Tag Archives: buying a home

11 things your real estate agent may not tell you but should

Posted on November 12, 2015 | Leave a comment

Real estate agents live a conflicted life. On the one hand, they are salespeople. They only make money when their deal closes.

On the other hand, they are consultants. They advise buyers and sellers throughout the deal process, ideally giving their clients advice that is not influenced by their own financial outcome.

Often, these two objectives are aligned and there is no issue. For example, an agent makes more money if he is able to sell a house for a higher amount. However, there are many situations where the right advice for a client is not aligned with the agent’s monetary incentives.

Most successful real estate agents are true professionals who take the long view. Their advice is in their clients’ best interests. Some agents go further by being fully transparent when conflicts arise (which they often do) and make certain any conflicts are fully disclosed to their clients.

So how do you know your agent is doing the right thing and giving you the best advice? Here are 11 things that selling agents and buyer’s agents should be telling (or asking) you:

Stay Put – From a purely financial perspective, you want to move in life as few times as possible. Let’s face it, moving is expensive. Once you add up the transaction fees, costs of moving, costs to furnish your new place and so on, it’s a lot of money. Further, in the early years of paying off an amortised mortgage, your monthly payment goes mostly to interest. As you hold the mortgage longer, your payments increasingly go to paying principal. Staying put is a great forced savings tool.

More house, more problems – As a buyer, you should try to find the most modest home that will make you (and your family) happy. The larger the home you own, the more expenses and headaches you will have. Whether you are looking to buy a two-bedroom, salt-box house or a 6000-square-foot, five-bedroom home, you should consider whether the house is too big for your current and future needs.

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

7 things to know before becoming a homeowner

Posted on October 7, 2015 | Leave a comment

1. DO A FULL CALCULATION OF WHAT YOU CAN COMFORTABLY AFFORD

Initially I played with online mortgage calculators to see how much we could afford. I got swept up in the big budgets I was seeing on the screen. Taking a step back I calculated how much we actually felt comfortable spending each month between our mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and utilities (call the utility companies to get an estimate of what your water, electricity, gas, and garbage may cost in the neighborhood).

Unfortunately, what we could afford was quite a bit lower than what I got from the online calculators. I’m happy I dealt with disappointment then rather than the stress of buying a house that was too much for us.

2. DON’T FORGET ABOUT CLOSING COSTS

And insurance, inspections, and immediate repairs. After being good little savers for years, we were thrilled to have enough saved for our 20 percent down. I didn’t give a ton of thought to the other expenses, because compared to the 20 percent down, how much could that actually be? A lot.

Closing costs can be 2-5 percent of the total cost of your house. And if you’re not prepared for them, it can catch you off guard. You’ll also want to be prepared to pay any inspections (though most of ours were paid by the seller), as well as any immediate repairs that need to be made before move in. Our house was “move in ready” but it was shocking to see how much we actually spent. Aside from some smaller things, we needed to buy a washer and dryer, a new shower door, and blinds for the bedroom windows. It all adds up, so be prepared.

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

San Diego – 5th Least Affordable Place to Buy A Home

Posted on December 26, 2013 | Leave a comment

Homes Median Maximum Median

within household affordable size

reach income home price (sq. ft.)

1. San Francisco 14% $78,840 $409,000 1,000

2. Orange County 23% $71,983 $373,000 1,057

3. Los Angeles 24% $53,001 $271,000 1,170

4. New York City 25% $56,007 $274,000 978

5. San Diego 28% $60,330 $309,000 1,056

6. San Jose 31% $90,737 $462,000 1,133

7. Ventura County 32% $71,517 $366,000 1,222

8. Fairfield County, Conn. 36% $79,841 $364,000 1,317

9. Honolulu 40% $71,404 $395,000 778

10. Boston 41% $66,149 $322,000 1,250

Real estate website Trulia analyzed the most and least affordable places in the U.S. for a middle class family to buy a home. A home was affordable if the total monthly payment for that home was less than 31 percent of the metro area’s median household income. Areas in Ohio and Indiana dominated the most affordable, with more than 80 percent of homes within reach. San Diego made the top 10 list of least affordable places to own a home.

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Tag Archives: buying a home

11 things your real estate agent may not tell you but should

7 things to know before becoming a homeowner

San Diego – 5th Least Affordable Place to Buy A Home

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