Monthly Newsletter
Should You Buy a Home?
The decision to buy a home is a complex one with many factors to consider, some of which may differ from person to person. But whether you’re a recent graduate, newlywed, single or single again, married with children, or an empty nester, there are common factors to take into account.
There are many benefits to home ownership. For starters, it’s a great long-term investment. Although you’re unlikely to see significant appreciation in price in the short term, an increase in value is almost certain over time. But remember: real estate is not a “liquid” investment. Should you find yourself wanting or needing to sell, it could take some time to find a buyer and close the sale, depending on market conditions at the time. Owning a home also offers a number of tax benefits. Interest and closing costs paid on a mortgage as well as property taxes are deductible if you itemize deductions on your federal income tax return.
In addition to financial benefits, home ownership offers other advantages. Many people experience a sense of pride and satisfaction in owning their own home. For some, it gives a sense of stability, of “setting down roots.” And when you own your home, you enjoy the freedom to improve your property according to your own wants and needs, which usually isn’t possible when renting.
With the privileges of ownership, however, come responsibilities. Maintenance and upkeep tasks that you may be accustomed to your landlord handling will fall squarely on your shoulders. In addition to the time it takes to care for your home properly, you’re likely to encounter both routine and unexpected expenses. It is important to anticipate these occurrences and prepare for them.
How do you know if you’re ready to buy a home? Do your research. Make a plan. Prepare a budget. Here are some questions to consider in making your decision.
- How long do you plan to live in your next home? Does your job or lifestyle dictate frequent moves? Remember that home values increase more over the long term, so if you’re moving more often than every few years, you may not see significant gain when you sell your home. You will, however, gain equity in your home as you pay down your mortgage, while rent money is gone for good.
- How healthy are your finances? Do you have money for a down payment, closing costs, insurance, taxes, and a buffer for unexpected expenses that can occur when you own a home? If not, talk with a mortgage lender to learn what steps you should take to put yourself in the best situation to purchase a home.
- What is the real estate market doing in your area? How are mortgage rates? What kinds of homes are available in your price range? Are they located in areas that suit your lifestyle? If you are not able to buy a home as nice as the ones you could rent, consider your willingness to live in a less desirable environment for a time. The equity you’ll gain can help you upgrade sooner than you could if you continued renting and tried to save the additional money. A licensed real estate agent can provide you with valuable market information and help you evaluate your options.
The Lease Option Option
The world of real estate investing is filled with mechanisms investors use to get into properties and turn a profit. As a new real estate investor, that avalanche of information can often seem insurmountable. Financing options alone on a real estate investment could take days to fully understand.
Nestled somewhere in that great array of information is the lease option, a mechanism used by some investors to get into a property quickly and with no down payment to speak of. It is a flexible solution to some investing issues and can provide a win-win situation for buyer and seller.
The basic form of a lease option dictates that a buyer and seller agree on a payment plan for a particular piece of real estate that includes the option to buy the property at some point in the future with a particular selling point. Should the buyer ultimately decide against purchasing the property, no harm is done and the agreement is simply terminated. However, if the buyer does decide to purchase the real estate, the seller is obligated to sell for the price and terms agreed to at the onset of the contract.
While this type of deal is not for every investor or every property, there are certainly some benefits. These agreements are often rapidly worked out, giving the buyer control of the investment property and the seller a monthly payment in short order. The buyer remains flexible in the investment, having the ability to decide later not to purchase the property and the seller benefits from that flexibility by keeping the monthly payments and perhaps keeping the whole property in the end.
The buyer benefits by escaping any sort of down payment to get into an investment property, only having to come up with the monthly payment. If the property is managed correctly, that monthly payment will come directly from the revenue seen by the property.
One of the most common ways this method is used is for investment properties that could use some renovation to ultimately command a better sale price. A buyer will enter into a lease option agreement, work on the home to improve its value and then pursue a separate buyer that will pay more than the cost of the lease option. With such an arrangement, an investor can turn a profit on a home he or she was never even the legal owner of.
Of course, there are some pieces of information to consider when deciding whether a lease option is right for your investing needs. The most important piece of advice when dealing with a lease option is to take special care when drafting the contract as it will largely determine whether your investment succeeds or fails.
