So you’re finally a homeowner – congratulations! This is an important step in anyone’s life, and it’s absolutely normal to feel somewhat (or wildly) unprepared for the realities of owning a place of your own. What if there’s an emergency, or what if something breaks? Do you know what to do? Here’s the good news: Like so many things in life, it’s not what you know; it’s who you know. Some homeowners take years to get all of these names and numbers in their mental address books or their smartphones, but if you start trying to find these essential people in your homeowners’ network early, then you’ll have an easier time handling any problems. 1. An insurance agent If you have a mortgage loan on your home, then you’re going to need homeowners’ insurance, which protects the asset being backed — otherwise known as “your house” — from risk. And to get the best deals on insurance and make sure you’re fully covered for everything that needs to be addressed, you’ll probably need to talk to an insurance agent about your options. Most home insurance policies cover things like fire, for example, but they don’t automatically include coverage for other adverse events like a flood or an earthquake. Do you really need earthquake insurance? Well, your insurance agent can tell you! You may also be eligible for discounts on other insurance policies when you become a homeowner, like your car insurance. In addition, you may want to increase your coverage for policies like car insurance; now that you’re a homeowner, you have a big asset that could become part of a claim if you get into a bad car accident, you’re at fault, and your insurance doesn’t fully cover the other party’s damages or injuries.  A good insurance agent can make sure you’re covered from all angles so that you can get on with the business of living your life. 2. A cleaner Maybe you’re the type who really likes to clean — you find it relaxing or rewarding. Even so, you’ll still want to think about finding a cleaner who’s worth the cost in case you’re ever in a bind, such as if a health issue prevents you from cleaning and the mess is driving you bananas, or if you’ve got to leave town for an extended period of time and are thinking about turning your house into a vacation rental while you’re away. “Worth the cost” can be a relative term! Try to find someone who has references so you can get a good idea of how thorough their cleaning is and how flexible they are with times. A really detail-oriented cleaner might charge more and have fewer time slots available every week or month, but like anything else, you get what you pay for, and it’s probably better to find someone who really knows how to deep clean instead of hiring a relatively cheap cleaner who isn’t actually going to evict all the dust bunnies. 3. A general contractor As a homeowner, there are always going to be little things that need attention here and there, possibly as soon as you move in.  Chipped crown molding, holes in walls, broken windows, or doors that creak — whatever your issue, living with it might be fine for as long as you can stand it, but at some point, you’ll want your house to look as nice as it possibly can, even if that only happens right before you get ready to sell it.  Maybe you want to do some renovations or even add a room, a shed, a garage, a deck … if that’s the case, it’s even more important to find a reliable general contractor. A reliable general contractor is one that shows up on time and who can accurately quote a project so that you can budget for it. Reliable contractors can explain timelines, the cost of different materials, offer options, and get the job done on time (or within a reasonable window). 4. A roofer Depending on the type of shingles on your roof, you may not need to get them replaced at all while you live in the house, but you can bet that any buyers are going to ask when the roof was last replaced. Composition shingles usually last more than a decade but less than 20 years, wood shingles last somewhere between 20 and 25 years, and asphalt shingles can last anywhere from 15 to 30 years. If you’re not sure how much longer your roof has, then talking to a roofer and making any necessary repairs before they’re needed — so a leaking roof doesn’t damage your house — is a good move. 5. A real estate agent Of course, you aren’t ready to sell your house as soon as you move in — but keeping in touch with a local real estate agent is still a good plan.  Your agent is often the first to know not only who’s buying (and moving in) and who’s selling (and moving out), but also whether there are any new developments planned nearby, where the best restaurants and home improvement stores are located, if there’s a new hiking or biking trail planned, and much more. When you are ready to sell, your real estate agent can help you decide what needs to be changed or fixed to make your home one of the most enticing in the neighborhood, can give you a good idea of when would be the best time of year to put your house on the market, how to price the place, and hold your hand from beginning to end. That’ll be easier to do if you’ve maintained a relationship with the same agent over time instead of scrambling to find one only when you’re trying to sell. Plus, like your neighbors, a real estate agent can often help you fill in any gaps that are missing in your own personal homeowner network of helpers.

