Here is the breakdown:

What does that mean to you if you are selling?

Here is the breakdown:

What does that mean to you if you are selling?

“Broad-based Slowdown for Home Prices”

Home Prices are NOT Falling.

Bottom Line

“If you are planning to buy a home in the next year, it’s better to do it sooner rather than later.”

Thinking of Selling & Moving Up?

“If you are planning to buy a home in the next year, it’s better to do it sooner rather than later.”

Thinking of Selling & Moving Up?

Here are the Top 5:

#1: Helped the Buyer Understand the Process

#2: Pointed Out Unnoticed Features/Faults with the Property

#3: Improved the Buyer’s Knowledge of Search Areas

#4: Negotiated Better Sales Contract Terms/Better Price

#5: Provided a better list of service providers

Bottom Line

1. There Is Less Competition Now

2. The Process Will Be Quicker

3. There Will Never Be a Better Time to Move-Up

4. It’s Time to Move On with Your Life

That is what is truly important.

1. There Is Less Competition Now

2. The Process Will Be Quicker

3. There Will Never Be a Better Time to Move-Up

4. It’s Time to Move On with Your Life

That is what is truly important.

Bottom Line

“Home buyers are more informed than ever with their Internet searches and ongoing research; however, there’s a critical need to transform that information into analysis and advice that helps consumers make the best home-buying and selling decisions.”

Bottom Line

The results of their latest survey

• Home values will appreciate by 4.8% in 2014.
• The cumulative appreciation will be 23.5% by 2019.
• That means the average annual appreciation will be 3.6% over the next 5 years.
• Even the experts making up the most bearish quartile of the survey still are projecting a cumulative appreciation of 15.1% by 2019.

The results of their latest survey

• Home values will appreciate by 4.8% in 2014.
• The cumulative appreciation will be 23.5% by 2019.
• That means the average annual appreciation will be 3.6% over the next 5 years.
• Even the experts making up the most bearish quartile of the survey still are projecting a cumulative appreciation of 15.1% by 2019.

“Few households are interested in borrowing money to buy stocks and bonds and few lenders are willing to lend them the money. As a result, homeownership allows households to amplify any appreciation on the value of their homes by a leverage factor. Even a hefty 20 percent down payment results in a leverage factor of five so that every percentage point rise in the value of the home is a 5 percent return on their equity. With many buyers putting 10 percent or less down, their leverage factor is 10 or more.”

“Homeowners pay debt service to pay down their own principal while households that rent pay down the principal of a landlord.”

“Since many people have trouble saving and have to make a housing payment one way or the other, owning a home can overcome people’s tendency to defer savings to another day.”

“Homeowners are able to deduct mortgage interest and property taxes from income...On top of all this, capital gains up to $250,000 are excluded from income for single filers and up to $500,000 for married couples if they sell their homes for a gain.”

“Housing costs and rents have tended over most time periods to go up at or higher than the rate of inflation, making owning an attractive proposition.”

“Few households are interested in borrowing money to buy stocks and bonds and few lenders are willing to lend them the money. As a result, homeownership allows households to amplify any appreciation on the value of their homes by a leverage factor. Even a hefty 20 percent down payment results in a leverage factor of five so that every percentage point rise in the value of the home is a 5 percent return on their equity. With many buyers putting 10 percent or less down, their leverage factor is 10 or more.”

“Homeowners pay debt service to pay down their own principal while households that rent pay down the principal of a landlord.”

“Since many people have trouble saving and have to make a housing payment one way or the other, owning a home can overcome people’s tendency to defer savings to another day.”

“Homeowners are able to deduct mortgage interest and property taxes from income...On top of all this, capital gains up to $250,000 are excluded from income for single filers and up to $500,000 for married couples if they sell their homes for a gain.”

“Housing costs and rents have tended over most time periods to go up at or higher than the rate of inflation, making owning an attractive proposition.”

“Those who have criticized low-down payment lending as excessively risky should know that if the past is a guide, only a narrow group of borrowers will receive these loans, and the overall impact on default rates is likely to be negligible. This low down payment lending was never more than 3.5 percent of the Fannie Mae book of business, and in recent years, had been even less. If executed carefully, this constitutes a small step forward in opening the credit box—one that safely, but only incrementally, expands the pool of who can qualify for a mortgage.”

