Buying & Selling During the Holidays

Buying & Selling During the Holidays

Is it a good idea to buy or sell a home during the holiday season?

‘Tis the Season

Ah yes, the holiday season brings delicious meals, family time, and for some people—the prospective sale or purchase of their home. Our team thought it would be a great idea to give you some insight into making a move during the holiday season, so that you can make a more confident decision on whether to buy or sell a home during the holidays. And remember, no matter when you buy or sell, you’ll need a solid closing company. Our team is always ready to get your deal all wrapped up, with no extra fees.

Less Competition

First up, let’s consider what the holiday season means for most people. It’s a time to relax and recharge, take some time off work, and focus more on family and togetherness. Oftentimes, the market sees a withdrawal of active home listings during the holiday season, which makes it a particularly advantageous time to list or purchase a home. Due to all of the holiday festivities, most people would rather wait until the new year to get their homes sold. All of this adds up to a perfect situation to sell or purchase, as the competition for both buyers and sellers is typically lower. This can mean easier offer acceptance or more screen time and digital space for your listing. It’s a great time to take advantage of the market!

Getting Home for the Holidays

A unique advantage to being a seller during the holidays season is the idea that people want to have a home or be home for the holidays. The eagerness to get settled can play into your favor. Some buyers might be more willing to negotiate certain contingencies that they wouldn't normally because they want a faster and easier closing. Which is great for you because that SOLD sign will be one less thing to worry about going into the new year. Closing on your home at the end of the year also means you will get those home sale proceeds to use for the holidays—or to recover from them!

For buyers, you get access to a different set of advantages. Because there are less buyers traveling the home search circuit, scheduling home showings is a lot more convenient. Less buyers and competition also means you can give a more honest offer for the homes you're interested in and make sure you are choosing the house you want without worrying about one-upping anyone else. Plus, the extra time you might already be taking off during the holiday season can be used to work on your home closing.

The Seasonal Decor

The last topic we want you to consider when deciding to buy or sell during the holidays is decor. During the rest of the year, real estate professionals recommend decluttering and depersonalizing your listing. This is so that buyers can see themselves better in the home you are trying to sell.

One of the fun things about selling during the holidays is that tasteful and well-placed decor can make your home show even better! These things can help buyers see the potential in your home and give sellers a chance to boost the perceived value of their property. And buyers, there is no better time to appreciate or scrutinize the curb appeal of a property than during the holidays.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

All in all, the holiday season can be an advantageous time to sell or purchase a home and it all comes down to how you approach it. Make sure you get a solid real estate agent to represent you and always remember—you have the opportunity to choose what closing company you want to use for your real estate transaction. The team at Universal is always ready to be your resource for closing, without the extra fees. Happy Holidays!

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Is a Second Home Right for You?

Is a Second Home Right for You?

Things to know before you invest.

Making a Move

Exciting things happen when you or your family decides it’s either time to invest in a new home or acquire a second property. However, there are some things to take into consideration before jumping back into the market. Depending on how long it’s been since your last purchase, the market can be and most likely is very different than you remember it. There are a few items to consider to help you prepare and determine if you’re ready. Check out these helpful tips from our team, so you can make the best call before getting into your next property! Remember, closing on your second home will be the last step of the process, but our team is here to help you close efficiently, with no extra fees. Let’s jump in!

#1: Is The Grass Really Greener?

From flipping to investing in rental units, it is a good strategy to think about your end goal - the outcome you want to see from this purchase. Even if the initial cost of the property is an endeavor you are comfortable with, you need to think long-term.

Does the property you have your eye on need major renovations or updates in order to be livable? If you are flipping the property, will the cost of renovations outweigh the profit you hope to make? Will the rent you stand to make month-to-month offset the cost of repairs needed fast enough? Look at the numbers on paper to make sure you are selecting the best property.

Once you have the theoretical cost of improvements worked out to meet your budget (more on that later), you have to make sure the demand for the property is high enough. The more desirable the neighborhood for homebuyers or the needs of the community for rental units, the better it is for your bottom dollar. Picking a home that's easy to purchase and update won't serve your goals if you can't resell it or rent it out.

