Market Trends Archives - Steelbridge Realty LLC

Improving the Property Value of Your Home Over the Long Term

Jeffrey Tumbarello — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 04:15:20 +0000

Your home is your most valuable asset, so it makes perfect sense to want to improve its value over time. While certain factors, like location and market popularity, are out of your control, the good news is that there are many ways you can take your home’s value into your own hands. Making smart home additions and keeping up with maintenance are two solid ways to ensure your home’s value steadily increases over time.

Improving the Property Value of Your Home Over the Long Term: Pay Attention to the Small Details

We’re used to watching magical home makeovers take place on HGTV, but you don’t need to gut your entire house to improve its value. In fact, it’s often the small details that make the biggest difference. Plus, breaking up your dream improvements into smaller projects will help you stick to a budget and avoid feeling overwhelmed with what you want to tackle.

You can upgrade your home with minor improvements, like new faucets, lighting, or a new front door. You can improve your home’s exterior by planting some fresh greenery and adding new exterior lighting to illuminate your home’s best features. Keep yourself on pace by tackling no more than one small project per month, and you’ll make a big impact in no time.

Adding to the Home

In addition to upgrading existing parts of your home, making new additions will also improve your home’s property value. Skylights are one of the many additions that can add value to your home. New skylights or bay windows are relatively inexpensive home additions, and they’ll brighten up the interior with desirable natural lighting.

Improving the Property Value of Your Home Over the Long Term: Maintenance

Investing in your home doesn’t have to mean dramatic updates and pricey remodeling projects. In fact, sticking to a regular home maintenance schedule is one of the best ways you can retain and even increase your property’s value over time. You can figure out which parts of your home need TLC by doing a thorough walkthrough and inspection. Pay special attention to the condition of the roof, heating and cooling system, water heater and siding. Maintenance can extend the lifespan of these features and even prevent costly damage and repairs.

Improving your home’s property value doesn’t have to break the bank. In fact, there are quite a few low-cost projects you can tackle to raise your home’s value in the long term. And winter is the perfect time to get started!

Get your home’s current value estimated here!

Steelbridge Realty LLC is a Licensed Real Estate Brokerage that utilizes cutting-edge marketing techniques and data-driven Real Estate solutions in today’s ever-changing environment. Our group of professionals have decades of experience and have navigated through many business cycles. Our diverse background gives us the tools to guide people towards successful decisions.

The post Improving the Property Value of Your Home Over the Long Term appeared first on Steelbridge Realty LLC.

Why Real Estate is a Good Investment Right Now

Jeffrey Tumbarello — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 17:23:11 +0000

If you are looking to put your hard-earned cash into a good investment, you should seriously consider investing in real estate. Real estate is an attractive investment for multiple reasons. One of which is the fact that it is a tangible asset of enduring worth. Even when the economy drags, you may lose some of its worth, but the actual asset is undamaged. This moment, however, is a perfect time to enter the real estate investment field.

Why Real Estate is a Good Investment: Immediate Cash Flow

Unlike stocks, bonds, and other investments, an investment property can give you immediate cash flow. One of the simplest options is to buy a multi-family rental property. A few hundred thousand dollars down can secure a mortgage sufficient for a modest sized rental. Once the property is yours, all you need to do is manage it. You will start receiving income from rental payments and if these exceed your mortgage payment, that’s positive cash flow. You also get to enjoy the benefits of increased property value over time. You can use this to leverage equity loans to finance further investments.

Financing Options

One of the most important factors to consider is the interest rate that current mortgages are offering. The higher the interest rate, the larger your mortgage payment is going to be. This can significantly reduce your margins for profit. The mortgage market right now offers record-low interest rates. That means that if you can lock in the interest rate right now, you could finance an investment property with a potential for maximum profit.

