Category: Real Estate

When Is the Best Time to Buy Appliances?

A major appliance should never be an impulse buy. We pinpoint the best moments to buy, on and offline.

When it comes to landing bargains on major appliances, timing is everything. And the best time to buy home appliances is when stores need you more than you need a new home appliance.

Generally, that means you can get more value for your money:

September, October, and January when manufacturers roll out new home appliance models, and retailers are eager to move last year’s inventory. (Refrigerators are the exception. New models come out in the spring.)

Last days of the month when stores are desperate to meet quotas and are more likely to dicker over prices.

Thursday, the day before the weekend rush when aisles are less crowded.

Major holidays — Labor Day, Memorial Day, President’s Day, Black Thursday (Friday, Saturday) — when stores take advantage of your day off and slash prices.

Fall and winter are the best seasons to buy air conditioners and gas grills, because few buyers think about warm-weather appliances when leaves and snow cover the ground.

Online Bargains

You can’t haggle with a website, so buying appliances online is more computer science than art of the deal. That’s where online data trackers, like Hukkster and TrackIf, can help you find the best time to get the best deals.

After crunching some numbers for us, TrackIf CEO Doug Berg pinpointed the very best times to buy appliances online:

• November
• Thursdays (Retailers are twice as likely to reduce prices on Thursdays.)
• The 4th or 5th of the month (when people get their paychecks), and the 23rd to 29th of the month (quota desperation).
• 3 p.m.

So, theoretically, the very best time to buy appliances online would be the last Thursday of November at 3 p.m. In other words: Thanksgiving. (Baste your bird and buy a new oven.)

More Appliance Buying Tips

In store, don’t be afraid to haggle over prices. The squeaky wheel often gets an additional discount, and it costs you nothing to say, “Is this the best price you can give me?”

When shopping online, compare prices using different browsers. An appliance deal viewed on Firefox could be priced differently when viewed on Safari.

Many stores offer additional discounts if you apply for their credit card. (But only apply if your credit score can handle another card.)

Sometimes appliance repair businesses stock slightly used or flawed — but deeply discounted — appliances. Check with your service guy before buying retail. (I bought a double oven this way and saved $700!)

If you can’t shop on sales days, you may discover the next time the store is going to lower prices by peeking into the metal price stand next to the appliance, which often is stuffed with cards stating the price and date of upcoming sales.

How to Get a Good Deal on a House in a Great Area – @Redfin

Four golden rules for getting a good deal in a great area.

1. There is no such thing as a great deal, but you can find a good one.

In certain areas that have the rare but perfect combination of great schools, abundant and lucrative jobs and a downtown nearby (read Palo Alto), there are no true great deals. If you look at the home price appreciation for Palo Alto over the past 10 or so years, even when the rest of the country was down, Palo Alto home prices remained steady. In other words, Palo Alto has in recent memory been pretty insulated from downward fluctuations of the market. Because of this, Palo Alto is a reliable investment, and as such, attracts heavy interest both from local and foreign buyers, which constantly drives up prices.

Cities like these, where you can buy a house and be pretty darn sure it isn’t going to go down in value, are what I classify as great areas. And that’s why there really aren’t any killer deals in places like Palo Alto. The upside to this is that if you can afford to buy in one of these cities, you can be confident that you’re making a good investment.

The good news is that despite there being no great deals to be found, if you are diligent, confident and patient, there are certainly good deals to be had. This brings me to rules two, three and four.

2. If there is a winner, there usually must be a loser. Seek out the loser.

Timing is everything in the real estate market. This is especially true in hot markets where offer deadlines are usually set one to two weeks after the MLS debut of the property. Usually, when two or more similarly sized and located homes come on the market at the same time, the better priced and presented property will attract all the attention and come out the winner, leaving the other home as the better deal for a buyer. In other words, you want to always gravitate toward the “loser,” as that home will end up being the better deal.

