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Showing posts from December, 2017

Top 10 #Tips for #Selling Your Home during the #Holidays

    Selling your home in the winter isn't as bad as you may think. Here are 10 tips to keep it jolly! 1.        Deck the halls, but don’t go overboard. ·          Be careful not to overdo the #holidaydecorations. While homes tend to look the best during the Holidays, you don’t want to overwhelm buyers with too many decorations or big items that may clutter the home. Also, opt for more general decorations rather than religious themes.   2.        Hire a reliable Real Estate agent ·          When hiring a Real Estate agent , make sure they are going to be there for you through everything, even the Holidays. You don’t want an agent who will drop you when the Holiday seasons come around. 3.        Look for those motivated buyers. ·          Typically, when buyers are searching for homes during the Holiday season, they tend to be more serious buyers. 4.        Make curb appeal a top priority for your house. ·          When winter rolls around, with bare leaves, h

The New Tax Plan: When It Comes To Real Estate, Who Wins And Who Loses? WRITTEN BY JAYMI NACIRI

We have all heard a lot about the new tax plan , which was approved and sent to President Trump to be signed on Wednesday, Dec. 20. Depending on where your politics lie and your individual financial situation, you may have a positive or negative take on the tax bill. But how does it impact real estate ? That also depends on a few things, like where you are buying a house, how much money you have, and what you intend to do with it. "The new tax plan has been framed as a deathblow to the  American dream by some real estate professionals and groups, who warn of falling home prices, a new generation trapped in renting, and an exodus of residents from the highest-cost cities and states,"  said Realtor.com . "But are these fears surrounding the new, lower cap on mortgage interest deduction - and the incentive for taxpayers not to use it - overblown? Or are there indeed big repercussions to come? That all depends on whom you ask - and where they live." We're b

Why The Next Two Weeks May Be The Best Time To #Buy #NewConstruction All Year!

If you're looking to buy a home and you would really like to get something in escrow before the end of the year, you might be facing a "slim pickings" situation. Inventory issues have plagued the market for several years, and despite a positive real estate outlook, the lack of homes has kept many buyers out of the game. That's one of the reasons home buyers have been choosing new U.S. homes jumped last month to the highest level since October 2007, a sign that Americans - unable to find existing homes - are turning to new construction,"  said USA Today . "New home sales leaped 18.9% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 667,000, the most in a decade. Sales rose in all regions including the South, where they increased nearly 26%." Existing home inventory isn't expected to get better until at least the last half of 2018. So, if a brand new home is something you'd consider, think about this: the next two weeks could be the

Q and A with Chris Fritch @KellerWilliams Classic Realty

Question . Our house is free and clear. We have a $100,000 home equity line of credit, and the interest rate is somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 percent. We itemize tax deductions and are in a high federal tax rate, and hoping that any new tax laws will reduce our taxes. My question concerns using the home equity loan for investment. We are considering using $50,000 of the home equity line of credit and investing it in a growth stock for the next five years. An accountant/tax advisor, however, is strongly in favor of having an unencumbered house especially as we are close to retirement. Answer . It is a strong belief that homeowners -- of any age -- should make use of the equity they have gained from their real estate investments. As this column has suggested in the past, there are too many retired persons who are "house rich and cash poor." Hopefully, your house will appreciate in the future, and this appreciation will continue whether you have equity or not in

Innovative Rent-To-Own Program Could Be The Answer To Your Down Payment Dilemma #strappedforcash

WRITTEN BY JAYMI NACIRI Strapped for cash and desperate to buy a home? We hear ya. While today's homeownership rate is trending back up after reaching its lowest level since 1965 last year, there are still thousands upon thousands of people who would love to become homeowners but who are stymied by the lack of a down payment . Homeownership Photo by  Lea Böhm  on  Unsplash Yes, loans you can get through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) require as little as 3.5% down, and some other loans out there drop that minimum down payment even lower. But rents that just continue to rise across the country can keep cash-strapped folks from being able to get together the savings required to get in the door - literally. Rent-to-own company  Home Partners of America  may have an answer. Yes, rent-to-own. Before you scrunch up your face at the idea of something that sounds too good to be true or something that brings back memories of "old school" arrangemen