Why Real Estate is a Good Investment: Current Demographics

Another key factor for real estate investors is demographics. For those interested in rental properties, it’s best if there are a large group of people looking to rent. Right now, that is exactly the case. There is a huge wave of baby boomers that are starting to look into retirement. They are downsizing their homes and looking for a rental to live in through their golden years. On top of that, the upcoming millennial generation tends to prefer renting over buying. This is in large part because millennials tend to change jobs and move around more than previous generations. Not wanting to be tied down by a house and mortgages, they opt to rent instead. The combined trend of the millennials and baby boomers is creating a huge demand for rental properties.

The trick to smart investing is to recognize when a good deal is on the table. A poor investor will tell you to just wait and see. Unfortunately, by the time waiting is over, the deal has disappeared. The current situation is prime for investing, but it won’t hang around forever. Educate yourself and act fast before your chances are gone.

Looking to invest in real estate? Find your next investment property in our listings!

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How to Find Great Deals on the Housing Market

Jeffrey Tumbarello — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 19:56:23 +0000

Everyone wants to find great deals, but in this housing market, it can be difficult. It can be incredibly competitive, and many properties might ask you to pay an arm and a leg for the deal. Here are a few ideas to help you find great deals on the housing market.

Buy a Foreclosed Property

Buying a foreclosed property is a great way to get a good deal on a housing property, but it can also be extremely risky for many reasons. You might be buying during the short sale—directly from the seller themselves. Or you might be buying the home in an auction, which is incredibly risky as you’ll most likely have to buy the home in cash and as-is. The home might also be sold by the bank, and it may be offered at a discount. If you do decide to buy a foreclosed property, know that it is not for the faint of heart and can be quite a risky game to play.

Find Great Deals: Buy a Fixer-Upper

You can also buy a fixer-upper. A fixer upper home will require a lot of work to transform it into a livable place, but if the bones of the house are good, and you like creating your own dream home, then a fixer upper may be a good option for you. There are many exterior fixes you should be prepared to pay for. These include repairing siding, repairing the roof, adding trim and painting. This doesn’t include any fixes you may want to make to the property itself. Fixing a fixer upper is also not for the faint of heart, but it can be quite a dream come true to see your dream come to life when the project is finished.

Find Great Deals: Check Craigslist

Another thing you can do is check Craigslist. Craigslist is a great place to check because they will post listings for houses, many of which are in a fixer upper state. It may be the opportunity to find a house you want to fix and make your dream home. Craigslist is a great resource for real estate purchases and can help you find a good deal on a home.

You can find great deals on the housing market, but the deals you find will likely require a lot of work. If you’re willing to put in that work, you can easily find the home of your dreams.

To find the home of your dreams, take a look at our listings!

RE: How to Find Great Deals on the Housing Market

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What You Can Do With the Large Land on Your New Property

Jeffrey Tumbarello — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 19:51:52 +0000

It sounds but having some large land attached to your property could be problematic. So you’ve got a new property and it comes with a large piece of empty land. At a loss as to how to use it? Never fear! There are many things you can do with empty land.

Create the Ultimate Social Space

You can create a large social gathering place for friends and family. Whether that means building a structure where you can host dinners and parties or even screen movies, or simply installing seating where you can spend time talking with family and friends, your empty piece of land can easily be transformed into an oasis for spending time with the people you love. Consider including a fire pit, outdoor kitchen, or other features which can maximize the success of social gatherings.

Large Land on Your New Property: Start a Small Farm

You can start a small farm on your land. Having your own farm where you can grow your own food and raise animals for different resources is a great idea that promotes self-sufficiency, and it’s never been easier to start one with the knowledge and resources found online.

When it comes to growing food, it is easy and beneficial to purchase seeds online. There are lots of benefits to buying your seeds online, such as convenience, affordability, and diversity of options.

Turn It Into a Business Venture

You can also use your vacant land as a way to make money. Look at it from a business standpoint. Are there resources which could be harvested and sold, such as wood? Foresting timber can be a valuable pursuit, and you could even start your own firewood-selling business.

