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Are you wondering whether you should buy a home before the end of the year or just wait until next year?

If so, check out the top 5 reasons you should consider for buying a home during the holidays. From less competition and motivated sellers, to potential tax advantages, better rates and faster closings, it might make sense for you to buy before the end of the year.

When you're ready to buy, contact us and we'll be happy to help you find your next dream home. 

Planning to sell your home this year, or possibly in 2018? Find out what your home is actually worth today.

Follow these 3 easy steps to get 3 FREE real-time home value estimates (including a Zestimate):
 
1. click homevalue.petersenpartners.com 
2. enter your home address
3. get your instant report!

As a bonus, you will see how many real-time potential buyers there are for a home like yours. 

Selling your home takes hard work and commitment to get it ready to impress buyers. While you can’t control the market, you can control your home’s appeal. Don’t let the following reasons make buyers pass on purchasing your home.

1. Price: If you price your home too high, the right buyers won’t see it, and the ones who do see it will quickly realize other homes in the same range offer more value.
2. Clutter: If your tables are full to the edges with photos, figurines, mail and coffee cups, buyers will be more focused on trying not to break something than considering your home for purchase. Too much stuff makes it confusing for buyers to see the rooms clearly, so they’ll move on to a clearer choice. Check out these top tips & benefits of staging your home. 
3. Deferred maintenance: Buyers really want a home that’s been well-maintained, so it’s your job as the homeowner to keep your home in good condition. You don’t want buyers wondering what needs fixing and at what cost. If you need to repair something prior to listing, feel free to consult our Vendor Resource Guide for recommendations on vendors and service providers.
4. Outdated décor: The reason people are looking at your home instead of buying brand new is because of cost and location. They want your neighborhood but not a dated-looking home. Take popcorn ceilings and flocked wallpaper down. Replace carpet with an upgrade or perhaps hardwoods.
5. Smells: There’s not a buyer in the world who will buy a home that smells like pets, dirt or water damage. If you get an offer at all, it will be low and contingent on a positive inspection.

When you list your home for sale, you believe you’ve priced it right, staged it beautifully, and timed the market correctly for a quick sale. But that doesn’t mean buyers will pay full price.

First-time homebuyers deferred home-buying seven years longer than other generations and are challenged by high home prices, large down payment requirements as well as unprecedented college debt. Due to the last recession, housing stock is older and fewer new homes are available.

So even though your housing market may be healthy with homes selling quickly, expect to negotiate. Negotiating doesn’t mean you win and the buyer loses, or you lose and the buyer wins. It’s a way for both of you to win.

Don’t take a low offer personally. The buyer may be using a low price to tell you something, like your home is tired or overpriced for the neighborhood. Your job is to find out what that something is. Ask their reasoning for offering such a low price.

Meanwhile, ask your agent for an updated comparable market analysis. Markets change quickly and learning new information may convince you to reconsider your position. Be flexible on the points that count most with the buyer like closing costs. Throw in the washer and dryer, and the buyer could be more flexible when it comes to repairs and other concerns.

You want to keep the dialog open and a possible deal alive. Remember, the buyer chose your home, and it could be your best opportunity to sell.

Before interest rates rise, you may want to refinance your home to pay off debt, get better terms, or cash out equity for reinvestment elsewhere. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself before you take out a new loan.

1. How long do you plan to stay in the home? If you don’t plan to own the home for roughly three years or more after refinancing, it might not make financial sense to refinance.
2. Are you refinancing for a good reason? Taking equity out of your home to pay down credit card debt is risky. Once the debt has gone away, it’s easy to “reload” and run up new debt.
3. What type of loan do you currently have? One good reason to refinance is to get more favorable terms, such as getting into a low fixed-rate loan from a higher fluctuating rate.
4. Should you reinvest the money? Cash-out refinances are cheap compared with other loans, so you may be tempted to invest the money in another home, and rent out your current home. Or you may want to remodel to keep your home’s value high in the marketplace or to improve its utility. All investments carry risk, so before you decide, ask your lender to help you figure out the risk vs. reward.

Take the monthly savings amount and divide it into your total closing costs. This figure represents the number of months it will take to pay back your closing costs.