April 17th, 2008 Kurt Wilde
When you build your dream home, you are free to choose everything you want in terms of the style and design, from the carpet up to the cabinets. Having everything brand-new and according to your liking is main advantage to building a home. Besides this, you can analyze the building materials yourself and make sure they comply with the latest in safety standards.
However, building a custom home comes at a fairly high price. If you can’t afford that, the best alternative is to go for a semi-custom home. This allows you to select some of the features you want but without going over your budget. With semi-custom homes, the building shows you several floor plans and house styles you can choose from. You’re free to choose your flooring, lighting fixtures and locations, cabinets, and appliances. You also have the option to add more rooms and structures like attached garages.
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April 14th, 2008 Kurt Wilde
When it comes to buying a home, first-time buyers usually carry the misconception that they need to have a large amount of money right away. This is not true. In fact, if you do your research, you can find a good home in a nice neighborhood at a price you can afford. All you need is to have the right resources and to know how they fit together. One good place to look at homes is at areas where there are foreclosures. Homes that are foreclosed have owners that were unable to pay on time and were forced to move out. The bank is the one paying the house and they are usually more than happy to sell them at bargain prices.
If you don’t know where to find these deals, browse through your local real estate listings or ask around. Whenever you see a “for sale” sign, stop and talk to the owner. When the owner is forced to sell the house because of financial problems, he or she is usually more willing to negotiate.
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April 10th, 2008 Kurt Wilde
If you thought that properties held by the government are not for sale, think again. Abandoned property kept by the government are usually auctioned off. In fact, not only is buying these properties is a fairly easy task; they can also be purchased at major discounts. The common misconception is that the kinds of abandoned property at government auctions are usually decrepit and undesirable houses and bungalows. Most of the time this is true, but other structures like warehouses and office buildings are usually auctioned off. A property is considered abandoned if its owner does not meet tax payments and other obligations.
Since any property bought from government auctions can be resold, this is a simple way you can be a real estate speculator. Many people have made millions buying and selling abandoned property, even if they haven’t visited it after the initial evaluation.
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April 7th, 2008 Kurt Wilde
If you want to increase your property’s value, consider doing a renovation. Although major changes can get expensive, this is never a waste of money since the investment will end up coming back to you. The renovation will pay for itself once you sell the property. If you don’t know what kind of renovations to do, ask your real estate agent to evaluate the home and point out aspects that may increase its value. To get an idea of how much renovation you should be doing, look at the real estate listings in your area so you’ll see how similar homes in your neighborhood compare to your property. You can start renovating by changing small things that will make a big overall impact, like getting new carpets for your floor, new kitchen countertops, or changing the paint.
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March 31st, 2008 editor
The standard commission of a real estate agent is around 6% of the house price. That could be quite a lot if you take it out of the selling price of the house. For example, you are going to sell your house for 100 thousand dollars; 6 thousand dollars of it would go to the realtor. Will it be worth it? Maybe you’ll think of why not do your own advertising and searching of house buyers. Now that could be a lot of work.
Imagine calling a day off from your job just to entertain potential buyers. You should not say no when an interested buyer calls so whether you like it or not, you have to entertain them and show them around the house, without 100 percent assurance that they’re going to buy it. And imagine all your effort and money you will spend in advertising. It could be exhausting and pretty expensive, don’t you think? Now you do the calculation.
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March 30th, 2008 B. Slade
When you refinance your home loan, you basically pay off this existing loan through another lending institution. Refinancing allows you to change the condition of the loan according to your needs, take advantage of lower interest rates, and gives you more financial flexibility overall. To refinance your loan, take a new loan from the same or a different institution and use that loan to pay off your existing loan. Usually when you move to a new lender, they will take care of paying off your previous loan. Although you can use refinancing to pay off debts faster and to raise more money for a big purchase, remember that this is not always the answer for all cases. Explore all your options before you choose to refinance your loan.
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March 25th, 2008 B. Slade
Most people think that all real estate agents are the same and list their property with the first agent that comes along. To find out which realtor you should entrust your property to, start by asking for recommendations and compile a list of names you’d like to contact. Get an agent who has had experiences selling a property similar to yours and who is active in your community. Your ideal agent should have an excellent selling record and not merely a listing record. Also inspect the average time a house gets sold from the moment of listing. Don’t assume that the shorter time on the market is better – this could mean that the agent sells the home quickly at lowball prices. You want an agent who sells close to your asking price and who is effective and quick at helping their clients determine the right price.
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March 20th, 2008 B. Slade
When looking for a real estate agent who will help you sell your house, make sure that he or she knows the community very well. That way, your realtor can give you an approximate price of what people are willing to pay for the property you want. He or she should also be able to inform you about the competition and how this will affect the sale. Also, remember that a realtor cannot raise the asking price; buyers can easily do research on the internet and find out if the price you’re asking is too high. Your realtor should inspect your pricing strategy and inform you if it is accurate. Finally, he or she should let you know if the location and condition of your property is unattractive to buyers and will cause problems during the sale.
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March 15th, 2008 B. Slade
If you don’t know anything about investing in real estate and interest rates, here’s a good tip to start with: the higher the interest rate, the more expensive it will be. A mortgage with high interest rates means that you need to pay more of the money you borrowed. Your affordability will increase if you choose an adjustable rate mortgage, but there is still a wide variety of price ranges you can choose from, depending on your lender. Should you decide to lock in on a particular interest rate, complete your loan application and send it to your lender as soon as possible. You need to do this so your commitment does not run out before your loan gets approved. Make follow-ups and be sure that the lender gets all the documents necessary. Finally, try not to miss out on any good deals. Higher interest rates are more difficult to pay off, but waiting for low interest rates is not a smart move to make, either.
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March 10th, 2008 B. Slade
Another thing you should consider before choosing what mortgage to get is how much cash you have up-front for your down payment. If you can afford to make a large down payment, this will lower your monthly payment. However, a higher monthly payment means that the term of the loan will be considerably shorter. Remember that you also have fees and other closing costs to pay besides your down payment. But don’t worry if you don’t have enough cash immediately; you can lower your monthly payment by getting an adjustable rate mortgage.
Besides choosing a loan type, you also need to consider which lender to get your loan from since each has their own terms and conditions. When choosing a lender, make sure that you are comfortable with that person. It will be easier to take his or her advice about your mortgage type once you have established trust.
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