If you're selling your home, make sure your home has "curb appeal." Remember, you can't change a first impression. If your home looks like a diamond in the rough, think about putting a small investment into cleaning up the outward appearance.
Imagine that you are seeing the property as a potential buyer. You'll want to do a little yard work - clear away dead shrubbery, and trim your trees and lawn. Weed the flower beds or plant some flowers that will bloom in season. Make sure the driveway is not stained, and if you can't afford to paint the home entirely, at least make sure the front door and immediate entryway is immaculate.
Fresh and clean are still the keywords to making a good first impression once the potential buyer walks through the door. Unless a particular window is facing an eyesore or a neighboring building, open the drapes and let the sunshine in! Put your dog in the back yard or garage so he's not jumping on the new people who just walked in.... they might have allergies! There is much you can do to improve the look of your home, without investing a great deal of money.
Article from Shane Atwell at Primary Mortgage.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Insider Secrets for the 5 Stages of Buying Your First Home
Buying a home is not a discrete event; it's a process - a sequence of events that happens over time, sometimes over as long as several months or even years! While general guides to buying a home are a dime a dozen, I'm excited to share with you some insider secrets you may not have heard elsewhere - one for each stage involved in buying a home. Here's to helping you make the best decisions at every phase of your homebuying process!
Stage One: Deciding Whether It's The Right Time to Buy.
Insider Secret: The market is the least important factor you should consider when deciding whether and when to buy a home.
Why: Everyone knows affordability is at an all-time high. Home prices are low, and so are interest rates. But trying to time the market is a fool's errand; many who get caught up in that game of trying to make sure they buy at the absolute bottom will end up losing out on very, very favorable conditions.
Beyond that, the most important considerations when deciding whether and when you should buy a home are personal, not market driven. On today's market, it only makes sense to buy a place if it's going to be sustainable and work for you for at least the next 4-5 years [if your town's real estate market has been fairly recession-proof] or 7-10 years [if the housing/foreclosure crisis has hit your area pretty hard].
Against this "smart holding period" backdrop, smart buyers decide to buy when it makes sense for:
•their life plans (i.e., they are comfortable making the commitment to live in the same town, and the commitment to )
•their family plans (i.e., whether they plan to get married, have children or empty their nest in the time they plan to own the home - and the implications of these plans on their space needs and location priorities)
•their career plans (including, but not limited to: whether they have job or income security, whether they feel they will be working in the same area for the foreseeable future, and whether they want to work less or start their own business in the months or years to come)
•their financial plans (including foreseeable changes in income and expenses, e.g., kids going to college or making partner at the firm).
Stage Two: Getting Pre-Approved.
Insider Secret: Working with a mortgage broker referred by your real estate broker or agent may save you money.
Why: Bolstered by the real-life stories of a couple of bad apples, TV pundits and some consumer advocates have spun the tale of a real estate industry cartel, whereby sinister agents hook unsuspecting buyers up with shady mortgage brokers, who place them in crappy loans and kick back some bucks to the agent. I'm here to tell you, in my experience, the opposite is true the vast majority of the time.
When you work with a mortgage broker who has a strong track record of helping your real estate agent's clients out, you end up in a best of all worlds situation, nine times out of ten. First off, your agent will take you much more seriously once a mortgage broker they know and trust has run your credit, checked your income and approved you for a loan, as well as communicated with your real estate pro about your qualifications and what you can afford. Secondly, your agent can help you communicate with your mortgage broker, sometimes helping get past appraisal glitches or facilitating other workarounds, as they come up. Third, you get the assurance of working with a mortgage pro who has been vetted and vouched for by someone you not only trust, but someone who can verify that the mortgage broker has the ability to get transactions closed in the timely manner required of today's real estate sales contract. Otherwise, you may end up working with a competent mortgage broker who has a great track record when it comes to refinancing, but can't keep up with the pace and common obstacles to getting a home financed in the context of a sale.
On top of that, sometimes the relationship can help you negotiate out of a couple of line item loan fees (if your particular mortgage rep has the power to get them down at all), if push comes to shove and cash is tight to close the deal. Assuming you are working with a real estate pro you really trust, working with a mortgage broker they trust can save you, rather than cost you, money.
