Dean Graziosi | Dean Graziosi Real Estate | Dean Graziosi Investment

Winter can be a homeowner’s worst nightmare. Not only do heating bills go up, but there is also an increased risk of fire if you have a fireplace. The windows and doors become doorways for cold drafts, making it cold in certain areas of your home no matter what you do. Even worse, your pipes can freeze and burst, possibly causing hundreds of dollars worth of damage.

Before winter strikes, you should have your home assessed. An assessment can find areas of your home that need to be adjusted for winter. This kind of assessment is called a home energy audit and you can easily do one yourself if you know how. The U.S. Department of Energy has an assessment that you can do yourself, step by step. If you do not want to do your own audit, you can easily hire someone to do it for you.

Cold air can easily seep in around your windows and doors. This raises your heating bill and leaves you and your family cold. Weatherstripping is an excellent way to get around this problem. Take a look at the areas around your doors and windows. If you see an obvious gap, then use weatherstripping in that spot. Sometimes the gap may not be as obvious but you will be able to feel the draft on your hand. If you have single pane windows, weatherstripping may not be enough to stop the cold from creeping into your home. Using heavier shades or curtains will help you keep that precious heat inside.

If you have a fireplace or furnace, make sure that it is services once a year. Fireplaces that have not been cleaned and checked by a professional at least once a year are dangerous to use and you run the risk of a fire. With a furnace, it can break down if you do not have it checked once a year. Even worse, it can release carbon monoxide into your home, a potentially deadly gas that is both colorless and odorless.

The duct work in your home will lose anywhere from 10 to 30 percent of the heat it carries through your house. Have a professional check the duct work to make sure that it is all connected the way it should be. Duct work should also be insulated. This will keep it from losing the heated air it carries, especially if the duct work goes through rooms that have been closed off for the winter.

Frozen pipes are a very real danger in the winter. Pipes that run outside your home should be wrapped with something that will insulate them. Heating tape works well for this. If you are leaving your home for the winter, then turn the water off and use inside faucets to drain out the water that is left in the pipes to prevent freezing. You can also get insulated covers to put over outside faucets to help protect them from the cold.

Certain states have determined that in order to relieve themselves of the burden of unoccupied homes that they are offering buyers the chance the purchase government owned homes for as little as $100 down.  The low down payment required to purchase government owned homes speaks volumes of how desperate they are getting to get the homes sold quickly.  Market insiders see this as a sign that the government may be preparing for a new wave of foreclosed homes that were once owned by Countrywide Mortgage, who was recently bought by Bank of America.  This deal could mean that up to 40,000 new foreclosed homes will be on market as well as the previous homes still on the market from the last wave of foreclosures.

From now until October 2012 buyers will be able to purchase a foreclosed home for only $100, which is a far better deal than the previous requirements of 3.5 percent of the value of the home.  The only restriction is that if you plan to take advantage of the offer you must reside in the home; this stipulation was put in place to reduce the amount of property flippers who would take advantage of the deal.  Buyers must also obtain financing for the property through the Federal Housing Administration.

Buyers are not being offered the homes at discounted prices, only the down payment has been lowered to help buyers get in the door.  The homes being sold will still be listed at full current market prices.  The HUD website lists three steps to purchasing a home; one is to find a HUD home for sale that you are interested in, next you will need to locate a registered HUD real estate agent to help you broker the deal and lastly you will need to be approved by an FHA lender.

HUD has also decided to make the $100 down payment eligible for the FHA 203(k) loan program which allows borrowers to use FHA loans to make any repairs needed on homes that are in poor condition.  To find out if the renovations you would like to make are covered by this program you should check the HUD website to review their guidelines as to what would be included in the program. 

Offering buyers the chance to purchase a home for only $100 down is great for first time home buyers, which also happens to be the demographic that the government is trying to reach.  This is a great opportunity for first time buyers who may have difficulty coming up with a larger down payment.  But the program isn’t only for first time buyers, it is also a great opportunity for those who would like purchase a home but are short on money, it is definitely a program worth considering.

