04 Jan 2019
By Kevin Gahagan

Should You Buy A Fixer Upper Or Move-In Ready Home?

Real Estate

Should You Buy A Fixer Upper Or Move-In Ready HomeThere’s a lot to be said for buying a move-in ready home. All you have to do is put your things away and start living your life. On the other hand, buying a fixer upper has its advantages, too. You can get a great bargain on a fixer upper home. So which one should you choose?

Here are some things to consider.

You Can Easily Afford To Buy What You Want

If money is no object, then a move-in ready home is the best choice. You’ll be able to get exactly the home you want with little or no effort decorating it the way you want. If you’re the kind of person who can hire an interior decorator, then you’ll likely want to spend time decorating, not reconstructing.

You Like A Challenge

If you think of owning a home as an adventure rather than a convenience, consider buying a fixer upper. You’ll have lots of interesting challenges, like figuring out where to buy those non-standard replacement windows, how to reinforce a floor for a tile installation and much more.

You’re Older And Just Want To Settle Down

Renovating a fixer upper requires energy and strength. If you’re older or you tire easily, buying a move-in ready home might be a better strategy. A fixer upper might be too much to handle if you attempt all the work without professional help.

Money Is Tight

If you feel you would be strapped financially to buy a move-in ready home with all the bells and whistles, consider a fixer upper. You’ll be able to easily handle the mortgage payment. You’ll be able to renovate on your own schedule, according to when you can afford new building materials.

You’re Looking For An Investment

If you’re looking to get fast equity out of your home purchase, a fixer upper is definitely a smart move. Once you complete the renovations you could refinance on the higher value and bank the profits.

As you can see, fixer uppers and move in ready homes are both good values, depending on your own situation. Hopefully this list of pros and cons will help you make the right choice for your lifestyle.

Your trusted mortgage professional is available to go over your financing options and get your pre-approval ready for when you find your perfect home. 

03 Jan 2019
By Kevin Gahagan

5 First Steps For New Homeowners

Real Estate

5 First Steps For New HomeownersAs a new homeowner, now is the time to take control and organize your house for safety and security. The following first five steps should be carried out in the first few weeks if possible.

1. Change The Locks

There’s no way of knowing if the previous owners gave copies of the house keys to a friend, neighbor or cleaning staff. The very first thing you should do when you take ownership is to re-key the locks on all the doors, including the garage and any outbuildings there may be on the property.

Alternatively, you can install brand new locks. Either way, a locksmith can take care of this for you.

2.  Locate Shut-Off Valves

Don’t wait until a water leak to run around searching for the main shut-off valve. Instead, take a few minutes to locate all the shut-off valves for your new home. Write down their locations and post the list next to your circuit breaker.

3. Label The Circuit Breaker Switches

As the new homeowner, you’ll want to know what each circuit breaker switch controls. Work with a family member to methodically go through and flip each switch off and on to figure out the controls. Then carefully label each switch so you never have to guess again.

4. Place Fire Extinguishers

Be ready for a small fire emergency by placing fire extinguishers in each room of your new home. For the kitchen and garage especially, be sure to purchase the correct type of fire extinguisher. The labels on the extinguishers will guide your decision. Even bedrooms could have at least a small extinguisher handy, in case of an electrical malfunction. 

5. Survey The Land

It pays to walk the land around your property to visually survey it. You’ll want to know about potential issues, such as poison ivy growth or a broken fence panel. You might also find some happy surprises like a hidden rosebush or a nest of birds.

Taking the time to do these five steps will assist in making your new home more enjoyable for your family. They will also help you to familiarize yourself better with your new property. 

If you are in the market for a new home or interested in refinancing your current property, be sure to contact your trusted mortgage professional.

28 Dec 2018
By Kevin Gahagan

How Tech Can Change the Real Estate Process

Real Estate

How Tech Can Change the Real Estate ProcessVirtual reality, artificial intelligence and drone video are just a few of the ways that technology is changing the real estate industry. If you are in the market for a property, understanding these new processes can help you in many ways.

Using Artificial Intelligence

Doing business with an AI-infused process helps you more quickly identify properties that meet your standards. AI also reduces human error in the closing process. Agents using AI can get you more information about properties more quickly, and they can also cut the fat out of the close, possibly saving you money.

Using Virtual Reality

Taking a virtual reality tour of a property can save you a lot of gas, time and effort. You no longer have to physically be at a location to understand its potential – you can see everything that you need to see online. Of course you can follow up in person, but you save huge amounts of time by visiting only the properties that have impressed you online.

