Don't let the down payment scare you away
Coming up with the funds to make a down payment on a home can often seem impossible, particularly when so many Americans have sizeable student loan bills and more. Andrina Valdes, division president at Cornerstone Home Lending, urges buyers not to let this part of the process discourage them. "Over and over again, potential home buyers report saving for the down payment as the biggest hurdle to homeownership. When you're relying on one income to save up for it, the problem can seem insurmountable". The good news is there are all kinds of down payment assistance programs that can help individuals get into a home for less money down. The Federal Housing Administration loan is popular among first-time and single-income home buyers thanks to its 3.5 percent down payment requirement. There are also programs offered by the Veterans Administration and also USDA loans that may require no down payment at all, says Valdes. Line-up a guarantor or co-purchaser The reality is that many single income households, whether they're run by men or women, need assistance in buying a home in today's market. Experienced agent Julie Gans of Triplemint suggests lining up a qualified guarantor, co-purchaser or someone who might be able to gift money for your home purchase. Consider a fixer upper A growing trend among home buyers with limited means has been buying older properties and rehabbing them, says Ralph DiBugnara, president of Home Qualified. "There are a few mortgage products in the market right now that make that easier," said DiBugnara. "Fannie Mae has a loan called Home Style and FHA has what's called a 203k loan. They both allow you to not only finance the purchase price but also construction costs in the loan to help your home look new." Look at homes well below your means Real estate analyst Julie Gurner, of FitSmallBusiness.com, says it's critical that single income households buy properties that are well below the amount they've been pre-approved for. "You see that gorgeous home at the top of your range? Pass on it, and you'll be glad you did," said Gurner. "Single women and single income families have to be especially mindful to buy a home below their means … It gives them an additional expense cushion every month. Things come up. Doctor visits, your car breaks down, or your furnace breaking can be a big financial hit if you don't have the ability to absorb it. On months where nothing goes wrong, you have the ability to save." As a single income earner, it's important to protect yourself financially and be able to provide the necessities that make life stable. Having a home below your means can give you both and a great place to live. House hunt during the right season When it comes to finding an affordable home, time of year can make a big difference. That means shopping during the right seasons, when prices traditionally are more negotiable and inventory is better, says Valdes. Recent data from Trulia shows that there's a 7 percent spike in starter home inventory during the fall, making it an ideal time to find a good deal. On the flipside, starter home inventory drops by more than 20 percent during the summer, making the warmer months a less appealing market. Minimize credit card debt As you embark upon your housing search, it's critical that you reduce existing debt. This helps on a variety of levels. For instance, not only does it make you a better mortgage applicant, it will also help once you're in your new home dealing with a whole host of new expenses. Gans, of Triplemint, suggest tackling credit card debt in particular."Pay off all credit cards prior to purchase to lower your income to debt ratio," advises Gans. "This reduces your liability and makes you look more appealing to a seller." Copyright © 2018 North Jersey Media Group Inc. This article originally appeared on Credit.com.
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Ready to make a move? Have a certain figure in mind that you need to sell for? Depending on your market, you might be able to get a little more than what you may be needing. Go over with your agent if setting a bidding war is smart for the sale of your home, and if they give the green light, here are a few things to consider to help get your sales price over asking after starting a bidding competition.