All buyers know the importance of having an inspection done on any property they are considering purchasing.  A home inspection consists of a certified inspector going through the house to look for any signs of existing problems.  A thorough home inspector will check the exterior, electrical, roof, plumbing, garage, heating and foundation of the home.  After the inspection is done the home inspector will inform you of their findings and tell you if all of the systems in the home are in proper working condition, they will also notify you of any problems that they had found during their inspection. 

Once you have been informed on what repairs the property will need once you take possession it is up to you to decide if the cost is worth it or if it will put you too far over budget to proceed with the purchase.  This is also the time to determine if the asking price for the home is fair based on what the inspection revealed.  The information gathered from an inspection is important in helping you see a realistic picture of how much money you will need to put into the property once you buy it. 

What’s not included in the inspection report is the cost of the repairs or upgrades you’ll need to make to the home once you move in.  To determine these numbers it is the buyer’s responsibility to obtain estimates from professionals detailing what is included in the estimate and to what extent their work is guaranteed.  Before purchasing a home that has issues it is important that buyers are aware of the realistic money they will need to spend in the near future to make the home livable, in older homes this may include upgrading the electrical system or replacing an older cooling unit.

Other things that should be included in your home inspection are radon tests, mold tests, signs of termites, soil tests and finding out if any additions were done using the proper permits.  Some of these items aren’t included in your basic inspection fee, inform your inspector of any additional items you would like inspected prior to inspection day and they can inform you whether or not these additional tests are included or how much extra you will need to spend to have them done.  No matter who does them, these tests should be included in helping you determine whether the house you’re interested in is worth the asking price.

A home inspection is something that should be done even though they are optional on the buyer’s part.  It is well worth the additional expense to have the property thoroughly looked at before you finalize any agreements.  

Buying a home is one of the biggest financial decisions you will ever make. It is important that you have a guide to help you through the complicated process of getting approved for financing, paperwork, and choosing your new home. A real estate agent is trained to not only help you buy the home you need and are looking for but also to be able to help you get through all of the steps to buying a home. Since the regulations are always changing in the housing market, it is essential that you have the guidance of a real estate agent from the very first moment that you start planning to buy a home.

Do not just settle for the first real estate agent that you contact. This is the person who is going to be helping you find a home for yourself and your family. He or she is going to be spending time with you, talking about your finances and what you are hoping for, and is going to be directing you not only in what homes to look at but also in your financing. You should interview any real estate agent you are considering working with. Find out how many years they have been an agent and if there are any complaints filed against them. Also find out the experience that they have in the neighborhoods you’re interested in.

You want a real estate agent who is going to give you their time and attention. If it is difficult for you to get in touch with the agent then you may want to think twice about working with him or her. You need an agent who is easy to talk to and get in touch with and who will make sure that your calls are returned. Sometimes you may work with an agent who works with a very large real estate agency and you may be dealing with assistants who do a lot of the legwork. This is okay as long as you feel that your needs are being met. When it comes time for contracts to be signed and the actual closing of the deal you will want to have the agent there because they are the ones who are in the best position to help you. Look elsewhere if the agent is not going to be one guiding you through the contracts.

Consider the agent’s personality and whether or not you can get along with them. You may love an agent’s creditionals and experience but find that they have a personality that gets on your nerves. This is okay and does not say anything bad about you as a buyer. If an agent has a personality that clashes with your own or if you feel in any way that you cannot work with them then you need to keep looking. No matter how great an agent’s creditionals are they are not the one for you if you can’t get along. The same thing goes for an agent who you get along with well who does not have the experience you need. Choose an agent you can get along with who has all the experience and training you need. 

