My New Blog Call John DiPasquali (508) 998-9975

Well that depends on your reason for selling and the costs associated with selling in comparison to the costs of renovating. As well as the amount of time, problems and inconveniences associated with renovating or selling your home and buying property.

Keep in mind some renovations will not increase the value of your home. If you choose to renovate do so where you spend the majority of your time in the home. Don’t overlook updating paint colors this is the least expensive improvement you can make to your home.

Kitchen remodeling or redesign can be worth its weight in gold. Much like any other home improvement, the amount of an increase in your home’s value from a kitchen remodel, depends mainly on the current state of our real estate market and what consumer’s want in homes. Kitchen remodeling can be expensive and what is all the rage today, might not be a year from now. Be careful not to overspend or be too trendy. Ask yourself if we sold in the next year will we make money?

Bathroom updates are another big player when it comes to remodeling homes. One word of caution before you consider knocking down walls, however. Replacing a bedroom with a bathroom can drive down the value of your home. Really weigh this decision carefully before committing yourself to changing the number of bedrooms in your home.

Window updates I’d suggest you look for any opportunity to increase light into your home. You should see how the home would look when viewed from the exterior before adding, removing or replacing windows.

Decks or adding outdoor living areas are a way to increase the enjoyment of your home. However, the outdoors is just that, it is outside! Consider a pergola to define the space and give a feeling of warmth.

Whatever you decide for your next home improvement project, I have some advice about hiring professionals. Although you maybe capable of doing the project yourself consider the amount of time you will need to invest. Also, many home improvements involve permits. Always have the professionals you hire pull the permits. Never, ever, do work to your home without having the proper permits. Before your next project I hope you will ask me why.

Another piece of advice I’d like to share with you about hiring professional trades people is to have everything in writing. The contract needs to spell out details of the work, costs for labor and materials, and dates. You should have a means to verify where materials will be purchased and you must ensure the suppliers’ were paid.

Before committing yourself to the contract check with local and state governing agencies. Here are contacts for you:

1. Call your local building department ask about the reputation of the person or company. Also ask what permits are necessary for the work

2. Massachusetts Board of Building Regulation and Standards www.mass.gov/homeimprovement I strongly suggest your calling this agency at (617) 727-7532 to ask about the people your considering doing business with

3. From my company website www.LargestHomeSupply.com click on the House Smart Logo for a link to the state of Massachusetts for information on maintaining your home and a number of resources to help you

4. Also from my company website www.LargestHomeSupply.com link to the Better Business Bureau to see if there are any complaints about a tradesperson or company. Again, I strongly suggest you call the BBB at (508) 652-4800 don’t just rely on what you see online, it is best to speak with the BBB to ask questions about there knowledge of any and all consumer complaints on the people you’re planning to have work on your home

5. Call your local and state Police. Ask about any information they may have on the trades people or companies

6. Ask to see the trades-person’s work. Visit the jobs they are currently working on. Call the people they list as references and go look at the work they have completed. Always bring someone with vocational knowledge with you

7. Make sure the people you hire have both workers compensation and liability insurance. Call the insurance companies to learn if the policies are in effect

Whether you should renovate or sell, boils down to the costs. I believe by your doing a cost analysis of the renovation and looking at a Comparative Market Analysis of house values in your area will help you to make a good decision. It is critically important to determine the real estate market price of your home before doing the work. I can help you by providing this information at no cost to you, just ask.

Call me at (508) 998-9975 to help you determine the value of Dartmouth MA Real Estate, Westport MA Real Estate, and so you can learn more about the current market value of properties in all the Bristol County towns and cities, including New Bedford MA, Fall River MA, Somerset MA, Acushnet MA, Fairhaven MA, Mattapoisett MA, Marion MA, Freetown MA, Lakeville MA, Rochester MA, Berkley MA, Dighton MA, Swansea MA and many ... many ... more cities or towns in Bristol County Massachusetts!

Sincerely Yours,

John S. DiPasquali, REALTOR®

Phone (508) 998-9975

You’ve worked hard to find the right house. You searched for what seemed like endless hours. You toured many homes some were way over priced and others just needed too much work or were not a good fit for you. But on this day, you found the home you want. You made an offer to purchase and it was later rejected. Back to searching …

… Or what if you knew what the seller wanted, would your offer to purchase have been accepted? Imagine for a moment having knowledge of what the owner needed to get from selling the house. Just imagine how this information could help you buy the home you want. No more searching, no more disappointments and no more rejection. You would have your dream home. You would have a move in date. You would be home for the holidays!

Get to know what owners want from selling their houses. Become familiar with the reasons people sell. You will find people sell for four reasons:

1) Transfer often related to employment but could be military or education

2) Retirement moving to be near family, where the weather is nicer or to do the things they enjoy most

3) Upgrade you know this covers divorce, moving to a smaller house. Upgrade is not always moving to a larger home

4) Estate someone is handling the gritty details

Most often your offer to purchase met the seller’s time target, however there was another need not met. You might have offered to pay the seller’s full asking price with few contingencies, only to have your offer to purchase rejected. Why?

