I wanted to share these fantastic ideas from Charity Shehtanian, a mortgage broker in Livermore, CA. Affording the down payment on a home can be easier than you think!
Many renters may have the income to qualify for the payment on a home, but the tough issue is coming up with the money for the down payment. And with the $8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit deadline only a few months away, you may be looking for ways to save money faster. Here are a few great suggestion to help you save that down payment faster.
1. Find out how much you can borrow from your 401K for a home purchase.
2. Ask family members if they can gift you money for a down payment. While the full lump sum might be difficult for a single family member, maybe several members can spare a couple of hundreds dollars to help out.
3. Ask your employer if they have a program to assist with a down payment on a home.
4. Check your paystub and find out how much you are paying each pay period in Federal and State income taxes. If you are paying several hundred dollars per pay period in Federal and State income taxes, why not revise your W4 withholdings as on January 1, 2010 and lower those taxes to almost zero. Take that additional money and save it for your down payment. Once the money is saved and the home purchased, you can revise your W4 again and start paying Federal and State income taxes again.
I have a client that is short a couple of thousand dollars for his down payment. This client is paid weekly and is paying over $300 per pay period in Federal and State Taxes. In less than 2 months, he will have the balance of his down payment saved.
What's the benefit to him? He will be purchasing a home in the best real estate market in years, i.e. for a much lower price. He will have tax deductions for his home interest and property taxes, and he will qualify for the $8000 tax credit.
When you've been in the real estate business a while, you get used to the issues that come up in home inspections. There are about a handful of problems I've heard mentioned over and over again. I've gotten so that I can predict them before the inspector even opens his or her mouth.
If you're planning to put your home on the market, knowing about common inspection issues can be a huge advantage. If you fix them before listing your home, it makes the home inspection process go more smoothly and lessens the probability that the buyer will get nervous and try to back out. It also sets you apart from other sellers who haven't done their homework and prepared in advance.
Here are six easy-to-fix potential problems:
Lack of GFCI outlets in the kitchen and baths. You know those outlets that have the reset button? Those are GFCIs, or Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters. They're designed to trip if the current flowing through the circuit differs by a small amount from the current that's returning. GFCIs are inexpensive devices that can prevent electrical shock. Inspectors expect to see functioning GFCI outlets in places where there is running water, such as a kitchen, bathroom, or laundry room.
Missing or non-functional gutters and downspouts. Many people see a damp basements and panic, but they can often be fixed with some simple changes. First, make sure your home has gutters that are in good working order and free of debris. Second, make sure the downspouts from those gutters are directed far enough away from your home that the water isn't just flowing right back toward the foundation!
Negative grading. Another simple fix to keep your basement dry is to make sure the soil is graded away from your foundation rather than toward it. It's known as a positive rather than negative grade. If the ground slopes downward toward your house, that's not good; that means water is flowing that way, too. Simply adding more soil so that it slopes upward toward your home will go a long way. Just make sure the soil isn't so high that it's touching the siding.
Touchy-feely shrubs. Don't let your bushes and shrubs sit against your home. They retain water and hold it right against your foundation. Keeping shrubbery at least 18 inches away is best. And anyway, out-of-control bushes just aren't appealing to buyers.
No handrails! This one seems simple, but I see a surprisingly large number of homes that have stairs without handrails, both inside and out. They're often leading to the basement or a deck. Adding them is an easy fix that can save you and your future buyer from liability issues. Safety first!
Bathroom fan that's not vented to the outside. If you have a fan that vents into your attic, all that moisture is building up there with nowhere to go. And, as we know, moisture leads to mold. Some may say this setup is worse than not having a fan at all! Having your fan vented up through the roof can save you from future moisture problems.
Keeping an eye on these simple issues can save you from inspection woes. Obviously, these are just explained in my layman's terms. If you have any questions, always consult a professional!
I am proud to help buyers and sellers in the Greater Rochester, New York area find the homes of their dreams. If you are considering purchasing or selling a home in the Rochester area, don't hesitate to contact me. I pride myself in providing the best possible service for my clients!
Have you ever seen the Red Green Show? If so, you know that duct tape is a wonderful invention. It has a multitude of uses when it comes to building and handywork.
On the Today Show last week, I even discovered that it's great for creating last-minute Halloween costumes!
Still, I couldn't help but shudder when I saw the latest use of the sticky wonder. This is what I saw in the basement of a home I was showing this evening:
That's right, there was duct tape holding the basement wall together!! There was a crack running across most of the foundation, and this is how the owners had chosen to remedy it.
I am proud to help buyers and sellers in the Greater Rochester, New York area find the homes of their dreams. If you are considering purchasing or selling a home in the Rochester area, don't hesitate to contact me. I pride myself in providing the best possible service for my clients!
Autumn is one of the most lovely times of the year in Upstate New York. The temperatures are mild, and the foliage is spectacular!