While it was happening (2011)

“In the midst of a very fragile housing recovery, the government is throwing a devastating, unnecessary and very expensive wrench into the American dream. First time homebuyers will have to choose between higher rates today or a 9-14 year delay while they save up the necessary down payment… High down payment and equity requirements will not have a meaningful impact on default rates. But they will require millions of consumers, who are at low risk of default, to either put off buying a home or pay unnecessarily high rates. The government is penalizing responsible consumers, making homeownership more expensive or simply out of reach for millions. We urge regulators to develop a final rule that encourages good lending and borrowing without punishing credit-worthy consumers.”

“…moving from a 5 percent to a 10 percent down payment on loans that already meet strong underwriting and product standards reduces the default experience by an average of only two- or three-tenths of one percent... Increasing the minimum down payment even further to 20 percent… (creates)  small improvement in default performance of about eight-tenths of one percent on average.”

Today  (2014)

“Of loans that originated in 2011 with a down payment between 3-5 percent, only 0.4 percent of borrowers have defaulted. For loans with slightly larger down payments—between 5-10 percent—the default rate was exactly the same. The story is similar for loans made in 2012, with 0.2 percent in the 3-5 percent down-payment group defaulting, versus 0.1 percent of loans in the 5-10 percent down-payment group.”

Bottom Line

“Those who have criticized low-down payment lending as excessively risky should know that if the past is a guide, only a narrow group of borrowers will receive these loans, and the overall impact on default rates is likely to be negligible. This low down payment lending was never more than 3.5 percent of the Fannie Mae book of business, and in recent years, had been even less. If executed carefully, this constitutes a small step forward in opening the credit box—one that safely, but only incrementally, expands the pool of who can qualify for a mortgage.”

1. What do you do with all this paperwork?

2. Ok, so you found your dream house, now what?

3. Are you a good negotiator?

4. What is the home you’re buying/selling really worth?

5. Do you know what’s really going on in the market?

“When getting help with money, whether it’s insurance, real estate or investments, you should always look for someone with the heart of a teacher, not the heart of a salesman.”

Bottom Line:

1. Prices Will Continue to Rise

2. Mortgage Interest Rates Are Projected to Increase

3. Either Way You are Paying a Mortgage

4. It’s Time to Move On with Your Life

Bottom Line

• Rents have continued to increase nationally even as home price increases are starting to slow. Current low mortgage rates have kept homeownership from becoming more expensive than renting.
• Some markets might tip in favor of renting next year if home prices increase at a greater rate than rents and if – as most economists expect – mortgage rates rise, due to the strengthening economy.

Nationally, rates would have to rise to 10.6% for renting to be cheaper than buying – and rates haven’t been that high since 1989.

Bottom Line

You Cannot Afford a Home

You Do Not Have Good Enough Credit to Get a Mortgage

It’s Not a Good Time to Buy a Home

It’s Cheaper to Rent than Buy

“Homeownership remains cheaper than renting nationally and in all of the 100 largest metro areas. In fact, buying is 38% cheaper than renting now, compared with 35% cheaper than renting one year ago.”

Bottom Line

“Households must consume housing whether they own or rent. Not even accounting for more favorable tax treatment of owning, homeowners pay debt service to pay down their own principal while households that rent pay down the principal of a landlord plus a rate of return. That’s yet another reason owning often does—as Americans intuit—end up making more financial sense than renting.”

Bottom Line

Here are five of our reasons

1. There Are Too Many People to Negotiate With

• The buyer who wants the best deal possible
• The buyer’s agent who solely represents the best interest of the buyer
• The buyer’s attorney (in some parts of the country)
• The home inspection companies which work for the buyer and will almost always find some problems with the house
• The appraiser if there is a question of value
• Your bank in the case of a short sale

2. Exposure to Prospective Purchasers

3.  Actual Results also come from the Internet

• 43% on the internet
• 9% from a yard sign
• 1% from newspapers

4. FSBOing has Become More and More Difficult

5. You Net More Money when Using an Agent

Bottom Line

3% Down Payments Available Soon?

“To increase access for creditworthy but lower-wealth borrowers, FHFA is also working with the Enterprises to develop sensible and responsible guidelines for mortgages with loan-to-value ratios between 95 and 97 percent. Through these revised guidelines, we believe that the Enterprises will be able to responsibly serve a targeted segment of creditworthy borrowers with lower-down payment mortgages by taking into account “compensating factors.”

Bottom Line

After all 14,164 houses sold yesterday, 14,164 will sell today and 14,164 will sell tomorrow. 14,164!

