Walker Texas Team

Looking to buy a home? Here are five essential tips for making the process as smooth as possible. Get your finances in order. Start by getting a full picture of your credit. Obtain copies of your credit report. Make sure the facts are correct, and fix any problems you find. Next, find a suitable lender and get pre-approved for a loan. This will put you in a better position to make a serious offer when you do find the right house. https://goo.gl/IMHGaH Find a house you can afford. As with engagement rings, there’s a general rule of thumb when it comes to buying a home: two-and-a-half times your annual salary. There are also a number of tools and calculators online that can help you understand how your income, debt, and expenses affect what you can afford. Don’t forget, too, that there are lots of considerations beyond the sticker price, including property taxes, energy costs, etc. Hire a professional. While the Internet gives buyers unprecedented acce

Moving from a small town or suburb to a large city can be an intimidating proposition. Here are a few tips to help make your move as painless as possible. Research before you move . It’s important to understand the culture you’re joining. Do research online and find out about school systems, neighborhoods, parking, weather, public transportation, and laws that are native to that area. If you can, visit a city before moving and connect with someone who’s lived there before. Have a plan . There are a lot of steps to go through before you start packing the moving truck. Find housing before you leave, or at least know where you’ll stay while you look for a home. Never sign a lease on an apartment that you haven’t seen. If you can’t get there, find a friend or an employer to check for you. Have a job waiting for you, or if that’s not possible, know what you’ll do for money in the first few weeks of living there. Try to line up things like driver’s licenses, car ins

Selling your home doesn′t just mean hiring a realtor to stick a sign out front. There are a lot of preparations you should make to ensure you get the best offer possible in the shortest time. Repair . Just because you’ve gotten used to the cracks in the walls and the rattles in the radiators doesn’t mean a buyer will too. If you have hardwood floors that need refinishing, be sure to get it done—hardwood is a huge selling point. Buyers like to snoop around, so be sure to fix any sticky doors or drawers as well. Finally, don’t forget to address any issues with the exterior—fences, shingles, sidewalks, etc. After all, without curb appeal, some buyers may never get to see the inside. Neutralize . You want buyers to see themselves in your home. If your living room has lime green shag, wood-paneled walls, and all your collectibles and personal photographs, this will be much harder for them to do. Try replacing any bold color choices in your floors and walls with some

As the events of the last few years in the real estate industry show, people forget about the tremendous financial responsibility of purchasing a home at their peril. Here are a few tips for dealing with the dollar signs so that you can take down that “for sale” sign on your new home. Get pre-approved . Sub-primes may be history, but you’ll probably still be shown homes you can’t actually afford. By getting pre-approved as a buyer, you can save yourself the grief of looking at houses you can’t afford. You can also put yourself in a better position to make a serious offer when you do find the right house. Unlike pre-qualification, which is based on a cursory review of your finances, pre-approval from a lender is based on your actual income, debt and credit history. By doing a thorough analysis of your actual spending power, you’ll be less likely to get in over your head. Choose your mortgage carefully. Used to be the emphasis when it came to mortgages was on paying t

f you’re planning to sell your home, you may be considering updates to get it market-ready. Here are seven ways to instantly increase value. Replace Your Mailbox Small things like the condition of your mailbox and your yard have big impact on curb appeal. Clean out flowerbeds, powerwash stains on the driveway and sidewalk, replace house numbers with shiny new ones, and remove grass and accumulated muck from street gutters. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Get Decorating Advice from a Pro The personal touch you’ve put into the interior of your home is part of its charm, but potential buyers may not see it that way. Meet with a realtor (who may consult with you for free) or an interior designer (who won’t) for advice on how to make the inside of your home most appealing. Create a File for Paperwork If you have the manuals for appliances, energy audits from utility companies, specific color swatches for the paint you’ve used, and invoices fo

Getting ready to sell your house is a big step, and it can feel intimidating if you’ve never done it before. Here are a few things to keep in mind when preparing your house for the market. The Walk Through The first thing that you will need to do is a walk through. This is where you walk through the whole house looking at it through the eyes of the buyers. You will want to bring a notepad and pen with you to make notes about every room. Write down your first impression of each room as if you were seeing it for the first time yourself. Does it feel open and inviting or dark and cramped? Write down everything you see that needs to be changed, moved or gotten rid of altogether. Once the walk through is finished the real work begins. Get Rid of the Clutter The whole point of hosting an open house or house viewing is to get prospective buyers to see the full potential of your house. In order to do this the clutter needs to be removed so that the house takes center stage.

If you are thinking of buying or selling your home right now, it’s the perfect time to do so. It can be very stressful and confusing trying to buy or sell a home. Here are the top tips that you need to know for buying or selling a home in 2016. Sellers: List during Peak Season According to realtor.com the peak season for buying a home begins in April and reaches its peak in June. Sellers benefit from the peak season the most. Listing during spring and summer will give you more potential buyers and bids. Buyers: Know How Much You Can Spend Set a budget for yourself and follow it. Figure out your personal budget to figure out what you can afford, then get pre-qualified for a mortgage and compare the two amounts. You should use the lower of the two amounts. Sellers: Price Your Home to the Market The most important thing to do is get the price right. Asking for a price that is far above the marketing price is asking for being let down or potentially not selling yo