The history of solar panels actually stretches all the way back to 1839, when a young physicist named Edmond Becquerel observed and discovered the photovoltaic effect. This process produces an electric current when exposed to either radiant energy or light. As early as the 1860s, a French mathematician was registering patents for solar-powered engines.

While it’s taking a while for solar-powered energy to become accessible, available, and affordable to the masses, it has experienced a tremendous boom in the last twenty years. According to the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, it is expected that more than one in seven homes in the U.S. will have solar PV systems on their roofs by 2030.

If you are thinking about installing a solar system on your home, you’re probably wondering whether or not you can expect any return on investment when you finally decide to sell. This is an important question as buying solar panels and installing them is a big investment.

Do solar panels increase home value? Let’s take a look at what you need to know.

Types of Solar Panels and Systems

You have a number of options when it comes to solar panels and systems. The material of your solar panel as well as whether or not you are hooked up to the grid can have a big impact on both the cost and the efficacy of your system.

Solar Panel Options

The technology of solar panels is ever-evolving and becoming increasingly accessible to consumers every year. There are two many types of solar panels that are available on the market today.

The first type of home solar panels you can buy are silicon panels. There are two different forms of these panels, which are monocrystalline and polycrystalline. Some claim that both of these types of panels tend to have similar performance.

Polycrystalline panels are the most commonly used panels today even though monocrystalline panels have been around longer. It is said that the most efficient panels on the market are silicon panels, with a range of efficiency falling between 18% and 22%.

Thick-film solar panels are the other option when it comes to panel types. You can usually find this type of solar panel on products like solar tiles or solar shingles. They are both less efficient and less expensive to produce.

The efficiency of this type of panel is said to be between 11% and 13%. This means that your panels won’t be able to generate as much electricity as silicon panels under the same conditions.

Solar System Options

There are two different options when it comes to installing a solar system on your home. Some people choose to connect their solar system to the utility grid of their municipality. When they generate excess electricity, they then sell it back to the utility company.

The other option is an off-grid system. This is usually combined with a backup generator and a series of batteries. This allows you to have power overnight when the sun is down or on cloudy days.

The least expensive and most common option is grid-connected systems. This is because they don’t require nearly as much maintenance or equipment as an off-grid system. When you use a grid-connected system, you can use renewable energy to power your home when the sun is out and you can sell your excess electricity back to the utility company when you produce it.

When the sun isn’t out, you can use electricity from the grid. This means that you don’t have to worry about purchasing expensive equipment such as batteries for storing excess electricity.

Off-grid systems typically make sense for homes that are located in very remote places. They might find that it is cheaper to set up an off-grid solar system than it is to connect a power line to the home. Per mile, connecting a power line usually costs somewhere between $15,000 and $50,000.

Setting up an off-grid system requires additional equipment including a charge controller, batters, safety equipment, instrumentation, meters, and power condition equipment.

How Much Do Solar Systems Cost?

The cost of having solar systems has gone down a lot in recent years. This is because the U.S. solar industry has grown at an incredible rate in the last several years.

How much it costs to get home solar panels will depend on a number of factors. These include the location of your property, the size of your system, and the type of system you choose.

Many states offer incentives and rebates that can make it quite a bit cheaper to have a solar system.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that a two-kilowatt system costs roughly $8 to $10 per square foot. This amounts to between $16,000 and $20,000. This estimate refers to the cost before any federal or state incentives and rebates are taken into account.

Tax Credits

Homeowners who install solar energy systems can get tax credits from the EPA. This credit disappears by the end of 2021, though, so now’s the time to act if you’re interested in this incentive. You have to install your solar system in time to receive this tax credit which can then be deducted from your taxable income or deducted directly from your tax payment.

Maintenance

One of the nice things about solar panels is that they actually don’t require very much in the way of maintenance. They do need to be cleaned occasionally, which typically costs somewhere between $150 and $330.

You’ll want to read the fine print in your agreement with the manufacturer of your solar panels. It might state that you are required to perform regular maintenance and cleaning in order to keep your warranty current. This also might be required if you lease your panels.

(Are you interested in selling your house fast? Check out this guide on how to price for a fast sale.)

How Much Money Can You Save With a Solar System?

Your local electricity rates and how much it cost you to install your system will impact how much money you are able to save this way. It also has to do with how much sunlight your home typically gets during a normal year.

For example, the average homeowner in San Diego can save $500 per year. The local rates for electricity here cost roughly $0.12 per kilowatt-hour. As a sunny place with more expensive electricity, this can lead to bigger savings than a location that is less sunny and has cheaper electricity.

You can compare that to Seattle, Washington. The average homeowner can save less than $150 per year with a solar system. Not only is it less sunny here, but the electricity rates are typically about $0.06 per kilowatt-hour.

(Wondering what you should fix up when you’re selling your house? Check this out.)

Do Solar Panels Increase Home Value?

