Real Estate Information Archive

When you make an offer on a home and it gets accepted, you have every reason to be excited. Becoming a homeowner is making an investment in your own future; likely the largest financial investment you will make. However, it is prudent to be aware that there are other costs involved in purchasing a home other than your down payment and monthly mortgage payments.

Closing costs are an expense you may not be aware of if you are a first-time homebuyer. These costs must be paid prior to closing on the home. They include property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, title search fees, and appraisal fees. In addition, the closing costs provide the funds that pay the people who have performed services throughout the loan process, like the appraiser and your real estate agent.

Your closing costs will be itemized for you and provided at your closing. But it is important that you look over them closely and take the time to ask any questions you may have before you sign any documents. If there is something you do not understand, your mortgage banker or Realtor can explain it to you.

The homebuyer can negotiate with the seller to determine who will cover the closing costs, but every loan has different guidelines about how much a seller can pay. Your mortgage banker can provide you with your options.

Whether you end up paying for all or just some of your closing costs, it is crucial for you to include the amount you will have to pay into your budget. You can estimate the cost by calculating 2% to 6% of your purchase price. For example, if your loan is $200,000, your closing costs will range anywhere from $4,000 to $12,000. You will also receive a document from your mortgage banker after you apply for your loan that will list the anticipated closing costs. They may change a little during the process, but it will give you a good idea of what to expect.

So, while saving for a down payment is an obvious necessity, you may want to also set aside some cash each month to go toward other expenses associated with buying a new home.

If you are in the market to buy or sell a home (or both), let me, Sandra Nickel, and my Hat Team of Professionals assist you with all your real estate needs! Call us today at 334-834-1500 and check out https://www.homesforsaleinmontgomeryalabama.com for more information.

It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and let’s face it, not everyone LOVES this holiday.  If you’ve recently been through a break-up, or you just haven’t found “the one” yet, observing everyone around you as they celebrate “coupledom” can be, well, slightly depressing. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Sure, Valentine’s Day is a day designated to celebrate love, but it isn’t reserved just for couples. If you are a singleton, by choice or otherwise, you can celebrate YOU on Valentine’s Day…because loving yourself is just as important (and maybe a little more-so) than loving others. 

Instead of boycotting Valentine’s Day or spending the day feeling blue and left out, here are some ideas for how you can show yourself some love on this special day:

Give Yourself a Special Treat

Today is the day to pamper yourself.  Love flowers? Buy yourself a beautiful bouquet. Pick up those expensive chocolates you adore but wouldn’t normally buy. And if there is an exquisite piece of jewelry you’ve been eyeing - go get it!  These may be things you dream of having someone else do for you, but you need to love yourself the way you want others to love you. YOU DESERVE IT!

Host a Party

If you have a bunch of single friends, you can throw an “Anti-Valentine’s Day Party”. One of the best parts of being single is that you can do whatever you want! Celebrate that! Do you enjoy fancy dinner parties? Then tell your guests to dress up and bring their appetites. Prefer something more casual? Have a grown-up sleepover in comfy pajamas with popcorn and candy on the menu. 

Get Away From it All

Sometimes simply getting away to a different setting can give you just the boost you need when you are feeling a little down. Plan a road trip with another single friend or book a room on a singles cruise. Even better…go on a solo trip where you can do exactly what you want to do without having to worry about anyone else.

Plan a Date Night with Your Celebrity Crush

Spend your Valentine’s night with your favorite celebrity crush by binge watching every movie/show they are in. Get your favorite take-out food, put on your most comfy pajamas, light a fire in the fireplace and enjoy!

Reach Out to Others

Nothing makes you feel better than doing something nice for someone else. Take this opportunity to reach out and show love to someone who might also be lonely and sad. Arrange to have a “Secret Cupid” with your single friends so that everyone can enjoy receiving a special treat. Visit elderly relatives who might otherwise spend the day alone. Or offer to babysit for your “couple” friends who have kids so that they can enjoy an evening out.

