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New Year’s Resolutions That Can Help You Buy a Home

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New Year, new home! To improve your chances of buying a home, you need to get your financial records in order.

Are you thinking of purchasing a home in the new year? Five New Year’s Resolutions to help you maintain a strong financial record are listed below.

1. Avoid job-hopping

When evaluating mortgage applications, lenders will look closely at income and employment history. While a new job can be a great career move, if your goal is to purchase a home in 2019, it’s important to know that some lenders may not approve of job hopping, especially if the applicant is moving to another industry.

It is ideal to have a steady job history with few, if any, gaps in employment in the last two years. This allows lenders to better predict your future income.

Notify your lender immediately if you find a job that is not related to home-buying. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you will not be eligible for a mortgage. However, be prepared to provide additional documentation.

It may be beneficial to your application if you are moving from an hourly or commissioned job to one that is salaried with the same or higher compensation. Lenders prefer that borrowers have steady, predictable incomes.

2. Subscribe to a limit on monthly services

Although monthly subscriptions are convenient, they can be costly. Even if you make your monthly payments on your credit card, your credit report could be pulled at any point during your credit cycle.

Consider reducing your monthly subscription if you are thinking about buying a house this year.

3. Credit history building

Your credit history is one of the first things that a lender will examine. Lenders favor borrowers who pay off their credit cards and other debts on a timely basis. This signals that they are more likely to approve you for borrowing.

It may be more difficult and time-consuming to secure a home loan if you don’t own credit. A history of paying rent and utilities on-time, along with student loans debt and cell phone bills can show potential lenders that you are capable of managing monthly payments.

4. Verify your credit

Your credit score could have a major impact on your ability buy a house. Low credit scores can have a negative impact on how much money you are able to borrow from lenders and your interest rate.

A few percentage points difference in the interest rate could cost you thousands of dollars over the loan’s life. To avoid any unexpected surprises that might delay your loan application, be sure to monitor your credit, particularly for fraud.

Many financial websites provide credit score monitoring. You can also get a complete credit report once per year if you are unsure about your credit score.

5. Avoid large purchases

Before buying a house, avoid taking on excessive amounts of debt. Even if you are preapproved, this is a good idea.

The ratio of your income to debt, which is how much you earn compared to the amount of debt you have, will impact how much money a lender will lend you. A lower debt load can make home-buying easier.

Like proofreading your resume before applying for a job, a clean financial resume can improve your chances of purchasing a home.

When Your ready for your NEW HOME give Preferred Properties of Texas a call. We are here for All Your Real Estate Needs!

 

Orignal blog: https://clarkwilsonbuilder.com/5-new-years-resolutions-that-can-help-you-buy-a-home/

 

If You Think The Housing Market Will Slow This Winter, Think Again

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The opportunity to benefit from today’s low mortgage rate and the changing homeowner requirements make it easier for Americans to purchase a home. Experts say buyers are moving right now, which is creating a strong market for home-buying at this time of the year. It is time to find out what this means as we move into next year’s early part.

What does this all mean for the winter market?

Buyers are actively looking for homes and are competing for them. All signs point to the market for winter housing picking up speed, as a result of the momentum from this fall. This will make it busier than usual. As we have seen, 2021 and 2020 were not typical real estate years. It appears that 2022 could be next on the list.

Bottom Line

You might be wrong if you believe the housing market will slow this winter. Call Preferred Properties of Texas to speak to one of our local real estate professionals if you are thinking of buying or selling a house this winter.

 

For original blog click link:  https://www.keepingcurrentmatters.com/2021/12/13/if-you-think-the-housing-market-will-slow-this-winter-think-again/

October Might Just Be The Best Time To Buy

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Are you thinking of buying a house? We have good news for those who are.

Although it’s clear that the housing market has had a fantastic year, most headlines focus on the benefits for buyers. What about buyers? You’ll likely be facing bidding wars as you look for the perfect home. You don’t have to feel discouraged if you are looking for your dream home.

There is a golden window for those who are looking to purchase a home.

There should be an increase in the number of homes for sale. realtor.com predicts that more homes will be on the market in October. According to the findings, 17.6% more homes will be available than we had at the beginning of the year.

This will allow you more choices, which is a relief in a tight housing market.

You should see a slight decrease in bidding wars as there are more homes on the market. Because there are so many options, buyers might not be as competitive for homes because they have more options.

This means that writing an offer may be less competitive and have a greater chance of winning the bid. It’s important to make a strong offer.

As we approach the end of the year realtor.com suggests that this week could also be one the most popular weeks for price reductions in the 2021. The data from the past shows that an average of 7.0% homes experience a price drop in this week. What is the reason? Why?

This means that although home prices continue to appreciate overall, there may be some homes where price adjustments are made by eager sellers. Closing a house is a lengthy process. Sellers may be more motivated to close by the end of the year if they can do it in October.

Don’t let your enthusiasm die if you are in the market to buy a home. According to data, early October could be the time you finally find the home of dreams. To keep you motivated and on the right track to finding the perfect home, you should rely on an experienced real estate professional as your advisor. Give us a call today. 