So the next time you see an attractively priced and well-presented home, a street over from another seemingly overpriced, cluttered and not as attractive home, go see the latter and the leave the former for the flock of buyers who will likely bid the price up to an above market result. There’s a higher likelihood of paying the asking price (or lower) on a home that doesn’t have multiple offers. This is where the confidence part comes into play. Going against the herd takes courage, but that’s where you find the good deals.

3. If you love it, everyone else probably does too.

This is the rule that I kept repeating to myself and my fiancé as we searched for our next home. We would walk into these amazingly presented homes that sparkled, with gleaming hardwood floors, light streaming in through large windows highlighting Carrera marble clad kitchens…we instantly felt like we were falling in love. But after searching for a few months, whenever we walked into such a house, my fiancé would turn to me and say “I love it. It must be out of our price range.” And we would walk out, and try to find a house that didn’t evoke such strong emotions.

Why? Because if you love it, chances are everyone else will too. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but just realize that you won’t be able to get a good deal in this kind of situation.

If a perfect home in a perfect area is outside of your price range, try to identify what you can live with and what your deal breakers are. Can you tolerate an older kitchen for a few years before you can save enough to remodel it? How important is a big backyard to you? Do you mind a location handicap such as a busy street, power substation etc? As you tour homes, add and subtract these attributes to your list, so that you can hone in on the perfect fit for you.

4. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Often, clients will email me a property that sits in a great area, but is priced well below all nearby competition. They say, “This home looks great, just what we are looking for! Is there something wrong with it or do you think it’s just a really good deal?” In these situations, the answer is usually neither. It is instead a very sound plan crafted by an experienced listing agent and seller who are using auction theory and emotional attachment to get an above average result for that particular home. In an area where there aren’t a lot of homes on the market, but there is a lot of demand, the list price doesn’t really matter all that much. An agent in Mountain View decided to test this theory by listing his personal condo for $1. It sold in a week in the high $400,000s, the best result ever recorded in that complex. If the demand is there, the list price is just a jumping off point. By the time buyers find out that the home will sell for way above the list price, they are usually already invested in the idea of this house becoming their home, and are willing to bid up to “win” the home from the competition. The seller wins in this scenario.

Is Now A Good Time For Buying A House? — Real Estate 101 — Trulia Blog

Take a look at the numbers and see why there are very compelling reasons to choose a mortgage over rent payment

1. Rates are still offsetting higher prices

Even with home prices inching up from last year, they don’t wash away the huge cost savings lower mortgage rates offer. In fact, according to Trulia’s report, for households putting down 20%, with plans to stay at least seven years, buying is on average 37.7% cheaper than renting. This is only a 0.5% increase from 2015. Rates would need to increase well over 100% to wipe out the cost savings of buying. Such an aggressive rate hike is highly unlikely.

2. Buying trumps renting in more than 100 metro areas

If you think buying is cheaper only in smaller, less densely populated cities and towns, reality says otherwise. In fact, it’s cheaper to buy than rent in more than 100 U.S. metros. Topping the list are cities including Miami, FL, Houston, TX, and Charleston, SC. These areas all offer a cost savings of more than 52% in comparison to renting. While the margins are slimmer, buyers can still see cost savings in areas like San Francisco, CA, and San Jose, CA, where the differences are 25.9% and 18.6%, respectively.

3. There’s no guarantee of stable rental rates

Nationwide, rents have increased 3.5%, which is a slower pace than real estate prices, but it’s not insignificant — and the amount can vary drastically depending on a variety of factors, making rising rental prices an unpredictable part of your financial picture. On the other hand, once rates are locked and paperwork is signed, you can expect to pay the same amount over the course of your mortgage. The only changes could be due to property taxes, insurance rates, or if you opt for an adjustable-rate mortgage over a fixed-rate mortgage.

4. You can build equity over time

This tried-and-true reason to choose homeownership doesn’t depend on market conditions. One of the biggest benefits to buying a home is the ability to build equity over time — equity that can be tapped into later. While home equity shouldn’t be considered a replacement for other forms of saving, it can act as forced savings for those who have trouble putting money away. A monthly rent payment will disappear into the hands of a landlord, but a mortgage payment builds equity that can be used to purchase another home later or provide additional funds in retirement.

