Do you have to use a lawyer for closing and if not, should you use a lawyer for closing? Can you choose to just use the Title Company to complete the closing? Can they help with your contract? Hold your earnest money in their escrow account?

The reality is the answer is maybe yes and maybe no SO your first step to determining your closing options is to contact a title company in the county where your property is located and ask them. Of course, you can also do an online search as simple as “Closing options in _______ County in _____State.”

Some states still require you, as a seller, to have an attorney at closing. If this is the case, it will serve you well to choose an attorney when you put your home on the market so as soon as you receive an offer, you can contact them to negotiate your contract and if accepted, begin to process for the closing.

Some states do not require sellers to have an attorney. This gives you options:

• Review and negotiate offers yourself (your background may give you confidence in doing this without assistance).
• Choose a Title Company to handle your closing and negotiate with them: ie:”If I commit to use you for my closing will you assist me with my contract and hold my earnest money in your account?”  Some will say, absolutely. Others may agree to do this for you but charge you an additional fee for the help. Others may say no in which case, again if you’re in a state that does not require you to use an attorney, keep shopping other Title Companies.
• If you’re uncomfortable about walking through the process without an attorney, shop around and hire one. The cost will be worth your lowered stress.

Tip: If you purchased the home you’re selling within the last few years and you felt the title company did a great job and your closing was smooth, contact them and let them know that you have confidence in them and want to use them again. They will be grateful for your acknowledgement and possibly be even more helpful that you thought they would.

Tip 2: When shopping around for a title company or an attorney, get referrals. If you have an attorney that handles other areas of your business or personal business, ask them who they would use to close their deal?  You can also ask that attorney or friends you know who have recently closed on their own sale and ask them…how was your closing? How good was the title company that closed their deal? Referrals are a great way to shop around but make sure and still do your own due diligence.

Depending on where you’re located, winter might seem like the worst time to put your home up for sale. The air is cold, the ground is covered with snow and daylight hours are shorter. But selling your home during the winter doesn’t have to be an impossible task. In fact, you can use it as an opportunity to set your home apart from all the others. Keep in mind, lots of people take their homes off the market through the winter and holidays so there is less competition if you do choose to market yours. If you do decide to offer your home through this season, here are a few ideas to help you achieve success!

Create a Safe Environment Free from the Weather

Make sure that walkways and driveways are salted and snow is shoveled. Nothing makes for a worse first impression for potential buyers than if they slip on the ice and injure themselves. They’ll be sure to remember your home, but probably not in the way you want them to. Also keep these areas well lit!

Minimize Your Holiday Decor

For most people, winter is a time for holiday decorations. But while your home should look festive, you will want to keep your decor attractive without becoming overwhelming. A few well-placed lights will accentuate your home’s natural curb appeal, but maybe you should save the giant blowup doll for next year.

Cleanliness is Crucial

Winter is a difficult time to really show off the exterior of your home, so you should instead concentrate on accentuating the interior. Winter visitors are more likely to notice dirt and clutter because they are not distracted by the exterior of the home, so make sure it is absolutely spotless inside. Kids and adults coming in and out during this time can create messy floors and closets so try to keep a strong focus on those items.

Illuminate

To counter the dreary winter weather,  make your home as bright and airy as possible. Open curtains and blinds to let in natural light, and keep the lights on throughout your entire home (including closets and basement) when showing it to potential buyers. This creates an inviting atmosphere while also highlighting the great features of your home.

Cozy & Comfy

Raising the thermostat a couple notches will set a warm, welcoming atmosphere and provide a great first impression. Serve hot chocolate, hot cider or tea and coffee with holiday cookies if it’s close to Christmas.  A fire burning in the fireplace says, “Ahhh”. You can even play some soft background music to set the mood.

Pictures are Worth a Thousand Words

Displaying either individually or in an album, spring, summer and autumn photos will allow prospective buyers to see the home’s full potential and to visualize themselves living in the home beyond this season. Create a takeaway brochure of photos from all 4 seasons so the buyer will remember your home and all it offers once they have left and are considering all the homes they’ve seen.

The steadiness of the recent mortgage rates indicates that if you’re thinking of buying, now may be a good time for you to do so since your payments will be reasonable.  It also indicates that it may be a great time for you to sell since mortgages are so affordable for your prospective buyers.

On Thursday, September 29, 2017, Freddie Mac released it PMMS (Primary Mortgage Market Survey) revealing that both 15 and 30 year fixed mortgage rates remained unchanged from the week before.

Comparing current 2017 rates to the same time in 2016 shows that though rates have gone up, they still provide strong opportunities.

• 30 year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.83% this week vs 3.42% in 2016.
• 15 year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.13% this week vs 2.72% in 2016.

Only you can decide which option (30 year v 15 year) is best for you. Review your personal situation, work your numbers (either yourself or if you feel unsure with your banker or mortgage broker) and then confidently step forward into a new chapter of your journey!

As we move into the Labor Day weekend, we put away our white pants (maybe) and pull on our favorite football team’s sweatshirt & hunker in for autumn. If we update ourselves for the new season, what can we do to roll our marketed home over as well? You don’t want your home to scream, “I’ve been on the market since spring” so follow these few steps to reap an Autumn harvest of your home being sold!

• Remove all your dying summer annuals (that you’ve been dead heading to get them to last longer) and replace them with colorful mums. The great thing about mums is that they come in many colors so you can choose those that blend best with your home’s extrior.
• Replace your summer plaques, wind chimes, doormats and other exterior decor with autumn focused items.
• Don’t break your bank buying ‘special’ autumn decor. Use pumpkins and colorful squash to create charming, attractive ‘curb appeal’ near your home’s entryway.
• When showing your home, light a couple of pumpkin scented candles or use fragrance plug-ins. It’s been proven that the pumpkin scent is very inviting, calming and creates positive sensory reactions.  Nothing feels like home than the smell of a pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. You don’t need to bake a pie…just provide the fragrance.
• Another great way to add the autumn fragrance into your home is to have a pot of hot apple cider with cinnamon sticks simmering on the stove…mmmm…nice!

Again, don’t break the bank just to change the season. Sow simple seeds to reap a bountiful harvest!!