Ever since the housing crisis began, you have probably been hearing about credit scores. Credit is needed for just about everything. It is much easier to get a new car loan, an installment loan for a home repair, or a mortgage for your dream home if you have a good credit history. The problem is that the whole idea of credit is confusing to many people and it is not always easy to find out exactly what your credit score is or what it means. One of the biggest mysteries of credit is how exactly it affects a mortgage for a home.

There is no debating the fact that the higher your credit score the better deals you can get. Where mortgages are concerned, you are able to get mortgages that have lower interest rates, higher borrowing limits, and lower monthly payments. The lower interest rates that you pay with a better score is what lowers the monthly payments that you make. Interest is money that is added on to the money that you borrow and increases the amount that you have to pay back over the life of the loan. The lower the rate the less you have to pay to borrow the money.

Credit tells your lenders how much they can trust you. High scores mean lenders will be willing to lend you money while low scores mean they will not want to. Your score, called the FICO score, is determined using a number of factors and a specific formula. The credit bureaus such as TransUnion take these factors into account when assigning a credit score. The factors are your previous performance and how often you paid creditors on time, the amount of money you owe, how long you have been using credit, and what kinds of credit you have. Credit inquiries also count but to a much smaller degree. Your past payment history is the most important factor. Using the FICO score, a lender will use the score and reason codes to decide where you fall on their lending guidelines.

Scores range from 350 to 950. Very few people actually have scores in the 900s. Those who get the best loans have scores that are at least 800. Many lenders require borrowers to have scores in the 700s. However, there are lenders who will consider lending money to you for a mortgage even if you are considered to have poor credit, which is usually considered to be anything below 500, though you will end up paying more in interest. Time is the best method of getting a higher credit score. Be sure to pay your bills on time, pay off any debts you owe, and your score should climb. 

Knowing what the real estate market has done in the past is an important piece of knowledge that buyers and sellers should be aware of. Being aware of how the market has behaved in certain neighborhoods and locations where you are looking at properties can be an indicator of what to expect once the home has been purchased. Past market trends can and do have an effect on the current value of a property and how the value of the property can change in the future. Market trends have been in a constant state of change lately and knowing what the past trends were will better prepare you for the future.

Looking at how the area you’re interested in has changed in past three or four months will show what to expect in the future. Banks and lenders typically use this same information when determining comparable prices of homes recently sold in the area. This is an important tool to use while you are looking at properties. Once you find a property that you are interested in, you should also look at what the past property trends have been. This will prepare you for what to expect when the market becomes more stable. These numbers will show if the neighborhood you’re looking at has a high turnover rate, meaning that people purchase homes but do not tend to stay.

You will also want to look at the rate of foreclosures in the neighborhood, this can affect the purchase price of your home and can also affect the selling price should you decide to sell later. Experts suggest that when you look at past trends you go as far back as three years. This will tell you how many homes were sold and what the average sale price was. It also allows you to notice any trends either up or down in property values. Doing some research into past trends may seem like a lot of extra work, but it can help you make a better informed decision when purchasing a home.

Every neighborhood will have property sales throughout the years, some are for the typical reasons of families relocating to a larger home, downsizing or a change in their living situations. But researching the trends will show you if there is an abnormally large amount of activity in the area. Market trends are changing all the time, and doing some research now can help you in the long run. Finding a neighborhood you like is critical to being happy in the home you buy; but doing the proper research before purchasing that home will ensure that you are getting the most for your money and you will not be likely to lose more down the line.

Relocating to a new city can be either scary or exciting, depending on how you look at it. The best way to keep a positive attitude is to have a plan. Here are a few ideas to think about before you make the move.

Leaving the Old City

The truth is that you may not be able to sell your old home before you leave the area. That does not mean you cannot try. Get the best real estate agent you can find and set him to work. When you get a buyer, make arrangements to set the move-out date as close to your relocation date as possible. Otherwise, you will either have to stay in temporary housing while you wait for your new home, or you may have to make two mortgage payments simultaneously.