Last weekend, my mother and I took a drive through Wayne County and snapped some photos of the gorgeous colors. Most of the bright orange Sugar Maples were past peak, but the yellow and reds were fantastic. We drove from my parents' house in Macedon to Newark and back. Most of these photos were taken in the Palmyra Cemetery, which just happened to have some of the most amazing colors.
Here's a slideshow of some of my favorite photos:
Since we're talking about Fall, I also wanted to remind everyone that tomorrow is November 1st, which means it's time to "Fall Back"! Don't forget to TURN YOUR CLOCKS BACK AN HOUR TONIGHT!
Enjoy Autumn in the Greater Rochester area!!
I am proud to help buyers and sellers in the Greater Rochester, New York area find the homes of their dreams. If you are considering purchasing or selling a home in the Rochester area, don't hesitate to contact me. I pride myself in providing the best possible service for my clients!
I consider myself a life-longer learner. I love taking classes at my local real estate association, and I'm even a member of the Professional Development Committee. I subscribe to a variety of online publications and read them each and every day. I've always believed it's tremendously important to be on top of what's going on with the real estate market, both in the Rochester area and nationally.
The other day, I was reminded just how important it is to be up on the latest real estate news. I was in the bank doing one of my favorite things, cashing a commission check. The teller was a woman I went to high school with, and we were chatting about life and how business was going. You know, the usual. Then, she said, "I heard the first-time buyer tax credit was extended."
My response was an excited but clueless, "It was??" She responded that she had just seen it on the t.v. screen at the back of the bank.
It turns out she wasn't 100% correct. The extension of the tax credit was passed by the Senate, but still needs to be approved by the House of Representatives and receive President Obama's signature.
Still, the fact that she knew more about it than I did at that point was a reminder of just how connected the typical layperson is these days. Between the internet and stations like CNN and MSNBC, they know information about the real estate market almost immediately, often before we agents do! That's the reason it's so important for all of us to stay at the top of our games.
When pondering the changes in society, it's easy to think, "If they're so connected, what do our clients need us for?" As agents, we've built our reputations on being the experts, the ones to go to for advice on the market. Will today's information age cause us to become obsolete??
Absolutely not. As you may have noticed in the example above, even though my friend knew about the tax credit, the information she had received from the t.v. wasn't clear to her. Later, on Facebook, I clarified the issue by sharing an article and a quick synopsis of where things stand.
People around the nation may have access to 24 hour information about the real estate market, but they also have lives and jobs that don't revolve around real estate. It's easy for them to become overwhelmed and confused by the sheer amount of real estate data available to them. That's why it's our job to keep track of what's really going on in our local markets. There's almost too much information out there, and our clients need us to make sense of it all for them.
Let them know...
Which articles they read are most up-to-date
How much of the news they hear relates to your local market
What statistics show about the trends in your area
There's still a plethora of knowledge we can share with our clients and friends. We are trained, knowledgeable professionals. We can still be their real estate experts.
I am proud to help buyers and sellers in the Greater Rochester, New York area find the homes of their dreams. If you are considering purchasing or selling a home in the Rochester area, don't hesitate to contact me. I pride myself in providing the best possible service for my clients!
This past Monday and Tuesday, RealtyUSA held its annual "Rusa Rally", two days packed full of learning, networking, and fun.
We had two national speakers, Steve Harney and Jonathan Nicholas. Steve spoke about the realities of today's market and how to communicate them to our clients. Jonathan spoke about Social Networking, something we as members of Active Rain are already actively embracing! Both speakers had great insight and were highly worthwhile. I'll share the highlights in a future post.
First, though, I have to share a video that inspired me more than anything else I experienced at the Rally. Our president, Merle Whitehead, played it at the beginning of Monday's presentation, and it blew me away.
The video is a compilation of interviews done by Will Smith that highlight his beliefs about life, work, dreams, and much more. I always liked Will's movies, but had no clue he had such amazing insight and work ethic.
Take a look. I promise you'll be moved and inspired!
I am proud to help buyers and sellers in the Greater Rochester, New York area find the homes of their dreams. If you are considering purchasing or selling a home in the Rochester area, don't hesitate to contact me. I pride myself in providing the best possible service for my clients!
If you watch the national news, you're probably bombarded with information about the real estate market. One anchor says the market is still lagging, while another says we're on the rebound. One says the tax credit has been a huge success, while another says it's just a drain on our national resources. Who do you believe??
Personally, I don't put much stock in the national headlines. If you remember one thing after reading this blog entry, remember this: real estate is local! The market in Rochester is different from the markets in Syracuse and Buffalo, and it's certainlydifferent from the market in San Francisco or Miami! The national news people may talk about how the market is doing in "the Northeast", but do they honestly expect us to think that Rochester is experiencing the same trends as Boston, where homes are at least 3 times as expensive and the cost of living is massively higher?
