Staging Your Home to Sell in Early Autumn

It’s no secret that home staging is necessary to showcase your home’s best features to prospective buyers, and these four ideas will keep your home cozy and festive this fall!

1. Curb appeal! Maintaining a beautiful exterior is the easiest way to attract buyers, and fall-specific maintenance is an important part. Rake up unwanted leaves, patch up brown spots in the grass, and consider pressure washing your siding.

2. A few decorations can go a long way! Hints of seasonal foliage, a couple of pumpkins, or cornstalks outdoors are a great way to keep your home feeling seasonal, but be careful to not go overboard. Potential buyers want to see your home, and too much extra clutter can be distracting.

3. As the days get shorter in the fall, you may want to check that your home is adequately lit. Buyers tend to prefer well-lit homes, and the fall is no exception! Consider adding a few more lights around your home, amping up the wattage, or installing exterior lights to make your home stand out in the evening!

4. Appeal to all of the senses by lighting a fall-scented candle, leaving out a bowl of candy corn, and lighting the fireplace for added warmth.

Recent Mortgage rates

The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage are around this week to 4.14%. While these rates have not climbed significantly from last week's average of 4.12%, interest rates in the 4-5% range are historically very low. 

There are compatible rates offered by local companies.

Give me a call (267-838-4005) for the information for those companies we always work with and praise their work ethics.

Industry leaders have suggested that rates may continue to climb through next year, with many experts believing they will reach over 5%.

15-year fixed rate mortgages averaged 3.37%.

What You Need to Know About Seller's Property Disclosures

If you're in the process of buying a home, you're probably familiar with a Seller's Property Disclosure (SPD). It's exactly what it sounds like--a legal document that the seller fills out to disclose any known defects that may negatively affect the value of the home (such as known termites, leaking roofs, flooding, pets, and even deaths in the home). Similarly, the SPD can also include any work and upgrades that may positively affect the value of the home. Here's what you need to know:

1. Seller's Property Disclosures are extremely important--for both the buyer and the seller. The buyer must (carefully!) review & sign the SPD, and the seller must diligently and honestly fill it out to the best of their knowledge.

2. In our market, buyers generally review the Seller's Property Disclosure before putting in an offer on the home. In fact, SPD's are generally available for agents to access online. Interested in seeing one for a home you like? Just ask us.

3. Seller's Property Disclosure requirements vary by state and county, but sellers are generally obligated to disclose everything that they know. Unfortunately, a lack of proper disclosure can lead to messy conflicts down the road...and even lawsuits.

4. Seller's Property Disclosures are very different than home inspections. Generally, the sellers do not have the knowledge of a home inspector, and therefore an inspection can reveal quite a bit more than a SPD. We always recommend making any purchase contingent on a satisfactory home inspection.