Every lease option agreement will include a monthly payment amount, an option fee (a low amount paid to the seller to enter into the agreement much smaller than any kind of down payment), the option sale price and an expiration date for the agreement. You must decide whether you want to purchase the property or not before the expiration date or else the seller is freed from the obligation to sell. You can still make payments and enter into another agreement if the seller deems it worthy, but that obligation expires.
This is another original article by Joe Lane, co-owner of The Lane Real Estate Team at http://www.joelane.com/. Are you looking for an experienced Tri City WA Real Estate agency? With 20 years of service based, business experience, Joe and Colleen Lane work hard to serve home buyers and sellers for Tri Cities WA Real Estate, Kennewick Real Estate, Richland WA Real Estate, Pasco Real Estate, and surrounding areas. Website and SEO by 1stPageSEO.com
Bobby's Recipes for July 4th
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| 6 ripe peaches, halved, pit removed 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted cold butter, melted, plus more if needed, divided 8 tablespoons light brown sugar, divided 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided 1/2 cup granola 1 pint vanilla ice cream 1/2 cup prepared caramel sauce, heated Heat the grill to medium. Place the peaches cut side down on the grill until browned. Remove from the grill, cut into wedges and place into a gratin dish. To the peaches add half the butter, half the brown sugar and half the cinnamon, and toss. Add the remaining butter, sugar and cinnamon to the granola in a small bowl and toss until combined, adding more butter if needed. Top the peaches with the granola mixture and place the gratin dish onto the grill. Close and bake until the peaches and granola are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Place 1 large scoop of ice cream into 4 bowls and top with the peache mixture. Drizzle with some of the caramel sauce. |
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| 1 cup ancho chili powder 1/4 cup Spanish paprika 2 tablespoons ground cumin 2 tablespoons ground coriander 2 tablespoons dry mustard 2 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper 2 teaspoons dried oregano 2 tablespoons kosher salt 1 tablespoon ground black pepper 2 racks pork ribs (12 ribs each) 1 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup coarsely chopped ginger Chipotle-Molasses BBQ Sauce, recipe follows Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine all spices in a bowl. Rub ribs on both sides with spice mixture. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the soy sauce, 2 cups of water, and the ginger and bring to a boil. Pour the mixture into the bottom of a roasting pan and place the ribs on a rack in the pan. Brush with the Chipotle-Molasses Sauce. Place in the oven and bake for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, basting every 15 minutes with the sauce. Chipotle-Molasses BBQ Sauce:2 tablespoons canola oil 1 large Spanish onion, coarsely chopped 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped 2 tablespoons ancho chili powder 1 tablespoon pasilla chili powder 1 tablespoon New Mexican chili powder 3 cups canned plum tomatoes with juices, pureed 1 cup water 1/4 cup ketchup 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1/4 cup dark brown sugar 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup molasses 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 2 chipotle chiles in adobo, pureed 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chili powders and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, except the peanut butter, and simmer for an additional 20 to 30 minutes or until thickened slightly, stirring occasionally. Transfer the mixture to a food processor with the peanut butter and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool at room temperature. |
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The Art of Negotiation
Feeling comfortable with a real estate transaction is the easiest way to ensure that you have a positive experience, whether it be as buyer or seller. Knowing what is going on and taking an active role in the proceedings o f your real estate transaction will give you the piece of mind necessary to erase some of the worry and doubt inherent to any real estate deal.
With that in mind, while it is important to rely on your realtor, it is also important to take ownership of the process of either home buying or selling to truly understand what is going on. The negotiation of your home’s sale is one area where that extra knowledge will help you not only understand the methodology your realtor is using to get you the best sale or purchase price possible, but also understand what can be done to turn a negotiation’s key function, the compromise, in your favor.
One of the tactics often used in real estate negotiation is to take an extreme position and bargain down from that position, hoping to get the price you really want after offering something extremely low or high to begin with. There is certainly merit to that stance, but the nuance of the tactic comes in when deciding just how extreme a position can be without scaring off your potential partner in the real estate transaction.
For example, offering to purchase a home for $50,000 under its list price is not taking an extreme position, it is taking a hyper-extreme position sure to get you laughed at. What you’re shooting for is a number that is obviously too low but one that will get you to the negotiating table where your realtor can work at hammering out a price you can live with.
