Tag: real estate tips

Whiteboard Topics: 3 Advantages Sellers Get From Hiring a Lake Homes Real Estate Agent

Posted on Linda Thach

Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips, gives 3 of the advantages of hiring one of our Lake Homes Realty agents to sell your lake home!

1. National Market Reach: The Lake Homes website is visited by millions of people nationally, which increases your potential buyer pool.

2. Featured on LakeHomes.com: When listed by one of our sellers, your lake home will be one of the first options shown to our site visitors who are interested in your lake.

3. Full Pipeline of Buyers: Buyers tend to take up to two years before purchasing a lake home. With our buyer management technology, our agents are able to stay in touch with all of them.

When selling your lake home, you want to ensure your property will sell in this hot real estate market. The best way to do that is hiring a Lake Homes Realty agent, because of their skill and access to our resources!

Whiteboard Topics: 4 Reasons Why Inflation Matters to Lake Home Real Estate

Posted on Linda Thach
Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Philips, explains why inflation has such a big impact on real estate as a whole, and why you need to understand how it affects lake real estate if you’re interested in purchasing/selling a lake home.
  1. Mortgage Interest Rates: The combination of low mortgage interest rates and a steady increase of inflation may affect buyers who typically pay cash for lake homes
  2. Stock $ Impact: Lake home owners are usually also investors, and depending on how inflation is affecting stock value, this could influence whether they keep or sell their homes.
  3. Influence of Headlines: The buzz generated from worlds like inflation can have an impact on how potential lake home buyers/sellers participate in the real estate market.
  4. Investment Value: Real estate is usually a good way to hold investments, so purchasing lake homes as your second home is a viable option.
Knowing how big of an influence inflation can have on lake real estate will help you navigate this market when buying your dream lake home!

Whiteboard Topics: 4 Signs a Lake Home is Grossly Overpriced

Posted on Linda Thach
Buying a lake home can be stressful, especially in this seller’s market, but it’s important to know you’re getting your dream lake home at a reasonable price. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips gives four signs a lake home is grossly overpriced.
  1. Days-on-Market: Lake homes don’t spend too much time on the market, and when they do, it’s an indicator of being unreasonably priced.
  2. Big Appraisal Gap: If the listing price and appraisal have a large gap between them, it’s a clear sign the lake home is overpriced. 
  3. Back on Market: Sometimes, a lake home is back on the market after being listed as pending. This could be due to a buyer attempting to work with the exaggerated price, but realizing it would be a bad investment.
  4. Massive Price Increase: When reviewing the price history of a lake home, take note if there was an alarming increase and whether any renovation has been done to the home to validate said increase.
Never spend more than you have to on your dream lake home. You never have to settle for overpriced properties when you know all the signs to watch out for!

Whiteboard Topics: 4 Tips for Leveraging Backup Offers for Lake Home Buying

Posted on Linda Thach

When buying a lake home, it’s important to put yourself in the best position. This means understanding the market, or working with an agent who does. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips gives four tips for leveraging backup offers for lake home buying.

  1. Patience: Being in a hurry to buy a lake home can damage the chances of a purchase being made. Leveraging backup offers means waiting for an offer to fall through.
  2. Add Contingencies: Ensuring a higher quality offer with contingencies can 
  3. Don’t Ask, Just Submit: Instead of waiting while more offers can be made, submitting your offer can put you in the best position.
  4. No Guarantees: While an offer may seem perfect, nothing is guaranteed.

Selling your lake home doesn’t have to be difficult. Set yourself up for success and work with an agent who knows not only your lake area but the lake house market!  

Whiteboard Topics: 6 Pricing Secrets for Sellers

Posted on Linda Thach

When selling your lake home, it’s important to put yourself in the best position. This means understanding the market, or working with an agent who does. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips gives six pricing secrets for sellers. 

  1. Hot ≠ Stupid: Even though the market is hot, this does not mean buyers will pay crazy, overpriced houses. Start at the right price instead of receiving no offers and having to cut the listing price.  
  2. List $ ≠ Sold $: Comparing your listing price to neighbors’ listing prices will set you up for disappointment. Listing price does not mean the house sold for that price; knowing what homes are selling for is more valuable. 
  3. Local Comps ≠ Lake Market Comps: Buyers could be looking at multiple lakes or even in different states. Working with an agent who understands the entire lake house market will set you up for success.
  4. Pretending ≠ Selling: Include an honest description of the home and make sure you are serious and committed to selling. 
  5. Time = Money: The longer a house is on the market because of a too high listing price, the more money it will cost you. Buyers will believe something may be wrong with the house or are simply unwilling to pay the listing price. 
  6. Start Too High ≠ Best $: Starting too high on your listing price means eventually having to cut that price. This leads buyers into believing you will cut the price further and therefore offer even lower.

