Category: Real Estate

Buying a Home in 2016? Here’s What You Need to Know — The Motley Fool

Owning a home is part of the American dream. It’s also a great way to build long-term wealth, establish security and comfort for your family, and potentially reduce your living expenses both today and later in life. 

But before you take the plunge, there are some important things that every prospective homeowner needs to know. Not only can these things help you go into the home-buying experience with a better idea of what to expect, but they can also save you money today and better prepare you for the experience and costs once you actually become a homeowner. 

Know your market 
Real estate is a very local, and it’s important to understand what you’ll be dealing with where you buy. The market in your town could be full of inventory and a “buyer’s” market, while a 100 miles away every home is selling above list price within days of listing. In other words, don’t try to buy a house just based on what you’re reading in the national news. 

This may necessitate working with a real estate professional, such as a Realtor. Not only should a Realtor understand local market conditions, but they should also know, based on your criteria, which neighborhoods make the most sense for you and help you more quickly narrow down the options to listings that make sense for you. And considering that the vast majority of existing homes sold in the U.S. are listed with a Realtor, finding your own agent to represent you won’t cost you any more money and should help you make a competitive offer when you do find the house you want. 

Know how much cash you’ll need up front 

Even if you plan to finance the majority of your home, there are a number of out-of-pocket expenses that a homebuyer would be responsible for, including (but not limited to) the following:

• Credit 
• Appraisal
• Property inspection
• Flood certification
• Survey
• Escrow
• Notary
• Property taxes
• Homeowners insurance
• Attorney’s fees
• Down payment

According to the National Association of Realtors, the median selling price for single family homes in November (most recent data) was over $220,000. If you are making a 5% down payment (common with FHA mortgages), that’s $11,000 you’ll need just for the downpayment.

Depending on where you live, the property you are buying, and other factors, all of the other up-front closing costs can be an additional 1% or more of the selling price of the home. So based on the median, that’s another $2,200 in up-front, out-of-pocket expenses that you’ll need to be prepared for. 

Shop for the best mortgage 
It’s a good idea to shop around for the best interest rate you can get and think about the long term. A fixed-rate mortgage is probably best, with interest rates set to rise in coming years. If a fixed-rate mortgage payment pushes the limits of what you can afford, an adjustable rate mortgage — or ARM — that’s cheaper today could turn into a real problem in a few years. 

Avoid other large purchases or credit decisions
Recently, a friend of mine purchased a home and made a big mistake right before closing that cost him more than $20,000 out of pocket. The lease on his car was set to expire, so he turned in that lease and leased a replacement car. Even though his monthly payment was lower, the added obligation in dollars and years on the new lease led to the bank reducing the amount they would lend.

In order to close on the home, he had to come up with another $20,000 to pay down. 

If you’re moving forward on a property, don’t apply for a new credit card, small business loan, or refinance your car. Even if you’re lowering your expenses, changing your debt profile could affect your mortgage approval. Put it off until after closing. 

Understand all the costs of homeownership

Be ready for the money and time commitment. 

Owning a home comes with a list of additional potential costs:

• Property insurance, and potentially:
• Earthquake insurance
• Flood insurance

• Property taxes
• Homeowners association fees
• Outside maintenance expenses, including:
• Pool service
• Landscaping/lawn maintenance
• Regular upkeep such as painting, roofing, etc.
• Inside maintenance expenses, including:
• Appliances
• Flooring
• Kitchen and bath
• Tools and equipment to perform the necessary upkeep

There’s also a time cost, too, especially if you intend to take on maintenance and upkeep yourself. Those three-day weekends you used to spend out of town may turn into “project” weekends, and more of your disposable income could end up going toward those projects than you expect. 

Most importantly, homeowners should also have a larger cash cushion on hand. This is because many of the expenses above, such as property taxes, can be large once-per-year multi-thousand dollar costs. Don’t get caught off guard. 

