If you plan to sell your house, you should be proactive. Because, in most cases, a proactive home seller is a successful home seller.

With a proactive approach, a home seller can find unique ways to differentiate his or her house from the competition. That way, this home seller can boost his or her chances of a quick, profitable home sale.

Now, let's take a look at three best practices for proactive home sellers.

1. Upgrade Your Home's Interior and Exterior

Ensure your house looks great both inside and out. By doing so, you can guarantee your residence will make a long-lasting impression on homebuyers.

When it comes to improving your home's interior, it pays to mop the floors, wipe down the walls and ceilings and perform assorted home interior maintenance. If you need extra help along the way, you can always hire a professional home cleaning company as well.

To upgrade your home's exterior, you should mow the lawn, remove dirt and debris from walkways and perform any necessary home siding repairs. Remember, your house only gets one chance to make a positive first impression. And if your home's exterior dazzles, it will increase the likelihood that a buyer will want to set up a home showing.

2. Conduct a Home Appraisal

What you paid for your house a few years ago is unlikely to match your home's value today. Luckily, a home appraisal can help you set a competitive price for your residence from day one.

During a home appraisal, a professional appraiser will examine your home's interior and exterior. He or she also will evaluate assorted housing market data and use all of this information to provide a property valuation.

After you receive a home appraisal report, you should review the report findings closely. By leveraging all of the report data, you should have no trouble establishing a competitive price for your residence.

3. Work with a Real Estate Agent

If you want to be a proactive home seller, you need to work with a real estate agent. In fact, a real estate agent will do everything possible to help you accelerate the home selling process and ensure you can get the best price for your house.

A real estate agent understands the ins and outs of selling a home and will teach you about the home selling journey. Plus, he or she will learn about your home selling goals and guarantee you can accomplish your aspirations.

Perhaps best of all, a real estate agent is happy to set up home showings and open houses, promote your residence to potential buyers and negotiate with a buyer's agent on your behalf. And if you have home selling questions, a real estate agent is happy to answer them.

There is no need to take a wait-and-see approach to selling your home. Instead, use the aforementioned tips, and you can become a proactive home seller.

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While buying a home is a huge decision that should entail a lot of planning and preparation, applying for a mortgage can be surprisingly easy. Just like with other lenders and creditors, a mortgage lender will want to know that letting you borrow money will be a safe investment. Applying for a mortgage is all about ensuring just that.

In today’s post, we’re going to breakdown the home loan application process to help you have the best chances at a smooth and successful mortgage approval. We’ll also define some of the common terms used in mortgages that might leave you scratching your head so you have a better idea of what your options are.

Prequalification and Preapproval

Getting prequalified and preapproved for a mortgaged can both be helpful steps toward securing your home loan. The two terms mean two entirely different things, however.

In order to be prequalified for a mortgage, you typically need to only fill out a simple form (sometimes directly through a lender’s website). On this form, you won’t need to provide specifics or official documents.

Why is this process so simple? Well, that’s because getting prequalified for a loan doesn’t ensure that you’ll actually receive one. Rather, it is simply the first step toward finding out what type of mortgage and interest rates you could receive.

The next step after prequalification is preapproval. To get preapproved, you’ll have to fill out an official mortgage application. Your lender of choice will request a few pieces of information from you, including tax returns, proof of employment for the last two years, and a list of your debts. The lender will also perform a credit check to determine your loan eligibility.

Credit report

At this phase, lenders will also run your credit report. This is a type of “hard credit inquiry” that details your payment history, the number of accounts you have open, and other factors that help make up your credit score.

To secure the lowest interest rate possible, it helps to have a high credit score. So, in the years and months leading up to your mortgage application, focusing on building credit will pay off.

To increase your credit score, you’ll need to focus on paying your bills on time each month. You should also avoid opening new accounts within a few months of applying for a mortgage because this will count as a new credit inquiry. New credit inquiries--including applying for a mortgage--lower your score temporarily, so it’s best to avoid them when possible.

Additional paperwork required for mortgage applications

Not every mortgage application will be the same. Depending on the type of income you receive, you may need to provide different forms of income verification.

Each person will also have to claim different debts and assets. When buying a home with a spouse or partner, it’s important to consider your debts, assets, and credit scores to determine if it’s better to apply jointly or separately.

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Ready to embark on a new adventure? List your house, and you may reap the benefits of your decision for years to come.

Ultimately, there are many reasons why you should consider kicking off the home selling journey today, and these include:

1. You could profit from a home sale.

Diligent home sellers generally have no problem showcasing their properties to dozens of prospective buyers and generating significant profits. If you know how to effectively promote your residence to property buyers, you could enjoy substantial profits from your home sale.

Oftentimes, it helps to bolster a house's curb appeal prior to adding a residence to the real estate market. A home only gets one chance to make a positive first impression on buyers. And if your residence boasts a dazzling front lawn, pristine siding and other stunning exterior features, it may be better equipped than other properties to stir up interest from buyers.

You may want to get your house appraised too. This ensures you can get a property valuation from a home appraiser and establish a competitive initial asking price for your residence.

2. You can upgrade or downsize.

Although your present home may have suited you perfectly when you initially bought it, now may be a good time for a change. Fortunately, you can upgrade or downsize as needed if you sell your home.

Think about your current living situation and future plans. Then, you can simultaneously list your residence and search for a new house that matches your criteria. And once you finalize your home sale, you can seamlessly relocate to a new address.

3. You can live closer to family members and friends.

If you enjoy spending time with family members and friends, you may want to find a house that is close to these loved ones. Meanwhile, if you currently are forced to deal with a long commute to visit loved ones, listing your house may help you take the first step to live near family members and friends.

When it comes to finding a house near loved ones, it may be beneficial to hire a real estate agent as well. A real estate agent can help you list your current residence and search for a new home close to family members and friends. That way, you can get the support you need to accomplish your desired goals.

During the home selling process, a real estate agent will showcase your residence to potential buyers and negotiate with a buyer's agent on your behalf. He or she also will respond to any concerns or questions that you may have throughout the house selling journey.

Furthermore, if you need to find a new home once you sell your current residence, a real estate agent is happy to assist you. This housing market professional can keep you up to date about available properties in your preferred cities and towns and help you find your dream residence.

Hire a real estate agent today, and you can receive expert guidance any time you want to sell or buy a house.

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