The Best Real Estate Advice You Got in 2015, Decided By You
Real estate is kind of like an endless black hole of knowledgeâthe more you go Interstellar to learn new stuff about buying, selling and improving your home, the more you realize how much you still have left to learn. Think of it as an advanced education that never ends. A fun one!
Whether youâre a renter or a buyer, a dreamer or a seller, real estate touches all of us on a daily basis. Weâre constantly seeking answers about how to navigate housingâs often tortuous path like true pros.
Weâve been busy this year hitting the streets, tapping our exclusive expert sources, finding the inside trackâand even taking a shortcut or twoâto give you the very best advice youâll find anywhere on home buying, selling, renovating, financing, renting and moving. Want the abridged versions? Here are the 10 advice stories you viewed, shared and discussed the most in 2015âand some canât-miss takeaways from each. Enjoy!
6 Sneaky Ways to Make Your Home Look Expensive
Readers went bananas for this home improvement and design story that revealed some pretty simple (and cheap!) hacks for upping the âwowâ factor on your digs.
Want your place to look like those home design website images you drool over? Of course you do! Problem is, your budget may not match your design aspirations. Fear not! Making your home look high-end isnât always about spending tons of cash.
Itâs a matter of taking the time and care to arrange things in an eye-pleasing wayâand making small, inexpensive updates that have a big impact. In other words, itâs about being sneaky.
Here are a few tricks to pull if you want to add the illusion of luxury.
Nothing says âthis home ainât worth muchâ like tons of disjointed knickknacks, piles of books, and other miscellaneous items that should be tossed or stored.
No, you donât need to go full Marie Kondo, but going through your rooms and getting rid of anything that doesnât mesh with your personal style is a great first step toward transforming your home from average to exceptional.
Walk through each room of your home and edit items. Make some tough decisions. Sure, you love your grandmaâs vintage Chinese vase, but does it really jibe with your West Elm look? It might be time to store it or let it live in another room with similar family heirlooms.
Next step: Tackle any stuff that piles upâtoys (if you have kids), shoes by the door, mail on the dining table. At the very least, find places for your stuff to live in a more organized way; an upgraded closet with beautifully sorted nooks and crannies looks luxurious. (Pro tip: We love Pottery Barnâs build-your-own pieces.)
You may not have time for intensive cleaning on a weekly basis, but a once- or twice-yearly deep clean is an easy way to make your home look far more luxurious. After all, you rarely see a mansion with dirty baseboards.
Go through your home and search for overlooked areas that have become dirty and downright gross. Youâll want to pay special attention to the grouting, says designer Young Huh.
âHaving old tile cleaned and regrouted makes a huge difference in having your bathroom look sparkly and fresh,â she says. Best of all: The process is simple and inexpensive.
Get sparkly new floorsâminus the refinishing. Try steam cleaningwood floors for an immediate lift to the finish.
3. Addâor rearrangeâlighting
Designers use lighting to define spaces and separate rooms, making a small space grand.
Think of your living roomâwhere you might have a reading nook, sofas and chairs for company, and a television. Visually differentiate among the areas by using different kinds of lighting: Add a table lamp beside your cozy reading chair and sconces behind your couch for conversation. Consider a dimmer for overhead lights. Architects and lighting designers swear by them. Installing is a relatively simple DIY.
Bonus cheapskate tip: Use warm-colored lightbulbs, Huh says. Cool tones are a âsure-fire way to make your home look down-market,â she says. Daylight bulbs work best for reading nooks.
Donât have a kitchen renovation in the budget? You can get a similar effect for much less by swapping out old, dated hardware for new.
Tired of your brushed-steel drawer pulls? Try gold, bronze, or even crystalâor make an adventure of it and scour your local thrift store for vintage hardware that screams your style.
Itâs not hard to find attractive options in any decor style for next to nothing (a drawer pull, for instance, might start at just $3 or less). For hard-to-find designs, search etsy.
Changing the countertop and faucets is another change that can make your home look much pricier, Huh says. If you have the budget, exchange your dated sink accessories for something fresh that matches your brand-new hardware.
Thereâs no simpler way to make an old home feel new than painting.
âThis is the most important part,â Huh says. âRepaint and choose beautiful colors for an instant makeover.â
You canât go wrong with classy neutrals. Minimalists might love a bright white combined with a bold accent wall; DIY decorators might enjoy a tasteful, sandy tan tone, which pairs well with any number of woods.
