Why You Want an Agent’s Advice for Your Move

No matter how you slice it, buying or selling a home is a big decision.

And when you’re going through any change in your life and you need some guidance, what do you do? You get advice from people who know what they’re talking about.

Moving is no exception. You need insights from the pros to help you feel confident in your decision. Freddie Mac explains it like this:

“As you set out to find the right home for your family, be sure to select experienced, trusted professionals who will help you make informed decisions and avoid pitfalls.”

And while perfect advice isn’t possible – not even from the experts, what you can get is the very best advice out there.

The Power of Expert Advice

For example, let’s say you need an attorney. You start off by finding an expert in the type of law required for your case. Once you do, they won’t immediately tell you how the case is going to end, or how the judge or jury will rule. But what a good attorney can do is walk you through the most effective strategies based on their experience and help you put a plan together. They’ll even use their knowledge to adjust that plan as new information becomes available.

The job of a real estate agent is similar. Just like you can’t find a lawyer to give you perfect advice, you won’t find a real estate professional who can either. That’s because it’s impossible to know everything that’s going to happen throughout your transaction. Their role is to give you the best advice they can.

To do that, an agent will draw on their experience, industry knowledge, and market data. They know the latest trends, the ins and outs of the homebuying and selling processes, and what’s worked for other people in the same situation as you.

With that expertise, a real estate advisor can anticipate what could happen next and work with you to put together a solid plan. Then, they’ll guide you through the process, helping you make decisions along the way. That’s the very definition of getting the best – not perfect – advice. And that’s the power of working with a real estate advisor.

Bottom Line

If you’re looking to buy or sell a home, you want an expert on your side to help you each step of the way. Connect with a real estate professional so you have advice you can count on.

Read more at KeepingCurrentMatters.com

Related Links

• It’s Time To Prepare Your House for a Spring Listing

• Spring-Ready Roofs: Essential Maintenance Tips for a Trouble-Free Season

• ‘If your parents are homeowners, you’re more likely to be a homeowner,’ housing expert says. Here’s why

If there is a home that you would like more information about, if you are considering selling a property, or if you have questions about the housing market in your neighborhood, please reach out. We’re here to help.

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‘If your parents are homeowners, you’re more likely to be a homeowner,’ housing expert says. Here’s why

Several factors may affect your path toward homeownership — one may be your parents.

“If your parents are homeowners, you’re more likely to be a homeowner,” said Susan M. Wachter, a professor of real estate and finance at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Homeowner parents are more likely to directly assist their children with down payments through gifted money or loans, create multigenerational households to help young adults save money and even pass along firsthand knowledge of how to achieve homeownership, experts say.

The tendency follows a broader underlying phenomenon or “an intergenerational transmission of status,” said Dowell Myers, a professor at the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy.

“If your parents are more educated, you’re more educated. If a parent’s more educated and they have more money, then you have more money,” said Myers, whose research focuses on linking demographic data with housing trends.

‘The bank of mom and dad’ helps fund down payments

In 2023, about 23% of first-time buyers used a gift or a loan from friends or family for the down payment of their house, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Separately, Zillow’s chief economist Skylar Olsen said in August on CNBC’s “Last Call” that 40% of first-time homebuyers source money “from the bank of mom and dad” to make their down payments, up from one-third pre-pandemic.

“Some of that is hard-won savings,” she said. “The other part is, say, a gift from family and friends.”

“Intergenerational wealth is clearly associated with homeownership,” said Wachter. If a parent is a homeowner, they are more likely to assist with their kid’s down payment, she said.

In fact, a young adult’s homeownership rate increases with household income and the effect is compounded with the parent’s homeownership status, according to a 2018 report by the Urban Institute, an economic and social policy think tank based in Washington, D.C.

If your parent is not a homeowner, “then you are less likely to have intergenerational wealth or transferred gifts from your parent for a down payment, which has become quite important as down payments have increased,” she said.

Myers agreed: “As prices rise, down payments have to get bigger. No one can save up $100,000; that’s just not realistic.”

The lack of affordable housing keeps Gen Zers at home

Nearly a third, 31%, of adult Gen Zers, or those born in 1996 or later, live at home with their parents or a family member because they can’t afford to buy or rent their own place, a report by Intuit Credit Karma found.

The lack of affordable housing options is pushing young adults to live with their parents, and multigenerational living can help young people build savings to become homeowners, Wachter said.

