Caroline Vansevenant, REALTOR®

It's definitely recommended to talk to a loan officer before you start house hunting and there is a very simple reason why... You don't want to look in a price range you can afford or look below your affordability. Having a pre-approval gives you a feeling of confidence and it will save you lots of time!

A staged home sells on average for 5-20% more money, depending on the listing and 88% faster than a home that wasn't staged. Staging works because you present your home in it's best possible way and you can highlight the best features even more. It also allows potential buyers to "imagine" themselves living in the home and let their fantasies run wild with what they could do with the home. If you don't want to go the staging way, I would definitely recommend to at least stick yo neutral colors, declutter all countertops (and keep them as empty as possible) and remove any family photos. This makes it for your potential buyers a lot easier to see themselves live there. Little secret: The smell of baked cookies makes people feel home, so you might want to bake a lot of cookies while showing your home.

This really depends on the market conditions when you are thinking to sell your home. Currently (2021) in Central Florida we are having an all-time low inventory, creating common bidding wars and homes that are flying off the market often in less than 24 hours with over asking offers. The rule of thumb always if "the higher the exposure, the faster or the more offers"

While the median home value in 2020 - 2021 in the greater Orlando area is $260k, the price of your home depends on many factors, such as the square footage, location, upgrades, and much more. Besides these factors, we often tend to mentally inflate our home's positives and forget about the flaws that will be more visible to the calculating eye of a buyer. Try this free home valuation tool --> https://bit.ly/3p0MKe1

The anxiety of having to fix up, completely declutter and clear out their home, is something many sellers have in common. This often leads to home owners not putting their market just because they are overwhelmed. In most cases, there is no need for this anxiety and panic... The best thing you can do is talk to a real estate professional, who can exactly advise you on what needs to be done before putting your home on the market. It might surprise you that it will be less than you thought and save you a good amount of money.

This depends on something called "dept-to-income ratio" which is a % calculated by a loan officer based on your income and other financial obligations. There are many online calculators to find out your affordability and I highly recommend to do this before you start looking for your new home. Without knowing what you can afford or what you can get approved for, you risk seeing homes you love outside your price range, it opens you up to disappointment. Speak with a lender to get pre-approved for a mortgage is the best thing you could do when thinking about buying a home. (Bonus: this pre-approval letter will make you so much more attractive to sellers when you find your dream home)

Absolutely — and it's not uncommon, since many homeowners that are selling need to selthey can buy their new home. Some sell their homes first, then rent another while looking for the new home and others like to do it all at the same time which would include a "sale contingency" on your purchase contract. This literally puts into contract that you agree to buy a home only if you can sell the one you're living in.

While buyers often wonder if a home inspection is truly necessary, most Realtors unequivocally say yes, yes, and yes. “A home inspector takes a weight off of your shoulders by looking into the condition of the roof, electricity, heating and air, plumbing," says Johnson. “Ensuring these things work prevents you from paying to fix them in the future. If some things are not up to par, you can negotiate with the seller to get those fixed before you sign the paperwork."

The best way to know is to check out the comparables on that property, what homes have been selling for in that area, if they have been appreciating or depreciating in the recent past and more. A good real estate professional should be able to help you answer these questions.