Archive for July, 2016

Don’t Make These 5 Mistakes When Selling Your Home

Saturday, July 30th, 2016
Selling your home

Don’t make selling your home harder than it needs to be. Avoid making these 5 seller mistakes.

Selling your home can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be.

There’s a lot to do before it goes on the market. There are questions to be asked, emotions to detach and many things to be aware of simply because you are selling. It can be overwhelming and daunting to say the least.

Don’t make the selling process harder than it needs to be. Start your home-selling process with your best foot forward and avoid making these 5 mistakes:

1. Don’t FSBO (For Sale By Owner) when selling your home

In 10 reasons why for-sale-by-owners fail, data from a National Association of Realtors survey on FSBOs is shared. It shows that less than 10 percent of all home sales are FSBOs. Less than 10 percent! You may feel you have the skills necessary to sell your home. You may want to avoid paying agent commission fees. But when only 8 percent of all home sales are FSBOs, it proves that going it alone is a mistake.

2. Don’t skip properly preparing your home for sale

If your home isn’t properly prepared or staged, it’ll be tough to sell.

  • Remove hard-to-clean odors when selling your home. If your home smells like smoke or you own a pet(s), invest in professional cleaning services.
  • Declutter your home. When selling your home, it should always be show-ready. Remove photos and knick-knacks. Clear countertops and downsize the contents in your closets. Yes, even the toaster should be put away.
  • Boost your home’s curb appeal. If your home doesn’t look good on the outside, it will be hard to get potential buyers to come inside.
  • Make improvements to your home, but don’t go overboard. Don’t think a home improvement expense is going to add dollar-for-dollar value to the home. A home maintenance expense adding a dollar value of any size to a home at all isn’t a for-sure thing.

3. Don’t stick around during a home tour

If you’re hesitant to hold a showing or refuse to leave as potential buyers tour your home, your chances for buyers making offers on it greatly diminishes. Potential buyers want to imagine themselves living there. Just looking at photos or trying to get a feel for the home with you lurking in the background will minimize the number of offers given, if you even receive any.

4. Don’t share too much on social media

Venting about the home-selling process and sharing incorrect listing information on social media is a big mistake. Keep things to yourself or between you and your real estate agent.

5. Don’t overprice your home

Overpricing your home and refusing to compromise is the biggest seller mistake. If you think your house is worth more than the market suggests or that a low commission will save you money, constantly turn down offers thinking a better offer will come eventually. You could end up with a home you don’t want.

Be smart about the offers that come to the table.

Don’t make selling your home tougher than it needs to be. Work with your real estate agent and avoid these seller mistakes to get your home sold. Call Charles D’Alessandro, your Brooklyn real estate agent with Fillmore Real Estate at (718) 253-9700 ext. 206 or email [email protected]. Put his 30+ years of excellent real estate experience to work for you today.

Baby Boomers And Retirement: Are You Financially Prepared?

Friday, July 15th, 2016
Financially prepared

Baby Boomers, are you financially prepared for retirement?

America, we’re getting older. Those of us born in the USA after World War II and before 1964 (ages 51-69 respectively) are known as Baby Boomers, and we’re nearing retirement. Are you financially prepared to get to retirement or through retirement? Is there a chance you will not get through retirement because you are not financially prepared to do so? It’s time we evaluate our fiscal health.

None of us knows what’s ahead in the next 1, 5 or 10 years, but there are ways to prepare financially to get us through retirement One of the best ways to ensure your money lasts through retirement is to plan on living longer than you think. Here are four ways for Baby Boomers nearing retirement to get financially prepared:

Reduce Your Expenses and Get Rid of Debt

Take charge of your spending. It’s important to create a budget that you can stick to now in case your income is reduced in the future. If you’re looking for ways to save money, look here: Federal Citizen Information Center.

Stop Self-Investing and Go Pro Instead

The pros can manage a lot of money cheaply. How?

  • Their costs to do what they do for their clients are at an institutional rate
  • They get lower commissions on buying/selling securities
  • They can manage money for a lot less

Your 401(k) and IRA returns can amount to little because money managers charge you “retail” and overcharge for their commissions for sales, management and securities. Costs matter. Find the lowest-cost provider in every retirement fund you have, particularly in your 401(k) if you have one.

Add to Your Income-Producing Investments

Take a look at your investment portfolio. Is it heavy on the stock funds side?  If so, now is a good time to increase the percentage of bond funds or other investments that are designed to provide a steady income for you throughout retirement. Ask your financial pro to review your money distributions.

Invest in Real Estate to be Financially Prepared for Retirement

Real estate is a secure investment, and homeownership is critical in building wealth and financial security over time. That’s important when planning your retirement. Owning is much wiser than supporting a landlord financially and having no equity to show for any of it. Homes appreciate. Owning is far superior to renting because it locks in your housing costs and over time your real costs decline.

In the past two years, home prices have increased more per year than the 4% average that rents have risen per year. And homeownership comes with valuable tax benefits, too.

If you don’t own a home, consider purchasing one. Real estate is a secure investment to use as your retirement fund.

Take advantage of the great real estate market situation. Brooklyn real estate is at an all-time high, but we don’t know for how long.

The bottom line

Because we are nearing retirement, don’t take unnecessary risks to get financially prepared. There is no wisdom in trying to recover losses we may have incurred by putting even more money in risky investments. We will need that money for living expenses throughout our retirement.

But do get financially prepared for your retirement now. Save with purpose and intensity, invest wisely and take advantage of the benefits of today’s great real estate market.

Are you financially prepared for retirement? Are you ready to downsize and simplify as you near retirement? Is it time to sell your real estate investment? Get the help of real estate agent Charles D’Alessandro, your Brooklyn real estate agent with Fillmore Real Estate. Call (718) 253-9700 ext. 206 or email him at [email protected] today!