So believe it or not, even in this market, pricing is incredibly important. And if you're wondering why your house has been sitting or why a house hasn't gone off the market that you've been seeing over and over in your search, if you're buying, it is price, it is literally always price. When I was a pretty new agent, I remember sitting in the office, and there was an agent who had a listing that hadn't sold very quickly. And this again, was a long time ago when things didn't fly off the market like they do now. And she was asking everybody to take a look at her listing and see if they could tell why it hadn't sold. And even brand new, I said, I think it's the price. I think you need to drop the price. And she was indignant that it was not the price that it wasn't always the price. But, if you really think about it, think about you having a great house in a great location, but the condition of the house is rotten - price. You have a weird house in a great location, in great condition, what's going to move it - price. If you have any combination of those factors, and one is off, those are generally things that you can't change, or you can to some degree condition, yes, you probably don't want to totally renovate a house if it's got an unusual floorplan. So price is going to be a factor. And obviously, location, location location is something we say for a reason. And that's because it can't be changed, but what can be changed, is always the price. So this goes back to having a consultation and walking through with your realtor when you are starting to think about selling so that doesn't mean if you say I want to sell my house in September, that's when I want to sell that's when I want to move. You should be in a perfect world at least calling your agent a couple of months before so that we can come through, walkthrough, and tell you, Hey, you're going to get more bang for your buck if you paint, if you replace the front door, if you do a little landscaping. All of those little things can improve the condition which can maybe maximize an unusual floorplan and make it seem more livable. So if you're curious about what you might need to do to get your home ready for sale, or if you know you're going to want to sell your house in a couple of months I'd love to talk to you just give me a call. Reach out and let's set up a time to chat and I can walk through and give you a to-do list that will help you get more money for your home because it really is always price.

So you want to buy a house and you definitely want to have a home inspection, but how does that whole thing work? So for the last few years, I've been saying, we're in a weird market, and a lot of people have waived home inspections. We've seen different sorts of clauses for home inspections, but sometimes you just want to have a regular old full home inspection and you're able to do it with the contract that you have. So let's talk about that really basic, such is the home inspection process. What is a home inspection gonna do? Well, I always look at a home inspector as sort of like your general practitioner. Keep in mind that in most contracts, and in our basic boilerplate contract here in central Virginia, it's going to give you the ability as the buyer to have as many inspections as you want to pay for. But the default home inspection that most people think about is your general home inspection. So that means they're going to go in the crawlspace. They're going to check out the insulation. They're going to make sure the structure looks generally good. They're going to run your faucets, flush the toilets, look at the electrical panel, and test your outlets. All of those things that you're going to be using and living in the house all the time to make sure that they look generally good. So a couple of things to know. Make sure that if you have a question about something, the HVAC looks old, the roof looks old, or you're concerned about the crawlspace, point those things out to your inspector. I have never met an inspector who is not happy to take a closer look at something that you have a particular concern about and just give it an extra once over. I personally usually try to do the home inspections sooner in the timeframe so that if there is something that we need a specialist for, we can get them over there to take a look. So remember, just like you can go to the doctor on Monday and get a cold on Wednesday, the same thing can happen with your home inspection. Your home inspector's gonna have a contract that's gonna say don't hold them liable for things that happen later, because things will always happen later and there's no such thing as a perfect house. Even a house that was finished, new-build, yesterday. So obviously, always get a home inspection if you can. But make sure that you understand what that inspection entails. Make sure that you understand that that inspector is going to answer your questions, they're going to look out for you, they are working for you. Make sure you're comfortable with the inspector and get any specialized inspections that you need, if it's something that you're concerned with. So ideally, whenever you're buying a home, you're gonna get to have a home inspection. If you have questions about great home inspectors or buying a home in general and you want to find out more about that whole process. I'd love to talk to you. Give me a call or reach out to me here or an email and let's set up a time to chat.

