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In my latest Real Talk with Cindy, I sit down with Josh Crowley at Liberty Mortgage. We discuss mortgage options in today's changing market, pre-approvals, seller concessions, and first-time buyer tips. It's a conversation you don't want to miss. Have more questions? We'd love to help. Reach out to me on Instagram @cindybenettrealestate or via my website at cindybennett.net or Josh at Liberty Mortgage at 757-784-7269.

My favorite *home* items right now (that just might help you with those resolutions)... Sleep better- Linen sheets from OneQuince.com. I seriously sound like a commercial for these sheets, I love them so much. The perfect weight, soft without feeling heavy, breathable, but warm...I'm convinced they're perfect. Oh, and the price is great for the material and the quality, too. I swear I sleep better since I've had these, and that's definitely worth it! Save money- Ecobee thermostat. The ability to set this thermometer to your patterns is fantastic, and the ease with which you can change, from home or away (with the app) is fantastic. Set your perfect sleep temp, "at home" temp, and have it drop when you're away. The bonus? You'll save money, and you can get credits/rebates from Dominion Power! Be more environmentally conscious- BagUps. These garbage bags (yes, garbage bags are on my favorite things list!) are not only a small start up, but the company is veteran owned, AND, best of all, these bags are totally biodegradable. Additionally, the box is sort of like tissues, so the back up bags are always there for you. There's plenty we have to throw away, but I love that the bags, and therefore, much of the contents, break down over time. Get organized- This eyeglass organizer was a game changer for me. A person of a certain age, I use reading glasses. I don't like wearing the same ones all the time, and I had them everywhere. This corrals them all in one place- keeps them from getting scuffed, getting lost, and obviously, from the clutches of my little dog. Great for sunglasses too, perfect for your walk in closet, and good looking enough for your dresser! (and under $30!)  

Yep, I'm one of "those people." I love a goal. A plan. A resolution, if you will. So despite the cold, and the post holiday funk that many folks have, I am pretty energized at this time of the year. Reflecting and reviewing the past year and crafting a plan for what I want the next year to look like really is one of my favorite things to do. I've always done resolutions- for as long as I can remember, really, but I've definitely gotten better at making them work for me over the last ten years or so. That means gone are the days where I just say, "I'm going to.... this year" and hope that I can make it stick. I have a system, and a plan, for making those plans, and for sure, for making them come to fruition. So what is this special sauce, you ask? (At least I hope you ask if you've found yourself discouraged by resolution fatigue in the past!) First, take a look at your life now. Your WHOLE life- not just your appearance, your business, or your bank account. That means doing an assessment on your relationships with friends and family, your business, your money, your spirituality, your health, etc. You get the picture. Give them each a rating 1-10, even. That's always a great starting point. Jot down some notes about the good points and the areas of improvement you see. Likely a few things will start to reveal themselves, and more often than not, these are the areas you'll want to work on. I work on paper, but wherever and however works for you- once you get clear on those things you want to improve, get really clear on HOW to do that. If your goal is to grow your business, you need to get SPECIFIC on how much you want to grow, and how. For me at least, that specificity is the difference in getting to my goals, or falling off by February. I'm sure you've heard of SMART goals. If not, this stands for Specific - (Don't just say, "grow business." Say "Grow by 30%) Measurable - (Know your numbers, whether it's your weight or your biz growth) Achievable - (Make your goals ambitious, but attainable.) Relevant - (Does the goal actually make sense and work towards a greater goal?) Time Bound - (Set a realistic deadline, and progress points) I find when I chunk my goals into smaller pieces to achieve monthly, weekly, and daily, they are all much easier to manage than just creating a huge goal with no smaller steps. Creating a plan that you can work a bit on every day to get to where you want to be can make a world of difference in making those incremental changes that will, in time, lead you to achieving that goal- whatever it is. Whatever your goals are, or are not, I'm wishing you a happy, successful, and healthy 2023!

"If you're looking for one stop to know where all the biggest, best, lighting displays are around town (county by county), look no further! I've updated my tacky lights map for 2022, so check it out, grab some cocoa, and plan your stops!" Click HERE to follow along!

As you might have heard, we are in a shifting market. Rates are higher, and the economy is a little more questionable. Let's talk about pricing your home in this adjusting market and what you need to keep in mind. If you have more questions, I'd love to answer them. Reach out to me on Instagram at @cindybennettrealestate or via my website at cindybennett.net

Dinner parties, family gatherings, and extra time at home. All great reasons for you to try my favorite Christmas recipe. What You Need: 6 cups water 1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits (not instant) 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (divided) 1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces (divided) 1 pound ground pork or turkey breakfast sausage 6 large eggs 1 1/2 cups milk salt and pepper to taste How To Make: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking dish. Cook sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain. Cook grits according to package directions. Mix in 1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and butter. Stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Beat eggs and stir together with milk. Slowly stir in the egg mixture, then add the sausage. Transfer to a lightly greased 9"x13" pan. (Can be refrigerated for up to 2 days at this point.) Bake preheated oven for 1 hour until puffed/set/golden. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for 2 min. more.