In short, the answer to “does solar increase home value?” is: yes. However, before you start setting up your installation, you’ll want to learn a bit more and consider your particular situation.

You can understand why this might be by doing a quick thought experiment. Imagine that there are two identical homes that are on the same street, right next to each other. You are considering purchasing one of them.

The only thing that distinguishes these two homes is that one of them can completely eliminate a $200 electricity bill every month because of a solar system.

That means that you as the prospective buyer can save $2,400 every year if you choose to buy the home with solar panels. As you can see, the obvious choice is to buy a house that will cost you less in your utility bills.  This makes the home more appealing to more people and therefore can lead to an increased home value.

There are essentially two different ways that solar panels can create a return on investment for you. Firstly, it can save you money on your utility bill. However, it will likely take a while to recoup the amount of money you put into the system and break even.

Secondly, you can see a return on investment when you sell the property.

In the next section, let’s take a look at exactly how much value can be added to a home with the addition of solar panels.

How Much Do Solar Panels Add to Home Value?

Do solar panels add value to a home? Typically, yes.

A number of studies have looked into the specifics of how much solar panel ROI is common. Research done by David Kaserman and Ruth Johnson found that for every dollar saved on energy costs per year, the value of a home increases by $20. While this might not sound like much, it actually means that if a solar system is saving a family $200 a month in savings then the house is theoretically worth $48,000 more.

Another study found that for every kilowatt of solar installed, the resale value increased by $5,000. This means that to reach the same increase as in the study above, you would need to install a 9.6-kilowatt system.

To install a system of this size would usually cost about $33,600 or $3,500 per kilowatt. This means that for every kilowatt of installed solar, you net $1,500.

All of that doesn’t include the federal investment tax credit that you might qualify for. This gives you the ability to recoup 26% of the installation cost. In a number of states, too, the increase in property value you gain is exempt from resulting in additional property taxes.

All that being said, the location of your home and how appealing a solar system is will have a lot to do with the answer to “does solar increase home value.” Installing a solar system isn’t exactly a decision you want to make in haste, and it’s a good idea to talk to a local real estate agent to learn if this is something that is attractive to buyers in your location.

You solar panel ROI is going to depend on a number of different factors. In general, you can expect somewhere around a 20% ROI in the first year but some homeowners might find that an expensive installation or expensive electricity shifts this percentage significantly one way or the other.

(Are you wondering how else you can increase home value? Check out this article.)

Are You Thinking About Selling Your Home?

So, do solar panels increase home value? The consensus certainly seems to be that this does in fact increase home value. However, there are always other factors to take into account when you are making an investment into your home with the hope of receiving a return on investment.

While googling “does solar increase home value” can be a good place to start, it’s not a bad idea to consult with a local real estate agent. You can do this even if you aren’t thinking about selling in the near future. They will be able to let you know whether or not installing solar panels is a feature that is appealing to the typical homebuyer in your region.

Another thing you will want to think about is how much energy you can reasonably expect to harness from the sun. In places like Phoenix or Yuma, you can expect that your panels will get a healthy dose of sun regularly. Cloudy locations further north, however, might mean that your return on investment isn’t nearly as good as you might hope.

Are you thinking about selling your home but don’t want to deal with the headache of a traditional listing? Are you ready to sell your house fast and move on with your life? If so, check out our free home value estimator so you can learn how much an iBuyer would purchase your home for!

The post Do Solar Panels Increase Home Value? appeared first on iBuyer Blog.

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In the U.S. in 2020, 5.64 million existing homes were sold along with 822,000 newly constructed homes. A majority of people who sell their homes do so with the help of a real estate agent, though others choose to go it on their own to avoid the hefty realtor commission.

While hiring a real estate agent often takes a piece of your profit from the sale of your house, many people don’t realize how much work selling “for sale by owner” really entails. If you are hoping to save money on realtor fees but aren’t excited about the idea of selling your house without an agent, you might be interested to learn more about negotiating realtor fees.

Is it possible to negotiate with a realtor commission, and is it something you should consider doing?

Let’s take a look at what you need to know about negotiating fees with your real estate agent.

Realtor Commission: What You Should Know

A typical realtor commission rate is 6%, though this isn’t necessarily always the case. This fee is usually split in half between two real estate agents. These are the listing agent who works with the seller and the buyer’s agent who represents a client that is purchasing the home.

These fees are usually included in the home’s price, meaning that realtor fees are commonly taken out of the proceeds of the seller. What this does is allow the buyer to cover realtor fees with their home loan rather than paying cash for the service.

How Much Does a Realtor Make on a Home Sale?

Assuming that both real estate agents are splitting a 6% commission, each realtor would take home 3% of the sales price of the home. That means that they take $18,000 out of the profits of the seller, each one receiving $9,000 for their part in the transaction. However, individual realtors then often have to split their commission with their brokerage, which reduces their actual take home.

