How a home is prepared for the market has a direct economic effect on the results a seller will have in the marketplace. Making home updates to match today’s trends, repairing deferred maintenance items, deep cleaning, and home staging all help contribute to a higher return for home sellers and less time on the market. According to the National Association of Realtors, 82% of home buyers said that staging and proper home preparation helped them better visualize a property as their future home. Even in the brisk seller’s market we are currently experiencing, it has paid off for sellers to get their properties ready for market in order to reap the highest return in the quickest amount of time. This is why Windermere has partnered with Move Forward Financial and developed the Windermere Ready Loan.
The Windermere Ready Loan allows our home sellers to receive access to funds to make home improvements and merchandise their homes for the market with no upfront cost. Clients can borrow up to $50,000 as long as the Windermere Ready Loan and any other encumbrances on the property do not exceed 75% of the market value. With the majority of Puget Sound cities having experienced 15-25% in price appreciation over the last year or two, this loan-to-value ratio is very manageable.Even better, this program does not require a costly appraisal, but just an approved Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) from their Windermere broker and their office manager. Once that is done, approval can happen as fast as 2 business days and the loan can fund in 10 business days. In comparison to a cash-out refinance or home equity line of credit which both can take up to 60 days, the turnaround time is minimal.
The loan fee is 4% (based on the loan amount) and is due only once the subject property closes and requires no interest payments. There is a nominal $20 credit reporting fee and a $20 administrative fee collected at closing as well. Loans must fund within 60 days of approval and are due within 6 months of funding.
Clients do not need to present bids, only a predetermined amount they want to borrow that does not eclipse the 75% loan-to-value amount. Clients can also choose their own contractors. I also have a list of preferred contractors that I can access to help concierge the home-preparation experience for my clients.
I understand that getting a home ready to sell is not always an easy feat, but one worth the effort to get the most optimal outcome. If you are interested in learning more about this program, please reach out. I am happy to answer more questions, assist you in the process and help you get your home Windermere Ready in 2022!
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