Define What you are Looking for

DEFINING YOUR IDEAL HOME

The property you buy will be much more than a house; it will be your home. So before you go out and view houses, understand what you are looking for. Try answering the following questions to help you clarify the things that are most important to you in your ideal home and neighborhood.

Defining Your Ideal Home

1. For some people, “home” means a hub of social activity; for others it might be a place to retreat from the pressures of daily life. What does “home” mean to you?

2. Who will be living in your household? Will you often have other family member or friends visiting for more than a few days at a time? If so, you may want to consider an extra bedroom, or office room than can be used as an extra place to sleep.

3. If you will be working outside your home, what would you consider a comfortable commute (in time or distance)? Will you be working at home? Is public transportation a necessity?

4. What are the most important activities for the members of your household? For example: hobbies, recreation, school, entertaining, religious or cultural activities.

5. What are one or more features you liked most about the home(s) you have lived in previously? This might include: style floorplan, yard, view, and neighborhood. Will these features need to be included in  your new home, or are you willing the add them later on?

6. What are one or more features you disliked about the home(s) or neighborhood where you have previously lived?

7. What are the most important “must have” features of your ideal home and neighborhood? Why are they important?

Once you have answered these questions, you are one step closer to purchasing your next home! Be sure to contact me via phone, text or email to continue the homefinding process.

Historic National Housing Affordability

There has been some recent upward creep in payments, but take a look at this Harvard study of mortgage payment on the median priced home over the last 25 years

When you are ready to see how this applies to your unique situation, just call, text or email.

Ride for Kids

Everyone needs to pick their method to give back to the community.  Mine has been for years to support The Ride for Kids of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.

In the over 20 years that I have been participating, I have seen first hand the increases in longevity and survival of the kids. 

If you can give click here.

Thanks from me and the kids

Thinking about buying a home?

If you are thinking about buying a home the following guide will offer many answers.

click her for your FREE copy

As always, feel free to call, text or email with any questions.

The Power of Home Equity

Freddie Mac: Equity Matters (a Lot!)

 July 23, 2015  First Time Home Buyers, For Buyers

According to a Merrill Lynch survey, over 80% of the people in this country believe that homeownership is still “an important part of the American Dream”. There are many financial and non-financial reasons people feel this way.

One of the biggest reasons is because it helps build family wealth. Last week, Freddie Mac postedabout the power of home equity. They explained:

“In the simplest terms, equity is the difference between how much your home is worth and how much you owe on your mortgage. You build equity by paying down your mortgage over time and through your home's appreciation. In a nutshell, your money is working for you and contributing toward your financial future.”

They went on to show an example where a person bought a home for $150,000 with a down payment of 10%, resulting in a loan amount of $135,000. The buyer secured a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4.5% with a monthly mortgage payment of $684.03 (not including taxes and insurance). They then illustrated what would happen after seven years of making a mortgage payment, assuming 3% per year home appreciation (the historic national average):

And that number continues to build as you continue to own the home. Merrill Lynch published areport earlier this year that showed the average equity homeowners have acquired at certain ages.

Bottom Line

Home equity is important to building wealth as a family. Referring to the first scenario above,Freddie Mac explained:

“Now, if you continued to rent, and made the same payment of $684.03 per month, you'd have zero equity and no means to build it.

Building equity is a critical part of homeownership and can help you create financial stability.”

To see how this applies to your unique situation, call, text or email 

Are you happy paying your landlord's mortgage

Stop Paying Your Landlord’s Mortgage!

There are some people that have not purchased a home because they are uncomfortable taking on the obligation of a mortgage. Everyone should realize that, unless you are living with your parents rent free, you are paying a mortgage - either your mortgage or your landlord’s.

As The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University explains:

“Households must consume housing whether they own or rent. Not even accounting for more favorable tax treatment of owning, homeowners pay debt service to pay down their own principal while households that rent pay down the principal of a landlord plus a rate of return.  

That’s yet another reason owning often does—as Americans intuit—end up making more financial sense than renting.”

Christina Boyle, a Senior Vice President, Head of Single-Family Sales & Relationship Management atFreddie Mac, explains another benefit of securing a mortgage vs. paying rent:

“With a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, you’ll have the certainty & stability of knowing what your mortgage payment will be for the next 30 years – unlike rents which will continue to rise over the next three decades.”

As an owner, your mortgage payment is a form of ‘forced savings’ which allows you to have equity in your home that you can tap into later in life. As a renter, you guarantee the landlord is the person with that equity.

The graph below shows the widening gap in net worth between a homeowner and a renter:

Bottom Line

Whether you are looking for a primary residence for the first time or are considering a vacation home on the shore, owning might make more sense than renting since home values and interest rates are projected to climb.

To see how this applies to your unique situation please call, text or email.

PAYING OFF YOUR MORTGAGE EARLY

PAYING OFF YOUR MORTGAGE

July 9, 2015AskHomesale.com15 year mortgage, 30 year mortgage, advice for buyers, advice for homeowners, for homeowners, help for homeowners, home loan, home mortgage, home payment,homesale mortgage, homesale realty, money, monthly mortgage, monthly mortgage payments, mortgage, payment rate, real estate, refinance, should i refinance, statement

If you are looking to pay off your mortgage earlier than you initially planned, there are multiple ways to get this done. Before you begin, check with your bank to make sure there are no hidden fees or charges for paying early.

Refinance your Mortgage

A good way to put a dent into paying off a 30-year mortgage is to refinance it into a 20-or-15-year loan. 15-year mortgages are the most popular, as there is considerably less mortgage interest in the long run. Be sure before making the change that you are financially able to do so, as changing to a 15-year loan commits you to higher monthly payments. If you are unsure about your financial ability to change to a 15-year, try staying on your 30-year loan and make payments as though you are on the 15-year one. This decreases the amount of time on your mortgage without adding the risk of a late payment.

Add a Little Extra

One of the best ways to pay your mortgage off early is to pay a little bit more where you can afford it. You can either do this by adding a set amount every month, or even just by rounding up every month. Even adding an extra 6 dollars to your monthly payments on a 200,000 dollar 30-year loan will save you 4 payments in the end. Make sure before doing this that you check your contract for any prepayment penalties.

 Unexpected Money

Adding a little bit extra every month is great, but another option to keep in mind is adding any unexpected or extra cash flow to your payment. This can include anything from tax refunds or work bonuses to inheritances and investment earnings. This way it doesn’t feel like you are paying as much as long as you do not rely on that money.

Bi-weekly Payments

In Australia, people make bi-weekly half-payments on their mortgages. Why does this make any difference? Well, there are 12 months in a year, so most people will be paying 12 months worth of their loan. Someone who is paying half of their loan every other week, however, will be paying 13 months of their mortgage since there are 52 weeks in a year. This allows you to pay more of your loan off without feeling like you are paying more than you were before.

 Other Options

These are great ways to cut down on the amount of time you have a mortgage, but there are many other ways as well. These include doubling up on your monthly payment 4 times a year and a money merge account. Money merge accounts should only be used by people who really understand cash management. If using any of the above options, it’s a good idea to get statements from your bank showing how much is still owed and also to make sure that any extra payments are going towards your principal and not being saved until the following year.