Your Favorite Real Estate Team

In a quick, high-pressure market, buyers may feel pressured to skip inspections all together.  Not only is that a bad idea, it can actually be wiser to get additional, or more specific inspections before agreeing to purchase a home.  A typical home inspection will include a visual inspection of major home systems and things that are easily viewed and accessible. An inspector will look at the exterior and note the condition of things like decks, porches, and siding.  He or she will look at the roof, as well as structural components like walls, floors, stairs and ceilings.  The condition of major appliances, the HVAC system, the plumbing, ventilation, insulation, etc. will also be noted. But a standard inspector may not be an expert in each of these systems.   For instance, an inspector may look at the roof to see that there are no missing shingles or holes or bad wear. But will they recognize if a fairly new roof looks great, but was installed incorrectly?   A roofing company will.   So

 As a first-time home buyer at Lake of the Ozarks , you want to set yourself up for success before you find the home of your dreams.  Handling your financing up front is essential to your success and can prevent delays or obstacles to closing the sale.  That is a two-part process, starting with preapproval, and then mortgage selection. As a first-time buyer you will have access to special loan programs that may give you a great money saving advantage, or allow you to purchase your home easier with low or no down payment. So, they are definitely worth checking into.  Preapproval. Before you begin looking at homes, you should have a preapproval letter from your bank.   Sometimes you will even want a second preapproval letter from another bank as a backup.   In quick moving markets, a home will be gone long before you can get that done, so do that before you fall in love with a house.   How much a bank will preapprove you for is based on financial documents including your bank stateme

Buying your first home is exciting, and emotional … and so important to you.  It is one of the most significant purchases you will make in your life and what most of us dream of when we are getting started in life.  Your Favorite Real Estate Team wants the process to be smooth and successful when it is time for you to realize that dream.  So we thought we would share a few tips to help you prepare for buying your first home .   Determine if you are ready. The first thing you will want to ask yourself if you are committed to being in this home and this area for the next 5 years.   Is there anything in the near future that could foreseeably impact your income, expenses, or location? Is your income stable, and do you have at least 3 months-worth of expenses in an emergency fund?   If you answer “no” any of these things you should consider holding off for now.   Don’t be pressured to feel you are throwing your money away on renting if you don’t purchase right away.   Your first sev

This week we will continue our conversation about what improvements to make on your home to produce the best return on investment when you sell your house .  As we mentioned last week, kitchen and bathroom remodels are key to increasing value.  But there are some definite dos and don’ts to get the best ROI.  The most important thing to remember on kitchen and bath remodels is that less really can be more.  Even if you are not interested in a bath or kitchen remodel, there are a lot of other low-cost things you can do to make your worth more and sell better as well.     Basic Bath and Kitchen Remodels. Why is less more when it comes to preparing your house to sell ?   Because you don’t want to price yourself out of the market in your particular neighborhood.   It is best not to be the top priced or valued home in the neighborhood, but it is okay to be at the upper end.   So just don’t go over the top so to speak.   When improving your home’s kitchen, think about all-wood cabinets, n