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Real estate reality shows on television are quite popular these days. There’s something very interesting about watching homebuyers navigate the process of searching for a home to making an offer. Many shows even take viewers beyond closing and show them how many new homeowners renovate and upgrade the homes just purchased.

But as entertaining as these shows can be, how realistic are they? It turns out, they really don’t paint the full picture of what the true homebuying process is like.

A lot of details are left out of these shows. Of course, producers want to make sure that these programs are as interesting to the viewer as possible, and as such, they tend to only include parts that would hold a person’s attention. There are several components of buying real estate that may be too “boring” for television, and so they’re left out.

But it’s important for buyers to understand this fact in order to avoid going into a real estate transaction without being fully prepped for the process.

Many of these shows depict house hunters quickly looking through a handful of homes, usually a maximum of three (that are shown on the program). Then, they’re put in a position to make an offer based on only those few homes that they see, even if they don’t seem entirely keen on any one of them. An offer is submitted quickly, and the deal is done in a matter of minutes, or so it seems.

In some cases, these shows may actually fast-forward the process and only start the show after the buyers have already chosen a home and may have even submitted an offer that’s been accepted by the seller. Any other homes shown are only thrown into the mix to help viewers make their own decisions about which property should be picked. It makes the program more interesting and almost like a game show.

When it comes to “reality” TV, it should come as no surprise that much of what is shown is probably staged to some degree. After all, the show must be entertaining or it’ll lose viewers. As such, producers will try their best to tweak things in order to make these programs more intriguing.

While there’s certainly nothing wrong with that, buyers – especially first-timers – should be made aware of this fact, as it could skew their perceptions of what the buying process is really like and what they can actually expect from the process.

Why Homebuying Shows Can Be Deceiving

Television is meant to entertain, but it can also be used to educate as well. The problem with some reality house-hunting shows is that they can be a bit inaccurate in many ways.

For starters, many of these shows only include a handful of properties. Are buyers to believe that the people hunting for a home on the show only see these specific properties before making a decision about which one to purchase? In reality, it’s most likely possible that the buyers in the show have already seen dozens of homes before choosing the one they eventually purchase. But since these shows are only half an hour to an hour long, it would be impossible to cram them all into one episode. Real-world buyers should be aware of this potential fact.

In the real world, buyers are encouraged to see a lot more than that before settling on one. Considering how expensive this massive purchase is, it makes sense to see as many as possible for comparison purposes before making a final decision.

These shows also don’t go into detail about the negotiation process. They may tell viewers what the initial offer is and what the final accepted price is, but there is no back-and-forth bantering shown on TV that displays how the final sale price as arrived at. Negotiating is a critical piece of the puzzle and is something that buyers should be made aware of.

There is often no mention made about the market conditions in the area that the buyers are looking in. What is the price of an average home in the area? How much have similar homes in the neighborhood recently sold for? What is the community like? Is the location ideal for commuting to and from work? Was a home inspection done? If so, what was the outcome? There are so many little details involved in buying real estate that is usually not covered in these shows.

And then there’s the issue of financing. Have the buyers been pre-approved for a mortgage? What is the process that they go through to secure financing? Sure, these are not exciting details involved in the homebuying process, which is likely why they don’t make the editing cut. But the topic of financing is a crucial one that all buyers need to seriously consider.

Real estate agents on the show also don’t seem to do much, either. They basically unlock the door and let the buyers take a gander at the homes. Then, they just seem to let the buyers make their own decision about the properties they see. But this is unlike what agents in the real world will actually do. There’s a ton of behind-the-scenes work that goes on in buying real estate, and what agents actually do is not reflected in house hunting television shows.

The Bottom Line

Reality homebuying shows are definitely fun to watch. And in many cases, you may even be able to learn a thing or two about buying a house. But for the most part, these shows can be misleading and leave out a ton of critical information that is essential for making the right homebuying decision.

At the end of the day, actual buyers should only take these shows with a grain of salt and hire a professional real estate agent to walk them through the real-life process of buying a home. Getting educated on the real estate procedure and the market is important to understand what can really be expected of the homebuying process.

Every seller hopes for the best when they first put their home on the market. Getting a great offer shortly after listing and selling for top dollar are obvious goals for sellers. But what happens if there are no takers? At what point should you regroup and pull your home off the market?

While the thought of taking your home off the market isn’t exactly a pleasant one, sometimes it could be a strategic move on your part in an effort to start again on a better foot. Here are some signs that it might be time to take your home off the market, even if just temporarily.

