How Do You Find the Right Inspector?

You shouldn’t overlook the importance of a home inspector when buying a house. How do you find the right one for you?

Selling your Birmingham home? Get a free home value report

Buying a Birmingham home? Search all homes for sale

When you hire a home inspector, there are few distinct things you need to know.

First and foremost, the answer to the question “Should we hire a home inspector?” is absolutely yes. You also get to choose the home inspector. We will recommend a list of home inspectors to you if you want, because you need to hire a professional, not your uncle or cousin.

A professional inspector will give you pictures that we can use to negotiate repairs on the house. If we don’t have that official formalized report, it’s much harder to do these negotiations on your behalf.

Not all inspectors are created equal.

So how do you choose an inspector and what questions should you ask? The one you hire will be based on conversations you have and how comfortable you are with them in helping you protect the future of your investment. You want to ask things like whether they actually get up on the roof or if they just take photos. Do they actually go up and find out what’s going on in the attic? Also, ask them how they test things like electrical systems and heating and AC. 

Finally, realize that not all home inspectors are created equal. As you talk with them, compare costs to the value they present to you. An inspector may charge less, but they might not get in the attic or up on the roof, for example.

If you need a recommendation for a good inspector or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in the Birmingham market, give us a call or send us an email. We’d be happy to help you!

Why You Should Never Buy or Sell Without an Agent

Many people who think they don’t need an agent underestimate how complicated a real estate transaction can be. Not only should you hire an agent, you should hire an expert agent. 

Selling your Birmingham home? Get a free home value report

Buying a Birmingham home? Search all homes for sale

You should never buy or sell a home without a real estate agent. I think there are a lot of people out there who get taken advantage of because they are unaware of what can happen during a transaction or because they work with an agent who is not an expert. Some agents are simply inexperienced or only working for the sale. These agents will not look out for your best interests. 

There are four things you should look for when hiring a real estate agent: 

1. Expertise: Look for someone who knows a lot about the market and will take the time to find out what you’re looking for. A real estate agent should act as your consultant and advisor, not a salesperson. A good agent invests their time in finding the best transaction for you. They are not just trying to sell you a house so they can move on to the next deal. 

2. Search power: Real estate agents who treat this as our profession are networking constantly. We talk with sellers and other agents to find out exactly what’s going on in the market. A lot of the time, we even have the ability to match up a buyer and a seller before the seller even puts their house on the market. Not all agents can do that. 

Your Realtor should act as your advisor and consultant.

3. Negotiating skills: A lot of Realtors may not be trained in negotiation. On my team, we take negotiating very seriously. In fact, we are all getting certified as negotiation experts so that we can provide extra value to you during your transaction. 

4. Connections: We are networking every day to find you the best lenders, home inspectors, pest inspectors, and contractors. No matter what you need for your home, we want to be able to connect you with someone who can take care of you and your property. 

Real estate transactions can be complicated, so it’s incredibly important that you find the right agent to work with. Don’t just go in alone. If you have any questions about buying or selling a home, give us a call or send us an email. My team and I would be happy to help you!

Can You Sell a Home During Fall or Winter?

Thinking about selling your home? Contrary to popular belief, fall and winter are actually great times to get top dollar for your home.

Selling your Birmingham home? Get a free home value report

Buying a Birmingham home? Search all homes for sale

I feel pretty strongly that the fall and winter seasons are actually great times to sell your home. 

A lot of people worry that fewer homes sell in the fall and winter than in the spring and summer. While this may be true, the difference is due to the fact that not as many sellers have their homes on the market. If you look at Birmingham historically, it is a minuscule difference.

I was talking with some folks looking to get into the real estate business and I explained to them that homes in Birmingham sell at almost as high a rate in the slowest month as they do during the fastest month. It's only a difference of 50 to 60 houses, which may seem like a lot, but in terms of the 10,000 to 12,000 houses that sell in the Birmingham market each year, it's not that much of a difference.

You'll have less competition and higher demand.

If you sell in the fall or winter, you will have less competition and higher demand from buyers who are looking at homes. There are also a lot of people who are relocating–companies relocate around the first of the year to get people in for the next year.

Also, remember that interest rates are at an all-time low right now. There is no guarantee that they will stay low going into spring, so that buyer that may qualify for your house today may not qualify in a couple months. The demand for your home in the fall and winter will be a lot higher, which will allow you to collect more money for the sale of your house.

If you've been thinking about selling your home, I hope you found this information helpful. If you have any questions for us, don't hesitate to give us a call or send an email. We look forward to talking with you soon.