Sep 13, 2013 | Home Buyer Tips
When people are buying a home, one of the things that they sometimes forget to consider is the need to be able to accommodate guests. You likely have out of state relatives or friends who might come and visit you and you will probably want to be able to give them a place to sleep so that they don’t have to pay for a hotel.
You will also probably want to have your parents or your relatives stay over on special occasions such as Christmas. You might even need to host guests for long periods of time, such as if an aging parent needs to move in with you or you need to give a struggling friend some support while they get back on their feet.
Having a home that is well suited to having guests stay will make being a host a lot easier. Having someone sleep on a fold out couch in your living room can be inconvenient for both you and your guest, so what should you look for in a home so that hosting someone will be comfortable?
- If you have a small home, you might not have room for an extra guest bedroom that is only used occasionally. Instead, choose a home with a multi-purpose room that can be used as a home office, a storage space or a hobby room as well as a guest bedroom.
- You could use clever storage solutions and a Murphy bed or futon to make the transition into guest bedroom when your friends and relatives arrive. Another option is to choose a home with a finished attic, which can easily be turned into a great small bedroom for guests.
- Does the house have enough bathrooms for everyone? Waiting for the bathroom while someone else has a shower can get annoying really quickly when there are extra people in the house. A guest bedroom with its own ensuite is ideal.
- Have at least two or more “chill out” spaces so that everyone doesn’t have to enjoy the same activity. If some of your family members are watching a movie but a couple others want to have a quiet chat or play a board game, make sure that there is another spot where they can sit. It doesn’t have to be huge, just another set of chairs or a sofa somewhere.
- For the guest room, choose a bedroom that is furthest away from the rest of the main traffic areas in the home. This means that if you wake up earlier or get in later than your guests, you can cook or go about your daily chores without making a lot of noise right outside their door.
- Make sure that the dining area is big enough to accommodate a larger table to seat your extra guests.
These are just a few things to consider when choosing a home that will make hosting guests easy. For more info about buying a home, contact your trusted real estate professional.
Sep 12, 2013 | Home Buyer Tips
So you are looking at buying a home, but you are wondering whether or not it is worth it to pay a little extra for a home with one more bedroom.
It’s a tough decision to make, especially when balancing other factors such as location and the other features of the home. However, having one more bedroom than you think you need could end up being a good thing for a number of reasons.
Expanding Family
Perhaps you only planned on having two children, but a third one might come along as an unplanned surprise… will you have enough room for everyone?
One of your children’s friends might have a bad home situation and need a place to crash for a while. One of your elderly parents might need to live with you for a while.
There are many situations when the family living under your roof might expand, (even if it’s just having guests over the weekend) so make sure that you have the space to accommodate.
A Home Office
If you are working from home or have your own business, a private space in the home to work can be worth its weight in gold. It’s really difficult to be productive when you are trying to work at the kitchen table with the rest of the family buzzing around you, so turn your extra bedroom into a home office.
Rental Income
An extra bedroom might be a great source of income, especially if it can be turned into a basement or attic suite. As long as you don’t mind the responsibility of being a landlord, you could rent out the room to a tenant and let their rent help you cover the mortgage payment.
Resale Value
Buying a slightly larger house with one more bedroom means that the home will be easier to sell in the future. This is especially true if all of the other homes in the area have similar amounts of bedrooms.
These are just a few reasons why an extra room can really come in handy. If you want to know more about home buying, you can contact me your trusted real estate professional.
Sep 11, 2013 | Mortgage Tips
If you are on the verge of buying real estate, you’ve probably heard the term Private Mortgage Insurance. Mortgage professionals talk about it a great deal, but you may be asking, “What is it exactly? And why should I care?”
Private Mortgage Insurance Defined
PMI is required by lenders if the down payment of a purchase is less than 20 percent of the home’s value. It protects the lender if the borrower defaults on the loan.
It also makes the lender more apt to loan, even if the down payment is as low as 3%, because in the long run, the lender’s investment is protected.
You Pay For It
Unlike other types of insurance which you pay to protect your interest in an asset, you pay Private Mortgage Insurance to the mortgage company to protect its interest in your new real estate. (Note that PMI is not usually tax deductible. Check with a tax professional for details.)
Make It Go Away: PMI Can Be Terminated Once You’ve Paid Down Your Loan
Once you pay down your mortgage to the point where it hits the magical 80% of the original purchase price or appraised value, whichever is less, you can request cancellation of PMI. The Homeowners Protection Act requires that loans made after 1999 include notifications to the borrower when you arrive at this point in your payments.
