Now that the end of the year is upon us, it’s time to start thinking about some New Year resolutions. If your 2022 resolution is to buy or sell a home, here are some suggestions to help you along the way. For everyone else, we’ve added some tips about building equity and investing in updates to your home.
Buying:
If you’re in the market to buy your first home or if you’re upsizing/downsizing, here are some ideas that can help you make this dream a reality:
- Create a buying timeline and work towards your goal
- Start or increase your savings for a down payment
- Start the loan pre-approval process if you intend to use it
- Meet with your real estate agent
- Start looking for homes
Selling:
If you are planning to put your home on the market in 2022, here are some good places to start:
- Create a selling timeline to work towards having your home ready for market
- Make a list of home improvements and a plan on how to manage them
- Get rid of the clutter
- Contact a real estate agent
Building Equity:
You may not be moving this year, but you can create a plan to increase your equity in the home you have now. Here are some tips:
- Take advantage of low interest rates by refinancing to a lower rate
- Consider refinancing to a shorter term loan
- Make extra lump-sum payments. Consider using your cash gifts, work bonuses, or any other unexpected income toward paying down your principal.
- Pay every two weeks instead of once a month. A biweekly payment plan can substantially reduce the amount of interest you pay because you are breaking the interest accrual down from 30 days to every 15.
- Pay a little extra each month. Even if you’re only rounding up to the next $100 increment, putting a little extra money towards your principal every month can add up.
Investing In Your Home
You can add a lot of value and additional enjoyment to your home by investing in improvements and upgrades.
- Choose a home improvement project that will yield a good return on investment when you do choose to sell
- Create a home checklist to track maintenance projects over the year
- Make eco-improvements to increase your home’s sustainability and reduce your utility payments over the long-term. These improvements are generally a good return on your investment when reselling.
- Upgrade windows for better insulation
- Add alternative energy resources
- Update toilets and showers to low-flow
- Install a programmable thermostat
- Update to energy-efficient appliances
Via – Windermere Evergreen