1. ATTRACT MORE BUYERSWhen there isn't much interest in a property, buyer's get nervous and suspicious that there may be something wrong with the home that they may be missing, and that could sometimes be further from the truth. You want to price your home competitively to entice more showings. When you price your home right under the market standard, it leads to more showings, more appointments, and more excitement around your home. 2. PRICE IT TO MOVE ITYou want to make sure your price gets buyers interested in your property. Even if they end up paying more than asking, the excitement from feeling like they are getting a deal and landing your home sets the right mood for buyers to WANT your property. Always price the home in a way that is going to appeal to a large audience. Pricing a home at $399,900 can generally generate more foot traffic than one listed at $400,000. Advertising a home for sale that is listed for slightly under the market value can garner a lot of interest, which can lead to the home selling for more than what the seller originally wanted. 3. START UP THE BUZZMake sure you work with an agent that has the ability to start up a coming soon buzz around your home. You want to let the market know that your home is going to be coming soon, and start up conversation and interest. This gives time for word about your home to spread to get more foot traffic and competition on your house. 4. STAGING IS KEYIt's without question that to get over market value for your home, it has to be in tip-top condition. Discuss with your agent the importance of having your home professionally cleaned and stage to attract more buyers. Starting up a buzz won't lead to much if buyers walk into your home and turned off by orders, unappealing lighting, or rooms that are not properly staged. You want to allow buyers and opportunity to see your home in the best light the first time they walk through your door. 5. CREATE A DEADLINEHave your agent set a deadline for offers, say a Monday or Tuesday, right after a weekend of doing open houses. This can generate a sense of urgency around your home, letting buyers think there is a large amount of interest and to get offers in quickly. Setting them up with this state of urgency generally makes them want to put their best foot forward with their first offer. 6. SWEETEN THE DEALTo generate a little more excitement and foot traffic, you can offer an incentive for whomever purchases the home, or set a fun giveaway during an open house. Some people have given away cars, tickets to a major event - like the Super Bowl, given away vacation tickets, etc. Doing an out-of-the-box giveaway helps to generate organic buzz around your home. Some giveaways have even landed seller's homes in the local news. More buzz means more potential buyers, which means a potential opportunity for a bidding war to get you a better sales price. Home ownership rates are the lowest they have been in the last 50 years. Yet a large portion of Americans are still renting properties, instead of enjoying a home of their own. Consumer reports believe this is an issue because of a buyer's lack of trust in their ability to purchase. It is still a long standing notion that a buyer needs 20% towards the cost of the home in order to move forward, but this isn't true. With countless down payment assistant programs, and closing cost roll-ins, a home owner could move in with as little as a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars. Which is a huge difference in the time it takes to save up to make the move.
With interest rates at an all time low, home ownership in today's market is a great investment. The money saved over a mortgage's lifespan can result in tens of thousands of dollars, if not hundreds. That's more money in your pocket today. Don't wait to buy when interest rates soar again. With low interest rates, that means your monthly mortgage payments are at a significantly lower cost, as well. With such a heated housing marketing, rental prices are soaring, and statistics are constantly showing that home ownership can be equivalent to your rental rate each month, if not less. Why get stuck in a small 2 bedroom apartment, if you can move into a home a pay a monthly rate that is the same, and get a 3 bedroom house with a great backyard? There is also a fear that a home can keep you "stuck" or "rooted" to one place, without an easy transition out if you decide to move. Although the future of the housing market isn't easily predictable from location to location, you can always discuss with your agent about buying a home in an area that has a strong turn-over rate when a home hits the market. The equity build up when it comes time to selling is going to be far more beneficial, than if you put money into a rental and decided to move. The money from selling the property can be used to purchase a new home. With renting, there would be no additional funds to transition into a new place. Now imagine if you were renting a home for $2000/month. If your landlord is renting to make a profit, think how much less you'd be paying on a monthly basis towards your mortgage, if the home was yours. Then you wouldn't be paying a landlord to profit off of you, you'd be paying a reasonable rate, and get to call the property your own. Discuss with your agent and lender the steps you need to take towards home ownership, you might be happily surprised about the type of home you can afford to move into. Ready to sell your house? Here is a few staging tips to get your home prepared for the market. When listing a home that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, you want to make sure it's presented in the best light. You wouldn't buy a $50,000 dollar car if it was filled from top to bottom in someone's personal content and trash. This is the same mindset you need to carry into selling your home that will be worth well over a $100,000.1. SAY BYE TO CLUTTERThe best thing you can do for your home for sale is to get rid of all of your clutter! Make a rule for your home that for every new piece that comes in, one must go. One of the biggest factors to a cluttered home is too much furniture. Generally, in a professional staging, half the home owner's furniture is removed to make the house look much bigger. Look around your house and see what you can pack away. It'll be worth the investment to get a storage unit for a couple of months to store away a lot of your furnishings and goods.