Your PMI payments must be automatically canceled once you pay down your loan to 78%. At closing, and on a yearly basis, you should receive information from your lender about when you can request cancellation.
Whether you’re ready to buy real estate or need more information before taking the plunge, I can help. Contact your trusted real estate professional today.
Sep 10, 2013 | Around The Home
Every home seems to have a never-ending remodeling list. As you consider tackling your next project, it usually pays off if you also think about helping the environment.
Green remodeling can last longer, utilize recycled materials and typically end up saving you money in the long run. Below are several environment-friendly ideas that will have your neighbors green with envy.
1. Rain Gardens
Rain gardens are a shallow depressions in your yard planted with native shrubs and flowers. When there is a large rainfall, all the water rushes along roadways picking up dirt and pollutants along their way to drainage systems and eventually rivers and streams. Rain gardens catch water run-off, which reduces the street flooding and makes for cleaner water sources.
2. Reclaimed Hardwoods
Using reclaimed wood is all of the rage right now – and it’s easy to see why. Reclaimed wood helps the environment by being recycled and repurposed from other structures. Turning an old barn into your new hardwood floors not only saves trees and looks great, but is an interesting conversation point.
3. Paper Covers Rock
Most kitchen remodels usually include the discussion of to go with granite or quartz countertops. However compressed paper or glass surfaces are actually better for the environment. Instead of harvesting natural resources, you’ll be recycling resources that have already been used.
4. One Shower Head
It’s tempting to use multiple showerheads and powerfully flushing toilets. However, reducing your water usage saves you money. Install low-flow water fixtures and limit yourself to just one fantastic showerhead in each bathroom. You’ll help the earth and your pocketbook by saving water.
5. Passive Solar Design
Solar panels are a great way to trap the sun’s energy and reduce your utility bills. However, if you’re not ready to directly tap into the grid, then there are ways you can remodel your home using passive solar design. Concrete floors and thick concrete, brick or plaster walls soak up the suns rays during the day and release them at night when the temperature drops.
Going green doesn’t have to hamper your lifestyle or your home’s design. With the five green remodeling ideas above, you’ll add value to your home, help the environment and put money back in your bank account.
Sep 9, 2013 | Housing Analysis
Last week was relatively calm due to the Labor Day Holiday on Monday providing little mortgage and housing related news. However, there were several positive indicators for overall economic conditions.
Construction spending rose by 0.60 percent in July and surpassed economists’ expectations of 0.30 percent and June’s zero percent growth. While this may seem a small increase, any indication that construction spending is increasing could indicate that residential construction is ramping up.
This would be good news for home buyers, who’ve been facing a shortage of available homes in many areas of the U.S.
The Fed Released Its Latest Beige Book Report
Federal Reserve districts reported rising consumer spending in most districts, modest expansion in manufacturing and moderate residential real estate sales. Higher mortgage rates may have dampened home buyer enthusiasm, but an ongoing shortage of available homes is also likely to have contributed to slower sales.
Mortgage rates will likely rise if the Fed tapers its $85 billion monthly purchase of mortgage-backed securities and Treasury bonds as demand for bonds is expected to decrease. When bond prices fall, mortgage rates usually rise.
ADP released its report on private sector jobs added for August; 176,000 jobs were added against expectations of 185,000 jobs added and July’s 198,000 jobs added. The three-month rolling average of private sector jobs added shows steady job growth as jobs added rose from 140,000 in May to 188,000 jobs for August.
Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey reported that the average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose by six basis points to 4.57 percent with discount points unchanged at 9.70 percent.
The average rate for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage rose by five basis points to 3.59 percent with discount points unchanged at 0.70 percent. The average rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage rose by four basis points to 3.28 percent with discount points unchanged at 0.50 percent.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Non-Farm Payrolls Report for August, 169,000 jobs were created, which fell shy of expectations of 173,000 new jobs. Expectations were based on the original number of 162,000 jobs created in July, but July’s number was revised downward to 104,000 jobs created.
The unemployment report for August was 7.30 percent, down 0.10 percent from July’s reading of 7.40 percent.
The combination of higher mortgage rates, persistently high unemployment and fewer jobs created could signal the Fed to postpone its plan to start reducing its monthly securities purchases.
What’s Coming Up
This week’s scheduled mortgage and housing news is relatively flat, but Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey will provide the last indication of mortgage rates’ direction before the FOMC meeting on September 18.
The Fed will also likely be watching the Weekly Jobs report and the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index as part of its decision-making process on whether to taper or maintain current QE securities purchases.
