For home sellers who want to do whatever it takes to enhance a house's interior, depersonalization is key.

By depersonalizing a house's interior, a home seller can make it easy for a homebuyer to envision what life might be like if he or she purchases a residence. That way, a home seller can increase the likelihood of a fast, seamless and profitable home selling experience.

Effectively depersonalizing a home's interior can be simple – here are three areas that a home seller needs to consider to depersonalize a house's interior:

1. Photographs

Although photographs of loved ones, celebrations and family vacations may hang throughout your residence, now is the right time to take them down if you're selling your house.

Removing photographs from all walls and shelves is necessary to effectively depersonalize a house. In addition, don't forget to hide any photographs located in a home office.

2. Antiques

Antiques are beautiful treasures that deserve to be displayed. However, if you're selling your house, it may be worthwhile to temporarily store these items outside your residence.

When it comes to antiques, it is always better to err on the side of caution. If you have priceless treasures that need to be removed from your house, you should allocate the necessary time and resources to store them properly. This will enable you to minimize the risk of damage to your antiques while you sell your home.

In some instances, renting a storage unit for your antiques may prove to be a great idea. Or, if you have a family member or friend who has extra storage space available, he or she may be able to hold your antiques until your residence sells.

3. Artwork

Awe-inspiring artwork can help you show off your unique personality. But if you have bold paintings, sculptures or other artwork in your home, you may want to remove these items while your house is listed on the real estate market.

Artwork sometimes can be distracting, and as a result, may make it tough for homebuyers to imagine what life could be like if they purchase your house. Also, if artwork takes up lots of space, it might be difficult for homebuyers to see the full potential of your living space.

If you need help with depersonalizing your house's interior, you should reach out to a real estate agent for support.

A real estate agent understands how to showcase a residence to homebuyers. As such, he or she will offer honest, unbiased recommendations to help you depersonalize your residence's interior and ensure your home will capture homebuyers' attention.

Furthermore, a real estate agent can serve as your guide along the home selling journey. He or she will set up home showings and open houses, negotiate with homebuyers on your behalf and respond to your home selling concerns and questions at any time.

Ready to depersonalize your house's interior? Consider the aforementioned areas, and you can give your home's interior a fresh look and feel before you list your residence.

Tweet

If you’re a first-time homebuyer, odds are you’ve thrown the words “prequalified” and “preapproved” interchangeably. However, when it comes to home loans, there are some very important differences between the two.

For buyers hoping to purchase a home with a few missteps and misunderstandings as possible, it’s vital to understand the procedures involved in acquiring financing for a home.

Today, we’ll break down these two real estate jargon terms so that you can go into the mortgage approval process armed with the knowledge to help you succeed in securing a home loan.

Mortgage prequalification

Let’s start with the easy part--mortgage prequalification. Getting prequalified helps borrowers find out what kind and what size mortgage they can likely secure financing for. It also helps lenders establish a relationship with potential customers, which is why you will often see so many ads for mortgage prequalification around the web.

Prequalification is a relatively simple process. You’ll be asked to provide an overview of your finances, which your lender will plug into a formula and then report back to you whether or not you’re likely to get approved based on your current circumstances.

The lender will ask you for general information about your income, assets, debt, and credit. You won’t need to provide exact documents for these things at this phase in the process, since you have not yet technically applied for a mortgage.

Prequalification exists to give you a broad picture of what you can expect. You can use this information to plan for the future, or you can seek out other lenders for a second opinion. But, before you start shopping for homes, you’ll want to make sure you’re preapproved, not prequalified.

Mortgage preapproval

After you’ve prequalified, you can start thinking about preapproval. If you’re serious about buying a home in the near future, getting preapproved will simplify your buying process. It will also make sellers more likely to take you seriously, since you already have your financing partially secured.

Mortgage preapproval requires you to provide the lender with income documentation. They will also perform a credit inquiry to receive your FICO score.

Mortgage applications and credit scores

Before we talk about the rest of the preapproval process, we need to address one common issue that buyers face when applying for a mortgage. There are two types of credit inquiries that lenders can perform to view your credit history--hard inquiries and soft inquiries.

A soft inquiry won’t affect your credit score. But a hard inquiry can lower your score by a few points for a period of 1 to 2 months. So, when getting preapproved, you should expect your credit score to drop temporarily.

After preapproval

Once you’re preapproved for a mortgage, you can safely begin looking at homes. If you decide to make an offer on a home and your offer is accepted, your preapproval will make it easier to move forward in closing on the home.

Once the lender checks off on the house you’re making an offer on, they will send you a loan commitment letter, enabling you to move forward with closing on the home.

Tweet

Photo by Gerd Altmann via Pixabay

It may be tempting to purchase your first home without the help of a real estate agent. If you want to risk not having professional help to buy your first house, you can, but you’ll be leaving a lot of benefits on the table and assuming all the risks.

