Real Estate Questions

The list of ways to increase a home’s value often is endless and depends a great deal on how much you want to spend. A house that’s more than 50 or 70 years old likely will benefit from upgraded electrical and plumbing systems, a new roof (if the existing roof is deteriorating), etc. While those add value, they’re not alterations that are easily seen.
To make more obvious changes that will increase your home’s value, think in terms of expanding rooms, adding rooms, updating bathrooms and kitchens.
Paint – interior and exterior – is an easy, inexpensive way to increase a home’s value. Landscaping is another way to quickly improve the appearance and value of a home.
Of course, amenities appropriate for your area can help – adding a swimming pool, finishing the basement for added living space, an adding a fence.
Another way to increase a home’s value is to advocate for the neighborhood. Are there properties on your block that are not well kept? If so, they’ll detract from your own home’s value. Talk to the homeowners or city code enforcement officers about ways to boost those homes’ appearance. Are the schools declining or overcrowded? Work with the school board to turn that situation around. A Neighborhood Watch program can help nip crime in the bud, making your block more appealing. Keeping an eye on the city’s zoning plans can help assure that your street isn’t expanded to four lanes or that an adjacent undeveloped block isn’t going to become the ugly, unappealing back of a strip mall.

In order to determine how much, you can afford, we need to understand debt to income ratios.
First, we must determine what your gross annual income is and divide that income by 12. (12 months)
Second, we must determine your long term debt.  For example:  home mortgage (principal & interest), taxes & insurance (T & I), school loan, car loan, credit card debt, etc. and calculate the monthly payments.
Third, the debt to income ratio is established by dividing the monthly debt by the monthly income.  The debt to income ratio should, in most cases not exceed 35%.
Forth, if the debt to income ratio is 35% or less and your credit rating is decent, there is a good chance you will be able to get approved for a mortgage loan.

This will likely be the first opportunity to examine the house without furniture, giving you a clear view of everything.  Check the walls and ceilings carefully.  Also check any work the seller agreed to do in response to an inspection.  If you find that the work has not been done, it should be brought up prior to closing.

Closing costs are usually made up of the following:
Attorney’s or escrow fees (yours and your lender’s if applicable)
Property taxes (to cover the tax period to date)
Interest (paid from date of closing to 30 days before the first monthly payment)
Loan origination fee (covers lender’s administrative cost)
Recording fees
Survey fee
First premium of mortgage insurance (if applicable)
Title insurance (yours and lender’s)
Loan discount points
First payment to escrow account for future real estate taxes and insurance
Paid receipt for homeowner’s insurance policy (and fire and flood insurance if applicable)
Any documentation preparation fees
***Allow the professionals at Medalian Real Estate to make sure your closing costs are as low as possible!

A buyer prefers a home that is in move-in condition and will pay top dollar for it.  It is important to be sure your home is in superior condition before listing it.  Make repairs prior to selling.  This will help reduce the risk of buyers trying to renegotiate the price due to repairs or problems that may arise from a private inspection done prior to closing.
Having your property in top condition will attract more buyers to your home giving you an excellent chance to sell your home faster, and at top dollar.
Work on your home’s curb appeal. Make sure your landscape is pristine. Mow the grass, clean up any debris and weed the garden beds, sweep the sidewalk.  Plant a few annual flowers near the entrance or in pots to be placed by the door.
Clean the windows and make sure the paint is not chipped or flaking.  Windows should be free of ripped or bent screens. These should be replaced or removed entirely. Windows should also be clean and cobweb free. Being able to have draperies open, allowing light into the house is a plus at any showing.
Be sure that the doorbell works.
Clean and freshen up rooms, furnishings, floors, walls and ceilings. Make sure that bathrooms and kitchens are spotless.
Organize closets.
Providing a feeling of openness in a home can be accomplished quite easily and allows the house to appear larger. Open areas free of clutter are very important in showing a home.
Make sure the basic appliances and fixtures work. Replace leaky faucets and frayed cords.
Eliminate the source of any bad smells, such as the kitty box. Use air freshener or bake a batch of cookies before your open house to ensure that the house smells inviting.
Invest in a couple of vases of fresh flowers to place around the house and next to any information about the house you have prepared for buyers.  Selling a home can be a lot of work, but with all your efforts, they can pay off quickly and with a larger sum of money.

Price and condition are the two most important factors in selling a home, even in a down market. The first step is to price your home correctly. Use comparative sales information from your agent, or pay for a professional appraiser to objectively evaluate your home’s worth. Second, go through the house and repair any obvious cosmetic defects that could deter a buyer.
In a down market, you may have to consider lowering your price and/or making a major repair, such as replacing the roof, in order to lure a buyer. Also, make sure that your home is getting the exposure it deserves through open houses, broker open houses, advertising, good signage and a listing on the local multiple listing service or online listings provider.