Stage Three: House Hunting
Insider Secret: "Distressed" doesn't always equal "discounted" - in some cases, a "regular" sale can be a deeper deal.
Why: Short sales and foreclosures have grown to comprise roughly 30 percent of the homes sold on today's market, even higher in some areas. The average sale price of foreclosed homes was 32% lower than the average sale price of non-foreclosed homes, at last count. However, it's not always the case that foreclosed homes or short sales - homes which are being sold for less than what the seller owes on their mortgage(s) - offer the buyer a fabulous discount.
Mortgage servicers and asset managers who make decisions about distressed properties are on the hook to their investors to recoup as close as possible to the current fair market value of every home they sell. Some banks even have a general rule of rejecting offers more than 10 percent or so below the home's list price, preferring instead to reduce the price by that amount and put the home back on the open market to see if any new buyers are activated by the price reduction to make an offer better than the lowball offer that was initially put on the table. On short sales, the bank is trying to get as close as possible to recovering what the seller owes - and may or may not be concerned with what the fair market value of the home is. (Nine times out of ten, there will be a big gap between fair market value and the seller's outstanding mortgage balance. If there wasn't, the seller wouldn't need to do a short sale!)
With so many distressed properties and homes with depressed values on the market, in many areas, the individual, non-distressed home sellers who are putting their homes up for sale right now are those who are very motivated to sell. Further, they are more likely to be flexible with you on everything that is negotiable, from contingency and escrow periods, to price, to repairs and included items.
Also, individual sellers can be emotionally motivated to sell to move on with their lives, get into their bigger (or smaller) house, or move on to their next job; banks, on the other hand, aren't people (!), so lack that emotional sense of urgency to get the properties sold, no matter how urgently you may think they should be trying to get rid of the foreclosed properties they own. (If you've heard the old advice that banks don't want to be in the home-owning business, I can tell you this. That is true, in a very general sense, but now they are and will be - for a long time to come. They have no emotions, have no urgent need to sell or move, and are not willing to give houses away at pennies on the dollar to get out of it, no matter what those infomercial folks say.)
Long story short: you can sometimes negotiate a better deal with an individual seller on a "regular" sale than with a bank on a distressed home sale. So, don't limit your house hunt to foreclosures and short sales, if you're looking for a good deal on your home.
Stage Four: Negotiations
Insider Secret: Your family and friends can cause you to lose your dream home.
Why: With so much information on the web and the news every day about the recession and the buyer's market, everyone seems to be an armchair economist/real estate savant. But much of that news is national and based on medians, averages and trends. That is, it might not necessarily apply to every home on the market in every city, and more importantly, it might have nothing to do with "your" particular home.
When I was a little girl, my best friend's grandfather would very carefully hand each of us a quarter, always doling it out with the sage admonition: "Don't spend it all in one place." We'd always smile, look at each other, then go ask our Moms for ten bucks apiece. In the same vein, people who are not currently in the market for a home have no idea what an individual home should "go for." If you tell your parents, church pals, or colleagues at work the blow-by-blow details of your offer, counteroffers, etc., you should expect to hear things like, "Oh, you're paying way too much!", "I think you should push them down another $10K," or "You know, you're in a better bargaining position than that." And sometimes, taking that sort of advice will end up blowing your deal. Work with your trusty real estate broker or agent to develop a smart strategy - with their experience in your local market - about what price and terms to offer. Then keep working with them to manage and maintain realistic expectations as you proceed through negotiating the contract to buy your home.
Stage Five: Escrow, Inspections and Underwriting
Insider Secret: It's critical that you attend your home inspections.
Why: When it comes to inspections, many first-time buyers expect that a home will either pass or fail. Except in a few jurisdictions where the government imposes certain condition requirements for a home to be sold, the home inspection is more about educating you, the buyer, as to the details and nuances of the home's condition than about seeing if the place hits a particular target for "good" or "bad" condition.
