Dasmarka Real Estate

When you're thinking about making a move, consider:
__ how much money you want to spend.
__ what type of home you would like.
__ where you would like to live.
__ when you want to move.
__ how much you qualify for and what financing works best.

Getting pre-qualified by a lender is a good idea in the beginning stage. This will help you determine your choices of homes and neighborhoods and keep your expectations realistic. When you start your search, get pre-approved for a loan as soon as possible. This will involve a credit check and employment verification, and once this is done all that needs to be done is for the lender to appraise the home.

Why is pre-approval so important? Pre-approval strengthens your position. A seller typically chooses an offer that is pre-approved over someone whose financial picture is still in question. If you or someone you know is looking to buy or has a real estate need or question, visit me at for buying and selling tips, MLS property searches, town and community information and more, or call me at .
Thank you and have a wonderful day!
Lonnie Snyder 206-406-2710

Let's face it: When your house goes on the market, you're not only opening the door to prospective buyers, but also sometimes to unknown vendors and naïve or unqualified buyers. As with any business transaction, there is an expected protocol to how sellers, buyers and their respective agents interact. Should you find yourself in a sticky situation, alert your agent so he or she can address and remedy the problem.
The aggressive agent.
When your agent puts your house on the market, typically all promotional materials state clearly that your agent is the primary contact for buyers and buyers' agents. However, sometimes a buyer's agent will contact a seller directly to try to either win over their business or cut the seller's agent out of the deal. This is not reputable behavior and you should report it to your agent immediately if it happens to you.
The unscrupulous vendor.
Have you ever started a business or moved into a new house and suddenly found your mailbox full of junk mail? Unfortunately, this also can happen when you put your house on the market. When you sell your home, it necessitates all kinds of new purchasing decisions and less-than-ethical vendors are keenly aware of this. Though MLS organizations enforce rules on how posted information is used, some companies have found ways to cull information from various sources to produce mass mailing lists. If you find yourself regularly emptying your mailbox of junk, let your agent know. He or she can tap the appropriate sources to prompt an investigation into the matter.
The naïve buyer.
Yard signs, Internet listings and other advertisements can generate a lot of buzz for your home. Some prospective buyers - particularly first-timers - will be so buzzed to see your home that they'll simply drop by. If this happens, no matter how nice these unexpected visitors are, it's best not to humor their enthusiasm by discussing your home or giving an impromptu tour. Instead, politely let them know that your real estate agent is in charge of scheduling tours and provide them with the agent's contact information. If you attempt to handle these surprise visits on your own, you might inadvertently disclose information that could hurt you during negotiations down the road.

What if you want better cash flow from your rental properties? You can't just raise the rents arbitrarily. If tenants leave, income goes down, not up. There are other ways, though, including the ones listed below.

1. Install coin-operated washing machines. Even if you don't have the money to do this yourself, you can find a company that will do it for you, and share the income with you.

2. Rent extra parking space. When I got tired of a renter's extra car, I just started charging a weekly fee. Then I didn't mind so much.

3. Raise the rent. Okay, we did dismiss ARBITRARY rent hikes as a cash-flow solution, but check on the rates for similar units. Are you renting at below-market rates?

4. Rent storage sheds. Especially if your apartments are small, your renters may need a place to store their things. Don't let them spend their money elsewhere. Put a few sheds on the property.

5. Enforce late fees. It is perfectly fair to have a fee for late payment of rent, and guess what? Those who are chronically late usually don't even mind - they just don't look at these things the same way as others.

6. Offer improvements for rent increases. If it's worth $25 more monthly rent to a tenant, install that dishwasher. Even on a credit card you'll pay less than that per month for it.

7. Install vending machines. If your rental properties are large enough, others will do this for you for free, and give you a share of the income.

8. Rent by the room. A four-bedroom house might make more money if you include all the utilities and rent by the bedroom. This has made a lot of fortunes for investors in college towns. It does mean a lot of management, however.

9. Rent-to-own sale. Usually there's a non-refundable deposit, and higher than market rents in these deals. When renters change their minds, as they often do, you got the deposit and better cash flow. This is great when poor cash flow makes you want to sell. You either sell or get the better cash flow as you repeat the process.

10. Reduce expenses. Every dollar of expense you cut goes straight to the bottom line. List every expense of your rental properties, and look at them one at a time. How can you reduce them?

To avoid frozen pipes, let water trickle overnight from indoor faucets served by exposed pipes.
Keep the heat set on at least 55 degrees. If your water pipes are not insulated, install pipe sleeves.
Outdoors, disconnect garden hoses. Drain and cover faucets.
Open cupboard doors under sinks on outside walls so pipes are exposed to inside heat.
If your pipes do freeze, it is best to call a licensed plumber.
If you try to thaw the frozen pipe yourself, be sure to take the following precautions:
• Do not use an open flame. You risk setting the home on fire, and overheating one area can cause the pipe to burst.
• Place a warm towel or rag around the pipe.
• Shut off the water valve to the frozen pipe.
• Keep the faucet of the frozen pipe open so water can flow out as it melts.
• Make sure you know the location of your master shut-off valve. The frozen pipe may already be broken and, when the water is thawed, it will leak. In this case, you will need to shut off the water in your home until the leaky pipe is fixed.

Replacing the carpet to help the house sell faster is a favorite with real estate agents. And there's a good reason. Taking a shortcut by offering a carpeting allowance doesn't have the visual impression – or sales impact – of new carpet. Here are some guidelines to be sure the new carpet has the maximum effect:

Select neutral colors. The color should be neutral or a dull color tone to help the room look bigger. When carpeting several adjoining rooms, the same carpet should be used, if possible – again to make the house seem larger and more unified.

Select high quality pad. The pad under the carpet is important, and not a place to cut corners. A good pad is dense and resilient, and gives an expensive feel to almost any carpet. Pads come in a variety of materials including rubber, foam, felt, and jute.

Select fiber carefully. Choose a fiber that suits the area where the carpet will be installed. Carpets are made of a variety of man-made and natural fibers, and often are comprised of popular combinations of fibers. Nylon is durable and resilient, and suitable for high-traffic areas. Olefin is economical and stain-resistant, good for active families. Polyester is soft and elegant, and appropriate for a higher-style area. Wool is a warm natural fiber, luxurious and expensive.

Select loop to match use. The type of loop should depend on the use. A sheared loop like plush works in more formal areas; a continuous loop, such as Berber, is suitable for children's play areas.

It takes more than good luck to get the right home at the right price. One advantage you can have on your side is a conditional loan pre-approval. When you are pre-approved your offer is more attractive because the seller doesn't have to wonder if you can afford to buy. The seller will know in advance that your offer is as good as money in the bank.

Pre-approval versus pre-qualification
A pre-approval is a conditional loan approval from a lender based on your application. Pre-approval differs from pre-qualification, which is a verbal exchange with a lender about how much you can probably afford. Pre-qualification does not obligate the bank to make the loan, whereas a pre-approval is a conditional loan commitment. Final approval is made when both your finances and the property pass review.
Close the deal faster
Lining up your mortgage loan before you start house hunting could make buying your new home quicker and easier. A pre-approval can speed closing because most of the paperwork is already in place for the loan. You have already started to learn about the financing process, and any problems will have been resolved.