Many home buyers when negotiating a price will try to raise their offer by a particular amount to get you to lower your asking price by that same standard amount. One tactic for compromising involves not simply reacting in kind, but reacting with a drop in sale price somewhat lower than the increase in the offer price.
For example, you could offer me $1,000 more on my property, expecting me to drop my asking price $1,000 as a reaction. Instead, I’ll drop my asking price by $500 and go from there. While this move certainly has the potential to anger a potential buyer, it could also slow the rate at which you drop your price, netting you a higher selling amount in the end for your piece of real estate.
Finally, think about throwing in tangible benefits that may not be important to you, but sound impressive to your buyer. Perhaps instead of dropping the price of the home by a certain amount, offer to waive a particular fee or offer to pay a particular closing cost. Maybe they want something within the home or want you to replace a particular item.
Use these desires as bargaining chips and sometimes you can save money through offering services over hard cash. It may cost you $500 to replace a certain item and offering that replacement service could get you out of dropping your selling price by $1,000. These types of situations are common and can sometimes net you benefits in getting a compromise on your terms rather than a potential buyer’s.
No matter what your tactic, taking these negotiating tips can not only help you understand your home transaction, but prepare you for the world of real estate investment as well. Often, real estate investment opportunities have more negotiable terms and these tactics can come in handy in that arena as well. The compromise is an accepted part of most real estate transactions and using the art of the compromise to benefit you can save you thousands of dollars in your next negotiation.
This is another original article by Joe Lane, co-owner of The Lane Real Estate Team at http://www.joelane.com/. Are you looking for an experienced Tri City WA Real Estate agency? With 20 years of service based, business experience, Joe and Colleen Lane work hard to serve home buyers and sellers for Tri Cities WA Real Estate, Kennewick Real Estate, Richland WA Real Estate, Pasco Real Estate, and surrounding areas. Website and SEO by 1stPageSEO.com
Hunting Down the Perfect House
When the time finally comes to make a move to a new home, families can often times be on one hand extremely excited about the prospect of shopping for a home and on the other hand be unsure as to how to start the process. There are a few important steps that should be taken in any home-buying process to ensure a smooth real estate transaction.
If you're upgrading from your current home, odds are you have a good reason. Perhaps your family has grown too large for your old home or perhaps a bump in income has given you the ability to upgrade any of the features of your home. You know why you want to move, now write those reasons down on paper.
When you come to a real estate agent or decide to go out on your own, knowing the kind of square footage you might be looking for, the number of bedrooms, the general area, the school district and other requirements will quickly narrow down your search to homes that are the most relevant to you. By having a good handle on the type of home you're looking to buy, you cut out a lot of the guess work and wasted time that can take place in the early going.
Pick the Right Real Estate Agent
The best real estate agent is not always the one with his face on the bus bench. Publicity gets the name of particular realtors and realty companies out into the public, but publicity does not always translate into the time and care it takes to make sure you get the home buying process you're looking for. Interview multiple realtors, asking plenty of questions each time.
You will probably be spending a large amount of time with whoever you choose, so make a wise choice. You are entrusting perhaps your biggest single possession into your realtor's hands, so feeling comfortable with your choice will go a long way towards feeling comfortable with the process as a whole.
Take Control of the Showing Process
Shopping for homes is usually the most time-consuming portion of the home-buying process and can often leave people frustrated if they feel that they are wasting their time on improper homes. Knowing what you want comes in to play big time in this step and can trim a lot of the fat from what is out there on the home market by narrowing down the entire set on a few key pieces of information. If you see a home online or just driving by, don't hesitate to ask you realtor to set up a showing. That's what they're there for so make use of them.
Don't ever be afraid to simply drive up to a home where you have a scheduled showing and never take a step inside. This is going to be your prospective home, so factors such as the appearance of nearby homes, the area of town and accessibility to things that are important to you are all entirely legitimate reasons to not want a particular home. Communicate that to your realtor and she/he will be able to get a better idea of the type of area you are looking for. Keeping that communication going leads to better showing and less time wasted on homes that just aren't right for you.
This is another original article by Joe Lane, co-owner of The Lane Real Estate Team at http://www.joelane.com/. Are you looking for an experienced Tri City WA Real Estate agency? With 20 years of service based, business experience, Joe and Colleen Lane work hard to serve home buyers and sellers for Tri Cities WA Real Estate, Kennewick Real Estate, Richland WA Real Estate, Pasco Real Estate, and surrounding areas. Website and SEO by 1stPageSEO.com
Navigate Your Buying Experience
Buying your first home can be an exciting, yet often overwhelming, experience. These tips will help you navigate the process.
