Commonwealth Blog

If you’re around home sales and mortgages for any length of time, you understand how borrowers get very excited over an eighth of point in rate. Before securitization, there could be a pretty wide difference in rates, and it made sense to shop around. Mortgage rates were a lender-specific phenomenon, and rates could vary pretty noticeably from lender to lender.

Now, there’s pretty much a standard rate that’s determined by FNMA and by the mortgage backed securities market, and the differences between lenders are pretty small.

Still, borrowers will shop.

The internet has, of course, played a big role in this. A borrower can spend a few minutes at a computer and get rates from 20-30 or more lenders. The rates won’t vary a huge amount, but it can be very seductive.

If we do the math, though, borrowers are focusing on the wrong thing. The monthly savings by saving an eighth in rate just don’t amount to much. Let’s look at a 30 year fixed rate loan for $300,000. At 4-1/8% the monthly payments will be $1,432. Now let’s assume the borrower shops all over town, spends hours on the internet, and he finds a lender at 4.0%. Guess what, his payment drops by only $21! That’s $252 a year, and even if the borrower stays in the house for eight years, it’s barely $2,000.

It just isn’t all that much and in today’s world where the wrong lender can mean no closing.

Wouldn’t buyers be better off negotiating a lower price of $3,000? Or a $4,000 credit towards termite repair.

When a Commonwealth agent recommends a lender, it’s because he or she knows that lender to be dependable. And closing on time can be a lot more important than saving an eighth of a point in fees.

Rates matter.

But it’s more important for borrowers to have a good Realtor to negotiate the best possible deal. Contact us today to speak with a Commonwealth agent.

Selling a home is a very competitive endeavor in many markets across the country. Even here in the Boston area where many neighborhoods are doing well, we have pockets of buyers’ markets that are posing challenges for home sellers.

This does not mean that it is not a good time to sell. What it does mean is that sellers need to be ready to compete when putting their homes on the market. What can a typical homeowner do to make their home more appealing in a market where buyers may be looking at dozens of other similar homes in the same neighborhood?

Here are the top 4 things sellers can do to up the ante and ensure their home is in the right condition to get the best offer:

1. Get a bird’s eye view on how your home compares. Take a sweep through a few open houses next Sunday to see what’s on the market in your area that’s comparable to your home. Take good notes on what you notice is common in all these houses. Do they all have new carpet? New hardwood floors? A fresh coat of paint? New windows? You may not be ready to invest in a large project for your home before selling, but often something like painting or installing new carpet can pay for itself in the end – especially if all the other comparable homes for sale have these things.
2. Remove all your clutter and store it away while your home is on the market. There’s no bigger turn-off to buyers than a house that is filled to the brim with objects and furniture. Buyers need to be able to look at your home and envision their lives in it, which includes all their own furniture and belongings. That is much harder to do the more stuff you have in your home. This is by far one of the best things you can do to help the sale of your home!
3. Consider staging. Staging basically means removing all your clutter as outlined above and having someone – either your real estate agent or a staging specialist – look at your home and make recommendations for how to set up the furniture and décor. Often, a stager will even remove some of your furniture and bring in other furniture to best accentuate the space of your rooms.
4. Research your market and price accordingly. This may seem like a no-brainer, but the one tactic that agents say over and over again makes the biggest difference in selling a home is how it is priced from day one. This means you need to do a lot of upfront research with the help of your agent. Look at as many comparables as possible and decide on your listing price based on what has recently sold and what is currently for sale. This is how your buyers will be calculating their offers to you so it’s best to be realistic and not try to play price games.

There are dozens of other things that sellers can do to help their homes sell quickly and at the best price. Ask your Commonwealth Real Estate agent for pre-list tips.