Radio Realty

The ABC’s of buying your home…

A.   Act Now!

 One of the best things to do to get started is to simply get started.   Find a Realtor that you know like and Trust.  A good way to do that is ask around.  What name keeps coming up; then make an appointment and  interview the Realtor.  Make sure that you want to work with this person; is this someone you can relate with? 

B.  Borrow!

How much can you Borrow?  Get pre-qualified.  You don’t have to borrow as much as possible, but find out what is possible.  Get declined…try a second lender.  Remember, it’s not no never, rather, it’s not yet! 

Work with a Mortgage Professional.  This person does not have to be with YOUR bank.

C.   Contract to Purchase!

Many homebuyers are beginning their search online, which is great.  But then get out there and look at some homes, take some tours and get to know what 1800, or 1200 square feet feels like.  You may find that your parameters change. 

Once you have found the home you like, in the area you want and at the price your qualified for; it’s time to write the offer.

There are many moving parts to an offer; here are a few basics:

• Subject to Inspection:  cheap insurance.  Get a home inspection, from this report you may find you want out of the deal, or there may be some negotiation on repairs required.
• Subject to financing:  you are protected along with your earnest money should the financing fall through…through no fault of yours that is.  (quit your job or buy a new car before closing and you might well lose your earnest money)  This means also that the home has to appraise for the agreed upon value at a minimum; there could also be lender required repairs that need to be resolved as well.
• Subject to Clear title:  the only encumbrances against the property should be your loan; outside of property tax.  The Title Report will identify the Plat, CCRS, Easements ETC.  you will have time to review and approve prior to closing. 

 Then it’s off to Closing.  Remember to bring your photo ID and whatever money you are bringing to closing, if any, must be in the form of a cashier’s check.  NO CASH or Personal Check.  Waiting for your check to clear could delay closing up to a week or more.

Are you ready?  It’s as easy as ABC…when your working with professionals that is.

 Remember…Real Estate is a Long term investment!

Pending Home Sales Decline in December, Remain Above a Year Ago

Washington, January 25, 2012  (courtesy of www.Realtor.org)

After reaching a 19-month high, pending home sales eased in December but stayed above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, declined 3.5 percent to 96.6 in December from 100.1 in November but is 5.6 percent above December 2010 when it was 91.5. The data reflects contracts but not closings.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the trend line remains positive. “Even with a modest decline, the preceding two months of contract activity are the highest in the past four years outside of the home-buyer tax credit period,” he said. “Contract failures remain an issue, reported by one-third of Realtors® over the past few months, but home buyers are not giving up.”

Yun said some buyers successfully complete the sale after a contract delay, while others stay in the market after a contract failure and make another offer. “Housing affordability conditions are too good to pass up,” he said. “Our hope is lending conditions will gradually improve with sustained increases in closed existing-home sales.”

Let’s take a look at What can lead to a contract failure?

• Buyer related issues….(credit, cash to close, debt to income)
• Property issues….(inspection – repairs, value – appraisal, short sale/forclosure process)
• Seller related issues…(unwilling or able to make repairs, or meet lower value from appraisal)

There is ample mortgage money for Conventional, VA, USDA RD, AHFC loans….for both Purchase and Refinance. 

My experience is that Sellers are willing to do what’s necassary to make the deal work…Buyers are motivated to own and see the benefits of Homer Ownership.

Interest rates are currently at an all time low!  The inventory of Property is ample!  Albeit cliche, this is the Perfect Storm of Opportunity…

Chris Story wishing you Health, Wealth and Prosperity.

“For real estate to do well you want to see two things: that incomes are growing rapidly … and that the growth in jobs attracts other people to that market,” Ingo Winzer, founder and president of Local Market Monitor, told Forbes.

There you have it…Job Growth and Increasing Incomes are the secret recipe for an Outstanding Real Estate Market.

This means the next time you vote for Mayor of your town….or Councilmen or Assembly, you are impacting your Housing Market.  It’s up to you; if you’re not growing your dying!

If it Happens to Real Estate…It Matters to YOU!

Tony’s Tips for January 2012.

• How much snow on the roof is too much? There are several factors that weigh in on this but the two important ones are: what’s the roof pitch (slope) and how much moisture is in the snow?

