Home ownership is one of the best ways to build your financial future. In fact, homeowners have an average net worth that is 40 times greater than that of renters. Watch:
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COVID-19 has caused many people to spend significantly more time at home than they’re used to—and all that time at home has led to a serious rise in the popularity of home improvement and DIY projects.
But it looks like this DIY/home improvement trend is here to stay — COVID or no COVID. The home improvement and DIY trend has staying power beyond the pandemic, according to a recent report by CNBC:
Bottom line: While COVID may have inspired the uptick in home improvement and DIY projects, the trend is showing no signs of slowing. So if you’ve been thinking about tackling a project at home (either for your own satisfaction or to get your property ready to sell), now is a great time to make a move.
House hunting is always a process — but in the midst of COVID-19, there are even more things to know and learn about successfully finding and buying a home. But what, exactly, are those things? What do you need to know to find and buy a home right now?
Realtor.com outlines some key lessons home buyers should know if they’re shopping during COVID, including:
Considering how much the pandemic has affected the economy and peoples’ jobs, you might expect that it would have directly impacted real estate values. In many areas, including Green Valley, that just isn’t the case. In fact, due to such low inventory, prices have stayed steady and in many cases, even gone up. And there are a lot more buyers than houses for sale, making competition stiff. Now is not the time to make low offers on new listings.
This is always the first thing you should do before looking at houses, even when there isn’t a pandemic. But, due to the current events, many mortgage lenders have changed their lending requirements — so before you get too deep into the house hunting process, make sure you get pre-approved (or pre-qualified) and can get access to the funds you need to buy a home.
Working with a Buyer’s Agent is also always important — but it’s especially important now, when you may be relying on photos or a virtual tour to determine whether you want to make an offer on a property. Not only can your agent walk you through the entire buying process, but because they’ll actually be on site giving you the virtual tour, they can clue you in to potential issues you might have missed on video — which can prevent you from making an offer on a house that isn’t the right fit.
There are a lot of factors that make this a perfect time to buy a home. Just make sure you go into it with realistic expectations, and are aware of the actual current market conditions in the area you are looking.
Video tours are a great option for long-distance buyers and buyers who are hesitant to tour a property in person due to COVID-19 concerns. But if you’re planning a video tour and want to get a comprehensive feel for the property, you need to tour more than just the interior of the house — you need to take the video tour outdoors. Here are a few key outdoor elements you should explore:
Privacy and community are important — and, as such, it’s important to know how far (or how close) the neighbors are to the property you’re considering, and how well they maintain their homes. The fact is, real estate is all about location, and property values can be affected by “the company you keep.” You don’t want to buy a stunning home, only to find out later that surrounding homes are not maintained, in a state of disrepair, or that there’s a vacant lot behind the house that may be developed in the future. Ask your Buyer’s Agent to take a 360 degree video of the surrounding homes and the street to identify potential red flags.
You want to get a clear idea of the time, money, and energy it will take to maintain the outdoor space, so make sure your agent gives you a full tour of the front, back, and/or side yards; that way, you can get an idea of existing trees, shrubs, and landscaping needs.
Outdoor space is important, and Arizona’s dry climate can lead to dry rot and deterioration of outdoor spaces if not properly maintained. It can be hard to see such damage on a video tour or in listing photos, so make sure your Buyer’s Agent zooms in on the patio areas so you can identify any wear and tear.
The front of the house may look like it’s in great shape, but what about the sides and the back? Make sure you get images or video of the exterior of the home from every angle so you can identify any potential damage or necessary repairs.
Video tours can give you just as much detail and information about a property checking as seeing it in person. But that’s only true if when working with a Buyer’s Agent who specializes in working with out-of-state clients. Give me a call, (520) 333-0446.
While COVID-related restrictions have loosened in many areas, many buyers are still wary about going to tour homes in person — and video tours are still hugely popular. Perhaps it’ll even be a permanent addition to how some people look at homes even once the pandemic is entirely under control.
Video tours can give you just as much detail and information about a property checking as seeing it in person. But that’s only true if when working with a Buyer’s Agent who specializes in working with out-of-state clients.
Since the kitchen is often considered the most important room in the house (from a buyer’s perspective), here’s some key points I’ll focus on in your virtual tour or video/Facetime showing:
Just because you can’t (or don’t want to) tour a home in person, doesn’t mean you can’t get a good look at the kitchen — or any other room, for that matter. You just need to be working with the right Buyer’s Agent, and not hesitate to request a closer look at the things you really want to see.
With more companies figuring out how to efficiently and effectively enable their employees to work remotely (and for longer than most of us initially expected), homeowners throughout the country are re-evaluating their needs.
Do I still need to live close to my company’s office building? Do I need a larger home with more office space? Would making a move to the suburbs make more sense for my family? All of these questions are on the table for many Americans as we ride the wave of the current health crisis and consider evolving homeownership needs.
According to George Ratiu, Senior Economist for realtor.com:
“The ability to work remotely is expanding home shoppers’ geographic options and driving their motivation to buy, even if it means a longer commute, at least in the short term … although it’s too early to tell what long-term impact the COVID-era of remote work will have on housing, it’s clear that the pandemic is shaping how people live and work under the same roof.”
Working remotely is definitely changing how Americans spend their time at home, and also how they use their available square footage. Homeowners aren’t just looking for a room for a home office, either. The desire to have a home gym, an updated kitchen, and more space in general – indoor and outdoor – are all key factors motivating some buyers to change their home search parameters.Continue Reading
Homeownership is one of the central tenets of contemporary life. Most of us dream of a familiar, comfortable place to call our own, and buying a home is gives us our own piece of the American Dream.
But until and unless you’ve been through the process several times, there are plenty of mistakes many people make on their journey to property ownership.
If you’ve made any of these yourself, don’t feel bad — it can happen to the best of us. And if you’re a home buyer who wants to get ahead of the curve, take a look at the following things not to do when buying a home… so when it’s time to pull the trigger, you’ll be ready to go!Continue Reading
Sometimes it helps to see the dollars and cents you’ll save when you purchase a home while mortgage rates are low. Today’s historic low rates mean it’s less expensive to borrow money, so the savings over the life of your loan is significant.
Let’s connect to determine the best way to position you for a financially-savvy move in today’s market.
A recent study from HarrisX shows the current health crisis isn’t slowing down today’s homebuyers.
In fact, many buyers are accelerating their timelines to take advantage of low mortgage rates, and staying home has enabled some to save more money to put toward a down payment.
Let’s connect today if your needs have recently changed and you’re ready to make a move this year.
When you apply for a mortgage, you expect your lender to have some questions. But the truth is, your lender is going to have a lot of questions — and if you know what to expect before you start the application process, all of those questions can feel a lot less jarring and invasive.
A recent article from Realtor.com outlined a variety of questions you should expect when applying for a mortgage, including:
What does this mean for you? When you apply for a mortgage, part of the process involves answering a variety of personal financial questions — but if you know they’re coming (and prepare for them in advance), the process (and the questions!) will feel a lot less stressful.