But it’s harder for those with parents who are not homeowners: “Renter households are often precluded from bringing more people into their home. As a homeowner, you have more space, flexibility; you’re able to do so,” she said. “There’s this intergenerational propensity to be renters.”

Having homeowner parents is ‘like a 5 percentage point bonus’

Young adults with homeowner parents are more likely to become homeowners themselves because they can obtain more information about the mortgage application process directly from their parents, the Urban Institute found.

“Because the parents are so knowledgeable about homeownership, they’re more likely to encourage their kids to do it and show them how to do it,” Myers said. “It’s like a 5 percentage point bonus by having parents who are homeowners.”

Renter parents may express more “sour grapes” about the idea of owning a home, he said: “If they didn’t do it, they’re not going to talk it up.”

Cultural factors during someone’s upbringing can also influence their potential home buying and renting activity. “It’s a valid component,” Myers said.

If a young adult grew up with homeowner parents, they are more motivated to achieve the same status because they know the benefits firsthand.

Read more at CNBC.com

Related Links

• It’s Time To Prepare Your House for a Spring Listing

• Spring-Ready Roofs: Essential Maintenance Tips for a Trouble-Free Season

• Strategic Tips for Buying Your First Home

If there is a home that you would like more information about, if you are considering selling a property, or if you have questions about the housing market in your neighborhood, please reach out. We’re here to help.

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Spring-Ready Roofs: Essential Maintenance Tips for a Trouble-Free Season

Winter is finally finishing up, and spring is almost here!

As the weather warms up, it's time to start thinking about your home's maintenance needs. One area that homeowners often overlook is their roof. Your roof plays a critical role in protecting your home from the elements, and it's important to ensure that it's in good condition before the season changes. In this blog post, we'll share some essential maintenance tips to help you get your roof ready for spring and avoid any potential problems down the line.

Inspect Your Roof
Before you start any maintenance work on your roof, it's crucial to inspect it thoroughly. Look for signs of damage, such as cracked or missing tiles, shingles or flashing, or any visible holes or leaks. Check for debris buildup, such as leaves or branches that may have accumulated during winter storms. If you notice any problems, be sure to address them promptly by calling a professional roofing company.

Clean Your Gutters
Cleaning your gutters is an essential part of roof maintenance. Gutters are designed to carry rainwater away from your home and prevent water damage to the foundation and walls. Clogged gutters can cause water backup, leading to leaks or even structural damage if left unchecked for too long. Be sure to clean out any debris from your gutters at least twice a year - once in the fall and again in the spring.

Trim Overhanging Branches
Overhanging tree branches can pose a significant risk to your roof during heavy winds or storms. They can also contribute to debris buildup in your gutters. Trim back any branches that are close enough to touch your roof regularly so that they don't cause damage.

Repair Flashing
Flashing is the material used around chimneys, skylights, vents, and other roof penetrations to prevent water from seeping through. Over time, flashing can become damaged or corroded, leading to leaks. Inspect your flashing for any signs of wear and tear and replace it if necessary.

Schedule a Professional Inspection
While it's essential to inspect your roof yourself regularly, a professional inspection is still recommended at least once every two years. Roofing professionals have the expertise and equipment necessary to identify potential problems that may not be visible to the untrained eye. They can help you address any issues before they turn into more significant problems down the line.

A well-maintained roof is critical in protecting your home from the elements and ensuring its longevity. By following these essential maintenance tips, you can prepare your roof for spring and avoid any potential problems down the line. Remember to inspect your roof regularly, clean out your gutters, trim overhanging branches, repair flashing, and schedule a professional inspection every few years. With these simple steps, you can enjoy a trouble-free season with peace of mind, knowing that your home is well-protected.

Read more at Rismedia.com

Related Links

• It’s Time To Prepare Your House for a Spring Listing

• Some Experts Say Mortgage Rates May Fall Below 6% Later This Year

• Strategic Tips for Buying Your First Home

If there is a home that you would like more information about, if you are considering selling a property, or if you have questions about the housing market in your neighborhood, please reach out. We’re here to help.

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It’s Time To Prepare Your House for a Spring Listing

If you’re thinking of selling your house this spring, now is the perfect time to start getting it ready.

With the market gearing up for its busiest time of year, it’ll be important to make sure your house shines bright among the competition.

Here are some valuable tips you can use to get your house market-ready.

