Real Estate University

Check out these photos and let’s make your home more valuable.

Making a home more attractive to potential buyers is not necessarily the same as improving it’s value. Some upgrades fail to improve the life and functionality of the home…

THIS is the real difference.

Byron Hatcher

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Let Me Guess….. You Don’t Have the Money for a Total Makeover.

Not everyone has the dinero to substantially renovate their homes. I get it!

I always discuss one main question with my clients. “What’s the smartest way that we can use the reserves that you’ve saved up to get the most return on the sale of your home?” Let’s pause and differentiate Value and Demand, so that I can introduce you to concepts that you probably haven’t considered previously, even if you already know what the two of them are. This will help you save money!

Home Value, or Real Estate Value, is a price that you can sell real estate for in a specific market at a specific point in time. This is influenced by size, location, age, quality, and closely-comparable real estate that has sold nearby. “Byron, aren’t Home Prices impacted by Demand?” Of course… But the two are not the same. Time is the key variable here. We’ll discuss this more in a moment…

Buyer Demand, however, is more of a phenomenon. It’s the propensity for real estate to produce more showings and offers. Buyer Demand is influenced by the number of potential purchasers within a certain set of criteria, such as price range. There’s a different number of home shoppers in $150-300k range versus the $750k-1M, right? There’s also a magnetic nature to demand, where people get drawn to the best homes in their respective price ranges. You’ll need an amazing Listing Agent (“cough-cough”) with a marketing plan that ensures that your real estate will find the attention of as many potential purchasers as possible. Why? Because awareness increases demand, remember that. Quality still plays a major role! Along with the previously mentioned factors that influence Value. And population fluctuation has a huge impact, also.

Cosmetic home improvements usually increase demand. Structural/Functional renovations increase value. Look at your home and ask, “How can I improve the life of this structure? How can I help it last for another 100 years?” But understand too that cosmetic improvements help the home sell more quickly. Time is the key variable, remember? Structural and functional improvements increase the value quickly. A home with a new roof and kitchen cabinets that are from 1968 is a totally different house than a home with a 1968 roof and brand new kitchen cabinets. You see what I mean?

Why should you achieve a healthy balance of both?

Because you want to sell for the most you can sell for, without the home being on the market for very long. And if you have new homes being built near you in the same price range – you want to be able to compete!

Other than adding square footage and acreage, here are some great choices to improve a home’s value:

• Roof & Flashing
• Windows & Exterior Doors
• Foundation Improvement (Non-slab Homes)
• Exterior Siding
• Central Heating & Air (Including Ductwork)
• Water Heater
• Plumbing
• Electrical (Wiring & Panel)

Honorable Mentions: Insulation, Drywall, Exterior Structures (depending on what’s built and the quality), Crawl Space Encapsulation and Moisture Remediation, Sinks, Cabinets, Chimney & Masonry, Flooring.

Keep your receipts and invoices from the improvements that you make! This will allow your Agent to present this to the Appraiser when that time comes. It’s hard to question the value if you can show them actual figures that were spent on improvements.

In a future blog post, we’ll discuss How to Use Your Home’s Equity so that you can afford these renovations! Stay tuned. And as always, thank you for following me! Class dismissed!!! 🙂