2. FURNITURE GROUPINGSIt's largely misconceived that furniture pushed directly up against walls make a room look bigger, but this is far from true. Instead, you'll want to float your furniture in reach room and away from the walls. Position your sofas and chairs into cozy conversational groupings. Be sure the furnishings are placed to make the traffic flow in a room obvious. This will make the room more user-friendly and will make it look larger. 3. TRANSFORM ROOMSIf you have a room that has only served to collect boxes or other junk, it's important to purpose the room to something that is functional. You can make it into an extra bedroom, a small cozy nook/reading room, etc. If it's in the basement, hid the boxes and turn it into a gaming room or family area. 4. HOME LIGHTINGGreat lighting is the trick to making a staged home look warm and welcome. Most homes are improperly lit, which makes rooms look dark and dreary. There is a quick fix to this issue. Increase the wattage in your fixtures and lamps, aiming for about 100 watts per 50 square feet. Add three different types of lighting to each room: ambient (general overhead), task (under cabinets or pendants), and accent lighting (table lamps and wall accents). 5. GO NEUTRAL The simple trick to toning down dated finishing in any space is a little bit of fresh paint. You don't want to go stark white, but look into neutral grey and beige colors. Beige colors can also consist of warm honey like colors, soft blues and greens, and a variety of undertones that add a little life to a general neutral color. If you do want to use bold colors, be sure to only keep it on accent walls to help enhance structural features. 6. MAKE IT LOOK BIGGERIf you want to make a room bigger than it is, paint the room the same color as an adjacent room. For small kitchens and dining rooms, a seamless look will make the space feel like one, open it up, and make it seem much larger. Using drapes that match the wall colors can also add an emphasis to the room's size. 7. USE YOUR GARDENStaged homes have an emphasis in fresh flowers and pricey floral arrangements. If you don't have the money to go all out on florals, you can get this same effect by raiding your garden space. You can DIY beautiful pieces with fern fronds, magnolia clippings, and more. Use the spring and summer months to find cheerful flowers and use them in your arrangements. 8. GET A FACELIFTSo you can't afford new cabinets? Then you can just get new doors and drawer fronts. Then paint everything to match and add new hardware to them. Instead of replacing the entire dishwasher, you may be able to get a new front panel, go for stainless steel if you can pull it off. Check with the manufacturer to see if replacements are available for your model. 9.MAKE NECESSARY REPAIRSUnfinished home projects can really scare off potential home buyers, so you'll want to be sure to make required repairs. Missing floorboards and large cracks in the sidewalk on the way to your door tend to be a red flag. Holes in walls and scratched up door frames can really look unattractive. These repairs cost you less to fix than buyers might deduct from the asking price. 10. CLEAN YOUR HOMEAside from de-cluttering, the most important step to staging your home is to clean it. A dirty house is a quick turn-off for potential buyers. Most homes, especially with children and pets, and smokers, have a smell that may go undetected to home owners, but are quickly picked up by strangers. Be sure to have your home professionally cleaned prior to staging to appeal to all buyers that your home is nice and fresh. With the influx of new technology and web based solutions, it isn't a surprise that everything is moving fast into the era of the internet. From sites like Uber to Grubhub, we generally can pull up our phones or laptops to order what we want with ease. And with every industry being revolutionized by technology, the same methods are "attempting" to be applied to the real estate industry.
