5 Tips for Upgrading Your Home Before Listing in Chicago

To sell your home successfully, it needs to be in tip-top shape. Today we have five tips to help you update your home for a top dollar sale and a high return on your investment.

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When it comes to selling a home, it really has to be in tip-top shape. Sometimes that means freshening the home up, making some minor updates, or even renovations. If you plan to renovate your Chicago home to help you earn more from your sale, we have three compelling reasons to do so now:

1. Renovations always take longer than expected. Even minor renovations to your kitchen or bathroom might seem like they'd only take two weeks, but you want to plan ahead because it will take longer than you think.
2. You might come across issues you weren't aware of. If you're making updates and your contractor discovers an issue, it needs to be addressed. 
Wouldn't it be nice to enjoy your renovations before you move?
3. You get to enjoy the updates before you hand over they keys to the buyer. 
4. Many updates are inevitable. If you have an old roof, it needs to be updated anyway, for example. You might as well make the renovations now!
5. You will get a better return on your investment if you effectively plan ahead. 

If you're not sure which renovations are right for your home or will bring you the biggest return on your investment when it comes time to sell your house, we have a great cost vs. value resource you can use.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We'd be glad to help you!

Should You Sell Your Home or Rent It Out?

The rent vs. sell debate is a complicated one. It really comes down to where you’re at financially and where you want to be.

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We are excited to talk to you about today’s topic, which comes to us courtesy of our good friend, Ed Erickson. He wanted us to give some information on the benefits of selling and the benefits of renting, so those in the position to do either can make the decision that’s best for them and their family.

One reason someone may need to sell instead of rent is because they need the net proceeds from the sale to purchase a new home. Another reason is because they don’t want to be a landlord or have to deal with a property management company. Maybe they just have some really good equity in the property and want to cash out to take the money and invest it in something else.

They each have their own benefits.

However, renting out a house has its fair share of advantages. If you have negative equity, renting can help you build it back up. One of the great benefits of renting out a property is the many tax advantages. Depending on how your accountant handles things, renting out a property could help you out a lot. Finally, renting allows you to start a real estate portfolio while also providing a passive income stream. 

The stock market is always up or down, but the real estate market is a much safer bet. You can make a good deal of money investing in properties if you do it correctly. Thanks again to Ed for providing us with the topic. If you are in need of any business coaching needs, please give Ed a call at (773)-672-7418 or visit ericksoncoach.com. He will take great care of you.

If you have any questions for us about whether you should consider selling or renting your house, we would love to help you out. Just give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

How Do You Know if a Home Is Priced Fairly?

How do you know if a home is priced fairly? What is fair market value? We’ll answer both of these questions today.

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How do buyers know if a home is priced fairly?

Fair market value is determined by who’s looking and who’s competing because that changes moment by moment. So does the value of a home.

One of the ways a real estate professional can determine whether or not a home is priced accurately is to pull recent comparable sales. Your agent will look at similar homes in the same area that have sold within the last three to six months. They will compare those properties to the one you are interested in and see how the features and amenities stack up.

On the mortgage side of things, that is very similar to what the appraiser will do. The appraiser will compare other properties to determine whether the home is at, below, or above market value.

Fair market value is determined by who’s looking and who’s competing.

Now, what happens if the home does not appraise? Your loan is based on the value of the appraisal. Typically, the mortgage covers 95% of the purchase while you put 5% down. If the appraisal comes in too high, the consumer can decide to pay that or not. You just need to come up with extra money.

Recently, we had an appraisal come in $4,000 under the sales price. We worked with the seller and managed to pay the fair market value. That is fairly common. Even if you are receiving financing from the government, the contract needs to be renegotiated and revisions have to be made if the home doesn’t appraise.

If you have any other mortgage questions for David, you can give him a call at (708) 705-7911 or email him at Dave.Bowen@imortgage.com. In the meantime, if you have any real estate questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I would be happy to help you!

THANK YOU!

We wanted to say thanks today to everyone who helped us have such a great 2016. We wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season!

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Today, we just wanted to reach out and say thank you for a fantastic year. We can't tell you how much we appreciate your referrals and all the times you thought about us when it came to helping your family members and friends.

Here's to hoping next year is just as good!

We appreciate the questions you ask us, too, because they help us create helpful content for many people.

Here's to hoping next year is just as good!

We hope you have a wonderful holiday season with your family this year.

As always, if you or anyone you know have questions about real estate or mortgages in the Chicago area, always feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We'd be happy to help.

Welcome to the South Loop of Chicago

The South Loop is a fantastic place to live. Not only is it near Museum Campus, it’s also home to Soldier Field and more.

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David Bowen and I are here in one of our lofts in the South Loop and we wanted to take the opportunity to give you a quick overview of the South Loop area and what it offers.

The South Loop is a mix of cultural attractions and surrounding new developments. Museum Campus is great. They have the Adler Planetarium, which puts on the Adler at Night program every third Thursday of the month. Also in the Museum Campus area are Burnham Harbor, the Field Museum, and Northerly Island. The Museum Park Lofts are also located near Museum Campus.

Soldier Field is just one of many area attractions.

Soldier Field, the home of the Chicago Bears, is in the area as well. If we go south of the South Loop, of course we have a lot of car dealerships, the home of the annual Chicago Auto Show, and tons of new residential and commercial development. Depaul University is building a new basketball arena in the area as well.

As you can see, the South Loop is a great place to be right now. If you have any questions for us or are interested in taking a look at some of the great properties we have in this area, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you.