1. Clean up your credit.
If you have poor credit, you are a bigger risk in the eyes of lenders. You’ll pay the price in the form of higher interest rates. Higher rates can reduce the amount of home you can afford or keep you out of the housing market altogether. Make a point of paying auto loans, credit card bills, and other payments on time and in full. For details on your credit or assistance with developing a plan of action, contact a Mortgage Consultant.
2. Save.
You may need money for your down payment, closing costs, moving and other expenses.
3. Get preapproved for your loan.
A lender can tell you generally what you can afford and how much you can borrow. This will give you an edge with sellers in a competitive market. Contact a Mortgage Consultant.
4. Be realistic.
Your dream house could quickly turn into a nightmare if you spend more than you can really afford. Pick a house with a mortgage payment that will allow you to be comfortable in other aspects of your life.
5. Research the neighborhood.
A good real estate agent can help you with this. Check out the ratings of the neighborhood schools. Even if you don’t have children, this could be important when you try to sell the house in the future. Also, make sure you know the proximity to anything that might be deemed undesirable, such as airports and major highways, and ask your real estate agent for zoning information on any areas surrounding the home and neighborhood.
Money Moves for Tough Times
While economists debate whether the country is in a recession, consumers are being buffeted by skyrocketing prices, growing debt, layoffs, the subprime lending squeeze and a stock market roller coaster.
While you may not be able to control the price of oil or the prime rate, there are some simple things you can do to shore up your finances, safeguard your future and ride out whatever the economy throws at you.
Here's a list of ideas that hopefully will help you get through any hard times, plus tips if the hard times have already hit your household.
1. Eliminate the nonessentials. One way to avoid putting spending on automatic pilot: Write down everything you buy and the price. Then go through the list and "be brutal," says Nancy Register, associate director for the Consumer Federation of America.
2. Consider cutting back (rather than cutting out) some expenses. Depending on your current situation and concerns, it might make more sense to just scale back. "It's much more effective if people cut back rather than cut out," says Cunningham, "because it's the change in behavior that's so tough."
3. Keep your debt load light. Use credit only if you are paying off balances in full every month. Otherwise, switch to cash, checks or debit cards, says Cunningham. "That way when the money's gone, the spending stops."
4. Swap extraneous spending for smart long-term moves. You can live another month without a new DVD player, but servicing your car or home heating system could net you a nice savings through fuel efficiency and keep you from having to shell out for expensive repairs later.
5. Investigate refinancing. If your credit is good and you're planning to stay in your house for a few more years, refinancing could be a smart move.
You can buy, but should you?
Even if you think you can't afford to buy a home under these conditions -- and with many distressed homeowners and builders desperate to sell, chances are you can -- the real question is, should you?
Homes are plentiful and will remain so, but financing will be getting more expensive. True, the Federal Reserve has slashed interest rates, but fixed mortgages don't directly follow the Fed. They reflect the bond market's expectations about inflation, which remains a concern. The 30-year, now at 6.1% on Conventional and 6% on FHA loans, the rates will likely reach mid 6% by December and 7% in 2009. With many changes in FHA and lending procedures there are many options. Loans are available with credit scores as low as 580 including 100% financing options. Contact a Mortgage Consultant for further details. You can't time the bottom. It's harder to do than you think, and this is the best buyers have had it in two decades, with inventories up and mortgage rates low.
