How To Win The Home Bidding War Without Breaking The Bank

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Real estate bidding wars are less common than they used to be, but they can still happen. This is especially true in markets homebuyers are desperate to move into, with a bidding war driving up the price of the property much higher than was expected when the first bids were made.

The most effective way to close a deal in your favor when it comes to real estate is by making an all-cash offer. This makes sense, if you can afford it, because it’s a much cleaner process with far fewer hoops to jump through for both the buyer and seller, and it was shown in a study by Redfin that paying all-cash more than triples your chances of being successful. If your battle is starting to look competitive, see if this is an offer you are able to make to seal your new home.

Interestingly, the second most successful strategy as checked by Redfin is a much more personal one that has nothing to do with money changing hands at all. That strategy is to simply write a personal letter to the seller. This is far less effective than the no financing deal, but people in this day and age don’t often feel a connection between buyer and seller. If someone has lived in a house for 20 years or so, they want to know that the person buying the property has some level of respect for it. That is why a well written and well thought out letter can – in some circumstances – tip the scales in your favor when it comes to a real estate purchase. Showing that you care about a house and the person selling it can be a huge deal closer, especially with older home sellers.

The other three metrics tracked by Redfin were all less effective. Waiving a financial contingency – basically protecting the buyer from liability in the event of a sale falling through after a failure to secure a loan – had some traction, but it was a much more effective bidding war strategy a few years ago. This strategy, however, was more effective than both waiving the inspection contingency and conducting a pre-inspection of the property, neither of which had any impact at all on bidding wars won.

What this tells us is that cash is still king and that the personal touch of a letter still holds merit in the world today. It is fascinating that something as simple as a personal note from buyer to seller can still help with real estate buying. Perhaps that is an example we should take into all aspects of our everyday life.

Article by Vital Guidance

How To Win The Home Bidding War Without Breaking The Bank

/in /by

Real estate bidding wars are less common than they used to be, but they can still happen. This is especially true in markets homebuyers are desperate to move into, with a bidding war driving up the price of the property much higher than was expected when the first bids were made.

The most effective way to close a deal in your favor when it comes to real estate is by making an all-cash offer. This makes sense, if you can afford it, because it’s a much cleaner process with far fewer hoops to jump through for both the buyer and seller, and it was shown in a study by Redfin that paying all-cash more than triples your chances of being successful. If your battle is starting to look competitive, see if this is an offer you are able to make to seal your new home.

Interestingly, the second most successful strategy as checked by Redfin is a much more personal one that has nothing to do with money changing hands at all. That strategy is to simply write a personal letter to the seller. This is far less effective than the no financing deal, but people in this day and age don’t often feel a connection between buyer and seller. If someone has lived in a house for 20 years or so, they want to know that the person buying the property has some level of respect for it. That is why a well written and well thought out letter can – in some circumstances – tip the scales in your favor when it comes to a real estate purchase. Showing that you care about a house and the person selling it can be a huge deal closer, especially with older home sellers.

The other three metrics tracked by Redfin were all less effective. Waiving a financial contingency – basically protecting the buyer from liability in the event of a sale falling through after a failure to secure a loan – had some traction, but it was a much more effective bidding war strategy a few years ago. This strategy, however, was more effective than both waiving the inspection contingency and conducting a pre-inspection of the property, neither of which had any impact at all on bidding wars won.

What this tells us is that cash is still king and that the personal touch of a letter still holds merit in the world today. It is fascinating that something as simple as a personal note from buyer to seller can still help with real estate buying. Perhaps that is an example we should take into all aspects of our everyday life.

Article by Vital Guidance

Improve Health With Good Family Relationships

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It is common knowledge that good relationships with family are important to overall health and happiness. Thanks to a new study, we may actually have evidence that those relationships are much more vital in keeping us healthy than we knew before.

A recently published study in the Journal of Family Psychology took a wide ranging approach to nailing down the importance of extended family in keeping us healthy. The study looked at nearly 3,000 people – a large case study for such a project – between 1995 and 2014. The average age of the group was close to 45-years-old at the first collection metric.

The study had the group, at three points during that time period, rate the quality of their interactions with their partner and their extended family. The researchers then compared that information with the respondent’s chronic conditions that they had, things ranging in severity from headaches to strokes.

The study then asked a number of questions to ascertain where that person was in life with the vital relationships that were closest to them. Questions in the study were based around their family and love life such as: “Not including your spouse or partner, how often do members of your family criticize you? How much can you rely on your family for help if you have a serious problem?”

The two findings of the study were that people who were suffering from issues within their family and/or extended family tended to have much worse health at that specific time than those people who were getting along well with their family. The study also found – perhaps surprisingly – that there was little to no correlation between people who were struggling with their spouse and health issues.

The result with family came as a shock to no one involved in the study or involved in the psychology of health vs. family relationships.  Lead author Sarah Woods points out that family is for life, while more and more intimate relationships are seen as something that can be transitional in nature. This is a modern take, with people waiting longer to be married and being content on their own perhaps being a reason why the health issues were not seen in people having trouble with their intimate partner.

One thing this should teach everyone is the vital relationship between family and health. Happy, caring families – all the way down to grandparents and cousins – give a person a basis and stability for life. Keep your loved ones close, take care of family, and live a healthier life in the process.

