Peter + Traci Prantner with Wise-Prantner Group at Compass Florida

Top 8 Tips for Having an Open House 1) Preparing an ad for social media, usually a video promotion 2) Inviting people we know by email and phone who are looking specifically for a house like this one 3) Knocking on neighbor's doors telling them about the open house 4) Calling, texting, and emailing neighbors in the area to spread the word about the open house 5)Post in MLS, which feed to sites like Realtor and Zillow 6) Post an ad on Craigslist 7)Put up at least eight signs going into the neighborhood from the main, busy road and then use directional signs to lead people to the home 8) Follow up with attendees and neighbors after the open house An open house done right can be an excellent catalyst to selling your house.

In one word, yes! When selling your house offering an open house, especially at the beginning of having the property listed, can be extremely helpful if it is done right.

Four Things To Look At: 1) Take a look at what you are spending now. How much is your rent? Does that include any utilities? 2) Review your budget to understand if you can spend more than what you are already spending on rent or your current mortgage payment. How much more or less should you spend to reach your financial goals? 3) When you start shopping, stay true to the budget you set. Don't even tempt yourself with houses that would require a monthly payment more than you set as your max budget. 4) Be willing to walk away. Don't put a financial strain on your family. Instead, find a cheap place to rent for another year. Spend that year working extra jobs to build a bigger down payment. This will help to lower the monthly payment of whichever home you purchase, or allow you to purchase a more expensive home.

Top 10 Tips for a New Construction Buy: 1) Use a real estate agent... it costs you nothing to protect your interests. 2) Check out the builder 3) Research the community 4) Choose square footage and location over upgrades... you can always make the upgrades yourself later. 5) Don't over improve... you don't want to be the most expensive house in the neighborhood 6) Understand your floor plan and the size of the rooms compared to where you are currently living 7) Have a lawyer vet the contract before you sign... especially if you aren't using a real estate agent 8) Ask about warranties that come with the house 9) Get a home inspection 10) Get multiple bids from lenders and closing agents... the deals offered by the builder can often be met or beat by others

A few mistakes (other than pricing) to avoid: 1) Fix Things Needing Repair: Patch up holes in walls, paint scratched and scuffed baseboards, replace broken blinds and window screens, replace burnt out bulbs, re-caulk the bathroom. 2) Remove personalized items: photos, calendars, personal nick nacks 3) Deep clean: clean the corners of the bathroom where the dirt gets stuck, wash the windows inside and out, wash the caked-on dust above the kitchen stove, clean the air vents and air intake 4) Declutter

The number one mistake is not pricing the house right. Pricing your house right will allow you to get your money's worth without being on the market for months.

A home warranty will typically cost between $500 and $1,000 depending on the coverage and how long the coverage lasts. If you are buying a house with older appliances or older air conditioning unit, it may make sense to get the home warranty. You can also get coverage on pool equipment. The nice thing about a home warranty is that if there are any issues, you can pay a service fee (about $75) and they send a technician out to address the issue. If they can't fix it the home warranty covers for the item to be replaced at no additional charge. This does not cover regular maintenance. Also note you cannot pick who will do the service work. Additionally, it is their goal to fix the item and only if it is irreparable will they replace it. This is definitely worth considering if you don't have the money to replace something if it breaks. A home warranty can be purchased at the time of close.

An escrow deposit is the buyer saying they want to buy the home and are willing to put a deposit down for this purchase. This deposit is made after the contract (buyer's offer) is accepted by the seller. The deposit is typically $1,000 and $15,000 depending on the cost of the home and the type of loan being used (usually 1-2% of the cost of the home). The escrow is applied to your downpayment. For certain types of loans it can be used towards closing costs or refunded back to the buyer at close. The deposit itself is made in the form of a check or a wire transfer. Other phrases used for an escrow deposit are "good faith deposit" or "earnest money deposit" or EMD.

For a pre-qualification (the step before a pre-approval), a lender will ask questions like how much money you make and they will run your credit score to understand how much you are required to pay out and how good you are at paying your bills. During the pre-approval process, the lender will ask for copies of documents (pay stubs, bank statements, tax returns, etc). Based on this information the lender will complete the pre-approval process. How quickly a pre-approval is completed really depends on how quickly you can provide the lender with the requested documents. It can happen in a couple of hours or a couple of weeks.

A few things to avoid: 1) Do not cause income to go down. This will negatively impact your buying power, meaning you will not get approved for as high priced of a house. 2) Do not increase debt. Do not open any new credit cards, don't buy a new car or lease anything. 3) Do not do anything that would cause your credit score to go down.