5. Tax breaks favor homeowners

Another financial benefit extended to homeowners comes in the form of tax deductions. The early years of paying a mortgage consist in large part of paying down interest, but this expense is tax-deductible. Property tax is also deductible, as are as mortgage points and private mortgage insurance (PMI). Another big tax benefit occurs upon the sale of a home. If you profit on the sale of other types of investments, you are required to pay a 15% capital gains tax. But if you lived in your home two of the last five years before selling, the amount you earn on the sale isn’t taxable.

Conforming Mortgage Limits Rise for 2017 | Realtor Magazine

The federal government is increasing the limit for conforming mortgages from $417,000 to $424,100 in most regions of the United States starting Jan. 1, 2017, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Wednesday—the first such increase since 2006.

The approximately 1.7 percent bump in the baseline conforming loan limit follows the FHFA’s announcement that  the average U.S. home price has returned to its pre-decline peak, which it hit in the third quarter of 2007. The FHFA bases the loan cap on its quarterly Housing Price Index, which gauges average single-family home prices. The index rose 1.5 percent during the third quarter of 2016 and is up 6.1 percent over the past year, enough to push it above its previous high point.

Conforming loan limits are significant because they apply to home loans that meet the underwriting guidelines of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored entities that acquire mortgages from lenders and ensure a steady flow of money to the mortgage market. Interest rates for nonconforming, or jumbo mortgages, are generally higher than rates for loans that fall under the cap, and these types of mortgages can be more difficult to obtain.

“Today’s conforming loan limit increase is a much-needed recognition of rising home prices in high-cost markets, and a help to first-time and lower-income borrowers looking to utilize an FHA mortgage,” said NAR President William E. Brown. “Credit remains tight, but this decision will help more qualified buyers address the hurdles and high costs standing between them and the dream of homeownership.”

Conforming loan limits are higher than the baseline cap in parts of the country where home prices are especially high, but cannot be more than 150 percent of the baseline limit—$636,150 for 2017—for the contiguous U.S. Exceptions are established for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where loan limits in specific locations may exceed that amount.

Maximum loan limits for 2017 are up in all but 87 counties or county-equivalents in the U.S., according to the FHFA.

Signs you can afford to buy a home – Business Insider

Buying a home is a big decision, both for your future and your finances.

And knowing if you’re ready to become a homeowner comes down to much more than a number in the bank.

“The amazing, scary, exciting thing about buying a home is that it’s a financial decision, it’s a personal decision, and it’s a life decision,” says Jeremy Wacksman, chief marketing officer for Zillow.

If you’ve been saving up, but aren’t sure if you’re ready to start the process, here are nine signs you can afford to buy a home — even if it doesn’t feel like it.

1. Your emergency fund is separate from your down payment

When it comes to buying a home, the more you have in savings, the better. But the money you’re putting away for a down payment — typically 20% of the price of the home — should remain completely separate from your emergency fund.

“People will have money saved and they end up putting the entire amount toward the down payment to afford the home, and have no money leftover,” says Eric Roberge, CFP and founder of Beyond Your Hammock. 

He warns that there are always added expenses when buying a new home, from random repairs to needing more furniture to fill a larger space, so your down payment should never drain your entire savings account. “Things are going to be more expensive, so you want to have a buffer for that.”

2. You have more saved up than the bare minimum for a down payment

Unforeseen expenses always come up when buying a home. Closing costs alone, which can include anything from inspection fees to title insurance, can add an additional 5% to the final price of the home. It’s better to have a cushion on your down payment than to find yourself digging into your emergency fund or being forced to step away from the deal.

“You can never have enough money saved in the home buying year,” Roberge says. “The process itself is complicated enough without having financial difficulties.”

First-time buyers are also 40% more likely to exceed the initial budget they set when buying a home, according to The Zillow Group Report. It’s always better to have some wiggle room.

