Struggling Homeowners Take on Roommates
In order to reduce expenses, some cash-strapped home buyers are teaming up with a friend to buy a home together as tenants in common instead of buying as a single person.
Personally, I think most single people are better off trying to qualify for a home on their own and taking on a roommate in a rental capacity rather than in a co-owner capacity. The reason is if it's your home, it's your rules. If you own a home with another person, you've got to make compromises.
Plus, taking on a roommate can help make your mortgage payment more affordable . . . read more about Roommates.
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At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.
Struggling Homeowners Take on Roommates originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Friday, January 27th, 2012 at 05:00:40.
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Buying Before Dumping Your Short Sale Home
I get calls from a lot of underwater sellers who ask about buying a new home before selling a short sale.
It's a perfectly reasonable question. Sellers want to know if they should buy a home while their credit is still good and before they do a short sale. Seems to make sense to a lot of people. But it's not as easy as one may think because there are basically 3 ways to buy before a short sale, two of which automatically disqualify a seller from buying. The first thing to think about is why would a short sale lender let you do a short sale if you could qualify to buy a new home? . . . read more about Buying a New Home Before Selling a Short Sale.
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At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.
Buying Before Dumping Your Short Sale Home originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 at 05:00:02.
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How Long Should a Seller Wait for Offer Acceptance?
You can't put off offer acceptance or rejection. I realize that sellers would prefer to have the luxury of a little bit of time to think about an offer and ponder its significance. The amount of money a seller nets can make a huge difference and has a bearing on future plans. It's a big deal to sell a house. Sellers might need to discuss the ramifications of an offer with other family members.
But it's also a big deal to the buyer. Buyers don't want to wait very long to get an answer. The longer a buyer waits, the more anxious a buyer becomes. Plus, if a seller drags her feet, a buyer might think the seller is playing games, maybe waiting for a better offer, and that can infuriate a buyer like there is no tomorrow.
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At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.
How Long Should a Seller Wait for Offer Acceptance? originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Monday, January 23rd, 2012 at 05:00:33.
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How to Buy a Cheap Foreclosure
Buyers tend to lean toward checking out foreclosures for one reason and one reason only, and that is to buy a cheap foreclosure.
Because it's the cheap price on that foreclosure that makes up for the hassle of dealing with the bank, the asset manager, the confusing bank addendums and the foreclosure bank's 'as is' policy. At least in theory that's how it's supposed to work. But not every foreclosure is a cheap foreclosure.
I'm seeing movement, though, toward banks pricing their foreclosures more in line with the comparable sales. Of course, many of those comparable sales are, no surprise here, short sales and foreclosures . . . read more about cheap foreclosures.
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At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.
How to Buy a Cheap Foreclosure originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Friday, January 20th, 2012 at 05:00:37.
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It Might Be Smart to Rent Out a House That You Can't Sell
If you can't sell your home, it might be a good time to think about whether it's smart to rent out a house.
If you ask an agent, he or she might try to talk you out of it. That's because most agents are not in the property management business. So, if they don't sell your house, they won't make any money. But, in some markets, it might make more sense to rent out the house instead of selling it.
Of course, if you're waiting for the market to turn around, it could take a long time for the market to recover. I figured out that if homes were to theoretically appreciate annually at a conservative estimate of 4% per year, a home that has lost 50% or more of its equity won't regain that "lost" equity for at least 18 years . . . read more about how to Rent Out a House.
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At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.
It Might Be Smart to Rent Out a House That You Can't Sell originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 at 05:00:10.
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When Should Your Agent Come Over to List Your Home?
Sellers can get so excited when the decision is made to list a home that they can't wait to get it on the market. They often want an agent to run over and list the home immediately. However, although the seller may be emotionally ready to go on the market, the home might not be.
The first thing a seller should do while waiting for an agent to show up is remove all cars from the driveway. The agent will probably want to shoot photographs, and you don't want a photo of your home to go online with a car in the driveway. It looks terrible. Walk through your house and ask yourself if it's OK that the agent takes photographs of what you see. For example, if you don't want your child's yearbook photo online, take that picture off the wall. It's OK to shove dirty dishes in the oven but it's not OK to leave them in the sink. You don't have to bounce a dime off tightly tucked sheets, but please do make the beds.
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At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.
When Should Your Agent Come Over to List Your Home? originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Monday, January 16th, 2012 at 05:00:01.
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Maybe You Should NOT Buy a Home
Did you ever think you'd hear a real estate agent tell you that there are lots of reasons to not buy a home?
Not every person in the universe is an ...Read Full Post
When Would You Issue a Notice to Perform?
You may never care about a notice to perform until you receive it.
I routinely close dozens of escrows in which I never prepare a Notice to Perform for either party. ...Read Full Post
How to Tell the Difference Between Buyers and Sellers Markets
When most people set out to buy or sell, they're not wondering about whether it's a seller's or a buyer's market.
Home buyers and sellers are thinking about their own needs, about buying or selling. Moreover, sometimes agents, in their rush to grab a listing or sign up that buyer on a buyer's broker agreement, don't talk about the marketplace or educate their clients.
One of the first steps any serious seller or buyer should make is to determine the temperature in the marketplace. Is it hot, cold or neutral? It can mean a world of difference regarding your bottom line because your negotiation tactics will be polar opposites in opposing markets. The way you make money in a seller's market would lose you money in a buyer's market. Being uninformed about markets could cost you big time
. . . read more about Buyers' and Sellers' Real Estate Markets.
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At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.
How to Get Feedback from Home Buyers
One of the frequent questions I hear from readers is "Why isn't my house selling?" Sellers who don't receive an offer are often panicked and worried about what can be ...Read Full Post