Here in Rochester, we have a lot going for us. Our homes are incredibly affordable. We didn't experience the huge dip in home values that affected much of the nation over the past few years. We still have a strong economic base supported by companies such as Xerox, Paetec, and Paychex. Sure, there will always be people who are concerned about our high New York State taxes, but overall the Greater Rochester area is faring better than most of the nation. We are a region that knows how to hold our own.
I want to share two positive articles about the local real estate market that were published in the Democrat and Chronicle over the past couple of days.
The first, published yesterday, is entitled "Real estate sales up for the quarter." The statistics that stuck out in my mind are that our sales in the Rochester area are up 2.9% from this time last year, and an amazing 48.1% since the last quarter. The article states that this is most likely due to the first-time home buyer tax credit, and I agree. It has brought a ton of buyers into our local market.
The second article was published today and is about the tax credit specifically. It's entitled "First-time buyers drive home sales." This lengthier article quoted the CEO of the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors, several local agents, and some first-time buyers themselves, all of whom agreed that the tax credit has had a positive impact on the local market. The most notable statistic in the article is that the number of accepted purchase offers rose 7% recently. Pending homes are an important factor to consider, since they are an indicator of future sales.
Because of our affordable home prices, tons of first-time buyers were able to use the tax credit to achieve their dreams of home ownership. Now, with the tax credit coming to an end on November 30th, the time for them to purchase has all but run out. Already our pending home sales are starting to flat-line.
Personally, I hope the legislation to extend and possibly expand the tax credit passes. Sure, there has been some fraud, but that happens with every government program. Sadly, there are people out there who will try to use anything for personal gain. Still, I think the positives far outweigh the negatives in this situation. Let's keep the market strong!!
I am proud to help buyers and sellers in the Greater Rochester, New York area find the homes of their dreams. If you are considering purchasing or selling a home in the Rochester area, don't hesitate to contact me. I pride myself in providing the best possible service for my clients!
I love when tons of great information is right at my fingertips. Don't we all?
RealtyUSA is one of only a few companies in the Rochester area that is a member of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, the world's largest network of independent real estate companies. That gives our Relocation Department the ability to assist our clients who are moving to or from anywhere in the country.
Now, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World has launched a great new website, www.ReloHomeSearch.com. It has to be one of the most user friendly sites I've visited in a long time.
From the home page, you're able to click on an interactive map to choose a location... anywhere in the world!Once you narrow it down to your desired area, you're presented with a useful array of information and statistics about your chosen community. The statistics pages have great information, and the area guides are very well-written.
To the left, you'll see a search box. As you narrow down your criteria, it will whittle down the number of homes you see in the listings box at the top. Once you figure out what you want, you can scroll through the listings using the left and right arrows. Just click on a photo to see a short summary and a link to the company's website for more information. Simple, but very effective!
Will this site be the best for everyone? No, it does have a more limited selection than our local Multiple Listing Service. However, the local information is top notch.
I think this is a great new tool for people looking to relocate through the United States and beyond. Take a look and let me know what you think!
I am proud to help buyers and sellers in the Greater Rochester, New York area find the homes of their dreams. If you are considering purchasing or selling a home in the Rochester area, don't hesitate to contact me. I pride myself in providing the best possible service for my clients!
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
When you've been in the real estate business a while, you get used to the issues that come up in home inspections. There are about a handful of problems I've heard mentioned over and over again. I've gotten so that I can predict them before the inspector even opens his or her mouth.
Lack of GFCI outlets in the kitchen and baths. You know those outlets that have the reset button? Those are GFCIs, or 
Negative grading. Another simple fix to keep your basement dry is to make sure the soil is graded away from your foundation rather than toward it. It's known as a positive rather than negative grade. If the ground slopes downward toward your house, that's not good; that means water is flowing that way, too. Simply adding more soil so that it slopes upward toward your home will go a long way. Just make sure the soil isn't so high that it's touching the siding.
Contact
I consider myself a life-longer learner. I love taking classes at my local real estate association, and I'm even a member of the Professional Development Committee. I subscribe to a variety of online publications and read them each and every day. I've always believed it's tremendously important to be on top of what's going on with the real estate market, both in the Rochester area and nationally.
Absolutely not. As you may have noticed in the example above, even though my friend knew about the tax credit, the information she had received from the t.v. wasn't clear to her. Later, on Facebook, I clarified the issue by sharing an article and a quick synopsis of where things stand.
Personally, I don't put much stock in the national headlines. If you remember one thing after reading this blog entry, remember this: 
Because of our affordable home prices, tons of first-time buyers were able to use the tax credit to achieve their dreams of home ownership. Now, with the tax credit coming to an end on November 30th, the time for them to purchase has all but run out. Already our pending home sales are starting to flat-line.
Now, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World has launched a great new website, 
;)
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