If you do not sell the home before it is time to leave, and there are no immediate prospects for doing so, you might want to consider renting it. This is an especially attractive proposition if you will have trouble making two house payments. Before you go, take the time to interview leasing agents to manage your property while you are away.

Buying in the New City

If at all possible, make a trip to the new city early in the process. You can take a week, or even just a long weekend. Choose a buyer’s agent first and foremost. Make sure it is someone who is willing to work with a long distance buyer. Ask questions to see what the agent can do for you while you are still in your old city.

Get to know your buyer’s agent while you are visiting the new city. Spend time, preferably in relaxed settings like going out for lunch or relaxing at a park. This will give you time to express your wants and needs for home buying. The real estate agent will not have time to lounge around with you all day, but if he will give you a bit of quality time to get to know you, the process will go much smoother.

After you have given the buyer’s agent your requirements and wants for a home, he may want to take you to see a few. However, the purchase does not have to be made in this short trip. If a house or houses are decided on, the agent can work out the negotiations while you are at home in your old city. He will confer with you about the details so that you get the deal you want.

If a home has not been chosen, set your buyer’s agent the task of looking for a home for you. Remind him of all the ideas you have discussed. Have him look at houses for you and take as many pictures as possible. If you see the pictures from a particular house and you like what you see, you can proceed from there. You might want to go look at the house in person. The agent can also set up the inspections and appraisal for you.

When you have completed the sale of your old home and the purchase of your new one, you can settle down comfortably in your new city. The most important thing to remember is to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Take one step at a time and enjoy the relocation process.

The easiest way in the world to choose a real estate agent is to work with the first one you meet or hear about. On the other hand, the easiest way is probably not the best way when it comes to a job as important as selling your home. It is a good idea to talk to several agents, and even to interview them. Here are a few interview questions you can ask.

1. How many times have you worked as a seller’s agent?

Of course, every realtor has to start somewhere, but do you really want that first sale to be yours? When you compare agents, do not forget to consider the amount of experience they have.

2. How many houses have you sold in all?

Just being in the business is no guarantee of skill at selling houses. You want to make sure that they have not only worked as a seller’s agent, but they have indeed been successful in selling homes.

3. How many homes have you sold in the last year?

Recent success also counts because it means that the real estate agent knows how to work in the current state of the economy. It means that he has not let his skills get rusty. It means also that he should be up to date on all the laws and regulations concerning home sales.

4. How long has the average home you have sold in the last year been on the market from listing to closing date?

In a buyer’s market, the number of days is likely to be high. However, getting that number is important at any time because you can use it to compare different realtors. With this bit of information, you can sort out the real estate agents who work diligently, quickly and effectively from those who do not put in the same effort.

5. What is the average of your sales ratios, comparing list price to selling price.

A realtor who tends to get a high percentage of sales near the list price is one who will probably be good at making deals for you. This type of realtor knows his business and uses his superior abilities to get you the best price.

6. Do you employ a personal assistant to help you, and if so, what does the assistant do?

This is a pertinent question for you to find out because you need to know whether the realtor will have plenty of time to work on the most important aspects of selling your home. At the same time, you will want to make sure that the assistant is not doing work he is not qualified to do.

7. If I am not satisfied, what will happen?

Some real estate agents will refuse to answer this question directly. They will just say something like, “Oh, you will be satisfied, no doubt about it!” Look for a realtor that explains the options you will have in case you are not happy with him, including breaking the contract. This type of realtor is honest and realistic, two good qualities to look for in a real estate agent.

Real estate agents are plentiful, but the ones who can sell your house, sell it as quickly as possible, and sell it for a price you can live with, are not as easy to find. Do not just go with the first realtor you meet, but interview several before you decide who will help you sell your home.