Are Realtor Fees Negotiable?

No matter what a real estate agent or broker tells you, the commission rate they receive for helping you sell your home is technically always negotiable. That being said, there are a number of different factors that will influence your ability to negotiate for a lower commission rate and how much lower a realtor will be willing to go. In the next section, we will take a detailed look at some of the different factors that can affect realtor rates.

It can be difficult to negotiate realtor fees. You might find that you don’t get the price reduction you are hoping or even if you do successfully talked down your real estate agent.

What Factors Affect Realtor Commission Rates?

If you are considering negotiating with a realtor about commission, there are a number of factors that you’ll want to take into account. These factors can also help you determine how much leverage you have in terms of negotiating for a lower rate.

Local Buyer Demand

Agents might be open to a lower rate if you’re in a market where properties sell quickly. If they have some certainty that selling your home won’t take a lot of their time, energy, or attention, they might be more willing to reduce their rate.

Price Point

The more expensive your house is, the easier you will find it is to lock in a lower rate. If you’re selling a luxury home, it is already standard for the rates to be lower without having to worry about negotiating.

Time of Year

During times of the year when there aren’t many new listings or in low-inventory markets, realtors might be more willing to work for lower commission rates. Since they are in lower demand, they can be more interested in having a client than receiving the full 3% commission.

Desirability of Home

If your home doesn’t seem like it will sell quickly or easily, for example, being in a bad location or in disrepair, a real estate agent might not be as interested in reducing their commission rate. On the other hand, agents might be more motivated if your house is highly desirable.

Experience of the Agent

Agents who have been in the game for a long time might not want to budge on their commission as they are in high demand and know their worth. Less experienced agents might be more interested in boosting their sales and experience then getting the full rate. That being said, not all brokers allow their agents (particularly newer ones) to drop their rates.

Negotiating Fees: Should You Do it?

Selling a house is a very expensive thing to do in one of the biggest costs associated with it are the realtor fees. Even if you are able to receive a small reduction in the fee, it could mean that you end up saving thousands of dollars. While there’s no certainty you’ll be successful, it’s enough money that it’s worth at least trying.

Tips For How to Negotiate With a Realtor about Commission

If reducing your realtor fees is something that you want to accomplish, there are a number of things you can do to help increase your chances of being successful. Let’s take a look at how to boost your odds of saving money on those fees.

Make the Real Estate Agent’s Job Easier

All real estate agents now, some clients are a breeze to work with while others are a bit more of a piece of work. Show your realtor that you are enthusiastic about selling your house and that you want to be cooperative in the process. If you make it clear that you are willing to make their job easier, they will be more likely to give you a lower rate.

Make Your Home Easy to Sell

As mentioned earlier, a real estate agent will be more flexible with their fee if they think that your home will be easy to sell. Houses that have been well maintained and are not littered with clutter or in need of repair are generally much easier to sell.

Are you wondering how to prepare your house for sale? Check out these nine tips.

Sign on As Their Buyer Client, Too

When you are selling your home, maybe you are doing so to purchase another home in the same area. If you agree to sign on with your real estate agent as a buyer as well, they might be willing to lower the realtor rate. They might be happy to receive a lower overall rate in order to lock in another sale.

Don’t Be Greedy

If you have decided that you want to save money on real estate commission and therefore negotiate for a lower fee, it is best to not demand the highest quality, luxury marketing materials. This might include videography and video editing, drone photography, or other elaborate marketing tactics. Allow them to use the tools they traditionally use to sell your home.

Let Your Realtor Do an Open House

Real estate agents are always looking for new clients. You can allow your realtor to use your listing as a lead generating if you give them the opportunity to have an open house. Open houses are a great way for a real estate agent to network with people who are newly looking for a home in the same area.

They also might suggest that you do an open house because your home is particularly suited to join great attendance.

Tell Them You’ll Provide Referrals

You could also offer to provide referrals for your agent in a way that might make them find negotiating your fee more appealing. It takes a lot of time, energy, and money to acquire new clients, so your agent might find this offer appealing. When they understand that you might be a source that continually generates referrals for your agency, they might calculate a reduction as worth the cost.

Come In With a Number

When negotiating, you should actually come to the table with the lower fee you are looking for. Tell them how much you would hire a real estate agent for and state that you are willing to commit right away at that particular fee.

This is better than bringing the topic up vaguely, which likely won’t lead to your desired outcome.

Negotiating is a skill that can take practice, and it’s easy to get mowed over by a more experienced negotiator when you are new to it. Real estate agents make their living negotiating with other agents as the intermediaries between buyers and sellers. When you show up with a firm number and a desire to commit, this gives you a better chance of achieving some success.

Whether or not you are actually willing to negotiate beyond your number is up to you. It might be worth your time to learn some of the basic negotiation tips to help prepare you for the experience and give you the best chance of getting what you want.

