Use Digital Tools to Simplify Your Home Projects

On June 29, 2014   /   Home Projects, Real Estate News  
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With the help of a few common digital tools, you can transform your wireless device into a household control center that simplifies home upkeep.

Boost Your Photographic Memory

Here are better uses for your smartphone camera than taking selfies:

1.  Take the guesswork out of repair projects.

  • Remember how to put items back together by taking pictures of them before you take them apart.
  • Need to pick up a few new parts? Take photos of the old parts to help you pick the right replacements at the store.
  • For repair projects that require a pro, share a picture with your contractor before he gets to the job. He’ll have a better idea of what to expect upon arrival and will be more likely to bring the right tools.

2.  Create photo albums. Use this basic smartphone function to arrange pictures into organized collections for easy reference. You can document:

  • Your home’s infrastructure. Take pictures of your home’s wiring, plumbing and insulation when walls are exposed during renovations and repairs so you will know where things are located next time you need to find them.
  • Your circuit breakers. Use your camera to document what’s connected to each two-pole (240 volts) and single-pole (120 volt) breaker.
  • All your paint colors. Photograph paint cans and swatches so you remember each color’s name and brand. You can do the same for flooring, tile and wallpaper.
  • Your home improvements. Build up some bragging rights: Take before, during and after photos of your latest project

READ COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE

 

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How to Refinance Your Jumbo Loan

On June 22, 2014   /   Home Finance, Real Estate News  
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You’ve owned your home for a while, made timely payments on your jumbo mortgage and built up some equity. Now, you’d like to find a way to lower your interest rate or save money on your monthly mortgage payments.

Refinancing your jumbo loan could help you do that, but new rules have made it tougher to find a good deal and to qualify. (Mortgages classified as jumbo loans can vary from a minimum of $417,000 to a minimum of $625,500, depending on whether a home is located in a high-cost county.)

Here is what you need to know:

Should You Refinance?

Before you start looking for a new loan, you need to know if refinancing fits into your life plan. If you are considering selling your home in the next few years, refinancing may not make sense.

“Always look at whether the breakeven point for the savings versus the costs [is] longer than you will stay in a home,” said Jeremy David Schachter, mortgage adviser and branch manager for Pinnacle Capital Mortgage Corporation.

You will pay fees to refinance and it may take several months before you recoup those costs from the savings in your lower monthly mortgage payments.

“Loan amounts on jumbos are bigger than conventional loans, so a reduction in rate of 0.75-1.00 minimum would save a significant amount of money,” Schachter said.

Finding a Jumbo Loan

If you have had your jumbo loan for years, you may find refinancing tougher than you expected. As part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, most mortgages issued are now qualified mortgages. These mortgages follow stricter guidelines set by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Under these guidelines common jumbo loans, such as loans with large balloon payments and interest-free-period loans do not qualify for QM status.

While not all jumbo loans must be QM qualified, finding a non-QM loan may be difficult. However, “There is more of an appetite now for jumbo loans,” and lenders are still refinancing these products, Schachter said.

Qualifying for Refinancing

The underwriting process for refinancing jumbo loans has gotten tougher, due in part to rules set by the CFPB. Even if you were able to secure a jumbo loan with limited paperwork in the past, you may find refinancing more difficult now.

How you have managed bills in the past will have a big impact. “Credit score requirements are much higher than conventional or FHA loans,” and you will need more documentation to qualify, Schachter said.

That documentation includes:

  • Pay stubs for a minimum of 30 days.
  • Tax returns from the past two to three years.
  • Bank statements showing mortgage payment reserves for a minimum of six months.

If you are self-employed, you will likely face additional paperwork and approval challenges. “Many lenders and investors are requiring 2013 taxes to be completed, even with an extension,” Schacter said.

To help the process go smoothly, check your credit reports at least six months before you apply for refinancing. If your credit is in good shape, start getting your documentation together. And if you aren’t sure where to find a good refinancing deal, ask for recommendations.

“If you don’t know a good lender or broker,” Schacter said, “ask a friend, family member or REALTOR®.”

 

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4 Tips for Sellers to Seal the Deal

On June 15, 2014   /   Real Estate News, Tips for Selling your House  
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You want to get the best price for your homes as quickly as possible. Who doesn’t? But how do you entice prospective buyers to seal the deal? Impress potential buyers with these four well-researched real estate tips, and you may impress yourselves with the results.

1. Sales price

A correctly priced house is the key to selling a home. Buyers will be looking for a home to meet their price point and includes their top priorities. In most cases a home listing becomes stale due to improper pricing. A house priced too high may miss potential buyers, which costs time and money. And of, course, you don’t want to price yourself so low that you lose money on the house. You want to seal the deal.

2. Location, location, location

A home in an excellent location sells quicker and for more money. Home buyers seek quality of life in a neighborhood: parks, community pools, gyms and supermarkets close to home. Properties close to mass transportation, highways and fewer traffic zones save time, and they can add a lot of lifestyle convenience. This goes for future resale value, too: a home located a block from a noisy train station will have lower resale potential than one two blocks from a school and park.

3. Fix it up

This is the time to spruce up your house to seal the deal. Odd jobs you’ve put off: do them now. Fix the damaged door hinge, the chipped light switch, and the paint on the garage door. You don’t want a picky buyer to pass on your $300,000 home because they were put off by a spot of peeling paint that made them wonder if anything else is less than tip-top shape. You want to seal the deal instead by doing the little things.