Make it a dream and avoid the nightmare 
Owning a home can be a wonderful experience, especially if you go into it with the right mind-set and prepared for all of the costs — both financial and otherwise. If you’re not as prepared to buy a house as you thought you were, take a step back and don’t rush into a major financial move you may regret, even if you think you’ve found the house meant just for you.

As a good friend in the real estate business once told me, “The deal of a lifetime only comes along once a week.” Buy when the time — and your financial situation — is right. 

10 Ways to Save Time During Your House Hunt – ZING Blog by Quicken Loans | ZING Blog by Quicken Loans

Whether you’re buying your first home or you’ve previously owned one, the prospect of buying a new house can be somewhat exciting. You look online and maybe tour a few open houses, trying to imagine yourself living in the new space. It’s like a blank canvas just waiting for your imprint.

Then things get hard. How do you narrow this down? What’s important? Will a particular house be able to meet all of your needs? The mental gymnastics can become exhausting.

In order to keep you from an endless search and get you into the right home for you faster, we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 ways to save time during your house hunt.

Budget

One of the best things you can do right off the bat is to determine your budget during this process. This helps you eliminate homes out of your price range before you ever leave the comfort of your living room.

To get started, make a list of all of your expenses and compare it to your income. Don’t forget to build in some room every month for unplanned expenses that may arise.

Once you’ve added up all of your other expenses, you can determine how much room is left over in the budget for a house. You can use our mortgage calculator to put in how much you want to spend and find a monthly payment that fits your budget.

Get Approved with Rocket Mortgage

Now that you’ve determined your budget, did you know you can get approved for a mortgage within minutes? Seriously.

Rocket Mortgage from Quicken Loans is a fast, powerful and completely online way to get a mortgage.

You put in some basic contact information, how much you’re looking to spend, share your income and asset information through one of our trusted partners and have your credit pulled.

You can have a preapproval letter in minutes whether you’re at home on your computer or in the real estate office on your phone.

House Attributes

Now that you know exactly how much you can afford, how do you go about starting to look for houses?

Sit down with your entire family and make a list of everything they would want in their ideal house. In their dream of dreams, does the house include four bedrooms, two baths and a deck? Maybe there’s space for a den.

Rank Your Priorities

Next, it’s important to realize that you may not find everything on your list in any homes within your price range. After searching for a few months, finding the perfect home can feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

It’s at this point that you need to take that list we just created and prioritize it, ranking items one through 100 if necessary. This will tell you what you need and what you can live without for now.

The beautiful thing about the house being yours is that you can always make additions later if you want. Not only does this improve your living space, it also could add to your property value.

Scout the Area

Location is just as important as what you want in a house. When looking at homes, don’t forget to take into account the area they’re in. What should you look for? Here’s a short list:

• Do you like the feel of the neighborhood? Are homes maintained?
• If you have kids, do you like the school system? Are there nearby parks and playgrounds?
• Is it near various entertainment options and shopping areas? If, on the other hand, you prefer a simpler life, is it secluded enough?
• What are property values like in the area? Are they going up or down? Knowing the property values and the trends can give you an edge in the negotiation process.

Shop Online

Shopping online certainly has its advantages. For starters, I’m a huge proponent of anything I can do in my pajamas from my bed. While we would never recommend buying a house without walking through it, you can use the Internet to narrow the list.

Websites like My Perfect Home allow users to search real estate listings, specifying the area in which they’d like to search. You can specify whether you’re looking for a single-family or multi-unit property and your price range along with the number of bedrooms and bathrooms you’d like.

Having an idea ahead of time makes things less chaotic when it’s actually time to hit the pavement and check out houses in person.

Get a Real Estate Agent

I can confidently say that I have no idea what the housing market has to offer in my area. All real estate is local and values can vary from neighborhood to neighborhood. Most of us don’t even think about these things until it comes time to buy.

With that in mind, wouldn’t we feel more comfortable with someone that deals with our local housing market every day? This is where it can be helpful to have a really good real estate agent.

