What Do I Expect on a Phone Call With a Cash Buyer

You inquired on our site & now you are wondering what to expect... Well, the first thing I would say is make sure to have your phone with you as Carter always tries to reach out right away to chat on the phone. But what will that phone conversation consist of? 

Questions from a Cash Home Buyer

In a typical conversation I like to get an idea of what you are wanting to sell the property. If there is absolutely no motivation to sell & you are just looking to get numbers thrown your way there is a good chance we will not be willing to help with that. Along those lines, it is also important to know why you reached out to a company like ours that buys houses for cash in Appleton WI. 

Typically, most people know that we buy houses companies can't pay retail value for a home in the area. Why is this? It is due to the fact that we need to make some sort of profit & also that we have to typically spend thousands of dollars on remodeling the property. Sure, you can always list it with a Realtor. 

But, then you will deal with 10-20 showings, inspections, repairs, & the list will keep going. 

Another question we like to ask is how did you hear about us. This one is pretty straight forward as we could have either reached out to you directly or you may have been searching for we buy houses Appleton wi. 

How can we help?

Wrapping up this article, a typical phone conversation will last anywhere from 5-15 minutes depending upon the situation. If we can be a resource in selling your Appleton wi house fast for cash please give us a call on our office line 920-215-4201. 

Using a Self Directed IRA to Invest in Real Estate

Something that is rarely talked about at the financial advisor or the brokerage level is the ability to invest in actual real estate with your retirement account. Most brokerage services such as e-trade, or fidelity, or vanguard will not allow you to do it. However, there are "custodian" brokerage services that grant you this ability. 

The custodian is essentially the watcher of your IRA account & they will grant you the permission to invest in an alternative investment other than your typical stock, bond, or mutual fund. It is achievable through the process of rolling over some or all of your IRA into one of their programs. 

Don't worry, if you have a ROTH IRA it will still remain in that category as well as a normal IRA. 

Now, the biggest stipulation with a SDIRA is that it needs to be completely passive or hands-off for your the owner. This means that you can't go buy a vacation house with the money & have it as an AirBNB. You need to invest your money in some sort of real estate asset that is either part of a syndication or that is managed by a property manager & they take care of everything. If the rules are not followed the IRS could target your entire IRA & tax you on the total amount. 

Of course that is the worst-case scenario. But, the reason behind people investing in real estate with their IRA is the following reasons: 

1) Real Estate is a Physical Asset that will NEVER go down to $0 in value

2) In most cases the "right" real estate will outperform the returns of the stock market. 

3) Real Estate appreciates in value over time

4) Rental real estate provides monthly cash flow

If you are wondering how you can diversify your portfolio reach out to us & we can set up a video or phone call. 920-215-4201

Easiest Way to Update a Kitchen or Bath

When you are looking to do the most cost-effective repairs, where do you start? Typically, you will get the highest ROI from kitchen & bathroom remodeling. Those are the two favorite spots for every house! But what is a cost-effective way to make your home stand out?

First things first, what is your budget you are working with to remodel your home? Are you working with $1,000-$5,000 or more? If you are working with the smaller budget then the best thing to do is spruce up, not completely replace.
I would recommend painting your kitchen cabinets, replacing counters, & installing a backsplash. These are all things that you can do on your own that will transform the look of the kitchen!
I wouldn't go overboard with installing quartz or granite counters, I would just go with a nice looking laminate counter that costs $400-$600.

If you wanted to go the extra mile you could even install new flooring in those areas. Flooring is something that may take a professionals help, but normally in small areas, you can get by doing something for fairly cheap. We have had great luck with the luxury vinyl plank floors & that is what I would recommend anyone to do!

If you need assistance or ideas on what to do to spruce up your kitchen please feel free to reach out! We would love to provide you with some FREE resources you can use.

How to Give Tenants A Notice to Vacate - Appleton WI

If you are reading this article you probably own rental property in Appleton WI. As a landlord, it is a never-ending battle on figuring out how to properly give notice to your tenants. From first-hand experience I know what that feels like as we own income property in Appleton. So, in this article I am going to go over a brief summary on how to give tenants a notice to vacate.

How Much Notice Is Needed for Tenants

Depending upon what type of lease you have in place will dictate how you can give a tenant notice to vacate. Are they on an annual lease and locked in for another few months? Or, are they month to month? Tenants automatically go month to month when their lease expires. 