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When you’re selling a luxury property, the usual rules about how to market a home tend to go out the window. For starters, not all sellers want the universe to know that their home is going on the market, so you might not have the option of advertising the home on a real estate portal or even listing it on the multiple listing service (MLS). And depending on whether or not the seller (or the home) is noteworthy locally or nationally, there could also be quite a few “interested buyers” who don’t have the means to purchase a home but who still want to come inside and look around. But that doesn’t mean that marketing a luxury home is impossible — far from it! There are specific tactics and strategies that wouldn’t make sense for another type of property but that are perfect for luxury homes, and you can use some or all of them to secure a qualified buyer without compromising privacy. Keep it in your pocket When a home is for sale but it’s not listed on the multiple listing service (MLS), it’s known as a “pocket listing.” There are many reasons why a seller might want to leverage a pocket listing instead of using the reach and network of the MLS, and privacy is usually at the top of the list. If the address or the person who lives there is relatively well-known, then it probably won’t be too long before the media or a fan picks up on the home for sale and turns it into a story.That can be a tactic that works to your advantage, of course, but you might want to save the step of listing on the MLS until after you’ve used the local luxury network to shop the home (and you have not received any viable offers). The local community can be your best asset in the home sales process. If you tell your friends, colleagues, and members of any clubs or organizations where you’re a regular attendee that you’re putting your home up for sale, the likelihood of you finding a qualified buyer is heightened — and your acquaintances can tell anyone they know about the fact that your home is for sale. You might not be telling every buyer in the market that you’re putting a house on the market, but you’ll certainly be reaching a large portion of people who are financially qualified to take on that investment … and possibly interested in buying it. If you think you could stand to expand that network, host a party. There’s no better way to show off your home than when it’s packed with admirers. The luxury world is a stage Even the best-maintained luxury home looks more lived-in than magazine-ready most of the time, so before you showcase yours, it’s smart to take care of any cosmetic issues that might have been lingering and possibly even consider moving yourself and your things to a different location so that it can be staged and presented at its very best. That might be an extreme idea in your opinion, and there’s a lot you can do to make your home shine short of moving out and leaving it to professionals. Start with the basic curb appeal Is your lawn manicured and maintained, and is your landscaping polished? Do you need more gravel or flowers anywhere? Do your trees and shrubs — and grass blades — look healthy? Inside, get the place deep-cleaned to within an inch of its life. Steam the carpets and polish the wood floors. Then look at the balance of furniture in the room — is it arranged to showcase the place at its best, or for human convenience? You might want to remove a piece of furniture or two for every room so that you have plenty of space around each item. Allow for smooth and uninterrupted traffic flow through each room. Some experts recommend leaving space (including between furniture and walls) around each piece of furniture. Examine your decor with a critical eye, too. It might not be enough to remove those family photos from the guest rooms — you may also want to think twice about showcasing any artwork or decorations that are tailored to specific tastes. The idea is to invite visitors to imagine themselves living in the home, and some people might not be able to do that around certain images, so if your own preferences tend toward the risque or out-there, think about going a little more moderate while you prepare to sell. Build your (visual) asset bank If your home doesn’t sell as a pocket listing and you do decide to put it on the MLS, then you’ll need some high-quality images to help entice a qualified buyer to your doorstep. The people who can afford to buy your home won’t want to waste time visiting a property that doesn’t meet whatever standards they’ve set themselves, and in this era of digital opportunity, it’s a huge mistake to ignore images when you’re trying to sell a luxury property. It’s not enough to “just” have pictures, either. You want the lighting, staging, and finish that comes with a professional photographer and all of the accompanying cameras, lights, and other tools. And if you really want to make a splash, you’ll need to go a step further and think about creating a video that really showcases what makes your property shine. Tell a story about the special features A luxury home wouldn’t be a luxury home without sweeping people away somehow. Whether that’s an architect who’s a household name, finishes fit for royalty, or a view that leaves you breathless, you need to know what makes your home fit for the “luxury” label and how you can convey its attraction to people who have never seen it. Pick the thing or couple of things that always elicit a comment from the people who visit your house. You probably know them if you begin to think about them — the beautifully landscaped pool area, perhaps, or the industrially equipped kitchen, or the horse stables, or the view from the master bedroom. Then make sure you make those features a central focus of your property marketing. Help potential buyers feel what it’s like to wake up and look out those windows, or take a dip in that pool after dark. Luxury is a feeling, and if you can spark that feeling in the people who are searching for a place to live, you’ll be working toward a sale in no time. Pricing and incentives It can be difficult to price a luxury home to sell because they are usually much rarer than entry-level or mid-level homes, and therefore they don’t exchange hands quite as frequently. That makes it tough to pull comparable sales when you’re wondering how much your home might fetch on this market. Talking to a real estate professional who specializes in luxury sales is essential when you’re trying to nail down the right price for your home. If you overprice it, it will linger on the market for much longer than it should while you consider reducing the price or pulling it off the market — agonizing for any seller. And it’s equally bad to price it so low that you’re leaving money on the closing table when the time comes to walk away. Don’t use the l-word Most buyers in the market for a luxury home aren’t going to Google “luxury homes for sale in my area.” They look for clues that indicate a property is high-end without saying it outright: “gated community,” “estate,” “extravagant,” “opulent,” or “grand,” for example. They might also look for clues in a listing, like whether it’s a waterfront property or the price per square foot. A real estate professional can walk you through the different cues and clues that qualified buyers in your area are going to be using and help make sure that your marketing materials and listing is peppered with them.