You could also rent out the land as a place where customers could store RVs, boats, or even horses. You could turn it into a campground and charge people to camp on your land—although this might also require paying for additional insurance. There is also always the option of selling the land, if you do not feel motivated enough to spend the time and money to develop it into something new.

Large Land on Your New Property: Make a Solar Farm

Depending on where you live, you could also use your land to harvest solar energy. Create a solar farm and sell the energy to energy providers or electric companies. In order to do this, you would need to install solar panels on the land or rent the space to companies who could build solar panels themselves.

The possibilities are endless. You can turn the land into a place for entertainment, growing food, or making a little extra money on the side. Whichever direction you choose, you will have plenty of options.

Whether you want a house with lots of land or a small yard, we’ve got lots to choose from. Check out our listings!
Steelbridge Realty LLC is a Licensed Real Estate Brokerage that utilizes cutting-edge marketing techniques and data-driven Real Estate solutions in today’s ever-changing environment. Our group of professionals have decades of experience and have navigated through many business cycles. Our diverse background gives us the tools to guide people towards successful decisions.

RE: What You Can Do With the Large Land on Your New Property

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3 Tips to Keep in Mind When Staging a Living Room

Jeffrey Tumbarello — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 19:21:19 +0000

Staging a living room can help buyers envision a home as theirs. If you’re in the process of selling your home, then you’ve probably wondered about staging key rooms such as the living room. It’s easy to feel stuck if you don’t know where to start. Fortunately, these three tips will point you in the right direction for making the most of your staging efforts.

Staging a Living Room: Add Accessories and Simple Decorations

The key to successfully staging your living room is to keep it neutral. Ideally, potential buyers should walk in and imagine themselves living there. If all of your personal items are on display, it’s harder for buyers to imagine themselves living in your home.

Instead, keep your furnishings, paint colors, and accessories as neutral as possible. That doesn’t mean that you can’t or shouldn’t add decorative touches here or there. You can, but be strategic about it. Simply adding a nice rug can improve your home style. Truly, in this case, less is often more.

Create an Open Layout With the Furniture

Openness sells. It feels less claustrophobic and more inviting. The last thing you want is for a prospective homebuyer to feel closed in. Granted, you may not have much space, which makes this principle a little more challenging but not impossible.

If your living room lacks space or feels cramped, there are a few steps you can take to create the appearance of an open layout. The strategic selection and use of mirrors lets in more light, which makes a room feel more expansive. Second, get rid of the big, bulky furniture. That just takes up floor space. If you can, replace the furniture with smaller, “daintier” pieces. The extra space created by this trick will make the room feel more open.

Staging a Living Room: Declutter

Clutter is off-putting to buyers. It makes a space look closed in and oppressive. If the clutter is bad enough, potential homebuyers are also going to wonder about the cleanliness of the home in general. While it is possible to have a cluttered and yet not dirty house, most people don’t make the distinction between the two. For many, if a home is cluttered, it’s also dirty. Pick up your clutter and avoid giving buyers the impression that your home is dirty.

If you’re about to stage a living room or another room in your home, please believe that your efforts will be more than worth it. Staged homes sell faster and for more money than non-staged homes, making staging well worth the effort.

If you’re looking to buy or sell a home in Fort Myers, be sure to contact us and see how we can help you.

If you’re thinking of selling your home, contact us so we can help!

The post 3 Tips to Keep in Mind When Staging a Living Room appeared first on Steelbridge Realty LLC.

What You Need to Know Before Buying a Vacation Home

Jeffrey Tumbarello — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 16:04:49 +0000

Buying a vacation home is a dream for many working individuals is to one day purchase their very own vacation home. Vacation homes can be a great investment as you always have somewhere to stay at over the summer and have the option to rent it out during the down seasons. However, before you set off with your real estate agent to look at homes, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. Thus, here are a few things to know before buying a vacation home.

