Preparing Your Home For Winter

As quickly as the temperatures rise, it is already time to start dropping again. While everyone is excited for fall or winter, it is important to prepare your home for the cooler weather. If you are a season homeowner or a first time renter, it’s very important to take the right steps to prepare your home for the colder months. By preparing your home for the colder months, you will feel more confident, cozy, and warm inside your home. With the help of our Maintance Manager, Ben Dickson, we have complied a list of tips to help prepare your home.

  • If you live in a place with a wall AC, turn it off, unplug it, and put the cover on.
  • Dust off radiators.
  • Make sure your windows seal up to prevent letting in cold air. Keep the windows closed and locked during the winter.
  • If you have a ceiling fan, set the fan to circulate clockwise. This helps your apartment stay warm without turning up the temperature.
  • Test out your heat to ensure it is working properly. If it is not, put in a work order.
  • Swap out your summer bedding for winter bedding to keep you warm while you sleep.
  • If you are using a space heater, only two space heaters can run at a time in one unit. If more space heaters are running, this will cause a power outage.
  • Buy winter essentials before the first snowfall.
  • Keep a shovel inside in case the snow is blocking the doorways.
  • Bring out or purchase a shoe tray for your boots.
  • Test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. If they seem to be working incorrectly, put in a work order.
  • Do not turn off your heat if you are leaving for an extended period. Keep your heat set to 68 – 70 degrees to prevent pipes from freezing up and to maintain a warm unit.
  • If you have an outside area of your apartment or home, cover up your outdoor furniture or store it for the winter to prevent damage.
  • Keep furniture, curtains and blanket’s away from baseboard heaters as this will block your heat from keeping your apartment warm.

By taking these proactive steps, you’ll be on your own way to enjoining a cozy and invite home or apartment throughout the fall and winter months. Stay safe and warm in the upcoming months!

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The Road to Homeownership: 9 Steps to Success

In today’s market, there are many uncertainties with buying a home. When is the right time? Can I afford it? Is it the right move for me with my goals? It can be very stressful when determining what suits your needs and if buying a home is worth the investment in this market.  If you need a basis on where to start, take a look at the following nine steps: 

1. The Funds:

First off, it is crucial to get a handle on your finances. You’ll want to figure out what your income is, your expenses, and your credit level. Sometimes, reducing spending habits, even if only temporary, may be necessary in securing a mortgage on a home. Being open and honest with your realtor will give you the best start on your search and getting pre-approval from a lender will help you to know your budget and keep your search narrowed down. 

2. How Much Should You Put Down?

Figuring out how money you are willing or able to put towards the down payment is the next step. It is typical to put down at least 6% of your loan balance. However, the more you can put down the better! 

There are many advantages to putting 20% down on a home. This will allow a shorter loan payment period and save you thousands on interest fees as well as mortgage insurance premiums.

3. Choosing A Realtor

The road to owning a home, especially in the busy market today, is a daunting task. Finding a realtor with a proven track record is crucial to a smooth transaction. With Roers, we have the history and reputation proven to serve our clients with trust and dedication.

Our realtor, Anne Kallhoff, is very experienced with over 14 years of residential and commercial selling under her belt. She has sold over 500 homes and says that there is no such thing as a stress free home buying process. However, Anne says that going with an experienced realtor is the key to a low stress home buying process.

4. Decide Your Budget

As we all know, navigating the financial end of the buying process is unarguably the biggest concern of any real estate transaction. Luckily, our expertise has been proven to help our clients work out just how much they can afford. Many people typically decide to use 30% of their annual income towards buying a home. However, that can vary greatly depending on what your personal preferences are. 

For another bit of help on deciding your budget, check out this blog article with different items to think about when choosing your price range on your new home!

5. Finding The Perfect Home

 Now for the fun part! Looking for a house can be very fun. Envisioning your future can be very exciting. Just be sure to know your deal breakers, needs, and wants!

This will ensure a smooth process. Some things to consider are:

  • Number of Bedrooms
  • Number of Bathrooms
  • The Kitchen
  • Location of The Home
  • Amount of Acreage
  • Garage & Storage Space

These are some things that we believe most people consider the most when buying a home. As these take some futuristic planning to determine what will suit your needs for the years to come.

Anne Kallhoff: Roers Real Estate Agent

6. Submitting An Offer

 In this competitive market, submitting an offer is tough. You must assess what the home means to you as the seller is likely getting other offers. Roers will make this as stress-free as possible for you by negotiating the price and particulars of the deal through your approval. Anne Kallhoff (realtor) says that even in this crazy market, it is always wise to invest in real estate. With that said, it is currently smartest to make a fair offer initially.

7. Getting Your New Home Inspected And Appraised

Once your house is bought, it is important to get an expert opinion on the home. They will determine the exact value of your house and inspect the home for any damages or code violations. This is nothing to stress about, just a precautionary measure.

8. Closing

Congratulations! You’re officially a homeowner. During this stage, you’ll gain legal ownership of the house, sign paperwork, and get the keys. Now that the stressful part is done, the real work begins!

9. The Big Move

A very chaotic day, but very rewarding. It’s time to settle in, and enjoy your new home. Some tips for moving include:

  • Setting a budget
  • Get rid of items you wouldn’t buy again
  • Leave your clothes on their hangers
  • Find free packing supplies

Utilizing these tricks will help you save money and lead to a less stressful move! 

Searching for your forever home? Check out our listings or contact our real estate agent.