3. You know when to step away — and you’re prepared to actually do it

With closing costs added on at the end, the final price tag of a home can be up to $10,000 more than you originally anticipated. Go into any negotiations with more than the bare minimum down payment ready, but know when too much is too much.

“You have to be prepared to write checks,” Roberge says. “And really, you should understand how much you’re willing to write versus walk away. You don’t want to just be writing checks that you can’t afford because you think you need to and you’re all wrapped up in the emotions of buying a home. You need to have a specific plan and not sway from that plan.”

4. You have a good credit score

Your credit score will not only determine if you can get a mortgage but what the interest rate will be, Roberge says. A low credit score can mean significantly higher monthly payments, which puts an obvious stress on your budget.

Credit scores can fluctuate, so it’s best to check it early in the home buying process. (You can do so at a free site like Credit Karma or Credit.com.) If it’s not in a good range, take some time to work on building it up.

 If you’re planning to move after a year, it’s probably better to rent. Shutterstock

5. You’re not planning to move in the next two to five years

“Timeframe plays a big factor,” Wacksman says. “If you’re only going to live in an area for a short amount of time, renting can be advantageous.”

If you’re planning to settle in and stay for at least two to five years, it makes financial sense to buy a home, according to Wacksman. But if you don’t see yourself putting down roots for more than a year or two, it could be a waste of your time and money.

6. You don’t have any other big expenses on the horizon

It’s important to consider your housing budget within the context of your future goals. “Keep in mind the next couple of years down the road and what you have coming up,” Roberge says.

If you don’t have any other big expenses looming, it will be easier to make paying off your house a priority. Consider this: If you can afford mortgage payments of $1,000 a month right now, but you have a baby next year, will you still be able to afford the same amount? If not, it’s time to choose your priorities. 

7. You have your debt under control

Don’t feel like you need to have every penny worth of debt paid off before you can purchase a home. But do a deep dive into why you have debt and how you’re planning to deal with it.

“Why do you have the credit card debt? Was it just a random occurrence where you had to put something on the credit card and you know you’re going to pay it off soon? Or have you been spending more than you make and it’s increasing over time?” Roberge says.

If you’re still on-track to pay off your student loans, you’re probably in the clear to take on a big purchase like a house, but if your credit card debt is increasing, that’s a red flag.

8. You understand your own finances

Real estate agents, financial planners, and mortgage brokers are useful resources to turn to in the house-buying process, and Roberge and Wacksman each recommend building up a team to assist you. But don’t completely rely on them to know what’s best for your personal financial situation.

“You need to consider, ‘Okay, I’ve saved this much for a down payment, what can I afford from a monthly payment standpoint?’ It’s important that you calculate this on your own, because you might have spending preferences that a lender wouldn’t take into consideration,” Wacksman says.

“Do the math that you can yourself and then meet with a lender to go forward,” he adds.

9. You want to buy a house for the right reasons

If someone asks why you want to buy a house and your first answer is something along the lines of “Because I’m wasting money on rent” or “Because it’s a good investment,” you might not be mentally prepared for all the responsibilities that come with home ownership. At the end of the day, buying a home isn’t a means of getting rich. 

“When you look at the average price increase of a home across the country over the last 100 years, it’s only about 3%,” Roberge says. “If you take away extra costs plus inflation, you’re not really making any money on average on a single family home.”

It’s smarter to look for a house that meets non-monetary goals: It’s in your dream neighborhood or it’s a good place to start a family.

Home Ownership 101: Rent Vs Buy – Are You Ready? | Zillow

Owning your own home is part of the American dream. But it takes more than just dreaming to buy and maintain a home. Before you take the plunge, here are some things to ask yourself.

Does it make sense to buy?

Buying instead of renting needs to make sense financially. To help you decide, play with Zillow’s Buy vs. Rent calculator to see how many years it will take before the cost of buying equals the cost of renting. It’s called the breakeven horizon, and it varies by area of the country.

If you plan to stay in your home past your breakeven horizon, then buying makes financial sense. If you think you’ll move earlier, then renting may be the way to go.

