What to Know, When Considering the Value of Your Home! 

Are you thinking about selling your home but you're not sure what it is worth? The value of your home is determined by a number of factors, including the selling price of other homes in your area. To see what some houses in your area have sold for recently, enter all the information requested into the MLS Market Snapshot box to the left of this page. The MLS Market Snapshot will provide you with an automatic market analysis of recent homes sold in your area every weekly. The "What's My Home Worth" box, directly below, will provide you with a one time market report only.

 

How Much Can You Afford For A Home?

Years ago, before the onslaught of credit cards and credit reports, the rule of thumb was that you could buy a house costing two and one-half times your annual income. This guideline can still work if interest rates are around 10 percent. You can put 20 percent down and have few other debts. With rates as low as 5 and 6 percent, you could plan on buying a house costing three times your income.

The key to buying your first home is being realistic about how much home you can afford. Current market conditions mean now is a good time to buy. Interest rates are at their lowest in years and mortgage payments are lower than they have been in years. Today, it's less expensive to own a home and pay a mortgage than to pay rent for the same size and model home.

Saving up for a deposit isn't as hard as people might expect, and the security of owning a home and the investment it represents is a great incentive for today's first-time homebuyers. If you're really serious about buying a home and are prepared to commit yourself, getting appropriate finance can be easily attained. First homebuyers should arrange an appointment with an agent in their area who can help them assess how much income they might need to qualify for a loan. A competent agent can assess your current equity, and calculate the size of the deposit you will have available to put into a house. Depending on your ability to make payments, some lending institutions may allow you to borrow up to 90 percent of the home's value.

If you can't afford your dream home straight away, your real estate agent should be able to suggest alternatives. You may be able to purchase a house with all the features you want in a more affordable suburb, or buy a home in a more preferable location, which has the potential for future improvements. When choosing a home you look for a good neighborhood, but your choice of the home should be just as important.

 

Keys to Finding the "RIGHT HOME".

There are probably few things in life that are as exciting--or as nerve-racking--as the search for a house. With an organized home buying plan, you can minimize a great deal of the emotional impact. By determining your buying power, your wants and needs, and having an organized search plan, your chances of a stress-free experience are higher.

 

When preparing for the purchasing of a home, the home buyer should:

· Run before walking. This is easy to do once the decision to buy a home has been made. It means rushing off to look at homes, surfing the web, or calling on advertisements before doing some up-front preparation.

· Don't over-buy the first time. A large and beautiful home with little or no furniture tends to be empty and cold. A life where almost every dime of your earnings goes to the support of your house wears thin very quickly and is a frequent cause of family stress. Leave yourself some breathing room!

· Compare mortgages. Don't accept the first plan presented to you. Spend time comparing to garner the most advantageous plan for your requirements and financial situation.

· Get a pre-approved mortgage. Pre-qualification and pre-approvals are a necessary part of the home buying process. It will give you an exact price range for your purchase, and the pre-approval will add more strength to your offer.

· Don't wait for the "perfect" home. Many first time buyers make the mistake that if they search long enough, they’ll find a home that contains 100% of their needs and wants. Instead, it makes sense to determine your top needs and desires. Then, select a home that meets the majority of them.

· The inspection process. This can involve skipping a whole house inspection completely in order to save the relatively small amount of money involved, or it may involve using a friend or relative with limited experience to conduct the inspection. In either case you run the risk of not exposing potentially expensive--or even hazardous--defects in the property. Protect yourself by investing the $200 to $500 for a professional inspection.

As soon as you've completed the pre-qualification portion of the loan, you will be ready to start looking for your new home. As you start into the process, one very important step is often overlooked - scouting out neighborhoods. Sometimes people will find a home and be so thrilled with their find that they fail to look at the neighborhood in which the home sits. However, there are so many factors to take into account.

For example, if you have afamily, is there a park nearby for the kids? Are the schools appropriate for your kids? If you enjoy having things close by, check out restaurants, grocery stores, etc. Is the neighborhood clean and safe? Take a Saturday or Sunday when most people are home and get in your car to drive around. Start exploring different areas until you find one or several that appeal to you.

Take a notepad with you and jot down names of subdivisions, general appearances of the homes, including maintenance and landscaping. Are there kids outside playing around the same age of your kids? If you're elderly, is this a quiet neighborhood with other elderly people? If you are working through a real estate agent, once you outline the things that are important to you, they should be able to provide several neighborhoods as starting points.

 

Other Considerations:

Schools: Just as good school districts are important if you have kids, they are also important if you don't have kids. Buying a home in a reputable school district is a huge advantage for future sale. Typically, homes with good schools attract more buyers. If you want to determine a good district from a poor district, you can always conduct Internet research. For example, go to www.homestore.com, choose a geographical area or zip code, and you can find out just about anything you want to know. Other options would be to ask your real estate agent for information, talk to other people in the neighborhood, or even take a tour of the school.

