Todd Martin Realtor

Our real estate market is crazy right now. Buyers have to submit an average of four offers on four different homes before they finally get one accepted. What happens if you are in a multiple offer situation on a home you really like and someone else gets the property? I recommend submitting a backup offer. Backup offers actually benefit both buyers and sellers. To learn more, watch this short video.

Unwanted odors can be a real dealbreaker during a showing. No potential buyer wants to be assaulted by foul smells when they walk through your front door. In order to make sure that your home smells clean and fresh, there are seven great ideas that you can try. To learn what these are, watch my latest video.

Being a first-time homebuyer in Louisville can be tricky. There are a lot of obstacles that you’ll have to overcome, including having enough money for a down payment. Luckily, we have some loans and special programs at our disposal to make things a little less costly for you. One of them is especially for first-time homebuyers. To learn more about how you can make a successful home purchase in this market, watch this short video.

If you’re a first-time homebuyer, there are a few things you need to keep in mind when looking at a property. Today I want to share a few do’s and don’ts of the process to help you avoid making a big mistake. For example, don’t purchase a home in "as-is" condition. Doing this takes away all your ability to negotiate, especially when it comes to repairs, and you may be stuck with something you don’t want. To learn more do’s and don’ts of being a first-time homebuyer, watch my latest video.

Are you better off buying a house or a condo? That decision can depend on a few different factors that I want to touch up on today. If you’re leaning toward a condo, you need to remember that it’s similar to apartment living. Is that something you’re willing to live with if you’re downsizing from a home? To learn more considerations you need to make in deciding between a house and a condo, watch my latest video.

You’ve listed your home on the market. After the initial excitement, you’re finding that potential buyers just aren’t putting in offers like you want them to. When is the right time to start thinking about lowering the asking price? For more information on the best time, watch my latest video.

Selling your home can be a complicated process. I see sellers make the same mistakes over and over. Today, I’d like to go over seven pitfalls that could cost you the sale of your home. I’ll also go over how to avoid them. For starters, don’t take your own listing photographs. To learn more, watch this short video.

In today’s market, buyers don’t have the luxury of waiting to make an offer. If you find your dream house, you need to act right away. However, how do you really know if a house is the right one for you? There are 10 signs you should watch out for. To learn more, watch this short video.

Having trouble getting buyers to commit? As an agent, the best thing you can do is have them sign a buyer’s brokerage agreement. I’ll go over the best way to get them to do that today. It’s all about communicating your value. To get all the details, watch this short video.

How can you prepare your home for sale on a budget? Today I want to talk about a few areas of your home you should focus on and how you can upgrade them without breaking the bank. First, you have to make your yard inviting. Trim, cut, and mulch everything in the yard so your property has some nice curb appeal. To learn more on how to prepare your home for sale on a budget, watch my latest video.

When it comes to down payments, do you know what your options really are? Most people assume the amount of money they need for a down payment has to be 10% or greater, but that’s false. The nationwide median for a down payment is actually 6%. If you’re a renter and you want to be a homeowner, there are loans you can qualify for with little-to-no money down. To find out more, watch my latest video.

If you are planning on selling your home in the 2017 real estate market, then there are a few things that you should know. For instance, you have probably heard that inventory levels are historically low. In some markets, homes draw multiple offers and sell within a week. However, that doesn’t mean you should panic if your home doesn’t sell overnight. To learn more about selling in the 2017 market, watch this short video.

The Louisville market is hot with a lot of pent-up demand from buyers who can't buy their next home because of how competitive things have been. The best way to get out of that slump as a buyer to be as prepared as possible when the right home comes onto the market. We want to start by getting your qualifier so that you can write a strong offer early in the process. Then, we can do a number of things to appeal to the seller of the home you want. To find out more details on how to accomplish this, watch my latest video.

Why do home sales sometimes fall through? There are actually a few reasons, both emotional and financial. For example, buyers might become overwhelmed during the process and back out of the contract. The appraisal might come back low, and there might not be extra money to bring to the table. To learn all the reasons a home sale can fall through and how you can prevent them as a buyer or seller, watch this short video.

Today I want to talk to you about equity—what it is and how you can improve it. Equity in your home is the amount of additional money you have from the amount that you owe on it. How can you build equity? One way is through your down payment. For example, when you purchase a house, the bigger the payment you put down, the more equity you will have that house right off the bat. To learn more about how to improve equity in your home, watch my latest video.

How do you plan on bettering yourself in 2017? As we look to progress forward, one of the things we all try to do is set goals. I wanted to reach out to you today to talk about how we at the Todd Martin Group can help you accomplish your goals. Whether your goal is to make $1 million or go to Disney World, the first step is working backwards. To learn more about how we can help you accomplish all your goals in 2017, watch my latest video.

Having a high credit score is great when buying a home. The higher your score is, the better deal you are likely to get on a mortgage interest rate. When you get in the 640 and above range, you will generally get a good rate. There are other ways to lower that rate even further.

On a lot of those shows on HGTV, you may have seen home buyers make offers to sellers expecting the seller to counter their offer. Many home buyers think that this is the way to negotiate in the real-life real estate world, but this is actually a bad idea. In today’s seller’s market, you have to put your best foot forward and write a strong offer right out of the gate. Failing to do so can cost you time, and in some cases, may even cost you the house you want. To learn more about why you shouldn’t expect a seller to counter your offer, watch this short video.