School is BACK IN SESSION (soon) & I’m here to share not only your August Home to do list but also what else I have up my sleeve for the last month of Summer!
The kids are going back to school, but so is my blog!
Throughout the month of August I’ll be sharing all the home buying and selling basics – the things to know before getting started, your credit score breakdown, how to find an agent – all things real estate “school”! So grab your notebooks, sharpen your pencils, get ready for class to start and make sure to contact me with all your real estate questions!
I really love reading YA (young adult) books. At least some of them. I don’t really go for the fantasy and vampire books but the ones that are about kids in high school are usually pretty fun and Radha and Jai’s Recipe for Love is no exception. I also love to read about different cultures so this book also satisfied that requirement.
Radha is a very talented Kathak dancer with a very involved (overly involved?) dance mom. At a large international dance competition, she over hears other dancers talking about her and she is horrified and leaves the competition without dancing.
Radha moves to New Jersey where she is given a second chance at finding the “dance joy” that’s been eluding her but she’s unable to perform without having anxiety attacks. At her new school, she meets Jai, the leader of the Bollywood Beats dance group. They are minus one choreographer and have no dance for their winter competition at which scouts will attend and future dance opportunities can be achieved.
Jai and Radha like each other and Radha agrees to choreograph the dance for the group as it will also allow her to graduate without having to be onstage.
During this time, Radha also rekindles her relationship with her father in Chicago. He is a chef in his own restaurant and gives her a notebook of recipes that belongs to her grandfather. She starts learning how to cook the Indian food her grandfather and father cook and discovers a new passion.
I loved reading about the dance competition, the relationship between Radha and Jai, and reading the Indian recipes a lot. This was a fun book and I highly recommend it! In the past I have read My So Called Bollywood Life by this same author, Nisha Sharma, and loved it as well!
HGTV makes selling your home look easy peezy, lemon squeezy. Now that we’re talking about lemons, pour yourself an ice cold glass of lemonade and let me reveal what your real estate agent does that HGTV doesn’t show you!
A good agent will:
Create massive demand through digital marketing strategies.
Price your home appropriately to net you the most money possible because they know the market.
Negotiate the contracts to make sure you’re not leaving money on the table.
Get you the most eyeballs o your home and increase exposure.
Help you prepare your house for market because they know what buyers want.
With a background in digital marketing and a sincere desire to help you get top dollar on the sale of your home, the items above are things I excel in.
Request my free 5 page guide, Home Seller Bootcamp, created just for sellers who want to get a leg up on the competition before starting the selling process.
I AM DOING THE 75 HARD CHALLENGE! I just finished my seventh day and I wanted to make my experience public for accountability as much as anything else.
The rules for 75 hard are fairly simple to remember:
Drink 1 gallon of water a day
Take a daily progress photo
Work out twice for 45 minutes each, one workout must be outside.
Read 10 pages of a book
Follow a diet
No alcohol or cheat meals
I learned about 75 Hard a year or so ago and thought it sounded interesting. I tried it for the first time in April. I lasted two days.
In 2016 I broke my ankle and haven’t been too active since then. Prior to the break, I was a powerlifter so I tried to do kettlebells and weight training for my first workout and I tried to walk for my second workout. Walking on rural roads with animals, etc. was sort of dangerous. You can’t easily go from nothing to two 45 minute workouts a day. My ankle hurt and I stopped.
Last week I had a really bad week in real estate. I am not one of those people who have bad days. I’m happy and positive and to get slammed with a whole bad week was a tough experience. I decided I needed mental toughness and the next morning I started 75 Hard.
The water is a simple one for me. Drinking it, that is. As a realtor in rural Arkansas it can be difficult to find a place to use the restroom but so far I’m doing it.
The daily photo is easy to remember. I got the app which makes it all easy to remember and I usually take my photo after my first workout session in the morning.
I got my personal trainer certification in 1999 and I remembered that there was a woman who had walking workouts you could do in your home: Leslie Sansone. I looked for her videos and found one I liked that was long enough and I started doing that. Then I found one I like ever better by Up to the Beat Fit. It’s more dancy and fun and it goes by super fast. This program is definitely scalable to your level of fitness, you just need to give it some thought.
Reading is super easy for me. I’m always reading at least three or four books at a time so the reading part is not a problem at all.
Books I’m currently reading that I totally recommend:
You must follow a diet and it’s a diet of your choice. I have been flirting with the carnivore diet for over a year, I’d guess. I feel best when eating that way so that’s what I chose. In the past, sweet things and wine have always pulled me off a strict carnivore diet and so I’m excited to finally do it fully for at least 75 days to see how it really feels when doing it all the way.
The last rule is that you can’t have alcohol or cheat meals. The two things that were throwing me off a great diet plan.
You must do all of these things, daily, for 75 days. If you miss any of the steps, you must start over again at Day 1. I’m not starting over this time!
Because here I am, seven days later, down nine pounds and feeling great! I’ve been sleeping well and I have loads of energy. I feel so excited that I’m actually going to complete is this time.