Schedule a Relaxing Spa Treatment

If you’re not one to normally splurge on spa treatments, Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to indulge!  Whether it’s a massage, a facial, or a mani/pedi, find time in the day to relax and enjoy!

Remember, every day is what you make of it…so make this Valentine’s Day what you want it to be!

If you are in the market to buy or sell a home (or both), let me, Sandra Nickel, and my Hat Team of Professionals assist you with all your real estate needs! Call us today at 334-834-1500 and check out https://www.homesforsaleinmontgomeryalabama.com for more information.

If you have been out house hunting, you may have noticed some for-sale signs with “sale pending” badges on them. What does it mean when a sale is pending?

Here is what you need to know about a pending home sale:

A home sale is pending after a seller has accepted an offer and the contract between the seller and the buyer has been signed. 

When the home sale is pending, it’s no longer considered active on the multiple listing service (MLS). The timeframe in which the deal is pending varies depending upon where you live. In some places, it is during the due diligence period when a property is inspected, and its public record is checked to be sure there are not any legal issues. In other areas, the pending phase starts after the due diligence phase. Either way, pending home sales are considered a key indicator of market activity.

Due Diligence: In real estate, the period known as due diligence is an opportunity for you, the buyer-investor, to receive full disclosure of the facts and conditions of a potential asset prior to completing a transaction with the seller.

Once a sale is pending, the buyer needs to start preparing for the closing. The best way for the buyer to do this is to make sure the necessary professionals are on hand, including the mortgage lender, title insurance company, Realtor, and inspector. A real estate attorney is also good to have to help complete all legal documentation prior to closing. In most markets, the due diligence period starts once the contract is signed and lasts about 10 days. During this time, the formal application for the loan is submitted to the lender, and appraiser researches the house and area to determine the property’s market value. The attorney will comb through the home’s public documents to make sure there is nothing that could affect sale of the home. This period is also the right time for the buyer to closely examine the details of the house and the transaction to make sure there are no deal breakers.  If both parties are ready to move forward and have agreed to waive the contingencies regarding inspection or appraisal, all that’s left to do is to wait until closing day.

The seller can relax a little more than the buyer while the sale is pending.

After the contract is signed, the seller pretty much just has to wait. The listing agent typically will schedule the inspection, appraisal or any other visits to the property, but the seller might need to be around to allow people in or to be present for the inspection. However, in some cases, the seller may decide not to be present for any of it. 

It is important to note that once the contract has been signed, the seller cannot back out of the deal, while the buyer is legally allowed to cancel the contract.  But, when negotiation takes place regarding issues found during the due diligence period, the seller can decide what to say yes to.  For example, the seller can choose not to make repairs on things that surfaced during the inspection, or they can refuse to accept a lower price if the property appraises for lower than the sale price. The whole deal can fall apart if the negotiation does not go well, so it’s vital to have a Realtor who will help you through the process whether you are buying or selling.

The last step during the pending sale period is for the seller to move out of the home and leave it in good condition. It is a good idea to leave the home as clean as possible. The buyers will do a final walk-through a couple of days prior to closing. If the closing goes smoothly, the seller will finally be able to slap that sold sticker on the “For Sale” sign!

If you are in the market to buy or sell a home (or both), let me, Sandra Nickel, and my Hat Team of Professionals assist you with all your real estate needs! Call us today at 334-834-1500 and check out https://www.homesforsaleinmontgomeryalabama.com for more information.

1877 Hill Hedge Drive, Montgomery, AL 36106

MLS# 568414

3 Bedrooms | 2 Baths | 1 Half Baths | 1,858 Square Feet | Hill Hedge

Check out this mid-century modern ranch conveniently located in Midtown! This home has a nice floor plan with granite and stainless appliances in the kitchen, an open living room/ dining room with stone fireplace, primary bedroom suite, two nice sized bedrooms and the middle room (currently used for dog grooming) would make a great den or playroom. Hard wood floors throughout, built-in bookshelves and original tile in all three baths. The laundry room is located off the kitchen and the half bath is off the laundry room. Good sized fenced in back yard. Perfect for a first-time homebuyer or investor.

