Real Estate Information Archive

If you have recently put your house on the market and want it to sell quickly you may need to take a look at a few of these tips on how to eliminate smells so that your house will be more likely to sell. While selling your home quickly may sound good to you, you may not be thinking about exactly how clean your house smells when you have a last minute showing pop up.  If you are caught in a bind with a last minute showing and you need to get rid of a few household odors, be sure to read below for some ideas. 

1. If you have pets you already know that they have a smell all their own.  Pets that may not be house trained yet may be hard to deal with during a house showing.  If you need to cover up the smell of pet urine quickly there are several ways to go about it.  One way to get rid of pee smell in the carpet is to soak the area with enzyme spray.  Another way to get rid of the smell all together (however it may take a bit longer) is to get rid of the carpet once and for all and put in hardwoods. 
2. Another way to eliminate smells so that your house might sell is to open up your windows while you are cooking.  If you know you have a showing one night, be sure to keep your windows open while you are cooking with the hood fan on as well.  Another good way to get rid of the smell of a recently prepared meal in your home is to set a bowl of coffee grounds on the countertop over night (if your showing doesn’t happen to be the same evening of course.)  If you don’t want to take any chances of having your dinner linger during the showing you could always just go out to eat for the evening. 
3. Garbage smell in a home is some of the worst odor possible.  One easy way to get rid of that particular smell is to be sure and take it to the curb before you leave for the showing. 

These are just a few ways that you can get rid of smells in your home  so that your showing might go well and you may be more able to sell your home.  Hopefully they will get you started in the right direction. 

Courtesy of Montgomery AL Realtor Sandra Nickel, Sandra Nickel Hat Team.

If you are in the market for a new home then the very first step you need to take even before you begin your search for the perfect place is to receive a pre-approval on a loan.  Most Realtors won’t take you serious about looking for a home until you have your pre-approval.  There are a few things that need to take place to assure your pre-approval is valid.  If your lender tells you that you are pre-approved within just a few minutes you may want to do some investigation to find out if it’s legitimate pre-approval.   Below are a few suggestions about what you need to do in order to receive a pre-approval.

• Submit an application with the lender of your choice
• Provide all documentation that the lender requires of you
• Given the go ahead and approval for the lender to pull your credit
• Your lender must have found that you meet all the credit guidelines. They will look at things such as your debt-to- income ratio as well as your assets. 
• The lender will have talked with you about what money you need to have together for closing costs as well as what your mortgage payment will be monthly.  Your lender will also go over any or all programs that you may qualify for. 
• An automated underwriting must be made by your lender before you can move forward with your loan.

If you have a good lender, he or she will talk with you about the different requirements to get a pre- approval and they may even determine that you need to work on a few things first and give it a bit of time before you apply for a pre-approval.  Good lenders will spend the time needed with you to figure out where your finances are so that you don’t end up getting in over your head with a home you cannot afford.  Take your time looking for a lender so that you have a good match and one that you can trust.  After all, buying a home is a big deal and you need to be able to trust those who are leading you into your future and home ownership.

Courtesy of Montgomery AL Real Estate Expert Sandra Nickel.

Summer is officially over and that means it’s time to clean out your house and get rid of things you don’t need.  This is the time of year that yard sales abound.  Some yard sales are more profitable than others and there are many reasons why that is so.  Below are a few tips for a successful yard sale. 

1. The first thing you should do to make sure that your yard sale is successful  is to advertise it.  There are many ways you can advertise your yard sale.  One way you can advertise your yard sale is by word of mouth.  Tell everyone you know when your yard sale will be and the items you plan to have in your sale.  Another way to advertise your yard sale is with signs.  Be sure to put out a few signs in different locations so that everyone can see that there is a yard sale coming soon.  Lastly be sure to advertise your yard sale in your local paper.  This is a great way to get the word out that you have an upcoming yard sale.  This needs to be done about a week in advance. 
2. Another way to have a successful yard sale is to be sure to price your items right. By this I mean do not over price your items but also be sure not to under price them either.  Many times folks make the mistake of not pricing their yard sale items at all.  This makes for a very long day telling everyone how much things are when they ask.  It also leaves them a chance to haggle the price with you and no one wants to deal with that all day. 
3. A quick way to make a bit of cash during a yard sale on a hot summer day is to offer drinks for $1.00 each.  This may be something that you have your children do so that they can feel included in the day’s festivities.  You might be surprised at just how many people will pay for something cold to drink when they are hot. 

