Buying a home is often considered one of the most stressful things you will do in your life.  Unless you're a real estate investor, you will most likely experience home buyer stress.

You can help your Rancho Cucamonga real estate agent find you a home, and successfully close the deal, if you are as prepared and knowledgeable as possible. Here are a few tips to help you be ready and make your transition as painless and stress free as possible.

Have all of your financial records in order. This includes:

• Income records: You usually need two recent pay stubs. If you are self-employed, it will get trickier.  Want to be even more prepared?  Get pre-approved for your mortgage.
• A clean credit report: Make use of those free credit reports and check for errors, outstanding debts, and a high debt-to-income ratio.  If you find any errors, it's worth your time to get them fixed prior to applying for a loan or searching for a home.
• Know what you want: As unusual as that seems, not knowing specifically what you need and want in a new home can prolong the search and have you and your agent running in circles trying to find the right home. Price is only one of the considerations. Know how many bathrooms and bedrooms you need. If there are specific amenities you desire, let them be known.  Don't wait until you've traveled all over the countryside looking at homes to tell your Rancho Cucamonga real estate agent you absolutely must have a sunken tub.

Read up on everything you can find that will help you understand the options available to you and what you need to get financing and you will be your own best asset in finding the perfect home. Making your Rancho Cucamonga real estate agent work smarter, not harder, is the way to a beneficial arrangement for you both.

If you’re looking for the home of your dreams, I can help.  Call me at (909)938-9568, or email me at Randy@TeamCharlton.com  for more information.

                    Brought to you by Randy Charlton of Keller Williams Realty
 

The “Home for Sale in Rancho Cucamonga” sign in your yard has been up for quite awhile. Are you somehow missing Morse code signals floating through the air that might give you the magic equation? Are you afraid the house won’t sell until hell freezes over? Are you looking desperately for signs of frost?

Well, even with the ever-pervasive issues currently making a mess of the economy in general and the real estate industry specifically, it’s still possible to replace that “Home for Sale in Rancho Cuamonga” sign with a “SOLD” sign. You just have to figure out why it’s not selling, and fix it.

I know; it’s easier said than done.  If you knew what the problem was, you’d already have fixed it. So here, you’ll find the top three reasons a house won’t sell until pigs fly:

1. Price is the number one deal breaker.

Price and value are the two things you need to wrap your thoughts around. As well, it’s not about what you consider good price and value for a home, but what the buyer considers a good deal.

You can’t beat the competition by simply lowering the price. You have to compel the buyer with the “Goldilocks” price. This price says, “It’s not cheap, so you aren’t getting a fixer-upper. It’s not expensive, because it’s less than others are. It’s just right, because you can afford it and it’s beautiful.”

2. Home selling is a beauty contest.

Real estate agents say curb appeal and many potential clients roll their eyes. It’s as if we’ve said it so much that it’s become a myth of epical proportions. I assure you, curb appeal is very, very real.

Let a buyer pull up to a house with chipped paint and rusted hardware, and that’s one less buyer to worry about. The first impression is everything, and a poor impression never goes away.

3. People don’t want to see your stuff.

Whether your “stuff” is an old, favorite easy chair with rips and springs poking out or a closet full to bursting, it’s a turn off to buyers. They don’t want to see what the home looks like with your footprint on it; they want to see what it would look like with their footprint on it.

Cut down on your furniture, keeping the best (though not necessarily more comfortable) pieces for show. Pack up your knick-knacks, bric-a-brac and family photos. Take half your clothes out of the closets and pack them away in moving boxes. Less is more!

If you’re having problems with getting your home for sale in Rancho Cucamonga off the market, don’t panic. Clear your head and see what you’ve missed!

If you’re ready to sell your home, I can help. Call me at (909)938-9568 or email me at Randy@TeamCharlton.com for more information.

Brought to you by Randy Charlton of Keller Williams Realty

A short sale happens when a lender agrees to accept less than the balance remaining on a home. It is a way for sellers to avoid Foreclosure and sell their Rancho Cucamonga homes.

It seems like a good idea for people who owe more on their home than it’s worth, but that doesn’t mean it is right for everyone. Should you consider a short sale on your Rancho Cucamonga home?

Pros to doing a short sale:

• You will be able to sell your property, get out from under a mortgage you cannot afford and lower your debt.
• You can still sell your property in a declining real estate market, even if you owe more than the home is worth.
• buyers sometimes get good deals on the property or may be able to buy a home at market value in a popular area they couldn't previously afford.
• While a short sale isn't ideal, it is typically better than a foreclosure which stays on your credit report for 10 years.
• If your home goes into foreclosure and is sold at auction for less than the mortgage, you can still be held responsible for making up the difference.

