Tag Archives: Buying land

Get Smart on Down Payments — Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®Finance – Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®

Chris GashPicking the right house is just one of the big decisions you’ll face when buying property. Deciding on the down payment is another. Low inventory in some national markets continues to pressure potential buyers into making bigger down payments to gain a competitive edge. But the possibility of rate increases in the coming year and new…

via Get Smart on Down Payments — Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®Finance – Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®

FEMA link for area flood maps

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With much of the country falling within a flood hazard area there is a resource available to help you determine the zone of a location.

FEMA offers a link on their website that you can enter the full address or general location to view the flood map.

https://msc.fema.gov/portal/search#searchresultsanchor

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This tool can be very useful if you taking a mortgage because the lender will require a flood insurance policy for hazard areas.  It can also assist you in getting a quote for an insurance policy if one is necessary.

Happy home shopping….hoping this helps it stay easy…

 

 

 

 

Canopy of Oaks

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This long drive sets the tone for a relaxing atmosphere and very impressive “curb appeal”

 

Pricing A Home To Sell

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Real estate agents used the pyramid chart to price properties for successful sales for many years.  This can be a helpful guide when selling and your property is not getting many showings, or low offers.  Buyers may also use this as a guide to prepare an offer.

Either way it works….Happy home buying and selling 🙂

Finding out what a property is worth

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Sellers of real property and buyers of real property have the common goal of obtaining the best possible price and terms in the transaction.

Here are a few suggestions to help you determine market value if you are thinking of buying or selling real estate.

  1. Appraisal services are offered on a fee basis depending on the complexity of the property.  A small tract of land or a home in a neighborhood contains information from a local Realtor multi list system, tax records, and court records.  An appraiser uses listings currently on the market, recent sold properties, along with adjustments for size and improvements. Photos are included in the report along with comments explaining the reason for adding or subtracting value when using the comparable approach.  For more complex properties such as commercial sales, land developments, farms and multi family properties reports may be quite lengthy and include an analysis of the present and future return on the investment.  Appraisers are licensed by the states they perform services and their opinion of value is very reliable.
  2. A comparative  market analysis is provided by a real estate agent, also know as a CMA. The data offered is pulled from a local Multi list system that the agent is a member of.  The information includes competitive listings,  recent comparable sales to what you are preparing to buy or sell.  Most real estate professionals offer this service at no additional cost to their agency agreement with the client.  It is very reliable for most residential and lot purchases.
  3. Tax assessor records are easily accessible today with most areas offering online services.  Depending on how often records are updated you can get an information for what you are selling or buying.  If recents improvements are noted and the information has been accurately input you can get an idea of where the value may be.  Some assessors sites also show recent sales surrounding the subject properties.
  4. Real estate and mortgage lender internet sites can also be a resource for finding the value of a property.  Depending on the site and how often the information is updated, and the accuracy of the information submitted you may get an idea of the value.

Happy  buying and selling……  🙂

“Old Fashioned” way to sell still works

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Throughout the years techniques used to attract home buyers continuously changed with new trends coming in a old ideas never leaving.
Since real estate internet sites have now surpassed the “for sale sign” as the most effective way for a buyer to find a property listing a lot of effort is put into making the ad look attractive.
The use of photography has evolved from a front view placed in the newspaper, on to virtually tours and now the use of cameras on a drone to showcase a listing.
All of these methods are definite time savers for a buyer
and can easily shorten their “must see” list.
If you are the seller of a property keep in mind that whatever is photographed does not go to a limited audience. Once it hits the internet not only prospective buyers are looking at what you have to sell.  Co-workers, relatives, your neighbors, school friends, church friends and on and on will be able to step into your personal space.  Take the time to discuss this with your agent and consider areas of your home or property that you would not be comfortable with anyone other than a prospective buyer viewing.
Regardless of how the property is presented the one thing that never changes is the price being in balance with the value. A property that is priced in line with the current market values for the location and condition is the most effective way to have a successful sale in a reasonable amount of time.  Over priced properties will be a great challenge to sell for the asking price regardless of how many billboards, magazine ads, virtual tours, websites they are advertised on….

Advertised pricing based on the condition and location= sold!

My Fence in Your Yard…

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I’m just going come right out and say this as clear as I can…if you are not exacttly sure of the boundary lines and the location of all improvements including those tanks buried under ground on a piece of property you are preparing to purchase, hire a surveyor.

One of the most common problems in a real estate transaction discovered after the sale is a boundary line issue.  In almost every case that I have seen a new survey would have revealed the problem.

Most commonly it is a driveway or fence that inches over onto a neighbors land.  In a more extreme case a home buyer  built a home on a lot in a new home community.  All the legal work including their ownership deed and mortgage referenced the purchase of a different lot the builder owned.  As a result, they owned a very expensive house built on a piece of real estate they did not legally own. The mistake was discovered years later when they decided to sell and it is a title mess. Along with the fact that you must get the person who owns the land your home is on to agree to sell it to you.

Many buyers rely on tax maps, subdivision plats, plot plans, concrete markers, flags, iron pins , natural barriers and a number of other monuments to identify boundaries.  In most cases these identifiers are accurate. But the most accurate is a new survey at the time of purchase.

For more information:http://nsps.site-ym.com/?page=WhenyouneedaSurv