New Year’s Tips for the Home Aficionado

Now that the end of the year is upon us, it’s time to start thinking about some New Year resolutions. At Windermere, our resolutions change very little year after year. That’s because the highest expectation we can set for ourselves is to anticipate and respond to the needs of our clients, while supporting the communities in which we serve.

If you’re 2013 resolution is to buy or sell a home, here are some suggestions to help you along the way. For everyone else, we’ve added some tips about building equity and investing in updates to your home.

Buying:

If you’re in the market to buy your first home or if you’re upsizing/downsizing, here are some ideas that can help you make this dream a reality:

Create a buying timeline and work towards your goal
Check your credit scores and work to improve your rating
Start or increase your savings for a down payment
Start the loan pre-approval process
Meet with your real estate agent
Start looking for homes

Selling:

If you are planning to put your home on the market in 2013, here are some good places to start:

Create a selling timeline to work towards having your home ready for market
Make a list of home improvements and a plan on how to manage them
Get rid of the clutter
Contact a real estate agent

Building Equity:

You may not be moving this year, but you can create a plan to increase your equity in the home you have now. Here are some tips:

Take advantage of low interest rates by refinancing to a lower rate
Consider refinancing to a shorter term loan
Make extra lump-sum payments. Consider using your tax refund, cash gifts, work bonuses, garage sale money, or any other unexpected income toward paying down your principal.
Pay every two weeks instead of once a month. A biweekly payment plan can substantially reduce the amount of interest you pay because you are breaking the interest accrual down from 30 days to every 15.
Pay a little extra each month. Even if you’re only rounding up to the next $100 increment, putting a little extra money towards your principal every month can add up.

Investing In Your Home

You can add a lot of value and additional enjoyment to your home by investing in improvements and upgrades.

Choose a home improvement project that will yield a good return on investment when you do choose to sell
Create a home checklist to track maintenance projects over the year
Make eco-improvements to increase your home’s sustainability and reduce your utility payments over the long-term. These improvements are generally a good return on your investment when reselling.

o Upgrade furnace to an efficient model

o Upgrade windows for better insulation

o Add alternative energy resources, such as solar power

o Update toilets and showers to low-flow

o Install a programmable thermostat

o Update to energy-efficient appliances

What are your New Year’s resolutions?