A good real estate agent cannot only find you houses that meet your goals in your price range, but they can also tell you about the area. How good is the school system and what are the local hangouts? Finally, they’ll have their finger on the trends in pricing. They can be your secret weapon in negotiations.

Do you want to get a real estate agent, but you don’t know where to start? No problem. Check out our friends over at In-House Realty.

Have a List of Questions

After touring a house in which you’re particularly interested, it’s only natural to have questions for the listing agent or owners. No one is going to know the house better.

It’s important to put these in an organized list and make sure you get your questions answered before moving to the negotiating table.

Set Aside an Earnest Money Deposit

Another thing to keep in mind is that an earnest money deposit accompanies the purchase agreement you make with a seller. This is the seller’s assurance that you’re negotiating in good faith. It’s a percentage of the sales price that’s eventually applied to the purchase.

Have a Backup Plan

We tend to have the utmost faith in the fact that our negotiations are going to go well, but occasionally things go off the rails. When that happens, it’s important to have a backup plan in case your preferred house falls through.

You should be looking at a couple of houses in order to seamlessly switch to Plan B. Don’t get your heart too set on one house.

10 Crucial Questions To Ask Mortgage Lenders – Money Matters – Trulia Blog

Make sure you understand your financing options before you take the important step of buying a home.

Buying a home is time-consuming. Before you even start searching for that perfect property, whether you’re searching for homes for sale in Chicago, IL, or Houston, TX, you’ll need to spend hours working with mortgage lenders to learn how to budget your finances for your home purchase.

Once you’ve interviewed multiple mortgage lenders and vetted your lender to make sure they’re reputable, explain your financial situation: What’s your monthly income, what are your other big monthly expenses, and what can you ultimately afford as a down payment? Mortgage lenders will respect that you work hard for your money — and you want to spend it wisely.

After running a credit check, your lender will present you with options for what you may qualify to borrow. The mortgage amount can be different depending on two things: the product and interest rate. Since the interest rate determines what you’ll owe every month on that balance, understanding how different mortgage products work is key. Here are 10 questions to ask to make sure you’re getting the best rate (and the best deal).

1. What is the interest rate?

Your lender will offer you an interest rate based on the loan and your credit. The interest rate, along with the mortgage balance and loan term, will determine your real monthly payment. A loan with a lower balance or a lower interest rate will make for a smaller monthly payment. If you’re not satisfied with the interest rates offered, work to clean up your credit so you can qualify for a lower interest rate.

2. What is the monthly mortgage payment?

As you develop a budget for your new home, make sure you can afford this monthly mortgage payment — and be sure to include insurance and taxes in your monthly payment calculations. And don’t forget about short-term financial goals — say, saving up for a vacation or buying a new computer — and long-term retirement goals to consider. Your monthly mortgage payment shouldn’t be so high that your money can’t work toward your other financial goals.

3. Is the mortgage fixed rate or an ARM?

Fixed-rate loans keep the same rate for the life of the loan, which can range between 10 and 30 years. Adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, have interest rates that change after an initial period at regular intervals. If you don’t plan to stay in your home long-term, a hybrid ARM with an initial fixed-rate period may be a better choice, since this type of loan tends to have lower interest rates than fixed-rate mortgages.

If you do consider an ARM, make sure you ask (and understand!) when the rate will change and by how much. Ask how often the rate will change after the initial interest rate change, the index that it’s tied to, and the loan’s margin. There are usually caps to how much the interest rate can increase during one period and over the life of the loan, so recalculate the monthly payment to make sure you can afford that higher rate.

4. What fees do I have to pay?

One-time fees, typically called “points,” are due at closing. For every point you pay, your lender will decrease your interest rate by 1%. You can also inquire about whether you might have the option of paying zero closing fees in exchange for a higher interest rate.

5. Does the loan have any prepayment penalties?

If you’re saving up to make some extra mortgage payments to pay off your mortgage principal early, you may have to pay a fee. Don’t forget to ask this important question.

