7 Reasons Fall Might Just Be the Best Time to Buy a Home

Spring and summer usually get all the real estate glory with lofty accolades as the best time to buy a home—and, of course, the busiest. Meanwhile, their seasonal sibling, fall, often gets tossed to the leaf pile by potential buyers who might think autumn is just about haunted houses and turkey dinners rather than house hunting.

But surprise! Fall is not only a great time to buy a home, it might also be the best season to find the perfect property (and not just because you can browse the listings while cupping a pumpkin latte).

Read on to discover the many reasons.

Reason No. 1: Lower home prices

The best month to snag a deal when buying a home? October. This isn’t just some random guess; it’s based on RealtyTrac’s analysis of more than 32 million home sales over 15 years. The resulting data showed that on average, October buyers paid 2.6% below estimated market value at the time for their homes.

For a house that would normally be $300,000, 2.6% translates into a $7,800 discount. Those savings are nothing to sneeze at, so bargain hunters should get hopping once autumn rolls around. (For an even better deal, aim for Oct. 8, when buyers get a home, on average, at 10.8% below estimated market value.)

“For buyers looking for a better deal, fall is a great time to make offers,” says New York City Realtor® Joanne R. Douglas. (In case you’re wondering, the worst month for buyers is April, when homes sell for 1.2% above estimated market value. The worst single day is Jan. 19, with an average 9.6% premium.)

Reason No. 2: Less competition

Like a beach after Labor Day, the realty market clears out as the days turn crisp. Most summer buyers have already found a home, meaning a fall buyer will have way less competition for the available houses on the market, says Bill Golden of Re/Max Metro Atlanta Cityside. And don’t worry about those buyers who didn’t close before August, either.

“Many folks will drop out of the market until after the new year,” says Golden, giving a fall buyer even greater room to roam at open houses. There may not be as many properties to choose from, but as Golden says, “a little patience and perseverance could reap big rewards.”

Reason No. 3: Worn-out home sellers

Say hello to your little friend, leverage. Sellers who have their homes on the market in the fall “are generally people who need to sell, which can make for better negotiations for the buyer,” says Golden. And if a home you have your eye on has been on the market all summer, you’re really in the driver’s seat as far as making an offer the seller can’t refuse. The longer a home sits on the market, the more negotiating power the buyer wields.

Reason No. 4: The holidays are around the corner

Not only are most home sellers worn out after the summer selling season, they’re also caught between a real estate rock and a hard place in that the holidays are barreling down on them. If they want to move and settle down in time to host Thanksgiving and put up their Christmas lights, they’ll have to close, fast. So use this preholiday window to your advantage by offering to help them vacate fast if they cut you a deal.

Reason No. 5: Year-end tax credits

No one wants to buy a home purely to make their accountant happy. But there’s a sweet added incentive to closing on a home at the end of the fiscal year. Come the following April 15, you might be able to take some nice tax deductions, including closing costs, property tax, and mortgage interest, to offset your taxable earnings.

Reason No. 6: More quality time with your real estate team

As the year comes to an end, fewer buyers also means you should have the full attention of your real estate agent, mortgage broker, real estate lawyer, and everyone else on your house hunting team. You can take your time to ask all those questions you have about earnest money, due diligence, title transfers, and more without feeling like you’re horning in their busiest season to turn a buck.

Reason No. 7: Home improvement bargains

Once you close on that home you found in the fall, you may want to upgrade your appliances. Luckily, December is when major appliances—refrigerators, stoves, washers, and dryers—are at their very cheapest, according to Consumer Reports. It’s also the best time of year to buy cookware and TVs.

So once you’re settled in (and provided you have any money left), get ready to renovate!

Source: Realtor.com, Margaret Heidenry
http://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/reasons-fall-is-the-best-time-to-buy-a-home/?is_wp_site=1

Happy Varamaha Lakshmi!!!

Happy Varamaha Lakshmi!!!

Have a Safe & Happy 4th of July folks!

Happy Memorial Day From The Mimi Wang Team

Let us remember those who served and gave life for this country. Thank You!

Have A Happy & Safe Memorial Day Folks.

From The Mimi Wang Team!

Related:

• Remembering the meaning of Memorial Day
• Memorial Day BBQ & Grilling Recipes

Happy Easter From The Mimi Wang Real Estate Blog

Happy Easter Everyone

~ from Mimi Wang

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from The Mimi Wang Team!

Happy President's Day

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day!

From The Mimi Wang Team

Happy Chinese New Year from The Mimi Wang Team

Happy New Year From The Mimi Wang Team!

On behalf of The Mimi Wang Team, we sincerely thank you supporting our 

business throughout the year.

We send our heartfelt wishes for a 

wonderful holiday season to 

you and your family. 

May the New Year bring you 

success, happiness and prosperity. 

