The Terranova Team

  Both buyers and sellers need (or, at least, could benefit from) the services of a real estate agent. The process of buying/selling real estate can be more than a little intimidating, especially for first-timers. But using a bad agent can make matters even worse, and that’s something you want, no doubt, to avoid.  So to help you steer clear of bad agents, here are 4 signs of a bad real estate agent in Delaware. What a Good Agent Does But before we get into the signs of a bad  real estate agent in Delaware , let’s take a look at what a good real estate agent does or should do so that you’ll have something to compare against. At a bare minimum, here’s what a good agent does/should do . . .  Provide pricing expertise – Many sellers simply don’t know “the true worth of their homes. As a result, they are likely to overprice or underprice a house when selling. Since the real estate agent is familiar with the prices of s...

  Many homeowners and in particular home buyers just don’t give a lot of thought to homeowner’s insurance. They know they need it and often just get what is most convenient. But that approach can wind up costing you a lot of money. Depending on the size of your home and the insurance company, the yearly price for insurance can vary by hundreds of dollars. So it can pay handsomely to shop around and deploy certain money-saving strategies. Check out these 5 ways to save money on homeowner’s insurance in Delaware . 1. Increase the Deductible A quick, sure-fire way to save money on your homeowner’s insurance in Delaware is simply to increase the deductible. For example, raising the deductible from $500 to $1,000 could save you as much as 20% on your insurance.Increasing the deductible will certainly allow you to keep more money in your pocket each month instead of paying it out to the insurer. But if you do this, you have to make sure you have enough money saved to...

  When you feel it has come time to put your home on the local market, there are certainly things you should avoid doing if at all possible. To prevent you from falling into these potential traps, let’s look at 3 things you should never do when selling your house in Delaware. Price Your Home Inappropriately What is possibly the biggest way to make or break any home sale is setting an unrealistic initial asking price.  The goal when setting your asking price is to take into consideration the price of other similar homes in your neighborhood that have sold over the last few years. Look at their final closing prices and factor that heavily into where you feel your home falls on that price scale.  It can be quite easy to overvalue your home because of the time and money you feel you have put into it topped off with any sentimental value. Remember that buyers are not going to translate that sentimental value into actual market value and do your best to...

  Some sellers feel that absolutely everything has to be picture-perfect before they can put their home up for sale, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Let’s take a look at these 5 tips to sell a house that needs repairs in Delaware. Honesty Is the Best Policy When it comes time to put your fixer-upper on the local market, you need to be prepared to carefully answer some important questions that your potential buyers may have.  A major part of selling your property is building trust between yourself and any interested buyers. The last thing you want to do is eliminate that trust instantly by trying to pretend an obvious issue does not exist, or by trying to sell the buyer on the idea that the problem isn’t as bad as they think.  As soon as any buyer thinks there’s a chance you’re covering something up they will become skeptical of everything else with your home and only begin to scrutinize every detail that much more. Focus on the ...

  Selling your home can be a complicated process chock full of confusing details that are potentially easily overlooked and disastrous for the finalization of the transaction. To help get you in the right frame of mind to get your home sold quickly and easily, here’s what you should know about selling your house with contingencies in Delaware. Understanding Contingencies As implied by the name “contingency,” these are bits that are inserted into an offer or real estate contract that must be fulfilled in order for the transaction to close.  Despite there being some circumstances where you may need a contingency to protect yourself as the seller, the general rule of thumb is the fewer contingencies included in an offer or contract, the better.  That’s not to say that all contingencies will cause problems or kill a deal, but without as many hang-ups along the way, a transaction is more likely to close. The Bigger Picture There are all diffe...

  A lot of home sellers jump at the first agent that dazzles them with local ads or is recommended by a family member or friend. Let’s open up your options and set you off on the right path by going over what everyone ought to know about choosing a listing agent in Delaware. What They Bring to the Table In order to get the most out of any agent, you have to grasp what functions they regularly fulfill when selling your home.  Agents come equipped with volumes of local market knowledge that help them to price your home competitively while maximizing returns. They also have access to the Multiple Listing Service – or MLS – which is a big database of all of the properties for sale in the area. Having access to all of this information on the fly goes a long way to help make sure your home isn’t priced outside the norms of your neighborhood.  A listing agent also provides an emotional barrier during negotiations and will always keep things professional...