6. When can I lock in the interest rate and points, and how much does this cost?

Your lender may be able to lock in your interest rate for a time, and for a fee. If rates go up, you’ll still be able to benefit from a lower rate on your mortgage.

7. What are the qualifying guidelines for this loan?

The underwriting guidelines are different for every loan, as are income and reserve requirements. Along with requiring you to have sufficient funds for the down payment and closing costs, most mortgages require proof of income and reserves of up to six months of mortgage payments.

8. What is the minimum down payment required for this loan?

Different loan products have different down payment requirements. Most mortgages require a 20% down payment, but if you qualify for an FHA loan, for example, your down payment could be as low as 3.5%. In general, loans with lower down payments cost more.

9. Do I have to pay for mortgage insurance, and how much will this cost?

Putting down less than 20% on your purchase requires paying mortgage insurance until your loan-to-value, or LTV, ratio falls below 80%. Mortgage insurance premiums can be expensive, sometimes costing up to $100 per month for every $100,000 borrowed.

10. Do you have other mortgage products with lower rates that I qualify for?

The best way to comparison-shop is to start with your current lender. They probably offer more than one type of loan, and these may have terms better suited to your financial situation.

More jobs plus low interest and unemployment rates bode well for real estate in 2016 – The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Maine should record solid job growth and the unemployment rate will remain low in 2016, a bank economist told the Maine Real Estate & Development Association’s annual meeting in Portland Thursday.

Both of those trends coupled with low interest rates should buoy real estate sales, said James Marple, an economist with TD Bank Group. The state could add 5,000 jobs this year, he said, adding that job growth probably will slow in 2017.

 

Overall, Marple said he is “cautiously optimistic” that the Maine and U.S. economies will perform well this year, although he noted that forecasting has been more difficult because recent skids in the stock and oil markets have upended business and government finances.

Marple said the strong value of the dollar will hurt parts of the U.S. economy that depend on exports because it makes U.S. goods more expensive for foreign buyers. Maine, he said, is not as heavily dependent on exports as some other states, but what it does export goes to Canada, where the value of the Canadian dollar has plummeted compared to the U.S. dollar.

That will probably make Canadian businesses and consumers reluctant to buy Maine and American goods, he said. It also could have a big impact on the summer tourism season because Canadian vacationers may choose to stay closer to home instead of traveling to Maine, where lodging and meals will be costlier because of the exchange rate. On Thursday, one Canadian dollar was worth 70 cents U.S.

But Marple said the plunge in oil prices will be a net plus for Mainers, unlike states like Texas and those in the Plains, where the falling value of oil will harm local economies. He also believes that oil prices have probably bottomed out and will rise later this year, albeit slowly.

On interest rates, Marple expects the Federal Reserve to continue to hike rates, slowly increasing them through the year, though he said longer-term rates are unlikely to increase much. That means mortgage rates – which are typically tied to the interest rates on 10-year Treasury bonds – are unlikely to go up. With housing prices expected to increase, but at a slower rate than in recent years, that spells good news for the Maine real estate market, Marple said.

On Thursday, the Maine Real Estate & Development Association also released its index, which tracks the health of the commercial and residential real estate markets, along with the construction industry.

For the third quarter of 2015, which ended Sept. 30, the index was at 100. That’s a decline from the 120 recorded in 2014, but still up over the past three years.

The index was established by Muskie School economist Charlie Colgan, who used figures from 2006 to establish a baseline of 100. It includes measures such as home and commercial sales, real estate prices and construction employment to gauge the health of the real estate market in the state.

Of the major components of the index, commercial real estate finished last summer relatively strong, construction activity was flat, and the residential real estate market rose 9 percent over the end of 2014.

“Commercial real estate activity continues to be a strong driver for the positive index trends, but, for the first time (since the recession), residential activity was a big contributor as well,” said Michael O’Reilly, president of the Maine Real Estate & Development Association and a banker with Bangor Savings Bank. “Given the relatively small scale of the Maine real estate market, larger commercial transactions are still having a big effect on the index.”