Paint isnât just for your walls: Add some color to your front door, window trims, or even the floor, if youâre brave (hardwood can look amazing when painted white).
6. Focus on the devil in the (decor) details
Does your home feel a little mehâand youâre not sure how to change it? Try vignettesâcombine decor items (e.g., vases, frames, and objets) that add visual interest to an otherwise bland areaâperhaps a shelf or console table.
Organize your vignette around a theme so that the decor items are unified and tell a visual story. Go around your house and cull items you love that need a new home (see tip No. 1 on decluttering).
For example, take that silver tray youâve been wanting a use for, add a glass tumbler with a fresh flower, that postcard your parents sent from Thailand, and a white bowl filled with colorful candy. VoilĂ : You now have a magazine-worthy vignette!
Another way to go: Grouping together multiples of the same object (e.g., glass vases in the same color) is an instant update. Decorators often use odd numbers because they are said to be more appealing.
Before you know it, youâll be posting pics of your gorgeous home.
Canât-Miss Tip: If you want to give your kitchen and bathrooms a makeover and barely lift a finger, update the hardware. Try gold, bronze or even crystalâor make an adventure of it and scour your local thrift store for vintage hardware that screams your style.
7 Awesome Features That (Surprise!) Might Make Your House Harder to Sell
Buyers and sellers alike appreciated this gem of advice, which took a good, hard look at some of the home features that might make a resale tough.
While these features wonât necessarily be the main factors determining whether or not you sign on the dotted (home-purchase) line, itâs best to know exactly what youâre getting into. Hereâs what to look for in your future home.
If you have young kids, living next door to their school might seem like a dream come true. Who wouldnât love letting their children walk a mere block or two to school every day?
But buyers without school-age children wonât see it that way.
With schools come endless lines of cars and yellow busesâas well as a tempered speed limit that might make getting to work each morning a monumental pain. Oh, and all that joyful, exuberant noise from the playground? Not so joyful when youâre working or relaxing at home.
âHaving your kid walk across the street to school might be an awesome thing for particular buyers,â says Bob Ripp, a real estate appraiser âThen again, the traffic implications might not be something that appeals to everyone.â
2. Middle-of-the-action location
Some people love to look out their windows and see the world going by: restaurants and bars within walking distance, your favorite vintage shop just three doors down, and easy access to major thoroughfares.
But think again before buying. Unless your city veers strongly urban, it might be difficult later to sell the home. Not everyone wants to live directly adjacent to a busy street.
âHomes that are on busy streets command less value than interior homes,â says Ripp. So while you might be intrigued by the activity, potential buyers may not. If you go into your purchase knowing the risk, youâre far less likely to be surprised 10 or 20 years down the line.
3. Upstairs, downstairs, or in between?
Thereâs something inherently romantic about a multistory home: grand staircases leading into the foyer, curling up in a bay window reading nook overlooking your lawn from the second story. But when it comes time to sell, your two-story home might offer its own unique challengesâespecially if it doesnât have the master bedroom on the first floor.
âA downstairs bedroom seems to be a go or no-go item,â says Cook. âA lot of buyers wonât even look at a home unless it has one.â
The staircase alone might be a problem for some buyers who might be older, have bad knees, or just donât want to dash up and down a flight of stairs whenever they need something in another room.
âIn general, one-story ranch homes are highly sought after in certain age groupsâ such as baby boomers or seniors, says Ripp.
If you live in a city where an in-ground pool is a must-have, you can skip this adviceâas always, the rules vary by location. But if you live in a mild or cold climate, donât expect a swimming pool to help you out much when you put your home on the market.
âThere are several instances where pools detract from the home,â says Ripp, such as when it requires significant maintenance compared with the amount of year it is usable.
Bottom line? If you want a pool, great. But donât expect it to add value when it comes time to sell. Accept that the only return on this feature could be fun, not money.
5. Over-the-top renovations
So youâre in love with this homeâs fancy-pants kitchenâand whowouldnât want a double oven? But if no other homes in your neighborhood offer features such as high-end granite countertops or an elaborately landscaped yard, they could be overkill when it comes time to sell.
âPeople do overimprove, and there can be consequences to that,â says Ripp.
For one, if these features are really high-end, you run the risk of pricing yourself out of the market. Plus, if youâre in a modest neighborhood, no one wants to be the people who bought that ostentatious home. You know, that one with the double oven.
