Sometimes the lower cost improvement may pay off best, especially if the seller is considering fixing up to sell. See this article for more information on how less is more.
12/01/2015
Cost vs. Value - What Improvement Projects Pay Off?
Sometimes the lower cost improvement may pay off best, especially if the seller is considering fixing up to sell. See this article for more information on how less is more.
Avoiding Buyer's Remorse--Is That Possible?
Sometimes no matter how much research is done in advance, buyers may still suffer the pangs of remorse after a purchase, and buying a home is no different. There are seemingly endless disclosures made in a California real estate transaction for buying a residence, but with so much going on after escrow is opened, a buyer should have "eyes open" as much as possible during the home search period. Searching for homes on the internet, which is performed by almost all buyers in the initial stages, is one part of the home search.
But in order to avoid the awful feeling that something is wrong after you've closed escrow, try to focus on what are the most important things to you from the very beginning. For many people, having the right neighborhood, schools, as well as the features of the home itself, are key to their happiness.
Feelings of happiness/regret vary by age, region, demographics and income level. According to a 2014 study of 2000 adults by Redfin (a large brokerage), if you lived in the West, were over 65, male, and had an income over $100,000, you were more likely to have less buyer remorse. For example, 85% of people over 65 said they would buy their home again. Women with children under the age of 18 (27%) were more likely to express regret.
How to avoid feeling regret? Know your local market, i.e., shopping, schools, neighbors and neighborhood, commuting time, as well as loan types and interest rates, buyer competition (or months of inventory) and local list-to-sell percentages. These are all basic factors about buying a home. Determine your top priorities - and I do like to remind people that priorities can change as they become familiar with their actual buyer environment. Knowing the neighborhood may mean knocking on doors to see the people to ask their opinions--a Realtor can go with you for introductions, but your Realtor cannot tell you information that you need to discover personally, if this is important to you. Taking time to order and review property reports, and review transaction documents are essential to homeowner happiness.
There will probably not be a perfect home, but the list of dissatisfactory items will be much shorter the more conscious the buyer is, and the more thought put into, about the home choice. Not only does this extra work reduce later buyer remorse, but it reduces anxiety. Prior education, in my opinion, reduces unrealistic expectations and produces more long-term satisfaction. Going over the buyer/seller contract may seem very dry in the beginning before the home search, but there may be much later reward in owner satisfaction! Taking the time to discuss your opinions of homes you've viewed with the Realtor helps your agent help you. Realtors know what size bathrooms and closets you can probably expect with a certain age of house, in a given area--most Cerritos homes are more contemporary in style than the majority of Long Beach neighborhoods which date from earlier eras. This kind of discussion can help you judge if you should change a priority or not.
Buying a home is a significant purchase, it should be accompanied by a corresponding understanding.
But in order to avoid the awful feeling that something is wrong after you've closed escrow, try to focus on what are the most important things to you from the very beginning. For many people, having the right neighborhood, schools, as well as the features of the home itself, are key to their happiness.
Feelings of happiness/regret vary by age, region, demographics and income level. According to a 2014 study of 2000 adults by Redfin (a large brokerage), if you lived in the West, were over 65, male, and had an income over $100,000, you were more likely to have less buyer remorse. For example, 85% of people over 65 said they would buy their home again. Women with children under the age of 18 (27%) were more likely to express regret. How to avoid feeling regret? Know your local market, i.e., shopping, schools, neighbors and neighborhood, commuting time, as well as loan types and interest rates, buyer competition (or months of inventory) and local list-to-sell percentages. These are all basic factors about buying a home. Determine your top priorities - and I do like to remind people that priorities can change as they become familiar with their actual buyer environment. Knowing the neighborhood may mean knocking on doors to see the people to ask their opinions--a Realtor can go with you for introductions, but your Realtor cannot tell you information that you need to discover personally, if this is important to you. Taking time to order and review property reports, and review transaction documents are essential to homeowner happiness.
There will probably not be a perfect home, but the list of dissatisfactory items will be much shorter the more conscious the buyer is, and the more thought put into, about the home choice. Not only does this extra work reduce later buyer remorse, but it reduces anxiety. Prior education, in my opinion, reduces unrealistic expectations and produces more long-term satisfaction. Going over the buyer/seller contract may seem very dry in the beginning before the home search, but there may be much later reward in owner satisfaction! Taking the time to discuss your opinions of homes you've viewed with the Realtor helps your agent help you. Realtors know what size bathrooms and closets you can probably expect with a certain age of house, in a given area--most Cerritos homes are more contemporary in style than the majority of Long Beach neighborhoods which date from earlier eras. This kind of discussion can help you judge if you should change a priority or not.
Buying a home is a significant purchase, it should be accompanied by a corresponding understanding.
11/23/2015
A Few Facts About the California 2016 Housing Market
Interestingly, when asked "Which of the following is your dream home?", 32 percent of those surveyed want a Craftsman bungalow, getting the highest number of votes. Perhaps that's not surprising when you, the audience member, look at the settings for numerous TV shows and home advertisements, i.e., "Blue Bloods" for one. Craftsman homes have lots of wood, warmth and old-fashioned craftsmanship plus a feeling of years of established family ownership in practically all cities in the U.S.
Certainly in Long Beach there are several neighborhoods in which to find one. But, what does it take to own one? From 2010, the CA median house price has risen from $305,000 to the current $476,000, and up to a projected $491,000 for 2016. The good news for buyers is that the rate of increase is slowing to a projected 3.2% increase for next year. But the other news for buyers is that, as early as December, we may receive the long awaited news about an interest rate increase--already anticipated in the financial markets. So the rates under 4% for so long are likely to be up to 4.5% next year. Sales volume is still expected to go higher, hopefully a release from the long-depressed inventory.
Using statewide medians, that 2015 median priced home at $476,000 is probably going to be about $15,000 higher, and the interest rates will be about .5% higher. Looking at principal and interest only, a mortgage payment could go from $1796.11 (20% down, SP $476,000, 3.99%) to $1990.26 per month for a 2016 $491,000 house at 4.5% interest with same assumptions.
For buyers who do not know any other market except the current very low interest one, this may seem like very foreign territory. But it's still not such a bad time to buy.
Too see the entire CAR 2016 report in pdf format, click here or see below in ScribD
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