Home inspectors don't just look for things that need fixing, they also look to understand the home's systems and features, as well as to point out areas that will require your ongoing maintenance, highlight emergency shutoffs and other need-to-knows, and indicating where you should have specialists further inspect items of concern. Many home inspectors create vivid, detailed electronic reports - some, complete with color photos. But that's not enough!
If you're physically onsite at the home during the inspections, the inspector can physically show you the shutoffs for water, gas and electric - and how to use them. They can also point out, in person, any things that need repair, and give you some tips for maintaining the place in tip-top shape. Also, in many states, the general home inspector is legally prohibited (vs. the pest, roof or other "specialty" inspectors) from issuing a written quote or bid for repairs, to avoid a conflict of interest where they'd try to fabricate flaws in the home to get the repair job. However, the repair costs are one of the most important things a smart buyer wants to know!
If you show up, many inspectors will give you a rough range it would cost you to do various repairs, or otherwise indicate to you whether the needed repairs are "big deal" or "$10 home improvement store" fixes; some will even give you a few references to contractors they trust.
All around, you'll get much more of the detailed information you need to know whether and how to move forward with the transaction if you should up in person to the home inspections, rather than just waiting for a copy of the report to come to your email.
Stage One: Deciding Whether It's The Right Time to Buy.
Insider Secret: The market is the least important factor you should consider when deciding whether and when to buy a home.
Why: Everyone knows affordability is at an all-time high. Home prices are low, and so are interest rates. But trying to time the market is a fool's errand; many who get caught up in that game of trying to make sure they buy at the absolute bottom will end up losing out on very, very favorable conditions.
Beyond that, the most important considerations when deciding whether and when you should buy a home are personal, not market driven. On today's market, it only makes sense to buy a place if it's going to be sustainable and work for you for at least the next 4-5 years [if your town's real estate market has been fairly recession-proof] or 7-10 years [if the housing/foreclosure crisis has hit your area pretty hard].
Against this "smart holding period" backdrop, smart buyers decide to buy when it makes sense for:
•their life plans (i.e., they are comfortable making the commitment to live in the same town, and the commitment to )
•their family plans (i.e., whether they plan to get married, have children or empty their nest in the time they plan to own the home - and the implications of these plans on their space needs and location priorities)
•their career plans (including, but not limited to: whether they have job or income security, whether they feel they will be working in the same area for the foreseeable future, and whether they want to work less or start their own business in the months or years to come)
•their financial plans (including foreseeable changes in income and expenses, e.g., kids going to college or making partner at the firm).
Stage Two: Getting Pre-Approved.
Insider Secret: Working with a mortgage broker referred by your real estate broker or agent may save you money.
Why: Bolstered by the real-life stories of a couple of bad apples, TV pundits and some consumer advocates have spun the tale of a real estate industry cartel, whereby sinister agents hook unsuspecting buyers up with shady mortgage brokers, who place them in crappy loans and kick back some bucks to the agent. I'm here to tell you, in my experience, the opposite is true the vast majority of the time.
When you work with a mortgage broker who has a strong track record of helping your real estate agent's clients out, you end up in a best of all worlds situation, nine times out of ten. First off, your agent will take you much more seriously once a mortgage broker they know and trust has run your credit, checked your income and approved you for a loan, as well as communicated with your real estate pro about your qualifications and what you can afford. Secondly, your agent can help you communicate with your mortgage broker, sometimes helping get past appraisal glitches or facilitating other workarounds, as they come up. Third, you get the assurance of working with a mortgage pro who has been vetted and vouched for by someone you not only trust, but someone who can verify that the mortgage broker has the ability to get transactions closed in the timely manner required of today's real estate sales contract. Otherwise, you may end up working with a competent mortgage broker who has a great track record when it comes to refinancing, but can't keep up with the pace and common obstacles to getting a home financed in the context of a sale.
On top of that, sometimes the relationship can help you negotiate out of a couple of line item loan fees (if your particular mortgage rep has the power to get them down at all), if push comes to shove and cash is tight to close the deal. Assuming you are working with a real estate pro you really trust, working with a mortgage broker they trust can save you, rather than cost you, money.