The flatter the roof slope the longer the snow will stay on the roof and build up. Ice will form as the snow melts and freezes. Ice weighs 5 times more per inch than snow so removal of both is necessary the closer you get to the average designed roof load of 40 Lb. per Cubic foot.

Since the moisture content of snow can range from about 1% to about 33% it can weigh about 1 pound per cubic foot to over 21 pounds per cubic foot. To be conservative it’s best to estimate it at 20 lbs. a cu. Ft. If you have Ice then it’s 5.2 lbs. for every inch in thickness.

If you want to figure it out then here’s the data:

• S=Inches of snow on the roof 1.25= Weight of 1 sq. ft. of snow for each 1” of depth P= Pounds per square foot

Example: If the roof has 24” of snow, what would that equate to? (S)(1.25)=P

(24”)(1.25 lbs./sq. ft.) = 30 lbs./ sq. ft.

Don’t let Snow exceed 32” or Ice thicker than 8” or you’ll exceed the 40 lb. per cubic foot roof snow load.

The lower the roof pitch (3/12 pitch) the more the snow will build up. Metal Roofs with a higher pitch (8/12 or 12/12) usually gets the snow to slide right off before it gets too high. Regardless, once the snow is about 24” high it’s time to remove it. Get a Snow Roof Rake ($40) and remove any snow lapping over the edge like a blanket before it tears off the Gutters.

Here are a couple articles on the Web to check out:

http://www.katu.com/younews/36578604.html

http://weather.thefuntimesguide.com/2009/02/roof_snow_removal.php

http://www.ehow.com/info_7925692_removal-snow-roofs.html

http://www.norwichbulletin.com/lifestyles/homegarden/x1569736693/How-to-safely-remove-snow-from-the-roof#axzz1jn7XEHsu

Be safe and keep warm.

Just In Time Tony. 299-1291.

Ok….now will you Shut Up about the Economy being so bad…. 

Rare copy of Action Comics No. 1, missing 11 years, sells for record $2.16M in online auction

I mean seriously…you can’t go to dinner without encountering a crowd…..shopping…forget about it.  We just closed on a home over a half a million dollars in the dead of winter here in Homer Alaska…..and now this….

• A frigging comic books sells for 2.1 million bucks…..

Come on…are you serious? 

I know there are problems out there…..but within a month of each other…we have a condo in NY selling for over $13,000 per square foot, and a comic selling for more than $70,000 per page. 

Yeah…I think we’re gonna make it. 

For Radio Realty I’m Chris Story….(desperately looking through my old crap for that Hulk comic book.  Damn it…why wasn’t I more organized?  I blame my parents…see also my article on personal responsibility)

4 Ways to pay for your Dream Kitchen….

1.   HUD Title 1 loan……$25,000 for remodel, can do the labor yourself.  (or hire contractors…your choice)  The money is put into your account and you are in control. 

2.  Home Equity Line of Credit…just make sure that the interest rate is fixed.

3.  Cash-Out Refinance…Unlike the HUD or Line you will need an appraisal and there will be higher fees for closing this loan.  (depending on your equity position, you may also incur MIP…so do your homework)

4.  Re-purpose-Reuse-Recycle:  There are remodels happening all around you…put the word out that you are looking for kitchen cabinets and fixtures.  You will be amazed at how many replies you get.  (I remodeled a home once that had perfect oak cabinets…we wanted Maple…so we gave away our cabinets…they were PERFECT….just not what we wanted.)  Also, remember that some paint and new hardware can revolutionize your existing cabinetry…also you can remove some of the doors and add glass and with well placed lighting…What’s Old is NEW!

For Radio Realty…I’m Chris Story wishing you Health, Wealth and Prosperity.

What I want for Christmas….a nice  little ranch home…WHAT?

Jackson Ranch, Jackson, WY

Charles Schwab, Tiger Woods, Harrison Ford and Vice President Dick Cheney are among those who either bought here or call Jackson home. Land in this incredibly beautiful part of the Wild West is extremely expensive, and in this case it is land you are paying for.  A cool $175 million gets you what would be a starter home anyplace else, a non-descript 3-bedroom, but you’ll have plenty of space to build, on this 1,750-acre horse and cattle ranch with trout fishing ponds, drop dead views of the Tetons and a world class 52-stall equestrian facility.