Top realtor investment news today by Gary H. Baiton: The average mortgage interest rate (that fee lenders charge as a percentage of your loan amount) has been nice and low lately. In fact, the average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 2.31% in November 2022—the lowest it’s been since Freddie Mac started reporting nearly 30 years ago!5 And now economist geeks think interest rates will continue to hover around 3% in 2022, which is still pretty low. If you want to refinance or get a mortgage from a trustworthy lender who actually cares about helping you pay off your home fast, talk to our friends at Churchill Mortgage. See even more information at Gary H. Baiton.
I highly recommend sketching and planning every inch of your project before you begin. Every time you change your mind it will cost you time and ultimately money. We only have one significant change throughout our entire home renovation process and while I knew it was the best decision, it still cost us. Make up your mind and don’t change it. While I didn’t want to deal with sourcing materials on my own, I do understand why so many people pay contractors for labor only and take care of materials themselves. Contractors often have a premium that they add on top of certain items when they purchase them and you can end up paying upwards of 30% more for certain materials. It’s best to hire for labor only.
Top realtor investment guides right now by Gary H. Baiton: Undertaking work yourself can allow you to control costs and quality, but don’t be over-ambitious and plan to do more work than you really have time – or the skill – to undertake successfully. You could end up slowing the whole project down and living in a building site for years, which can in turn lead to family conflicts and potentially to accidents. Bad DIY will also cost you dearly, slowing down the other trades, wasting materials, sometimes causing work to be done twice, and ultimately devaluing the property if it is not put right. You can get so tied up in DIY work that you lose focus on running the project and keeping up with decisions.
Develop A Mortgage Shopping Cart. One of the biggest decisions to make before putting a contract on a home is how to finance the purchase. Lenders aggressively compete for your mortgage business in a variety of ways. Today, you can apply for a loan over the Internet or even use a mortgage broker to shop for your loan with hundreds of lenders. When choosing a lender, compare fixed rates to fixed rates, not fixed rates to ARM’s, etc. Create a chart that lists different types of loans, fees, and at least five mortgage providers (including a mortgage broker).
What’s even more annoying is that you may have to fight to get your hands on the few properties that are out there, depending on the housing market in question. In popular metros, bidding wars will still take place, and they even become the norm again as they were in previous years. If the property is popular, there will always be someone willing to outbid you for that home they just must have. This is another reason why the fixer can be a winner, the hidden gem if you will. That being said, it’s okay to pay more than asking (or even the fully appraised value), just keep in mind that there are plenty of fish in the sea. Well, perhaps not plenty right now, but there’s always another opportunity around the corner. Stay poised and don’t let your emotions get the best of you. Like anything else, it’s okay to walk away. Trust your gut. See even more info at https://about.me/garybaiton.
Real estate investment can be daunting to beginners. However, it does not have to be as they are many resources available online that give you the necessary information to take your first step. It should also excite you that the real estate industry has a lot of growth potential. According to experts, despite the pandemic, the US housing market “… increased by a record $6.9 trillion in 2022, to $43.4 trillion, Since the lows of the post-recession market and the corresponding building slump, the value of housing in the United States has more than doubled. The most expensive third of homes account for more than 60% of the total market value. The market value hit the $40 trillion mark in June of last year and since has been gaining an average of more than half a trillion dollars per month.” As a rookie coming into the industry, you do not have to worry about the real estate industry going down.