changescapeweb, Author at Sandra Meranda

September 9, 2015 by changescapeweb Leave a Comment

The First Time Home buyers Guide to Mortgage

As a first-time home buyer you will have a lot to deal with at first. Since applying for a first time mortgage loan can be a really overwhelming experience. If you want to have your first home to be an easier experience, you will need to be ready for the big day well ahead of time. There are a few questions you need to ask yourself before you move on with the actual purchase of your potential new home and moving in:

How much of a home can you really afford?

It is not quite uncommon to be able to qualify for a larger mortgage than you can really afford, but you would do well to borrow money with caution. Although it may seem like a lucrative opportunity to get a greater home than you can afford now, it will easily turn out as a serious mistake in the long run. Always make sure you have a good safety net in terms of your monthly budget so you won’t suffer financial woes at the end of the year. A mortgage calculator will help you out, but you would still do well to talk to your real estate agent to ensure you are fully aware of what you’re getting into.

How much mortgage can you afford to borrow?

There are quite a few things you need to consider, such as your overall monthly income, your credit history, employment and residence history as well as the size of the down payment. Depending on the circumstances involved, you may be given the opportunity to go beyond your safety margin, so be careful.

What will you need to pay up front?

There are some costs you will need to safely cover before you begin making your regular mortgage payments, such as closing costs, mortgage application fees, down payment and earnest money.
Mortgage application fees will include service fees, which may be flat fees covering 1-2% of the total final price of your property. There will also be credit report, appraisal and underwriting fees that may be added to the closing costs.
Earnest money is essentially the initial deposit that needs to be paid to the seller if the offer is accepted, showing your resolve to buy the property. Sometimes there are multiple bids on a property and the earnest money deposit you place may influence the decision of the seller, so keep that in mind.

Down payment is usually the best way you can get a better mortgage rate in the long run. Down payments can range up to 20% of the total cost of your potential new property, where 15-20% is the ideal range if you want to keep your mortgage low. Paying up front will help lower the interest of your mortgage further down the line.

Closing costs usually range from about 2-4% of the entire loan amount you will need to pay off. Closing costs may sometimes even be a part of the entire mortgage loan amount, meaning you will be paying them off as time goes by and you pay your mortgage the usual way. These may include mortgage application fees, attorney fees, surveys and inspections, insurance and more.

Home ownership expenses

There will be more you need to commit to once you have a home, since other expenses need to be figured into your calculations as well. Mortgage insurance will usually be needed for mortgages with down payments of less than 20%, home insurance, maintenance and utilities as well as property taxes will also need to be considered into your monthly balance. You should take all of these into account when you commit to a home mortgage and you end up moving house successfully.

Saving money and planning ahead

If you want to save up for your new home, then there are some things you can do to make it happen. For example, saving for a higher down payment will mean a much lower set of payment later down the line. Maintaining a reliable income will allow you to improve your standing with lenders. Combining your stated income with your spouse will allow you an additional advantage, as well as paying your bills on time for a good credit score. Limit your monthly budget as well for a better credit score in the long run. What you should be aiming at is a mortgage that is less than 28% of your total income for an optimal result. When all is said and done moving into your new home with a moving company will give you peace of mind, knowing your monthly expenses are under control.

Article provided by Ella A. on behalf of: wandsworthremovals.com

P.S. Real estate is still heating up for the Summer! Homes are selling fast and for the highest prices in years! It is never too late to put your home on the market or for buyers to call me to discuss the Summer & Fall market. Don’t miss out on your Dream Home, interest rates are still below 4%. Call me today for details!

June 29, 2015 by changescapeweb Leave a Comment

5 Big Spring Selling Mistakes Clients Make.

Next to sunshine and lead surges, seller slip-ups are one of the most common things. Each year, too many sellers find innovative ways to kill a deal or chance at maximizing profit.

Here are five too-common follies to keep an eye out for this year and a few suggestions for keeping your sellers, and commission checks, safe:

1. Banking on the Overnight, High-Dollar Sale

All the news points to the heat and low-inventory trends in today’s market. The good news is, many sellers have the confidence to get in the game. The bad news is that too many will do so thinking they will sell for top dollar in a flash.