MIMI WANG

REALTOR®, GRI, CIPS, SPRES, SRES, CDPE, HAFA, REO, CCRM 

CalBRE #: 01775814

Century 21 M&M and Associates

10420 S. DeAnza Blvd.

Cupertino, CA. 95014

Cell: (408) 569-3808

mimi@mimihomes.com | www.mimihomes.com

2015 & 2014 President - Women’s Council of Realtors Santa Clara Valley Network

Fluent in English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Vietnamese

Wishing you and your loved ones a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

The Mimi Wang Team

Preventing Accidents at Home During the Holidays

Lights are strung up on houses and trees throughout neighborhoods, snowflakes decorate grade school classrooms, and candy canes fill grocery store shelves. The holidays have snuck up on us yet again.

And with so much going on during this time of year, the old adage “accidents happen” should be kept in mind. The stress of decorating, buying gifts and prepping for the arrival of friends and family can leave even the calmest individuals feeling frazzled. And when your attention is diverted due to stress, injuries or disasters can occur.

An estimated 13,000 injuries result in visits to the emergency room each year around the holidays, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. To keep accidents from spoiling your holiday cheer, follow these safety tips.

Deck the halls

Decorating for the holidays is one of the most widely embraced traditions of the season, but it also can be one of the most dangerous. The most popular decorating-related accidents can be the result of hanging strands of lights, and can include anything from falling off ladders to suffering electrical shocks.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the holiday months are responsible for more fall-related injuries than any other time of year.

To keep yourself from becoming a statistic, test all lights before hanging them, and have a friend or family member hold a ladder steady while you’re decorating the roof or a tree in your yard.

Wrap presents, not bandages

Few things are more central to the holiday season than wrapping presents and hanging ornaments. Many people get excited to spoil their loved ones with gifts, and to get the ornaments out of storage to make the house more festive.

Though they’re part of the fun of decorating, these common holiday rituals can result in visits to the hospital if you’re not careful.

Think about it: Wrapping presents exposes you to slicing your hand with scissors or paper, and ornaments can fall or shatter, resulting in lacerations if someone steps on a piece of broken glass.

To help combat potential cuts:

• Take your time wrapping presents, and devote your full attention to the task.
• Always supervise children when handling scissors and wrapping gifts.
• Refrain from hanging breakable ornaments on low tree branches where kids or pets could knock them off.
• If an ornament does break, keep children and pets away from the area and clean up the mess immediately, making sure even the tiniest shards of glass are removed from the floor.

Lift with your legs

Many people must travel to be with loved ones during the holidays, and that may mean lugging around a heavy suitcase. And with loved ones coming to visit, it’s important to shovel snow out of driveways and sidewalks to reduce injuries.

These tasks may seem innocuous, but they can be far from it. The CDC reports that more than 50,000 winter-related back injuries occur each year.

When shoveling snow or transporting luggage — though it may sound silly — make sure you stretch beforehand, wear appropriate attire (including shoes with traction), keep a steady pace, hydrate, and lift with your legs while keeping your upper body straight to reduce strain and tension on your back.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

It’s extremely likely that you’ll hear this classic holiday song this month. It’s also likely that your home may be at risk for structure fires.

Strands of lights with frayed wires, Christmas trees, space heaters, candles, flammable items placed too close to open flames, and cooking all present risks for home fires during the holidays.

According to the National Fire Protection Association statistics for home fires between 2009 and 2013, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are two of the top three days of the year for home candle fires; Christmas tree fires resulted in $17.5 million of property damage per year; and decorations (excluding Christmas trees) were the first items ignited in about 860 home fires, causing an average of $13.4 million worth of property damage per year.

While fire typically is covered by standard home insurance, no one wants to go through the hassle.

Keep your home safe, take these precautions:

• Test trees before bringing them into your home to ensure they’re not dried out, thus becoming a fire hazard. This is done by hitting the trunk of the tree against the ground. If a lot of needles fall off of the branches, keep searching for a healthier tree.
• Check all lights before hanging them on trees or other flammable decorations.
• Keep stockings and other flammable items a safe distance from the flames of the fireplace or decorative candles.
• Never leave space heaters or food cooking on the stovetop or in the oven unattended, and keep items that can easily ignite a safe distance away (typically a minimum of three feet).

This holiday season, make sure that your home insurance is up to snuff and will protect you, your family, and your home in the event of disaster such as an injury or home fire.

Source: Zillow Blog, Shannon Ireland
http://www.zillow.com/blog/prevent-accidents-at-holidays-189848/

Great time at NHORA's December To Remember Extravaganza

I had a great time at the Santa Clara County  National Hispanic Organization of Real Estate Associates (NHORA) December To Remember Extravaganza at the Silver Creek County Club.