Are you financially ready?

Buying a house involves raising a down payment and paying a monthly mortgage, which lasts anywhere from 5 to 30 years, depending on the home loan you can afford and are offered. There are other costs as well, but let’s focus on the big money.

Down payment: It’s the lump sum you’ll pay upfront that funds equity in the property and proves to lenders that you’ve got skin in this homeowner game. Down payments vary. In the go-go days that led up to the housing collapse, some lenders dismissed the down payment altogether – and we see how well that ended. Today, 20 percent is preferred and often gets you the best rates, but some loans allow down payments as low as 3 percent. Sometimes parents or friends can offer help with the down payment. If you have a choice, take a gift rather than a loan, not only for obvious reasons, but because lenders will add that debt to other monthly obligations and potential mortgage payments to determine your debt-to-income ratio, which generally can’t top 43 percent to qualify for a home loan.

Monthly mortgage payments: This is what you’ll pay each month. In most cases, a mortgage includes the loan principal and interest (both amortized over the life of the loan) plus homeowners insurance and property taxes (pro-rated). When credit was tight, getting a mortgage at any rate was reserved for only the most credit-worthy borrowers. Things have loosened, but lenders still want to know that you’re a responsible, gainfully employed and credit-worthy candidate.

Are you emotionally ready?

Owning a home is a huge commitment so before jumping in, consider if you are ready to make lots of decisions, from picking an agent to picking paint colors. Are you confident enough to select a neighborhood where you’ll want to stay for a while? And are you up for devoting the time and attention to maintaining a home? Weekends will disappear under chores like pulling weeds, cleaning gutters, shoveling snow, sealing counters and decks, and on and on. Taking care of your biggest investment can be gratifying but only if you’re ready.

Zillow: Houston homes listed with energy-efficient features have higher median value – Houston Business Journal

Zillow Inc. (Nasdaq: Z) released a report that analyzed its database of home listings, focusing on listings that feature energy-saving technology such as solar panels, double-pane windows, dual-flush toilets, Energy Star appliances and tankless water heaters.

The Seattle-based real estate technology company found that only 5.3 percent of Houston home listings mention energy-efficient technologies, according to Zillow.

By contrast, nearly a quarter of home listings in San Jose, California, boast energy-efficient technologies, according to Zillow. In fact, the top five cities with the most home listings touting energy-efficient technologies are in California.

In Houston, home listings touting energy-saving measures had a median list price of $389,900 — $60,900 more than homes that were listed without energy-efficient features, according to Zillow.

Nationally, the median list price of homes that advertise energy-efficient technology is 62 percent higher than homes that do not, according to Zillow.

Here’s the takeaway for Houston Realtors: If your client’s home has energy-efficient features, make sure to feature them prominently in your listings. You might be able to fetch a higher price on energy-efficient homes.

Many Houston homebuilders are now offering energy-efficient features in their home lineup. Last year, NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE: NRG) and Houston-based Reliant Energy unveiled a new cutting-edge home in Spring that features energy-saving framing and insulation systems, solar panels on the roof and a separate solar-powered canopy.

More Sweetness – Less Stress: Managing the Holidays

The holidays are here! For many people, this is a time for family gatherings and festivity. It is a joyous and beautiful time of year. But it is also a period when people tend to overeat, stress about budgets, worry about lack of time, and neglect taking care of themselves. Therefore, we have a few tips to help you keep the cheer up and the stress down. Continue reading More Sweetness – Less Stress: Managing the Holidays | #HappyHolidays #TalkToYourAgent #SiliconValleyAgent #YajneshRai

Townhome Construction is Booming | Realtor Magazine

Townhouse construction continued to make gains in the third quarter on a year-over-year basis. Starts of townhomes totaled 94,000, a more than 10 percent year-over-year gain in the third quarter of this year, Census data showed.

The market share of new townhouses was at 12.4 percent of all single-family starts in the third quarter, near the cycle high, the National Association of Home Builders reports in its analysis of the data. The townhome market reached its last peak in the first quarter of 2008, when it comprised 14.6 percent of total single-family construction.