Declutter and Organize

First impressions matter, and if your house is a mess, that can easily turn off potential buyers. Before listing, take the time to declutter and organize each room. Decluttering is about more than just tidying up – it’s about creating a sense of space and openness that allows potential buyers to envision themselves living in your home. According to Moving.com:

“Decluttering and organizing your space will go a long way in appealing to potential buyers. . . .decluttering will help the buyers see themselves living in your home. Less clutter inside a home also helps a place appear larger and cleaner, which should attract more buyers.”

Deep Clean Your Kitchen and Bathrooms

The kitchen and bathrooms are focal points for many buyers, and often influence their overall opinion of the house. Ensure these spaces dazzle by giving them a thorough deep cleaning. Pay attention to details like scrubbing grout lines, polishing fixtures, and decluttering countertops. A sparkling kitchen and bathroom can leave a lasting positive impression on potential buyers.

Maintain Your Yard

Your home’s exterior is the first thing potential buyers see, so it’s important to make a good impression from the moment they arrive. A well-maintained yard not only enhances curb appeal, but also shows buyers the home has been well taken care of.

Take the time to spruce up your yard by mowing the lawn, trimming bushes, and clearing away any debris or dead plants. Remember, the goal is to create a welcoming environment that entices buyers to step inside and imagine themselves living there. U.S. News says:

“A beautifully landscaped front yard can elevate an ordinary house into a charming home and will help homes sell faster and for more money.”

Find a Listing Agent

A skilled listing agent is your partner in minimizing stress when selling your home. Lean on your agent for advice on decluttering, staging, and enhancing your home’s appeal to potential buyers. Their insights into market trends and recommendations for reliable contractors and stagers are invaluable. As Realtor.com says:

“A good listing agent will help you price your home . . . recommend a photographer and stager to make it look its best, and put your home on the multiple listing service.”

Bottom Line

By decluttering, deep cleaning, and tidying up your house, you can create a welcoming environment that resonates with buyers and increases your chances of a successful sale. Connect with a trusted real estate agent for advice on what you need to do to get your house ready to sell this spring.

Read more at KeepingCurrentMatters.com

Related Links

• Home Exterior Projects That Scream Spring

• Some Experts Say Mortgage Rates May Fall Below 6% Later This Year

• Strategic Tips for Buying Your First Home

If there is a home that you would like more information about, if you are considering selling a property, or if you have questions about the housing market in your neighborhood, please reach out. We’re here to help.

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As Featured in West + Main Home Magazine: Nest Out West

@Nest.Out.West influencer Cait Pappas

“Having established somewhat of an Instagram presence in the DIY and Interior Decorating niche in our first home, we knew that moving to this house meant fully renovating and customizing the interior, and documenting every step along the way to share with our loyal followers.”

— Cait

West + Main Home: Cait, thank you so much for letting us feature your beautiful home in this issue of West + Main Home! Tell us…what inspired your project?

Cait: I'm super frugal, so Jason and I learned early on to DIY projects that we didn't want to pay someone else to do for us. That frugality also meant not wanting to pay top-dollar for a turn-key home that might not have the finishes I would've chosen. We looked for something that hadn't been updated in at least a decade so we could save on the purchase of the home and not feel bad about pulling out dated (and sometimes damaged) finishes.

I design and renovate for clients, and the first two questions I always ask in order to figure out someone's style are 1) Can you describe your go-to wardrobe staples to me and why you love them? and 2) Can you send me your Pinterest boards? (I like to analyze them to see if I can spot recurring themes or materials that I can work into the client's new design.) 

To figure out the style and finishes for our home's renovation (a nearly five-year-long ongoing project!), we took a long, hard look at our own wardrobe and realized that we are both into warm neutrals, earthy greens, caramel-toned leather, and brass accents. A casual pullover or pair of jeans in bold black was something we both frequently pulled out to wear, too. My Pinterest boards (Jason's not into Pinterest) contained recurring images of minimalist spaces with white-oak-clad walls and floors, marble stone accents with warm veining, creamy whites, statement light fixtures, and earth-toned furniture and rugs. It makes sense, then, that our home has a very neutral palette with some form of a black accent piece in each space, brass or wood light fixtures, and marble countertops and tile accents.

We wanted to make our home fit OUR style, while incorporating some of the design trends that we both loved and would be happy to live with for years to come. Our children (ages two and four) needed to be able to live freely here, too, especially with two years of being cooped-up during the pandemic. Nothing we chose for our home is too precious for sticky fingers and little toes, and they have space to run around and be kids from front to back across the main level (our home is a ranch) and throughout the basement.

W+M: Do you mind sharing a ballpark idea of how you have invested in your home?