Should you even really buy a house in 2023? The market seems like it's totally crazy and interest rates are bananas. Even in this high-interest rate environment, there are some really good reasons why buying a home still may be a better option than renting. Probably the biggest one is that owning a home really is kind of an inflation buster. So what does that mean? Well, if you notice, if you rent or you're looking at rentals, you probably see that rentals continuously go up almost every year, rents are going up in almost every area. So if you're renting, you are hoping that you're going to continue making more to get maybe a nicer place a bigger place, whatever, or to just stay in the place you are, that's going to continually get more expensive. When you buy even with interest rates being a little higher, you are locking in that payment for usually a 30-year term, a 15-year, 20-year, or 30-year term, you kind of can't beat that if your payment is say $2,000. Today, it's still going to be $2,000 in 20 years. Whereas if you rent something that maybe costs $1,500 today if you stayed in that same place, I couldn't even begin to tell you what you're going to be paying in 15 or 20 years. Now, that's not to say that there aren't some extra expenses and things that come along with owning a home. So over time, you do gain appreciation, which is a really great investment when you're living there anyway because you're always going to pay to live somewhere. And the benefit of sort of stockpiling that money for yourself rather than paying someone else's mortgage, as you often hear it referred to in a rental. There's a value in there not just monetary, but a pride of ownership. Additionally, sometimes your landlord may not be really keen on you painting the kitchen cabinets, a mural in the kid's rooms, making some renovations to the bathroom, that sort of thing. And when you own your home, you really can customize it to just what you want it to be. There are also tax benefits that come with owning a home as opposed to renting. But always consult a tax professional when you're thinking or talking about any sort of tax-related things because I am not one. And remember, even though interest rates are higher right now if you can afford the payment right now, you are pretty, I'm not going to say guaranteed but almost guaranteed, that at some point rates will tick down and your payment is likely to become less rather than more (if you refinance). Whereas with renting it is 100% guaranteed to go up over time. So if you're thinking maybe I would be interested in buying a home, I'd love to talk to you and help you walk through all of the steps. Look at all the information and see if it is the right choice for you right now. Or maybe it's something you want to do in the next six months to a year. I'd love to talk to you give me a call. Reach out via email and let's set up a time to chat to see if it is the right decision for you.

So great, waving an inspection is a great way to get your contract at the top of the heap in a multiple-offer situation, but should YOU do it? I am going to tell you that if you don't have some sort of risk tolerance, don't do it. But if you do have a little bit of risk tolerance, there are ways to get around it. So you can pay an inspector a couple of hundred dollars to walk through the property with you and give you a general idea of how those systems, that you may not know how to assess, what kind of condition they're in. But at the end of the day, you are 100% going to have something happen, whether you have an inspection or not. I call these oh s**t moments, it might be six weeks, it might be six days, it might be a year. You can also buy a home warranty, the seller can buy a home warranty for you, or you can buy one yourself, but they're not going to cover everything. So you're still going to need a buffer. It is always a bit of a risk when you have a home that things might go wrong. So if you are on a razor-thin margin, a razor-thin budget, and you can only afford your mortgage payment, that may not be the house you want to buy anyway, inspection or not. But ultimately, your options are probably to pay way more than the asking price and ask for that inspection, giving the seller some sort of security, that they're going to have still a higher offer, even if they end up with items that they have to repair. Or you're gonna still probably pay more than you want in this market and waive the inspection. It's kind of up to you and where your risk tolerance is. But remember, at the end of the day, if everything is equal, that seller is always going to pick the offer that is the least risk for them. So the more risk you can take on the better price you are going to get on the house that you're purchasing. If you want to take a look at more ways to build an offer, write an offer, or buy a home in general, check out some of my other YouTube videos. Or better yet, give me a call. I'd love to talk to you and I'd love to help you find your dream home.