Stage Three: House Hunting
Insider Secret: "Distressed" doesn't always equal "discounted" - in some cases, a "regular" sale can be a deeper deal.
Why: Short sales and foreclosures have grown to comprise roughly 30 percent of the homes sold on today's market, even higher in some areas. The average sale price of foreclosed homes was 32% lower than the average sale price of non-foreclosed homes, at last count. However, it's not always the case that foreclosed homes or short sales - homes which are being sold for less than what the seller owes on their mortgage(s) - offer the buyer a fabulous discount.
Mortgage servicers and asset managers who make decisions about distressed properties are on the hook to their investors to recoup as close as possible to the current fair market value of every home they sell. Some banks even have a general rule of rejecting offers more than 10 percent or so below the home's list price, preferring instead to reduce the price by that amount and put the home back on the open market to see if any new buyers are activated by the price reduction to make an offer better than the lowball offer that was initially put on the table. On short sales, the bank is trying to get as close as possible to recovering what the seller owes - and may or may not be concerned with what the fair market value of the home is. (Nine times out of ten, there will be a big gap between fair market value and the seller's outstanding mortgage balance. If there wasn't, the seller wouldn't need to do a short sale!)
With so many distressed properties and homes with depressed values on the market, in many areas, the individual, non-distressed home sellers who are putting their homes up for sale right now are those who are very motivated to sell. Further, they are more likely to be flexible with you on everything that is negotiable, from contingency and escrow periods, to price, to repairs and included items.
Also, individual sellers can be emotionally motivated to sell to move on with their lives, get into their bigger (or smaller) house, or move on to their next job; banks, on the other hand, aren't people (!), so lack that emotional sense of urgency to get the properties sold, no matter how urgently you may think they should be trying to get rid of the foreclosed properties they own. (If you've heard the old advice that banks don't want to be in the home-owning business, I can tell you this. That is true, in a very general sense, but now they are and will be - for a long time to come. They have no emotions, have no urgent need to sell or move, and are not willing to give houses away at pennies on the dollar to get out of it, no matter what those infomercial folks say.)
Long story short: you can sometimes negotiate a better deal with an individual seller on a "regular" sale than with a bank on a distressed home sale. So, don't limit your house hunt to foreclosures and short sales, if you're looking for a good deal on your home.
Stage Four: Negotiations
Insider Secret: Your family and friends can cause you to lose your dream home.
Why: With so much information on the web and the news every day about the recession and the buyer's market, everyone seems to be an armchair economist/real estate savant. But much of that news is national and based on medians, averages and trends. That is, it might not necessarily apply to every home on the market in every city, and more importantly, it might have nothing to do with "your" particular home.
When I was a little girl, my best friend's grandfather would very carefully hand each of us a quarter, always doling it out with the sage admonition: "Don't spend it all in one place." We'd always smile, look at each other, then go ask our Moms for ten bucks apiece. In the same vein, people who are not currently in the market for a home have no idea what an individual home should "go for." If you tell your parents, church pals, or colleagues at work the blow-by-blow details of your offer, counteroffers, etc., you should expect to hear things like, "Oh, you're paying way too much!", "I think you should push them down another $10K," or "You know, you're in a better bargaining position than that." And sometimes, taking that sort of advice will end up blowing your deal. Work with your trusty real estate broker or agent to develop a smart strategy - with their experience in your local market - about what price and terms to offer. Then keep working with them to manage and maintain realistic expectations as you proceed through negotiating the contract to buy your home.
Stage Five: Escrow, Inspections and Underwriting
Insider Secret: It's critical that you attend your home inspections.
Why: When it comes to inspections, many first-time buyers expect that a home will either pass or fail. Except in a few jurisdictions where the government imposes certain condition requirements for a home to be sold, the home inspection is more about educating you, the buyer, as to the details and nuances of the home's condition than about seeing if the place hits a particular target for "good" or "bad" condition.