Cait: I couldn't put a number on it if I tried! TIME. We invested many weeknights after putting the kids to bed, and more weekends spent working on projects than not working on projects. I am privileged that in my line of work, between my photography style and my social media reach, brands are happy to sponsor products for our projects so that I can help spread the word about them on my blog, Pinterest, and Instagram accounts. With that being said, sponsored designer wallpaper still comes at a cost, as we're either giving up a weekend skim-coating our knock-down-textured walls, priming them, and then installing the wallpaper ourselves, or we're spending a few hundred to around $1K to hire someone to do it if we can't make time before the content is due to be shared on social media. 

Had it not been for sponsored products and a team of loyal friends and family helping us DIY the install, our kitchen renovation would have cost us roughly $50K in labor and $100K in materials. My parents always said, "You have to make your own luck," and I do feel that our dedication to saving money by doing most of our projects ourselves and making sacrifices (like choosing to work when we really wanted to be meeting people for dinner or heading up to the mountains, or putting myself out there on social media despite my introvertedness and hesitancy to open up my personal life to criticism by complete strangers) helped us bring a significant amount of equity to the value of our home.

W+M: Spill the tea…what are some of your fave resources?

Cait: My go-to for all things kitchen and bath is Signature Hardware. They're a one-stop shop for me, since their products are all great quality, they carry a vast selection, I don't have to worry about varying tones from finish to finish, and their products align with my taste. I also love shopping around for light fixtures, and will tell you that some of my favorite fixtures came from Wayfair, Serena and Lily, Signature Hardware, and Hudson Valley Lighting Group. For bedding, I had the opportunity to sample some sheets from Cozy Earth with no strings attached, but they've since become the only bedding company I can bring myself to tell people about now. They are buttery-soft, come in a variety of neutral (warm and cool) colors, wash well, are breathable/keep you cool, and while they are pricey, I have a discount code (NESTOUTWEST), so my followers can take 40% off—they are worth every penny!

Our home smells like my favorite candles from local maker The Sunday Candle (available at retailers across CO and the US, including Lottie Lane in Erie). There are too many great scents to ask me to choose a favorite, but I will say "Sunday" and "Alpine Haus" are up-there for me! Another scent you'll smell upon walking into our home is McGee & Co's "Palo Santo & Oakmoss" candle. I wait for it to go on sale and buy two whenever it does.

W+M: Did your home turn out the way you hoped/planned and was the final result what you had originally intended?

Cait: Overall, our home is exactly our style. It's warm, inviting, cozy, peaceful, and fit for a growing family. Jason and I are proud of all of our hard work, and we love hosting family and friends, as well as raising our little ones, here. There are small things here or there that really only bother us (other people have said even when pointing these things out, they hardly notice or are bugged by them), but the little scratches and blemishes are what make a house a home after all. There's a story behind every imperfection, and we'd welcome the opportunity to laugh over a cup of coffee with anyone who feels the need to point them out. In the end, we've customized every square inch of this home and turned it into a true haven for our family, and we're really proud of that.

W+M: What do you love most about it/what's your favorite thing?

Cait: I could sit here and tell you all of my favorite elements that went into customizing our home, but at the risk of sounding cheesy, I will honestly say that my favorite part is that creating this home took so much heart, patience, and teamwork. Am I obsessed with our kitchen renovation? Bathroom renovation? Mudroom expansion? What we've done with the small, but well-appointed yard space? The imagination that went into making the basement both fun and cozy? Yes—all of the above. More than that, though, I'm proud of my husband for coming home from his 9-5 job and turning descriptions from my mind and paper-towel sketches into beautiful spaces where our family finds and creates joy. We moved here with a ten-week-old baby in early 2019, not having any idea how hard it would be to demo and rebuild spaces while living in them, while taking turns finding rest, feeding the baby, holding the baby, entertaining the baby, taking the baby places to escape the noise and dust, painting during his one-hour naps, and so on. I look back on those long days, and while they were a blur, I remember them being hard. Knowing that we powered through them to create a home we love is something Jason and I are both incredibly grateful for.

Related Links

• As Featured in West + Main Home Magazine: Kitchen Glow Up!

• As Featured in West + Main Home Magazine: Indoor Oasis

• As Featured in West + Main Home Magazine: Southern Charm Meets Southwest Style

If there is a home that you would like more information about, if you are considering selling a property, or if you have questions about the housing market in your neighborhood, please reach out. We’re here to help.

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