Sign on During a Slower Market

Most local markets have a time of the year when the market is at its peak and a time of year when the market is slow and dull. If you sign on with a real estate agent during the slow season in your location, you have a better chance of locking in a lower rate. If paying less for your real estate agent commissions is a high priority for you, consider hiring a real estate agent when they are not in high demand.

Can You Avoid Hiring a Real Estate Agent All Together?

You certainly don’t have to hire a real estate agent, and some homeowners choose to sell their house “for sale by owner” or FSBO. Are there any options other than becoming your own real estate agent, though?

Absolutely. If you choose to sell your home to a cash buyer, it means that you won’t have to deal with any realtor fees, closing costs, or the major hassle of listing your house on the open market.

With a trusted iBuyer, selling your house is quick and easy. All you have to do is enter your home address and you’ll be provided with a free estimate of your home’s value. This is accomplished by accessing neighborhood statistics and pulling market value data in your location.

You can then set up an iBuyer.com instant offer account. Here you can verify details of the home that are important for the cash buyer to know. From there, you can sit tight and receive the best cash offer available delivered to you in a secure and direct manner.

Do You Want to Avoid Realtor Fees Altogether?

Negotiating realtor fees can be a great way to say several thousand dollars when you’re selling your home. For some buyers, the cost of paying for a real estate agent is worth it to them. For others, the cost of the selling process along with the long-drawn-out nature of the traditional market leaves them looking for other avenues entirely.

If this is you, you might be interested in selling your house to a trusted iBuyer. When you sell to an iBuyer, you don’t have to do any repairs, cleanings, showings, staging, open houses, or any of the other things that are traditionally associated with listing your home on the market. The whole process is also so much faster than the open market that your house can practically be sold and closed on before you would even have gotten your house listed on the MLS.

Are you wondering how much an iBuyer would buy your house for? You can find out in minutes right here!

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Maybe your house has been on the market for a while, or maybe you’re only just starting to think about selling. Either way, there are actions you can commit to right now to make selling your home fast, easy, and more profitable.

In the digital age, taking every angle into consideration matters. It’s likely that you’ll have pictures of your home listed online and people physically touring your home. If your house is in disarray, then potential buyers are probably passing it up in a heartbeat.

The benefits of home staging are not luxuries you can’t afford. Home staging can be affordable and quick, and it can even get you more money when you sell.

In this guide, you’ll learn about the benefits of staging a home for sale and how you can easily achieve it.

Benefits of Home Staging

Home staging benefits might seem like something only the upper class think about. Having your home set up like a model room in a department store seems unnecessary at first glance, but think why department stores bother to set up model rooms.

First Impressions Matter

We’re guilty of judging a book by its cover every day. When we shop online, we often choose to buy the product that has nicer pictures because we inherently trust that listing more. When we go to the store to buy products, we usually pick the ones with nicer, more organized labeling.

In every case, picking the product with nicer packaging and marketing has nothing to do with how much better the product is. You might have an amazing functional house, but if it’s cluttered and dirty, it won’t matter.

The science of first impressions is stunning: first impressions last for months and stand strong even in the face of contradictory evidence. Take advantage of home staging to make that strong and positive first impression.

Step Up the Appeal

Let’s be honest, almost no one lives in a constantly pristine model home. Clutter and dirt are a part of life, and most people don’t buy only luxury furniture.

One of the benefits of staging your home is that it can make it seem much more luxurious, clean, and comfortable than it normally is. The magic of home staging tricks potential buyers into thinking their lives will be comfortable, clean, and luxurious if they buy your home.

The best part is that you don’t need to invest in all new furniture and decor to make your home look appealing. You can use the furniture you have and items around the house with some simple design rules and basic staging steps.

Make it Easy to Envision Life in Your Home

Everyone makes use of their home’s spaces a bit differently. Some families prioritize kitchen time while others enjoy their living rooms better. Other families spend more time in their bedrooms or outside.

When you are staging your home, you need to take into account how your potential buyers would want to use the space. You need to make it easy for them to envision the perfect life in your home.

Thinking about your home’s best features will help you highlight them by putting more effort into staging them. If you have a beautiful deck with a great view, for example, spend time cleaning up and staging the deck as the perfect leisure space. By making sure those features shine, you’ll be making your home irresistible.

Get Higher Offers

The importance of staging a home can go beyond looks. When potential buyers have very positive first impressions of your home and can envision themselves in the best spaces of your home, they’ll see your home as more valuable. Just the act of making a few simple repairs and deep cleaning your home before an open house can bump up the value of your home.

Highlighting your home’s best features can also increase the value. That new kitchen or bathroom renovation that you invested in could be further highlighted by luxurious touches of staging, bumping up that worth even higher.

Homes that have been staged have an increased chance of getting offers over the asking price than those that have not been staged. Agents from the National Association of Realtors found that staging your home could boost your offers by 5%.

