Financial, Home Buying, housing, Interesting Facts, real estate

Views on Housing Vary by Age Group

Younger Americans are more likely to think owning a home is attainable but not necessarily a good investment, while older Americans believe the opposite, according to a Country Financial Security Index survey.

Here’s a breakdown on the survey results:

Think owning a home is attainable for a typical middle-income family by age group –
18-29 / 49%
30-39 / 50%
40-49 / 45%
50-64 / 43%
65 and over / 36%

Think buying a home is the best investment families can make by age group –
18-29 / 37%
30-39 / 37%
40-49 / 44%
50-64 / 48%
65 and over / 51%

Source: Council of Residential Specialists

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Home Selling, Home Staging, housing, Interesting Facts, real estate, real estate market, Staging

Avoid These Costly Mistakes When Selling Your Home

Here are seven things that a seller should avoid when selling their home:

1. Putting the home on the market before it’s ready – Make sure you have the home in top notch condition and free of clutter. Impressions are everything when selling, so get yours ready before putting it up for sale.

2. Over improving for the neighborhood – When making improvements to your home, be careful not to go overboard. You want to keep your home’s size and materials used similar to the other homes in your immediate area. 

3. Pricing the home based upon what the seller wants to net – Following this practice will almost always lead to failure. If a home is not priced in-line with other similar homes, then it will receive few if any showings, and will attract mostly low ball offers. After a while the home will become what is termed as “market worn”.

4. Hiring an agent based on non-business factors – Make sure that your hiring the best person for the job and not a friend or family member who’s in the business.

5. Getting emotionally involved in the sale of the home – Once you decide to sell your home you need to become emotionally unattached to the house, it’s now a commodity and it needs to be treated as such.

6. Trying to cover up problems and not disclosing them – Most states require a written seller property disclosure report that you as the seller must complete as part of the selling process. Make sure that you complete this form with great care and detail. If you don’t properly disclose an issue that you have knowledge of, then you open yourself up for possible liability at a later date.

7. Not getting everything in order before selling – Research such things as new financing, terms of your existing mortgage, market conditions and etc. By having a better understanding the process and what to expect, you can hopefully sell your home and purchase a new one with less stress and fewer hassles.

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Interesting Facts, real estate, Real Estate Career, Realtor

What’s a Real Estate Career Like?

As one works each day in real estate, every day is a new day. Boredom is not an option and meeting new people is a must. In addition, real estate agents gain invaluable skills such as marketing, sales, operations, negotiations and networking. Most real estate agents operate as independent contractors, which mean they decide their own business model and set their own schedule.

Working at a local real estate firm adds value to the community by helping fellow residents and new neighbors realize their dream of home ownership. Not only can it be personally rewarding, but practicing real estate is also a great way to network and meet new people in the community.

If you think that you might be interested in a real estate career, go to www.TopOfKnox.com to find out more.

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Financing, Home Buying, Interesting Facts, Mortgages, real estate

VA Loans Post Record Year in 2013

The Department of Veterans Affairs recently announced that the number of loans it guaranteed reached a record high in 2013.

The VA guaranteed almost 630,000 mortgage loans in 2013 according to Mike Frueh, the director of the VA’s Loan Guaranty Program.

An overall tight lending environment is making VA loans more attractive to current and past service members.

VA loans do not require a downpayment. Roughly 90 percent of all VA loans for home purchases are made with no money. These loans do not require private mortgage insurance to be purchased, as with most other high loan to value mortgages.

States that have seen the largest increase in VA loans within the past year are Arizona (up 40 percent in 2013 over 2012), Ohio (30 percent) and Connecticut (30 percent).

Sources: The New York Times and REALTOR®Mag

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Home Buying, Home Selling, housing, Interesting Facts, real estate, Realtor

Tips for Choosing the Right Real Estate Agent

Buying real estate is complex, and it’s important for you to select an agent who is competent, honest and knowledgeable, and will represent  your best interests throughout the entire process of either buying or selling a property.