We could all agree that the simplification of the process through paperwork would be much appreciated by agents and buyers/sellers alike; but the attempt of replacing the agent by sites like Zillow and other third party resources, can lead to a snowball affect of disaster. Think about real estate being smack dab in the middle of fast food and a doctor. You can use your mobile device to quickly place your order for a $20 meal, but when it comes to getting a surgery, you'll want to put that phone down and visit a professional. Now think of your real estate agent being in the middle of all of that. You can use your devices to look for a home, look at market data the way you look at WebMD, knowing not to take it too seriously because you need a real professional's input, but it's fun and gives you a general idea of what to expect. But there in lies the issue, the data online is an oversimplified version of what goes into the process of buying and selling. The same way it oversimplifies medical diseases and surgeries, you'd still expect to get a professional's diagnosis. Although a real estate agent isn't quite like a doctor, the industry in it's legalities, contracts, and processes is similar in the sense that it needs to be taken seriously. Looking for a house online and wanting to put an immediate offer on one can be exciting and fun, but the issues that require a professional's guidance comes after the initial contract is written up and the hard work comes into place to actually make the home your own. Same for sellers, if you decide to put your home on the market and want a website that will give you an automatic offer, how do you know you're not being taken advantage of in the price? But most importantly, how do you know you're not being taken advantage of in other aspects of the contract? Because there is a lot more to the sale of the home then just agreeing on a number. The next time you're digging through public sites for homes for sale, and getting instant home valuation estimates, keep in mind that this is a simple process to give you an idea of your market. A very general idea. But after you've found the perfect house, or after you've decided that the numbers make some sense for you to sell, call your favorite real estate agent and make sure they give you a more detailed look into the market and assist you through the full process, not just the exciting first parts. Because it's going to be in the middle of a contract when the lending is falling apart, or negotiations can't be made on repairs and emotions are at an all time high, that you are going to wish you had put down your laptop and had an agent fighting for you by your side. Use the internet, have fun with it's amazing resources, but don't let it replace your agent. We aren't in an age, just yet, where technology can do everything a professional can. Ready to paint your home? Be sure to use the right finishes in each room and feature to make the best impact in your home. Using the wrong finishes can backfire for home owners if the wrong ones are used in the wrong spaces. Below, you'll find the most common finishes and recommendations on where they are best applied to.- PAINT FINISHES - Flat is a low-sheen paint with a non-reflective finish that touches up well and hides minor surface imperfections. It's ideal for low traffic areas, interior walls and ceilings.Matte has a low luster reflective finish that is durable, easy to clean, touches up well, and also hides minor surface imperfections. It is great for low to moderate traffic areas, such as bedrooms, and interior walls.Eggshell Enamel has a soft, velvety appearance and is a good choice for moderate traffic areas such as living rooms.Satin Enamel if you desire a pearl-like appearance, and are painting moderate to high traffic areas or areas that have some exposure to moisture, such as kitchens.Semi-Gloss Enamel if you desire a sleek, radiant sheen that is great from cabinets and trim, high-traffic areas and high-moisture areas.Hi-Gloss Enamel creates a brilliant, shiny appearance with a glass-like finish. This is great for high-use surfaces
f you haven't bought a home yet, you're missing out on a wonderful feeling! That moment when you walk through your doors, throw your purse or keys on the floor, plop down on your couch and breathe a sigh of relief while thinking, "Finally, it's ours (or mine)!" And the joy of looking at all of your boxes, getting to roll your eyes about why you buy so much stuff, then giving yourself a moment to take a nap because you worked hard to get here and earned it! Yes that's a real feeling!We often hear, and read, about the cost effectiveness of home ownership. The equity build-up, the freedom it can give us from finances in our retirement years, and a plethora of other ways owning a home can be a positive impact on your bottom dollar. But we don't often hear about the emotional impact owning a home can have. Yes there will be days the fridge is acting silly and you need to call your home warranty, or days you have to get outside to mow your own yard, but nothing beats the pride and joy of owning a home.
There is a sense of security, and a sense of "this is mine and I worked my way up to this moment," that provides moments of bliss. The ability to do with your home as you please, not pay a pretty penny for every member of your fur family, and the privacy it provides can't be beat. Home ownership also gives you the ability to put down some roots. And we mean that figuratively and literally. You get to build memories through the holidays and go through many milestones with your family, that leave a significant impact into the later years. You also get to build bonds with your neighbors, and grow in a community oriented neighborhood. With rentals, people come and go annually, but there are deeper roots planted with building relationships with those living next to you. Potlucks, 4th of July and New Year's Eve spent lighting fireworks, and just the excitement of getting to know each other and build new relationships. Buying a home isn't about the dollars and cents for everyone, sometimes it's just about the joy of owning your own place, and getting to build amazing memories in it. If you've been longing for this, get in touch with a real estate agent, and make it happen. You owe it to yourself to make your dreams come true! If you take the time to dig into the philosophy around feng shui, you'll understand that it doesn't come off as esoteric as one my think. It's based around the simple practices to make a home feel healthier and a lot more organized. It also helps you to connect to your home, in a way that can affect your mood and well being. Feng shui is as common as "spring-cleaning," or decorating to make a home feel much more comfortable.