Selling your lake home doesn’t have to be difficult. Set yourself up for success and work with an agent who knows not only your lake area but the lake house market!  

Whiteboard Topics: 5 Reasons Your Dream Lake Home May Not Be Waterfront

Posted on Linda Thach
When buying your dream lake home, it’s important to review all your options. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips gives five reasons why a waterfront lake home may not be for you.
  1. Water view: Although waterfront homes seem to be the obvious choice, they can be hard to come by. A great alternative is a water view home, because of the amazing view you’ll have of the lake.
  2. Water Access: These lake homes may not have a view of the lake, but they are in close proximity and are typically located in a community. These are great for those who consider their lake home their ‘second home’.
  3. Bang for the $: One of the biggest benefits of choosing a water access home over a waterfront home, is the bang for your buck. You’ll be able to get a lot more space and a more modern look if you forego the lakefront home.
  4. Competition: The competition for waterfront homes can be overwhelming. Choosing to buy a different type of lake home can lessen the competition, making for an easier buying process.
  5. Future Plans: A water view or water access home can be a great ‘first lake home’ for a much better price. Taking this first step can allow you to plan for the future. 
 
Knowing all your options is key when purchasing your dream lake home. Make sure to review all your lake has to offer!

Whiteboard Topics: 4 Tips for Lake Home Buyers in this Hot Real Estate Market

Posted on Linda Thach
You can never be over-prepared when buying your future lake home. Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn Phillips, has four tips for buyers in this hot real estate market that you’ll want to check out before you make your next offer!
  1. Easy to Understand: When making an offer, ensure that it is easy to understand. Making it too complex can confuse the homeowner and their agent.
  2. Ready Cash: Having plenty of cash available can help you stand out against other buyers with loans. Sellers feel more secure with cash offers because of the added security.
  3. Improve Credit Score: Improving your credit score beforehand will help with your buying power. It can help with loan approvals and lowering interest rates.
  4. Follow Seller’s Rules: Be sure to follow the rules of the seller when showing interest in their home. Failure to do so can cause your offer to be overlooked.
Buying a lake home shouldn’t be complicated. Following these four tips can help ease the process, and give you a better home buying experience.

Whiteboard Topics: 4 Reasons Some Real Estate Agents Want to Sell Your Home in 1 Day

Posted on Linda Thach

It might sound good to have your lake home sold in one day but it might not be in the best interest of you, the home seller. In this video, Lake Homes Realty’s CEO, Glenn S. Phillips provides four REAL reasons why real estate agents want to sell your home in one day.

  1. Less work. If an agent is able to get your home sold in a very short period of time (which is very likely in a hot market), it’ll mean less work for them. Because of this, you may or may not get the optimal price for your home. 
  2. Commission is similar. Since how much an agent gets paid doesn’t differ much between a good sale price and a great one, there isn’t much incentive for them to go the extra mile to get the best return on investment for your lake property.
  3. Self-promotion. Being able to move a property off the market in record time comes with its own “bragging rights.” But in some cases, it’s the hot market or high demand that is the leading factor behind quick sale transactions and not necessarily the effort that the agent is putting in.
  4. Limit competition. In this current real estate market where the demand is high, agents oftentimes have buyers on hand that are ready to buy (sometimes within the hour!). If a quick sale is something you’re interested in, that’s great! But if you’re looking for the most bang for your buck, you might want to consider having other buyers join in. More competition will benefit you as a home seller since you’ll likely have more offers driving up your home selling price.

If you’re interested in selling your lake home or property and need a lake expert who understands lake property and will help you get the most return on your investment, we’re here to help.

Whiteboard Topics: 3 Reasons Why The Highest Offer For Your Lake Home May Not Be The Best Offer

Posted on Linda Thach

There is no doubt that right now is a hot market for real estate, but a high offer does not always mean you get that amount at closing. The highest and best offer are not always the same thing. If you are looking to sell your lake home or property, here are three reasons why the highest offer might not be the best offer for you.

  1. Loan Contingencies. This means that if the buyer does not get approved for a sufficient loan, they can get out of the contract. This can be an issue if they give you a high offer that they are unable to follow through on, leaving you back at square one.
  2. Inspection Contingencies. This can lead to negotiating the price if issues are discovered about the property. While these issues may not be a deal-breaker in your mind as the seller, they could be a way for the buyer to get out of the contract or leverage the price in their favor.
  3. Appraisal Issues. With a high-priced market, the appraisal may not come back as high as the price you have set as the buyer. A bank will only loan out so much money, so the issue of who is going to come up with the difference in price can be a challenge. If a buyer does not have the means to cover part of the appraisal gap, their high price may not be as high as expected.

We hope you find these tips valuable as you venture out on your journey to selling your home. Please feel free to reach out to our lake experts for guidance.