New Year, New Challenge

I haven’t blogged in a few weeks because I have been in the middle of flipping my life all around.  I am a believer that sometimes change is a good thing.  Sometimes change can motivate oneself to push new boundaries, take on tougher challenges, and rise to a higher level than ever before accomplished.  For those reasons, I have switched companies. 

From 2006 until January of 2013 I was a Realtor for ERA Wilder Realty.  I loved my time there and still love the people.  I have great memories and I have grown an enormous amount as a person and as a real estate professional.  A new opportunity came and I decided that the best thing for myself and my family was to take it.  I am now working with Lake Carolina Properties and I am very excited.  I am still representing Essex Homes, now selling their product in Lake Carolina-Ashland.  Ashland has a number of sections to it and I am working in Ashland Downes ($300,000-$400,000) and Ashland Falls ($230,000-$310,000).  I am extremely excited to be a part of this new adventure with Lake Carolina.  Lake Carolina has proven to be a popular place for people to live.  It has won Community of the Year 10 times, has a 1.8 mile long lake, 6 miles of shoreline, 300 acres of greenspace and parks, a beautiful fountain in the main entrance and a wonderful town centre. 

It is easy to see why people want to live in Lake Carolina and I am happy to be here representing Essex Homes, a company I know and trust.  Last week was my first week and we are already off to a great start.  We sold one home in Ashland Downes and one home in Ashland Falls so let’s hope we can keep things going.  Enough about me, my next post will be back to my normal posts about tips on helping you buy and sell a home.

 

Competition in 2013

I don’t normally post links to other articles but I thought this one was of great interest.  If you are in the Columbia market and looking at new homes there is certainly a lot of competition.  I personally believe in Essex Homes and am putting my money where my mouth is by building one myself.  Here is an article from The State, Columbia’s local newspaper.  People often are surprised when I tell them that new home building is very competitive in this city but it certainly is.  Here is the article:

http://www.thestate.com/2013/01/13/2587450/home-building-recovery-taking.html#.UPNoMGfxk7s#storylink=addthis

 

Time for renovations

Are you thinking of doing some home renovations this spring? Spring is a very popular time for people to remodel. The weather gets warmer, the days get longer, and people get their tax refund. All of this cabin fever makes people want to get out and better their homes. That is great and I hope everyone can improve their home this year to make it just that little bit better for themselves.

There is some caution that I would like to give to those do it yourself-ers!  Making your home a better place is great.  It brings new life to any home, it makes it more modern, and is an exciting project to tackle.  There are however financial considerations.  A lot of people believe that if they add $5000 in hardwood flooring then their home will go up in value by $5000 or more.  The same goes for kitchen renovations (new cabinets, granite countertops, new appliances, etc).  Word to the wise, do not expect to break even or profit from your home renovations!  NO!  You might be thinking of the tv show you saw last weekend.  You know, the one where they did all these wonderful things to the home, basically gutted it and rebuilt the home and bam, they sold the home and made money on it!  Yes, that is great.  That is also on tv.  Your home is not on tv and there are special circumstances to almost all homes you see on tv that get flipped.  To begin with they are usually distressed properties and being bought and sold well below market value.  Just because you see something on tv doesn’t mean it will apply to your situation.  I don’t want to discourage people from improving their home because that is not my intent.  I think home renovations are a great project and even a family bonding experience.  I do want people to have their eyes wide open going into the project.  Expect it to take twice as long, twice as much money, and be twice as aggravating.  With that said, once done your home will be even more beautiful than it was before.  Do it, enjoy it, just don’t expect to profit from it!

 

Prices are going up!!????

Have you read the newspaper lately?  Did it talk about prices in some areas going up on homes?  Many of you have heard this or something like this in the news lately.  The trick is understanding exactly what it means.

Are prices up from 1 year ago?  Are prices up from 5 years ago?  How much of a hit did your area take during the recession?  These are all important factors.  You also want to look into the data of why the numbers are showing higher sales prices.  Often times when people read these reports it is for an entire market averaging the price of every home sold for a given time period.  This is great but what happens if the market just shifted?  Instead of improving maybe there are just fewer $120,000 1600 square foot homes being built/bought/sold.  Maybe the market of what is popular is now a slightly larger and more expensive home.  This could cause the the overall numbers for a market to look like they are improving but really it just shifted to a different price point.

