The current housing market is a wonderful ally for home buyers, as home values drop and sellers are willing to negotiate. Home shoppers previously shut out of some local markets are discovering that the scales have tipped in their favor, potentially saving them tens of thousands of dollars over last year’s prices.

Still, there are other ways for buyers to save, even beyond the cost of the house itself. Lets take a look at the three areas where home buying costs can be trimmed:

At the point of sale — Maybe you aren’t aware of just how depressed the housing market is in the area that you live. It can be easy to miss especially if you live in a metropolitan area where some neighborhoods are experiencing steep declines in housing values while others are stable, even rising. Get with a realtor who can supply the information that you need for the area you are considering. She’ll be able to go over the buying and selling trends including how long homes are on the market, recent sales, etc.

At the point of financing — Competition is fierce in the mortgage industry, especially as the number of mortgage companies suffering from the sins of their past (i.e., interest free and other risky loans) continues to rise. Even mortgage companies who aren’t saddled with a lot of bad loans are finding that their customer base has shrunk with many laying off workers. The remaining companies all want your business and, if your credit score is at least 700, you are the catbird seat. Negotiate the lowest rate and fees possible and get that information in writing — brokers would love for you to pay more for your mortgage (higher commissions for them), but if your credit is excellent you can avoid the heavy fees and higher interest rates.

At the point of closing — Closing costs can easily add up to $5000 or more, making the day that you buy your home one filled with mixed emotions: on the one hand you’re happy to get the home, but on the other hand, your wallet just took a huge hit. Some mortgage companies are absorbing most if not all of the closing costs to entice you to their product which is fine but only if you aren’t getting hit with a higher interest rate and other fees. You can also ask the home’s seller to pay for some of these fees too, perhaps making closing day pain free from a financial vantage point.

Take Advantage of the Market While It Lasts

Not everyone is in a financial shape to buy a home now, but if you are you just could find yourself owning a home that will appreciate greatly once the market rebounds. Buy at a price below market value, secure the best loan available, and have someone else pay your closing costs, to save tens of thousands of dollars on the price of your new home. Current market conditions will change — waiting for prices to bottom out could mean that you will miss a perfect opportunity to jump in.

---

Adv. — Once you buy your home, will you need to renovate it? If so, Let’s Renovate has lots of cool ideas and project information to ensure that your renovation goes according to plan. Stop by today to lay the foundation for your new home renovation project!

Tags: closing costs, Home Buying, home sell, mortgage broker, mortgage rates, new home, real estate agent, realtor

The condition of your local housing market could be quite different from the national picture. A knowledgeable real estate agent can help you navigate a tough market.

You’re planning to move sometime over the next several months, but the current housing market has you worried. That house you purchased four years ago when the market was hot may not be so easy to unload today. If you are being transferred by a company and they’ve promised to handle the sale of your home, then you don’t have much to be concerned about. However, if you’re moving on your own, can you withstand the current housing slump?

Scour the internet or tune into cable news and you’ll be under the distinct impression that you’re going to have trouble selling your home. Foreclosures are way up, housing values are down, and consumers are finding it difficult to make ends meet. This kind of news doesn’t bode well for the person who needs to sell their home, not with a saturated seller’s market on hand.

Though the news may be downright nasty, you can still sell your home if you consider the following points:

Know Your Local Market — Most of the news about the real estate market is taking a look at the national scene, not local markets. When people hear that a home was being sold for $1 in Detroit recently, it can be easy to think that things are bad everywhere. While Detroit, Miami, and Los Angeles are certainly down, Houston, San Antonio, and Raleigh are seeing housing values on the rise. Even from neighborhood to neighborhood you’ll see differences as a home’s location can make a difference. Remember this: people are always buying homes.

First Appearances — Homes on the market today have to be presented in the best possible light. When a potential buyer pulls up in front of your home, will they want to get out of their car and come in? Keep the grass trimmed, the yard clean, shrubbery cut back, and paint or fix anything that can detract from the home. Once inside, will the buyer be turned off by a living room crowded with furniture? Consider thinning out your furnishings. Touch up paint, fix ripped carpeting, replace broken fixtures, or do other projects which are needed to get your home in “move in” condition.

Offer Incentives — If your local market is particularly tight, be prepared to offer incentives to sell your home. Consider covering some of the buyer’s closing costs or to offer something else to sweeten the deal. For example, a young couple may consider buying your home if you include some furnishings with the sale. Be creative — you need to think of ways to move your home especially if your market is sour.

Wait It Out — If you are unable to sell your home and you have some flexibility as far as when you must move, then delaying your plans by six months to a year could be the best option. Some analysts are expecting that the housing market will begin to improve next year as the bulk of the foreclosures and bad loan arrangements are put behind borrowers. If you must move, consider renting out your house or dropping the price and taking a loss.

Should you have to take a loss on the sale of your current home there could be a silver lining for you: the house you plan on buying could have also dropped in value, erasing your loss altogether.

---

Adv. — If you’re planning to sell your home, visit SayHomeSell.com for fix up ideas and to find an agent.

Tags: home sell, home staging, real estate, sell a home

Just before my neighbor placed her house on the market last Spring, she had a contractor come in to make several updates. Among the items replaced were her worn down kitchen counter, an aged light fixture, and a section of torn carpeting. Lastly, she had her construction guy update her laundry room.

The laundry room part surprised me as I never would have considered this part of the house to be all that important for the potential buyer. I was soon proven wrong when the house sold within a week, my neighbor boasting that the updated laundry was the clincher.

Making Improvements To Sell Your Home

Well, it turns out that a laundry area is important for some people particularly for the new owner who has four children and uses that room a lot. My former neighbor, Betty, didn’t have to gut the laundry to make it presentable, but she make several updates which helped her cause:

Cabinet Refacing or Painting — Betty’s home was built in the early 1970s, but the laundry room was updated once before her contractor got to it. Still, the twenty year old cabinets needed sprucing up, leaving my neighbor with a choice: paint or reface? She chose to paint.

New Tile Flooring – Broken tile thanks to damage from the washer and dryer meant that new flooring had to be put down. With wood floors underneath, Betty could have had everything stripped down but she chose to add fresh laminate to protect the wood and add some extra sparkle.

Wall Improvement — Other than having a side shelf installed to hold those items which wouldn’t fit into the cabinets, Betty chose to have the walls repainted. She chose eggshell white which goes well with her floors and shelving.

Lighting — I like recessed lighting, but my neighbor chose to keep the existing fluorescent lighting in place, simply to limit all of our repairs to under $5000. My new neighbors have since installed the recessed lights which are bright without causing strain on the eyes.

Odds ‘n Ends — There are no windows in this laundry room, so shades, blinds or curtains aren’t needed. Betty’s old stereo system still pumps music into the room, providing a momentary escape while doing household chores. If a laundry is big enough, a chair to relax might nice provided that the ventilation in the room is adequate enough to remove bleach fumes and a soapy smell.

Should You Make Changes Or Not?

Prior to her speaking with a realtor about listing her home, my neighbor hadn’t planned to make too many updates to the home. However, with a few glaring deficiencies present and a tight housing market to contend with, Betty went ahead with the work and was able to sell her home quickly and at full price. Not every home improvement project needs to be handled in advance of placing a home on the market, but in this case one did and succeeded.

Tags: home buy, home sell, housing contractor, laundry room