You’re Getting a Few Lowball Offers

As a seller, you obviously want to get as much money for your home as you can. But if all you’re getting are offers that are far less than the listing price, it might be tough to get buyers to inch their way up to what you’re asking.

Of course, you can always entertain these offers and try to negotiate with buyers until there’s a meeting of the minds, but repeat lowball offers can be a sign that buyers don’t think your home is worth what you’re asking. The problem is, the longer your home sits on the market, the more difficult it will be to sell. And as it lingers on the market, buyers may start to think there’s a problem with the home, which will likely continue the trend of lowball offers.

If that’s the case, it may be a good idea to take your home off the market and rethink your marketing strategy.

There Aren’t Enough Buyers Out There

If the market is lagging in terms of the number of active buyers out there, you may find it more of a challenge to find a willing buyer. This can be an even bigger issue if the competition is fierce. Few buyers and many listings create a buyer’s market, which is great for them but not so good for you.

Supply and demand play a key role in how quickly you’ll be able to sell. If you’d rather wait until the competition settles down and more buyers start flooding the market, then perhaps taking your home off the market might make sense. Otherwise, you might have a hard time selling, no matter how well-priced it might be or what condition it may be in.

The Current Market is Saturated With Listings

Sometimes properties don’t sell in a reasonable amount of time because the market is oversaturated with listings. With a massive inventory out there, buyers have their pick of the litter. Unless your home really stands out, it can easily get lost in the crowd. This is especially true if your listing price is higher than what other similar homes in the area are listed at.

If other homes are selling and yours is just lingering on the market for weeks with no bites, it might be time to make some changes.

An Improvement Needs to Be Made on the Home

Ideally, any home improvements and upgrades should be made before your home hits the market. Properties that are in tip-top shape when they’re listed tend to get the most attention and give buyers a much better impression compared to those that still need some work. Unless buyers are specifically looking for fixer-uppers or tear-downs, the majority of buyers want a turn-key property that they feel a connection to.

If you want to be able to compete in your market, there may be some upgrades that need to be made. Sometimes properties don’t sell quickly because they’re unable to compete with other listings in the area. For example, a similar home down the street that’s listed around the same price may have a newly updated bathroom and kitchen, while yours doesn’t. It would be tough to compete in this case.

Taking your home off the market can give you enough time to make the necessary improvements and be more competitive in the market. Consult with your real estate agent and focus on improvements that buyers in the area are actually looking for, and be sure not to spend more money than you’ll be able to recoup come sale time.

Your Home Needs a Price Adjustment

Pricing your home right from the get-go is one of the most important aspects of real estate marketing real. If your home is overpriced, it will almost certainly lose out on potential buyers who would have otherwise considered your home. If you’re not getting much traffic, it could very well be that your home is priced over what the current market dictates.

If you want to remain competitive, you need to ensure that your home’s price is accurate. While you could lower the price, taking it off the market and re-listing it at a completely new price can avoid any stigma that may be attached to a home that was forced to lower its price point.

Circumstances in Your Life Have Changed

Anything can happen while your home is on the market. You could lose your job, suffer a health crisis, be slapped with an unexpected expense, or go through a family dilemma. Whatever the case may be, now might not be an ideal time to sell your home because you’ll likely be more focused on whatever is happening in your life at this moment.

The Bottom Line

The idea of taking your home off the market probably never enters your mind when you first list your property. But in certain circumstances, it might just be the right choice to make to increase your odds of a successful transaction. As always, consult with your real estate agent before making any significant decisions like this.

You’re ready to buy a new home, and you’ve narrowed down your choice to a property within a planned community. Many buyers opt for this unique type of housing option considering all the perks that tend to come with it. These neighborhoods are typically well-maintained, offer a number of nearby amenities like golf courses and parks, and some communities even provide complimentary Wi-Fi throughout.

Certainly, planned communities offer a number of benefits that many homebuyers look for. But before you plunk down your deposit on a home located in this type of setting, there are a few things you should know about planned communities first. Like any other major financial investment, it’s important to know all the ins and outs about what you’re buying before you commit.

1. There Will Be Fees to Pay

Any planned or gated community will require that all owners pay a monthly fee in exchange for maintenance of common areas and amenities that are exclusively offered to owners. But the amount of this fee could make or break your decision to buy into a specific community. Be sure to understand exactly how much these fees are. In addition, try to find out what the possibilities are for these fees to increase in the near future.

It’s important to understand that these fees are typically reflective of the types and number of amenities that are offered within the communities. Generally speaking, communities with fewer features charge a lower homeowner’s association fee, while communities with more to offer tend to come with higher HOA fees.