Sales and lease rates for commercial space were both up through the third quarter last year, O’Reilly said, and residential sales of existing properties were up 14 percent, passing the base year of 2006 for the first time. Median prices, mortgage originations and residential building permits lagged other measures, but also were heading up, he said.

Before consumers make a move, check the interest rate forecast for 2016

It’s a new year, and maybe your plan is to refinance your mortgage, tap into your home’s equity or finally replace your old car.

But before you make a move, take note of interest rates, which can have a big impact on how much you spend — or save — over time.

“Knowing your interest rate and shopping around to get the best rates are important details of money management, whether it is prioritizing debt repayment or earning the best return on your money,” says Bankrate.com chief financial analyst Greg McBride, who has released an interest rate forecast for 2016.

On the heels of the Federal Reserve’s historic move in December, when it hiked interest rates for the first time in nearly 10 years, McBride believes the Fed’s benchmark rate will be boosted two or three times this year, putting the rates at 1% by the end of 2016. Currently, the rates range from .25% to .50%.

Still, that’s fewer hikes than predicted by the Fed itself. “The Fed has a track record of overestimating economic performance as well as their own level of action,” McBride says. “The reality is slow economic growth, low inflation, and issues around the globe will keep the Fed on the sidelines more often than they think.’’

Here are some of McBride’s other projections, and tips from him and financial planners on what these interest rates might mean for consumers.

Time to refinance or buy a home

McBride sees the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate hovering between 4% and 4.5%, finishing 2016 at the high end. As of Thursday,   it stood at 4.05%. Meanwhile, homeowners who currently have adjustable-rate mortgages that are resetting this year may see hikes ranging from half a percentage point to 1¼ points.

“Depending where in the year your reset falls, that will dictate the increase you’re seeing,” he says, “but it’s going to be an increase because those interest rates have come off the bottom.”    That means “now’s a great time to refinance and lock in a fixed rate.”

In addition, despite rising rates, now is also a good time to think about buying if you’ve got the savings and are prepared. “The economy is doing well, unemployment is low, people are finally starting to see more money in their paycheck and mortgage rates are at an attractive level.”

3 Tips for Spring Home Buying – News in Roseville, California, Regional Newspaper for Rocklin, Auburn, Lincoln and Placer County,CA

I don’t think it is too early to start talking about the spring selling season, especially since even more people than last year are expected to be looking as result of improving financial conditions. 

We continue to see and hear from clients that it is difficult to find a home which fits their needs and budget.  What this means is, finding a home may take longer than expected.  Our advice, be patient and prepared. 

Here are three tips for you to consider:

1. Alternatives

Mortgage rates are low now, but the general consensus is they will be moving up and may be volatile in the next few months.  Make sure you understand the average interest rate you read or hear about is not necessarily the rate which will apply to you.  The specific rate you get is a product of several factors, including the lender, the loan type, when you applied, the home and its location, the nature of the purchase, and, of course, your credit history and financial circumstances.

What you can afford to buy is significantly affected by the specific mortgage options available to you.  If you can’t afford a 20% down payment, you’ll also face mortgage insurance premiums that get added to the monthly payment.  Due to recent changes by housing agencies, you now have more options for low-down-payment programs and even lower mortgage insurance premiums than were available last year. But that also means you need to think through what is best for you and your circumstances.

2. New Construction

In our Sacramento area where new home are being built, don’t assume a brand-new home is out of your price range. While new-home prices have indeed increased at a faster rate than existing-home prices in recent years that is partly because low demand from first-time buyers encouraged builders to feature bigger and more expensive homes. In the Sacramento area, a good number of new homes for sale are within budget for households earning the median income.  Having a new home built for you is one way to solve the problem of not being able to find a home on the market that fits your needs.  Remember, when considering new construction; take your Realtor with you on the first visit.  They have the experience to negotiate with your builder and often can save you thousands of dollars and best of all; they are paid by the builder. 

