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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.