What commitment did you show to close the sale? Think about the closing of a sale from a seller’s perspective. When you look at the four reasons people sell Transfer, Retirement, Upgrade and Estate, the seller may have a lot at stake and your offer needs to convey you can close with few if any problems. Ah yes, sellers want the kind of buyer who can pay the most money, close with the fewest problems and in the shortest time. Don’t you agree?

How do you show a seller on your offer to purchase you can close with the fewest problems possible? Do not attach a pre-approval letter. Instead you want a letter attached to your offer to purchase that shows you have been qualified through the lender’s underwriters. This letter is a Notice Of Loan Approval, NOLA and it will state you have met all of the lender’s requirements. To learn more you can watch the Home Ownership video on our website www.etruria-properties.com/9StepstoOwnership

To further show your commitment to close on the sale, briefly explain your contingencies. The home inspection for example, your offer to purchase could state you will complete the home inspection within 10 days. You will have a lender’s loan commitment within 15 days of signing the Purchase and Sale Agreement. You will close no later than 30 days. Wow! Looking at this offer from the seller’s point of view, there are few questions about your commitment to close.

Before committing yourself to paper talk with me about the home buying process. We have a proven track record for delivering closed transactions for Dartmouth MA Real Estate, Westport MA Real Estate and can offer you properties for sale in all the Bristol County towns and cities, within Massachusetts.

We’ve designed LargestHomeSupply.com to be an informational consumer friendly website and to have more for you than just searching real estate listings. Needless to say, should you have a question or concern relating to your real estate needs, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely Yours,

John DiPasquali, REALTOR®

Phone (508) 998-9975

Email john-dipasquali@etruria-properties.com

We’ve seen real estate that is beautifully appointed with impeccable furnishings and the owners no longer occupy the home. So too are there homes without furniture, having empty closets and cupboards. We even find multifamily properties with vacant apartments. New construction homes that are vacant and others with furnishings staged for your viewing. All of these owners must be desperate for a sale, right?

Let’s look at owners of second homes who list the property completely furnished. You may tour the home and would not know the owners haven’t occupied the home for months and some listings the owners haven’t occupied the home in years. Once the sale closes their movers will store furnishings for when they decide to buy another home.

Don’t let a vacant property mislead you into thinking the owners are desperate for a sale. I would not deny the possibility of desperate owners, however most sellers make occupancy decisions about their property long before listing it for sale. Usually these sellers are not as emotionally attached to the property, as they were when purchasing it. Simply put the property no longer suits their needs.

Even experienced real estate agents fall for this misconception about vacant property. The agent’s comments about the property being vacant could lead you to believe the owners are desperate. How do you know what the seller thinks about the property?

Some vacant homes listed for sale are being maintained, the yard is nicely kept and the home is clean. When you view the home the thought crosses your mind that these sellers must have a caretaker for their property. But it’s vacant they’re desperate, right?

May I suggest look beyond the home being vacant when making your buying decisions. When you find a property being maintained, it is a safe bet the sellers are not desperate for a sale. In most listings where vacant homes are being maintained and they are priced to sell, I find the sellers will hold onto the property until a buyer makes a competitive offer. If you find the home fits your needs and has the features you’ve been looking for, then make your offer to purchase competitive. Should your offer be accepted, you can stop searching and begin moving into your dream home!

For vacant homes and other properties, search LargestHomeSupply.com Dartmouth MA Real Estate, Westport MA Real Estate, and REALTOR listings in the 23 cities or towns of Bristol County, Massachusetts.

Looking for representation, give me a call anytime!

Sincerely Yours,

John DiPasquali, REALTOR®

You’re looking through real estate listings and notice there are homes in your price range that shouldn’t be. When comparing the home’s listed features with photos you wonder if some of these homes are not priced right. How do you know when a home is priced to sell?

Think about the amount of work it takes to price real estate right. Some people have a knack to merely look at a property and will tell you, it should sell for … X Dollars. In real estate we find homes that are not priced right. For many reasons there are homes that do not come on the market priced to sell.

People may price their home with negotiating room, however that is not a home priced to sell. You can find homes for sale that cannot be priced lower because of the existing mortgaged debt and most of those homes are not priced to sell. There are people who will list homes for sale to test the market and again you will find many of these homes are not priced to sell. How do you know when a home is priced to sell?

Most home shoppers look at listed property for a few months and have developed an ability to see what looks right within their target price. There’s more, a lot more to knowing when a home is priced right than just a gut feeling. Some home shoppers use consumer websites to compare home features and determine house values. How accurate is this information? Is the data qualified? Is it recent sales statistics?

In a declining real estate market prices get lowered and some homes will see several price reductions. You can find homes for sale with long days on market and still not know which of those homes are priced to sell. After all what determines when a home is priced to sell? How do you know?

You may even see real estate ads telling you the house is priced to sell. How do you verify that? Shouldn’t real estate agents know when a house is priced to sell? Wouldn’t an appraiser know? I have two important suggestions to help you:

1. Ask for a MLS Comparative Market Analysis of homes in close proximity to the house you’re considering buying. You are looking to see where the subject house list price is compared to other homes listed for sale and to those homes sold in the last few months.

