Are You at Risk of Losing the Bucks County Home of Your Dreams?

Buying a Bucks County area homes?  Perform a full home search

Selling your Bucks County home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

Recently, Bucks County has been hot! In fact, there is so much activity right now that we're seeing something we haven't seen in years: multiple offer situations! 

While sellers love receiving multiple offers, these situations can be very stressful for buyers. However, there are strategies that can help you make your offer stand out in a crowded market. Here are some quick tips:

• Don't go crazy: No house is worth overextending yourself for, especially if it's going to put a substantial financial burden on you. 
• Escalation clauses: If you really love the home, you can include an escalation clause in your offer. This clause states that you will pay the amount of any competitive offer plus, say, $1,000 more. There is typically a cap that can be reached in an escalation clause, so you limit the amount of money you'll pay and sacrifice some negotiating leverage. 
• Write a letter to seller: A better option than an escalation clause, or one you can use in tandem with it, is writing a personal letter to the seller. Letting them know how much you like their home and how important it is to you and your family could go a long way toward making your offer look a whole lot more appealing.
• Complete pre-approval: Make sure your mortgage lender is as tight and thorough as possible. This will show the seller you are a serious and qualified buyer. Offering to put a lot of money down up front is also a great way to improve the look of your offer.
• Match seller's conditions: If you can match the seller's preferred closing date and other conditions, you can make your offer look better than the competition without having to offer the highest price. Coordinating conditions with the seller is huge!
• Work with a good agent: If you don't know how to negotiate and read market trends and conditions, you might find yourself missing out on the home of your dreams. In a competitive market like the one we're currently in, working with someone with experience could truly make the difference when trying to secure your dream home!

If you want to learn more about getting your offer accepted, or if you would like to learn more about how our team can help you, give us a call or shoot us a quick email. We would love to hear from you!

12 tips to keep your home in good shape this winter

There are many great Bucks County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (215) 519-1399 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

It's hard to believe it's already October and the cold weather will be here soon in Bucks County. The few chilly nights we've had recently got us thinking about the best ways to prepare your home for the winter. To answer that, we put together a handy 12-point checklist.

1. Clean those gutters: Now is the time to inspect your gutters and downspouts. Make sure they're clear for the winter so you don't have any leakage once the ice and snow thaws in the springtime.
2. Seal up the cracks and gaps: Make sure there aren't any cracks or gaps around your windows and doors. Use weather stripping and caulk to help save on energy bills.
3. Take care of your roof: Make sure there aren't any major problems with your roof while the weather is still nice. 
4. Repair your walkways and driveways: If there is damage to the concrete around your home, repair it now. Ice and snow will only make the problem worse.
5. Drain and winterize your outdoor faucets: Many people forget to do this and have to pay for it when the spring rolls around. Don't let it happen to you.
6. Replace furnace filters: You don't want to wait until it's freezing cold to realize your heating system isn't working at maximum efficiency.
7. Get furnace serviced: Make sure your heating system is working before the cold sets in. Repair companies get swamped once the weather gets bad, so beat the rush.
8. Clean out the fireplace: Clean and sweep the fireplace, since you'll be using it soon.
9. Make sure the humidifier is working properly.
10. Get your gas fire heater serviced now: Again, don't wait until it gets cold.
11. Check wood stoves: Ensure all your heating devices are in working order.
12. Test safety items: Make sure your fire alarms, extinguishers, smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide detectors are working properly, so your family is safe this winter.

If you need help getting any of these tasks taken care of, don't hesitate to give us a call. We work with plenty of great vendors we'd love to refer to you. Thanks, and keep warm this winter!

Things to Keep in Mind When Using Online Home Search Tools

There are many great Bucks County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (215) 519-1399 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

We all know the majority of people start their home search online. There are a host of resources on the web that can help you find just the home you're looking for. However, with the abundance of information available, it's difficult to know which is accurate. We're here to help you find the facts and make your home search a heck of a lot easier. Here are a few things you should know about popular online home search sites:

• Much of the information is outdated. We have people call us all the time telling us how excited they are about a house they found online. However, when we check the listings we find that the house has been either sold or is under contract. 
• Zillow and Trulia don't get a direct feed from the Multiple Listing Service. These and other popular home search sites gather information from non-MLS sites that often have bad information.
• There is often a real estate agent pictured with the house of interest. This leads those looking for a home to believe that the particular agent is more knowledgeable about the home and area than he or she might actually be. Leads are sold to the highest-bidding agents, so you may be seeing the picture of someone other than the listing agent.

These are, among other things, the most important reasons to take online information with a grain of salt. Avoid the disappointment that comes with inaccurate information by working with a professional Realtor. They are your best source for up-to-date and accurate information, especially if you want to know what's happening in the Bucks County market right now.

There are also more reliable online search tools you can use, such as Realtor.com and SearchHomesInBucksCounty.com. If you visit the latter, you will find an opportunity to enter the Great Home Give Away and a chance to win up to $100,000, so we highly recommend checking that out.

As always, if you have any questions or are interested in buying or selling a home in the Newtown area, give us a call or send us an email, we'd love to chat. 

Why It's a Great Time to Buy in Bucks County

There are many great Bucks County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (215) 519-1399 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Why It's a Great Time to Buy in Bucks County

In my last segment I talked briefly about why it's such a great time to sell real estate here in Bucks County, but today I will be discussing why it is also a good time to be buying real estate. 

• Interest rates are still historically low: It appears that by the end of this year that interest rates may rise to 5.5%. While these are still affordable rates, it will cost you thousands of dollars over the lifetime of a loan compared to the rates that we have currently.
   
• Inventory will be Rising: There is not a lot of inventory in the Newtown / Bucks County market right now. However, I expect this to change as spring approaches and the weather warms up. It may take some time, but we will see more properties come on the market.


• In relation to inventory - home prices in this market have not wildly appreciated yet. We saw a 3% increase last year, and while we may be heading into an appreciating cycle, we're still not seeing a wild rise in home prices.
   
• If you're buying...you need to be prepared to act quickly. Get your finances in order, speak with a lender, and when you see a home that fits your needs, don't hesitate to jump on it. We're not seeing multiple offers on homes just yet, but it's good to come into a market as prepared as possible. 

Hopefully this has been helpful information to all of my potential buyers in the Newtown / Bucks County area. If you would like to set up a time to discuss real estate or your goals in finding a new home, feel free to give me a call.

I can be reached at (215) 519-1399 or you can email me at marty@martinmillner.com.