t’s no secret that over 90% of buyers begin their home search online. And with listings being funneled to so many different sites, it’s no surprise that professionally photographed homes are more likely to sell faster and for more money.
Online browsing is a critical part of the home-buying process. And with more buyers searching on mobile sites while on-the-go, having professional photos is a must to entice buyers to seek more information on the home. It’s simple. Better photos=more buyers looking at the listing. More exposure= faster sales for more money.
Take a look at one of my recent listings. This home was under contract in a matter of days for all cash.
These are the ph...
With real estate markets continuing to rebound all across the U.S., and the busy spring real estate season approaching, more and more buyers will find themselves in multiple offer situations. Here are three tips for dealing:
Make contingency periods as short as possible. Keep your due diligence, financing and appraisal periods short to create less risk for the seller. Work closely with your lender and provide as much info upfront to ensure quick financing and appraisal contingency time frames can be met.
Be flexible with the close date. While usually a quicker closing is most appealing to a seller, that might not always be the case. Have your agent pry the other agent for deta...
Tax time can be a very confusing time for homeowners! Luckily, Chris Carmichael from Carmichael, Brasher, Tuvell & Co. has you covered! Contact Chris at ccarmichael@cbtcpa.com or 678-775-5461
Buying or selling a home can be expensive. Luckily, the IRS allows for tax deductions for some of the major costs associated with a home. The following items are just a few things to consider when doing your 2013 taxes.
Home Mortgage Interest
Home Mortgage Interest you paid on your primary residence is tax deductible! If you paid at least $600.00 in home mortgage interest you will receive a 1098 from your lending institution. This form will report the total amount of Home Mortgage Interest yo...
There’s a lot of hype these days about how low the cost of home ownership is and how renting is basically throwing away money. While my livelihood does depend on people buying and selling homes, it isn’t the right decision for everyone. There’s more to owning a home than just a monthly mortgage payment, but for someone ready for the responsibility, it can be rewarding both personally and financially. I found this awesome graphic on Moolanomy that perfectly illustrates the Rent vs. Buy debate.
So you’ve found your dream home, negotiated the price and signed the contract. It’s smooth sailing from here on out, right? Think again. Aside from other major hurdles like financing and appraisal, you need to first get through the home inspection.
A few notes about home inspections:
-They are typically done within the first few days of the buyer’s due diligence period. (I typically tell my clients to start calling around to schedule once it looks like we are going to reach an agreement with the seller.)
-The buyer is not required to have a home inspection. But as long as I’m a licensed agent, I will adamantly recommend a buyer have one performed.
-The seller is not requi...
When buying or selling a home, there are a number of factors that can affect market value and the eventual sale price of a home. These include location, condition, size, amenities, features, improvements and upgrades, local economic conditions, the current real estate market and mortgage interest rates.
Figuring out price (whether buying or selling) is as much an art as it is a science. Buyers and sellers alike want to know: “what is the right price for the home?” The simple answer? The market determines what a home is worth. Researching recently sold, comparable properties is the absolute best way to determine price. But buyers and sellers always have their own ideas about what a hom...
In many parts of the city, it’s quickly becoming a seller’s market. The lack of quality inventory paired with low interest rates is creating a lot of competition among buyers. For sellers who purchased within the last 2-3 years (at the bottom of the market), and have some equity in their home, now may be the perfect time to sell and move up to the next home. According to a recent HousingWire article, time is of the essence for these sellers. The longer they wait to sell, the higher the prices are likely to be for the market they’re moving into. Additionally, the Mortgage Bankers Association predicts interest rates to rise to 4.4% within the next year, increasing the cost to finance ...
What could buyers, sellers and the media not stop talking about in 2012? Interest Rates.
Interest rates are at historical lows. Just a couple of weeks ago rates on a 30-year fixed dipped below 3.5%. To give some perspective on what that means, rates for the same loan product hovered around the 7% mark a decade ago in 2002.
More Interesting Interest Rate Facts
The last time mortgage rates were above 6% was in 2008. At the time, the average 30-year fixed rate was 6.33%, meaning a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,241.86. With the average rate now 3.50 %, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $898.09, a difference of $344 per month for anyone refinan...
Cities across the country have continued to post slight gains in prices over the past few months, and prices are expected to continue to rise in 2013. Buyers on the fence about purchasing need to get off the fence and get in the game! Now is the perfect time to get into a neighborhood or building that might otherwise be unattainable. But hurry! Below, some reasons prices will continue to rise.
Household formation is revving up. The U.S. is on track to add 1 million new households this year, up from 630,000 last year and an average of 570,000 over the past five years, according to economists at Bank of America. More new households=greater demand for homes.
Rents are rising. Falling m...
There has been a ton of media coverage lately about how the real estate market is on the rebound and prices are beginning to rise again. According to a recent CNN.com article:
“In another sign of a housing market rebound, home prices posted the biggest percentage gain in more than two years in the third quarter, according to the closely followed S&P/Case-Shiller index.
The 3.6% increase from a year earlier is more than three times the rise in the previous quarter and was the biggest jump in prices since the second quarter of 2010. But that 2010 rise was much more of a temporary blip caused by a homebuyer’s tax credit of up to $8,000 on homes purchased in late 2009 and early 2010....