I used the hashtag #75HardOver60 for the very first time! No one else had ever used it. 🙂
I was in a class last week where the instructor told us that we have to keep the promises we make to ourselves. That hit me right upside the head. I would never in a million years not keep my promise to you but keeping promises to myself have be lacking. I’m excited to be keeping this promise to myself.
After a week, I feel confident enough to put it out into the public view that I’m doing this challenge. I’m a winner and not a quitter. A surprising thing is, the first couple days my ankle was super sore but now? It feels better than it did since I broke it! I’m not sure if I had to work through some scar tissue or what but those are the facts. I used to wonder how people who broke their ankles could go back to running and such. Now I get that I probably needed to push through those couple of sore days instead of being afraid of the soreness.
Thank you, Andy Frisella for creating 75 Hard. Friends, welcome to my journey to mental toughness!
Did you know that June is National Homeownership Month? I feel so grateful to have been able to make the dream of homeownership a reality for so many great people.
Every step of the journey to homeownership is so special. From the first meeting where I walk new buyers through what to expect, to setting up their home search with their unique wants and needs (fenced in backyard for the pup – check), to writing an offer and anxiously waiting to hear if the sellers accepted and then of course the day the buyers actually get the keys and become homeowners – it gives me all the feels. I’m always so happy to be making the Hugs and Kisses Marshmallows that I make each buyer and give them at closing.
And then I thought about what happens AFTER closing day. Because that’s the part where you actually are living the dream of homeownership. I sat down one morning to brainstorm what I wanted to do to celebrate homeownership this month and I decided to run a Homeowner Challenge! Don’t worry – it doesn’t require demolition! But I decided to show up every day on my Instagram stories with a fun “Homeowner” to do! From simple Summer home maintenance tasks to fun activities to do this month at home. If you want in on the fun, make sure you’re following me over at Instagram and see what I have for you each day!
Can I ask you one favor? Can you comment below and tell me your favorite thing about your home or about homeownership? I’d love to collect everyone’s answers and share them on social media!
Here is my best advice for starting the home buying process in a competitive market?
These 2 things are CRUCIAL to locking in that new home:
1. PATIENCE – The market might be competitive but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. I will help you get the keys to your new home but it’s going to take an extra dose of patience.
Trust in the process, trust in your agent and remind yourself of WHY you’re doing this in the first place!
2. GRATITUDE – Maybe you’re in the thick of house hunting with no luck right now. Or maybe you’re feeling discouraged because of all the hype the “crazy market” is getting.
Well I’m here to be your real estate bestie! We can get fries and sip milkshakes and talk about the complete A-Z blueprint to getting in that new house and what hurdles you’re most worried about.
But with that, I want you to remember your why and start your home search with gratitude. Be grateful you get to start your search for your dream home or your first home. It may feel like a sprint but at the end of the day it’s truly a journey and I want you to enjoy it!
HOMEOWNER CHECKLIST
To help you make your home as fresh as the feel of Summer, I’ve rounded up the top things to add to your list to get your home Summer ready!
☀️ Schedule Outdoor Projects 🐝 Plant Bee friendly flowers 🎨 Paint something a pop of color 💦 Power wash your deck and patio furniture ☕️ Make iced coffee at home and sip it on the deck 🚿 Service your sprinklers 🥶 Replace your air conditioner filter 🧽 Clean between your windows and screens 🍔 Clean your grill grates 🗒 Create a summer must do list 🍋 Make homemade lemonade or a fun summer cocktail 🧺 Corral summer necessities in a basket or bowl 🚪 Install screen doors 👗 Hang a clothesline for drying towels and swimsuits 💛 Lighten up decor – breezy curtains, light colors 🐞 Make or buy bug repellent jars for your backyard 🏡 CELEBRATE HOMEOWNERSHIP
I combined all 12 months of homeowner checklists into a double sided guide that you can print out and hang on your fridge! Click here for a copy.
Today, I’m diving into an important topic that could make a big difference in the amount of money you net from your home sale.
The market is hot. There are more buyers who need houses than houses for sale. That means your home is in demand and it’s not even listed yet! What I’m seeing happen is a lot of sellers are thinking… Hmm maybe we should just put a sign up in the front yard and see what happens. Before you do that, hear me out!
The worst thing you can do as a seller in a hot market is to do it alone. Before you head to the local hardware store for the “For Sale By Owner” sign, finish reading this post!
I know you’re doing the math and figuring out how much selling your home on your own could potentially save you… but I wanted to shed some light on a few important things to consider before you decide to go that route.
If you’re looking to the internet to determine what price to list your home at, you could be losing a lot of money.
Online home values aren’t always entirely accurate which means basing your list price on that could leave a lot of money on the table.
Contracts and Negotiations can feel like a foreign language if you’re not a real estate professional. Not understanding how to navigate these or have someone work in your best interest could result in sticky situations and money lost.
Demand – when you’re in a hot market, one of the greatest benefits to the seller is that they’re typically in the driver’s seat. When there are more buyers than listings for sale, your house can spark a bidding war when it hits the market. However, without an agent helping you prep your home for the market, price it strategically, market it with modern methods and really get it out there, you’re missing out on that demand. You might have a buyer or two but that isn’t going to drive the price up like it would if you had someone working for you.
