Are you looking to add curb appeal to your outdoor home? If you were asked to describe curb appeal, what would your answer be? Wouldn’t you be lost for words? No doubt about it, curb appeal can be hard to describe. However, it is an easy thing to spot when a home has it. Houses with curb appeal have a nice finished look and an engaging personality. If you’re looking to sell, curb appeal can help you to make a great first impression. There are lots of inexpensive ways to add curb appeal to your home. Full Article
1. Update Your Front Door: The focal point of your home’s curb appeal is the front door. Make a style statement by installing a custom wood door or painting your current door a bright color. When choosing paint, get one that contrasts with your home’s façade. Use metal polish on the door’s fixtures and remove any dirty spots around the knob. Your entry should coordinate with the rest of your home so choose a wreath or swag that reflects your personal style.
2. Replace Old Items: If you have an old wall-mounted mailbox, entry door lockset, house number, or overhead light fixture, it might be reflecting negatively on your curb appeal. When correctly used, these elements can add interest and style to your home’s exterior. Instead of choosing mix-and-match pieces, go for those that function collectively and give your home unmatched style. If you have a traditional home, choose oil bronzed finishes but go for brushed nickel suits if you have a modern home.
3. Install Exterior Lights: With just a few lights, you can create a big impact. Low-voltage landscape lights can perform two key functions: provide security and enhance your home’s curb appeal. Lights can illuminate a walking path or add accent lighting to trees updating the style of your entire exterior.
Average rates on fixed mortgages declined this week amid signs the economic recovery is slowing.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year loan fell to 4.5% from 4.57% last week.
The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage dipped to 3.54% from 3.59% last week.
The retreat in the average rate of a 30-year mortgage comes just a couple of weeks after the rate reached a two-year high of 4.58% on Aug. 22. The average rate on a 15-year mortgage also hit a two-year high — 3.6% — that day. Overall, mortgage rates remain low by historical standards. Full Article
Sales of existing homes declined in May, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors, not just because the overall housing market is struggling, but because there are simply not enough homes to buy.
There are currently 2.49 million for sale, a drop of 20 percent from a year ago. To make matters worse, supply is lowest on the low end, where so much of the investor activity has been over the past several years.
This lack of supply has seriously skewed the readings on home prices for the second straight month.
The median price of an existing home, as reported by the Realtors, rose 7.9 percent in May annually, but NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun was quick to point out that this does not mean the average home owner gained that much equity; it is simply a big shift in the type of home that is selling. Sales of homes priced under $100,000 dropped two percent from a year ago, while sales of homes priced between $250,000 and $500,000 shot up nearly 29 percent (though still at low volumes historically). Again, this is due to lack of supply on the low end, specifically distressed homes. Full Article
From the beginning of your home search through closing escrow, there’s an awful lot to think about and do. It’s not unusual to make a mistake along the way. But with the financial stakes so high, a false move can end up costing you a lot of money. Full Article
Here are five common home buyer mistakes, with tips on how to avoid them.
- You Expect to get the price down After Making an Offer
- You wait until the eleventh hour to ask for credits
- You chase a deal at all costs
- You think you can do it all yourself
- You don’t think like a seller
To successfully purchase a home today, you will need a down payment of at least 3.5 percent of the purchase price. Gone are the days of no down payment alternatives, down payment assistance and seller-offered programs to come up with the money needed to buy a home. Instead, let's look at the five ways you can come up with a down payment to seal the deal. Full Article
1. Gift Money: Gift money is simply that -- a gift from family or documented close relationship. The giftor needs to provide a gift letter and paper trail for the monies they are gifting for the benefit of the buyer. In other words, they'll have to provide a bank account showing that they had the ability to gift the money. In short, gift monies cannot be funds sitting at home in a safe.
2. 401(k)/Retirement Loan: Typically, borrowed funds for a down payment are a no-go, but the exception is a 401(k) or equivalent retirement account (or current home equity line). If you can borrow money from your 401(k) for your down payment, this is accepted for obtaining a purchase mortgage loan. Note: Depending on the terms of your loan, this could be counted as a liability andfactored into your debt-to-income ratio.
3. Sale of a Good: Believe it or not, you can sell your recreational vehicle and use the net proceeds from the transaction as your down payment. Let's say that you decide to sell your motorcycle for $10,000. You'll need to provide the full bill of sale -- as well as the bank statement depositing those funds, matching the bill of sale -- to your mortgage lender. Same goes for any other recreational vehicle, or other item that "makes sense." The key is as long as it's plausible and passes the litmus test and you can paper trail the monies from start to finish, you should have no problem using those monies for the house purchase.
4. Trust Funds, Settlement Awards, etc.: If you come into a chunk of change via an inheritance, settlement, lottery winning, trust fund disbursement, family buyout, even a gambling victory, all of these monies can be used for the down payment as long as the sourcing of the monies is fully documented from A to Z with no stone left unturned. Matching of the amounts of monies used to the original deposits will be required when it comes time to secure the loan.
5. Line of Credit: Where a down payment lacks, enter strength in income. You can take out a line of credit or a personal loan, deposit the full funds into your bank account and after two months, the funds will be eligible for use in the transaction.
While a down payment is needed to purchase in the current real estate market, a prudent homebuyer should also have plans for having available funds for closing costs. The same out-of-the-box strategies listed above can also be used to procure funds for closing costs.
Closing costs run at about 3 percent of the purchase price, on average. So the total funds to close would be 3 percent of purchase price plus 3.5 percent down.
Do your homework. If you don't have a down payment for a house, or your down payment is coming from more than one source, make sure that you talk to a lender upfront so they can help you navigate the best way to properly support and document your monies used. Doing this on the front end will save you from wasting time creating and gathering unnecessary paperwork.
How many times did your family use your dining room last year? If you can count the meals at the table on one hand, then you may want to consider repurposing that room. It can be hard to let go of the dining-room dream, but let’s be realistic. A room that only gets used during holidays isn’t worth keeping. If you’re willing to break out of the traditional dining-room mold, the possibilities can go a lot further than three-course meals and dress shoes. Here are five ways to get more from your dining room. For example, if you spend a lot of time in the kitchen and love the idea of your kids playing close by, then turn your dining room into their playroom. Ditch the fancy table and replace it with a craft table and add toy bins or book shelves. Full Article