You should also take the time to verify whether or not certain amenities will require a separate fee. For instance, some communities that are located on golf courses may charge a membership fee on top of the HOA. Just be sure to consider all applicable fees before you make an offer.

2. Amenities May Be Too Little or Too Many For What You Need

As already mentioned, HOA fees generally reflect the number and types of amenities offered to owners. But what exactly are the amenities featured in the community, and will you actually make any use of them?

Since you’re essentially paying for what you get, make sure you’re not paying more than you need to. It might not make much sense to pay for a pool, fitness room, ballroom, or golf course if you never plan on making use of such amenities. The thing is, you’ll be paying for them through your HOA fees whether or not you use them.

On the other hand, maybe you want to have all of these amenities and more, but the community you’re looking at only has a park and a walking trail. Is that going to be enough to suit your lifestyle?

Take a tour around the community and assess the amenities before you submit an offer. You want to know exactly what you’re getting and what you’re paying for.

3. Deed Restrictions May Limit Your Enjoyment

Planned communities come with a set of deed restrictions and for good reason. They’re meant to protect the value of the properties within the community and the neighborhood as a whole. By restricting what owners can and cannot do, properties will have to be maintained in such a way so as to ensure their values are upheld.

But as useful as such restrictions may be, they can also hinder your enjoyment of your property and your freedom to decorate or do with your property as you please. For instance, it’s not uncommon for planned communities to place restrictions on owners in terms of the colors they’re allowed to paint their front doors, the number of type of pets allowed, the type of landscaping permitted, or what sorts of vehicles can be parked on the driveway, to name a few.

You’ll want to know if you can live with the community bylaws before you buy. Not only that, you’ll also want to know what these rules are so you don’t inadvertently break any. Find out exactly what the deed restrictions are in the planned community you’re considering buying into before you finalize your purchasing decision.

4. Further Development May Be in the Works

Planned communities are usually built in phases, allowing homeowners to move into the community as each phase is completed. If you’re buying into the first phase of development, that means additional phases are in the works. That means you’ll be living in the middle of construction for a while until the community has been completed. However, you may be able to get a better deal on a home that still has yet to sell out, making buying in the first phase a potentially ideal situation in terms of money.

In addition, you’ll want to make sure that the promised amenities will actually be built, even though they’re not yet constructed before you move in. Some developers may not finish building all the amenities that were promised until the entire community is near completion.

5. The Reserve Fund Will Need to Be Assessed

Your regular monthly HOA fees are one thing, but then there’s a reserve fund that needs to be assessed. This fund is essentially a large sum of money that’s kept on the back-burner to be used for major expenses, such as replacing a pool or refacing the roads. These types of jobs are not covered under HOA fees and will need to be paid for through the reserve fund.

If this fund is inadequate, all owners – including you – will be on the hook to make up the difference. That’s why it’s important to assess the state of the reserve fund to make sure it’s beefed up enough to account for any major work that will have to be done in the future.

6. There’s a Homeowner’s Association to Deal With

Homeowner’s associations are there to help all homeowners ensure that the property values are upheld and that the community and all amenities within it are maintained appropriately. Any time you have a problem associated with our home and the surrounding community, the HOA will deal with it for you.

But on the other side of the coin is your reliance on the HOA to do everything for you relating to your home or community, even if you’d rather handle things on your own. If you’re not the type to just hand things over to someone else to deal with, having an HOA to answer to may not be your cup of tea.

7. You Risk Losing Your Home if You Fall Behind on HOA Dues

Falling behind on your mortgage payments isn’t the only way to foreclose on your home: failing to pay your HOA fees every month can also leave you fighting to hold onto your property. This is yet another big reason why you’ll want to make sure the fees associated with a home in a planned community fit well within your budget.

The Bottom Line

Planned communities are definitely very attractive housing options for those on the prowl for a new home. All your amenities are within walking distance and are exclusively for you and your neighbors to use.

These areas are generally well-maintained and ensure homeowners don’t bring down the value of the neighborhood due to lack of maintenance or poor choice in decor. But the restrictions and HOA fees can be enough of a deterrent to opt for freehold properties that don’t come with such drawbacks. Speak with your real estate agent in depth to help you determine whether or not living in a planned community is right for you.

It’s never easy to lose a parent, but having to deal with the sale of their family home and the contents within it can make things even harder. And when there are other siblings involved or other interested parties in the property, the process can be a little more complicated.