My best advice of all is before you make the decision to go it alone, do some research and find an agent who has good reviews, comes highly recommended and who you can learn something about before reaching out. What does their experience look like? What are their clients saying? Then schedule a consultation with them to see how they can help you net the most money possible from your home sale.
So you’ve had your house/property on the market for six months, maybe a year. There was some interest maybe even an offer or two but not what you had hoped for when you listed it. Now what do you do?
Should you relist for another six months or a year with the same agent? I don’t think so. Let me tell you why. Houses can be listed, priced correctly, and shown and still not sell. This has nothing to do with the factors above. It’s all about marketing. If a house is marketed properly, widely, it’s a good bet a buyer will be found.
Putting a sign in the front of a house and entering it into the MLS (which usually feeds out to realtor.com, Zillow, etc.) is not enough for some homes that are more unique or considered luxury listings. It’s possible that a local buyer isn’t in the cards. Without additional marketing, these beautiful homes will go unsold and expire.
When you have me list your home, I come with over 15 years experience as a digital and social media marketing consultant. In addition to the standard marketing, I will also use everything I learned over my marketing career to gain you the best exposure for your home.
We’ve lived all over the world so my personal contacts are not just in the local Twin Lakes area but they are worldwide! If you are looking to sell your home in Yellville, Mountain Home, Flippin, Gassville, Lead Hill, Harrison, Saint Joe or anywhere in the North Central Arkansas area, I’d love to be the one to put a sold sign on your lawn and a big, huge smile on your face when your home is listed and sold the first time.
Give me a call, send me a text, send me an email and say, “Lauri, sell my house!” I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
You don’t need a perfect credit score to qualify for a mortgage.
If you’ve been seeing articles (and my posts) about low interest rates and wish you could take advantage, you might be more qualified than you think.
For starters, there are several different loan programs which all have different minimum requirements. For example, the credit score required for a conventional loan is higher than an FHA loan.
According to Experian, “It’s possible to get approved for a conforming conventional loan with a credit score as low as 620, although some lenders may look for a score of 660 or better.”
The best way to figure out if you can qualify for a mortgage right now is to meet with a local lender and talk about your options! If you need a referral, send me a message and I’ll point you in the right direction!
Agents are often treated like a fluffy extra when selling your home rather than an asset who can help you make the most money possible from your home sale.
We tend to be the first to go when you think about cutting expenses or netting more money.
I’ve always felt frustrated (and saddened on those seller’s behalf) by the lack of knowledge about what it is a GOOD agent actually does for you.
I see the comments floating around in Facebook group threads and on Instagram – “I knew you could get the price you wanted! We are going to try selling on our own this Summer too. Why not when there is so much demand?”
Here’s the truth: The demand for houses right now, would not exist without real estate agents. We are the ones driving up that demand, getting you 37 showings you wouldn’t have without us, analyzing the offers (that are truly a foreign language to read through if you’re not a professional).
You wouldn’t have someone taking that accepted offer and making sure you’re not leaving any money on the table from that point until closing.
We are not just here to give you some advice and see what happens.. Do you think our only job as an expert is to tell you to paint your walls white, take down the ugly drapes and rearrange your furniture – not even close. We didn’t flip or decorate one house and decide we were qualified to help you buy or sell your home. We dedicate our lives to this.
If you decide to forgo hiring a professional to help you sell your largest asset and you come out on the other side feeling successful – even that is subjective because you have no idea how much money you could be leaving on the table from your lack of expertise.
Moral of the story – before you write off a real estate agent as a shiny extra, find a damn good one and see how they can help you. Smart people hire experts to handle their largest assets, not themselves.
If you are trying to buy a home right now you KNOW how competitive the market is. It’s not fun losing out on every home you want to purchase. So how do you get your offer aceepted?
STEP 1
You’ll want to start the process earlier than you think. It’s so important to make sure you have in depth knowledge of the current market and a good grasp on what you can realistically afford (monthly) so you can start the process confidently and on the right foot.
STEP 2
Schedule a buyer consultation before you think you’re ready. There’s a lot to learn and you’ll want to be prepared so you’re ready to go instead of being overwhelmed once you begin the process.
STEP 3
Be patient! I know this is a hard one, it sure is for me. But you have to have patience. Expecting an agent to find you a house and get you under contract quickly might not be possible or realistic in this market although I will do everything in my abilities to get you there. Set your expectations accordingly and talk to your agent about what is realistic.
STEP 4
Be strategic when writing your offer. The highest price doesn’t necessarily equate to the winning offer. Position yourself in the best place possible to have that competitive edge (i.e. work with a reputable local lender and an agent who is easy to work with. Follow their advice!)
STEP 5
Have all your ducks in a row and be ready to write a competitive offer. This isn’t a market where you can low ball an offer, see what the seller will do, take your time, and have multiple showings. You need to move quickly and be confident in your decisions!
If you’re ready to get the ball rolling, don’t hesitate to reach out to you. I’d love to help you find your dream property!