Thinking about all of this when looking at properties will ensure you purchase the property that will be best suited for your needs!

#2: Budget

Almost as important as being realistic of value and desirability, your budget needs to be broken down and considered before you enter the market. Flipping and investing in properties isn’t fast cash. You need to assure you are budgeted for the time in between the purchase to resale or renting out. Consider this time the property is in limbo and whether or not that affects your budget or the rewards you seek from your investment and make sure your budget is prepared for this time. When we say budget, we don’t just mean the price of your second home or investment, but everything that goes along with purchasing a new property. This can include:

• Inspection costs

• Deposit for the property

• New appliances

• Renovations & construction costs

• Re-listing costs

• Insurance rates

• New furniture (for staging and renting purposes)

• HOA fees (if applicable)

• Tax changes (if applicable)

• Incidental expenses throughout the process

There’s way more to budget for than just the price of your new home. Breaking down every line item and seeing if it fits into your budget is a critical step to take before you start to explore listings. Being firm on what you can afford can help you avoid falling in love with a property just to find out you cannot be approved for the price. Pre-approval with a lender if you need a loan or talking with a financial advisor if you have funds available is a great way to determine where you stand!

#3: Compatibility

Does your second home mesh with your business, group, or side hustle? Consider these items.

• Local Opportunities: Does the surrounding area of your desired property provide career opportunities? Is there a bustling downtown area or entertainment options that make the property more desirable to renters or purchasers? These are important to ask yourself before jumping right in. You could end up with a property that doesn’t flip because of its location.

• Urban vs Rural: This relates to the first bullet point. What are your resources and can you utilize what you have to effectively flip or market a home in an urban location? What about a rural location? Rural homes can be older and require far more updates while urban properties pose their own challenges like being connected to other homes or even the ability to easily access the property for repairs (large tools and construction equipment may be restricted due to urban environments, noise restrictions, and other ordinances).

• What’s close by? This question can contain a lot: How far is the drive to get to a grocery store? A gym? A pharmacy? The doctor? Make sure to consider all aspects of potential renters or purchasers’ lifestyle and needs before making the decision to enter the market. If there is no entertainment close by, your list of potential buyers can shrink.

This topic is a really important one. Lifestyle is so different for every person and family—and can be a large contributor to whether or not your second property will flip or be rented quickly. Think of everything from medical needs to things people like and want to do as well.

A Few Extra Tips for Investors

To wrap things up, we want to give a nudge to those who landed here to learn more about acquiring a second home as an investment. All of these topics above still apply, but there are a few other things to look into, such as:

• Median Rent Prices: See if this lines up with your expectations for your investment and whether or not you stand to profit.

• Taxes and Ownership: Expanding your properties can quickly change how your taxes look. It’s always great to connect to an advisor before you start expanding.

• Desirability: Is the property ready to be lived in and desirable? Would you live at the property? It’s great to consider this before purchasing so that you are not left with a new property and nobody to rent or lease it to.

• Use An LLC: This is a strategy that can mean higher profit when done right. Partnering with an LLC allows multiple investors to pool their funds for greater expenses, which leads to greater profit. This is a great way to build more and buy more in your endeavors.

• A Good Closing Partner: We mean our team of course! We support anyone with a smooth closing process and is an essential step to acquiring your investment property…plus we save your budget by cutting out all the extra fees!

Now Let’s Connect!

Using these tips to make a more informed decision is the right way to go. Make sure you think about and research what makes sense for your budget or yourself before you start paying for inspections and other fees that pop up when you engage a seller. When it’s time to close, you know our team at Universal Settlement Services has your back!

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Habits of a Highly Effective Real Estate Agent

Real Estate Agents: Recipe for Success

A guide to maintaining your best performance

 for the customer.

Let’s Start with Credibility

Our field of expertise is one where we all focus on making dreams come true for customers when it comes to buying or selling their home. It’s our duty to take the necessary steps to make ourselves more credible and reliable as we guide people toward major life decisions. Here at Universal, know the profound difference that credibility can make—and we’re always happy to lend our credibility to those you are working with.

