When I go on a listing appointment, there’s often some “tension” when it comes to talking about the asking price for the property. Property owners often have different and sometimes unrealistic opinions of the “value” of their property. This video talks about what “value” is and how the market (of any product or service) determines value.
My home in Morrow County is worth what ?!
Is Now The Right Time To Become A Landlord?
Is Now The Right Time To Become A Landlord?
Now just might be the right time for you to help secure your retirement by investing in a rental property in Morrow County.
Categories: Real Estate
Tags: investment, market report, morrow county, Real Estate, rental
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There’s No Place Like Home (Morrow County)
There’s No Place Like Home
You don’t have to be Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz to feel like there’s no place like home.
Home is a place to call your own. It’s a place to raise your family and share with your friends. It’s a place to create memories. A home is a place to feel safe and secure.
Inspect all of your decorations and electrical lighting before using them. While you’re enjoying the holidays this year, it’s important to pay attention to some of the things that may affect your safety.
- Extension cords should not be placed under the carpet or rugs or bundled together which could cause overheating.
- Limit three standard size sets of lights to a single extension cord.
- Consider using portable or permanent ground fault circuit interrupters with all lighting to avoid possible shocks.
- Turn off holiday lights when you leave the home or got to bed.
- Avoid using candles near trees or wreaths.
- Do not allow natural trees to dry out during the time they’re displayed to potential fire hazard.
- Make certain that all trees are on a firm, steady base to avoid tipping over.
- Don’t burn wrapping paper in fireplaces.
- Small children are particularly susceptible to accidents and should be protected from potential harm.
Here’s hoping your time at home is special during this holiday season. Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you.
Categories: Uncategorized
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Why Pay Full Price For A Morrow County Home?
Why Pay Full Price For A Home In Morrow County?
No one wants to pay more than its value regardless of the product. When you buy bananas for 49 cents a pound at one store and see them for 39 cents a pound at another store, it’s not the ten cent difference as much as it is about overpaying.
It seems like the natural way to start the negotiation process is to offer less than the asking price for the home. However, instead of the price, a buyer could negotiate condition, timing or terms. A few thousand dollars off the price may not make much difference in the monthly payments but it might make a big difference if it was negotiated in one of the other areas.
A buyer who only has enough available funds for down payment and closing costs will have to live in a home exactly the way it is for some time. They may not be able to make the changes that would really make it feel like home until they’ve saved more money.
Let’s say you found a home that needed $5,000 worth of improvements and the seller would lower the price by that amount. Financing those improvements with a separate bank loan will result in higher payments due to a higher interest rate and shorter term than your mortgage.
Offering full price and asking the seller to make the improvements will result in lower monthly payments based on today’s low mortgage rates and 30 year term. Another alternative is to negotiate with the seller to pay your closing costs so you’d have the cash to make the improvements.
Paying full price may cause the seller to consider concessions regarding condition or terms which can be balanced to affect the value of the property. Buyers can and should negotiate to acquire the home that meets their needs at the lowest possible cost of housing.
Buying A Home In Morrow County
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The Best Way Home“It’s not far, if you know the way.” Maybe it is an obvious statement but there are some definite steps that will improve your success in buying a home in today’s market.
As your real estate professional I can definitely help you with these important strategies to invest in a home to call your own, raise your family, feel safe and secure and share with your friends. Call for a recommendation of a trusted mortgage professional; there really is a difference.
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Categories: Real Estate, Uncategorized
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Morrow County Home Sales Market Continues Upward Trend
Morrow County Home Sales Market Continues Upward Trend
The statistics continue to show improvement for the existing home sale market in Morrow County. Mount Gilead, Cardington, Marengo and outlying areas all show increased: sales activity, units sold, average sale price, median sale price, along with decreased number of units on the market ( a return to more normal supply and demand).
This is good news for Morrow County residents as home sale prices begin to normalize and the inventory of homes available for purchase decrease. This will continue to provide higher home prices.
It’s too early to tell for sure, but so far the last few months of market activity in Morrow County would seem to indicate that we are “beyond the worst” and returning to more normal home sale market activity.
Buyers who might have been waiting for the “bottom” to buy, might want to act fast before the numbers continue to climb in the coming months.
Here’s a quote from the Columbus Board of Realtors:
“Home sales in central Ohio home have exceeded 2010 for the last four months according to the Columbus Board of REALTORS®. The 1,543 homes sold in October marks an 8.6 percent increase over the 1,421 homes sold in October of 2010. Home sales in September were up 16.6 percent compared to the year before.