Buying a Vacation Home: Choosing a Location

Have you ever dreamed of having that perfect background for your vacation home? No matter if it’s a coastal view, desert landscape, or white cap mountains, there is a vacation home for each of these types of landscapes. Although you should always choose a vacation home that you and your family will enjoy, you must also consider the renting possibilities. Renting out a vacation home is one of the ways people can actually afford to purchase it in the first place. Thus, location is something you must keep in mind. For example, if a property is too off the beaten path and within a treacherous landscape, it can be rather difficult to have a constant influx of people seeking to rent your property. If you’re worried about finding tenants on your own, a property manager can help you figure things out, according to TurnKey.

Buying a Vacation Home: Factor The Extra Costs

Unfortunately, purchasing a vacation home is more than just paying the initial price of the property. There are many hidden and not so hidden fees that you must pay each month, even if you’re not present on the property. One of the most common surprises buyers face is the fact that they will need to place down a larger down payment then they anticipated. This is because most buyers won’t have their vacation home as their primary place of residence and thus legally must pay more. Other costs that you might incur are repairs. According to Century Insurance, homes that go months without being inhabited are more likely to need repairs. These might include beach homes that won’t be used during the winter months. Always make sure to get a detailed report from your insurance about what is and isn’t covered during these repairs.

Buying a Vacation Home: Think About the Future

A common move that buyers make is actually moving into their vacation homes once they are retired. Therefore, when looking for properties, it is essential that you also think about the future. Will this particular home fit your needs as you age? Are the repairs too much for you to truly enjoy the home? Can your family come to visit without the home feeling too cramped? These are only a few of the questions you must ask yourself before purchasing a vacation home.

Starting to look for a vacation home is an exciting part of anyone’s life. All that hard work is finally paying off, and you can now enjoy a vacation home. However, it is important to understand what comes with this move. Utilize the information above to help yourself make the right moves during your vacation home purchasing process.

If you’re thinking of selling your home, contact us so we can help!

The post What You Need to Know Before Buying a Vacation Home appeared first on Steelbridge Realty LLC.

Overlooked Home Features That Can Increase Market Value

Jeffrey Tumbarello — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 15:25:49 +0000

The focus of many home improvements is to increase market value. There are many factors that go into determining a home’s overall value. Some are obvious, such as size, school district quality, and property taxes, just to name a few. These major factors are often immutable and cannot be changed. However, all too often, people get caught up in these larger items but forget smaller ones. Many of these factors are very much within your control. To that end, here is a look at three factors that can make a real, positive impact on your home’s market value.

Increase Market Value: Change The View

A gorgeous view can be spectacular to look at, a perfect backdrop for a nighttime party, and a big boost to your property values. Sometimes, you are lucky and have a house at the peak of a gorgeous vista. Other times, you need to work to make those gorgeous sights a reality. Thankfully, there are ways to create beautiful views outside the window of every room if you have the flexibility. This often involves major landscaping and renovations, but it can be done.

Increase Market Value: Smart Home Compatibility

Smart-home compatible systems have become wildly popular as of late. While not everyone needs them, they have become a real selling point for many people, so much so that their mere presence has begun to increase home values. The cost of installing this compatibility can be cheap or more expensive, depending on the features that actually come with the systems. However, the benefits of a smart home compatible system, including climate control, security monitoring, and the ability to control electronic devices, are something that more and more homeowners have come to expect.

Here’s another article you might find helpful: How to Get a Home Loan When You Have Low Credit Score

If you’re thinking of selling your home, contact us so we can help!

The post Overlooked Home Features That Can Increase Market Value appeared first on Steelbridge Realty LLC.

Can I Perform an Inspection Myself or Should I Hire an Expert?

Jeffrey Tumbarello — Tue, 11 Feb 2020 22:47:19 +0000

It is imperative to perform an inspection when you buy real estate! If you are planning on buying or selling a home in the near future, it is a good idea to perform an inspection of the property before the transaction is complete. While you may feel like you can perform the inspection yourself, it’s wise to have a professional conduct one for you. This is because you could miss something in your rush to finalize the sale of your home or close on the purchase of your next house.