This ancient Chinese tradition can be incorporated into your own home. It can be done in a modern holistic approach, while still honoring the age-old traditions that come with feng shui. It's not about transforming the structure of your home, but instead making it to evolve into a space that refreshes your home - and in turn your health. The following feng shui tips will do a little more than just bring some harmony into your home, they can potentially increase the value of your home's selling price. Let's get into to the best feng shui decorating tips for your house below! 1. Slow Down Your Home's Energy Flow:The the back door and the front door have a direct line of sight, that means the energy in the home, or the chi, will flow through the home too fast. Instead of it going straight out of the back door, you want it to undulate throughout the whole home in a graceful and even manner. The best way to slow down this flow is to place a patteren rug on the floor in front of the front door, add artwork on the walls, or add a round entry table to the foyer space. 2. De-Clutter Your House:Decluttering your home may seem like an obvious enough solution, we can all be guilty of letting our content accumulate in our home, that may not have a specific function. Clutter is more than just unappealing visually, it's an anchor for the energy in a home. An excessive amount of clutter can stop you from having clarity of thought, and even weigh you down emotionally. Feng shui isn't focused on having a perfectly styled home, but instead, provide a happier and healthier environment. Be sure to have the correction organization throughout your home. From paying bills, to recycling content, and even something as simple as a designated spot for your keys. It'll help you feel less frazzled and feel more efficient in your day to day routine. 3. Front Door Path Must Be Kept Clear:The front door in a home is an important factor to feng shui. It's the main portal through which the energy from outside will enter into your home. You want to make sure the energy flows uninterrupted through the front door, without "metaphorically" running into a wall. Keep your front door area free of clutter and consider installing a mirror near the front door. This can hold the meaning that you are expanding the energy in the space, which in turn expands the opportunities within your life - and prevents you from feeling limited. 4. Balancing The Five ElementsWhether present physically, or symbolically, the five elements you can find in a home are earth, fire, wood, metal, and water. The fire element can be brought into a home with warmer tones, or physically through a fireplace and burning candle. You want to ensure there is a balance between all of the elements. People can easily be drawn to an element that can cause an imbalance in their life. For example, if a person were to find themselves rather aggressive, they'd want to avoid a large amount of fire elements - such as a bright red wall. If a person is lacking motivation in their life, it'd best suit them to add more fire elements. Look at the elements within your home in a symbolic manner, and see what you need to change to create a more balanced emotional life. 5. Remove Any Negative Symbolism:From books to traffic signs, symbolism bombards us daily. In every day life, we are guided by the symbolism that surrounds us, which is enhanced even more so within our homes. An intimate environment represents an individual's fears and challenges. If you have trouble finding clarity, see if you have a lot of stuff cluttered in your home. If you have low self esteem, check to see if mirrors are hung too high, which equates to you never measuring up. If you find yourself unable to get out of the single life, do you surround yourself with single decor? I.e. single vases, single chairs, single person in pictures/art. Figure out the challenges you face on a daily basis in your life and look at the symbols the content in your home hold, to understand what changes need to be made. 6. Maximize The Natural Light: Natural light can make a person much happier and more positive. You want to enhance as much natural light in a home as possible, which can be done by placing mirrors directly across from windows to help reflect the light throughout your space. This may look like an expensive addition, but how much money would it save you long term if you were able to give up Starbucks? If you live off of coffee, this would be the perfect addition to your kitchen.
And if you want this bad enough but don't have enough space in your kitchen, you can always reach out and I'll find you a dream house you can add this into. |