That percentage seems like a small number, but when applied to the large sums that houses sell for, it could mean a lot of money back in your pocket.

Helps for In-Person and Online Viewing

More and more people are buying houses using digital means. It’s becoming more popular to search for houses on your own using real estate websites rather than depending on agents to find them for you. This means that your home’s online presence is very important!

Before anyone comes to take pictures of your home, make sure it’s prepared to shine. Staging your home for pictures can make your home look immaculate and inviting for anyone who clicks on its profile.

In contrast, having pictures of your home online that make it look cluttered and dirty will turn away anyone. Potential buyers may even refuse to see houses suggested by their agents based on their digital first impressions.

You need to make your home shine so that potential buyers are begging to see it in person!

Lessen Time on the Market

The reasons to stage your home don’t stop there. Not only will staging your home get you higher offers, but lessen the time it spends on the market. If you’ve been struggling with getting offers on your home, it might be time to get it a makeover.

It’s likely that you aren’t getting offers on your home because people are struggling to see themselves living in your home. You might need to change the layout a little bit, fix some minor damages, or clean up.

More than half of all sellers agents asked have said that staging a home can reduce your house’s time spent on the market.

DIY vs Professional Home Staging

Staging homes is a profession, and if you have the extra cash to hire a professional, it’s worth it. Home stagers can bring in furniture and decor that you don’t own to help your home reach its highest potential. They are experienced designers and marketers that will help potential buyers see themselves living in your home.

Of course, this type of service comes at a cost. Some things that will change the price of staging will be:

• Whether the home is vacant or lived-in
• How much furniture needs to be added or replaced
• How many rooms and their sizes
• The location the home is in
• How long the house must be staged
• Whether a stager charges by the hour or set fees
• The level of service you’re expecting

If you’re not willing to shell out the money for real, physical staging, it’s possible to get digital staging done. With this service, it’s possible to show your home online with furniture and decor photoshopped into the pictures. This type of staging has been shown to increase interest in the property without the full cost of staging. 

The downsides, however, are that you should also provide pictures that show the true home without photoshop, and that anyone who visits the home will not see the staging in person.

On the other hand, DIY house staging can be as cheap as you like. You might choose to invest in minor repairs and a fresh coat of paint. You might hire a cleaning service for a deep clean.

You can also choose to only do what you can on your own and without cost.

How to Stage Your Home

Any effort to stage your home for potential buyers will bring positive results.

First, it’s likely you’re still living in your home while it’s on the market, but it’s time to start packing up personal items. Open houses and home visits bring in strangers. If you have pictures of your loved ones around the house and personal documents lying around, it could endanger your family.

Second, personal items and documents like mail can clutter a home and pull visitors out of the charm of the home.

It’s also generally polite to deep clean your home before you move out, and buyers will likely request repairs to be made to close on the house anyway. You can get started early and reap the rewards now by staging your house. You can hire a service or save money by doing it yourself.

Any minor repairs would include dents in the walls, scratched paint, fixtures that need tightening, and more.

If you have any colors on walls, it might be worth it to paint everything in neutral tones. Bright colors can be a turn-off, especially in pictures. You can also choose to change up the look of your entrance while you’re at it. Cleaning your front porch and touching up your door paint can make a huge difference.

Other senses come into play as well. Make sure your home has a fresh and inviting smell, and add lively plants that can improve air quality and bring life to the rooms. Make sure you get as much natural light as possible coming in to provide warmth.

Lastly, you can try rearranging furniture and decor. If you have any home magazines on hand, you can see how professionals stage rooms and try out the ideas you like. You can also search for ideas online.

Sell Your Home Fast With Less Hassle

The benefits of home staging are without question, but if you still aren’t satisfied, try listing your home with iBuyer.com. You won’t need to let strangers enter your home or plan for open houses. You won’t even need to make repairs.

iBuyer.com matches sellers with eager buyers who are willing to pay cash for homes sold as-is. Enter your home address on iBuyer.com to find out how much your home is worth right now.

The post The Many Benefits of Home Staging appeared first on iBuyer Blog.

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According to a research report from the National Association of Realtors, 82% of buyers’ agents say that buyers are more able to visualize a house as their future home when it is staged. This same report found that the most important room to be staged was the living room, followed by the master bedroom and then the kitchen.

You would think that buying a house is such a huge investment that most people would make this decision using purely rational criteria. However, the reality is that buying a house is just as much an emotional choice as it is a financial one, and even if a house checks all the right boxes, a buyer might walk away just because it didn’t feel right.

For this reason, home staging is increasingly common. It’s not the cheapest thing in the world to do, though, potentially costing a few thousand dollars a month. If that sounds a bit steep for you, never fear.

Let’s take a look at tips for staging a house on a budget so you can sell your home without breaking the bank.

Staging a House on a Budget: Declutter First

Before you start thinking about staging your home, the absolute first thing you should do is declutter, declutter, declutter. When your house looks crowded with stuff, it makes people feel as though the home isn’t big enough and even makes the rooms feel smaller.

