It is a seller’s market. That means there is very little time to waste when the perfect home comes on the market. Be prepared, and you will likely snag that home before the any other buyers have a chance. #1: GET PRE-APPROVED. Not just pre-qualified, but go and sit with a lender and have them scour over your financials so they can come up with the amount the bank is willing to loan you. They will provide an approval letter that is good for 60-90 days. This shows any possible seller that you are serious. On the flip side, working on your pre-approval can also identify any credit issues you may need to clear up before buying a home. Find a lender that you can trust. For a list of a few prefer
We all do it - we hear about a house in the neighborhood that just sold so we go onto Zillow to see what they are estimating our home value to be (or what they call a zestimate). But did you know that a recent study by a brokerage in Maryland showed that Zestimates were off by 10% more than half the time. On the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Zestimates were off 40% when compared with the eventual sales price! That is a scary descrepancy. If a Realtor was off by that much, it would be grounds for a lawsuit for incompetancy. It is a Realtor's job to create substantial CMAs (Comparitive Market Analysis) for their clients and advise on market values for homes. We are still a long way off from being
If you are a current homeowner in the Reno area, you will be happy to hear that home prices are up 19% from last April. If you are currently looking to buy in Reno, this news might make you hestitant but there is good news. Inventory usally rises in Spring and new construction is on the rise. For those who ask, "Are we in a bubble again?" Remember, we are still far from the highest peak of 2005 when the median home price hit $350,000. When that bubble popped in January 2012, the median home price dropped to $135,000. According to a report Friday by the Reno/Sparks Association of Realtors, using data from the Northern Nevada Regional Multiple Listing Service, the median sales price for Apri
It seemed that banks were loosening up on loans for homebuyers but the trend is going to a tighter grip on those loans. Banks are requiring a higher weighted average credit score then in the previous two years -almost 50 points higher then pre-bubble scores. Acording to an aricle on Marketwatch.com, the average credit score that Freddie Mac is seeing right now about 751. Too much lower than that, and you may be too high of a risk for a bank loan. Read the full article here: The http://www.marketwatch.com/story/banks-could-approve-more-mortgages-freddie-chief-2015-05-05
Are you asking yourself this question lately? Life brings many ups, downs, and sideways turns that push us to ask, "Is this the right time to sell the house?" Realtor.com published this article that addresses some things to think about when deciding on the "right" time: http://www.realtor.com/advice/right-time-sell-home/. Contact your trusted Realtor and start with a Comparative Market Analysis to see what your home may be worth in comparision to other homes in the area. If the value is there, and you are about to put your home on the market, listen to that trusted Realtor with their advice for getting it market-ready. Time to de-clutter everywhere (yes, even that closet!) Next, clean, cl