to get those windows and doors cleaned up. Get rid of cobwebs or spiderwebs that may have built up around them. Not doing this will make the home look neglected.
Get your punch list made up, and make sure you’ve got all of these little things taken care of. By doing these small things you can get more return on your investment.
Many of us may buy and sell a home maybe once or twice in our lifetime. This is one of the biggest investments that we will make so why leave it to chance. I know many of the DIYs are thinking I can do this job, this is a piece of cake. I can put my listing online and I can get a bunch of great offers. This is a common way of thinking for the average homeowner.
Don’t Make This Mistake
A homeowner may not know the value of their home. They either, undervalue it which they can potentially lose more than what they would have spent on hiring a Realtor who would have priced it correctly. On the flip side, we have the FSBOs that think their home is worth a lot more than it actually is.
Homes that are over-priced tend to sit on the market and get stale over time. Most people would not even call because they think that something is wrong with the home if it’s been on the market that long without a sale. It really isn’t an advantage, having your home sitting on Zillow for over 90 days. Don’t make the mistake of doing this.
Realtors know that homeowners are honest and hardworking people. We want to do our best to sell your home and get you as much as we can in the shortest period of time. We are there to be the buffer, to negotiate for you and your family, to do all the dirty work so you can get the benefit of a stress-free transaction. We strive to make your life remain as normal as possible during this whole process of selling your home.
Keep in mind
Your home will sell for what it is appraised at. It does not matter if you think your home is worth $20,000 more. It’s what the appraiser thinks it’s worth. Get a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). Some Realtors will do this for free for you, so ask for one.
Tip: If you know you don’t like
answering the phone, and talking to strangers
is not available to show your home during the day or evenings
cannot do open houses
hate to negotiate with people
already busy with family life (school, sports, work, kids)
not computer savvy
can’t take good photos
Don’t attempt to sell your own home. You are better off using a Realtor to help you sell your home. Call me if you are selling your home in the Tampa, Seminole, Largo, Clearwater, Pinellas Park, Tarpon Spring, Palm Harbor areas. I am an agent in Pinellas County Florida and can answer any questions you may have about selling your home.
For many, this may be the first time that they are purchasing a home. Home buying is a new experience and if you’ve never done it before an unfamiliar process. To make this experience less intimidating, I will advise you to get in contact with a local Realtor®. Just in case you decide to do it yourself, here is a break down of the steps that can help you in your home buying search. If you do have questions on any of these steps or need a Realtor® please, email, text or phone me.
Step 1. Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage Loan ….this is where you find out how much money you can get to purchase your new home. This is free and a must-do if you are serious about looking at homes and making offers.
Step 2. Have Money for your Down Payment and Closing Fees … you will need to have at least 20% to put down as a down payment… for example, if you are purchasing a home for $250,000 you will need to have at least $50,000 as a down payment. This is money in addition to your loan. You will also need to have money for your closing costs which you can get an approximation from the title company.
Step 3. Write down a list of your must haves… this is beneficial to you and helps you break down areas that you want to live, what you want in a home, what school districts that you want and amenities you would like. This eliminates all the houses that you’re not interested in and you don’t feel overwhelmed with the whole process of the search for your home.
Step 3. Before you start searching I would get in contact with a Realtor®. A buyers agent is no cost to you, that’s right, they are free. You want someone that is on your side and that will negotiate for you. An agent will put together a list of properties from your list of must-haves and help you find the one that is right for you.
Step 4. You’ve found your home, now you get that offer. Once that offer is accepted by the seller’s agent you give a deposit check. This does not have to be a lot, can be $1,000 and this goes towards your closing costs. If you have a Realtor®, they will write up an offer and take care of everything else. That’s the great thing about having a Realtor®, you don’t have to negotiate or deal with the seller or the seller’s agent. Your agent acts as a buffer and takes care of everything for you.
Step 5. Your offer is accepted…now what? Schedule your home inspection. The buyer pays for the home inspector and you will definitely want one that has a good reputation. This is an important part of the process because this inspector will inspect the roof, plumbing, electrical, air condition, and heat as well as appliances, windows, pool and pool equipment. This needs to be done properly because these are expensive fixes if you buy the home and later find out that the air conditioner has a problem that was missed by the inspector.
Step 6. Waiting for Loan Approval… The bank usually gets the home appraised and they have their appraiser go out to the home. While you are waiting you should not change jobs, make huge purchases like buying a car or even purchase furniture. You should not make huge deposits into your bank account either. Any changes to your finance can delay or even result in your loan being denied.
Step 7. You are approved for the loan and now it’s closing day. You can now do your final walk-thru the morning before you go to the closing. You want to make sure that everything is clean and anything that was agreed on in the contract has been done. If not, then you will have to re-negotiate with the seller. If everything is as it should be your head to your closing.
Step 8. Your Title company would have been in contact with you throughout the whole process. You should know what your fees are…whether there is a clear title as well as closing fees. How the Seller gets their money. At the closing, the sellers are there with their agent as well as you and your agent. The title company goes over all the documents make sure you understand everything, and then you and the seller sign. You now get your keys and you head over to your new Home.
For more information on Buying or Selling homes please contact me.