Ideas for Outdoor Entertaining
Warm weather means outdoor picnics, barbecues and family get-togethers. Casual gatherings don't always have to mean plain paper plates and paper napkins. Here are some cheap and easy ways to entertain indoors or out with creativity, not cash! (Make sure you check out our recipe below for great Memphis Style Ribs! Straight from the Neely's)
Memphis-Style Hickory-Smoked Beef and Pork Ribs
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Recipe: Courtesy of the Neely’s,
Neely's Dry Rub:
2 (about 4 pounds each) slabs beef spareribs For the rub: Add all ingredients to a bowl and stir until combined. Keep in an airtight container for up to 6 months. For the ribs: Rinse and dry ribs. Place on a clean cutting board and pull off the membrane, the thin fatty skin that lines the underside of the ribs. Trim the ribs of excess fat and meat. Liberally season both sides of the ribs with 1/4 to 1/2 cup Neely's BBQ Rub. Wrap ribs and refrigerate for at least 8 hours so flavors can permeate. Preheat grill to 250 degrees F. using hickory and charcoal. Use indirect heat and cook with the cover down. Place ribs, meatier side down, on the grill away from the coals. Cook beef 2 hours, adding more coals as needed. Turn and cook for 45 minutes more, or until the ribs "bend" and the meat easily separates from the bone using a fork. Cook the pork ribs 3 hours. Turn and cook another hour, or until ribs bend. Remove from grill. For dry ribs: Sprinkle extra Neely's BBQ seasoning over ribs, cut bones and serve. For wet ribs: Coat ribs with Neely's BBQ sauce, cut and serve. Neely's BBQ Sauce
2 cups ketchup In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cooked uncovered, stirring frequently, for 1 hour 15 minutes. Yield: 3 1/2 cups |
Time to buy? Contrasting views
By Erin Peterson • Bankrate.com
The housing market's tumble has left many people wondering if it's time to snap up bargains or if it's still better to stay on the sidelines. Danielle Lynn Babb, Ph.D., is an author, entrepreneur and real estate consultant. A California native, she has appeared frequently on national television and radio. She is the author of several books, including "Finding Foreclosures: An Insiders Guide to Cashin' In on this Hidden Market," and "Real Estate v. 2.0."
With all the uncertainty in the housing market, buyers have been staying away in droves.
While the reaction may be understandable, it's not necessarily smart.
Some buyers should be taking advantage of the situation -- not sitting on the sidelines and waiting for prices to fall even more, says Babb, real estate analyst. It's not necessarily a wise decision. If you've got good credit, a plan to stay in the new home for a few years and your dream house in your sights, snap it up.
"If you're renting right now, there's a really good chance your mortgage won't be much more than your rent in many areas," says Babb. "You'll get a tax break, and if you stay a few years, you'll see it start to appreciate as well."
You've also got selection on your side. Homebuilders are offering steep discounts and posh upgrades on brand-new digs. Fixer-uppers and foreclosed properties are selling for a song. Eager sellers are offering incentives from all-expenses paid tropical vacations to brand-new cars to help move their property.
Babb argues that the stricter lending requirements may be a boon for buyers as well. While a prospective buyer might look at the housing market today and worry that an exotic loan might leave them in foreclosure a few years from now, Babb says it's far less likely. You may not get a loan for that million-dollar home, but it's probably because you couldn't have paid for it, anyway. "Tighter lending standards are a good thing overall, because it helps make certain that a borrower really can afford the home," she says.
Unlike the hot market of a few years ago, where buyers had to put in offers -- often above the selling price -- just days after a house appeared on the market, buyers today are in the driver's seat. You can take your time finding a house, visit it a few times and do necessary research before putting in an offer. And you'll likely be able to haggle with the seller to drop the price, do repairs or pay for closing costs.
Finally, Babb notes that interest rates remain at low levels, which means lower monthly mortgage payments. "As rates drop, those who qualify will find it even less expensive to buy the home of their dreams." Lock in a low rate today and you'll reap the benefits for years to come.
While Babb is bullish on buying, she adds a few caveats. "If you want to buy a property and flip it in six months, now is not the time to get back in the market," she says. "And if you've got a low credit score or are cash-poor, I'd recommend staying away from homes." She also recommends staying away from neighborhoods that have many foreclosures and areas that have sustained significant job losses during the past few years.
Since the market won't likely recover overnight, people who aren't quite ready to buy still have options. Spend the next few months polishing your credentials and get in the market. "Improve your credit score, build up your savings, and go for it," she says.
Best moves to make in 2008
By Holden Lewis • Bankrate.com
In 2003, when mortgage rates dropped below 5.5 percent for a time, it was the Year of the Refinance. The years 2004 through 2006 constituted the Era of the Exotic Mortgage, when homebuyers were eager to get any type of loan so they could grab houses before prices were out of reach. Then came 2007, the Year of Reckoning, when home prices went down and the foreclosure rate went up. And 2008 will be the Year of the Refinance again, but for different reasons than those that drove the refi boom of 2003. Five years ago, low rates spurred people to refinance. In 2008, homeowners will refi because their adjustable-rate mortgages will hit their reset dates, sending rates skyward.
