Ready to buy a home?

When thinking about investments and retirement goals, many people think about owning rental properties. After all, they pay for themselves, right? They can be excellent additions to a savings and investment portfolio, but there are also risks. Here are the things to consider. First off, the good news If you are considering purchasing a rental property, just about all of your expenses are tax deductible (unless you rent to family members). Your mortgage loan interest, property taxes, and maintenance expenses are all allowable deductions. Your accountant may find other deductions for you as well, such as a 27-year depreciation rule. Now for the risks Many areas are too expensive for rental investments. You will want to know that your monthly cash flow from the property meets or exceeds your expenses. In pricey locations, you may wind up upside-down and spending more each month than you are taking in. Believe it or not, prior to the Great Recession, many investors did not worry...

Rent isn’t cheap. It’s tough to afford a place on your own. So, you have roommates. Maybe it’s a friend or two. Maybe more.  But it certainly beats living “alone”…in your parent’s basement. But you’re still not banking money… You’re saving some money by renting with others. But not tons.  It certainly makes your housing costs more affordable, but it isn’t like you have so much extra every month to just go out and spend on whatever you want. So, it’s probably hard to even imagine saving enough to eventually  buy  a house. You figure that day will come eventually. But not anytime soon. You’ll figure it out someday. Probably not until you find someone you want to settle down with. Not until you and a significant other can combine forces (and bank accounts) to make that dream happen.  But, at this point, you wrap that thought up with a nice bow and put it on a shelf.  You rationalize it, and think… I’m still young. I’m  too  ...

Why would someone write an article on buying versus renting a home? What’s in it for the author of the article? Why would you read one? What is it you want to hear? Do you just want confirmation and justification for what you already believe and want to do? Or, are you looking to be convinced otherwise? These are all good questions to ask yourself if you find yourself reading an article on whether it makes more sense to buy a home, or rent a house. There are “reasons” to buy, and “reasons” to rent. People want to make choices based upon reason. So, if you start reading about whether to buy versus rent a home, you’ll certainly be given “reasons”, like: When renting you’re just paying someone else’s mortgage.  You’re throwing your money away when you rent. You have nothing to show for it. If you buy, you’re building equity. Many of the richest people built their wealth through real estate. Real estate is a great long-term investment. Values always go up in the lon...

Shopping For A Home? Here’s The Best Day To Go Looking It’s Sunday morning.  You’re scheduled to go out and see houses later on with your real estate agent. But it’s nasty outside. It’s beyond pouring. You can’t even imagine walking from the car into a house. You’d rather just cancel the appointment and hang inside, maybe watch some TV. You can always go see the house next weekend. But should you wait for next weekend?  Should you even wait to go see houses only during the weekend?  There’s five weekdays you can go see houses. Is there a better day than a Sunday? What if someone else scoops up the house before you end up getting out to see it? Right?! Sure. Totally a possibility. And, totally a reason to motivate and go see that house today in the rain. But that’s not the point of this article. The point is that the best day to see a house is not necessarily Sunday. It’s also not necessarily  not  Sunday. The best day to go see a house is...

When you’re looking to buy a house, you might think it makes sense to go directly to the agent who’s listed the property for sale. Some of the more common reasons people give for doing so are: Why  not ? Doesn’t it just make sense… The agent listed the property and is the one selling it. They know all about the house.  They know all about the owner, so maybe you can get some inside scoop and a better deal than if you had your own buyer’s agent in the mix. Isn’t it like buying a car? You have to go to the dealer selling the car, so don’t you go to the agent who’s selling the house? Some people say they just didn’t know any better. It’s just easier than finding and working with a buyer’s agent. It’ll be easier to deal with owner. And, last but not least, if the agent is representing both the buyer and the seller, people feel like the agent will get them a lower price. Either because the agent is getting “both ends of the deal”, and therefore making more money, so th...

When you first start looking at houses to buy, you’re probably looking to find the best house possible…not looking for the best real estate agent possible. It usually begins innocently enough… Maybe you see a house online. So, you reach out to the agent with the click of the button. Or send a quick e-mail. Perhaps even pick up the phone to ask a few questions, or schedule a showing. Next thing you know, you’re being sent listings by e-mail, and going out to see houses with that agent. Or, maybe you go to open houses and meet a bunch of different agents, and eventually just find yourself working with one of them. (Or several of them at the same time.) You might be a  little  bit more deliberate about finding an agent, though. And you might choose to work with one who you have seen who has lots of signs, ads, or billboards. It might boil down to choosing an agent because everyone seems to use that particular agent. But too many people just sort of stumble into worki...

You want to hire the best agent when you sell your house. You see real estate agent “John Listalots” all over town. His signs are everywhere. So, you figure he must be a great agent. It seems like he sells almost everything in town, and you figure that he probably “has all the buyers”. From an outsider’s point of view, this makes sense… What better way to gauge and choose the best agent to list and sell your home?  You have the evidence in front of your eyes. So many other people have chosen him to sell their home, how could it not be true? Something you should know… Before we get into the three reasons why you shouldn’t just hire the agent with all the signs around town, there’s something you should know. Very few real estate agents do tons of business. In any given area, there’s always an agent or two who seem to do all of the business. But that doesn’t mean that the few agents who do most of the business, are the  best  agents. Nor does it mean tha...