Marketed by Montgomery AL Realtor, Lauren Keen, Sandra Nickel Hat Team!

15 Nottingham Way, Millbrook, AL 36025

MLS# 569991

4 Bedrooms | 2 Baths | 1,700 Square Feet | Sherwood Forest

Welcome to this practically brand-new home in the Sherwood Forest neighborhood! Built in 2023, this 1,700 square foot home offers the perfect blend of modern convenience and country charm, just minutes away from local restaurants, businesses, and the future Millbrook Sports Complex! Step inside to a bright and spacious open floor plan with 10-foot ceilings and an abundance of natural light. The great room invites you to relax and entertain, with French doors leading out to a private patio. The great room flows into the eat-in kitchen, complete with stainless steel appliances, beautiful countertops and a tile backsplash. This home’s thoughtful design includes a split floor plan, offering privacy and comfort for everyone. The secluded primary suite has tray ceilings, a large walk-in closet, and an en-suite bath featuring a double vanity, garden tub, and separate shower. Three nicely sized additional bedrooms provide plenty of space for family or guests. Efficiency meets style with features like vinyl plank flooring, a fireplace that’s wired for a flat screen tv, stainless steel energy star rated appliances, LED light fixtures, energy-saving spray foam insulation, Low-E windows, and a heat pump hot water heater. A two-car garage ensures easy access for parking and makes unloading groceries a breeze! Rest easy knowing everything in this home is less than two years old and was built with energy efficiency in mind!

Marketed by Montgomery AL Realtor, Ali Bertschy, Sandra Nickel Hat Team!

Do you need some more living space in your home, but don’t want to spend the money on a room addition?  Well, maybe the answer is right in front of you…when you pull into your driveway. Converting your garage into a living space is a great alternative to adding a room to your home. In fact, if you have a two-car garage, you can add about 600 square feet of living space. And since a garage already has a foundation, walls, and a roof, it will cost approximately half of what you might pay for an addition.

While not as expensive as a new addition, a garage conversion still should not be done cheaply. A quality conversion might take from 4-6 weeks and will include the following:

• insulating walls and ceiling
• raising the floor so that insulation can be placed over the concrete slab
• establishing a heating and cooling source for the space via the house’s main system or by adding an independent one
• upgrading your electrical service
• possibly creating a partition in the wall between your house and garage if you are trying to design and open floorplan
• replacing garage doors with fully insulated stud walls
• adding windows and doors

Before deciding to convert your garage into a living space, consider what you will be losing. You will no longer have a place to park your vehicles indoors to be protected from the elements. You will also be sacrificing storage space for things like landscaping tools, lawn mowers, bicycles, and outdoor gear.

If you feel that having more living space in your home outweighs your need for indoor parking and storage, then converting your garage is a good option for you!

Another thing to consider is that there will be zoning and legal issues to contend with.  A garage goes through a major legal transformation when it becomes a living space. That means there will be requirements for the room that did not exist when it was simply a space to house vehicles. There will be permits involved for the changes you want to make. 

If you ultimately decide that converting your garage is the best way to add more space to your home, be sure to get estimates from several reputable contractors and find one that shares your vision for your new room. 

If you are in the market to buy or sell a home (or both), let me, Sandra Nickel, and my Hat Team of Professionals assist you with all your real estate needs! Call us today at 334=834-1500 and check out https://www.homesforsaleinmontgomeryalabama.com for more information.