For real estate agents, the fast-paced work environment, tending to the little things, and working long hours can easily lead to burnout. That’s why it’s important to prepare yourself in the right ways to better support yourself and your local community. Our team has a few tips to help you maintain a high-level of performance for your customers and also keep you feeling healthier and happier with your work. Don’t be shy to partner with our team to start building a more credible and reliable process for your customers.

Solidify Your Process

Our first suggestion is to solidify sturdy groundwork for your process. This is a great way to improve and refine your approach to how you handle listings and purchases. Here are some tips that could streamline your transaction and keep each member of your team on the same page.  

• Make a cheat sheet you can fill in for each transaction. Maybe this is a checklist that you put on the front of a physical folder, an excel spreadsheet of all ongoing transactions, or a fillable form you keep in the digital file. Create some sort of easy method to quickly glance at a transaction and know all the crucial details like sale price, closing date, and client contact information.

• Write a step-by-step of items that you need to check in on during a routine transaction. You can make this as simple or extensive as you want, as long as you have a rubric for your team to be mindful of when considering the client’s timeline. Some example steps may include a listing appointment, photography session, and weekly engagement report for the seller side or even showing follow-up emails, housing market updates, and vendor recommendations for the buyer side.

• Keep an up-to-date and reliable database of vendors you prefer to work with for easy reference. If you have to research the best contractor or mover in the area every time you or a client need to utilize their services, that is time better spent working on the transaction. Having a list, spreadsheet, or business card holder of your preferred painter, inspector, settlement company, etc… can save you time and make sure everyone on your team is using the most credible vendors available.

Working on a set process for your transactions might seem overwhelming at first, but having the general details ironed out ahead of time will keep you organized and on-task. It will likely improve work ethic and customer service experience while taking some of the mental load off of you.

Power in Balance

Most of the professional working world could benefit from the next recipe item—which is to be more mindful about work boundaries and work-life balance. Are you familiar with burnout? It’s when productivity drops significantly, and work ethic and energy is low due to overworking. If you’ve experienced burnout, you know it’s not a fun way to live your life. Don’t worry, we have a few suggestions to help:

• Set some boundaries. It’s important to outline what you can and can’t do. Focus on setting a realistic schedule for yourself.

• Be flexible and forgiving. If you work overtime one day, give yourself an extra hour off later that week. If you have to meet a customer early, end earlier that day. Give yourself the grace to manage your time.

• Carve out time for activities that fuel your soul, whether it’s a fun event, gathering, or physical activity. Make sure something like this is embedded into your routine. 

We know that these steps can be really hard to reinforce and follow through with as a real estate agent. We often joke that real estate agents are on call ALL THE TIME, but it's important to take time for your mental, emotional, and physical wellness. Burnout does not look so pretty, especially when it reaches your customers. So, be sure to remember YOU—and give yourself free time to relax and recharge routinely. When you can count on that time, you can put more effort into your daily work which ultimately means a better all-around experience for those you work with.

Healthy Body & Mind = Healthy Work

It’s hard to overstate just how important our physical and mental states are when it comes to the quality of our work, especially in real estate. We are here to serve our communities and to do that, we must be adaptable, approachable, and welcoming in most of the settings we work in. However, maintaining that standard is not always so easy and can quickly be put on the back burner of your focus. Review our tips below on maintaining a healthy body and mind.

• Staying Physically Healthy

  • Eating healthier can have positive effects on your daily energy levels and positively affect your work ethic.

  • ALWAYS have a water bottle with you. Staying hydrated is more than just necessary, it can mean a clearer mind which results in a fresher and happier you.

  • Limit fast food. We know a lot of agents work and live out of their car and it can just be easier sometimes. It’s good in a pinch but shouldn’t be the norm.

  • Exercise when you get the time. Keep a yoga mat, weights, or running shoes in the car. It doesn’t matter how you get more active but it’s worth it when it comes to your health and career!

• Staying Mentally Healthy

  • Try meditating. Even simple, quick reflections of your day or work week can prove fruitful in improving your outlook on your work.

  • Consult a therapist. Therapy isn’t only a crisis thing. It can be used to simply maintain a good mental health level that benefits both work and personal life.