Summer is here, and that normally means a dip in activity for the real estate market, but over the last few years, "normally" is a term that we've all sort of tossed out the window. (I'm sure you know what I mean.) If you're wondering where we are in the Metro Richmond market, here's a little snapshot of what's going on right now, as we dive into summer... As of the end of May, the average home's sales price was $455,408. For a little perspective, that's up from $428,999 in April of this year, and $435,893 in May of 2022. This despite the fact that interest rates are up by over a full percentage point year over year, and of course, lots of predictions that home values would tank. Those predictions didn't amount to much, since the tight market of the last few years has, in fact, just gotten tighter. Why? There are a few reasons- we are in a legitimate housing shortage, as many builders either stopped or slowed building any type of housing units after the bust of '07-'08,  whole new buying pool has dropped into the market in the past few years, and with interest rates rising, there are loads of people sitting in their home with a 3% rate not even thinking about selling and having to buy at more than double that rate. Ugh. I know. Frustrating (to say the least) turn of events! That shortage of inventory means that while last year (2022) seemed like the craziest ever with homes selling on average at 107% of the asking price, we've only dropped down to 104% a year later, with much higher interest rates. The average days on market in the Metro Richmond market is only slightly higher than a year ago. In May '22, homes were on the market for 12 days, and now it's 17. But remember, that's the AVERAGE. The median is exactly the same, at 6 days. My thought, though, is that that is a muddy data point. Many homes lately are going on the market with delayed showings, often going on the market on Wednesday, with showings starting Thursday, and offers being reviewed on Monday or so (or some combination of similar days). In other words, "sold in one day!" is often not happening, as showings run for a set number of days, with a deadline for offers. What does all this mean for you? At the risk of repeating myself, if you're thinking of selling, it's still a great time. With so few homes on the market, your odds of selling very quickly are great. And while you'll definitely maximize what you get for your home if you do some work like staging, painting, and repairs, you'll likely still be able to sell easily even if you don't have the time or money to do those things. (So if you have a house you've been wanting to sell, but don't want to "put the work in" to get it done, NOW is a great time to put it on the market!) If you're looking to buy, this is a market where having a great buyer's agent can really put you ahead of the pack. There are lots of ways to "win" a home in a competitive situation without giving away all of your money and peace of mind, but it definitely takes planning and strategy right now. If you're thinking of buying or selling in this market (or anytime), I'd love to  help you get where you want to be. Let's talk!         *Information here is based on numbers from ShowingTime/Market Stats, and CVRMLS **Numbers are for the Metro Richmond area only

So I have lots of clients, especially millennial clients, who frankly could live in a one-bedroom apartment for the rest of their lives and be totally fine with it. But the one thing that they're going to buy a house for... their dog. We are actually seeing more and more people buy homes for their dogs or their pets. So, if you're one of those people that is thinking, I want to buy a house, but it really has to be a good fit for my dog, here are some of the things that you want to think about. First of all, you want to make sure it has a yard, probably a fence. Fences are not cheap. So if you find a house that has already got a fence, that's definitely a win. Is it a walkable neighborhood? Is it somewhere that you're going to go out and take your little guy for a stroll in the evenings or before work? Do you feel comfortable doing that? Are there sidewalks? Is there a good shoulder that's going to give you a lot of space? Richmond is such a dog-friendly city. We've got lots of cool dog parks and cool places to go. You can bring your pet from breweries to dog parks and that's just a great way for you and your pet to meet new people and dogs. So if you're one of those people that is looking and really wants to be dog-centric in what you're looking for to call home, I'd love to help you. Maxwell can weigh in. He won't necessarily be at every show but he will give his opinion.

You're getting ready to buy your first house, but everyone you know who bought a house in the last couple of years didn't have an inspection. But guess what? You can! Let's talk about home inspections. If you have questions, reach out to me, I'd love to help. DM me on Instagram @cindybennettrealestate or via my website at cindybennett.net

You've been thinking about buying a house for the last few years - perhaps waiting for the market to crash. Our market is definitely shifting. Is it better to buy houses priced on the high end and interest rates low OR flip that - interest rates high and housing prices coming down? Let's talk about it. Can I answer your real estate questions? Reach out, I'd love to talk. You can find me on instagram @cindybennettrealestate.

So you just saw that that house you offered on sold and it went for less than you offered, how the heck did that happen? Sometimes it's all about the money. And sometimes it's not having an agent that's going to do the research to make sure that your offer is best positioned to be appealing to that individual seller is going to make a huge difference in getting your offer accepted. Just like you may have an individual reason for buying a home, your family has grown, you're downsizing, you're moving to a new city, new job, things like that the seller is gonna have their own motivation as well. Knowing what those things are, are going to help you find that sweet spot that's going to dovetail your needs with theirs and get that winning offer. If you want to find out more ways to get your offer accepted in this market or get started on the process of buying a home give me a call send me a message I'd love to talk to you.