One of the most cost-effective ways to improve the look of your house is to declutter.

Since you’re moving, you likely are planning on going through your stuff and getting rid of some of it anyway. If you’re like most Americans, you have closets, garages, and storage spaces filled to the brim with things you don’t even remember buying. Before you put your house on the market and before you get into staging, it’s time to get rid of everything you no longer want or need.

One of the first things you can do when you’re staging a house for sale on a budget is to sell some items. You don’t necessarily need to have a yard sale and drag everything you own out to the curb, but some of your belongings are likely easy to sell and worth the trouble.

Bigger ticket items can be sold on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or other buy-and-sell groups.

When going through your stuff, you’ll need to get some trash bags and boxes. Then, always have a trash bag with you and boxes labeled as give away, recycle, and sell.

Do a Deep Clean

One of the things you can do to really make your house more appealing to buyers is clean, clean, clean. After all, what’s the point of sprucing up your home so it looks like it belongs in a magazine only for there to be layers of dust on all of the molding?

If you have more time than money, you can deep clean your home rather than hiring a cleaning company. You can cut costs by using reusable rags rather than paper towels and making your own cleaning solutions.

Get Free Advice

If you’re staging a house for sale on a budget, you likely don’t want to deal with paying for a professional home stager. However, you can enlist the advice of another type of professional: your real estate agent.

Avoid Renting a Storage Unit

If you’re staging a house on a budget, you’ll want to avoid renting a storage unit. Putting your extra furniture and belongings in a storage unit is common advice when it comes to staging, but if you’re on a budget you won’t want to accrue that expense.

Instead, see if you could borrow a corner of the garage at a friend’s house or family member’s home. Otherwise, you can neatly stack your boxes in your own garage. So long as you do it in an organized way and potential buyers can still get a sense of the space, it likely won’t be too big of an issue.

Use Budget Items to Create Curb Appeal

Many people who are thinking about buying a home do their own research on real estate websites. When they like a house, they drive by to give it a look before they even reach out to a real estate agent.

For this reason, it’s just as important to stage the outside of your home as it is to stage the inside. First impressions are important in many aspects of life, and it might be particularly true when it comes to real estate. After all, if a potential buyer doesn’t like the looks of your home from the outside, they won’t bother to set up a showing or pursue it further.

Curb appeal is something you can definitely boost on a budget. Here are some of the things you can do:

• Keep the lawn mowed
• Trim the hedges
• Top off mulch
• Keep outdoor spaces free of clutter
• Soften hard outdoor spaces by adding an outdoor rug
• Lighten up your outdoor space with inexpensive solar lights or string lights on your porch
• Set the patio space for entertaining

When you’re looking into home staging ideas on a budget, don’t forget about the outside. Creating an inviting vibe is essential to the quickest sale possible.

Rearrange Your Furniture

You don’t necessarily need to put your furniture in storage to replace it with nicer, more appealing furniture. Instead, consider rearranging your existing furniture to create clearer pathways through your house.

The flow of how a person naturally moves through the home is important. You’ll want to leave at least 24 inches of space for low traffic areas and 30-48 inches of space for higher traffic areas. When creating these pathways, be sure to consider where chairs rest when they are pulled out.

Shop Your Own Stuff

Before you pull out your wallet to spend the big bucks on home accents, take a look at what you already have in your home. There’s a good chance you already have some elements that would really add something to the space for staging purposes.

For example, you might collect your nicest vases, bowls, and glassware and use them for decorative touches. Fill one of your best vases with fresh flowers or fill decorative bowls with beautiful fruit to display on the kitchen counter.

Add Budget Accents That Exude Luxury

Once you’ve exhausted the supply of accents in your own home, you might consider adding a few budget pieces. This doesn’t have to be a huge expense, and a little bit of class can go a long way.

Fresh flowers is one of the easiest home staging ideas on a budget. They add a subtle floral scent and an unmistakable freshness. On top of that, flowers are thought to boost happiness, improve mental health, and raise the perceived quality of life, all of which are wonderfully positive associations for potential buyers to be made right in your house that is for sale.

Another small detail you can add is luxury hand soaps in the bathroom and kitchen. You can get some pretty bars or soap or bottles from places like T.J. Maxx or Trader Joe’s and it shouldn’t break the bank too much. Leave bar soaps unused until the house is sold to keep them looking your best.

If you have nicer guest towels, swap these out for the daily towels. Otherwise, you might consider replacing the towels with a nicer, more luxurious set for showings.

Replacing the shower curtain can also freshen up the place and turn your bathroom from just-so to spa-level.

Slap on a Fresh Coat of Paint

Most real estate agents agree that you should paint your walls with a fresh coat before you start the showing process. When you do this, however, it’s a good idea to go with a nice beige or greige tone, as this is what buyers respond most positively to.