2. View the home to see how well it shows. The better the house shows the more likely it is that other buyers will find it desirable.

You can see when a house is priced to sell because it is reflected in a MLS Comparative Market Analysis. When a home is priced to sell and shows well there will be increased excitement from buyers and sales people. There will be increased interest and activity in seeing the home.

Understand that when homes are priced to sell and showing well this can lead to competitive purchase offers. You have invested much time in finding the right home and should you make a purchase offer you do not have to negotiate as aggressively as you would with a home listed with negotiating room.

You will find homes that are priced to sell do not have negotiating room. These homes however do have strong buyer interest and will experience shorter days on market, and you would want to act quickly.

In your favor are most home shoppers do not recognize when a home is priced to sell and they may make a purchase offer lower in an attempt to get a real bargain. Besides the bargain hunter your purchase offer maybe competing with a few serious, qualified buyers.

For homes that are priced to sell you should take competition into consideration when making your purchase offer. Look to make your offer attractive by having your pre-approval letter attached, make a significant deposit even if you are obtaining 100% financing, (at the closing money in excess will be returned to you). Keep contract contingencies to a minimum and show that you can close the sale in less time than your competition.

Call me at (508) 998-9975 to discuss representing you in your real estate transaction. We cover Dartmouth MA Real Estate, Westport MA Real Estate, and the real estate market for the 23 cities or towns of Bristol County, Massachusetts. You can search real estate at LargestHomeSupply.com 24/7 we’re always open!

Sincerely Yours,

John DiPasquali, REALTOR®

Phone 508-998-9975

Technology has made finding real estate easy, so very easy, that consumers within minutes have a list of homes to view. House shopping has become convenient so what’s the problem?

With your list of homes to look at, you can see that the weather is good and you’ve mapped out the route for open houses. That’s right real estate websites even map out directions to homes. You’re off to a good start. Just got to make a few calls to those houses on your list not holding an open house this weekend for when you can see them.

You are making good progress in your search for a home. You were able to weed out those homes that do not match what you’re looking for. Technology is great! Virtual tours, photos, Pod casts, and daily emails of properties gives you access to every home listed for sale. You are feeling pretty good that you will find the right home so what’s the problem?

Saturday morning you look through the real estate section of the newspaper, the real estate book and online to see if there are any other homes to add to your list. Then you’re out the door, in the car and off to the first open house. The weather is good you can’t wait to see the houses and you are looking at the directions when you sense you’re missing something. You can’t put your finger on it, but you know you’re missing something. You’re just not sure what’s missing, then …

… You pull up to the first home on your list and look over the houses on the street. You see no other buyers are there, after signing the guest register you tour the house. Nice! Looks good, but got other homes to see and you’re off to the next one on your list.

Your search is going very well. You have a couple of showings lined up next week and leaning toward one of the houses you had seen at an open house. Yep, that’s the house you like best. That house has everything you want. The house is in a great location. Priced to sell so you call to schedule another showing so what’s the problem?

You’ve spent weeks looking at homes some were not right and the others, well, they probably would be right for you, but this one house you like best. You are once again at that house looking through the features of the home and asking some questions. You like the house, you really like it so what’s the problem?

You see nothing wrong with the house or in the answers to your questions. Something tells you, you know that little voice of reason, says to you, think it over and you do. After a few days of thinking about that house, you call and feel relief because it is still available. Yes schedule a showing, you would like that and the date is set.

You’re ready and you know you are. Of all the homes you looked at this one is best by far. You were thorough in researching house values, you’ve looked at the comparable homes and you know for the features in this house it is priced right. It looks like all of your effort has paid off. Out comes the contract. Your pulse rate kicks up, your palms sweat and here’s the problem. Who is going to look out for you?

The person filling out that contract is writing the offer price and terms. Terms? Wait, wait a minute. What terms? What do you do? The problems are not with finding real estate the problems are in negotiating the contract and all that is involved with closing a sale. Who will look out for you?

You are asked for a deposit wait, wait a minute. Deposit? Who will look out for you?

The person filling out the contract asks you, when do you want to close? Close? Who will look out for you? Explaining each and every step involved in closing the sale.

Think about the money you will put up beyond the deposit. This is money that you will spend to close the sale. Who will look out for you?

Give some thought to the benefits of having representation. There are problems. Having representation cannot prevent problems from occurring and no real estate professional can promise this to you.

Always choose your agent on their negotiating ability.

Problems in real estate happen and having representation is vitally important. I have a team of professionals to help you close the real estate sale. The premise to prevention is negotiating the contract knowing what terms are necessary.

Please call me to discuss sales representation for Dartmouth MA Real Estate, Westport MA Real Estate, and the 23 cities or towns of Bristol County, Massachusetts. We provide you with the Largest Home Supply.

Sincerely,

John DiPasquali, REALTOR®

Phone 508-998-9975