Best Google+ Real Estate August 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like most months, August has seen real estate professionals around the country actively helping buyers, investors, and sellers into and out of homes. Many of these agents are also incredibly active bloggers, producing high quality content on a regular basis, to help consumers with topics from A to Z in this industry.

The articles highlighted below are among the best Google + real estate articles on the Web this month. There are tips to aid buyers, great advice for sellers, and even information to assist professionals in this industry. Take a look at all the excellent content and see if something tickles your fancy.

Here are some of the Best Google Plus Real Estate Articles for August 2016!

Helping Buyers Know Their Market

It is a goal of most agents to educate buyers about the local real estate market so those consumers can make an informed decision about where they want to live and what type of home they want to purchase. In this article, Conor MacEvilly provides advice on why it is important to aid buyers, but he also explores the possibility of letting those consumers learn the hard way about the current market conditions.

Clearly, well informed buyers have an advantage because they understand the details about the communities they are interested in, are pre-approved and serious about buying, and actively listen and take the advice of their agent. For best results, realistic buyers are much more apt to find exactly what they want than those requiring a real estate reality check.

Why Neighborhood Living is a Smart Choice

There is merit for wanting to live in a bustling city or out in the country, but for those with or trying to have a family, many have been opting for suburban neighborhood living. Safety and security concerns , proximity to decent schools, and close to amenities are all factors that have influenced many buyers to purchase homes in subdivisions.

Living in a well maintained neighborhood typically means home prices will remain stable which is excellent news for homeowners during re-sale. In the end, the lifestyle you want to lead and your spending power will help dictate whether or not you choose to live in a neighborhood community or look for accommodations elsewhere.

How do Solar Panels Affect Market Value?

In the quest to make their homes more energy efficient and save lots of money, more and more homeowners are investigating the installation of solar power systems to their homes. Who doesn’t like to save money right? The big rub however is the expense of adding solar panels to your homes roof. While you may save money from month to month as you own the system, does the initial expense make sense? If you are only going to be living in your home for a few years it would probably be a mistake!

In this excellent article at Buzzfeed the question of how much does solar power increase home values is covered in-depth. Of course it makes sense to understand this key question. As the article mentions it is critical to do your research for the local market. Adding solar panels to your home may or may not increase the property value.

Making Offers on Overpriced Homes

There is often a misconception that overpriced homes will not sell. In fact they sell all the time. As you would expect from Kyle Hiscock in this offering, he breaks down the reasons why making an offer on an overpriced house can be successful, especially when the buyers are willing to put together an attractive offer.

While some buyers provide low ball offers on overpriced homes, it is smart to analyze the market and instead offer a fair price. If the seller is adamant about their pricing, and you are unwilling to overpay, then it is best to walk away. When you take emotion out of the process you think more clear and always make a better home purchase decision!

Older Home Energy Efficiency Upgrades

We all want to save money, especially on the upkeep, maintenance, and running of our homes. If you own an older home you know it can be a challenge. Fortunately, in a recent article by Bill Gassett, he outlines several things homeowners can do to improve energy efficiency in older homes and increase both comfort and contentment.

Bill outlines several key older home opportunities such as sealing all air gaps, adding more insulation, upgrading the heating/air system, and having an energy audit performed. These are all excellent ways to generate future savings and take a step towards going greener and protecting the environment. Making a smart investment upfront can reap you rewards for several years and put your older home in its best light when you decide to sell and move on.

Home Improvements to Avoid

Sellers update their home to either enjoy the upgrades or add potential resale value when they get ready to sell. Often times, both considerations are taken into account when home improvements are considered. Savvy sellers need to have an understanding of which upgrades are smart choices and those home improvements that do not add value.

Paul Sian jumps right in providing sound advice on the upgrades that may have a negative return. Downsizing the number of bedrooms, eliminating bathrooms, making one-of-a-kind upgrades, and even having a pool can all cause concern as potential buyers come through your home. You definitely want them to remember your property, for all the value it provides, not because there is something they will have to change or eliminate.

Tips on How to Win a Bidding War

Paul St. Aubin has crafted an excellent article that provides details on ways to succeed in a home bidding war. Finding the ideal home for your needs only to find out the selling agent is asking for your “highest and best” offer because other offers are being made can be disheartening to some buyers.

Fortunately, this article explores several of the things consumers can do to give themselves a better opportunity to win the home at a price they are comfortable with. Whether it is assembling a quality team to assist, having their finances in order, removing conditional clauses, or even pulling on heartstrings, Paul dissects several key ways buyers can be prepared in a bidding situation to win the home of their dreams.

Getting a Jumbo Loan After a Foreclosure

Adam Lesner does a great job explaining how consumers can get a Jumbo Loan after going through a foreclosure. If you have ever gone through a foreclosure or are trying to aid someone who has, you know there are specific rules and timelines that must be met in order to qualify for a new loan.

Adam breaks down the after-foreclosure requirements for anyone looking to acquire a Jumbo Loan to include the specific qualifications required as well as how long buyers can expect to wait before closing. While many of us are not looking in the luxury price points, it is good to know there are solid options if we find ourselves in this situation.

Ways to Avoid First-Time Buyers Remorse

Compilation articles are always popular because they share unique insights from real estate professionals around the country. This offering by Xavier De Buck is a fantastic resource because it provides new buyers a blueprint to avoid buyers remorse. With input from 15 real estate professionals, the advice range goes from flooring surprises, to budgeting, to taking your time.

With a host of other excellent advice as well, this primer is a must read for all consumers who are about ready to jump into their local real estate market for the very first time. It will not totally eliminate buyers who feel home remorse but this article should help educate them before they do something they may regret.

Beyond Real Estate Listings With Pinterest

All real estate agents are marketers at heart. We all like to give our clients homes as much exposure as possible and one of the ways to do that is through social media channels. Some Realtor’s however take this a bit too far and make sharing their listings the main part of their social media plan. This is a huge mistake that won’t get you very far as most people looking will give your content a big YAWN!

One place where you see this happening is Pinterest. Far too many agents share their listings and not much else. Can you say boring! They then wonder why the site is not working for them. Would you like to learn how to use Pinterest well? Here is a great guide for using Pinterest as a Realtor! Take a look at these awesome tips from Bill Gassett over at Contactually’s Blog. If you would like to make a Pinterest a great source of traffic for your real estate site this is a must read article.

Tips for Shooting Great Listing Photos

Taking perfect listing photos is something many agents struggle with. Sometimes we do not have the right photography equipment for the photo shoot. Other times we have not properly developed the skills to take quality photos in a variety of different settings. This article covers lighting, staging, composition, as well as the different types of cameras we can use.

Thankfully Matthew Bushery over on Placester has put together an excellent guide to help us all improve our photography skills. Perhaps even to the point where many of us will not need to hire a professional photographer to take and process listing photos for us anymore.

This was a fun real estate round-up to put together and I hope you find the articles both helpful and enjoyable. With real estate related content to aid buyers, sellers, and other real estate professionals, you are bound to find something that piques your interest.

PREVIOUS G+ REAL ESTATE RECAPS:

Check out these recent G+ real estate round-up articles for even more great buyer and seller tips!

Anita Clark Realtor

This best of Google Plus compilation was written by Anita Clark at SellingWarnerRobins.com. She is consistently a top producing real estate agent in Houston County, Georgia. Anita enjoys providing real estate information on her Warner Robins blog and via social media to assist buyers, sellers, and other real estate professionals.