If you have any rooms that are painted a distracting color or are painted a non-neutral color, you can work on these first to save money. You can then incorporate accent colors with textiles after you create a neutral backdrop. This can keep your home from appearing too bland.

Some of the decor pieces you can use to add personality and color without spending too much money include throw blankets, throw pillows and a small accent rug.

Revitalize Your Existing Belongings

When you’re selling your house, you might feel like the expectation is that you will stage your home in a way that basically requires full remodeling. There’s a good chance you have a lot going on in your life, and taking the time and spending the money to totally redecorate doesn’t seem like your highest priority.

However, you can revamp some of your existing stuff to really make your home more appealing to buyers.

For example, the right slipcover could totally transform that dated and worn sofa you have. Cushion covers can give new life to throw pillows, and a crisp white budget duvet cover could help keep your bedroom fresh and clean feeling.

Many people opt to replace hardware from bathroom vanities, kitchen cabinets, and sometimes even furniture. Little details like this can actually make a big difference.

Tailor Your Staging to Your Most Likely Buyers

The number one rule of marketing is: know your audience. When you’re looking for home staging ideas on a budget, the best thing you can do is learn more about the type of people who will most likely be interested in your house.

While you can’t know everything about prospective buyers, there are definitely some hints to help you know who your target market is. For example, if you’re moving out of a family-friendly neighborhood and a four-bedroom house, there’s a high likelihood that the people looking at houses in the neighborhood will be families with children.

Even if your kids have flown the coop and you’re downsizing for retirement, consider decorating one of the spare bedrooms to look like a child’s room. You might be able to borrow decor, toys, and linens from family members or friends rather than spending money on this part of the process.

Maybe your home is in an area where millennials tend to reside. You can then tailor your decorating to this demographic, showing off how the space can be great for entertaining.

Utilize the Benefits of Natural Light

One of the things that is very important to buyers is natural light. For this reason, you should always maximize the natural light that you have. Remove any heavy curtains or draperies that are hanging and replace them with sheer white curtains, sheer panels, or leave them uncovered.

Replace Your Bulbs

The lighting in a room can totally change the way people see a space. Even if you’re seriously on a budget, you can at least change the lightbulbs to brighten up the space. Choose bulbs that have a higher color temperature that offer a bright, clear, daylight hue to increase the sensation of natural light.

Harness the Power of Mirrors

If your house is filled with small spaces, add some mirrors and hang them right across from windows. This will make the space feel bigger and reflect more light. You might be able to find mirrors on local buy and sell groups, thrift stores, or on Facebook Marketplace if you don’t have any extra laying around.

Are You Hoping to Skip the Cost to Stage a House?

When you think about selling your house, you likely don’t think about how much money it’s going to cost you. Unfortunately, selling a house isn’t free, and many homeowners invest a significant amount of time, money, and energy into preparing their home for the market. While staging a house for sale on a budget is possible, it’s worth knowing that there are other options that don’t involve so much work and hassle.

If you sell your home to an iBuyer, you don’t have to do any repairs, upgrades, or staging. In fact, you don’t even have to do any cleaning. IBuyers purchase your home in as-is condition, meaning that you can avoid the hassle and headache of preparing your home for sale.

Are you interested in getting a no-obligation cash offer for your home? If so, click here!

The post Staging a House on a Budget appeared first on iBuyer Blog.

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You’re never truly ready for a loved one to pass. Whether expected or sudden, the loss is tragic and difficult to handle. It can be even more difficult when they’ve named you the executor of their will.

If this is your first time taking care of a will, the rules and responsibilities are new and complicated. Sometimes, proceedings can go smoothly and without any difficulties. Most times, however, the will has errors or lack of clarity.

In the case of an issue, can an executor change a will? This guide will help you understand your duties and limitations as an executor so you can carry out your loved one’s wishes.

What is an Executor of a Will?

An executor of a will is the person responsible for carrying out the proceedings after death. They become the administrator of the last will and are in charge of taking care of the estate left behind. Essentially, this means that have the last say in decisions made and the responsibility to meet the wishes of the passed loved one.

While it seems like the executor of a will has a lot of power, they are bound by law to carry out their duties and there are legal limitations for their actions.

Who is the Executor of a Will?

The executor of a will is the person named responsible by the passed loved one, or testator. Generally, that person would be aware of that decision before the death occurs, but in sudden cases, they would find out during the reading of the will.

It is common for a spouse or elder child to be the executor of a will. Lawyers will generally advise that a responsible and financially stable child be the executor to make sure they have the ability to carry out their duties in a timely and effective manner. 

It is not only possible but common for an executor to also be a beneficiary in the will. This perceived conflict of interest can sometimes cause disputes, but it is very important to carry out the requests of the passed loved one exactly.

The Executor of a Will’s Duties?

