Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Home Energy Audit


With the exception of a mortgage payment or rent, the largest homeowner/tenant expense is utilities; and energy is the major component. There are lots of contributing factors such as air leaks, insulation, heating and cooling equipment, water heaters and lighting.

It's estimated that 75% of the electricity to power home electronics is consumed when the products are turned off. Computers, monitors, TVs, cable and satellite boxes, DVRs and power adaptors are spinning your electric meter even when they're not being used.

Unplugging devices can actually make a difference in the size of your electric bill. Plugging several of these offenders into a power strip with a single on/off switch may make the task easier. Most computers have options to put them into sleep mode or even turn off when not in use.

Take 3 1/2 minutes and watch Energy 101. Consider hiring a professional home energy auditor or do-it-yourself. The Department of Energy has a checklist with some valuable suggestions.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Converting a Home to a Rental

What's keeping you from taking advantage of the low prices and mortgage rates available today? Concerned that you may need to sell in a few years and won't be able to get your equity out of your home?

Suppose a buyer purchases a home and finds out that they need to move in two years. Instead of selling the home, they could convert it to a rental. It's possible that it could have a positive cash flow even with the small down payment. In most cases, the conversion would not accelerate the mortgage.

The price of homes and low interest rates combined with a very strong rental market in most areas has attracted a lot of investors. Non-owner occupied mortgages generally require 20-30% down payment compared to a 3.5% down payment for a FHA owner occupant.

The following example looks at a home that might have been purchased as a principal residence and then converted to a rental at the end of two years. There are certainly lots of variables to consider but the high indicated rate of return merits closer examination of the possibilities.


 For the buyer who has good credit and ample funds for down payment and acquisition costs, there may never be as good a time to buy a home as now. For the buyer who is concerned that they might have to move in the near future, converting it to a rental might make a great investment opportunity.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Competing with Cash


It's not fair! 29% of all sales made in June and July 2011 were cash. How does a buyer who needs a mortgage compete with a cash buyer?

You've been looking for a home for months after thinking about it for years. You've found the home you want and meets your family's needs. You write a contract but before it's even presented to the seller, another offer comes in. With all the homes on the market, you'd think you wouldn't have to deal with multiple offers but you'd be surprised how many times it does happen.

There are some proven strategies that can minimize the advantage of an all-cash buyer.
  1. Get pre-approved and submit the letter from the lender with the offer
  2. Move fast to minimize competing with other offers
  3. Submit larger than normal earnest money to show your sincerity
  4. Be flexible about closing and possession
  5. Avoid unnecessary contingencies in the contract
  6. Write a letter emotionalizing why you want the home

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Are You Ready To Buy?

In most parts of the country, the housing market is good (or great!) for buyers right now - interest rates are bizarrely low, lots of inventory means lots to choose from, and the cost of renting has increased in a lot of markets. But just because the market’s good doesn’t mean it’s the right time for everyone to buy. The decision whether to buy a home is a very personal one; you need to carefully examine your own situation to determine whether it’s right for you.

So, what are the questions you need to answer in deciding whether you’re ready to buy? Here are some of the big ones:

1. Do I have enough money for a down payment?
And how much, exactly, is “enough?”  Today’s minimum down payment requirements range from 3.5 percent on an FHA loan to 10 or even 20 percent for conventional loans. That means coming up with anywhere from $7,000 to $40,000 on a typical $200,000 house. While there are still programs that can give you a down payment assist, much of the heavy lifting here will need to come from you - in the form of saving up your hard earned cash. And keep in mind there are also closing costs you’ll probably have to pay in cash, which can run as high as 3-4% of your total purchase price.

Talk with a real estate pro and a mortgage broker in your areas to start wrapping your head around how much “cash to close” (i.e., down payment + closing costs) will run, approximately, on a local property that would meet your needs. Can your savings cover this? If not, where will you get the money - what’s your plan for coming up with it?   Putting down as much as you can a) makes you more attractive to lenders, so you might qualify you for better loan terms and b) gives you additional purchasing power, either decreasing your monthly mortgage payment or increasing your purchase price limit for a home.

2. Can I handle the not-so-glamorous aspects of homeownership?
If you can’t even fathom the prospect of having a home maintenance crisis without having a landlord to call to fix it, you might want to reconsider homeownership - or at the very least, buy a lower maintenance condo or townhome in great condition, and make sure you get a home warranty!  As a home owner, after all, you essentially are your own landlord. Pipe bursts in the middle of the night? Guess who’ll be up fixing it or calling (and paying) the plumber? (Hint: you.)

There are also some less-than-glamorous bills you’ll have to deal with in your new role as a homeowner that you never laid eyes on as a renter: property taxes and hazard insurance, to name two. When you go from renter to owner, you also need to account for the cost of appliances and maintaining the property’s roof, windows, and landscaping, among other things.

3. How long do I intend to stay in the house?
If you think you might move out of the area next year, then you really shouldn’t be thinking about buying a house (unless of course, you want to play landlord and rent it out after you leave - a prospect which requires its own risk/rewards analysis). For your home purchase to pencil out as a good deal, financially, you’ll shouldn’t buy unless you’re comfortable staying in the house at least 5-7 years - even longer, if you’re buying a home in a foreclosure hot spot or an area with a sluggish job market.. This gives you some time to build up equity and make up for the costs of buying, selling and moving.

4. Are my job and finances stable?
Maybe you just went through a major career change and are in the process of working your way back up from the top. Or maybe you work in a field that has been hit really hard by layoffs and cutbacks. The worst case scenario is to find yourself in a spot with mortgage payment you have no way to make, when you could have avoided that by seeing the writing on the wall. If you feel like there’s a real chance you could lose your job or income tomorrow, you may want to hold off on buying a house - that has the added bonus of giving you the geographic freedom to move, if needed, to get a new job.

Is there really such a thing as 100 percent job security in today’s economy? Probably not. But the best practice is to be confident that your finances could handle a temporary loss of income and still make your mortgage payments, before you buy. One way to do this is to have enough money in the bank to cover 4-6 months’ worth of living expenses, calculating them to include your mortgage payment - before you deem yourself ready to buy. That way, even if you lose your job with no warning at all, you’ll at least have a reasonable window of time to find a new one without digging yourself into a hole - or worse, losing your home altogether.

5. What are my real reasons for buying?
Buying a home is a long-term commitment that will have massive impacts on your lifestyle, your family and your finances. In other words, don’t do it unless you’re really sure you want to and are ready for the lifestyle change - don’t let someone else talk you into it. Worthy reasons renters with homeowning readiness give for their decision to buy include some or all of the following:

  • You want to build equity instead of paying a landlord. Fact is, if you get a fixed rate mortgage and make the payments for the full term of the loan, you'll eventually pay it off. That's not possible when you're renting.
  • You want a place to call your own, where you can paint a wall purple, add a pottery spinning studio or build your dogs an obstacle course (oops - that's my reason for homeownership!), because it's your prerogative.
  • You want the tax advantages of homeownership.
  • You want a stable place you and your family can live for as long as you'd like.
Ask yourself these questions, and be honest with your answers. If you really want to buy, but your answers to these questions today don’t weigh in that direction, it doesn’t mean you’ll never own a home. It’s usually just a matter of strategically timing your purchase out a year or two when your savings, your career and your lifestyle are in alignment with the implications of ownership - consider working closely with Triplett to get an action plan in place and start working that plan.