The Value of your home

 Dave Ramsey has some great information and it's spot on in most markets;

4 Steps to Know How Much Your Home Is Worth

Here are four easy steps that will help you understand your home’s market value:

1. Learn the facts about your house and local market.

Believe it or not, your home’s market value is not based on the following:

• Your monthly mortgage payment
• Your opinion of how great your home is
• Your memories of your home

In a nutshell, market value is what buyers are willing to pay for your home. And just because Fred and Suzie next door sold their house for twice what they paid for it, that might not be the same for you.

As a homeowner, it’s tough to see your home the way a buyer would. Although you think little Danny’s handprints in the front porch pavement are cute, a potential buyer will see them as just one more thing to fix.

Facts About Your House

Keep in mind that a serious buyer will take critical mental note of the following:

• Location, location, location: Is your house in a desirable part of town with good schools? How close is it to highways and shopping centers?

• Safety: Does your neighborhood have sidewalks, underground electrical lines and a low crime rate? To learn about your local crime rate, check out crime stats on FBI.gov.

• Curb appeal: Is your house pretty to look at? Or is it an outdated eyesore?

• Square footage: How big is your home? Does it have any weird layout issues?

• Number of rooms: Does the ratio of bathrooms to bedrooms make sense?

• Updated appliances: Does your home still sport a harvest gold stove from the 1970s? Will the buyer need to plan for the cost of a new fridge, dishwasher or other items?

• School district: How are the schools rated in your area? Are there multiple options? If you’re not sure, try online resources like GreatSchools.org.

Facts About Your Market

Some factors affecting your home’s market value are out of your control. For instance, if the economy is tanking, no one’s going to pay top dollar for a house. The final price tag may also depend on:

• Mortgage interest rates: A mortgage is a huge financial commitment, so a high interest rate will keep some buyers from pulling the trigger.

• Time of year: Homes just sell better during certain months than they do in others. For example, most buyers won’t choose to move during the middle of the holiday season or after the school year has started. Expect to get more or fewer offers depending on the time of year.

• Supply and demand: If there are a ton of houses on the market, that means you’ve got competition. On the other hand, if there are more interested buyers than there are “For Sale” signs, raise the price like the savvy seller you are!

• How similar homes in the area have sold: How much are people willing to pay for a home like yours in your neighborhood? Are there many foreclosures in your area? This will give you a lot of insight into how desirable your home may be—or how much someone might be willing to pay.

If you’re trying to sell your home, an expert real estate agent can help you analyze all this information to create your ideal listing price. Want to investigate on your own? A quick online search can give you a ballpark number.

2. Enter your address into a free online home value estimator.

If you search for your address on an online real estate marketplace, you’ll likely find all kinds of facts about your home that are public record, including:

• Type of home
• Year the home was built
• Number of rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms
• Square footage of the home
• Square footage of the lot
• Heating and cooling systems
• Number of parking spots
• How much you and each previous owner paid for the home

Along with these home facts, you’ll see an estimated market value. Online tools like home value estimators put this number together by looking at the sales of homes in the area that are similar to yours, local tax assessments, and whether homes in your area are increasing or decreasing in value over time.

Warning: Online Home Value Estimators Aren’t 100% Accurate

Before you get too excited about this number and slap a price on your house, dig a little more. While these online estimates are helpful, they’re not always accurate.

The estimates are only as reliable as the amount of public record data the real estate websites can access. The less data gathered for your particular neighborhood, county and state, the less you can depend on this number.

3. Compare your home’s value to others in your neighborhood.

As a home seller, the real value you’ll get from these sites comes from the information you find about your housing market. Scroll through the data and see if you can answer any of these questions:

• Is my home value trending upward or downward?

• How does my home value compare to other homes in my neighborhood or zip code?

• How does my home value compare to those in other zip codes in my area?

• What’s the market temperature? Is it a hot or cold time to sell?

That’s useful information you can discuss with your real estate agent when it comes time to set a price for your home.

4. Work with a real estate agent to find the most accurate price.

If you’re ready to sell your home, contact a real estate agent no matter what you find online. Your agent will have the most accurate information to help you decide on the right home price.

That’s because a real estate agent doesn’t pull stale information from the shelf. Unlike online tools, real estate agents have access to a multiple listing service (MLS) database of homes for sale in the area that will allow them to run an accurate comparative market analysis.