  • Keep personal life and working life separate. Melding these lines can cause conflicts of interest or unnecessary mental burdens.

  • Do other things you love too. You are in real estate because you love it. However, be sure to still pursue other hobbies and interests as these are beneficial to maintaining a healthy and active mind.

How you decide to maintain your physical and mental health is up to you; however, we wanted to make sure you get the idea that it’s one of the most important parts of the recipe for success.

We Can Help You Fine Tune

This recipe is a good starting point. Take some time to reflect on our suggestions and start improving the experience of your daily work life, your community, and those you work with. When you put all these ingredients together, you’ll end up with open doors and opportunities that only a happy and healthy agent can tap into.

When you want to build a more reliable process, connect with our team, and tell us about your goals. Universal is not just here to make money, we’re here to help real estate agents, buyers, sellers, and everyone in our community thrive…AND we’d love for you to partner with us in our mission.

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Homebuyer’s Closing Checklist

Homebuyer’s Closing Checklist

Close the right way with this helpful guide.

Euphoria tends to set in early when it comes to closing on your new home. Starting to plan what you’ll do with your new space, how you’ll decorate, and what your housewarming party will look like are all things we totally support you getting excited about. Take it from us though, we’ve seen closing situations go awry because the right plan wasn’t in place. This can be due to lack of knowledge from buyers, poor title company coordination, or even just human error. However, there’s a way to make sure closing goes smoothly! The first step is by using Universal; our dedicated team will make sure you reach the closing table without a hitch. Secondly, follow a good checklist to keep you aware of your transaction and prepare you for closing day.

Every transaction has three essential parts that are easy to break down: prior to closing, closing day, and after closing. Let’s dive in and learn more about having an effective closing, and then connect with Universal for your closing process.

Prior to Closing

A LOT happens before you even get to closing. There are forms to fill out, realtors to talk to, and sellers to negotiate with. Once that’s all over and done with, you will want to take some essential steps to prepare for closing day!

• First, verify that all names and parties who will be listed on the deed and title commitment are spelled correctly. Basically, check for human error and make sure your name, spouse’s name, or anyone else on this paperwork is represented accurately! If this gets caught at the closing table, you can expect some added time and possible rescheduling.

• Next, you will want to communicate with your bank regarding how they handle cashier’s checks or wired funds. This is important to consider as you want to be able to assure smooth transition of funds. This is even more important if your bank is a credit union or a non-local provider.

• Finally, make sure you check for any special circumstances like Power of Attorney, a need to wire funds, or if you cannot physically attend closing. Preparing for these situations sooner rather than later will give all parties time to develop and implement accommodations for these matters. This will always help closing run more efficiently! 

Extra Pro-tip: Things are just better when you prepare, ask questions, and engage with the process. Communication is key to a smooth closing!

Closing Day

Welcome to the BIG day! We hope you’re ready to sign your name and get into your new house. At this point, you’ve prepared with our suggestions above and should be good to go! When you are at the closing table, consider these few tips:

• Make sure to have all cashier’s checks or fund information ready and in hand on closing day.

• Identification is REQUIRED. The best course of action is to bring a valid driver's license or state photo identification card. Passports are legal forms of identification as well, so those can be used if state ID is unavailable. Some lenders require extra forms of identification, so make sure you have discussed closing day expectations with them ahead of time!

• The signature that you sign must match how your name appears on the document. If the document includes your middle initial, then your signature should too.

• If you will not be physically present for closing, you may consider a Power of Attorney (POA) to sign and close for you. This is something that would need to be accounted for PRIOR to closing.

Closing can be one of the most exciting days of your life. Believe us when we say it’s even more exciting when you feel confident, prepared, and set to close with no barriers or obstacles. Remember, our team are the closing experts—so when you want the best, partner with Universal!

After Closing

You might be thinking, “but, wait…I closed on my home. There’s nothing else to do or worry about. Right?” Well, yes—you can move into your new home and start living your dream life, but there are a few things to watch out for after closing:

• You’ll first see a letter come to you requesting money for a copy of the deed. It will look really official and almost appear as a letter from the state. This is a scam and should be ignored.

