After you receive an offer to purchase your house, you likely have only a short period of time to make your decision. Ultimately, determining whether to accept, reject or counter a homebuyer's proposal can be tricky. But if you plan ahead, you should have no trouble performing a comprehensive analysis of a buyer's offer, regardless of how much time is available.

Now, let's take a look at three tips to help you review a homebuying proposal.

1. Weigh the Pros and Cons

Creating a pros-cons list may prove to be ideal, particularly for a seller who is struggling to decide how to proceed with an offer. With this list in hand, you can evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of accepting a proposal and determine the best course of action.

Furthermore, it may be beneficial to assess your homebuying goals relative to an offer. If you goal is to maximize your profits, for example, you may want to accept an offer only if it matches or exceeds your house's initial asking price. Or, if your goal is to move out of your current residence as soon as possible, you may be willing to accept a proposal, even if it falls short of your home's initial asking price.

2. Assess the Housing Market

Housing market data is readily available that may help you make the best-possible decision about a home offer. If you analyze this information closely, you may be better equipped than ever before to decide whether a buyer's proposal is "fair" based on the current real estate market's conditions.

Oftentimes, it helps to conduct a home appraisal before you list your residence as well. Following a home appraisal, you'll receive a property valuation that may help you price your residence and evaluate home offers down the line.

3. Consult with a Real Estate Agent

There is no need to examine a home offer on your own. Instead, collaborate with a real estate agent, and you can receive expert recommendations as you assess a homebuying proposal.

A real estate agent is happy to work with you at each stage of the home selling process. This housing market professional will make it simple for you to list your house and promote it to the right groups of buyers. Next, a real estate agent will set up home showings and open house events to showcase your residence. And once you receive an offer on your house, a real estate agent will allocate the necessary time and resources to help you make an informed decision.

Lastly, if the first home offer that you receive fails to impress, there is no need to worry. You should not feel pressure to accept the initial offer on your house. In fact, you can always counter this proposal to set the stage for negotiations with a buyer, which could increase the likelihood of a successful home sale.

Get ready to review a homebuying proposal – use the aforementioned tips, and you can fully assess any offer that you receive.

Image by Tim Cooper from Unsplash

If your lawn and garden area is full of lush, thriving trees, shrubs, herbs, and flowers, you're probably proud of it's appearance and of all the hard work you've put in to get it that way. However, you may also have a nagging feeling that it's missing something, but you can't quite put your finger on what that might be — and that something could very well be hardscaping elements. Hardscaping is anything that provides aesthetic appeal and/or functionality to your outdoor living space that isn't in the form of vegetation. It provides dimension, texture, and boundary definitions. The best hardscaping combines functionality and appearance. Here's how you can make it happen:

Paved Pathways

Paved pathways can be installed using a variety of materials, including brick, cobblestone, and polished concrete. Design possibilities are almost endless. Some homeowners prefer the sophisticated appearance of polished concrete, while others like to create a picturesque ambiance with old-school cobblestone. Paved pathways also protect your shoes from mud and other debris as well as protect your lawn from the damage that heavy foot traffic can cause.

Decorative Arbors

Decorative arbors provide a delightful way to dress up the entrance to your property or introduce a backyard herb or perennial garden. You can grow vining plants up and over them, such as rambling roses, clematis, or even switch it up every year by planting different vining annuals such as morning glory and nasturtium. During winter, you can keep things interesting by stringing holiday lights on it.

Garden Benches

Garden benches give you and other household members a relaxing place to sit, read, dream, or simply get a rest from lawn and garden chores will enjoying the sunlight on your face and listening to the birds sing. If you opt for a wooden bench, choose one made of weather-resistant wood such as teak or cedar. Stone benches are good choices for areas that receive significant amounts of precipitation — you can always add cushions for softness during the warm season.

Water Features

Waterfalls, ponds, fountains, and raised birdbaths are just three appealing ways to turn your backyard into a personal oasis by adding water features. If you're a nature lover, you'll spend hours enjoying the antics of your feathered friends as they splash in the birdbath, and if you could use a serene respite in your life, a flowing fountain or waterfall provides soothing sounds and serendipitous visuals.