Cons to doing a short sale:

• The lender may refuse to do the short sale, or they may still hold you responsible for the remaining debt.
• The bank’s loss is considered taxable income for you, and you may have to pay taxes on the amount.
• Short sales do stay on your credit report and may make it difficult for you to a get loan in the future.
• You may have to find a real estate agent willing to work for a smaller commission.
• Short sales take longer to close than traditional home sales.

I can help you decide if a short sale on your Rancho Cucamonga home is right for you. Call me today at (909)938-9568 or email me at Randy@TeamCharlton.com for more information about your selling options.

                      Brought to you by Randy Charlton of Keller Williams Realty.
 

Selling a home is sometimes a long process. You can sit around worrying and wondering when you’ll have a buyer, or you can get busy to help the time fly.  Here are 10 things to do while waiting for your Rancho Cucamonga home to sell:

1. 1. Clean. I’m sure you’ve already cleaned every part of your Rancho Cucamonga home to prepare it for sale. Make a game of it this time.  Time yourself to see how fast you can clean one room or one drawer.  Or, take out every type of cleaner you have and use it in each room.
    
2. Plant a container garden. The best part of a container garden is that you can take it with you. Plant some herbs or easy to grow vegetable plants, like tomatoes or cucumbers.
    
3. Sort through your magazines. Now you have the time to read all those magazine articles you’ve been saving.  Cut out coupons and recipes.  Send articles to your friends to let them know you’re thinking of them.  Throw out the magazines when you’re finished.
    
4. Clear the pantry and freezer. You don’t want to take all your excess food with you when you move. Clean out the pantry, and donate supplies to your local homeless shelter or food pantry.  Eat something from your freezer every day until it’s all gone.
    
5. De-clutter and eliminate.  Clean out your makeup stash. Weed through the kids’ toy box. Do any small task that will lighten your moving load.  Ask yourself, do I really want to pack this item, move it and then unpack it?  If the answer is no, pitch it or give it away.
    
6. Finish crafts. Go ahead and finish the quilt or scrapbook you’ve been working on. This will help clean out your craft closet and will make packing your craft supplies that much easier.
    
7. Empty your medicine cabinet. Do you really need that bottle of medication from your surgery 12 years ago? Toss anything that’s out of date or that you no longer need to keep.
    
8. Save your digital photos to a disk. Choose only the photos you want to keep and save them to a CD or flash drive. You never know when your computer is going to crash.
    
9. Have a yard sale. You need to clean out your closets anyway. You might as well make some money off the items.
    
10. Throw a barbeque. Take the proceeds of your yard sale and have a barbeque for you and your neighbors. Think of this as a going away party.

Take advantage of the time you have while waiting for your Rancho Cucamonga home to sell.

Need help selling your home?  Call me today at (909)938-9568 or email me at Randy@TeamCharlton.com.

                               Brought to you by Randy Charlton at Keller Williams Realty.

So, you’ve decided you want to sell your house.  You know it qualifies as one of those “ugly houses,” but you don’t want to do any work to your home.  You especially don’t want to do major repairs or updates like replacing all the windows with broken seals.  

You may think that means real estate agents will not want to list your home for sale.  Think again.  Rancho Cucamonga real estate agents sell ugly houses, too!

Here’s what you should expect if you have an ugly house that you don’t want to make improvements to:

• A lower price:  Maybe you don’t have the time, energy, money or know how to make improvements to your home.  That doesn’t mean it won’t sell, it just means the price has to be low enough to convince a buyer that it’s worth the time and money they’ll have to spend to get it into shape.  An experienced Rancho Cucamonga real estate agent can do the necessary research to come up with the right price to get your home sold.
   
• A smaller number of potential buyers:  In today’s market, most homebuyers are looking for that perfect home.  The one they can move in to without doing any work.  Since your home doesn’t fit that description, you’ll lose those homebuyers.   Typically, homes like this will sell to Rancho Cucamonga real estate investors or buyers who enjoy fixing up houses.
   
• A longer time on the market:  Because of the smaller number of potential buyers, it may take a bit longer to sell your home.  Because of the lower price, you’ll probably have several lookers, but getting someone to purchase it will most likely take longer than normal.

Don't say you're going to sell your house someday, when you get all the repairs and upgrades completed, if you know in your heart that isn’t reality.  Sometimes it's worth taking a lower price and moving on. 

Whether your home is gorgeous, ugly or somewhere in between, I can help you get it sold.  Give me a call today at (909)938-9568 or email me at Randy@TeamCharlton.com for more information.