704 Felder Avenue, Montgomery, AL  36106

MLS# 568897

4 Bedrooms | 3 Baths | 1 Half Bath | 3,250 Square Feet | Cloverdale

Classic Old Cloverdale at its finest! Situated on the corner of two of the most iconic streets in the neighborhood, this stunning home awaits its new owner. The open floor plan is adaptable to a variety of lifestyles and is ideal for entertaining. The fabulous kitchen has marble countertops, a new copper faucet, all new appliances, a Boos butcher block island, new built-in cabinetry with coffee bar and laundry. The butler's pantry cabinets are all new and include a charging station. Enjoy the stained-glass accents as you walk up the gorgeous staircase. The primary suite has a beautiful marble bath with a walk-in closet. The other large bedroom is set up as a family room/playroom. There is a guest room downstairs and a half bath under the stairs. French doors lead from both the living room and dining rooms onto a new stamped concrete patio, driveway with turnaround and double carport with storage room/workshop. There is so much natural light in this stunning home that you must see for yourself! Walking distance to restaurants, shops and entertainment.

Marketed by Montgomery AL Realtor, Lauren Keen, Sandra Nickel Hat Team!

If you are planning to put your house on the market this year, there is no time like the present to start getting organized for the process of staging, showing and moving out of your home.

Begin now by following the tips listed below and you won’t feel so overwhelmed when it’s time to put your house on the market!

• ELIMINATE PILES 

Some of us suffer from “flat surface syndrome”. If there is a flat surface, it’s covered with “stuff”. Now is the time to eliminate any of the “stuff” cluttering the horizontal surfaces in your home. Things such as mail, papers and other odds and ends that are piled on the tops of tables, desks and shelves should be removed.

• CLEAR OUT STORAGE SPACES

If your closets, bookcases, pantry, and other storage areas are overstuffed, this is a red flag for potential buyers that screams, “not enough storage!”. Keeping a minimum number of items in your house will leave the impression that there is a generous amount of storage in your home.

• ELIMINATE EXCESS

Get rid of or pack up excess items that you won’t need before you move. For example, only keep enough dishes, towels, sheets, toys etc. that you will use during the time your house is for sale. Why have ten sets of sheets in your linen closet when you will only need one or two?

• REMOVE SEASONAL ITEMS

Pack away things that are only used during other seasons. If you are selling in the spring/summer, pack away your fall/winter clothes. You can also pack away off-season holiday items.

• THROW THINGS AWAY

If it’s worn out, broken, rusty, stained, torn or incomplete, it is time to let it go. If your belongings look shabby and old, your house will look that way too. Don’t hesitate to throw such items away.

• DONATE ITEMS 

When you are cleaning and sorting items, if you come across things that you don’t use now and won’t use in a new home, donate them. There is no point in packing and moving something you will never use. But if it’s in good shape, someone else will get use out of it.

• SELL BEFORE YOU SELL

If you find that you have many items to eliminate from your home, think about selling what you don’t store, throw away or donate. You can sell at a yard sale, bring items to a consignment shop, or list items online. But, have reasonable expectations regarding how much money you can make; don’t overprice. Remember the goal is to dispose of as many things as possible.

• RENT A STORAGE UNIT

Move large items/equipment that you don’t use often to a storage unit. It can also provide space for packed boxes to give you a head start in preparing for your move.

• IMPROVE CURB APPEAL

Remove any clutter (toys, lawn ornaments, garbage bins) from your yard. The outdoor spaces provide the first and last impression for potential buyers and as such, it is important that they look neat and tidy.

Moving can be stressful, so don’t wait to start preparing.  Get a head start before putting your house on the market!

If you are in the market to buy or sell a home (or both), let Sandra Nickel and her Hat Team of Professionals assist you with all your real estate needs! Call them today at 334-834-1500 and check out https://www.homesforsaleinmontgomeryalabama.com for more information! 