3. Use an expert local Realtor

This is the best piece of advice I can give anyone looking to buy a home.  Find a good Realtor to help you through the home-buying journey.  This agent should have experience and insight which is critical to helping you find the right neighborhood and home, negotiating the best deal for you, and completing the process as smoothly as possible.

Keeping you home deal on track in the new year – HeraldCourier.com: Community

So you’re selling or buying a house in 2016 and you want to make sure your transac-tion goes to closing without glitches. Is there any guide to the potential problems most likely to disrupt deals or delay them? If you know the major pitfall areas, maybe you could take steps in advance to avoid them.

Absolutely. New research pinpoints the biggest causes of home real estate delays and contract termina-tions. In an internal survey of 2,643 realty agents conducted last month but covering sales and purchases during the previous three months, the National Association of Realtors found that 32 percent— nearly one third — of all transactions encountered delays of some sort. That’s probably higher than you imagined.

The big three:

>> Buyer financing setbacks.

>> Home inspection issues.

>> Appraisals that diverge from the agreed upon contract price.

According to the study, of the 32 percent that experienced delays, 46 percent were triggered by “financ-ing issues,” which is up from 40 percent during the first half of 2015. Appraisal-related problems caused delays in 21 percent of transactions and home-inspection issues in 14 percent. Of the nearly one of every 16 (6 percent) of deals that turned into total disasters and fell through, home inspection and financing were the primary culprits. Sixteen percent went south because of the appraisal.

Here’s a quick look at each. Whitney Watson, a loan officer for First Heritage Mortgage in Glen Allen, Virginia, says financing falls apart for myriad reasons, some of them readily preventable. For example, credit scores can change between loan approval and closing — enough to render the would-be buyer ineli-gible for the mortgage. Though she warns clients not to incur any additional credit during this period — no new car purchases, no new furniture on credit, no new credit activity whatsoever — she gets phone calls from buyers with pending home purchase contracts pleading for an okay to lease a new auto or buy furnishings for the new house.

Debt-to-income ratios also can change when an underwriter discovers that a buyer failed to disclose on-going payment obligations such as child support and no longer has acceptable debt ratios. Watson’s ad-vice: “Tell your loan officer everything at application,” and avoid new debt or anything that could affect your qualifying income like changing your employment.

Home inspections are another quicksand pit. When an inspector finds defects in the property under con-tract, things can get tricky. Will the seller make the repairs before closing, cut the price or set aside escrowed funds to cover the costs? Are the problems found by the inspector as serious or expensive as the inspector alleges?

Diana Dahlberg, broker and owner of 1 Month Realty south of Milwaukee, recounted a situation where an inspector left both the home sellers and buyers in utter shock. While the seller was nursing her new baby and the buyers standing nearby, the inspector warned that there was a serious defect in the home’s furnace. He looked straight at the nursing mother and said, “If you don’t want to kill your baby, you better get a new furnace right away!”

The buyers “were totally freaked” by the inspector’s remark and bailed out of the contract, Dahlberg told me last week. Subsequent examination by a different inspector found nothing wrong with the furnace— no safety threats to the child or buyers — but the sale was dead.

Deal-killer inspectors may not be avoidable by sellers, but one way to be ready for them is to get a pre-listing inspection by a reputable professional before you put the house on the market. That allows you as a seller to fix anything important in advance and at the very least have defenses against inspection findings that might be at least partly aimed at lowering the price to the buyers’ advantage.

The same goes for appraisals. You can hire a top-notch local appraiser to do a pre-listing valuation of your home for a modest fee. Not only will that provide useful information for the listing price, but can be a counterweight when an appraiser with inadequate knowledge of local market conditions comes in with a low-ball number that threatens the whole deal. With the pre-listing valuation in hand, you can appeal to the lender to reassign the work to a second appraiser with local knowledge and experience. All this may delay the deal a little — that may be unavoidable — but it could also save it.