4. Make your home welcoming

Sellers need to present a welcoming atmosphere. This is the best opportunity to showcase the qualities of your home for home buyer viewings so you can seal the deal. Clean up the yard as much as possible. Purchase a nice welcome mat and some potted plants to place around the entrance to the house. If your REALTOR® makes suggestions for staging the home interior—decluttering, moving furniture, maybe painting a wall—heed them. They know what’s selling. And they want no less than that for your home, too.

All sellers want to be able to seal the deal quickly, so that they can move on to their next experience. Following these quick sellers tips can help get that done sooner, rather than later.

Updated from an earlier version by Susan Wellish.

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4 Ways to Make a Great First Impression When Selling Your Home

On June 8, 2014   /   Real Estate News, Tips for Selling your House  
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By: Patricia-Anne Tom for Realtor.com

When selling your home, first impressions matter. Just because your home is listed and the “For Sale” sign is firmly planted in the front lawn does not mean it will attract buyers.

A home needs to be visually appealing to encourage a sale. Even in a market where homes are selling quickly and at full asking prices, it is still crucial to spruce up your home and prove that it is worth every penny you are asking for it.

Here are four tips to help your home make a good first impression that beckons potential buyers:

1. Make an Enticing Exterior

The walk-up to your house should be inviting, not forbidding. Stay on top of your lawn mowing and driveway maintenance, and tidy up your front landscaping. This includes:

  • Moving all toys, bicycles and scooters away from the front of the house
  • Cleaning windows until they are sparkling
  • Making sure address numbers are in place and polished
  • Giving your front door, garage door and gutters a fresh coat of paint
  • Adding a few embellishments like a colorful welcome mat, a wreath for the door or a big potted plant to the side of your front door
  • Checking the roof to see if it needs repair, even if it’s cosmetic.

2. Shape Up the Interior

Once the exterior wows potential buyers, you can continue to make a great impression as they make their way inside.

For starters, clear any clutter. If you have too much furniture, put some of it in storage. Keep kitchen and bathroom countertops as clear as possible. Closets and shelves should be well-organized and give the impression that they are spacious.

Remove excess knickknacks or family photos that make the house feel like your home, instead of allowing potential buyers to picture themselves as the residents.

Clean the inside of your home from top to bottom. Dust and open all your blinds and curtains to let light in. Wash away smudges from walls and touch up the paint as necessary. Wipe down the inside and outside of your appliances and microwave. Remove ash from your fireplace. Get your carpets cleaned and vacuum your floor each morning before potential buyers view your house.

Addressing aesthetics can leave a lasting, favorable impression. So, hang fresh, clean towels in the bathrooms. Position a beautiful centerpiece in the center of your dining room table and a few potted plants in decorative containers throughout your home. Consider placing potpourri in key spots, especially if you need to eliminate pet odors or if you have a smoker in the house.

3. Check on Evening Appearance

Even if you’re positive your home is presentable during the day, double-back to the exterior and interior areas at dusk to gauge your home’s ambiance in the evening.

Ensure that the walkway is well-lit and house numbers are visible, and that outdoor lighting enhances the home’s appearance.

Inside, make sure to replace nonfunctioning light bulbs in fixtures and vanities, and leave key decorative or track lighting turned on so that the home doesn’t seem dark upon entering.

4. Make Necessary Repairs

Repair anything that is broken. Cabinet doors should close properly. All your faucets should be drip-free.

Remember, you are trying to present a simple, clean, attractive, problem-free home that exudes potential—an empty, yet enticing palette for your home’s next owners.

Taking time to create a great first impression sometimes is all it takes to quickly send a offer your way.

This article is updated from a previous version by Michele Dawson/Realty Times.

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If Your Home Is Too Smart, Buyers Might Think Twice

On June 1, 2014   /   Real Estate News, Tips for Selling your House  
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By: Anne Miller for Realtor.com

While the market for Internet-connected appliances and systems for the home continues to grow steadily, the value that such technology contributes to a home sale remains to be seen.

The industry for so-called smart homes “will reach $71 billion by 2018,” driven mostly by entertainment systems, but smart appliances will pay a big role too, according to a Juniper Research report published in February.

A smart home typically has computers, televisions, lighting, heating-ventilation-air conditioning (HVAC), and home security systems, among other elements, linked to a centrally controlled network.

The industry has grown so fast that it’s hard to quantify how much this kind of technology plays a part in the market. Homebuyers who find such technology important are more likely to have enough cash to install their own devices.

Is It Easy to Use?

The relative newness of this wired-home world means appraisers don’t have much to go on when determining connectivity’s added value.

“I think you will enjoy a difference in marketing times. If you are building, it could equate to an increase in profit, but we don’t have enough historical data to do a comparable analysis,” said Randy Roberston, an investigator with the Alabama Real Estate Appraisers Board in Montgomery, AL. He spoke several years ago, but his comments hold true today.

Real estate agents agree. They say connectivity can add to the desirability of a home for some prospective buyers, which can make it a good marketing tool. But as an investment it remains hard to quantify.

Real estate agents caution buyers to consider connectivity’s practical value, and not actual cost. In other words, what will you really use, and do you care about a fridge that tweets?

“All these items add value,” said Richard Calhoun, a real estate investor and broker-owner of Creekside Realty in San Jose, CA. “People should order these features if they are important to them, and they shouldn’t order them if they are not going to use them.”

“We need to make it simple,” said Paul Carter, vice president of Sears, Roebuck and Co. “It has to be like the phone. These connected homes have to work like that, otherwise they become somebody’s wretched nightmare.”

Broderick Perkins contributed to this article.

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