Organizing Big Data

Buyers and sellers have access to more information than ever – information that was once only available to full time professionals in the industry. Dealing with it can be quite overwhelming, but you must in order to be a sophisticated investor. In many cases, your agent serves as your information filter, keeping you from becoming distracted by false or misleading information.

Remote Transactions

A growing number of real estate transactions are being done without ever meeting the other party involved. The entire process can be conducted online from search to close, if need be. Buyers and sellers can save a great deal of money through reduced overhead with remote transactions. Biometrics help to maintain the security of the transaction.

The technologies above are just a few of the new things that are changing the real estate process for the better. Keep your ear to the street, because the landscape is always changing.

As soon as you are interested in looking for a new home, be sure to contact your trusted mortgage professional to secure your financing and get your pre-approval ready.

27 Dec 2018
By Kevin Gahagan

4 Reasons Why Home Ownership Is Better Than Renting

Real Estate

4 Reasons Why Home Ownership Is Better Than RentingAre you trying to decide if you should rent or buy? There are many reasons why home ownership is better than renting. Here are just a few to consider when you’re making your decision.

1. Stability For Your Family

When you own your home, the life of your family will be more stable. If you have children, this is a an even more valuable benefit. Your kids will be able to settle down into the routine of school and extracurricular activities. They’ll be able to make lifelong friends in the neighborhood. You and your spouse will be able to feel a strong sense of community and belonging.

2. Personalization

Owning a home is better than renting because you can personalize and customize your living environment. In many rentals, you can’t even paint the walls if you want to.

When you own, you not only can paint walls whatever color you want; you can knock them down if you like! You spend so much time at home, being able to make stamp your personality on it is a huge benefit!

3. Peace And Quiet

When compared to renting an apartment, there is a lot more peace and quiet in your own home. In an apartment, walls are shared. Often, there isn’t a lot of insulation inside the walls, either. It’s likely you’ll be able to hear your neighbors, their kids or their barking dogs. When you own your home, you’ll be able to enjoy the peace and quiet you deserve.

4. Outdoor Property

When you own your home, you may have access to outdoor space in addition to your house. That property is yours to do as you wish. You could make an outdoor living area, plant a garden, install a pool or erect a badminton set. The outdoor property around your house certainly adds to the satisfaction of owning your home.

It’s likely that these four benefits will give you some reasons to pursue home ownership. Chances are you’ll never want to go back to renting again!

When you’re ready to begin the search for your next home, contact a trusted mortgage professional in your area to get your financing pre-approved!

21 Dec 2018
By Kevin Gahagan

Big Cities vs. Secondary Markets: Where to Buy?

Real Estate

Big Cities vs. Secondary Markets Where to BuyAtlanta, Charlotte, New York and Los Angeles are always on the real estate radar because of big ticket sales and good media coverage. The secondary markets – those markets without the celebrity undertones – may actually be better deals. With the price of borrowing money rising and occupation rates dropping in primary markets, places like Nashville and Birmingham are looking better to investors.

Where Are the Secondary Markets?

A secondary market is generally defined as a mid size or large city that has recorded an uptick in growth in the immediate past. They do not have quite the economic clout or media presence of a primary market, although they may rival each other in terms of population.

Generally, the influx of new attention for a secondary market will be from young professionals. These are people who are upwardly mobile and seeking new forms of skilled employment. This is what has driven the markets of cities like San Antonio, San Jose, San Diego, Phoenix and Philadelphia to new heights in recent years.

What Do Experts Think?

Experts believe that primary markets have topped out for the time being. With occupancy rates dropping from highs in the lower 90 percentiles, primary markets are just too saturated for their own good. Landlords in these areas are more unwilling to lower rents in these areas, because there are usually more high income earners established there who want to stay in the area to keep a legacy job or maintain a family.

Rising real estate prices and interest rates also put the primary housing market out of the reach of many outsiders. Researchers have found that doing real estate business in a secondary market can provide an investor with a 16% premium. The cost of real estate itself is around 38% lower. So are the costs of maintaining a property (energy costs 22% lower; labor costs 14% lower).

The New Primary Markets?

With respect to income, secondary market housing prices are up to 45% more affordable. Individuals notice this, and so do commercial investors and developers. This is why the mad rush to cities like Phoenix and San Diego will be red hot for the next few years, say investors, even in relation to established cities like Los Angeles and New York.

No matter where you are looking to purchase your new home, it is essential that you rely on your trusted mortgage professional to explore your financing options. Finding out how much you can afford can be a key element in deciding which market could be the best fit for you.