Properties that have been vacant for a long time can be a great bargain for anyone looking to invest in real estate. However, there are a few things you should watch for in properties that have stood vacant for some time. The longer a property is vacant, the more chances that these problems will arise. This is due to the fact that since no one is living there, and most of these properties are rarely checked on. Certain problems may arise and become worse due to lack of attention. To protect yourself, watch for these three things in properties that have been vacant for a year or more.

1.      Have the roof checked for any need of repair. When you walk through the house, look carefully at the ceilings for signs of leaks. It is very common for a house that is standing vacant to develop problems with the roof that go unnoticed. When roofing problems are left to their own devices, they become much worse very quickly. It is important to have this inspected before you buy the home.

If you believe that the roof needs to be repaired, do not be afraid to ask that such repairs be taken into consideration as part of the negotiations on the property. Make certain that the repair cost is deducted from the sale price, or that the repairs will be made before the sale is completed.

2.      Have the foundation checked out by an experienced appraiser. The foundation of a house can be the reason that it has stood vacant for so long. You want to make sure that the house is on a firm foundation, otherwise it could have serious problems later on down the road. Even if the foundation is not causing problems right now, it could cause issues in the future if it is going bad. This is one of the biggest reasons older homes don’t sell, and it should be taken into careful consideration before you buy.

If the house has a bad foundation, this is likely the reason it has stood vacant. You should not buy such a house. It can cost thousands of dollars to repair a foundation. It is typically not worth the investment.

3.      Electrical systems should also be checked thoroughly. It is common for houses that have been vacant for some time to have an invasion of rodents or other pests. These intruders generally go unchecked for some time, because the house is left empty with no one entering it for months at a time. They can chew on wiring, and cause other problems with the house. Just make sure that you check for any signs of any rodents or animals being in the property, and have the wiring checked thoroughly to ensure that no damage has been done.

A lot of prospective home owners are concerned about listing their home in today’s unstable realty market.  Since the market has gone from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market with more and more homes being listed every day, sellers are worrying that they will not get what they feel their home is really worth.  In past years sellers would have no worries when it came to listing their homes, often times available homes that were in great shape would set off bidding wars once they hit the market.  Unfortunately in the world we live in today, sellers are faced with the decision to list or wait until the market picks up again.  But if you do choose to list your home there are a few ways that you can make sure that it gets all of the attention from agents and buyers that it deserves.

The first thing you will want to do is make the exterior appealing to prospective buyers.  If any of the shrubbery is overgrown now is the time to trim it down and make it look appealing.  If your house paint needs some updating that should also be taken care of before you have it listed.  The first thing that your real estate agent will want to do is take pictures, since we are a visual society many of our first impressions are determined with a quick glance at pictures that your agent has listed online.  When preparing the pictures of your home, it is important that they feature up close shots of the entire exterior of the home including the backyard and garage.  The more pictures that you have available for buyers have to look at the more interested they will be in viewing your home in person.

Along with exterior pictures your agent will also want interior pictures as well.  When preparing your home for these photographs, it is important that you remove any clutter from the rooms that will photographed.  You will also want to open any blinds or drapes to let natural light in.  If you have rooms that are a bit darker you will want to turn on any lights that will make the room look more appealing and less like a dungeon.  It is important to focus your pictures on special details that you may have such as, new cabinets, granite counter tops, wood floors or a fireplace. 

Buyers do most of their research online before actually contacting an agent to schedule a viewing.  Ask your agent to include a virtual tour of your property in your selling arrangement.  A well designed virtual tour will grab the buyer’s interest and make them feel as if they are being led from room to room.  The better your photos and virtual tour are the more interested prospective buyers will be to view your home in person.

In addition to the photos and virtual tour that your agent will make available online, you should also ask your agent to use print advertising along with online advertising.  Many people still read newspapers and your home should be listed in the major newspapers in your area.  There is no such thing as too much advertising when you’re trying to sell your home.  Sellers should utilize all of the resources at their disposal when trying to sell their home, the more people you reach the better your chances of getting what you’re asking for.