These are just a few ways to help your yard sale be more successful than it might otherwise be.  There are many other great ideas you can put into practice.  Do what works for you and leave the others behind.  Happy Selling! 

Courtesy of Montgomery AL Realtor Sandra Nickel Hat Team.

We have all seen the tiny houses that are flooding the internet lately, but let’s be honest; do you really want to live in a space so small that you barely have room to move around in your own home?  In all likelihood we can all agree that we really want more space for less money.  Let’s take a look at a few ways to buy big without breaking the bank. 

1. One way that you can buy big without breaking the bank is by going in together with a family member to purchase a home.   You may not like the idea of having someone living with you but if you can afford to buy a large enough house together you might not even be bothered by them as much as you think you will.
    
2. Another way to buy big without breaking the bank is by buying an older home.  Older homes are typically built well and have quite a lot of character.  If you don’t have to have everything new then consider buying an older home so that you can get more bang for your buck.  New is not always better. 
    
3. A great way to buy big without breaking the bank is to bid on a home that is not completely built yet.  You may have  a bit of negotiating room when it comes to the floor plan and if larger is what you want larger might just be what you can get without dishing out a ton of money. 
    
4. If the home you have your eye set on is the one you really want but it just doesn’t seem big enough for your taste, why not aim for renovating and opening up some of the rooms?  This is a great way to make a smaller home feel larger than it is without having to spend a lot of money in the process.  If you don’t have enough cash to do it all right now, you can always open it up a little bit at a time. 
    
5. Finding homes that have been on the market for a while is a great way to get more for your money.  Homes are flying off the market these days, so you showing an interest in a home that isn’t having as much luck as the others is a great way to get more.

These are just a few ideas of how you can get more for your money when it comes to buying a home.   Now that you are aware of how you can get a bigger home without breaking the bank you are well on your way to finding the home for you and yours.  

Courtesy of Montgomery AL Real Estate Expert Sandra Nickel.

Decorating your home can be fun but no other room is more fun than decorating the nursery for the arrival of a new little one.  Nothing brings more happiness than welcoming a new baby into the world and what better way to welcome your new bundle of joy into your home than by fixing the nursery up for them.  Below are a few nursery decorating ideas to welcome your new little one. 

1. A little baby is nothing more than a miracle from above so why not decorate your new baby’s room like the royalty that they are.  Decorating the nursery  in a royal theme is a perfect idea whether you are welcoming a tiny prince or a princess.  You can keep the décor unisex by adding some rich colors to the wall or adding a chandelier to the ceiling.  Adding a few decorative pillows maybe in the shape of a crown might be a good idea as well. 
2. Another cool idea for decorating your nursery is to make it extremely colorful with balloon décor.  This type of room can be unisex as well if you stick to the primary colors of yellow, blue, green and red.  If you want to get really creative you could paint a balloon mural on the wall and perhaps an outdoor scene to go along with it. 
3. If you like country décor you could use painted pallets to add a touch of southern sass to the room.  This type of country décor can be unisex if you want or you can make it more of a cowboy feel or a cowgirl feel depending on which you have been blessed with. 
4. Yet another great decorating idea to welcome your new little one into their new room is a Hollywood glitz and glam room.  Sheer curtains hung throughout the room with walls painted pink is a great way to get this particular look and feel.  Yet again, a chandelier may be appropriate for this type of room. 
5. If you want another gender neutral idea for your baby's room  you can use colors such as grey and yellow.  These colors are not only unisex they are timeless as well. 

Courtesy of Montgomery AL Realtor Sandra Nickel, Sandra Nickel Hat Team!

Here are just a few things you may want to look for in a neighborhood before you buy a home there.  Keep an open mind when searching for a neighborhood and do your best to pay attention to these things and you will most likely enjoy your new home for years to come.

