Entering the real estate market can be daunting, but even if you have bought and sold homes, there are still things to learn. The best real estate articles for March 2025 provide expert advice to help you through the sometimes tricky buying or selling process.

This month’s articles answer some questions you might have if you are getting ready to sell and make some buying decisions easier.

Is Your Home Ready to Sell?

While you might think your home is in excellent condition, is it ready for buyers to judge? If not, you will find it challenging to find a buyer or get the price you want.

The good news is that there are many things you can do to ensure your home is ready to sell. Many things are simple but effective and could ensure your home sells faster and for a better price.

Luke Skar offers the ultimate checklist to help sellers prepare their homes. He also provides valuable insight into what buyers are looking for. While you might think your house is in good enough condition, a buyer could see things differently.

If you don’t have the budget for renovations, many low-cost things will make a real difference. Luke recommends staying away from major renovations. Making significant changes to your home often doesn’t give you a return that covers the expense. Even if you think the changes are good, they may not suit some buyers.

A first-time home visitor will see things you might have overlooked. Perhaps you’ve become used to a scratch on a door frame or a dripping faucet, but potential buyers will notice these issues.

When buyers see just a few of these issues, it will count against your home. Taking care of these minor maintenance issues is relatively simple but can make a big difference to buyers’ impression of your home.

Luke explains what to look for and the steps you can take to improve your home’s sellability. Having a home-selling checklist is always worthwhile.

How to Increase Your Home’s Post-Winter Value

If your home has experienced a brutal winter, there will be more to do to prepare to sell. Cold, wet, and snowy conditions can damage your home, but if it needs to be ready to sell, it needs to look its best.

Paul Sian presents a guide to maximizing your home’s value post-winter. While there might be obvious maintenance issues for the exterior, Paul’s guide also highlights interior tasks that you need to consider. Even if you’re not selling, the advice in this article will help make your home more livable after a harsh winter.

Low temperatures over winter can cause plumbing issues, leading to leaks and severe damage if not addressed. Cold-related problems with the HVAC system can also occur and should be dealt with before the buyer’s home inspection.

Paul’s guide reveals other factors that might not have been obvious when preparing to sell after winter. Your lawn won’t look its best if it has been covered by snow for weeks. This guide gives you some tips to improve your lawn while you prepare your home for buyers.

Living in colder areas creates different issues when it’s time to sell. However, with the advice in this article, you will better understand what you can do to minimize these factors and get more for your home.

Improve Your Lighting

How you use lighting in your home can significantly affect the look and feel of the living space. The right lighting choices can improve mood, make you more productive, and highlight room features.

Relatively small changes can go a long way toward improving your life in the home. If you consider renovating, Chris Highland suggests lighting changes could be a better option.

Chris focuses on the critical role lighting can have in creating a better living environment. He also offers tips to help you choose the proper lighting to match the interior style of your home. Using light in your home will improve your enjoyment of the space and help when selling.

The article suggests using a mixture of different light sources and carefully selecting the color temperature to improve the room’s feel. For instance, warm white lights are more suited to living rooms and bedrooms, where you want to feel cozy.

Better lighting might be the answer to improving the feel and balance of your home. If you’re preparing your home for sale, better lighting will also help you stage the rooms and make them more appealing to potential buyers.

Should You Avoid Paying PMI?

Private mortgage insurance (PMI) is an additional expense to your monthly mortgage payments. It is required when buying a home with less than a 20% down payment and protects the lender from loss.

While it seems evident that avoiding this additional payment is better, Bob Chew offers an alternative perspective. Bob suggests that, in many circumstances, it is better to pay PMI than wait until you have saved a larger down payment.

Choosing to delay your home purchase can make things more difficult. Bob highlights changing market conditions and interest rates as factors against delaying home buying. You will also miss out on building home equity while you wait, which would increase your net worth.

Bob also emphasizes that PMI is only a temporary additional payment. With some home loans, it may be possible to remove this requirement when you have less than 20% equity in the home. This might mean that you are only paying this premium for a few years, and the value of your home may have increased in that time, too.

If you delay your home-buying journey to save a larger down payment, it may be time to rethink that approach. Waiting could make your finances worse in the long run, preventing you from putting down roots and buying a home.

Transitioning From a 1099 to a W2 Mortgage

Mortgage lenders like to see you have a stable income when approving your loan. Applying for a mortgage can be more difficult if you are a contractor with a 1099 income. However, if you are employed, it will be easier to prove your income with a W-2 wage and tax statement.

Eric Jeanette offers excellent advice to help you better navigate a switch from a 1099 to a W2 home loan. He details the things you need to consider before applying.

Both types of mortgages have pros and cons. For instance, a W2 offers fewer tax deductions, but the application should be more straightforward.

There can also be a greater chance of being rejected when switching to a W2. Your income history is critical to lenders when assessing your mortgage application. Typically, lenders like seeing 24 months of employment history, but this can be an issue if you have only recently become employed. Many lenders won’t work with you, but some will accept your application within 30 to 60 days of W2 history.

If you have found getting a mortgage with a 1099 income challenging, read this article before you decide to switch.

Don’t Forget These Things When Moving

There is a lot to remember when moving home. Your routine is chaotic, and it is easy to lose track of important things that must be done.

Luke Skar offers 11 tips to help you better plan your home move. You can do many things to make moving home less stressful, like having a clear-out and removing stuff you don’t need. This will reduce your moving costs and the work you must do when moving out.

Luke also reminds readers of the importance of planning a move. Have you taken measurements in your new home? Hopefully, your furniture will fit where you want it to, but taking measurements makes sure.

You might also need things for your new home that you don’t currently have. Perhaps you want to buy these items in advance, making things more manageable during the first few days.

The upheaval of moving home is naturally stressful, but if you are more prepared, you can keep these pressures to a minimum. Don’t miss this article if you are preparing to move home soon.

Final Thoughts

The best real estate articles for March could help you if you prepare for a significant change in your living situation. Buying or selling a home can quickly become complicated and stressful, but with more knowledge, these issues will seem less of a problem.

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Luke Skar

 

About the author: Luke Skar wrote the above roundup of the best articles from March 2025. Luke is a 20+ year veteran of the mortgage industry. He strives to stay updated with the latest changes and trends in mortgage lending and real estate.

Through his mortgage blog, websites, and social media accounts, he aims to help the community with as much factual knowledge as possible that benefits all parties in real estate transactions.