Now is a Perfect Time to Buy a Home!

From the Real Estate Home Page


What the heck are you waiting for?

The experts say this is the perfect time to get into your dream home!

> Home prices are down.
> Home mortgages are reasonable.
> There are incentives for first-time home buyers. (June 18
and July 5 posts)
> Home choices are plentiful with the large home inventory.

But...don't wait around too long. There are indications that the home inventory is decreasing and prices are increasing.

Get in touch with your Realtor, now...explore the opportunities out there for you to get that new home you've been dreaming about!

For more see:

http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/pages/News2009072001?OpenDocument

Happy Home Hunting!

Kwik Kwote: "We can do anything we want as long as we stick to it long enough." -Helen Keller

To see homes in the Cary-Apex-Holly Springs, NC area, take a look at http://www.TriangleEstatesRealty.com/. Or email me at Tim@TimHaag.com. Or for a no pressure toll-free chat, call me at 877-TIM-HAAG (846-4224).

The Cheapest Metro Areas to Make Your Home!

From the Real Estate Home Page


Where would you go if you wanted to make your home in one of the cheapest urban areas in the U.S?

Well...Forbes magazine ranked all 380 metropolitan areas. They based their conclusions on cost-of-living data from Moody’s Economy.com and on home affordability from the National Association of Home Builders and from Wells Fargo.

The magazine also factored in four quality-of-life considerations. These included the rate of violent crime, unemployment, average salary for college grads, and cultural opportunities.

Here they are...the cheapest places by region:

Pacific: 1. Spokane, Wash. 2. Modesto, Calif. 3. (None)

Mountain: 1. Ogden-Clearfield, Utah 2. Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo. 3. Greeley, Colo.

West North Central: 1. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis. 2. Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa 3. St. Louis, Mo.-Ill.

West South Central: 1. Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas 2. Oklahoma City, Okla. 3. Tulsa, Okla.

East North Central 1. Ann Arbor, Mich. 2. Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. 3. Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio

East South Central: 1. Knoxville, Tenn. 2. Chattanooga, Tenn.-Ga. 3. Louisville-Jefferson, Ky.-Ind.

Middle Atlantic: 1. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y. 2. Pittsburgh, Pa. 3. Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.

South Atlantic: 1. Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C. 2. Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C. 3. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga.

New England: 1. Manchester-Nashua, N.H. 2. Worcester, Mass. 3. Springfield, Mass.

Source: Forbes (07/14/2009)

Kwik Kwote: "Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get." -Ray Kroc

To see homes in the Cary-Apex-Holly Springs, NC area, take a look at http://www.TriangleEstatesRealty.com/. Or email me at Tim@TimHaag.com. Or for a no pressure toll-free chat, call me at 877-TIM-HAAG (846-4224).

Under Water Home Owners Walk Away

Presented By the Real Estate Home Page

Homeowners who have lost value on their homes are stopping payment on their loans in increasing numbers.

The farther home owners' equity falls below the value of their homes, the more likely they are to default on their mortgages.

As the social stigma of defaulting lessens, it is likely that more and more homeowners will walk away from their home loans, even if they are able to pay them.

Willingness to default on a home loan, even though you can afford to pay it, has become known as "strategic foreclosure".

But, don't even think about trying this without considering the consequences, including the possibility that your mortgage company might pursue criminal charges against you for violating Federal law.

If you haven't talked with your attorney for awhile, this would be a good time to re-introduce yourself and get some legal advice!

Sooo...is walking away from your mortgage justified or is it morally wrong? Northwestern University and the University of Chicago did a study. They found out how people with different demographics feel about the morality of defaulting on a home loan, even when they can afford to pay it.

Click here to see who thinks it's morally wrong and who doesn't:

http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2009070105?OpenDocument


Kwik Kwote: "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow." Albert Einstein

To see homes in the Cary-Apex-Holly Springs, NC area, take a look at http://www.TriangleEstatesRealty.com/. Or email me at Tim@TimHaag.com. Or for a no pressure toll-free chat, call me at 877-TIM-HAAG (846-4224).

How Much Home Can You Afford?

Presented by the Real Estate Home Page

Ever wonder how much home you can afford? You have a lot of company.

Well, you can get a pretty good handle on it with a couple of easy calculations. These are ratios that can be used as rules of thumb to give you a pretty good idea of what you might be able to afford without financially over-extending yourself for a home. First, you'll need to know:

1. Monthly Housing Expense

2. Total Monthly Debt

3. Gross Monthly Income

The first calculation is called your front-end ratio. It is used to figure out what percentage of your total monthly income is used to pay your monthly housing expense. As a general rule, your monthly housing expense should not be more than 28% of your gross monthly income or you may be biting off more than you should.

The second calculation is called the back-end ratio. This reveals the chunk of your monthly income that is going toward your total monthly debt (including your housing expense). Generally, your total monthly debt should not be more than 36% of your monthly income.

In addition to looking at the ratios, here are some other factors you will want to take a look at:

1. Your present and future job scenarios

2. Your future debt situation

3. Your total cost (not just the mortgage)

When you think about your job status, consider how steady and secure it is and what the future may hold, including promotions or foreseeable layoffs.