Get a Black Friday Deal on a Home This Holiday Season

The day after Thanksgiving is universally known as the day to get started on holiday shopping and score big savings on the hottest gifts for friends and family.

But what about finding deals on a new home? It turns out, shoppers can get those, too. Zillow’s second annual analysis on bargain home shopping is here, revealing the cities offering the biggest home discounts and the most price cuts.

Zillow looked at two metrics for the analysis: the actual home discount as a percentage of the original listing price, and the percentage of listings with a recent price cut, as of September 2015.

And now — drum roll, please — for the winners:

Detroit comes in at number one, for the second year in a row, as the city to get the biggest home discount. The median discount given on a home in Detroit is 16.7 percent. Detroit leads by a large margin; Cleveland, OH is the next-best city to get a discount, with a median discount of 7.6 percent.

Check out Albuquerque, NM and Omaha, NE for the greatest odds of finding a home with a price cut: 23.6 percent of homes in Albuquerque have a price cut, and 23.5 percent of homes in Omaha.

Below is the complete list of city winners. Happy Black Friday, and happy shopping!



Source: Zillow Blog, Jordyn Lee
http://www.zillow.com/blog/black-friday-deal-on-a-home-187309/

Happy Thanksgiving From The Mimi Wang Team

Sending my best wishes to you and hoping that you find continued success and wealth in abundance.

Happy Thanksgiving from The Mimi Wang Team!

Happy Halloween from the Mimi Wang Team

Why Halloween Scares Insurance Providers (and Should Scare You)

See the leaves change color and fall almost before your eyes. Taste the pumpkin spices featured in nearly every treat. Watch the horror movies dominating television. Yep, it’s October, with Halloween hype ratcheted up to full throttle.

Kids and adults alike dream — hopefully with no appearances from Freddy Krueger — about how they will dress on the one night of the year where anything goes. Spiderwebs and carved pumpkins decorate doorsteps, and grownups splurge for bowls full of fun-size candies for trick or treaters.

Before you get too carried away with thoughts of a thriller night, understand how real Halloween horrors can affect your home insurance.

Be cautious when carving

Carving pumpkins is one of the most fun Halloween activities, and allowing a child to carve one on his or her own for the first time is a noteworthy rite of passage. Still, children with knives should always be supervised. If you’re not dead-set on carving, a fun alternative is to paint pumpkins — brushes aren’t sharp.

Sinister flames

Pumpkin danger doesn’t end with a scary face. It’s customary, after all, to light a candle inside your jack-o’-lantern to give it an ominous flicker night after night. But the threat is real: Pumpkins can easily be knocked over and cause nearby decorations, loose-fitting costumes, plants and more to ignite.

About 33,900 fires were reported between 2009 and 2011 during the three-day span surrounding Halloween, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Halloween fires caused 30 deaths, 175 injuries and $96 million in property damage per year during that time.

While fire damage typically is covered by standard homeowners policies, it’s vital to take steps to lower your home’s risk. Instead of placing candles inside your pumpkins, opt for battery-powered tealights.

Keep the beasts at bay

If you have dogs or other pets that may react poorly to trick or treaters, put them in a room that’s gated so you don’t have to worry about any biting scenarios.

More than one-third of all home insurance liability claims in 2014 involved dog bites, which cost insurance companies about $530 million, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III). Do yourself a favor and confine your pets.

Devious decorations

If Halloween is your favorite holiday and you like to transform your home into a haunted house, or fill your yard with spooky scarecrows, spiderwebs, and skeletons to greet trick or treaters, reviewing your home insurance policy is a must.

The common theme: liability.

If over-excited children sprint to your door in search of candy, trip on your porch step, and break a limb, you could be liable, since the injury happened on your property. Make sure your home is well-lit, and survey the yard for decorations or other items that could cause trick or treaters to slip and fall.

If you put on a haunted house — especially for children — you’re testing your guests’ fight-or-flight responses. When kids get scared, they run, and they could fall and hurt themselves. Don’t make your haunted house too scary for children to handle, and be sure you have plenty of liability coverage. The average bodily injury claim between 2009 and 2013 cost $19,466, according to the III.

The other issue with haunted houses applies to those who charge admission. Collecting a fee could transform your harmless haunted house into a business, and if you don’t have a business policy, your home insurance likely won’t cover costs in the event of an injury.

Villainous vandals

In many areas, the night before Halloween is known as “Mischief Night,” when teens and young adults often engage in pranks and minor vandalism such as playing ‘ding-dong ditch’ or toilet-papering yards. The fun can escalate to serious vandalism, such as smashing windows or dabbling in arson.

To avoid falling victim to vandalism around Halloween, keep porch lights on and consider adding motion-sensor lights around the exterior of your home. Park your car in a garage, if possible; test smoke alarms; and remind all members of your family about your emergency evacuation plan in case of fire.