Article by Vital Guidance

Improve Health With Good Family Relationships

/in /by

It is common knowledge that good relationships with family are important to overall health and happiness. Thanks to a new study, we may actually have evidence that those relationships are much more vital in keeping us healthy than we knew before.

A recently published study in the Journal of Family Psychology took a wide ranging approach to nailing down the importance of extended family in keeping us healthy. The study looked at nearly 3,000 people – a large case study for such a project – between 1995 and 2014. The average age of the group was close to 45-years-old at the first collection metric.

The study had the group, at three points during that time period, rate the quality of their interactions with their partner and their extended family. The researchers then compared that information with the respondent’s chronic conditions that they had, things ranging in severity from headaches to strokes.

The study then asked a number of questions to ascertain where that person was in life with the vital relationships that were closest to them. Questions in the study were based around their family and love life such as: “Not including your spouse or partner, how often do members of your family criticize you? How much can you rely on your family for help if you have a serious problem?”

The two findings of the study were that people who were suffering from issues within their family and/or extended family tended to have much worse health at that specific time than those people who were getting along well with their family. The study also found – perhaps surprisingly – that there was little to no correlation between people who were struggling with their spouse and health issues.

The result with family came as a shock to no one involved in the study or involved in the psychology of health vs. family relationships.  Lead author Sarah Woods points out that family is for life, while more and more intimate relationships are seen as something that can be transitional in nature. This is a modern take, with people waiting longer to be married and being content on their own perhaps being a reason why the health issues were not seen in people having trouble with their intimate partner.

One thing this should teach everyone is the vital relationship between family and health. Happy, caring families – all the way down to grandparents and cousins – give a person a basis and stability for life. Keep your loved ones close, take care of family, and live a healthier life in the process.

Article by Vital Guidance

Three Estate Planning Myths To Avoid

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Estate planning isn’t the easiest thing to talk or think about. No one wants to have to view their own mortality through the lens of their possessions, but it is something that we should all do in order to make the transition of our estates simpler for those grieving when the time comes.

There are many myths in place when it comes to estate planning. These are myths that can cause problems if people believe in them and don’t have the right mentors in place to help guide us through the process and avoid the sea of misinformation.

Here are three estate planning myths to avoid:

I’m not old enough

It is easy to not consider an estate plan until you are in your 50s and 60s. By this point you may have plenty of assets and plenty of reasons to want those assets to go in the right direction should anything happen to you. It is true, though, that accidents can happen to anyone at any time. The ability to dictate where your assets go – and specifically to give a plan for young children to prosper when the unthinkable happens – means that estate planning needs to happen much earlier in life than most people think.

I don’t have enough stuff

While directing your assets – any assets – is an important part of your estate plan, it is far from the only area that such a plan encompasses. A top-notch estate plan should also include a health care proxy, naming someone you trust to make your medical decisions, and a power of attorney, naming someone that you can trust and rely on to make your financial decisions, should you find yourself unable to do so. Even someone with just a small estate footprint could use an estate plan to appoint these vital mentors to make the right decisions for you and your family in a time of need.

I can do it myself online

Online will services are a way to save money and put some kind of plan in place.  However, the simple fact that you really don’t know how much additional money it will cost you, or your family, when using online documents that may not stand up for anything in the grand scheme of things can be a great risk. Your instructions for your assets, your children, and your own health, may not be legally binding or as well thought out as you would like if you didn’t get an estate planner or an estate planning attorney to help you project what needs to be taken care of.

Do-It-Yourself home projects fail all the time, don’t let that happen here and burden your family for the sake of a few bucks!

Article by Vital Guidance

Three Estate Planning Myths To Avoid

/in /by

Estate planning isn’t the easiest thing to talk or think about. No one wants to have to view their own mortality through the lens of their possessions, but it is something that we should all do in order to make the transition of our estates simpler for those grieving when the time comes.

There are many myths in place when it comes to estate planning. These are myths that can cause problems if people believe in them and don’t have the right mentors in place to help guide us through the process and avoid the sea of misinformation.

Here are three estate planning myths to avoid:

I’m not old enough

It is easy to not consider an estate plan until you are in your 50s and 60s. By this point you may have plenty of assets and plenty of reasons to want those assets to go in the right direction should anything happen to you. It is true, though, that accidents can happen to anyone at any time. The ability to dictate where your assets go – and specifically to give a plan for young children to prosper when the unthinkable happens – means that estate planning needs to happen much earlier in life than most people think.

I don’t have enough stuff

While directing your assets – any assets – is an important part of your estate plan, it is far from the only area that such a plan encompasses. A top-notch estate plan should also include a health care proxy, naming someone you trust to make your medical decisions, and a power of attorney, naming someone that you can trust and rely on to make your financial decisions, should you find yourself unable to do so. Even someone with just a small estate footprint could use an estate plan to appoint these vital mentors to make the right decisions for you and your family in a time of need.

I can do it myself online

Online will services are a way to save money and put some kind of plan in place.  However, the simple fact that you really don’t know how much additional money it will cost you, or your family, when using online documents that may not stand up for anything in the grand scheme of things can be a great risk. Your instructions for your assets, your children, and your own health, may not be legally binding or as well thought out as you would like if you didn’t get an estate planner or an estate planning attorney to help you project what needs to be taken care of.

Do-It-Yourself home projects fail all the time, don’t let that happen here and burden your family for the sake of a few bucks!

Article by Vital Guidance