With 2023 behind us, you find yourself looking at how you want to spend 2024, consider setting some intentions for your real estate goals. Whether it’s preparing your home for sale, buying a second home, or investing in a vacation rental, you can start to work toward your goals now by thinking ahead and developing a strategy.
Not sure what your 2024 resolutions are yet? Consider these real estate-focused resolutions that can help you reach your goals next year.
Real Estate Goals for the New Year
1. Prepare your home for sale
Selling your home successfully is a process that begins long before you list the property. Whether you are planning to sell your condo in Panama City Beach or preparing a house for sale, there are some principles that are helpful across the board:
- Ask a trusted real estate agent for a free market analysis, and an opinion on what should be repaired or renovated to get your best possible price. We can help with both, so contact us any time.
- Declutter your home, getting rid of anything you no longer need to make the cleaning, staging, and showing process far easier.
- Address any minor repairs or maintenance that needs to be done to have your home in tip-top shape.
- Consider a bathroom or kitchen renovation to boost the resale value of your home.
- Begin packing away seasonal items or belongings you won’t need to access for a while to get a head start on the process.
- Take a look at your home’s curb appeal and identify features that could use some TLC.
2. Get your finances in order to purchase a new home
If one of your real estate goals includes investing in a new home, it is crucial to get your finances in an optimal position for mortgage applications.
Unless you are planning to pay cash, you will want to address these factors to make yourself a great applicant for a mortgage in order to achieve your real estate goals.
Pay Attention to Your Credit Score
If you do not already know, find out what your credit score is and whether it needs a little boost. Credit scores above 680 are high enough to qualify for the best mortgages, but the higher the score, the better your terms.
There are some things you can do right away to increase your credit score, even without paying down major debts, including:
- Setting up automatic payments on all credit accounts to avoid dings to your credit if you forget to pay.
- Asking for a credit limit increase on your accounts, immediately decreasing your credit utilization rate.
- Checking your credit record for any errors and disputing them if needed.
- Avoiding taking on any new debt before buying a home, like a new car loan or buying furniture or appliances on credit.
Lower Your DTI
Lenders will generally want to see a DTI (debt-to-income ratio) of below 43%. This is the ratio of your monthly debt payments to your monthly income. For example, if you make $5,000/month but pay $1,000 in debt altogether, you have a 20% DTI.
Consider addressing your DTI by aggressively paying down any debts that are raising your DTI significantly. A temporarily tight budget that allows you to quickly decrease your DTI will set you up for success.
Find Out What Your Current Home is Worth
If you are currently a homeowner, take the time to find out what your home is worth to get an accurate assessment of the equity you can leverage toward your next purchase. If you are in the Panama City Beach area, we can give you a free market analysis that can help inform your decision.
3. Investing a second home
Buying a second home is a great way to build generational wealth and establish financial freedom, all while owning an asset you can actually enjoy now instead of just an investment you have on paper. Consider buying a home in Panama City Beach that can be your personal vacation home, a place to be a snowbird, or even a combination of personal home and income property. Whether a small condo or a luxury beachfront property fits your budget, we can help you find it! This is a great option for those with real estate goals for 2024!
4. Buy a short term vacation rental property
Panama City Beach is an ideal location to invest in a short term vacation rental property. With steady demand from Spring Breakers, families, retirees, and more, this beach town is a lucrative place with demand for short term rentals even when the busy season comes to an end.
Consider investing in a short term rental in Panama City Beach that can ultimately pay for itself and then some. We can help you find the property that is the ideal fit for your goals this year.
Whatever your real estate goals are in 2024, we are here to help. Contact us any time to learn more!