My New Blog

Buying a home represents so many things to everyone to all of us as Americans. First and foremost owning a home is a dream, one of the major accomplishments of a person's life. More practically it is a place to live. And of course it is an investment. Building equity by paying down the mortgage and from the rising value of the house are the two of the principal ways to build wealth for most people and families.

Owning your own home is fantastic. It is your castle, your place. When you rent, you live there subject to the rules of the landlord. In your own home you live by your rules. It is also a source of pride.

Homeownership is great for the society. When people establish roots they become more connected to the community. Great benefit is that, long term, you can create wealth for yourself. If you own a house for 5 or 10 years you might have tens of thousands dollars or more in equity. However, if you rent for the same or any period of time, you will have ZERO equity.

Another benefit of buying a home is that you can fix your cost of housing for a long period of time. If you buy with fixed rate mortgage your payments will remain the same for the life of the loan, even as rental rates may rise each year or 6 months. So the house may looks that it will cost you more than rental at first time but after several years, your mortgage payments will look like a bargain, compared to the current cost of renting. Even for 2 years, I experienced that to myself and I noticed the huge difference since I bought my 3 bedroom house and now I am paying almost the same amount like I would rent a 3 bedrooms apartment. At that point I decided NOT TO WASTE money anymore! You will see and prove to yourself that the house payment stays the same while other prices and rents rise.

If you think about loan there are a lot of programs that allow you to buy home with little or no money down, and some of those even gives you a chance to finance the closing cost (a few thousand of dollars in fees you have to pay at the closing, when you complete the purchase of the home. And right now it is so favorable to buy a home - because of the low inters rates, and the huge supply on the house market! Do not wait so long act soon - give me a call or email me!

Here are some tips and questions you should ask yourself before you buy a home!

• The firs thing to do is to check your credit. Many ways to get your credit file - some will cost you money some are FREE!
• Second - how much house you can afford? - You determine!
• You are the one who decide where to live!
• What school district is the property located? - Very important is to consider the quality of the schools in the neighborhood!
• How old are the systems - heating, AC, water heater? (for used hoses)
• Is the home in flood zone or other locations that would cause an increase of the homeowner's insurance?
• When it rain does the water comes in to the basement?
• Are there any encroachments on the property? Where are the property lines? It is good to have a copy of the survey!
• Is there mandatory homeowner associations fees and how much are they?
• Is the home near by any train track, power lines, and high traffic areas or in path of an airport runway?
• Have there ever been any claims made on the homeowner's insurance policy?
• How is the traffic in the area? Drive by the house during different times of the day to see how congested thing are!
• And if it is a brand new house - how many have already been sold in the subdivision? And how many still on the market? Check builder's reputation!
• (just for condo) - are there individual or common systems in the building? What reserve fund does the condo association have? Is the association financially sound? Are there any planned improvements to the condo complex that would require owners to pay a special assessment?

Choosing a real estate agent is the trigger component - do not try to buy a home without using a real estate agent or it will increase the chance of making a mistake! Find the right agent and work as a partner. Find me and we can make that strong relationship together. That is the way it works the best!

Please let me know if there is anything I can do to assist you with finding the best home for you.  I stand ready to help you in any way possible.