6. Big (or small) backyard
Backyard size can be a huge divider. You might love your giant backyard with room for a garden, playhouse, and seating area, but some buyers might not want to deal with the upkeep.
âThe size of the yard can be a very big factor,â Cook says. âSome people actually donât want any maintenance and prefer to have a very small yard. Others want a yard for their kids or want privacy.â
If this makes you finally glad you went for less acreage, think again. Both options have their downsides. If your lawn is small without any kind of barrier that mimics seclusion, it too might be difficult to sell.
âMany homes get nixed because of the lack of privacy with other houses right beside it,â says Cook.
If you love the tiling, thatâs fantastic; however, future potential buyers of your home may not agree. Because tiles are one of the most difficult flooring types to removeâturn on any renovation TV show and youâll find frustrated homeowners hacking at tiles for hoursâthey can easily dismay prospective buyers.
âTile is very difficult and expensive to change, and often what owners choose just isnât very attractive,â says Cook. âBasic white, dated tile is usually a big turn-off for buyers.â
Not that you should go in and remove pre-existing tileâespecially if you love itâbut just know that not everyone will swoon like you. A better bet is the ever popular basic hardwood.
5 Unexpected Lessons When Buying a Home (From People Whoâve Done It Before)
Real estate writersâweâre just like you! This team effort shared our personal takeaways from our first forays into home buyingâbecause, just like all first-timers, we once faced things we didnât know we didnât know. How much should you budget for closing costs? How many times is too many to go back and see a house? How will the appraisal affect the mortgage?
âI thought our mortgage loan was approved and ready to go, but at the last minute the originating bank balked at the purchase price of our homeâthey thought it was too high. This was in 2008 in Silicon Valleyâwe thought we were getting a bargain! The bank was based somewhere in the Midwest, though. They assigned an assessor to come check it out, but fortunately the assessment supported our purchase price. It was a suspenseful few days, though.â âCicely Wedgeworth, Realtor.com senior editor.
Takeaway: Donât count on your mortgage until itâs signed. And make sure you double-check your property assessment.
Keep track of your mounting costs
âI might have experienced short-term memory loss during my loan approval process. All the closing costs were a mystery to me, and my loan officer or Realtor had to explain each expense every single time I saw them in updated loan docs.â âOie Lian Yeh, Realtor.com copy editor
Takeaway: Go over the closing costs with your real estate agent and take notes on what to expect. Youâll see these costs itemized again and again, so best to get familiar fast.
Budget time and money for repairs
Repairs will cost you time and money
âI was surprised and worried about the problems that the home inspector found. How serious are termites? How about mold? Can these things be fixed and will the house be safe? Or will we regret buying a house with possible structural and health-related issues?
âAnd how much money will it cost for us to do roof repairs ourselves when the seller is selling âas-isâ and itâs a competitive market where we lost out on two previous houses we bid on? Related question: How long could we put off doing roof repairs, since we were raiding our savings to fund the down payment for the house?â âKim Moy, managing editor
Takeaway: You canât foresee problems that might arise during the inspection. You might be able to negotiate with the sellers, but youâll want to have enough money left over after closing for any unexpected repairs. Be prepared to walk away from your dream home if needed.
Donât be shy about visiting and revisiting the house
âWhen we were buying our first house, I didnât know I could go back to look at the house again before we placed a bid. I was also shocked that I was able to meet the sellers, which ultimately put our bid over the edge and got us the house.
âWe saw the house on a Saturday and bids were due on Monday. The open house was full of potential buyers and I felt like I hadnât spent enough time really seeingthe entire house. Our agent arranged for us to go see the house one more time on Sunday afternoon. I assumed the house would be empty, but the sellers were home and welcomed us in to take another look around.
âThey were so friendly and walked us through the house, explaining little nuances along the way. We submitted our bid the next day and found out the house was ours a few days later. Our agent told us there were seven bids and ours was the same price as another coupleâs, but because the sellers met and remembered me, our bid won. I firmly believe it was meant to be, but Iâm glad I went back for another peek.ââErik Gunther, senior editor
Takeaway: Look as many times as you need. This is the place youâll call home, after all. Even in a competitive market, a second look could end up giving you the edge. (And while you certainly donât want to harass the seller, donât be afraid to personalize your offer with a letter describing any details about you, your family, and why you love their home. It could be enough to sway the seller in your favor.)
