April Contest Question

Explain the 3 steps that must be taken in order to sell a home quickly. Good Luck!!

Should You Wait Until Marriage To Become A Homeowner?

One of the hottest debates concerning homeownership is whether or not a person should wait until they are married to purchase a home. A house is an investment and rates are historically low. You can’t find a better time to buy than now! If you buy now and get married later, you can always sell it and possibly even have equity to put into your new home. If you accumulate enough equity, you can even use some of it to pay for your wedding- isn’t that nice! If you get married sooner than you thought and the home hasn’t had time to build up the equity you like, you can decide for you and your spouse to continue living in the house. The good news is you’ll be paying significantly less for your home due to the second income. In addition, you can always have your wedding at your house☺. If you prefer to start your lives in someplace new, you can decide to rent it out for a year or two until the equity improves allowing you to move on to the next chapter of your lives. Perhaps, the best reason buy a house before marriage is that it saves that potentially awkward conversation of a prenuptial agreement when it comes to your home because whatever property you acquire before the marriage is yours. The bottom line points to homeownership, even before marriage, being a win-win situation. Never wait to enjoy life!! Do the things you want to do now, and if you get married later, that’s just the icing on the cake☺. Carmelle

Fear and Homeownership- Why are so many people afraid to take the leap into homeownership?

I've encountered so many people who say they are interested in purchasing a home, yet, when they are told exactly what they must do to make it happen, I never hear from them again. It makes me wonder what is going on. Why do so many of us "freak out" when our opportunity comes to finally have what it is we always said we wanted. Are we that afraid of rejection that we think we may not get what we want, and that it will hurt knowing that what we want will now be outside of our reach? Do we prefer to tell ourselves that the reason we don't have what we want is because we did not try to seriously make it happen? Well, when it comes to homeownership, you can have what you want- you just have to act!! If you do everything you are told and you have not been preapproved for a mortgage, sure it will hurt, but the good news is that it does not mean you can never be a homeowner. This just means that you have more work to do before you can get a loan. Before I purchased my first home, I was turned down for a mortgage and it hurt. I, however, did not let this deter me. I did all that I had to do to in order to improve my credit, and within two years I was approved. This would have never happened if I didn't try. Even better, I felt so proud of myself for being able to significantly turn my credit situation around on my own. You can do it too! Others fear the costs and expenses related to being a homeowner. I remember that for a long time I didn't want my own home because I thought the price to heat a house could be as high as a mortgage (which was my mother’s situation). Yet, when I finally became a homeowner, I was shocked that my gas bill was nowhere near the amount I feared and was very affordable. The moral of this story- go for what it is you say you want!! If you want to be a homeowner, push the fear aside and do what you need to do to make it happen!! Have a little faith. Remember, faith is the substance of all things hoped for, and faith without work is dead!!

Why Rent When You Can Buy? Why Now Is the Time To Buy!!

(Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net) For those of you who have been following me, you are aware by now that interest rates are at an all-time low. This makes now the perfect opportunity to stop putting money in other people’s pockets and making them rich, and instead start making yourself rich. In fact, research shows that homeownership is the biggest source of wealth for most individuals. To illustrate this point, let’s say you are renting a property and each month you pay $700 in rent. You live in the property for 8 years. At the end of the 8 years you would have paid a grand total of $67,200. Ouch! You made your landlord almost $70,000 richer and what do you have to show for it? Nothing. Now, let’s say you decide to purchase your own home for $100,000. 8 years later you decide to put it on the market and now your own home is worth $240,000. Guess who just made $140,000 at the end of the 8 years? You did. This is what makes homeownership so attractive- you are investing in your best asset- yourself! Now, I can just hear pessimists saying, “Well if something goes wrong in your home, you have to fix it, whereas in a rental, the owner will fix it”. This is where education is most important. There are many types of homeownership. If you want the benefits of homeownership without all of the responsibilities of maintenance, maybe a townhome or a condo is the right choice for you. In addition to resale value, your home can often be used as a vehicle to make even more money, by using the equity for other avenues. Consider these options: the husband and wife who uses the equity in their home to open up a line of credit and with that line of credit purchased multi-unit apartment rentals; or the aspiring young man who used the equity from his home to start his own business; or the mother who used to pay for her daughter’s wedding; or the single mother who paid for her son’s college with home equity. The options are endless! Unfortunately, there are some among you who may find that due to credit issues, purchasing a home is not an option at the moment. I offer this advice. Do not be discouraged, but instead do whatever it takes to rebuild your credit. There’s a great article with tips on how to rebuild your credit that may help (click here). Fixing your credit is an attainable goal and with focus and determination, you can soon be in your own home of your dreams. In closing, now is the time to stop investing in other people’s dreams and start investing in yours! Make homeownership your priority and your reality! Carmelle.

Sell Baby, Sell!! Why Now Is The Best Time To Sell Your Home

We often hear that today is a buyer’s market. With interest rates as low as 3.8% it is not difficult to understand current conditions favor buyers. However, I am here to point out several reasons why despite all of the frenzy over a buyer’s market, why actually now is the best time to sell. The fact is, most sellers are usually looking for a new home to purchase to live in. The fact that interest rates are so low will allow many sellers with the perfect opportunity to “upgrade” their homes at a price that is more affordable- you are enabled to get more house for your money. Some of you may be thinking, “Well I’m just going to wait until the market turns." Though this sounds ideal, in reality it is far from that because though your home may command “top dollar” later, the home that you buy will also command “top dollar” and have multiple bidders to compete with. In addition, by then, interest rates will have gone up thus reducing your chances of getting your dream home or put you in a situation to spend more for less then what you can get today. My conclusion, sell now if you want to upgrade your home or location. The timing could not be better. Carmelle

Be Mortgage Ready- How to Rebuild Your Credit

Do any of the following sound familiar? “Christy, can you lend me $100? I’ll give it back to you on payday.”; “Oh no, I have an overdraft in my account. That stupid bank took too long to clear my transactions.”; or “Don’t pick up the phone, it could be the bill collectors.” If any of these statements sound like you, then chances are you may not quite yet be mortgage ready. RELAX, we have all been there!! It is important not to beat yourself up about this, but rather to ask yourself what can you do to actively get yourself out of the situation, and more importantly to never find yourself here again. Here are some small, yet extremely helpful tips you can use to get your credit back on track and get you on the track of mortgage readiness!! 1) Check your credit score- use a credit monitoring program such as True Credit to ensure your score is being rebuilt and to monitor possible threats to your score. Credit Score monitoring also serves as great positive reinforcement. It can be motivating to see how each on-time payment and cleared off account improves your score. 2) Pay off future bills on time. 3) Pay off all collection accounts and have the agencies reflect the payoff on your credit. In addition, get a note from collection agencies verifying the account has been paid off. 4) Pay off debt rather than moving it around. 5) Do not close a credit card until it’s been paid off. 6) Protect your credit from fraud and identity theft. 7) Be patient!! Remember, the simple goal of rebuilding your credit is to show that you can be trusted with borrowed money. The simple way to do this is to pay back the money you owe and on time from now on. If you can do that and consistently, you will eventually prove that you are mortgage ready. I followed all of these steps and within 2 years I was approved for a mortgage. You can do it too!! If you have been in this situation, feel free to leave some tips on what worked for you in rebuilding your credit. Carmelle