 

Link to original article: https://www.keepingcurrentmatters.com/2021/09/28/early-october-is-the-sweet-spot-for-buyers/

Preparing For Homeownership While Renting

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While you may not be ready for your first home purchase, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t start planning now. Here things you can do while renting to help you be in a better place when you’re ready for buying.

Although you cannot predict every cost of homeownership, you can make a rough estimate about how much it will impact your budget. A REALTOR(r), can help you determine how much you can afford, what your mortgage payment would be, local property taxes and any repair costs that you may want to consider as a homeowner.

Request a free credit report before you apply for a loan. You can correct any errors in your credit report before they impact your eligibility for a mortgage loan. You might also be able take steps to improve credit before you purchase a property.

Although there is no home that offers every amenity you need, you can get a good idea of what you are looking for. A home with less than two bathrooms might not be an option, but you may find the value in a home with a smaller kitchen and a less appealing exterior.

When your ready to buy a home give us a call, we can answer your questions about the home buying process and help you avoid surprises along he way.

 

Original Post At:  https://www.texasrealestate.com/members/posts/3-ways-to-prepare-for-homeownership-while-renting/

What Can Affect Your Home Value?

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Real estate experts know that homes in desirable locations or within the boundaries of top schools will sell at a higher price. The location is an important factor in determining the price of homes. What are the factors that can lower the home’s value? What makes a neighborhood less desirable?

Bad Schools. Young families are looking for homes that are zoned for the best schools. Homes with low school ratings aren’t highly sought-after. Property values are affected more by living within the limits of schools with poor ratings than any other factors. According to Great Schools, the median home price for zip codes with schools rated 1 through 3 out of 10 is $155,000.

Strip Clubs. This one seems to be the most expected on this list. A young family would not want to live near a club with an adult theme. These clubs often have loud music blasting and unsavory people hanging out outside. Realtor.com surveyed many areas with strip clubs in large metropolitan areas. One neighborhood had 10 clubs. Washington Park, East St. Louis, IL. This neighborhood has only seen a few homes sell in the past three years, and the median home price is $10,000.

Lots of Rentals. Is it possible for a neighborhood with high levels of rental units/buildings to lower its property value? Although it is difficult to do an exact analysis of this factor, the research revealed that higher property values were associated with areas with more rentable homes.

Homeless Shelters. Shelters for homeless people can often be seen as the unloved misfits of a community. Although there isn’t any hard evidence to prove that homeless shelters bring in more crime than others, shelters can attract a diverse group of people and emergency calls numbers go up in areas close to shelters. The property values of areas with homeless shelters are almost 13% lower than those without them.

Cemetery. Cemeteries can be quieter than other neighborhoods, but there are still people who don’t want to live in close proximity to the living. The median home price in zip codes with cemeteries was 12% less than the neighboring zip codes.

Factors that Bring Down Value less than 10%

These last factors  bring down property values less than 10%, but are still worth noting.

  • Funeral Homes- 6.5%
  • Power Plants- 5.3%
  • Shooting Range-3.7%
  • Hospitals-3.2%

While location is important when it comes to real property, there are many other factors that can help homes sell for top dollar. With the help of an expert selling agent you can get your home sold for a great price.

Housing Shortage May Finally Be Starting To Lift

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The massive housing shortage that started before the pandemic, and was then made worse by it, may finally be beginning to ease.

More supply is appearing on the market suddenly, which will undoubtedly help frustrated buyers and, in the long term, could take some of the heat off of home prices.

According to Realtor.com in June, new listings rose by 5.5% and 10.9% respectively year over year. The 10 larger cities with the highest number of new listings increased by 20% or more compared to last year were the most successful.

Our June data report indicates that buyers have good news, despite the fact that there’s still a lot of homes to sell and that home prices are at a record high.

As sellers entered the market with a variety price points across the country, inventory declined more than in the earlier pandemic.

It is not surprising that inventory has increased because most new listings fall between May-June, after the spring market. However, today’s housing market doesn’t follow the traditional rules. The pandemic caused unprecedented demand for larger suburban homes.

We noticed an improvement in the number of new listings between May and June. This suggests that sellers are entering market historically later in the season. It could also mean that we will see home buying continue into the autumn as buyers look for new opportunities.

Unexpected new supply is good news for homebuyers. Many have been left out in bidding battles. However, the market remains extremely tight. The inventory of homes on sale fell 43.1% over the past year, which is 415,000 less homes than were available on a typical June date. However, this is an improvement on the more than 50% declines that were seen in May, March, and April. Again, new listings were higher but still far below the June pre-pandemic average.

However, there is still more supply available for some buyers who are frustrated. The market is improving slightly. It means that more people have signed contracts to buy their next home. This in turn means there are more listings available because they are now able sell their home.

The month’s inventory, which is a calculation of how much has been sold compared to how much remains for sale, saw a slight increase, but not enough.

Housing boom will slowly recede if there are more homes on the market. It is unlikely that the housing boom will fall sharply or “bust” simply because of favorable demographics and historically low mortgage rates.

Preferred Properties of Texas

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