If you are the executor of a will, it can be overwhelming to understand all of your responsibilities. Your duties do not stop at reading the will but range from finances to planning the next steps.

As the executor of a will, you must:

• Find the will
• Hire a lawyer to start the process
• Protect the assets of the estate
• Review the will
• Communicate with beneficiaries
• Distribute assets to beneficiaries
• Continue paying bills and handling debts of the estate
• Representing the will in court if needed
• File paperwork to close estate

Essentially, the executor of a will must follow the wishes listed in the last will and make decisions in circumstances where the testator was not clear. 

Can an Executor Change a Will?

Many times, a will can surprise or upset beneficiaries. Other times, the wishes listed are too difficult or impossible to carry out. So, can the executor of a will change the will?

The short answer is no, the executor can’t make any changes to the will. The executor’s responsibility is to follow the will as closely as possible and make decisions that keep the good of the estate in mind.

In cases where it is imperative to make a change, the executor cannot act alone. The law limits the power of the executor by making it mandatory that beneficiaries work with the executor to reach an agreement. All should agree on any changes.

It is most important that those whose inheritance would be diminished by the change agree to the change. If all beneficiaries, especially those risking inheritance, agree to a change, then an executor can get a deed of variation. The beneficiaries must sign the deed of variation with the executor.

When Should a Will Be Changed?

Commonly, testators write their last will and testaments quite a bit before they die and have not updated them to reflect present circumstances. There are many situations in which the will cannot be followed exactly as is, so the executor and beneficiaries must work together to make these changes.

Some common reasons why a will must be changed are:

• Listed assets no longer belong to the estate
• A beneficiary has died
• Some debts diminish the inheritance
• There are wishes listed, but they’re unclear

Often, it is clear when a will cannot be carried out as-is, and the executor will have to consult with the beneficiaries and follow the law to change the will. When it comes to disagreements among the beneficiaries, the executor will have the final say.

It is very important to seek legal counsel before you make decisions that deviate from the will. A lawyer will help you determine if the changes you are making are legal and in good faith. This step will protect you from going to court and facing penalties.

What Can’t an Executor Do?

While the executor of the will has a lot of power and responsibility, certain things aren’t allowed by law. These policies keep a balance of power among the executors and beneficiaries and protect the wishes of the testators.

There are four main things an executor cannot do:

• Sign the will on behalf of the testator if it has gone unsigned
• Attempt to administer inheritance before the testator has passed
• Change the beneficiaries listed in the will
• Stop beneficiaries from contesting items in the will

The beneficiaries can ask the court to get involved in cases where the executor is not fulfilling duties properly. The court will need to examine the will and the actions of the executor to determine fault.

In some cases, beneficiaries are unhappy with the will or have disputes and want to remove the executor. It is the court’s responsibility to protect the executor in those cases. If the executor has been acting in good faith with the good of the estate in mind, then they will be protected.

What Happens if You Refuse?

Not all executors are happy to take charge after the loss of a loved one. It’s important to remember that they chose you for a reason, but if you really cannot fulfill your responsibilities, what do you do?

You are allowed to refuse the role of executor if you wish. Often, the testator will name a backup executor. In that case, the second choice will take over the executor’s responsibilities.

If there is no backup executor, then the last will will have to go to court. The court will be able to appoint a person to be a personal administrator or estate administrator. 

This new administrator will take on all of the responsibilities that you would have had as an executor.

What if the Executor Is Not Available?

If you came to this article because you cannot find the executor or the executor has also passed, then you must be wondering what about the next steps. In all cases of an unavailable executor, the local probate court will need to handle it.

The court will appoint someone different to be the executor and provide letters testamentary, which gives the new executor their responsibilities.

There are also cases where the named executor cannot fulfill their role. The court may remove someone from the role of executor if show they have a conflict of interest, are incapacitated, or they are a felon.

What Happens in the Absence of Beneficiaries?

If an executor cannot locate a beneficiary, there is a rigorous process to convince the court that they are unreachable. No other actions can happen until the executor has proven that they tried the following:

• Attempted to reach the beneficiary at all known means of contact, including mailing address
• Attempted to contact known living relatives including parents, siblings, spouses
• Attempted to reach all previous employers
• Spoke with members of the community

If the executor can show documentation that they have attempted all of the above, they should bring it to the court for evaluation. If the executor and the court representatives fail to reach the beneficiary after a set period of time, they will treat the beneficiary as if they are dead.

Any inheritance that the testator assigned to them in the will then becomes the inheritance of the other beneficiaries. 

Sell the Estate With Ease

Can an executor change a will? Now you know that it’s possible, but only with the agreement of the law and other beneficiaries.

The next step is often to sell the home left behind. It is your responsibility to sell the home for a price that benefits the estate. iBuyer.com helps you put the house on the market as-is, no repairs or open houses required.

iBuyer.com will match you to cash buyers so you can take care of your other responsibilities. Enter the home address today to find your perfect buyer.

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