• Your original deed will be mailed to you by your closing company. Remember you can always choose who you close with.

• You may receive tax benefit information such as a Homestead or Farmstead application. If you plan to use your purchase as your primary residence you can receive tax credits with these types of programs. These are always great to consider!

• Confirm that your mailing address is accurate with your local tax collector as taxes will be due even if you do not receive a tax bill.

• Right after closing is also an excellent time to connect with utility companies and confirm they have been set up correctly by your real estate company!

• Don’t forget to update your address with your employer, voter registration, car insurance, etc.

It’s good to know what to expect, but we encourage you to continue to talk with your real estate agency or closing company if any additional letters or tax information shows up.

The Easy Life

Now, you’re ready to kick back and relax in your new home! They might just start calling you the closing champion because you prepared, closed, and followed up in all the right ways. We also have an extra present for you—click here to download this checklist to take with you as you close on your purchase. Even better, partner with our team to make closing a breeze on your new home. We wrote the checklist; we won’t let anything stop you from becoming the homeowner you’re meant to be!

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Buyer Knowledge: Do You Really Need Title Insurance?

Buyer Knowledge: Do You Really Need Title Insurance?

The essential role of title insurance.

Do you really need title insurance? The simple answer is, yes. We’re going to walk you through the major reasons why, no matter what—you are going to need title insurance. Throughout the process, we’ll throw in some common FAQs to remind you that you are not alone in this journey. We’re here to help you navigate your home buying process and there’s truly no one better to have by your side than our team. Now, let’s get you up to speed on title insurance.

Title Insurance Defined

Let’s start with the basics. Title insurance comes in two forms—the Owner’s Policy and the Lender’s Policy. These policies are there to protect either the owner or the lender and can prevent the loss of property if any issues with the title are discovered. These two types of insurance are vital to understand as you move through the home buying process. Sometimes undiscoverable defects can come up after the title search. Title issues may include forgery, fraud, or clerical errors. You can typically expect, when buying a home, that the lender requires you to purchase title insurance in order to proceed. Do not be alarmed by this as it’s common practice for this type of purchase.

Owner’s Policy vs Lender’s Policy

For a one-time fee, an owner’s policy protects your property rights as a homeowner for as long as you own the home and applies if you plan on refinancing your mortgage. The owner’s policy covers legal claims and potential defects that may arise after the title search.

If a homeowner obtains a mortgage, a lender’s policy may be required by the lending institution to protect the lender’s financial interests for as long as the homeowner owns the home. However, this type of insurance does not protect the property owner, and a new policy will be required if you’re considering refinancing your mortgage.

The Role of Title Insurance

A common question we get asked at our office is, “if my title came back ‘clean’ then why does the buyer need insurance?” Honestly, this is a great question—and when it comes up, we know that you’re really thinking comprehensively about the process. In short, you cannot predict everything and some things just aren’t discoverable until you come face-to-face with those issues. that should be discovered regarding a title just aren’t until it’s too late. Working with seasoned professionals like ourselves is one way to get ahead of any unforeseen problems that may arise and protect your property rights. It protects liable parties from the responsibility of a variety of potential title defects like those we mentioned earlier.

It’s also important to remember that while YOU only pay the price of title insurance ONE TIME, title insurance will continue to protect your interest after you purchase your home and is a great way to feel secure after closing.

Where Do I Get Title Insurance?

Last but not least—how do I know where to get title insurance from? This is an easy one to answer. Most settlement companies provide this type of insurance as a standard part of their services. However, always remember, you can choose your title company! There’s more about that here, but, you have the power to pick what company processes your closing paperwork and what company provides this essential insurance. Be wary of extra fees associated with obtaining and maintaining any insurance—this is a common area where some companies love to tack on hidden fees…but, not at Universal. 

It’s Essential

Having an awesome title company is a good start, but including all of the wonderful services that we provide along with title insurance can actually make closing easier. You’ll save time, have more power in the deal, and get to closing day on your time and budget. See what we can do for you by starting a conversation with one of our team members today!

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