Home inspectors don't just look for things that need fixing, they also look to understand the home's systems and features, as well as to point out areas that will require your ongoing maintenance, highlight emergency shutoffs and other need-to-knows, and indicating where you should have specialists further inspect items of concern. Many home inspectors create vivid, detailed electronic reports - some, complete with color photos. But that's not enough!
If you're physically onsite at the home during the inspections, the inspector can physically show you the shutoffs for water, gas and electric - and how to use them. They can also point out, in person, any things that need repair, and give you some tips for maintaining the place in tip-top shape. Also, in many states, the general home inspector is legally prohibited (vs. the pest, roof or other "specialty" inspectors) from issuing a written quote or bid for repairs, to avoid a conflict of interest where they'd try to fabricate flaws in the home to get the repair job. However, the repair costs are one of the most important things a smart buyer wants to know!
If you show up, many inspectors will give you a rough range it would cost you to do various repairs, or otherwise indicate to you whether the needed repairs are "big deal" or "$10 home improvement store" fixes; some will even give you a few references to contractors they trust.
All around, you'll get much more of the detailed information you need to know whether and how to move forward with the transaction if you should up in person to the home inspections, rather than just waiting for a copy of the report to come to your email.
Article from: Tara @ Trulia
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Gale Park: The New 12 South Neighborhood
Nashville Business Journal - by Eric Snyder, Staff Writer
Date: Monday, February 14, 2011, 11:23am CST
Construction will soon begin on the first round of homes in Gale Park, a 12 South neighborhood first proposed in 2007.
The community from Core Development will feature between 80 and 90 homes and townhouses incorporating several green designs, including cellulose insulation and radiant-barrier roofing.
The project was given its master permit Friday, allowing construction on the homes to begin. Core founder Aaron White said the first development phase will feature 18 homes, 15 of which have been presold. The first homes are slated for completion this summer.
Prices in Gale Park begin just under $230,000 for a 1,200-square-foot home.
The master permit was issued to Franklin-based Cute Cottage Company LLC, which will handle construction.
Date: Monday, February 14, 2011, 11:23am CST
Construction will soon begin on the first round of homes in Gale Park, a 12 South neighborhood first proposed in 2007.
The community from Core Development will feature between 80 and 90 homes and townhouses incorporating several green designs, including cellulose insulation and radiant-barrier roofing.
The project was given its master permit Friday, allowing construction on the homes to begin. Core founder Aaron White said the first development phase will feature 18 homes, 15 of which have been presold. The first homes are slated for completion this summer.
Prices in Gale Park begin just under $230,000 for a 1,200-square-foot home.
The master permit was issued to Franklin-based Cute Cottage Company LLC, which will handle construction.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Home Buying Ideas for Young People: Plan Ahead
Here are five recommendations for young people who want to position themselves for homeownership.
By Marcie Geffner
Granted, few young people spend much time day-dreaming about buying their first home. They're naturally preoccupied with academics, athletics, parties, dating and future career possibilities. Nonetheless, there are a number of good reasons to start learning early in life about the costs of buying a home and the responsibilities of homeownership. For example, a college student's misuse or abuse of credit cards can preclude his or her buying a home later on.
Here are five recommendations for young people who want to position themselves for homeownership:
1. Establish good credit habits and a favorable credit history. Get a credit card and use it responsibly. Apply for an automobile loan and make your payments on time every month. If you're renting an apartment, put your own name on the lease and the utility bills and make sure the rent and the bills are paid every month. If you're already struggling with credit card debt or have large student loans, take a free workshop from the non-profit Consumer Credit Counseling Service. Call (800) 388-2227 for information.
2. Start saving for a down payment and closing costs. It's possible to purchase a first home in many parts of the country without much in the
way of savings. But in high-cost housing areas, starting to save early can be enormously beneficial because you'll get the advantage of compounding interest and have a longer period of time to grow your investments. Open a savings account or a stock brokerage investment account and make regular deposits. 3. Read some books. Your local library and bookstore probably have at least a few shelves of books about financial management and buying a home. Take notes. Make a financial plan for yourself. You can learn a lot about real estate, budgeting and credit on REALTOR.com® too.