Know when your ARM resets First, you have to know what "reset" means. By definition, the rate on an adjustable-rate mortgage goes through at least one adjustment. Those adjustments are called resets. In recent years, the most common kinds of adjustables have been 3/1 and 5/1 ARMs. With a 3/1 ARM, the initial, introductory rate lasts three years. Then, on the 37th month, the loan is reset for the first time and the rate is adjusted upward. Typically the rate is reset every 12 months after that. With a 5/1 ARM, the introductory rate lasts for five years and the first reset is at the 61st month. To check on the reset date, pull out your copy of the loan contract from your well-organized home filing system. On the first two or three pages, there should be a section that details when the rate changes and how the new rate is determined. Look for a little headline that says something like, "Change dates." See Bankrate's annotated contracts for an example. The first reset date, and the timetable for subsequent resets, should be in that section.
Find out what your ARM's rate would be if it were reset this month Go back to that loan contract. In the section that discloses the rate's change date, there should be an explanation of how the lender will calculate the new rate. The ARM's rate will be based on an index and a margin. The index is an independent interest rate that is widely known -- the yield on the one-year Treasury note, for example, or the six-month London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR. The margin is a percentage that's added to the index. Let's say that your index is the one-year LIBOR, and that today it's exactly 5 percent. (It's not; we're just being hypothetical here.) And let's say your margin is 2.25 percent. If your ARM were to reset today, the new rate would be those numbers added together, or 7.25 percent. The margin will be stated right there in the loan paperwork, although it might not use the word "margin" to describe it. As for the index, you can find many indexes in Bankrate's Rate Watch page or in the business section of a newspaper. Once you know the new rate and the amount you owe, figure your monthly principal and interest with Bankrate's mortgage calculator. |
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Know if you should refinance sooner rather than later The more equity you have, the easier it's going to be to refinance. If you have less than 5 percent equity, it might be difficult to qualify for a refinanced mortgage. Difficult, but not impossible -- if you have a decent credit score. Preferably, you will have 10 percent equity; ideally, you'll have 20 percent or more. If your home has been losing value in this down market, you probably are aware of it from reading the newspapers, gossiping with neighbors and occasionally checking Zillow.com. In cases where the percentage of equity is in the single digits while home prices are falling, it might be a good idea to refinance months before the reset date. Wait too long and you might not be able to refi because you owe more than the house is worth.
Get ready to document your finances Experts believe that most of these borrowers exaggerated their incomes because that was the only way they could get approved for their loans. Had they been required to submit W-2s and tax returns, they would have been turned down for loans because of insufficient income. In 2007, the rising foreclosure rate was blamed partly on these borrowers. Most of them got ARMs, and they were able to scrape by and make their monthly payments during the introductory rate period. But when the ARMs reset, these borrowers found themselves falling behind. That trend will continue in 2008. Spurred by self-preservation, lenders have cracked down, and now they're demanding documentation of income and assets from most borrowers. Don't be surprised if a lender wants not only W-2s and tax returns, but also bank and brokerage statements. If you lied about your income to qualify for an ARM and now you can't refinance because of documentation requirements, you're not going to get any sympathy. When you signed the promissory note, you swore under penalty of perjury that you were telling the truth.
Buying? Bring a down payment During the boom years, it was easy to buy a house with a down payment of 5 percent or 3 percent or even with no down payment at all. Those deals aren't as common anymore. "I think we're going back to where 10 percent is going to be the standard for a down payment," says Mitch Ohlbaum, president of Legend Mortgage Corp., in Los Angeles. |
How to Get an Offer on Your Home
1. Price it right. Set a price at the lower end of your property’s realistic price range.
2. Prepare for visitors. Get your house market ready at least two weeks before you begin showing it.
3. Be flexible about showings. It’s often disruptive to have a house ready to show at the spur of the moment. But the more amenable you can be about letting people see your home, the sooner you’ll find a buyer.
4. Anticipate the offers. Decide in advance what price and terms you’ll find acceptable.
5. Don’t refuse to drop the price. If your home has been on the market for more than 30 days without an offer, you should be prepared to at least consider lowering your asking price.