                 Brought to you by Randy Charlton of Keller Williams Realty.

If you’ve thought about buying a Rancho Cucamonga home for sale, you have to be wondering, “Is it ever going to be a good idea?” I understand; there’s an endless stream of media pouring out bad housing news. It’s discouraging to say the least if you’re a homebuyer or a home seller.

Yet, the problem with the news from the home buying standpoint is that it focuses on profit. The media says, “You can’t make a profit from buying a home.” They talk about prices dropping and more homes hitting the market, among other things. What they miss, however, are the real reasons most people buy a Rancho Cucamonga home for sale.

It’s your home. Period.

You can do what you want with it. You don’t have to worry about whether painting a mural on the wall will get you an increase in rent. You don’t have to deal with the noisy people who just moved into the apartment above you, who obviously brought a zoo because something’s pounding on your ceiling all the time. You can paint the walls black and nobody can say “Boo” about it, because it’s your home.

Fixed-rate mortgages stay put.

Unlike rent, which can go up and up and up, fixed-rate mortgage loans stay the same. They work exactly like they sound; the rate you start at when you buy your Rancho Cucamonga home for sale is the rate you end at when you finish paying off your mortgage.

You can eventually stop paying out.

Rent will always be owed. At no time in the future will your landlord say, “You’ve paid enough rent. You don’t have to pay anymore.” Mortgages, however, will eventually be paid off. Therefore, while renters pay for 15 years and then must continue to pay, homeowners, who have a 15-year mortgage, can pay for 15 years and then stop.

It’s your castle.

Nobody owns it but you. There’s a certain pride to owning a home that far outweighs profit. The excitement from making a profit, however small or large, is a fleeting, momentary thing. When you buy a Rancho Cucamonga home for sale, you’re buying a castle – a safe haven where you can get away from the world; a place where you can relax and be comfortable.

If you’re ready to find your castle, I can help. Call me at (909)938-9568 or email me at Randy@TeamCharlton.com for more information.

                            Brought to you by Randy Charlton of Keller Williams Realty

The national real estate market, state markets and city markets all seemed to be wrapped up in a nifty bundle that effect whether your Rancho Cucamonga home for sale will have a buyer. With the news reports over the last two years about the pop of the housing bubble, homeowners everywhere essentially lost their minds.

Here are a few examples:

• Some homeowners panicked and immediately put their houses up for sale
• Some homeowners chose to walk away from it all, leaving their homes vacant and mortgages in default
• Some homeowners went into a flurry of home renovations, with the idea of selling
• National and Rancho Cucamonga home for sale listings shot through the roof

The amazing thing isn’t that the real estate market seems to be stabilizing – that’s not the miracle. The miracle is that we still even have a real estate market at all.

Obsessing Over the Sale

This year opened up with a lot of homes on the market, but it also opened with a lot of sellers digging into real estate news. They’ve started obsessing; they’ve started pouring over online real estate digests, articles and blogs. In fact, the traffic for this site alone has jumped tremendously.

While it’s understandable that you, as the seller, want to know what your chances are for selling your home, obsessing is bad for business. Especially if you’re dealing with potential buyers in person, your eagerness to sell can show in very bad ways. You might end up selling the home for way less than you could have - or you might not sell your home at all if they sense desperation.

If you’re obsessing over whether your home will sell or not, stop. Take a deep breath. Relax. Even if you’re in a hurry, taking a short break from worry can help clear your mind and leave it open for better ideas.

It may be hard to remember sometimes, and giving trust is always difficult, but that’s what we’re here for. You hired your real estate agent to take care of your Rancho Cucamonga home for sale and get it off the market. We do the research on the market and we have the experience.  In other words, we do the worrying for you!

 If you’d like to sell your home, I can help. Call me at (909)938-9568 or email me at Randy@TeamCharlton.com for more information.

              Brought to you by Randy Charlton of Keller Williams Realty.

While those who own Rancho Cucamonga Homes for sale are worried about the real estate market, some buyers are getting good deals. However, there are plenty of people on both sides of the market with a case of cold feet.

For instance, some with Rancho Cucamonga  homes for sale took them off the market. Others, who’ve thought of selling, haven’t.

The same can be said for buyers. Many potential homebuyers change their minds or still worry over that age-old question of, “Should I or shouldn’t I?”