How a Real Estate Agent Determines Home Value

A good real estate agent will take the time to come and look at your home. They’ll consider the landscaping, the condition of the house, any upgrades you’ve added, and all those things that aren’t listed in public records but make a real difference to potential home buyers.

Agents use the power of real-world experience to compare your home’s nitty-gritty details to recent sales and current listings.

Let’s say you installed a new roof last year but your furnace is on its last leg. An experienced agent knows how to weigh those factors and still come up with a competitive price. Remember, the market value is not based on formulas. It’s based on how much someone is actually willing to pay for your home.

No computer can determine that, and your success as a seller rides on it.

Why It’s Important to Know Your Home’s Value

Knowing how much your house is worth helps you sell it for the right price from the start. Not really understanding your home’s value could lead you to undersell or oversell.

Price your home too high and buyers will pass you up without ever stepping through the door—which could end up forcing you to slash the price later. Price it too low, and you could lose thousands of dollars. The right price gets you the most money in the least amount of time.

Home value is also important in helping you make decisions when it comes to handling things like:

• Home insurance
• Property taxes
• Refinancing
• Private mortgage insurance (PMI)

How Often Should I Check My Home Value?

Getting an idea of your home value at least once a year could be useful. But you probably don’t need an expert’s opinion each time—unless you’re doing something big like selling or refinancing.

Since the value of your home influences things like insurance and taxes, keeping a pulse on how much your house is worth on a yearly basis could help you save money.

For example, if you bought your house with a down payment lower than 20%, you’re probably paying for PMI—an insurance that protects your lender (not you) in case you stop making monthly payments.

If your home value goes up to the point where you now own 20% or more of the house, you can ask your lender to get rid of PMI and save yourself a ton of money!

Price Your Home With an Expert Real Estate Agent

If you’re ready to sell your house, work with a real estate professional. For a fast and easy way to find a Ramsey Trusted agent, try our Endorsed Local Providers (ELP) program. We only recommend top agents with years of experience so you can sell your home on your timeline and for the right price.

! Deb Fowler is a Ramsey TRUSTED Provider.

 

Pictures are worth a thousand words ...

 that about sums up this week... - Spring is near - I am ready 

Friday afternoon at my office

Here's what I am doing.....

It's Friday afternoon and I am updating files for recent listings and sales - February is sometimes the start of the "spring market"  - this may seem early but as tax returns start rolling in it's often a good time to have the needed down payment for a new home !  So if you are thinking of listing give me a call ! Or if you have your pre approval and are ready to look let's talk! The cold days are sure to be fewer as we head into a much anticipated Spring! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I am grateful for so much this year, good health, a warm home, friends and family near and far, the list is long and yet as we near the end of 2022 I reflect on the thank you cards I failed to send,  the thoughts and wishes I held for friends, family or clients but  failed to communicate, the birthday greetings, the get well or the sympathy card I never sent.  

 So today I want to say to my friends, family and my clients and customers, I thought of you.. and  I will task myself to do better, to make that phone call, to send  that card or to text a thought I had of you.

Its' the coldest Christmas I can remember but warmest thoughts are sent to all - Have a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year.

Thinking of Selling in the Spring?

 If you are thinking of  waiting until spring to list, get past the holidays and the weather that comes with living in the midwest, now is the time to take your pictures. Let's be one step ahead and get the best pictures before the snow falls!   I use a professional photography service and the results are amazing! 
Here are some examples!

If you are interested in a no obligation market analysis to see what your home is worth in today's market email me at :

Deb.Fowler.C21@gmail.com

 and get free professional photography when you list with me! 

Staying Relevant

Seems like a long time ago that I started in the real estate business - 1996 to be exact.  I know

 the industry needs to change and grow, and so I feel I need to do that also.  By growing and

 expanding our knowledge, education and ways of doing business I believe that is the way to

 stay relevant in today's market.

 I recently attended the Iowa Realtors Convention in Des Moines, the instructors were among the best I have had the pleasure of listening to. 

 We have a  Realtor Code of Ethics that Realtors vow to uphold, also the standard of having continuing education ( 36 HOURS) every 3 years.  Mandatory are the Ethics and Law Update classes.

I will attach that Code of Ethics below so that you can also see what we Realtors practice in our daily business.