NAHB predicts townhouse construction continue to make gains in the coming years, although with occasional ups and downs.

“The long-run prospects for townhouse construction are positive given the large numbers of home buyers looking for medium density residential neighborhoods, such as urban villages that offer walkable environments and other amenities,” the NAHB noted on its blog, Eye on Housing.

7 Ways to Get Your Budget Under Control | Realtor Magazine

Alex Milshteyn admits that he wasn’t running his real estate business properly. He wasn’t keeping track of the money he earned versus the money he spent, and he wasn’t pocketing as much cash as he thought he should. “I always had the feeling I was making good money, but I was always broke,” says Milshteyn, CRS, GRI, a team leader at Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel in Ann Arbor, Mich., whose team sales volume was $62 million last year. “I had no idea how much money I was making and where the money was going.”

So he started paying closer attention to the numbers, and that’s when he learned some important lessons about budgeting. At the REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Orlando, Fla., on Friday, Milshteyn offered attendees some of his secrets to better budgeting and business planning, not the least of which, he says, is to pay yourself first. “The reason why we budget is to make sure we make some money, so start from the bottom up. Ask yourself what you want to make next year, and then figure out how to lower your expenses first.”

Here are some other tips Milshteyn provided for better annual budgeting for your business:

1. Don’t set goals based on an assumption that the market is going to get better. You have to be realistic about how much you want to earn, and if you had a bad year this year, you can’t overshoot how much you want to improve next year. “If you close $3 million one year, and next year you plan on closing $15 million – is that really going to happen?” Milshteyn says. “Set your expectations based on the market.”
2. Assume a 2 percent annual increase for every line item in your budget. Adjust for rising living expenses and inflation. “Open up your credit card statements from this year, figure out what you spent money on, and use that as a gauge for what to budget for next year,” Milshteyn says. He adds that as you review, you should constantly ask yourself: “What was I thinking?” When you see an expense you wish you hadn’t made, cut it out of your budget for next year.
3. Pretend you can’t rely on credit cards in bad months. Factor in the typically slower sales months into your budget so you can figure out your expenses and the income you’ll need during that time. That way, you won’t be so apt to pull out your credit cards for non-emergencies and get yourself deeper in debt. Milshteyn also suggests leaving credit cards at home or in your hotel room if you’re traveling. “When I walked through a trade show, I was a living credit card,” he says. “Don’t take your wallet to expo floors. It’ll give you a chance to think about what you should and shouldn’t purchase before you act.”
4. Hustle with vendors. Milshteyn says his credit cards expire every 12 months, which forces vendors to call for the expiration date of his new cards at the same time every year. When they call, “I always say, ‘I’ve been thinking about canceling. Is there anything you can do for me to make me stay?’ All of a sudden, they get very creative to keep your business.”
5. Only spend money on products that produce income for you. Review all the things you use to market your business, and count how many clients each has brought you. If you’ve been spending on print advertising for 15 years, but you can’t tie a single client to a print ad in the last few years, it’s probably time to stop taking out print ads. Reviewing your marketing tactics will also give you a chance to reevaluate the effectiveness of new technologies that may promise a big return but won’t work for you. “I bought a drone a year ago,” Milshteyn says. “It’s still in the box.”
6. If you have employees, budget for more than the cost of their wages. More comes out of your pocket than what you pay per hour for an assistant. Remember to factor in unemployment insurance, social security and Medicare taxes, bonuses, and other local employment taxes.
7. Always ask for an extension at tax time. Milshteyn says he learned from his CPA that the IRS hires temporary workers to process tax filings for the traditional April 15 deadline, and they may not be trained well-enough to understand items related to your business. “You have a 75 percent greater chance of getting audited if you file on April 15,” Milshteyn says. He advises real estate professionals to always ask for an extension to file on Oct. 15 – even if you’re ready to file in April. You’re more likely to get more qualified people reviewing your tax filings after the April deadline.