If you're thinking of buying in this market, you're probably going to need a home inspection, but it might look a little different than a home inspection a year or so ago. Let's talk about it! If you have questions, I'd love to talk to you or help walk you through the process. Send me a message or reach out to me on Instagram at @cindybennettrealestate

I don't think there's anybody at all that thinks they can buy or sell the home and not spend any money between the contract to closing, but a lot of times people are a little confused about exactly who pays what and what are they going to have to pay. So here's a little breakdown of that whole scenario. And whether you're the buyer or the seller, what you're going to have to actually outlay before you get to the closing table. So remember, on the buying side, you're obviously the one that's going to spend the lion's share of the dollars even though you may be saving for those closing costs and the down payment, remember, there are a couple of things that you're going to have to pay before you actually get to the closing table. First of all, when you write that contract, you're going to have to put an earnest money deposit. Generally, this is going to be about 1% of the purchase price of the house. So if you're looking at a $400,000 house, that earnest money deposit is going to need to be about $4,000. So that can generally be paid by check, cashier's check or a money order or wire transfer, but it gets paid right then and yes, it gets deposited. We're not putting that cheque in the desk drawer until closing. However, that money does get applied towards your final closing costs and down payment number so it doesn't just go away, but you are going to have to pay that at contract. The next thing you're going to have to pay is going to be your inspection. That's going to get paid directly to the inspector, generally going to be between five and $600, depending on the size of the house, and it may end up being more if you have additional inspections like radon, electrical, roofing, etc. The third thing you're going to have to pay out of closing, and this may well for most people be the last thing you're going to have to pay outside of closing, is your appraisal. Keep in mind that appraiser wants to get paid whether your deal goes through or not. So they're not going to count that as one of your closing costs. That's generally going to be between five and $600 or so, and that is going to be required to be paid by the lender out of your pocket before closing. Once you get to the closing table, you can estimate that your closing costs are probably going to be between 2% and 3%. A lot of that depends on the type of loan, the lender, and all that good stuff, but that's going to cover all of your insurance, your taxes, your title search, your title insurance, all sorts of little fees like wire transfer fees, and such generally between 2% and 3% of your total cost, in addition to your down payment. Now what if you are the seller in the transaction, your final closing costs number is probably going to be less than $2,000. In most cases, it's going to be between $1,000 and $1,500. That's going to cover the fee for the attorneys to prepare your deed and again, all the city, county, and state taxes because everybody wants a little piece of the action. The other thing that you're going to have to pay for as a seller is the termite inspection. That's the only inspection that the seller pays for not the buyer—generally about $100. The buyers also going to have their inspection so if they want repairs done and you negotiate repairs, you're gonna have to pay for those too. Whether you are on the buying side or the selling side there are definitely costs but they are a whole lot easier to swallow when you know about them ahead of time. If you have any questions on either side of the transaction or if you need help buying or selling a home I'd love to help you give me a call! Have questions I didn't answer? Send me an email or dm me on Instagram @cindybennettrealestate.

Another month, and another post about the market shifting. If you pay any attention at all to the national news, you've likely heard all sorts of stories of how prices have plummeted as rates have skyrocketed, but here in the Richmond Area, things are a little less... well, dramatic. Has the market shifted here? Yes. It has. The days of 20 offers in a weekend packed with showings, appraisal and inspection waivers, and buyers giving up their first born to "win" the house are largely over. However- it's important to remember that we are STILL in an inventory shortage. That means quite simply that there are more buyers than there are homes to buy. So, while we may not see as many offers in multiple offer situations, we are still seeing some multiple offer situations. In fact, the average sales price in the Metro Richmond Area was $423,262 in October, up from $403,512 in September, and up almost 9% from this time last year. While we are seeing a bit of a slow down, we're certainly not saying SLOW. The average number of days on the market for listings was 16 in October, and that's down from 17 in September. Not a huge difference, but also not indicative of a serious slowdown. Last year this time, the average days on market for homes was only 14, though, so homes are indeed taking a bit longer to sell. Another data point that shows trends in the market is the percentage of sales price to list price. In October, that number was 101.2%. That means homes were *on average* selling for 101.2% of the asking price. That's definitely down from its peak a few months ago of 107.5%. Obviously, rates are up, and that has caused some buyers to adjust their price range and/or time frame for buying, but there are still lots of buyers out there, and we're definitely still mostly in a sellers market. To note, a balanced market is 6 months of inventory, and we are still (as of October '22) at only 1 month of inventory. That's a good bit away from a balanced market. Do you have questions regarding buying or selling? Real estate is not only local, but sometimes hyper local. Knowing what the market is in your county, neighborhood, and even specific to the home you're selling or looking to buy can make all the difference.    

Enter my first ever Great Big Thank You Giveaway! 2022 has been a pretty fantastic year, and that's in large part due to you, my clients, friends, and followers. I'd love to say thank you, and what better way than a great giveaway! I'll be giving away a Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 to one lucky soul, so here are the details! How to Enter: 1) Buy or sell a home with me between January 1 and November 15, 2022. (4 entries) (Yes, you get 8 entries if you bought AND sold with me this year!) 2) If we've worked together, leave me a review on Google or Zillow! (Obviously, a great review is preferred. I always say, "If you have a bad experience, tell me. If you have a good experience, tell everyone!") (2 entries) 3) Subscribe to my YouTube channel between now and November 15, 2022 (2 entries) - When you subscribe, just take a screenshot and send it our way! If you've done any/all of the above this year, you're already entered!  All entries will be entered into a drawing to win a SOLO STOVE Bonfire 2.0! Contest ends at midnight November 15th and I will draw the name of the winner LIVE on IG November 16th at noon! I can't thank you enough for your business, your kind words, and your referrals! **The finer fine print. You must be local to win, and all entries will be verified.