The reason I am saying all of this is that you just have to be careful.  Just because the newspaper says something doesn’t mean it is 100% accurate.  This is no slight to the media in anyway, just that there is always more to the story than what meets the eye.  Talk to a professional about your specific area and get an exact report of conditions for your market.  They conditions will be different for each market and even within each market you will see a decent bit of variance.  Talking to a professional will always give you the best answers.

 

Those Pesky Taxes!

Well, January is here!  Not only does that mean a new start for almost everything but it also means that it is tax time!  Taxes are super important.  Not only does our government use our tax dollars to operate (not going into the politics of government and taxes) the country but they serve as the final say in how much dough we actually make. 

Have you ever met someone who says they make $75,000 but don’t pay any taxes?  How can this be?  Nothing in life is free, nothing!  What the person is more than likely doing is itemizing their deductions and claiming almost everything they do as some sort of tax deduction.  I am not an accountant, certainly not a CPA, so I won’t be going into tax code in great detail.  With the election that just happened in November there was a lot of talk and advertisements about different candidates and how much money they pay or don’t pay in taxes.  Here is where this can bite you (remember nothing is free). 

If you write everything off on your taxes and your net income on your taxes is $0, guess what?  Unless you have cash, you are not buying a home!  Almost every mortgage available requires verification.  The bank will analyze how much money you make and determine how much debt you can afford.  If you write everything off and your income is $0 then obviously a bank will say that you can’t afford a home!  Be realistic on your taxes.  Everyone wants to save money where they can and there is nothing wrong with that.  Remember what I said though, nothing in life is free!  Showing no income might save you money today but it could cost you tomorrow by prohibiting you from being able to buy that new home you have been dreaming about! 

Of course I am not a CPA and I am not a lender but I have been around the block a few times.  Talk to your tax pro and talk to your lender so you know where you stand.

 

But this website says this……

Have you looked at different websites for homes?  Sure you have!  Have you looked at websites to see what your home might be worth?  Of course!  There is a very important piece of information to remember.  All price estimates you see online are just that, estimates.  In other words, they are just guesses. 

Sometimes a guess can be pretty darn accurate and other times it can be way off.  The major websites that are out there are great.  These websites have lots of useful information, lots of great homes with photos and descriptions, and can even help narrow down your home search.  The major flaw is when a buyer or seller takes what is said on these sites word for word.  Finding the value of a piece of property is very specialized.  There are a lot of factors that go into this and it is different everywhere in the country.  Comparing sales to neighboring properties is a start but what if your home is on a pond but the neighbors isn’t?  Does that change the value?  What if your home has 3 acres but your homes you are comparing to only have half of an acre?  Will that make a difference?  Absolutely.  There are a million different scenarios that pop up that can and will affect the value of any said property. 

When you are looking at homes online it is ok to get an idea on the pricing of the home and how competitive it is but your best solution will always be to talk to a Realtor about the actual value.  A Realtor will know far more than the website.  The website isn’t doing anything wrong.  The website is trying to compute as much data about as many properties as possible but there are limitations to what it can do.  In the real world an agent can get dirt under their nails so to speak and find the value of a home, much closer than a computer can.  Additionally, an agent should be able to back up their number by other data and facts for the property and surrounding area.  This will give you a more complete answer and will take you a lot further in your home search than just listening to a major website.

 

Time For Resolutions

Well, it’s January!  Millions of people are making (and some already breaking) their New Years Resolutions.  I have a number of resolutions this year but I want to help you make your real estate resolution actually happen. 

Many people out there would like to purchase a new home but they don’t think they have the means to accomplish this.  Here are some things that can help you accomplish your goal.  The first is debt.  Make it a point to not add ANY debt this year.  If you currently have balances on your credit cards, don’t add anything to them.  Only buy what you can pay with cash.  Don’t take out a new loan on a car or finance that nice big TV for the Super Bowl.  NO NEW DEBT. 

The second thing to help you reach your new home resolution is to pay yourself first.  Often, people will pay all of their bills with their paycheck and then with what is left they will use to go out to eat, buy something for the wife, etc.  This year will be different.  Of course you need to keep paying your bills but before you spend any money on frivilous items you need to pay yourself first.  Set aside the first $100 to $400 of discretionary income that you have with each paycheck.  This might seem hard to do at first but if you stick with it for even a month you will see your spending habits start to change and saving that money will get easier and easier.  Before you know it, you will have saved several thousand dollars that will go a long way towards buying yourself that new home you always wanted! 

Cheers to a new year and may everyone have an excellent 2013.