How to Move Into a New Home | Tips For Moving Into a New Home

When I bought my first house, my timing couldn’t have been better: The house closing was two weeks before the lease was up on my apartment. That meant I could take my time packing and moving, and I could get to know the new place before moving in.

I recruited family and friends to help me move (in exchange for a beer-and-pizza picnic on the floor) and, as a bonus, I got to pick their brains about what first-time homeowners should know.

Their help was one of the best housewarming presents I could have gotten. And thanks to their expertise and a little Googling, here’s what I learned about what to do before moving in.

1. Change the locks. You really don’t know who else has keys to your home, so change the locks. That ensures you’re the only person who has access. Install new deadbolts yourself for as little as $10 per lock, or call a locksmith — if you supply the new locks, they typically charge about $20 to $30 per lock for labor.

2. Check for plumbing leaks. Your home inspector should do this for you before closing, but it never hurts to double-check. I didn’t have any leaks to fix, but when checking my kitchen sink, I did discover the sink sprayer was broken. I replaced it for under $20.

Keep an eye out for dripping faucets and running toilets, and check your water heater for signs of a leak.

Here’s a neat trick: Check your water meter at the beginning and end of a two-hour window in which no water is being used in your house. If the reading is different, you have a leak.

3. Steam clean carpets. Do this before you move your furniture in, and your new home life will be off to a fresh start. You can pay a professional carpet cleaning service — you’ll pay about $50 per room; most services require a minimum of about $100 before they’ll come out — or you can rent a steam cleaner for about $30 per day and do the work yourself. I was able to save some money by borrowing a steam cleaner from a friend. 

4. Wipe out your cabinets. Another no-brainer before you move in your dishes and bathroom supplies. Make sure to wipe inside and out, preferably with a non-toxic cleaner, and replace contact paper if necessary.

When I cleaned my kitchen cabinets, I found an unpleasant surprise: Mouse poop. Which leads me to my next tip …

5. Give critters the heave-ho. That includes mice, rats, bats, termites, roaches, and any other uninvited guests. There are any number of DIY ways to get rid of pests, but if you need to bring out the big guns, an initial visit from a pest removal service will run you $100 to $300, followed by monthly or quarterly visits at about $50 each time.

For my mousy enemies, I strategically placed poison packets around the kitchen, and I haven’t found any carcasses or any more poop, so the droppings I found must have been old. I might owe a debt of gratitude to the snake that lives under my back deck, but I prefer not to think about him.

6. Introduce yourself to your circuit breaker box and main water valve. My first experience with electrical wiring was replacing a broken light fixture in a bathroom. After locating the breaker box, which is in my garage, I turned off the power to that bathroom so I wouldn’t electrocute myself.

It’s a good idea to figure out which fuses control what parts of your house and label them accordingly. This will take two people: One to stand in the room where the power is supposed to go off, the other to trip the fuses and yell, “Did that work? How about now?”

You’ll want to know how to turn off your main water valve if you have a plumbing emergency, if a hurricane or tornado is headed your way, or if you’re going out of town. Just locate the valve — it could be inside or outside your house — and turn the knob until it’s off. Test it by turning on any faucet in the house; no water should come out.

Home buying season heading into high gear – Central Valley Business Journal

SAN JOSE — The new year will be a seller’s market for real estate according to realtor.com.

“The 2016 housing market is forecasted to be mainly a seller’s market, filled with increasing home prices, relatively low inventory and fierce competition between buyers,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com.

Tips for buyers include being ready to buy early in the year as buyers who start their search early face less competition with nearly the same number of homes available as later in the year. Buyers should also comparison shop for mortgages, and consider a new home.

Mortgage rates are expected to reach 4.65 percent and could rise 3 percent in 2016. New homes are expected to grow more rapidly in 2016 than the supply of existing homes.

Also buyers in the Midwest or South may have more luck as more markets in those regions are expected to have higher inventories.