1207 Laurel Brook Lane, Montgomery, AL 36117

MLS# 568407

4 Bedrooms | 3 Baths | 2,443 Square Feet | Breckenridge

This beautiful custom built all brick home in Breckenridge is fabulous inside and out! The inviting floor plan welcomes you in with an elegant dining room with a new picture window, a lovely family room with a stone fireplace and built-in bookcases and a gorgeous kitchen with solid wood cabinets, work island and all new appliances (refrigerator, dishwasher, gas cooktop, wall oven and built-in microwave). The private main bedroom suite is spacious and offers double vanity with make-up bench, jetted tub, tiled walk-in shower and a large walk-in closet with natural light. On the opposite side of the home are two bedrooms with a jack and jill bath and a fourth bedroom with an en-suite bath and laundry room. Outdoors, the list of amazing features continues with the most ideal space for entertaining with a newly enclosed heated and cooled patio, complete with a new stainless vent hood, fancy grill and cook station that extends the width of the house. From the patio you look out onto a huge saltwater pool and large back yard with an underground sprinkler system. Additional features include new flooring throughout (no carpet at all), fresh paint, surround sound speakers (in kitchen, main bedroom and back patio), a carport with an extra-large double door workshop/storage room. Homeowners enjoy a Private Clubhouse, 24-hour fitness center, zero entry community pool, gated playground and lighted tennis courts. Close to Montgomery's newest city schools, shopping and I-85. Come check it out today!

Marketed by Montgomery AL Realtor, Lauren Keen, Sandra Nickel Hat Team!

Making your home more energy efficient is a cost-effective way to not only save money but to also improve the performance of your home. The most effective strategy for improving your home’s energy efficiency is to focus on the “shell” of the house…the walls, attic, windows and doors. Next, improve the energy efficiency of systems such as heating, cooling, lighting and appliances. Last, but not least, consider clean energy generation such as solar or geothermal.

The first step toward energy efficiency is to make sure that your walls and attic are well insulated. High quality insulation slows the rate that heat flows out of the house in the winter or into the house during summer. That means it takes less energy to heat or cool your house. If your walls have no insulation, it will certainly pay off to add blown-in insulation and it will also improve the comfort of your home. If you have an unfinished attic, it is worthwhile upgrading its insulation. It is a good idea to use an Energy Auditor to make sure that the insulation is installed properly.

The next step is to upgrade the windows. If your windows are old or leaky, particularly if you live in an historic area, it is time to increase their efficiency by using weather stripping and storm windows. While it’s not usually cost-effective to replace windows just to save energy, if you are going to replace them anyway, the additional cost of Energy Star-rated replacement windows is very modest and is a comfort improving upgrade that is worth the cost

Another way to save some energy in your home is to plant shade trees and shrubs around your house. If you have an older home with poor insulation and windows, good landscaping can help, especially if planted on the house’s west side. Deciduous trees are the best way to go for this purpose. During the summer, the foliage will block the infrared radiation that would warm the house, while in the winter the bare branches will let the radiation through.

Replacing an older furnace with a new high-efficiency system may seem like a huge expense, but in the long run it will save energy and money. If your furnace was built before 1992 and has a standing pilot, it likely wastes 35% of the fuel it uses, and it’s probably near the end of its service life. ACEEE (American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy) recommends you replace it with a condensing furnace with annual efficiency of at least 90%.

You can improve the efficiency of your hot water system by turning down the temperature of your water heater to the “warm” setting (120 degrees F). You can also insulate your hot water lines so that they don’t cool off quickly between uses. And using low-flow fixtures in your showers and baths will help as well.

You can use ¾ of the energy used with incandescent light bulbs by replacing them with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). You may not realize that the cost of the electricity used to run a light bulb is higher than the cost of the bulb itself. A CFL may be a little more expensive than the traditional light bulb, but it lasts for 10,000 hours and uses only 27 watts to generate as much light as 100-watt incandescent bulb. Over the long haul, you will save money by investing in CFLs.

You can save money with an energy-efficient home in many ways, including the tax benefits that are available to you. Federal tax incentives are out there for energy efficiency upgrades to existing homes. 

If you are in the market to buy or sell a home (or both), let Sandra Nickel and her Hat Team of Professionals assist you with all your real estate needs! Call them today at 334-834-1500 and check out https://www.homesforsaleinmontgomeryalabama.com for more information!

If you are in the market to buy or sell a home (or both), let Sandra Nickel and her Hat Team of Professionals assist you with all your real estate needs! Call them today at 334-834-1500 and check out https://www.homesforsaleinmontgomeryalabama.com for more information!