Two Cases of Cold Feet

A 26-year old with a steady job, good paycheck and good credit, sums it up for many potential buyers. “My job’s steady and my credit is good.  I keep watching the houses that go up for sale, thinking I could go ahead and buy, but then the ‘what if’s’ pop into my head.  I don’t want to miss this opportunity to get a great deal and lock in a low interest rate, but there are so many unknowns…”

A former seller shares why he took his home off the market. “My wife and I decided to sell and went through the process of hiring an agent. The agent suggested having someone come in and redecorate the house. While we were looking for another place, we kept coming back to this beautiful home and started remembering what we really liked about it in the first place.”

He went on to say, “We also started thinking about all the things we no longer had to deal with. We own this home, but if we bought another one, we’d have to take out a mortgage. Our house started looking better and better. Turns out we didn’t need to move; we just needed to redecorate.”

Should I or Shouldn’t I?

Should you buy a home? Should you sell the home you own? Only you can really answer that question. For the buyers, however, if you can afford a home of your own but are holding off for lower prices, you could end up missing out. Home prices and mortgage rates are already at all-time lows; this may be as good as it gets.

For sellers, consider why you want to sell your home. Is it too small? Too big? Would remodeling turn it back into your dream home? Or – do you really need to sell your home for some reason?

Putting your Rancho Cucamonga  home up for sale or buying a new home should never be a spontaneous decision. Before you do either, take stock of your finances and reasons.

If you’d like to sell your home or find a home to buy, I can help. Call me today at (909)938-9568 or email me at Randy@TeamCharlton.com for more information.

                Brought to you by Randy Charlton of Keller Williams Realty.

Rejection is a hard thing to face in life, whether it’s from a potential client, a potential boss or a potential home seller.  As a Rancho Cucamonga home buyer, your stress level might be reduced if you’re aware of some of the reasons a seller may reject your offer.  

Before I give you the list of reasons, I’d like to mention that even if you and your buyer’s agent do everything right, the seller may still reject your offer.  It frequently has nothing to do with you.

With that said, here are 5 common reasons sellers reject offers on their homes:

1. The offer wasn’t enough for them to pay off their mortgage. For most sellers, the bottom line is paying off their mortgage. If your offer won’t cover the mortgage, they cannot accept it.
2. They may have just been testing the waters to see what they can get for their home.
3. Their plans may have changed. People put their homes on the market because they need to move, they want to upgrade their home, or they can no longer afford their Rancho Cucamonga home. If the circumstances change, they may not need to sell their home.
4. Their deal may have fallen through. Perhaps your seller was buying another house contingent on the sale of their property. If something went wrong with that deal, they may not be able to sell their Rancho Cucamonga home to you.
5. You may be asking too much of them. The seller may not have the time or money to make any repairs they think are insignificant. Perhaps you want to close too soon or would like to move in to the home before closing.

Don’t get depressed when a seller rejects your offer. There may be many reasons for their refusal.  Help your real estate agent develop a counter offer, or move on to a new opportunity.  There are a lot of homes on the market.  You may be pleasantly surprised when you start looking again and find a home that fits your lifestyle even better.

When you’re ready to buy a home, I can help you find a great home and negotiate to a successful “Yes, we’ll accept your offer.” Call me today at (909)938-9568 or email me at Randy@TeamCharlton.com to get started.

               Brought to you by Randy Charlton of Keller Williams Realty.

It happens to everyone at some point. You walk away from the closing table wondering if you made the biggest mistake of your life. Did you sell your Rancho Cucamonga home for less than it was worth? Will you be able to create new memories in your new home? This is called seller’s remorse.  Here are some tips to prepare for it and survive it:

• seller’s remorse is a fear, and you should deal with it just like you would any other fear. Talk about it with your friends, family, and real estate agent. They can listen to you and reassure you that you made the right decision.
• Remind yourself of the facts. Facts are the opposite of fear, and they will help take your focus off your fears. If you are moving because of a job relocation, you had to sell your home. If you had to sell your home because you couldn’t afford it, whatever you got for the home is better than ruining your credit.
• Find out what other Rancho Cucamonga homes are selling for. Look through the classifieds. Drive around town. Ask your real estate agent.  When you see what other homes have sold for, you can rest assured that you got a good price. Remember to look at the sale price instead of the asking price.
• Treasure your memories. The memories go with you when you leave; they are not confined to four walls and a roof. 
• Look to the future.  Now, it’s time to start a new chapter in your life and make fresh memories in your new home.  Enjoy this new turn your life is taking.  Look back fondly, but embrace your new path.

Let me help you get top dollar for your Rancho Cucamonga home so you can avoid seller’s remorse. Call me today at (909)938-9568 or email me at Randy@TeamCharlton.com.

                Brought to you by Randy Charlton of Keller Williams Realty