Benefits of Using a Professional

One of the many potential benefits of using a professional to perform an inspection is the fact that they will provide an objective overview of the property. If you are present during the inspection, a professional may go into detail about why the home is in good condition or why it may need repairs. Having this information allows you to make an educated decision about buying a home. It can also help you provide better information to those who are thinking about buying your home.

Can I Perform an Inspection Myself: Are You Capable of Doing the Inspection Safely?

If you don’t have the proper tools and equipment, it can be dangerous to enter a crawlspace or other confined spaces in a home yourself. Attempting to walk on a roof can also be dangerous if you don’t have the tools and experience to do so properly. Your safety is crucial so it’s better to hire a professional with the proper tools and safety equipment rather than risk injuring yourself. Evaluate where you need to inspect and if it’s safe for you to go there.

Can I Perform an Inspection Myself: Know What to Look For

It’s important to understand the signs of electrical issues. Some of these signs include corroded wires, lights that flicker and a general burning smell in a given space. You’ll also want to check for stains on the ceiling or walls that could indicate the presence of water damage. Greasy streaks on the floors could indicate the rodents such as mice or rats currently live in the home.

The Consequences of Missing Something

If you fail to find signs of damage in a home, you may be on the hook for repairing a leaky roof or a cracked foundation. This may be true whether the damage was present in your own home or in one that you eventually purchased.

Ideally, a home inspection will be performed by a professional who knows what they are looking at. While doing an inspection yourself may be less expensive, there is a greater chance that you’ll make a mistake or put yourself in harm’s way. Make the investment to hire a professional and stay safe.

You might also be interested in this article: How Can I Avoid Expensive Home Damage Caused by Weather

Thinking about moving? Click here to learn about our free home value estimation service!

Market Trends Archives - Steelbridge Realty LLC

Improving the Property Value of Your Home Over the Long Term

Improving the Property Value of Your Home Over the Long Term: Pay Attention to the Small Details

Adding to the Home

Improving the Property Value of Your Home Over the Long Term: Maintenance

Why Real Estate is a Good Investment Right Now

Why Real Estate is a Good Investment: Immediate Cash Flow

Financing Options

Why Real Estate is a Good Investment: Current Demographics

How to Find Great Deals on the Housing Market

Buy a Foreclosed Property

Find Great Deals: Buy a Fixer-Upper

Find Great Deals: Check Craigslist

What You Can Do With the Large Land on Your New Property

Create the Ultimate Social Space

Large Land on Your New Property: Start a Small Farm

Turn It Into a Business Venture

Large Land on Your New Property: Make a Solar Farm

3 Tips to Keep in Mind When Staging a Living Room

Staging a Living Room: Add Accessories and Simple Decorations

Create an Open Layout With the Furniture

Staging a Living Room: Declutter

What You Need to Know Before Buying a Vacation Home

Buying a Vacation Home: Choosing a Location

Buying a Vacation Home: Factor The Extra Costs

Buying a Vacation Home: Think About the Future

Overlooked Home Features That Can Increase Market Value

Increase Market Value: Change The View

Increase Market Value: Smart Home Compatibility

Can I Perform an Inspection Myself or Should I Hire an Expert?

Benefits of Using a Professional

Can I Perform an Inspection Myself: Are You Capable of Doing the Inspection Safely?

Can I Perform an Inspection Myself: Know What to Look For

The Consequences of Missing Something

How to Get a Home Loan When You Have Low Credit Score

Get a Home Loan When You Have Low Credit: FHA Loan

Get a Home Loan When You Have Low Credit: VA Loans

USDA 503 Loan Program

New to Real Estate Investing? Check Out These Three Top Tips

Learn the Market

Know the Risks

Find an Asset Class That Works for You