Why it’s a good time to buy a home
Check out this two minute read about why its a great time to buy a home.
Hey I’m Walter Pierce! I’ve noticed a problem keeping people from becoming homeowners, but I do have a solution.
I see a lot of educated buyers are waiting to buy because the heated market is over. The truth is, there’s more inventory because the rates went up, AND there’s more inventory because more people have decided they should sell while the market’s hot and it IS a great time to sell.
The bottom line is this: it’s a good time to buy because inventory has doubled since last year and instead of getting 8-16 offers on the first weekend of a house going on the market we’re only getting two or three offers and some of those are taking a week to two weeks. Our average days on market as well went from three days back up to a normal 17-45 days.
What we see with these buyers is that some of the down payment programs have gotten extremely helpful, and some of the loan programs have gotten even more flexible but it is still extremely hard to borrow money compared to 15 years ago, however there are some aggressive strategies that can help you maximize on today’s market
Closing costs 101
Avoid last minute surprises with Walter’s two minute read about what you need to know about real estate closing costs.
Home buyers! You’ve budgeted, reviewed home values and saved for a down payment, but have you thought about the added expense of closing costs? Closing costs are standard real estate fees levied by lenders and third parties; BUT they can be financed as part of the deal or paid upfront. How much ARE closing costs? Well, they are typically 2% to 5% of a home’s purchase price. For example, closing costs on a $150,000 home would be between $3,000 and $7,500.
I highly recommend that you speak with your lender and Real Estate agent EARLY in the process so that you’ll know how much you will be responsible for on closing day. This will avoid a lot of headaches on closing day about unexpected fees.
By law, a homebuyer will receive a loan estimate from their lender 3 days after submitting their loan application and they should receive a closing disclosure 3 days before the scheduled closing on their home. The closing disclosure includes final details about the loan and the closing costs.
If you’re in doubt, ask your Agent! I like to educate my buyers about closing costs up front so there are no unexpected surprises on closing day.