Since you've already looked at your current debt situation, now you can take a look at what your future debts might be. This could change with additional expenses such as an expansion of your family, replacing a worn out car or going to college.

Don't forget that the total cost of purchasing your new home includes more than just the mortgage. Other expenses need to be factored in as well. They include such things as closing costs, lender fees, title insurance, home owner insurance, appraisal and property survey.

With some foresight and professional assistance you can budget your purchase so that you can afford and enjoy your new home!

Adapted from an article by Mark Pendergast of Maker Capital Group mark@makercapitalaustin.com http://www.makercapitalaustin.com/

Note: It's a good idea to consult a knowledgeable mortgage or real estate professional before you hit the road, or the web, to look for your new home

To see homes in the Cary-Apex-Holly Springs, NC area, take a look at http://www.triangleestatesrealty.com/ or contact me at Tim@TimHaag.com. Or, for a no pressure toll-free chat call me at 877-TIM-HAAG (846-4224).

Real Estate Home Page - The Scoop on Your Area

This is the 2nd in the series of fun cyberspace tips for finding very cool websites with very cool information.

At this great site, you can check on restaurants, shopping, food, health and medical, nightlife, home services and dozens of other things.

You can also get lots of additional information, including reviews, maps, directions and special offers.

And, for those of you with iPhones, there's a special application that displays all of this good information right on your phone screen for most major cities.

Last month over 2 million people found...and shared...information using this resource.

So...go ahead and have some fun! http://www.yelp.com/

Real Estate Home Page-New Home or Resale Home?

In your home search, have you ever struggled with the dilemma of deciding whether to buy new or resale? You have a lot of company!

Next time, take your list of pros and cons and your decision will be a breeze...well, maybe not a breeze but, at least, a little more organized.

Of course, the no-brainer "pro" of buying new is...yes, everything's new...appliances, roof, heating and air conditioning...well, everything! Any one, or more, of these things could go bad the day after you buy a resale. If the warranty has expired, guess who pays the bill. Well, that's not always true. If you buy, or get the seller to buy, a home warranty (it usually covers 1 year) it could pay or help pay for repairs or replacement during the covered period.

New homes typically come with a 1 to 10 year home warranty paid for by the builder. New homes also come with cooking stoves, dishwashers and microwaves. But, in additon to these, resale homes will usually have window blinds and sometimes a refrigerator, washer, dryer and mature landscaping.

Because new homes are usually financed out of a pool of money not available to the resale home owner, the builder usually can offer more incentives for the new home. Incentives might include upgraded appliances or floors, low rate financing and downpayment assistance , to name a few.

Finally, the biggest difference between buying resale or new is that you have the option of buying a presale home...building from ground up, where you select everything from paint colors, to light fixtures to where you want your outside water faucets. Or, you can buy a new house that is already built...known as a "spec home" (speculative home) or "market home". The advantage is that you can see, touch and walk around in this home. You know exactly what you are getting and you can close in 30 to 45 days as opposed to 6-10 months for building from the ground up.

Sooo...there you go...get out there and buy a home! If you'd like to see what's in the Triangle of North Carolina, check out this website: http://www.triangleestatesrealty.com/

Real Estate Home Page - What Does Your Name Mean?

This is the first of a series of fun Cyberspace tips for finding very cool websites with very cool information.

Ever Wonder What Your Name Really Means? For example, where did your first name come from?

There are currently over 15,000 names in the database at a great place and it contains given names from all cultures and periods.

To find yours, Just type your name in the site search box and get interesting information on its usage and historical significance. For example, search “Brett” and you will learn that this name is from a Middle English surname meaning "a Breton", referring to an inhabitant of Brittany. Or try "Diana" and you will find that this comes from Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Dutch, Romanian, Russian, Lithuanian, and Roman mythology and was probably derived from an old Indo-European root meaning "heavenly, divine".

Have some fun and get some good information, too. Click here and find out who you are!

http://www.behindthename.com

Real Estate Home Page - New Action on the $8,000 Tax Credit!

My June 17th post talked about the new $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. Remember...first time homebuyers are home buyers who have not owned a home in 3 years and meet the income requirements. This is not just for buyers who have never ever owned a home!

Well, the success of the incentive has attracted both legislators and the business community. They like it so much they're pushing to expand the tax credit measure to make it even better. Several bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate lobbying for the expansion.

Here are some key changes being proposed according to USA Today:

<> Increasing the cap from $8,000 to $15,000
<> Extending the tax credit into 2010
<> Making the benefit available to all homebuyers
<> Giving a credit of $3,000 to borrowers who refinance
existing mortgages

This pays keeping an eye on. Stay tuned for emerging developments!

Like more details on the existing tax credit? Check out the following article:

http://www.realtor.org/home_buyers_and_sellers/2009_first_time_home_buyer_tax_credit?lid=ronav0019

(Be sure to check with your tax accountant for information about how the tax credit personally affects you)