If you're ready to sell your home, you may wonder if the time is right. Timing is truly everything when you’re selling a home. If you have some flexibility, it might be a good idea to wait to sell your home. Even with time constraints, there are a few strategies to employ that can help you find the sweet spot in your time frame.

The Month Matters

It’s widely accepted in the real estate community that the best time to sell a home is in the spring. Since people want to get moved in over the summertime, May could be the best month of the year to put your home on the market. 

Why Spring?

Springtime offers favorable weather conditions in most places. The good weather means that it’s easy for buyers to get to open houses. Homes will also look more attractive with green grass and flowers blooming. Parents also want to get their kids settled into a new home and new neighborhood over the summer months before they start a new school. 

Competition

The favorable conditions along with the urgency of springtime buyers translate into more competition which equates to a better price tag for your home because buyers are willing to pay more due to the anxiety of wanting to find a place. 

The Day Of The Week Matters

Most buyers start looking for homes when they have free time which is generally on the weekend. That means the end of the week- preferably a Thursday- is a good day to pick to list your home. Homes that were listed earlier in the week will be farther down on the search page. Buyers will be more likely to see your listing first the later in the week that it’s listed.   

Consider Your Needs

While timing is a good marketing strategy to sell your home, you need to go by your own timeline. If you need to move due to a job change or other life circumstances, you can’t wait to sell. There are pros to selling during many different times of the year; it just may not be as busy or competitive on the buyer’s side of things. Selling your home fast might not be a sure thing. No matter what time of year you decide to sell your home, just make sure it’s inviting to buyers.         

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Windows have both aesthetic and functional uses in the home. They help the keep the fresh air in the house and the elements out. Windows are also an essential source of security in a home, and poorly secured windows can be dangerous for you. Many people do not plan enough for windows when building or renovating a house. Here are some things that you must consider when selecting windows for your home:

Type and Quality of Materials

The quality of window production materials is critical to note because it plays a vital role in the lifespan of the windows. Windows made from vinyl frames, and high-performance low-E4 thermal glass, are excellent for adding energy efficiency. They possess strength with the ease of vinyl. They're resistant to rot, cracks, and corrosion.

Personal Style

Windows come in many unique styles. When it comes to window selection, there is a wide array of window types for you to choose from for your home. These include styles like classic double-hung and casement windows to a dynamically beautiful bay, bow, or picture windows. Also, you can get specialty windows which are custom built for unusual-sized or shaped openings. No matter the type you desire, be assured that your choice of selection fits your style and convenience.

Cleaning and Housekeeping

You may not consider cleaning windows as a tedious task. Still, it could become so if you have too many windows around the house. While making selections, ensure that windows you choose have features like tilt-in sashes and easy-to-operate handles. These are standard accessories you should find on most double-hung, sliding, casement, and specialty replacement windows. They also make windows easier to clean.

Contractor Installation

If the contractor in charge of the job does not install your windows correctly, the window might likely not look the way you want. If you choose your windows and the contractor carefully, then it's a sure bet that you'll be satisfied with your purchase even after many years.

You can go to the local home hardware store to look at the many styles available, ask questions, and also ask for information about contractors and window installers. You may also be able to buy directly from the manufacturer and save some money depending on the quantity you are buying. You also get to know first-hand what you are buying and how to get the best out of it.

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Moving into a new home is an exciting time. There is so much to do with packing up the old place, closing on the purchase, and moving in that you probably haven’t spent much time wondering what your new home is like early in the morning, or late in the afternoon. After visiting your new home just a few times during the buying process, you may be unprepared for how your home appears at different times of the day.

Then, one morning, you wake up, look around and think it’s still night because you don’t see light streaming into your home the way it did into your fourth-floor walk-up apartment. You feel the walls closing in and wonder if it was all a mistake.

What’s up with that?
If the home is older, it might have fewer windows. In an effort to conserve energy and lower heat and air conditioning bills, older home designs had less glass exposure. Of course, modern improvements to thermal windows makes this less necessary, but if you’ve purchased an older home, or are planning to, consider some of these alternatives for brightening up your space.

Lighten up!

• Remove heavy window coverings and curtains and opt for more sheer versions or install adjustable blinds to let in more light. Not only will this brighten things up, but it will also give your home a modern, clean, minimalist vibe. Lighter colored blinds reflect more light than wood, and lighter natural woods reflect more than darker ones.
• Shine light on the walls and the ceiling. Adding a couple of floor lamps that direct light up the walls and onto the ceiling can brighten up any room. Or, add sconces to brighten things up in dark hallways and smaller rooms. Choose lamps without shades, or with very light shades to maximize the brightness.
• Use paint to add light to the room. Interior paints are rated by their LRV (light reflective values). Before choosing a paint color, learn where it falls on the scale (from zero to 100%). Paint dealers can help you choose colors that have a higher LVR so that your home reflects more light. Often, the LRV is listed in the color “fanbook” or on the paint swatch. The higher the value, the more light reflects into the room.
  Consider buying sample sizes and paint swatches on the walls so that you can view the paint in all light ranges throughout the day. If painting swatches on your walls makes you cringe, hang up a piece of butcher paper and paint the swatches on it. That way, you can quickly take it down when your mother-in-law pops in for an unexpected visit.
• Make glass and metal your friend. Reflective surfaces found in mirrors, blown glass decorations, and metallic art helps bounce light around the room. Placing two mirrors opposite each other gives infinite reflections that open a room or give life to a dark hallway. Or, place crystal vases or brass candle holders in the darker area. Frame photos and art with metallic frames.
• In the kitchen and bath, add reflective surfaces such as glass or metallic tile to backsplashes and showers. Chrome reflects more that brushed surfaces such as nickel, so opt for those in your bath and kitchen fixtures.
• If renovations are in your future, consider a more open concept, enlarging windows, or adding skylights to increase your light exposure.
• Pay attention to your landscaping as well. Older homes often come with mature trees that cast larger shadows. Give yourself the opportunity to experience all four seasons before removing them, though, because that shade might come in handy in the warmer months.

Check with your real estate professional for recommendations on local contractors to help with addressing structural changes and extensive landscaping alterations.

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