1.  Walkability – A good thing to look for in a neighborhood before you buy is the walkability of it.  If you don’t know, a good place to start is to walk the neighborhood yourself.  If you don’t want to get out and walk around in the neighborhood before you purchase a home there, you can always check the walkability score on sites such as Walk Score. 
2. Neighbors – A great way to check out the neighbors in a hood that you are considering buying a house in is to drive through the neighborhood on a Saturday afternoon.  Most of the time you will at least get to take a look at a few of the neighbors out in their yards.
3. School Rankings – If your children’s education is important to you, you may want to check out the schools in the area in which you are planning to buy a home.  Talk to neighbors, go to the school and talk to teachers, check for school ratings in that area online to get an idea of what you should expect.
4. Crime Rates – It is very important that you check into crime rates in a neighborhood before you make a purchase so that you are not surprised once you move in.  Most of the websites such as Zillow and Trulia have a crime rate locator that will show you just how much crime goes on in different areas.
5. Places Of Interest – A good thing to look for in a neighborhood before you buy a house there is for places of interest nearby.  You may or may not get a chance to do all of the fun things nearby your new home once you move in but knowing there is a lot to do within a close distance may be important to your children.
6. Demographics -   If it is important to be in a neighborhood of people who look like you and who are around the same age you may want to check out the demographics before you buy a house there.

These are just a few things you may want to look for in a neighborhood before you purchase a home there.  Keep an open mind when searching for a neighborhood and do your best to pay attention to these things and you will most likely enjoy your new home for years to come.

Courtesy of Montgomery AL Real Estate Expert Sandra Nickel.

If you were lucky enough to move into a new home recently then you need to know a few things that you should strive to accomplish soon after the move.    These things will get you set in the right direction for being comfortable in your new home for years to come.  A few of these ideas are listed below. 

• Be sure to take pictures of each room in your new home before moving in. Sometimes the inspection takes place and then the previous owners come back to get a few last items of theirs moved out.  You never know, especially if the previous owners were forced to move due to a short sale, what they may have done to the house.  Take pictures before you move your furniture inside.  This way if any damage has occurred you will have full documentation of it and may be able to get things fixed more easily.
• If you hire a moving company to move your belongings from one house to the other you will want to check all of your belongings to make sure there was no damage done to anything during the move.  You should have liability coverage in your moving contract and if that is the case if any damage occurs and you document the damage you should be able to get reimbursed for that. 
• One of the most important things to accomplish as soon as you move into a new home is to change the locks.  You have no way of knowing how many folks have a key to your home from the previous owners and you surely don’t want to worry about someone being able to get inside of your home without your knowledge.  Get this task done right away. 
• If you want to make the home have a nice new feel, painting is a great way to do that.  Painting an empty house is much easier than having to move the furniture around later. 
• If you are a registered voter and you have recently moved into a new home that is in a different county, you will want to change your voter registration right away.  It’s not a good feeling to be turned away at the polls because your address is incorrect. 

These are just a few ideas of things you should strive to accomplish soon after moving into a new home. Hopefully they will be of some help to you and yours.

Courtesy of Montgomery AL Real Estate Expert Sandra Nickel.

It can be hard to set a budget and stick to it when it comes to renovating your home. If you are planning on selling your home soon, you should go ahead and do a few renovations that may need to be done but do the ones that don’t cost a lot of money. Of course if your home has some issues and you feel you can get a lot more money out of your home if you make those renovations now, you may want to go ahead and do so. Below are a few tips on what exactly you should consider when renovating your home to prepare it for sale.

• One of the best ways to prepare your home to sell is by renovating your walls and floors.  You can add paint to the walls of your home for a quick “pick me up” that will help your home appear newer than it is.  Refinishing hardwood floors or pulling up carpet to reveal hardwoods is also a great way to spruce things up around your home.  Be sure if you are painting to do so with neutral colors that will be pleasing to everyone’s pallet.  Likewise if you are putting down carpet, be sure to choose a neutral color.  If you are refinishing hardwoods, be sure to stay away from any dark stains that may turn some buyers away.  Stick with the natural light wood floors that seem to be so popular these days. ​
   
• Doors are another place you may want to consider during your home renovations.  Replacing your front door with a steel door adds a great deal of value to your home.  Adding some new garage doors may help to add value as well.   Keep in mind you don’t have to spend a ton on these types of things, just replacing old with new will likely be enough.
   
