A Quick Introduction to Freedom First Properties
February 3rd, 2010 by Dan Brough
Dan & Melinda
Archive for the 'real estate' Category
First Time Home Buyer – Things to Think About
September 22nd, 2009 by Dan Brough
image by Tony The Misift
If the rule of real estate is location, location, location, then the rule for the first time home buyer should be research, research, research. There is all kinds of information on this subject that you can find by searching online, at your local book store or by connecting with a local real estate agent. Buying a home is a major purchase and you need to have some answers before taking on a mortgage.
The following list is a good starting point for a first time home buyer.
- Income – Will there be one or two incomes in the house to make the mortgage?
- Future Income – Don’t count on your income going up (it might, it might not)
- Children – Is it possible you will lose an income to a stay home parent?
- Down Payment – How much will you need? 20% is a good starting point.
- Budgets – expenses, repairs, maintenance
- Type of Mortgage – A 30 year fixed is a good idea.
- Starter Home – it might not be your “dream home’ but it needs to be affordable.
- Monthly Payment – not just the mortgage, include taxes and insurance.
- Closing costs – this is not part of your down-payment, it is in addition to.
- Location – is it close to work and schools?
- Credit – do you know your credit score? (credit scores can be improved
Buying a home is a big decision, getting an agent and asking lots of questions is a good starting point.
Anaheim Hills September Newsletter
September 17th, 2009 by Dan Brough
We published our first newsletter for Anaheim Hills and if you would like a copy you can download it here. The newsletter covers some of the current real estate market in Anaheim Hills along with some other community information.
Can You Really Get A Home For $1?
August 14th, 2008 by Dan Brough
The foreclosure market is a bad, really bad. When a house is listed for $1 and it takes 19 day to find a buyer, that is a picture of how bad it really is. The house is a shell and there is the issue of back taxes but to be able to purchase a home that sold in 2006 for $65,000 is almost unbelievable. To get the full story click here.
How To Sell Your Home In Todays Market
March 6th, 2008 by Dan Brough
If you are thinking about buying a new home but concerned you will not be able to sell your current home, there are many things you can do in order to help get your home sold. The first and most important thing to do is price your house correctly in today’s market.
How do you do this? Look at other homes in your neighborhood that have sold recently and this should give you an idea of the value of your home. You could use the Internet to do some research and find a value. A great way to find the true value of your home is to hire a local appraiser who will come out and give you an appraisal for a small fee. A house that is priced in line with the market will sell, even in today’s economy.
Other things that you can do is hire a real estate agent. A good agent will market your home, add it to the MLS and put the listing up on several of the online sites so that your home has as many people looking at it as possible. Having your home on the Internet is not enough. The quality of the pictures and possibly a virtual tour will bring in and hold more attention, so a professional photographer should be used. An agent can do other things to help as well: hold open houses, mail out fliers, drop brochures door to door along with other marketing tasks.
Another way to help sell your home is to have it looking like a model home. This is not that hard to do and will give your home emotional appeal. First, remove all the excess clutter, knick-knacks and personal photographs from the home. Rooms need to be furnished but any excess items that could be removed or stored in the garage should be moved (chairs, tables, beds, etc.). When someone comes to view the home have all lights on, windows open and blinds pulled back. The smell of a home is very important and lighting a few scented candles that are not too strong is a good idea.
Of course there are many other things you could do and your local bookstore has entire books on this subject. So when you find that home that is “just perfect”, don’t turn away because you think you won’t be able to sell your home, use these tips and your home will sell.