Anne Kallhoff
Roers Real Estate Services LLC
701-866-4425
akalhoff@roers.com

Buying vs. Building – Roers Real Estate

Buying a home is a big step and can be overwhelming, whether you are a first-time homeowner or have gone through the process before. Roers Real Estate is here to help you with the purchase process. There are two options when it comes to choosing your home. You can search what it currently on the market, or you can look into the option of building a home custom for you. What steps should you take when purchasing a home? Is building or buying a better option for you?

We met with our Roers Real Estate agent, Anne Kallhoff, to ask her some questions to help you.

In general, what are the benefits of buying a home?

When you buy a home, your money is going toward equity in your home. When you rent, the money you are putting toward your rent each month, isn’t money you will ever get back. When you are paying toward a mortgage, you are building equity in your home and you will usually see a return when it comes time to sell your home. When you own a house, you also have the ability to make any changes you want (paint, flooring, remodeling, etc), and you can have pets if you choose without penalty.

What is the first step a person should take when they are thinking of buying a home?

I always tell my clients to meet with a lender in person or over the phone to get an idea of how much they can afford. This will help so they aren’t looking at homes out of their budget and will ensure they don’t miss out on features they could have that are within reach with their budget.

What are the benefits of building vs buying a home?

When building, you’ll see the same benefits as purchasing a house already listed on the market. In the building process, homes can be fully customized, you can choose finishes you want throughout your entire home and find or design a layout that works well for you. If you purchase one that is already on the market there are other benefits such as being in established neighborhoods, lower specials and character homes.

As far as price, is there a difference between building and buying?

The costs with building and buying can vary. One of the biggest benefits of buying is a tax abatement provided by the local cities. Depending on the builder you work with, the lending process can be quite different.  A construction loan has to be taken out by someone when building a home. Most of the time, the builder does this and you only have to take out a standard mortgage loan, but occasionally the builder will require you to take out the construction loan. When purchasing an existing home, you typically have to take out a standard mortgage loan. The specials can tend to be higher with new construction.

What is the average time to close when buying or building?

When you buy an existing home, you can typically close within 30 days pending appraisal and inspection. With new construction, you are looking at anywhere from 90 days to a year, depending on the builder and the level of customization.

Who can new homeowners contact to go through options?

A realtor and/or lender are the best people to contact first to start the home buying process. A lender can tell you how much you are pre-approved for, and a buyer’s agent is there to assist you, the buyer, with any questions regarding finding the right fit for your next home. 

We hope this information helps! Roers, Real Estate agent Anne Kallhoff is here for you with any questions.

Happy house hunting!

Visit our real estate page here!

 

Anne Kallhoff
Roers Real Estate Services LLC
701-866-4425
akalhoff@roers.com

 

Introducing Anne Kallhoff to Roers Real Estate

Introducing Anne Kallhoff

Roers is proud to announce and welcome Anne Kallhoff as a Real Estate Agent.  Anne will be leading the Roers Real Estate Team for both commercial and residential properties. With nearly 15 years of experience in real estate, she has grown to be a leader in the industry in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Anne’s drive and passion to find buyers and sellers the property they desire has developed strong relationships with clients.

Anne stays busy outside of work volunteering with the Moorhead Youth Hockey Association, Good Shepard Church and various United Way of Cass-Clay programs. You can also find her often watching her three kids playing hockey.

Roers Real Estate

Roers Real Estate has over 40 years of combined experience with the entire team. In addition to our expertise,  clients can count on us for our reliability, relationship building and excellent communication..  Between residential and commercial  our team can find the perfect property.  For commercial clients, Roers Real Estate can either help you purchase or lease a property. Anne and the team can assist residential clients on first time homes to that perfect retirement home.

For more information about Roers Real Estate or to view available properties, please visit our Real Estate page online

Exciting Times for the City of Moorhead

Roers and the City of Moorhead (the “City”) have recently announced their plan to enter into a predevelopment agreement with the option for the City to purchase real estate property with Roers. The partnership will lead to identifying redevelopment opportunities for the existing Moorhead City Hall, located at the 500 block of Center Avenue in Moorhead, and surrounding City-owned property.The predevelopment agreement provides Roers Real Estate Services to take representation of City-owned property in order to explore potential partnerships, which may lead to a comprehensive redevelopment plan for the City owned property. Roers and the City have entered into a professional services agreement, therefore a public bid for the services was not required. Roers will not be compensated in any manner until a City approved plan is developed.As part of the joint venture, Roers and the City will focus on a win-win situation for all parties including the Moorhead Center Mall property owners, Downtown Moorhead Inc., residents and business owners of Moorhead. Moorhead Center Mall is privately held, therefore these properties will maintain standard operating. Both the City and Roers recognize these businesses have been vital to keep the mall a destination for the community. Roers will partner with Moorhead Center Mall property owners to identify future opportunities as plans for the City progress. Downtown Moorhead Inc. and the City of Moorhead have begun to embark on a downtown planning effort, which is currently engaging citizens and business owners in creating a vision for Downtown Moorhead. Any project concept Roers would develop for City-owned property will be consistent with the vision of the Downtown Master Plan currently being drafted. “We anticipate this partnership with the City of Moorhead is just the beginning of major growth for the entire Moorhead community. With the excitement the Moorhead residents and business owners have around the plans for revitalization in the downtown sector, there are abundant opportunities for growth. Its an exciting time for the community,” commented Jim Roers, CEO of Roers.