• If you don’t have the money to redo your entire kitchen, try upgrading by replacing old worn out drawer pulls or cabinet knobs.  You may also want to put a little paint on your old cabinets to lighten and brighten things up a bit.  Keep in mind if money is not an issue that kitchen renovations  can sometimes make or break the sale of your home.  If you need to” bling it out” and you have the funds to do it, go for it. 

Any and all renovations you do to your home in an effort to get more money out if it during a potential sale is a good thing.  Don’t go crazy spending a lot of money for cosmetic fixes but ‘DO’ do your best to make your home look like a shiny new penny!

Courtesy of Montgomery AL Real Estate Expert Sandra Nickel.

There are many benefits to refinancing  and some of those reasons you will find listed below. 

• A lot of folks tend to rack up credit card debt toward the end of each year and have some credit card debt to pay off in the next year.  By refinancing your home you can put all of your credit card debt together and into the refinance.  It is much better to pay off your credit card at say 5% instead of the interest you may be paying such as 18%.  A good rule of thumb however if you do plan to use your refinance to get rid of your credit card debt is to cut the cards up and vow not to use them again.  Perhaps you can keep one credit card that is to be used for emergencies only.
   
• Another great reason to refinance your home this coming year is to start saving towards retirement or even towards your child’s college education.  Both of these are good causes and if refinancing can help you get to your goal of savings for these two a bit more quickly then why not take advantage of it. 
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• One of the biggest reasons folks tend to refinance their homes is to get a better interest rate.  This is a very good reason to refinance because many times you can get a much lower monthly payment by having a lower interest rate and this may help you to more easily pay other bills that may have fallen behind. 
   
• This last reason to refinance your home may sound a little out of place but if you happen to need a reliable vehicle and you haven’t been able to afford one, you can throw your car loan into the refinance as well.  This is good if you have been trying to make your old worn out car last as long as possible but it has finally begun costing you more in repairs than the car is actually worth. 

There are plenty other reasons to refinance your home  in the coming year and even some reasons why you may not want to.  Do your homework to see what is worth it to you and what is not when it comes to refinancing your home.  

Courtesy of Montgomery AL Real Estate Expert Sandra Nickel.

If you have pets you know all too well just what a mess they can make, what you may not be aware of however is that they have a smell all their own that others who walk into your house may be able to smell more than you can.  If you have your house on the market you may need to do your best to eliminate the pet odor before you home starts showing so that you will be better able to sell your home.  Below are a few ideas and tips to help you get a head start on eliminating pet odor.

• If your pet has an accident inside of your home douse it with baking soda as quickly as you possibly can after you soak up the urine with a towel.  Allow the baking soda to dry and then pat the area with a dry towel.  Once you have done all of this, be sure to vacuum the area.  The smell that once would have lingered behind after cleaning the soiled area will no longer exist.   
• Another great way to rid your home of pet smell so that your home may have a better chance of selling is to make a fabric spray out of white vinegar and baking soda.  1 teaspoon of baking soda mixed with 1 tablespoon of vinegar will do the trick.  Put these ingredients together in a spray bottle and you will have a great way to get pet smell out of your furniture and other fabrics.  Spraying this concoction over your furniture before a showing is a great way to know that your potential buyers will not be able to smell that you have pets living inside of the house with you. 
• A  HEPA  air filtration system is also a good thing to have if you have pets and you are planning to try to sell your home.  These types of systems cost as little as $100 and can make all the difference when it comes to the sale of your home.  One hundred dollars may sound like a lot of money but when you think that it may make or break the sale of your home it is nothing.  Be sure to always clean you’re air conditioning filtration system as well so that you will have clean air flowing throughout the house at all times just in case you have someone who wants to take a tour of your home at the last minute. 

Courtesy of Montgomery AL Real Estate Broker Sandra Nickel, Hat Team.