An estate sale can be considered to be the sale of all contents of a home, much like a garage sale. But an estate sale can also involve the sale of a family home after the owner passes away. While selling the home of a relative who has recently passed is not entirely unlike selling any other home, there are a few more considerations that will need to be made. Being prepared for the process and any potential obstacles that may be faced can help ensure a more streamlined process.

Who is Legally Allowed to Sell the Home?

The first thing that will need to be addressed when selling the home of a deceased family member is determining who is allowed to deal with the sale. If the owner left a will behind that clearly states the name of the person authorized to handle this transaction, that person is known as the Executor and is legally allowed to sell the home. Otherwise, if the home is in a trust, then the named Trustee is the authorized individual.

However, there may be times when there is no will or trust left behind. In this case, someone must step forward and take responsibility. In this case, state law will provide a list of eligible people to take on this responsibility. In most cases, the surviving spouse will take over the home. Or, in the case of a single parent who has died, adult children will usually take priority, in which case each child would be granted equal ownership of the home.  There is no court order required to transfer the property to them in this case. 

If an executor is identified, it’s important to determine whether or not that person has the authority to sell the property. Specific instructions will ideally be stipulated in the will about selling the home. If the executor was not authorized to sell the real estate, then the heirs will have the authority to sell the property without required consent from the executor.

During a probate situation, the executor will usually take on the role of selling the property and dividing up the profits among the beneficiaries named in the will. Any property under probate will need to be appraised by the probate referee, and the value will typically be used as the listing price. Once the appraisal has been done, all beneficiaries of the will – or any other interested individuals or parties – are to be notified of the sale of the home.

If any of the beneficiaries do not consent to this sale, they have the option to buy all shares of the property. If several people want to buy out shares of the home, the court will need to get involved, which will have the ultimate power to decide if the sale should go through or not. If there are no objections, the executor can list the home and sell it with an agent.

Make Sure Bills Are Up-To-Date

Until the home has been sold, all bills will need to be kept up with. That means the mortgage, cable, telephone, and utility bills will all still have to be paid until the transaction is complete.

You can steer clear of any potential problems by ensuring that all pertinent bills are paid on time and in full until they’re no longer required. That said, all bills should be paid through the estate rather than one person taking it upon themselves to pay the bills personally.

Gather Up All Important Documents

Any financial documents related to the home will be required in order to complete an estate sale. These are necessary in order for any proceeds of the sale to be distributed to heirs appropriately. If certain documents are missing or can’t be obtained, the situation can become a little more complex.

The following are the documents that may be required to complete the transaction:

• Will
• Receipts from creditors
• Investment paperwork
• Life insurance documents
• Homeowner’s insurance policy
• Bank account information

Shred All Personal Documents

Any personal documentation that includes your deceased loved one’s Social Security Number and anything else that identifies that person should be destroyed. Given the rise in identity theft, it’s important to ensure that all information like this is kept out of the hands of identity thieves. By shredding all documents with this information on them, identity theft will be a lot more difficult.

Change the Locks

When word gets out that a home is vacant as a result of the death of the owner, the property will be a target of those with nefarious intentions. In addition to friends and relatives, other people may have gotten a hold of the keys over the years, including landscapers, contractors, or anyone else who may have done some work in the home.

In this case, you will want to boost the security of the home, and one way to do that is by changing the locks and only giving the new keys to the real estate agent who is handling the sale for you.

Call the Postal Office

Let the postal office know that any mail with your parent’s name on it should be forwarded to you. This will help you maintain control over any trickling mail that may still come in over the next few weeks or months, as well as minimize any pile-up in the mailbox.

Stage the Home Professionally

Unless your parent’s home was stylishly furnished or decorated, you may want to remove all possessions and have it staged by a professional home stager. But while you’re clearing out all of your parent’s possessions, make sure to include any other individual that may be privy to such items, including your siblings.

To make things easier, consider holding an estate sale to get rid of all remaining possessions that you or your siblings don’t want to keep.

Disclose Information About the Owner’s Death if it Occurred in the Home

If your parent passed away inside the home in question, this information will need to be disclosed to interested buyers. According to California law, a death on a property needs to be disclosed if it happened within three years of an offer coming in. But if the death happened outside of that three-year mark, you won’t be obligated to make such a disclosure.

The Bottom Line

Selling a parent’s home after they’ve passed on is never easy. The emotions involved can make this experience a challenging one. But selling the home and all things in it is usually necessary for all heirs involved. Be sure to work with a seasoned real estate agent and consider consulting with a real estate lawyer to make sure everything is handled the way it should be.