Here are some key areas to look for when selecting an agent:

Experience
Ideally you want an agent who works in the business on a full time basis, and closes at least five to ten sales per year. The more closings an agent has under their belt, the better prepared they will be to help you through the many twists and turns of a real estate transaction.

Time to work with you
You want an agent that will spend the time with you that will be needed. If an agent seems too busy, maybe you should look for one that’s less busy.

Location
Generally you will be better served if you pick an agent that has sold a number of properties within your neighborhood. They will be most familiar with the property values and issues unique to your neighborhood. Additionally they will often have a pool of prospective buyers that are interested in the area.

Help you protect yourself
You want to pick an agent that will help you to make smart decisions. This agent should be well-versed enough to advise you on a number of issues, such as, financing, negotiations, inspections, closing and etc. 

Someone you feel comfortable with
The working relationship between you and your agent will be one that will usually last several months from beginning to end, so make sure you feel comfortable with who you choose. 

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Fort Loudon, Home Buying, Home Selling, housing, Interesting Facts, Lakefront, real estate, Real Estate Investing, Watts Bar

Real Estate Search Links for Monroe & Rhea

These links will give you access to the most current property listings from the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors MLS system. The information is updated on a daily basis, so check back often.

Monroe County
http://idx.diversesolutions.com/link/308224 

Rhea County
http://idx.diversesolutions.com/link/308238

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Home Buying, housing, Interesting Facts, real estate, Realtor

Here’s How Most Buyers Find a Real Estate Agent

Most buyers find their real estate agent in one of the following ways (listed from most common to least common):

1. Referred by a friend, relative or neighbor

2. Website

3. Used agent previously

4. Saw contact info on a For Sale or Open House sign

5. Meet agent at an open house

6. Referred by another agent

7. Personal contact by agent

8. Employer or relocation company referral

9. Office walk-in

10. Internet search engine

Source: National Association of Realtors®

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Home Buying, Home Selling, housing, Interesting Facts, Lakefront, real estate, Real Estate Investing, real estate market, Watts Bar

Real Estate Search Links for McMinn & Meigs

These links will give you access to the most current property listings from the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors MLS system. The information is updated on a daily basis, so check back often.

McMinn County
http://idx.diversesolutions.com/link/308231 

Meigs County
http://idx.diversesolutions.com/link/308235

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Home Buying, Home Selling, Interesting Facts, real estate

Learn These Real Estate Terms

These terms are handy to know terms when you are involved in either buying or selling real estate:

Disclosure Statements
These are most often prepared by the person selling a property. They can include a property condition disclosure, a lead based paint disclosure (for properties built prior to 1978), and a septic disclosure to name a few. You should ask for copies prior to preparing a written offer.

Good Faith Estimate
A lender is required to provide a borrower this document at loan application. It provides the borrower a breakdown of their loan costs, closing costs and downpayment required. It also gives an estimate of the total monthly payment. The numbers from the Good Faith Estimate and the closing statement should align fairly close, if not you should ask questions.

MIP
This stands for Mortgage Insurance Premium. If your obtaining a mortgage with a loan to value greater than 80%, then the lender will require mortgage insurance in most cases. The premium is usually paid as part of your monthly house payment. For some loan programs a portion of the premium is collected when the loan is funded. 

Lien
This is a claim by someone or a company on a property, usually for money owed. In Tennesse a Deed of Trust is filed with the Register of Deeds in the county where the property is located. This document reflects the terms of the loan, and is a matter of public record. 

Buyer’s Market
This is a a term used when the market is in the buyer’s favor. The buyer usually has the advantage when it comes to negotiations. A buyer’s market occurs when there are more homes for sale than there are buyers to purchase them, thus forcing sellers to me more aggressive with pricing. Usually homes take in excess of six months to sell in this type of market.

Seller’s Market
This term is used when there are not enough homes available for the number of buyers looking to purchase. This environment gives the seller the advantage when it comes to negotiations. In this type of market you will see home prices on the rise as many properties will receive multiple offers. In this kind of market, homes that are priced right and in good condition may only be on the market for a few weeks.

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