Other hardscaping possibilities include garden statuary, trellises, decorative gates and fences, pergolas, and footbridges.

If you plan to buy a home in the upcoming days, weeks or months, it often pays to learn about the real estate market. By doing so, you can understand various best practices for purchasing a house and streamline the homebuying process.

Ultimately, there are several best practices for buying a house, and these include:

1. Become a Homebuying Expert

What differentiates a buyer's market from a seller's market? How do you submit an offer on a house? And what should you expect during a home inspection? These are just some of the questions that you'll need to consider to become a homebuying expert.

As a homebuying expert, you'll be better equipped than others to plan a successful homebuying journey.

Typically, a homebuying expert asks lots of questions and devotes the necessary time and resources to learn about the housing market. This individual also is open to expert homebuying advice and recommendations and will do whatever it takes to discover the right house, at the right price, regardless of the real estate market's conditions.

2. Get a Home Loan

For those who plan to buy a house, it helps to save money in advance. That way, you can shop for a house and have sufficient funds available for a sizable down payment.

Furthermore, you should start searching for a home loan as soon as possible. Because the sooner that you secure a home loan, the sooner that you can kick off a home search with a budget in hand.

To obtain a home loan, you should meet with several banks and credit unions. These lenders will evaluate your credit history, income and other financial factors and make a home loan offer.

After you accept a home loan offer, you can officially start your home search. And if you find a home that you'd like to buy, you can submit an offer without having to scramble to get a home loan at the last possible moment.

3. Collaborate with a Real Estate Agent

When it comes to buying a home, hiring a real estate agent is essential. In fact, a real estate agent will provide plenty of support throughout the homebuying journey, ensuring that you can discover your dream house without delay.

A real estate agent first will learn about your homebuying goals. Then, this housing market professional can help you narrow your home search.

In addition, a real estate agent will set up home showings, submit home offers on your behalf and keep you up to date on homebuying negotiations. Perhaps best of all, if you ever have homebuying concerns or questions, a real estate agent is happy to respond to them at any time.

Buying a home can be a quick, seamless process, particularly for those who work with a real estate agent. Reach out to a local real estate agent today, and you can move one step closer to making your homeownership dreams come true.

Photo by F. Muhammad via Pixabay

Whether you're about to sign on your first rental property or already possess a portfolio full of properties that are cash-flowing like crazy, you need this. Time to reframe your mindset, step above the minutiae, and get a panoramic view of the path you're choosing. 

Why Set Goals?

It's easy to get caught up in chasing shiny new investments--especially as you gain experience investing and managing properties. But chasing every fabulous deal that pops up can take you on more than a few rabbit trails that won't get you any closer to your end goal. 

• Maybe you want to semi-retire at 40 and travel the world with your family. 
• Maybe you want to build your net worth so you'll be able to unload most of your properties once you retire and reinvest into building your own dream home. 
• Maybe you want to focus on building sustainable positive month-to-month cash flow so you can pursue non-real-estate-related goals. 

You might stumble across a slew of excellent deals and solid investments that don't fully push you toward your goals. They're good. Great, even. But maybe they require more in-depth vetting of tenants than you're willing to take on right now, or a complete rehab that you don't have enough hours in the day to pull off. 

Zoom out. Secure your vision. Grab a pen. And set some goals. 

Characteristics of Great Goals

• Excellent goals are specific and measurable. You'll know beyond a shadow of a doubt when you've arrived at them. Maybe it's a certain number in terms of cash flow or net worth. Maybe it's the point at which you can quit your day job. Maybe it's something else. If you can't measure it, it's probably not specific enough. 
• The best goals are realistically achievable. Anyone can set a goal to become a billionare in the next 12 months. Unless it's realistic for you, keep dreaming about it and working toward more achievable chunks of that dream. 
• The best goals involve other people. This one might surprise you, but a team/community/network mentality is staggeringly important for real estate investors. You'll need a team you can rely on, and your long-term goals should involve deepening your network with investors, real estate agents, and other industry professionals that are rock stars in their fields.