4. Research where you'd like to live. Many young people assume they'll continue living in their own home town when they get older, but people are more mobile than ever and chances are good you'll one day live in another city or even another state. Again, the library, bookstore and Web can be excellent resources for information about housing costs and homeownership opportunities around the country.
5. Tap your real estate agent relatives for advice. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles or older cousins in the real estate business can give you good information about the cost of housing in the area where you want to live and what it takes to buy a home. Questions to ask: Is housing affordable in this area? How much money would I need to save in order to buy a home? What advice would you give me about planning my financial future? Would you recommend some books that I might like to read about buying a home? Don't be shy. If you have a question, ask someone in a position to know the answer.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Good and Bad News Bears Down on Home Loan Rates
"Bad news goes about in clogs, good news in stockinged feet." Welsh Proverb. And there was certainly both good and bad news in last week's Jobs Report. Here's what we saw...and what this means for home loan rates.
The Labor Department reported that just 36,000 jobs were created in January, with only 50,000 jobs created in the Private sector, much lower than the numbers anticipated. However, there were upward revisions to both November and December, which added another 40,000 jobs than previously reported.
The Labor Department reported that just 36,000 jobs were created in January, with only 50,000 jobs created in the Private sector, much lower than the numbers anticipated. However, there were upward revisions to both November and December, which added another 40,000 jobs than previously reported.
But that's not the only bit of good news in the report. The Unemployment Rate fell to 9%, down from 9.4% last month, rather than increasing as had been expected. In addition, the U6 or "real" rate of unemployment, which includes discouraged workers and those who have accepted part-time employment for economic reasons, fell to 16.1%, from the previous month of 16.7%...and reflects the lowest level since April 2009!
So what does all of this mean when it comes to home loan rates?
It's important to remember two things:
First, the Fed's goals for their current Quantitative Easing policy (dubbed QE2) where $600 Billion is being injected into the economy are to (1) boost Stock prices, (2) create inflation, and (3) lower the unemployment rate.
Second, while these goals are designed to stimulate our economy and keep our recovery moving forward, they are also unfriendly to Bonds and home loan rates.
In recent weeks, we've seen evidence of all three goals: Stocks been improving, the unemployment rate has declined, and we've seen an increase in global unrest of late, not just in Egypt, but in other parts of the world as well... and much of this centers around runaway inflation in commodities and food.
This means that the old trading saying, "Don't Fight the Fed" is still ringing true. If the Fed wants to accomplish its three QE2 goals at the expense of Bonds and home loan rates, they probably will.
If you have been thinking about purchasing or refinancing a home, this is a great time to get started! Home loan rates are still very attractive, so call or email me if you want to talk about your situation.
Newsletter from Shane Atwell at Primary Mortgage
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Nashville Home Prices are Stabilizing!
Nashville Business Journal - by Eric Snyder
Date: Tuesday, February 1, 2011, 12:53pm CST
After five years of record home price declines, national home prices showed some signs of stabilizing in the third quarter of 2010, according to analysis
released today by Fiserv Inc. using its Fiserv Case-Shiller Indexes.In the third quarter, national home prices declined by 1.5 percent compared to one year ago. The decline was smaller in the Nashville area, where prices declined by 0.4 percent over the last year.
According to Fiserv, 25 percent of metro areas have seen their home prices stabilize. Fiserv estimates that 75 percent of markets will stabilize by the end of this year, and that 100 percent of markets will do so by the end of 2012.
Fiserv, however, notes that there will be many ‘false starts’ on the path to recovery.
“Large supplies of foreclosed properties will continue to be the biggest downside risk for home prices and metro area housing markets,” said David Stiff, Fiserv’s chief economist. “Foreclosure activity declined at the end of 2010, but sales activity of bank-owned homes increased. In bubble and crash markets, the uncertain timing and volume of bank liquidated properties will cause home prices to bounce around their lows for many years.”
Fiserv predicts that the average price for a single-family home will drop another 5.5 percent over the next 12 months. In Nashville, a drop of 2.6 percent is forecast.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)