Before buying a home, it it important to decide how long you plan to live there.  A rule of thumb is that it rarely makes sense to buy if you expect to move within two years. That’s because when you do sell, there are costs associated with selling.  Buying a home when you expect to move before too long is a risk, especially in an uncertain market.

However, most buyers live in their new home an average of seven years or more. If that fits you, it almost always makes sense to buy rather than rent, in practically any market.

If you are thinking about delaying a purchase because you want to “time the market” to get the very best deal, that is almost impossible to do with precision. Even if you are in an area with declining market prices, the most knowledgeable experts cannot reliably anticipate the “bottom” of a real estate market. Afterwards, they can look back and say, “The market began to turn in 1997,” like it did in some areas of California that had a tough market in the nineties. Before the turn, though, no one knows.

If you aren’t an owner, you’re a renter. Renting is just throwing money away. You don’t get to reduce your income taxes by itemizing deductions like property taxes  and mortgage interest. 

Interest rates are low right now. If you wait, interest rates could be higher. That means your monthly payment will be higher, too. No one can predict rates that far in the future but rates are very low right now.

The easiest way to accumulate wealth is through home ownership. Three out of four people have more equity in their home than assets in retirement plans, stocks, mutual funds, and savings. Though no one can guarantee your property will appreciate, over time it generally does. Over the long term, you can generally count on it.

As a buyer, what do you need to do to give you the best bang for your buck?  First of all, determine your price range. Then choose a neighborhood where your target price is in the lower tier of prices in that neighborhood. That way, your home has less vulnerability on the down side and the higher-priced homes will help pull you up during hot markets.

Also, try to steer away from homes on busy streets or homes that back to busy streets. Buy a house as close to the center of the tract as possible. Don’t buy houses across the street from a park or a school. Try to buy in a homogeneous area, where all the homes are similar to one another. For example, if you are buying a single family home, you do not want to buy next to an apartment or condominium complex.

And remember, talk to a real estate agent and ask for advice. Ask them what the market is like in your area.

There are LOTS of sellers out there right now. Inventory is high. If you make an offer, ask for incentives to buy that particular home.

If you are putting ten percent down or more, you can ask for up to six percent of the purchase price in incentives. These incentives CANNOT BE CASH, but you can ask the seller to pay your closing costs. You can also take advantage of programs such as the Nehemiah Program that allows sellers to contribute 6% of the purchase price which includes your 3% down payment and 3% towards closing costs.  This program works if you qualify and are looking to get an FHA loan.

If you’re putting down five percent or less, you can still ask for incentives. The amount you can ask for is limited to three percent of the purchase price. The reason there are limits is because you are going to finance the purchase with a mortgage and lenders have guidelines on how much sellers can provide in incentives. Those guidelines help them limit loan fraud.

Talk to a real estate agent. Have that agent recommend a lender who will talk to you about incentives and explain what you can request.

Sellers who anticipate losing money if they sell their home may wonder why they should spend a dime fixing the place up for sale. Isn’t this throwing good money after bad? Even sellers with plenty of equity in their homes often figure the way to get the most out of the sale is to cut sale costs to a minimum.attitude is directly contrary to the notion that the way to make the most money on the sale of a home is by pricing the property appropriately for the market, and by making cost-effective improvements that will result in a higher sale price in a shorter time.

Today, many housing markets have plenty of homes for sale and far too few buyers. For years, buyers competed with one another in order to buy a house. Now, sellers are being forced to compete with other sellers in order to get their home sold.

Consider the competitive nature of the market when deciding if you’re going to improve your home before selling it, and how much you’ll invest. Keep in mind that the point of fixing up a home to sell is to MAXIMIZE your return from the sale. Don’t waste money on improvements that have little or no value to buyers.

Ask your real estate agent or a staging decorator to walk through your home with you for the purpose of determining what fix-up projects you should ideally complete before marketing the property. 

Imagine there are five homes listed for sale in an area, all similarly priced, but not all in the same condition. Three houses have old, worn carpet covering most of the floors; one has linoleum over the floor; and the fifth has pristine, recently refinished hardwood floors. Most buyers will gravitate to the home with the beautiful hardwood floors.

The best houses in the best condition and offered for the best price usually sell quickly. A fast sale is important to some sellers in this market. The sooner your home is sold, the sooner you stop paying mortgage payments, property taxes and various maintenance costs.

DON’T FORGET TO CONSULT YOUR REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL!

This article can be found at:  Inmannews