Every person’s individual situation is different.  Most brokerage firms will leave you to handle this on your own. At Medalian Real Estate we’ll help walk you through this somewhat confusing process. We’ve worked side-by-side many reputable companies that do honest loan work.

Most states require real estate sales professionals to be licensed by the state, so that they can control education and experience requirements and have a central authority to resolve consumer problems.
The terminology used to identify real estate professionals varies a little from state to state.  Brokers are generally required to have more education and experience than real estate salespersons or agents.
The person you normally deal with is a real estate agent or salesperson.  The salesperson is licensed by the state, but must work for a broker.  All listings are placed in the broker’s name, not the salesperson’s.
A broker can deal directly with home buyers and sellers, or can have a staff of salespersons or agents working for him or her.

Yes, Medalian Properties can help. Our professionals can help you find the commercial property that fits your specific needs. To find a specialist, contact us at info@medalianproperties.com today!

Please broaden your search parameters on the property search form. Double check your search parameters and choose fewer limiting options. For example, instead of specifying city, state and zip, please only choose city and state. You can also revise your property search by increasing the radius. This will enable our search engine to find available properties that surround the town, county, or zip code you select. If you revise your search and still find no properties, please contact the Medalian Real Estate office for information about property listings that are not marketed on the Internet.

Yes. There is no standard commission. They are not set by law and vary depending on service, customer needs, and company policy.
What is an “MLS?”
MLS stands for “Multiple Listing Service,” which are lists of properties in a local area. There are hundreds of MLS organizations across the United States. From state to state, each MLS organization assigns a numeric code to each property listing. This code is unique to the property in that respective state. However, because there are so many MLS organizations nationwide, sometimes the MLS numbers are duplicated for some properties across the country.

An appraisal is something you pay for. An assessment is something the government does, whether you want them to or not.
An appraisal typically is ordered by a home buyer’s mortgage company to confirm that the value of a home matches the value on the mortgage application. A bank doesn’t want to give you a home loan that far exceeds the actual value of a house.
Homeowners will sometimes pay for an appraisal if they’ve made improvements to their home. This helps document the new, increased value and makes it easier to qualify for a home equity loan.
The government – usually the city or county in which your home is located – assesses the value of your home to determine how much property tax you’ll pay. Most governmental agencies do assessments every two to four years, but the time span varies from area to area. In some places, you’ll never know your house has been reassessed; government officials base their assessments on property sales records, size, age, condition, location, and other factors. In other parts of the country, you’ll receive a notice in the mail saying the government’s property assessor wants to look inside your home to see if you’ve made any improvements. Every governmental agency offers a window of time in which you can dispute any assessment. Being governments, they rarely make the process easy, but many people have successfully managed to get their assessments, and thus their property taxes lowered.
On the flip side, some homeowners WANT to see an increased assessment to prove their home has more value – either due to an impending sale, plans for a home equity loan, or to protect their investment.
If you think your property has substantially decreased or increased in value, you can request an assessment. But just remember that a higher home value almost always means higher property taxes.

Comps, or “Comparables,” are simply a collection of recent sales prices of similar homes in your area.
If you are considering selling your home, your Realtor will show you comps – what houses of the same approximate size in your neighborhood – have been selling for. That will help you both determine the best sales price for your house. If you are buying, comps are also worth looking at to help you measure the value/condition of the homes you are considering to what other buyers have thought appropriate prices were for similar homes in the neighborhood.
If a house exactly like yours – same size, same age, same condition – on the other side of town is selling for $200,000, don’t think you’re made in the shade at the same price. A host of things in your own neighborhood can affect your home’s price – the quality of schools, the crime rate, or the street you live on. For instance, you may have a stellar home, but if it’s on a busy street, its value will undoubtedly be less than a comparable home on a road less traveled. Potential rezoning of adjacent areas also can affect comps: If that lovely forest behind your home is due to become a sea of condominiums, your home’s value is likely to be less than a similar home that will retain its forest view.
So just remember: Your house isn’t compared to one across town; it’s compared to those across the street or around the corner.

What are you willing to pay? That’s often the market value. But in reality, the market value is what your house is worth on the open market – what are people paying for homes similar to yours.
If somebody grossly overpays for a property, that doesn’t mean that sales price is its real market value – not if similar homes in the neighborhood are not selling at the same price. Likewise, you may get a real steal on a house, but an assessor may not see it your way – he’ll say that other people are paying $20,000 more, for instance, for the same type of house in your neighborhood – so your taxes are going to be based on the real market value, not what you paid.
To decide what to pay for a home (or what to sell yours for) it helps to look at comps – the recent selling prices of nearby homes that are of a similar size, age and condition. Be sure to look for homes very near to yours, not similar homes in different neighborhoods. Everything in the area – from proximity to shopping, quality of schools, crime rate and general neighborhood upkeep – figure into the market value of any given home.