Home sellers should try to list during peak season to maximize their price. Prime home buying season begins in April and reaches its peak in June, according to realtor.com analysis of home sales.

Sellers should also be careful to price their house to the market. Offering incentives can also help a sale move more quickly. Also if your house is in California, price will be higher.

Sellers can see big gains in prices in the Stockton-Lodi; Bakersfield. Fresno, and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara markets.

I thought buying a house with friends might be fun. I was wrong.

Like many working adults in our late 20s and early 30s, my friends and I are serial renters. Only 35% of Americans under the age of 35 own homes today, down from 39% at the end of 2009, according to the U.S. Census. We all talk about buying a home one day. But as the cost of renting just about everywhere soars, the road to homeownership can start to feel like a treadmill — moving fast, getting nowhere.

On a recent group trip, a friend had an idea: What if we pool our cash and buy a house together? The concept was simple enough. We’d each chip in enough for a down payment on a house somewhere we like. When we weren’t using it for the occasional group vacay, we could rent it out, creating a passive income stream evenly split among us.

It’s not uncommon for more than one person to buy a house. Couples and family members do it all the time. But we’re a group of eight individuals living in three different states who are still getting used to the whole “adulting” thing and have a hard enough time trying to organize our annual camping trip. Could our friendship — and our finances — survive it?

As of now, it’s still just a fun idea we’re toying around with. But I decided to reach out to some experts to see how it might work.  I have to admit, they didn’t exactly help allay my doubts. 

Good luck getting approved for a mortgage.

Is it possible for more than one person to apply for a mortgage loan as a group? Certainly. There are no restrictions on how many people can apply for a mortgage. However, it will be mighty difficult getting a bank to approve a group of three or more.

“Having multiple people on a loan can be tricky,” says Sebastian Rivera, a loan officer in Fairfax, Va. “Not all lenders allow more than four people to be added on a loan, and not all loan products allow this either.”

If a weak link in the group has a sub-par credit score, he or she could drive up your mortgage rate. You could drop them from the mortgage loan to get a better deal but will their name still go on the title? You’ll have to hash that out as a group, ideally with help from a real estate attorney.

But if you take out a mortgage loan, only those whose names are listed on the loan will be liable for any missed payments, says Christopher Ling, mortgage expert at Nerdwallet. If that’s the case, you’ll have to decide whose name goes on the mortgage and be sure to include language in your operating agreement that binds all owners to sharing responsibility for mortgage payments.

The ideal situation, says Craig L. Price, a New York City real estate attorney, is to leave mortgage lenders out of the picture and pay cash.

You’re going to need a seriously good real estate attorney.

If you think you can pull this off without an attorney’s help, you’re fooling yourself. There are multiple ways to structure a group home purchase, the most common of which are forming an LLC or purchasing via Tenants-in-Common agreement. If you’re purchasing the property as a group investment and don’t intend to live there, Price recommends forming an LLC. This is fairly easy to do through your state department website. One of the main benefits of an LLC is that it cuts down on each individual’s liability. For example, if you have a party and a guest is injured and decides to sue and the house is owned by an LLC, that person could only go after the assets owned by the LLC, leaving the personal assets of each individual owner protected.

As an LLC, you’d also come up with an operating agreement — guidelines that will lay out how the group will manage just about every hypothetical complication of group homeownership. This is where you decide how to split up the equity, how to finance renovations, what happens if one party wants to sell, what happens if someone gets married and wants to add their spouse to the title, etc. The downside to going the LLC route is that you can’t claim typical homeowner tax credits, like deducting mortgage interest or property taxes.

If all you want to do is purchase a home with friends and co-own equity, there’s another option: Tenants in Common. A TIC agreement essentially stipulates that these people own this home, this is what share each individual owns, and it allows each person to decide who will inherit their shares when they pass away. Under a TIC set-up, at least one individual can claim homeowner tax deductions and divide the savings among the group.