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Buying a house - whether it’s your first or fifth - can be a bumpy process. Between the financing, the availability (or scarcity) of homes on the market in your price range that meet your needs, the offer process, the appraisal and the inspection, there’s a lot that can go wrong between deciding that you are in the market for a new home and turning the keys for the first time in your new front door. But there’s a lot that buyers can do to make the process smoother. Here are ten tips. 1. Check your own credit If you’re like most Americans, you’ll need a mortgage loan in order to purchase a house. The amount of money that a lender is willing to loan you will depend on several factors, including: Your current income The amount of down payment that you’re bringing to the table Your credit You might or might not have a lot of influence over your current income, and you might or might not have wiggle room to save up for a down payment, but one thing that you can almost always work on is your credit. Get copies of your credit report to ensure that everything on it is accurate; fix any errors, and consider talking to a credit expert who can tell you which payments to prioritize and how to improve your score. 2. Research sales price in your area While you’re considering exactly what kind of home you want yet (and we’ll get to that), you’ll also want to think about how much that home might cost. This would be a good time to talk to an expert, like a real estate agent, about the sales prices in the area.  An agent can show you current active listings and is also a good resource to tap when you have other financial questions about homeowners’ insurance or other costs of homeownership, like common maintenance costs in the area. 3. Nail down the down payment While you’re considering exactly what kind of home you want yet (and we’ll get to that), you’ll also want to think about how much that home might cost. This would be a good time to talk to an expert, like a real estate agent, about the sales prices in the area.  An agent can show you current active listings and is also a good resource to tap when you have other financial questions about homeowners’ insurance or other costs of homeownership, like common maintenance costs in the area. 4. Consider all the costs There’s more than PMI to think about when it comes to a mortgage loan - you will also be paying:  Property taxes  Homeowners’ insurance premiums on the house Flood insurance, and often supplementary earthquake policies are worth considering (depending on the location)  You will likely need to pay closing costs, and you probably have furniture and items to move, so you’ll have to cover those expenses. And then there’s the wear and tear on the home and the cost to repair it, and the costs of utilities from month to month; a good local real estate agent can help you figure out what to expect. 5. Get to know your dealbreakers Almost as important as knowing what you want in a home is knowing what you definitely don’t want. But don’t confuse a “dislike” with a true and genuine dealbreaker - a feature of the home that you can’t realistically fix. If you haven’t tapped into the expertise of a real estate agent yet, now would be the time. An agent can help you understand what’s fixable and what’s not in the house you’re just not sure is a good fit. 6. Search accordingly One tool that real estate agents have that the general public doesn’t is access to the local multiple listing service (MLS), where homes are actually listed for sale. Once you understand your must-haves and your dealbreakers, your agent can set up a personalized alert anytime a home that meets your exact criteria is listed on the market. 7. Think competitive but reasonable You probably want to avoid a bidding war (not great for your wallet!), so you’ll want to make an offer that the seller will consider competitive. At the same time, you don’t want to pay more when the seller would accept less; an experienced real estate agent can help you navigate the field of exactly what to pay and come up with an amount that’s a good deal for you and priced high enough to capture the seller’s attention. Don’t forget that there are other concessions you can make to sweeten the deal beyond sales price - like giving the seller control over the closing timeline or offering to split the price of any necessary repairs discovered in the inspection. Your agent can walk you through popular options here, too.

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