Learn (and love) thy neighbors
Neighbors can make or break your living situation
âMaybe this is a very urban issue, but I didnât realize how neighbors can makeâor breakâa home. When my wife and I moved to our small co-op in Brooklyn, we knew we could get along with the three families living on the floors below us, but over the years theyâve become more than just neighbors. Theyâre good friends: We all had children together at about the same time, so our kids have grown up together, we babysit for one another, and we regularly get together for barbecues in our common space.
Itâs what people always say about âcommunityââyou really do want to be in a place that not only welcomes but embraces you, that you look forward to being a part of. Maybe I was just a cynical New Yorker before my wife and I bought this place, dismissive of the idea of community in a city where people cherish their anonymity, but once it happens, you realize how good it is. If Iâm ever foolish enough to move away from here, Iâll definitely consider my potential neighbors on equal (or greater!) footing with the bathroom fixtures and the price per square foot.â âMatt Gross, former editorial director
Takeaway: Your community is often as important as the home youâre living in. Take a good look at the neighborhood, and donât be afraid to ask the neighbors questions. These people could become your babysitters, your carpool buddies, and your closest friends over the years.
Please Fix These 10 Things That Are Dragging Down Your Homeâs Value
There are a lot of things you canât control in the home-selling process. You canât force people to come see your home or make an offer on it. But you can make sure to take care of some easy DIY repairs that would otherwise turn off prospective buyers. Look around and make sure you havenât ignored anything that can make a buyer think twice about your asking price.
There are a lot of things you canât control in the home-selling process. You canât force people to come see your home or make an offer on it. But you can make sure to take care of some easy repairs that would otherwise turn off prospective buyers. Look around and make sure you havenât ignored any of these 10 repairs that can make a buyer think twice about your asking price.
1. Paint colors that just donât blend in
The color of your home is one of the first things a buyer will notice. If itâs a very different color from your neighborhood or general area, you should paint it something more innocuous. Most buyers donât want to live in the only pink house in town.
The same goes for the interior. If your living room is bright orange, paint over it. Choose a neutral color so buyers can project their own ideas onto it.
2. A front door thatâs not inviting
The front door is one of the next things a buyer will notice. If the door is flimsy, cheap, or outdated, itâll discourage the buyer before itâs even opened. Spring for a new oneâitâs the most reliable update you can perform to recoup your cost.
While youâre at it, donât forget the doorbell! Having one that works with a friendly, crisp chime is a sign that your house has been well taken care of.
4. Tattered window and door screens
Buyers will notice screens that look more like Swiss cheese than insect shields. You donât necessarily have to spring for a whole new setâjust grab some screen repair patches (theyâre cheap) and fill in the tears.
5. Depressing landscaping
As potential buyers drive up to your home, theyâll notice everythingâthe trees, the grass, the rock pathway, and the plants out front. And it matters. If your lawn is home to a half-dead tree, yellowing grass, unkempt shrubs, and a pathway swallowed by weeds, you might get more lowball offers than you anticipated.
Keep the plants trimmed and the grass freshly cut. Make sure the walkway is clear and fallen branches are removed from the lawn. A fresh layer of mulch will brighten up the outside, too.
6. An unpleasant smell of ⌠something
Nothing can turn a buyer off faster than the stench of faded cigarettes or poorly trained pets. Of course, itâs hard for us to smell our homes after weâve lived in them for a while, so ask a diplomatic friend to sniff your place. If it stinks, start cleaning.
If potential buyers hear a dripping faucet or running toilet when touring the house, they might start questioning the buildingâs integrity or the sellerâs level of care. These are quick DIY fixes that shouldnât go ignored.
Replace harsh lights with bulbs that have a softer glow. Clean out light fixtures to get rid of dirt or dead bugs that can mute the lighting (not to mention look gross).
Doors that groan when they open are for horror movies, not homes for sale. Grab a lubricant (such as white lithium grease, but in a pinch you can use cooking oil) and grease the hinges to stop the squeak.
Completely renovating a kitchen can get real expensive, real fast. Keep it simple by adding a fresh coat of paint. Although we did say you should keep paint colors neutral, hereâs where you can try something more invitingâlike pale yellow, a color we associate with light and joy. Switch out old cabinet knobs and handles for something fresher like nickel cup pulls.
Canât-Miss Tip: The front door is one of the first things a buyer will notice. If the door is flimsy, cheap or outdated, it will discourage the buyer before itâs even opened. Spring for a new oneâitâs the most reliable update you can perform to recoup your cost.