With a tenant who is on an annual lease you WILL NOT be able to give them notice to vacate until their lease expiration. Typically in this scenario you would provide them with a form (months in advance) that states you will not be renewing their lease. Please be curious & give your tenant time. 

On a month to month lease you need to provide at least 28 days written notice. However, if they are already partially through a rental period, you will need to wait till the end of the next period. An example of this is giving a notice to vacate on April 15th. You would provide them the notice on the 15th, but they wouldn't need to move out till May 28th. 

NOTE: Please speak with an attorney regarding the legalities of everything I am providing in this article. I am going off of personal experience & no information provided in fact, only a matter of opinion. 

If you are wanting to sell your property & leave the tenant in place because you don't want to deal with it, please give us a call at 920-215-4201! We are local house buyers and can help you out. 

Difference Between Assessed Value And What You Say Your House is Worth

Assessed value is not the same as market value or appraised value. There are many homes that could be sold for significantly more than an assessed value and others that maybe sold for significantly less. The assessed value of a home is used for the purpose of taxes in your local area. The assessed value of a home is multiplied by the local tax rate to determine what your yearly taxes are. The assessed value has no impact on how much your home is worth to a potential buyer in the marketplace.

Unfortunately, there are many home buyers who believe that a home that is listed higher than the assessed value is overpriced. This is the furthest from the truth. Home buyer’s also question if something is wrong with a home if the list price is much less than the assessed value. There are homeowners who don’t pay attention to their assessed value, just to find out their municipality has been slowly raising it, year after year, even though the market value hasn’t been increasing.

There are a handful of methods that Realtors use to determine the value of a home due to its condition. The most common method to determining the value of a home is by completing a comparative market analysis. A professionally completed “CMA” will consider many features of not only a home, but also the local area and neighborhood. Considerations that a professionally completed “CMA” include:

1. Square footage
2. Number of bedrooms
3. Number of bathrooms
4. Upgrades to kitchen
5. Window quality
6. Roof age
7. Lot features
8. Location primary or neighborhood street
9. Style of residence
10. Flooring type

If you don't want to sell your house through a Realtor and would interested have the process go faster give as a call 920-215-4201

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What to Ask When Buying a House in Appleton WI

If you are looking to buy a house in the Appleton WI area, there are a couple questions you should be asking. The three that I would recommend would be why are the sellers leaving, what’s the neighborhood like and how old are the appliances and major systems?

Why are the Sellers Leaving?

When looking for a house to buy you should get a good understanding of why the seller is leaving. Weather it’s downsizing, financial problems or a job relocation, this can help you know how motivated the seller is. The more motivated the seller mean that there might be more room for negotiating. A good agent will try and find out this information and will help gauge on how flexible the seller is.

What’s the neighborhood like?

When it comes to picking a good neighborhood, you want to look for affordability, good schooling and low crime rates. Appleton has many great neighborhoods to offer, the two that I would suggest are Apple Creek and Darboy. The housing cost in these two areas are mid-high, but with that comes low crime rate and great schooling options. When looking for a family friendly neighborhood in Appleton these areas are a great place to start.

How old are the appliances and major systems?

No one likes to buy a house and within a year already has appliances breaking down on them. When buying a house have a good understanding when it comes to the lifespan of essential systems, such as the air conditioner, furnace, water heater, washer, dryer and stove. Having to repair these can cost you a lot of money. If some of these appliances are in rough condition, ask the seller to purchase a home warranty. This would help cover the replacement cost if there were something to break down.

If you are looking to buy an under-priced or a newly remodeled house in the Appleton WI area contact us today 920-215-4201

How Long it Takes to Sell Your House

Are you thinking about selling your house, but your worried about how long it will take? Having to keep your house in perfect condition for those short notice showings can get annoying. Then there is the inspector that can make things worse.

Going Through a Realtor
The most common way to sell your house is to go through a Realtor. By doing this it may take anywhere from 35-50 days to find a buyer. This timeline can be affected by a slow market, which can make that number reach triple digits! Another factor to consider when going through a Realtor is a house inspection. An Inspector can cost you a lot of time and money due to outdated/damaged appliances and property foundation that you'll have to pay to get fixed.

Other Option
Another option would be to go through us! At CB Home Solutions we help to make this process move as fast as possible. Unlike Realtors we are willing to buy your house in as is condition for cash! This saves you a lot of time and annoying short notice showings, by not having to wait for us to find a buyer because we are the buyer. 

Give us a call at our office line 920-215-4201 & have a conversation with Carter. He will walk you through the process & explain everything.