Ready to buy a home?

Copied Get HTML So you’ve decided to purchase your first home in 2017. Congratulations! Purchasing a home is a huge decision, and it can be one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of your life. But purchasing a home requires capital, and if your savings account is looking a little trim as we wrap up 2016, it means that you will have to do some budgeting in the upcoming year to make your dream of being a homeowner a reality. Here are 7 budgeting tips to help you buy your first home in 2017: 1. Track Everything You Spend You will not be able to make any major changes to your budget if you don’t have a firm understanding of how your money is being spent. Tracking everything you spend for a month will show you exactly how much you’re spending, where you’re spending it, how much of your budget is going towards necessities and how much of your budget is going towards luxuries. You can keep track of all of your expenses in a spreadsheet, but a better strateg...

Copied Get HTML Everybody knows the statistics. Most, but not all, people want to live in single family homes. Condos and townhouses are for “the newlywed and nearly dead.” But if all other things are equal, such as price, which kind of dwelling really fits your lifestyle?  Of course, there are the obvious answers to this question. If you like an urban lifestyle with its restaurants and attractions, a condo would be right for you (there is nothing like staggering home on your own two feet from your favorite watering hole). If you have a large family, like to garden, and have several vehicles, a single family home (“sfr”) is probably your best bet. But here are some less-than-obvious lifestyle issues to consider. You work 60+ hours a week. Your best bet is a condo. You will simply not have time to handle all the chores that a house requires. As most sfr owners will tell you, homes take lots of maintenance and you will likely have a house project each week. There ...

Copied Get HTML Tons of people think the number 13 is unlucky. Some don’t. But pretty much everyone has at least heard that the number 13 is unlucky.  With Friday the 13th upon us, I thought it’d be fun and interesting to send along some superstitions we come across in the real estate industry, which you may have never heard about… Lucky numbers Real estate agents sometimes find themselves working with clients who have superstitions based upon lucky (and unlucky) numbers.  This is often a cultural superstition. And the lucky or unlucky numbers are different from culture to culture.  This can affect whether or not someone will buy a house, if the street address is an unlucky number, or even  adds up  to an unlucky number.  It can also affect the specific dollar amount they will offer or accept for a house… What direction a house faces Does your house face East? If it does, that’s great… for some potential buyers.  But oth...

Copied Get HTML Buying a home for the first time or selling a home for the first time are both huge endeavors. And most homeowners go into the process blind. Having never experienced the process of buying or selling, homeowners can easily find themselves losing time, losing money and losing patience, all because they were under or ill-informed. But it doesn’t have to be that way! There are a ton of incredible resources out there for first time buyers or sellers to help walk them through the process, including the good old-fashioned book. Here are 6 books you should read before buying or selling your home to save you time, money, energy and a bundle of frustration. For Buyers 1.  Homebuying For Dummies , Eric Tyson and Ray Brown Homebuying For Dummies , now in its 4th edition, is the quintessential guide for any newbie homeowner getting ready to make the purchase of a lifetime. Just like the rest of the contributions to the massively popular For Dummies serie...

Fill in the blank… “I have a _________…” I’m about 100% sure I can guess what word you chose. Was it “dream”? Good chance it was. We all know this line from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous speech. So when we hear those first three words, it sort of naturally comes to mind. But what many people aren’t aware of is how much he affected the lives of real estate agents, buyers, and sellers. It was his death that gave Congress the last push needed to pass the Fair Housing Act, back in 1968. It’s pretty involved, so I won’t get into it all here, but to put it simply… This was put in place to ban racial discrimination in housing. You can’t be refused the rental or purchase of a house, based upon your race. Seems simple enough to most people now. A given, if you will. But it didn’t happen overnight. And believe it or not, it still can and does come up. But guess who’s a big part of making sure this Act is followed… On the front lines, it is people like me. Real estate agen...

Are you jazzed about your upcoming home purchase? Good. But slow down, Turbo! There are a few things you need to know. More specifically, ten things. They’re called “The Ten Commandments of Buying a Home.” Read them. Absorb them. Emblazon them to memory, because one tiny misstep can make your dream of home ownership come crashing down like a sandcastle at high tide. (See below for text transcription) The Ten Commandments of Buying a Home Thou shalt not change jobs, become self-employed or quit your job. Thou shalt not buy a car, truck or van (or you may be living in it!). Thou shalt not use credit cards excessively or let current accounts fall behind. Thou shalt not spend money you have set aside for closing. Thou shalt not omit debts or liabilities from your loan application. Thou shalt not buy furniture on credit. Thou shalt not originate any inquiries into your credit. Thou shalt not make large deposits without checking with your loan officer. Thou shalt not chang...

Whether you’re looking to purchase a new home or put your current home on the market, choosing a real estate agent is a big decision. Your agent is the person that’s going to walk you through the process of buying or selling your home, beginning to end. They’re the person who you’ll need to trust to go to bat for you and negotiate the best deals, the person who will recommend when to move on a deal and when to pass and the person that will handle the crazy amount of logistical details involved in any real estate transaction. Since your real estate agent is going to play such a huge part in the success of your real estate endeavor, it’s important to talk to multiple agents before deciding who’s going to be the person to help you buy or sell your home. Here are 5 questions to ask when choosing a real estate agent that will help you get the right person in your corner for the buying or selling process: 1. What kind of property do you specialize in? There are many types of propert...