After all 14,164 houses sold yesterday, 14,164 will sell today and 14,164 will sell tomorrow. 14,164!

1. Why am I buying a home in the first place?

• A good place to raise children and for them to get a good education
• A place where you and your family feel safe
• More space for you and your family
• Control of the space

2. Where are home values headed?

• Home values will appreciate by 4% in 2015.
• The cumulative appreciation will be 19.5% by 2018.
• Even the experts making up the most bearish quartile of the survey still are projecting a cumulative appreciation of over 11.2% by 2018.

3. Where are mortgage interest rates headed?

Bottom Line

"I still think, from an individual perspective, the best deal investment you can make is to buy a primary residence that you're the owner-occupier of.”

Who is John Paulson?

“A multibillionaire hedge fund operator and the investment genius.”

“A hedge fund tycoon who made his name, and a fortune, betting against subprime mortgages when no one else even knew what they were.”

Why does he believe homeownership is such a great investment?

"Today financing costs are extraordinarily low. You can get a 30-year mortgage somewhere around 4.5 percent. And if you put down, let's say, 10 percent and the house is up 5 percent, which is the latest data, then you would be up 50 percent on your investment."

“And you’ve locked in the cost over the next 30 years. And today the cost of owning is somewhat less than the cost of renting. And if you rent, the rent goes up every year. But if you buy a 30-year mortgage, the cost is fixed.”

Bottom Line

Bottom Line

Are you thinking of selling your house? Are you dreading having to deal with strangers walking through the house? Are you concerned about getting the paperwork correct? Hiring a professional real estate agent can take away most of the challenges of selling. A great agent is always worth more than the commission they charge just like a great doctor or great accountant.

[assets] => Array ( ) [can_share] => no [categories] => Array ( [0] => stdClass Object ( [category_type] => standard [children] => [created_at] => 2019-06-03T18:18:43Z [id] => 6 [name] => For Sellers [parent] => [parent_id] => [published_at] => 2019-06-03T18:18:43Z [slug] => sellers [status] => public [translations] => stdClass Object ( [es] => stdClass Object ( [name] => Para los vendedores ) ) [updated_at] => 2019-06-03T18:18:43Z ) ) [content_type] => blog [contents] =>

Are you thinking of selling your house? Are you dreading having to deal with strangers walking through the house? Are you concerned about getting the paperwork correct? Hiring a professional real estate agent can take away most of the challenges of selling. A great agent is always worth more than the commission they charge just like a great doctor or great accountant.

[created_at] => 2014-10-20T06:00:07Z [description] => Are you thinking of selling your house? Are you dreading having to deal with strangers walking through the house? Are you concerned about getting the paperwork correct? Hiring a professional real estate agent can take away most of the challenges of s... [expired_at] => [featured_image] => https://simplifyingmedia/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/01162534/Megaphone.jpg [id] => 154 [published_at] => 2014-10-20T10:00:07Z [related] => Array ( ) [slug] => 5-demands-to-make-on-your-real-estate-agent-2 [status] => published [tags] => Array ( ) [title] => 5 Demands to Make on Your Real Estate Agent [updated_at] => 2015-07-09T17:33:38Z [url] => /2014/10/20/5-demands-to-make-on-your-real-estate-agent-2/ )

“Select how you'll market and list the home (e.g., with a real estate agent or for sale by owner). There are pros and cons to each, but unless you are experienced at selling homes, it usually makes financial sense to get professional help—homes sold by agents typically sell at a higher price and spend less time on the market. An agent will also help you determine the best pricing for the house, they'll market the home, and they'll be your advocate throughout the process.”

Let’s go over the points they made:

• Homes sold by agents typically sell at a higher price
• Homes sold by agents typically spend less time on the market
• An agent will help you determine the best pricing for the house
• An agent will market the home
• An agent will be your advocate throughout the process

“Select how you'll market and list the home (e.g., with a real estate agent or for sale by owner). There are pros and cons to each, but unless you are experienced at selling homes, it usually makes financial sense to get professional help—homes sold by agents typically sell at a higher price and spend less time on the market. An agent will also help you determine the best pricing for the house, they'll market the home, and they'll be your advocate throughout the process.”

Let’s go over the points they made:

• Homes sold by agents typically sell at a higher price
• Homes sold by agents typically spend less time on the market
• An agent will help you determine the best pricing for the house
• An agent will market the home
• An agent will be your advocate throughout the process