3 Surefire Ways to Build Home Equity

Olivia PrinceReal Estate Advice

3 Surefire Ways to Build Home Equity

One of the greatest benefits of being a homeowner rather than a renter is that you have the opportunity to build equity over the years.

Equity in your home refers to the difference between what you owe on your home and what the current market value is of your home.

For example, if your home is worth $100,000 and you only owe $75,000, you have $25,000 of home equity.

Home equity is a key component of building long-term wealth. But just letting the property appreciate over time isn’t the only way that you can maximize your equity.Read more

Sierra and Chanse: A Real Estate Success Story

Sierra and Chanse: A Real Estate Success Story

Olivia PrinceRD Success Stories, Real Estate Advice

Imagine this scenario…

You’re a young couple with two small kids. One of you works in the home because daycare is so expensive. The other works at a local business. Then, one day, word comes down that the business is closing.

Now, instead of driving a few minutes to work, you have to drive all the way to Lander. You also suffer a pay cut.

On top of that, quality rentals are tough to come by – they’re either snatched up quickly or more expensive than you can afford.

It sounds like an impossible situation, right? Especially for a young family that wants to buy their first home!

This isn’t a fictional story, though. It’s the story of our clients Sierra and Chanse.Read more

Questions You Should Ask Your Realtor When Buying a Home

Olivia PrinceReal Estate Advice

Questions to Ask Your Realtor When Buying a Home

The great thing about having a Realtor represent you when you buy a home is that we’re here to work on behalf of your best interests.

That doesn’t just apply to negotiating with the seller’s agent, arranging inspections, and keeping track of all the paperwork that’s involved in buying a home, either. Instead, we’re here to answer your questions and help you become a more informed homebuyer!

That being the case, here are a few questions you should ask your Realtor when buying a home.

Vlog: What To Do If You Find a Bat in Your House

Olivia PrinceReal Estate Advice

What To DoIf You FindA Bat In Your House

Even though I’ve lived in the country most of my life, I’ve been fortunate that I’ve never encountered a bat in my house.

I realize that bats are helpful – they eat mosquitos, among other things – but if you’re like me, you just can’t get past how super creepy they look!

I usually hear a bat story or two from friends or clients each year, but this year I’ve heard WAY more stories about people seeing bats, finding dead bats in their yards, and worse – finding live bats flapping around inside their homes.

Vlog: Buying a Home? Don’t Buy These Real Estate Myths

Olivia PrinceReal Estate Advice

real estate mythsThere are plenty of myths floating around about real estate. And while some of them are “little” myths that are simply misconstruing the basic facts, other real estate myths are completely and totally wrong.

This week, Olivia and I tackle three (and a half) common real estate myths that we feel cause buyers the most angst. From not wanting to pay a real estate agent to the prospect of being stuck with an agent that you don’t like to not being able to buy a For Sale By Owner home with a Realtor, we give you the whole truth on each of these myths in the video below.Read more

Vlog: Concerned About Down Payments? Some of These Low Money Down Payment Options Might Be For You

Olivia PrinceReal Estate Advice

getting real with real estate low money down

There’s a common misconception that buyers have to have 20 percent down to buy a home. And while putting that amount of money down is a great idea, not all of us have that kind of money just lying around.

To assist buyers that need a smaller down payment, lenders offer tons of financing options that require very little money down. These loan programs are the subject of this week’s Getting Real with Real Estate with Olivia and Katie, which you can watch below.

What NOT to Do When Selling Your Home

Olivia PrinceReal Estate Advice

What Not to do when selling your homeOne thing we tell our sellers is to get their home ready for market by sprucing things up a bit. After all, some new flooring here and some new paint there can make a world of difference.

However, painting a wall is one thing; tearing down a wall to create an open floor plan is another thing entirely.

So, while it’s important to put your home’s best foot forward, it’s also important to know the limitations of your DIY skills.

That being the case, here’s a list of what not to do when selling your home.Read more

3 Things Your Realtor Wants You to Understand About Buying a Home

Olivia PrinceReal Estate Advice

3 things your realtor wants you to understand about buying a homeThere’s not many events in life that can rival the stress of getting married or losing a loved one. But buying a home is certainly one of them. Buying a home isn’t something that most of us do very often, and it involves WAY more money than most purchases we’ll make in our lives, so it’s understandable that some buyers have trouble coping with the stress of it all.Read more