Though standard home insurance policies typically cover vandalism, think twice about filing small claims — say for damaged decorations. For one thing, you’ll have to pay a deductible, which could be more than the claim. Plus, filing a lot of small claims could cause your premiums to rise when it comes time to renew your policy.

Spooky soirees

With Halloween falling on a weekend, a party featuring scary snacks and fun cocktails might be part of your plans. Whether you’re hosting the festivities or just attending someone else’s, consider the following factors.

The last time Halloween fell on a Saturday was in 2008, and the III reported that 58 percent of highway fatalities that night involved drivers with blood alcohol contents at or above the legal limit. Wrecks involving impaired or drunken drivers on Halloween kill three times more people as on New Year’s Eve, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

If an impaired guest leaves your party and causes a crash that hurts or kills someone, you could be on the hook. A wise host collects guests’ keys as they arrive, and monitors their alcohol intake.

If you don’t feel comfortable cutting off friends or family, hire a professional to tend bar and shoulder that responsibility. Above all, make sure impaired guests have a designated driver or let them spend the night.

You can follow these steps and still have Halloween fun — plus you’ll minimize your chance of needing to invite a really scary guest: your insurance provider.

Source: Zillow Blog, homeinsurance.com
http://www.zillow.com/blog/halloween-scare-insurance-providers-185696/

7 Ways to Get Top Dollar for Your Home During the Off-Season

After a record-setting summer selling season in many parts of the country, home sales have quieted down for the fall. If you’re putting your home on the market, you might see that as an obstacle, but it can be an opportunity. Even if there is less traffic, there’s less competition from other sellers. In a market where inventory is already tight, that gives you an even greater advantage.

Fall is a particularly good time to sell if you’re marketing to retirees, millennials, or those with very young children—they’re less concerned about tying a purchase to the school calendar. Going into winter, you’ll find that buyers who are willing to trudge through snow to see a home tend to be much more motivated to make a purchase than those who spend a sunny Saturday dropping into open houses.

If you’re thinking of listing your home in the next few months, follow these steps to ensure a quick sale at a great price:

1. Skip the holiday décor

Staging basics such as decluttering and depersonalizing still count during the holidays, so it’s best to keep the inflatable Rudolph and the tinsel in storage.

“You never know who your potential buyer is,” says David Peterson of Synergy Staging in Portland, OR. “We don’t want to pigeonhole or potentially turn someone off.”

2. Update your photos

Even without holiday decorations, photos can quickly look dated as the seasons change. It’s fine to lead your listing right now with a gorgeous photo of crimson- and gold-leaved trees on the front lawn, but once the leaves have fallen, you’ll want a new photo to keep the listing looking fresh, says Jan Niebauer of Niebauer Realty in Milford, MI. Try to snap photos on days when there’s a blue sky, which will pop against a blanket of white snow.

3. Keep the outside neat

Curb appeal is just as important but slightly more difficult to achieve in fall and winter. A leaf- or snow-covered lawn can be beautiful, but it can also get messy quickly.

“Make sure it’s neat and tidy,” Peterson says.

Put an added focus on raking and removing leaves, and consider hiring a snow-removal service to be sure that your driveway and walkways are clear and safe for visitors at all times.

4. Clear the entryway

You’ll want to make sure there’s space for a few people (like a couple and their agent) to stand in the foyer, shed their winter clothes, and stomp off the debris on their shoes, Peterson says. Provide an umbrella stand and shoe covers to keep visitors from tracking mud and snow through your home.

5. Make it warm—literally and figuratively

If you’re going to be out of the house, be sure that your Realtor® arrives early to crank up the thermostat before a showing (or leave it at a warmer temperature when you leave in the morning), which will help potential buyers feel more comfortable.

“It’s vital that a house be warm,” Peterson says, but “not too warm that people have to peel off all their clothes, but definitely not so cold that they want to get out as fast as possible.”

If you have a gas fireplace, make sure it’s lit, and enhance that warm, hospitable feeling with a tasteful throw blanket or area rug.

6. Be more flexible with showings

There are fewer hours of daylight, when your home looks its best, in the winter months, so try to accommodate potential buyers who want to come for daytime visits, Niebauer says.

7. Light it up

Even during the day, cloudy gray skies can make window-lined rooms feel gloomy. Adding floor lamps and turning on all the lights will make the property feel more welcoming.

“Light up every dark corner because they can make a room feel smaller than it is,” Niebauer says. If visitors are coming at night, you’ll want to turn on all your exterior lights as well.

Source: Realtor.com, Beth Braverman
http://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/seven-ways-to-get-top-dollar-for-your-home-in-the-off-season/

Happy Labor Day from the Mimi Wang Team

Property is the fruit of labor; property is desirable; it is a positive good in the world. Many Best wishes On Labor Day.

Labor Day BBQ and Recipes