Crime: Determining crime statistics in a neighborhood isn't as difficult as you think. Using either

www.homestore.com or www.realtor.com, you can enter a specific geographical area or zip code and research the crime in that area. Suburbs generally have lower crime rates but may require you to drive further distances to work, school, etc. On the other hand, cities have higher crime rates but are far more convenient. The choice is really yours, simply determine the type of lifestyle you prefer.

As you drive around, here are some additional things you can do to check crime rate:

· Look for obvious signs such as bars on windows or doors

· Look for gang graffiti

· Talk with the local police

Family: As you probably know, a home isn’t just an investment. It's a safe haven, a place of fun and memories for the entire family. Because of this, after considering the community, you need to consider the number of bedrooms and baths. Will you need a closed garage? Are schools within walking distance for the kids, if not, where are the nearest bus stops? Property Value/Taxes: Another very important factor when buying a home is property values of other homes in the area. You don't want to buy the most expensive or least expensive home. Also, check on property taxes to see how much they've jumped in the past few years. What happens if you find two houses that you like equally or perhaps both you and your spouse each have one house that you love?

Making the final decision needs to be done rationally and not led by emotion. Sometimes this is hard to do but to ensure you get the right home, it's absolutely necessary. It might be necessary to write down all the needs versus wants to make the right decision. If possible, take your time. You may not have the luxury of time, which makes buying a little more challenging. The best situation is to look at many homes and not to make an offer on the first house you see. In addition, look at houses more than once. If there is one or two that you like, wait a day, then go back, and look again. Usually the second time around you will find something you don't like or something you didn't notice the first time.

 

Old Home vs. New Home?

You will need to make many decisions when buying a home. What is your tolerance for traffic, a daily

commute, your personal preferences, and your pocketbook? Always get everything in writing when buying a home and work with a buyer's agent who will represent your interests exclusively.

New construction can be a dream or a nightmare: ̈In the pre-construction phase, you will get the best price, but the disadvantage is buying from plans without seeing your house or fully developed neighborhood. Builder contracts shift most risk of loss in escrows and deposits from builder to buyer. Amend the contract so that a lawyer or real estate broker, who is closely regulated, holds the money. Unless amended, most new home contracts give the builder up to 24 months to deliver the house. Be prepared to wait. Delays usually occur. New home options do not always translate into resale profit. Both base and option prices are negotiable. Get details on the builder, project, restrictive covenants, adjacent zoning and development, future roads, schools, services, flood plains, wetlands, and other environmental issues." Resales have their own considerations: ̈What you see is what you get. Resales are sold ‘as is’ and are subject to the building codes in effect at the time the home was built; consequently, you always should have an inspection by a licensed professional. Settlement on a resale purchase can be in as little as 30 days - quick occupancy is possible. Resales often have the added benefit of established transportation, shops, schools, community services, mature landscaping, and a neighborhood ambience that new subdivisions lack. No surprises. If you are planning a ‘redo,’ make your contract subject to a 30-day study period, and get professionals to give you specifics on costs and changes possible. Be prepared to live with disruption. "More advantages of owning a new home: Today's new homes are safer, healthier, more energy efficient, require less maintenance, and have an incredible amount of conveniences and amenities.

Technological and medical advances over the past decade have discovered the health risks of such materials as formaldehyde, lead, and asbestos, and eliminated them from building products.

Radon detection is done on all new homes and abatement measures are taken where necessary.

Furthermore, new homes are much safer from the standpoint of fire safety. Most new homes have efficient smoke detectors on every level. Electrical systems are sized to accommodate today's heightened electrical needs.

Potentially dangerous auxiliary heating devices are no longer needed. Ground fault receptacles in baths, kitchens and outside, more electric receptacles, and adequately sized circuit breakers have eliminated potential fire hazards that could cause electrocution, tripping (extension cords), and fires. Glass in tub areas is tempered to reduce the risk of injury from broken glass. Better windows, more efficient heating, cooling equipment, and better insulation have cut utility costs in half since 1980. Old homes are draftier, more prone to condensation, and have subsequent deterioration to trim and walls. The savings in energy costs enable buyers to spend more on new home features and less on utility

costs. All of the above are important, but the bottom line is new homes just make you feel better. You choose the home site, the exterior look, interior colors, and features.

New homes are a statement of who you are and a reflection of your family's values and taste. Not only that, your new home is you; nobody else has bathed in your tub or cooked in your oven. You are not inheriting someone else's problems or lifestyle. Your "new" home is truly new.

                                                                                                     

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