Year-to-date, home sales (January through October 2011) are only 2.1 percent behind 2010 and closing
the gap. Homes put in contract last month (1,379) were up 46 percent from a year ago making October the sixth straight month of increased contracts.”
To see the entire Columbus Board of Realtors Statistical Sales Report for Morrow County, October 2011, click here.
Categories: business, Real Estate
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Waiting to buy a home in Morrow County could cost you money!
Waiting to buy a home in Morrow County could cost you money!
The housing market has been in a downward trend for four years. There is some speculation that inventories will not reduce any time soon which will be necessary for prices to rise. However, there are other factors that can increase the cost of housing, specifically mortgages. FHA accounts for a large percentage of the current housing loans and is expected to be even more prominent when the Qualified Residential Mortgage Guidelines go into effect next year.
- Rising rates are almost certain, due to looming inflation fueled by higher gas and food prices and the enormous amount of deficit spending
- FHA loan limits have been reduced – they are lower than conventional limits in most markets and FHA has suggested that they might be reduced further.
- FHA might increase the down payment to 5% or higher in an effort to have a more secure loan that will have less likelihood of going to foreclosure.
- FHA might decrease the amount of seller contributions in a similar move to require the buyer to have a larger investment in the home and therefore be a more “qualified” borrower.
- Congress may decide to increase the up-front MIP to build up the FHA reserves. The annual MIP has been adjusted twice since October 2010 when the Up-Front MIP was actually reduced.
- Due to tougher conventional requirements, demand for FHA loans could exceed maximum annual insurable limits. If Congress is having a hard time raising the limit on national debt, they might not even consider raising the limits for FHA.
In an effort to solidify the lending industry, qualifying is becoming harder for the buyer and more expensive at the same time. Many of the rules changes could go into effect next year. In addition, market factors could easily play a role in increasing buyer’s costs. Waiting will very probably require a larger up-front investment for buyers of Morrow County real estate in the future.
Buying Local in Morrow County
(this is an article written by a Morrow County resident and with her permission, reprinted here)
Christmas 2011 — Birth of a New Tradition
As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high
gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods –
merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor.
This year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine
concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift-giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. Yes there is!
It’s time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in
a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?
Everyone — yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates
from your local American hair salon or barber?
Gym membership? It’s appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some
health improvement.
Who wouldn’t appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American-owned
detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a
book of gift certificates.
Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plonking down
the Benjamines on a Chinese made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful gift
receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or
driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.
There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants — all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn’t the fancy eatery sort, what about a half-dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint. Remember, folks this isn’t about big National chains — this is about supporting your home town Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.
How many people couldn’t use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?
Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a
local cleaning lady for a day.
My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.
OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin
their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery
and beautiful wooden boxes.
Plan your holiday outings at local, owner-operated restaurants and leave
your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at
your hometown theater.
Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.
Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese
lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of light, about fifty cents stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG tip.
You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets so that
China can build another glittering city. Christmas is now about caring about
US, encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow
their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our
communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn’t imagine.
THIS is the new American Christmas tradition.
Forward this to everyone on your mailing list — post it to discussion
groups — throw up a post on Craigslist in the Rants and Raves section in
your city — send it to the editor of your local paper and radio stations,
and TV news departments. This is a revolution of caring about each other,
and isn’t that what Christmas is about?
Merry Christmas to all !
Herb’s November Newsletter
Herb’s November newsletter is out and you can view it right here!
Herb\’s November Morrow County Real Estate Newsletter
How Much Can I Borrow For A Home In Morrow County?
It takes money to buy a home: yours or theirs. If you’re not going to pay cash for a home, you need to find out exactly what you can borrow and what it will cost before you start looking at homes.
 Whose Money Is It? |
The mortgage process is not as clear cut a path as it was a few years ago. It is certainly more complex, takes longer and assumes that you’re credit worthy. If you have less than stellar credit, a trusted mortgage professional can advise you how to improve your individual situation.
You are entitled to a free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus each year. Go toAnnualCreditReport.com to get a copy of each from TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. Read the reports to determine if they’re accurate. Surprisingly, about 90% of all reports have errors.
You can try to correct them directly with the credit bureau, but a trusted mortgage professional can help you with this process too. They have tools that are not available to individuals. Some errors may not be serious but others will keep a person from qualifying.
Housing affordability is at a near record height due to the incredibly low interest rates and low home prices. Some areas are experiencing absorption of the inventories which could impact price. If you’re going to use “their” money to buy a home, the first step is to talk to a trusted mortgage professional. Call me for the name of a trusted mortgage professional.
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