It's fall - time to spend some time daydreaming under a tree

https://cdn.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/2022-COE-Standards-of-Practice-2021-12-15.pdf

Inventory

If you are looking for a home right now you too have probably encountered the inventory shortage.  Currently the market is showing a lower than normal inventory for homes ready to move into.  The shortage is as much from selling many more homes in the last 12-24 months than in previous years and people staying in their homes and not deciding to make a move during the pandemic, the very attractive rates and the mood of the country coming out of pandemic times.  Either way it is a historic market we are seeing now. 

In this Market - a few things to keep in mind if you are thinking of waiting! 

“Prices continue to rise, up 15 % year over year.  This represents a decade of continuous growth!  Thinking about selling to maximize your net profit? Message me for a free market analysis to see how much your property is worth today!”

“Offers over-asking have risen to 48%, inching closer to the peak of 55% in the summer of 2021—the market is still hot and consistent low days on market indicate that buyers are still snapping homes up quickly. If you are ready to move, we can make it happen fast to take advantage while the market is in the seller’s favor!”

If you are a Buyer - 

Current rates are still at 4% and below - now is the time to get pre-approved or pre-qualified to purchase your home.  A non qualified buyer in this market is behind - to be competitive get that prequal and then go find the home of your dreams.
By the end of 2022 and into 2023 the forecast is predicting a potential increase in interest rate of up to 6.75% that is a determining factor in how much home you can buy!  each 1% in interest equates to about 10,000 so keep this in mind..

Happy Easter 

Be blessed, take time to enjoy family, friends and good food. 

Tax Season

Tax Season 

It's that time of year when we start searching for all the records, receipts, expenditures from 2021 and wondering... now, where did I file that (?) Or is that just me that waits until year end to round it all up- make those Quickbook
entries and hope I haven't forgotten something important~

To this I would add, I am grateful to have a tax accountant - those folks are so versed in taxes and keeping up with changing laws, keeping me from being stressed out and open to audit~ I applaud all they do... it surely is not my line of work now or ever!

Take time to thank you tax person, mail carriers, hair dresser, delivery services,  all those folks we rely on but don't thank often enough for all they do. 

💟

 

Goals for 2022

Welcome to 2022  - try to imagine the world 100  years from now! and looking back at 100 years how we have changed the world! 

I enjoy this first part of the year, much like waking up early and getting the day started with a workout 5 days a week. I enjoy the discipline of it, the challenge of being accountable to myself.  

Its much the same for work, discipline and accountability to my clients.  I take this time to set my goals for the year.  Looking back at the previous year and working on the things that worked and tweaking the things that didn't.  2021 was a great year in the real estate world, I am blessed and grateful for the business.  

The goal is to become better and I am committed to that always.  I want each client feel their experience with me was unforgettable!

 Looking forward to this bright new year as I hope you are also.

 

Merry Christmas

It's Christmas !

Its the magic of Christmas season and even though there is not a chance of a white Christmas its still, for me, a blessed time of gratitude and giving. 

I am reflecting on the many exceptional clients and friends I have made this year!  Beyond blessed to have assisted so many buyers and sellers.  I am grateful beyond measure to have this job, it's incredible and so rewarding. 

Who could have guessed that 25+ years ago, I would interview for a reception job after the news of  lay offs from my salaried job at Fruehauf, at 10 P.M. with shorts and T shirt and wind blown hair from being on a motorcycle.! 

Pretty sure that both owners at the time did not agree on my potential!  Funny to look back and think how I soon became  a partner and together Jon and I have built this incredible firm that continues to grow and expand our services and service areas.  We do have the best of the best agents ! 

My heart is full of joy and I wish you all blessings and good health, safe travels and a happy and prosperous 2022.  

A Story about a Tree

 It's the time of year when you may have forgotten how beautiful the fall can be... those gorgeous maple trees - I get lost in the colors - I love the sugar maples and I was particularly fond of a  sugar maple in my front yard in a home I previously lived in.  That tree would have the most amazing colors of orange and tangerine with a crisp green early then a nut brown as the season came to an end.. I picked up so many leaves rescuing them from death and cold and of course they still dried up .. but I used them as book markers and flattened them between pages infatuated with the colors and textures.  

Imagine my reaction when one day I came home and because that tree officially was city property because it was planted in the right of way... the tree had been cut down.  I am not an arborist but I did not see any reason to kill this beloved tree.  I still feel the beauty of that tree when I drive by that home and I miss it somewhere deep inside. Sometimes I find a leaf neatly kept between two pages of a book and I smile. Keeping those leaves from a tree at a home that had in some way saved me brings back a flood of emotions. Thank you fall, for the memories.