The Benefits of Using a Buyer's Agent

• Expert negotiations – Professional agents know the market, costs and what you’re looking for. They can combine the three, plus other variables, to create a formula for negotiating within both your price and comfort levels.
• Full disclosure – A real estate expert knows what to ask regarding disclosures about the property. They’ll ask for items you may not even think of because of their experience. It’s not that the seller is intent on deceiving you, often they don’t know what to disclose either.
• Neighborhood specialist – Some agents choose to represent buyers in specific neighborhoods and can tell them about local facts such as planned road construction or rezoning issues that might have an impact on your decision to buy there (both for and against).
• Closing costs – Your buyer’s agent fights for the best deal for you, the buyer. Relying solely on the seller’s agent could end up costing thousands in extra charges.
• Lender recommendations – An experienced buyer’s agent knows which lenders tend to close on time and which ones might drag out the process. If you’re closely timing a move, your agent can help you avoid being bogged down with a slow underwriting process. They’ll have recent experience with rates, terms, appraisals and comparable sales.
• Making the offer – Real estate purchase offers have a lot of forms and papers that cover all sorts of things from contingencies to mold and asbestos mitigation. Your agent knows the right forms and what needs to go into your offer to both protect you and give you the best chance of having your offer accepted.
• Inspection referrals – having a home inspection protects buyers from unexpected repairs and required renovations once the deal completes. Your agent knows reliable inspectors that look for basement seepage, dry rot, hidden mold, damaged roofs, sewer line issues and a host of other things. You might not think to check the chimney, but your inspector will, saving you from a potential house fire or other issues down the line. A failure in a major system such as electrical wiring, HVAC, or plumbing can wreck your budget if you don’t know about it.

Tweet

Photo by Karolina Grabowska via Pixabay

House plants can add color and texture to your home and allow you to bring a touch of nature indoors, but some can also help improve the air quality in your home. According to a study from NASA, choosing one of these plants allows you to enjoy the added beauty and breathe easier at home, too.

5 Plants that Improve Indoor Air Quality

Plants improve indoor air quality by removing or neutralizing chemicals that may be present in the air. Building materials, cleaning products, home furnishings and other items can all release fumes into the home; even if you don’t smell them, you are breathing them in. The following plants are top air purifiers and neutralize a surprising amount of these harmful substances.

• Boston Fern: Fast growing and easy to care for, this textural beauty is also one of the top air purifiers; Boston Fern removes more formaldehyde from the air than any other plant studied. Formaldehyde can appear in upholstery foam, paints, rugs and more.
• Rubber Plants: These potent air cleansers also make wonderful plants for rooms without direct sunlight. If you’re having a tough time finding sunny spots for plants, choose a rubber plant – they can’t bear direct sun, instead preferring the cool comfort of a dimmer room.
• English Ivy: Cultivate this easy care plant if you want to improve your home’s air quality, but don’t have the world’s greenest thumb. Ivy grows quickly and climbs, making it ideal for training to a frame or topiary – it also won’t mind if you forget to water it for a day or more.
• Peace Lily: While most of the potent air purifiers are pure greenery, peace lily has striking white flowers that can help accent your home. This delicate looking purifier is a favorite for bridal bouquets and decorations, and is surprisingly robust for growing in the home, too. Peace lilies do require some attention, but if you are willing to water daily, it could make an elegant and striking air purifier for your home. Skip this one if you have curious pets, though; the leaves can cause stomach upset if eaten.
• Spider Plant: This hearty variety also reproduces swiftly; the babies can be potted and create even more natural purifying power for your home. Spider plants are pet safe, easy to care for and add both color and texture to their décor, making them a natural choice for any home.

Choosing a few plants from the list can help you breathe easy and feel more comfortable at home. Incorporating these easy care plants into your home décor will help have a more natural, greener environment in more ways than one.

Tweet

Photo by Zbysiu Rodak on Unsplash

Antiques can bring a unique feel and vibe to almost any decor. But what happens when your antique piece doesn't exactly work in the room it was designed for? If that is the case, it may be time to upcycle it for use in a different room. Below you will find out how to turn your one-of-a-kind antique dresser into a unique vanity for your bathroom. Please note, if at any time you feel this project is a little more than DIY, contact a professional to help you through it.

1. Purchase the Sink

You will need to find a sink that can fit within the measurements of the top of your dresser. When measuring, always be sure to measure the actual with of the base of the cabinet or dresser, not the overhang. The sink will be deep enough to pass this point, and most overhangs will be at least an inch or more.

2. Trace & Cut the Sink Hole

After removing the top drawer from the dresser, trace the template that came with the sink onto the top of the dresser with a permanent marker to give you a guide for cutting. Next, use a jigsaw to follow the lines, and cut the piece of wood. Once done, check to make sure that your sink fits, and remove more if needed to accommodate.

3. Finish the Dresser

Once you know that the sink fits, remove it, and sand down the cut area until it is smooth. Then, finish the dresser using your favorite stain or paint. After the paint or stain has dried, add a protective clear coat as this area will be affected by water. 

4. Affix the Sink to the Dresser

After your dresser is completely dry, you will need to apply some clear caulking around the rim. Then place the sink on top and press down firmly. You should not need to add any caulking after placing, but make sure you can see the seal all around it. 

5. Cut the Back to Accommodate Plumbing & Connect Your Pipes

Determine where the plumbing pipes will need to be attached to the dresser, and cut a hole to allow them to pass through. Next, connect all of your plumbing, making sure to use plumbers tape when connecting to reduce the risk of leaks. 

6. Secure the Dresser to the Wall

You will want to make sure that your new vanity is tightly affixed to the wall by more than just the plumbing. Once flush against the wall, secure the dresser to the wall-in studs.

By following the few simple tips above, you can convert your favorite antique dresser or cabinet into a fully functional vanity. This can make a great option for those looking for more vanity drawers or storage in their bathroom. 

Tweet