Posts with tag 'buying a home'

As a seller, you'll want to do everything you can to make your home more appealing to buyers. And like other sellers, you'll be doing some prep work to get your home ready to sell. That means fresh paint, increased curb appeal, and sometimes even renovations. Many sellers struggle with deciding exactly where to spend their home improvement budget, and it can be tough to know what buyers want. Hopefully, you're lucky enough to have a few of these upgrades already in your home. If not, adding one or more of these suggestions can help your home get noticed and stand out in the minds of buyers.

1. Laundry room. According to the National Association of Home Builders, this topped the list of most desirable amenities with 92% of buyers wanting one. It keeps this everyday chore from piling u...

Click Here to Read More...

Considering buying a home? There are the top two questions you need to ask yourself about home prices and mortgage rates as you make your decision. 

If you're thinking of buying a home,  chances are you're paying attention to just about everything you hear about the housing market. And you're getting your information from a variety of channels: the news, social media, your real estate agent, conversations with friends and loved ones, overhearing someone chatting at the local supermarket, the list goes on and on. Most likely, home prices and mortgage rates are coming up a lot. 

To help cut through the noise and give you the information you need most, take a look at what the data says:

1. Where Do I Think Home Prices Are Heading?

One reliable place you can turn to for that information is the Home Price Expectation Survey from Pulsenomics – a survey of a nation...

Click Here to Read More...

Moving into a new home is an exciting time and comes with so many things you need to learn.  Whether you are a new homeowner or it's not your first rodeo, you'll need to familiarize yourself with the many systems that make this house function.

Here are 15 essential basics you should know about your new home.  Consider #1, #2, and #3 your first priorities!

1. Water shut-off valve. Whether you need to replace a leaky faucet or prevent a burst pipe from flooding your home, it's important to know how to quickly turn off the water supply. To do this, you'll need to locate the shut-off valve connected to the main water line entering your home. If your home has a basement, check for the shut-off along one of the outside walls. If your home does not have a basement, check for the water shut-off at ground level near your hot water tank. After you find it, make sure everyone in your home knows where the shut-off is locate...

Click Here to Read More...

Whether you're a first-time buyer or an experienced homeowner, at some point you'll need to make home repairs. And those repairs will cost money. It's something first-time buyers often don't think about ahead of time and experienced owners may have learned the hard way. So budgeting at least some money in advance for these expenses is a must. Here's how to figure it all out.

Common Budgeting Approaches

The first step is deciding how much to save for home repairs. Here are a few different ways you can approach budgeting.

• Save 1 to 3 percent of the price of your home per year. That means if your home was $200,000 you should devote $2,000 to $6,000 per year to your home repair budget. This rule is based on a per-year average over a longer period of time. Some years you'll spend less a...

Click Here to Read More...

Even though home prices  have moderated over the last year, many homeowners still have an incredible amount of equity. But what is equity? In the simplest terms, equity is the difference between the market value of your home and the amount you owe on your mortgage. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) explains how your equity grows over time:

"Housing wealth (home equity or net worth) gains are built up through price appreciation and by paying off the mortgage."

How Your Equity Can Help You Achieve Your Goals

The equity you build up over the years can be used to your advantage when you sell your current house and buy your next home.  If you no longer have the space you need, it might be time to move...

Click Here to Read More...