According to Ralph McLaughlin, Housing Economist, “What’s quickening the pace of sales? It turns out it’s homes priced at the low end of the market.” National numbers show that homes are selling slightly faster than normal, but your sellers need to know that quick moves require competitive pricing.

2. Under-Staging

Too many sellers think “low inventory” means low competition. When pickings are slim, updates become much more important. If buyers believe there’s limited opportunity to get the home they’re dreaming about, an understaged listing can demotivate the already anxious.

Here, scare tactics might be one the best ways to get your sellers to see the light. Show them shockingly competitive, similar homes in person and online.

3. Unwanted Buyer Gifts

Contrary to many sellers beliefs, most buyers don’t want to make critical repairs and updates when making a purchase. Anytime you hear a seller say, “We’ll leave that for the buyers,” remind them they need a buyer to actually close the deal.

Also, show your sellers the real value of making critical repairs. Check out NAR’s 2014 comparison of repair costs vs. resale value of home repairs for real numbers on how much they stand to make with improvements.

4. Scenting Strain

In an effort to “sweeten” the showing, some sellers can go too far. According to agent Genevieve Gheorghiu, “I find when sellers try to make their houses smell TOO good, it can be just as awful (as bad smells).”

As a part of your staging plan, don’t leave the “scenting” to chance. Recommend some of these easy smell-neutralizers that are guaranteed to deodorize without overwhelming:

Bowl of Vinegar Overnight — Sit a bowl of vinegar in a smelly room overnight and it will help soak up the unwelcomed odor.
Happy Hour Spray — Add 2-parts water and 1-part cheap vodka into a spray bottle and spray almost any area in the room. The mixture grabs the smell and evaporates.
Have Coffee and an Orange — Coffee grounds and orange peels are great odor neutralizers. Add one of them to a bowl in the room, inside the trash can, or down the garbage disposal to ensure showing-friendly smells.

5. Not Protecting Privacy

Like it or not, showings can be an information security risk sellers don’t consider in the excitement of trying to sell. As a part of your “decluttering” conversation, be sure to discuss “what lies beneath” with your sellers. From important documents to valuables, like jewelry and electronics, get your sellers to think about things they need to protect from the strangers that will be roaming through their homes.

These are big five faux pas we’ve seen too often from sellers marketing during the start of the hot season. What would you add to the list?

for more on this article go to: https://www.trulia.com/pro/sellers/5-big-spring-selling-mistakes-clients-make/

P.S. Real estate is booming! Homes are selling fast and for the highest prices in years. It is never too early to get your home ready for the market or for buyers to call me to discuss the market. Don’t miss out on your dream home & interest rates below 4%. Call me for details today!

June 13, 2015 by changescapeweb Leave a Comment

Best Guidelines to follow when Choosing Solar Panels

Since electric power costs are not exactly all that great in many areas around the world, there is an increasing need for alternative sources of electricity that happen to be eco-friendly and easy to use. Although solar power has been around for a fairly long time now, there have been developments in the field that it a better choice as time goes by. The best thing about this is that solar power will give you a chance to stay either partially or completely independent from your local power grid with the right solar power setup. You would do well to look for an installation company that allows you to get the job done without worrying about the details, but that will require some inquiries and research so you can find the right company for your needs. The following guidelines will give you a few ideas you can use in making this happen:

Lowering your electric bill

There needs to be a certain balance between how many panels you have and the space you have to work with. For the most part this will depend on the budget you have available and the space you may possess around your home. Consumption levels still depend on your appliances, electronic devices and more, so these details will need to be tracked before you can move on to actually purchasing a solar panel setup.

Breaking even on the costs

This is one really important part of the process of purchasing, installing and using a solar panel setup, since the price of one still happens to be a pretty hefty one. You will need to find a proper balance between your setup and consumption, as well as the orientation of the panels and what you have to work with in terms of landscape. A great time to install solar panels would be right after moving into a new home, straight after the reliable moving company has dropped off your belongings and you still have some freedom to choose what you want to do without having to deal with a lot more work than you otherwise would.

Keeping your system efficient

There are some hours of the day which happen to be more productive for solar power, which is between 8 AM and 4 PM, so you will need to keep that in mind so the solar panels will be unobstructed in those hours for maximum efficiency. Any shade on the panels will only diminish their ability to collect and store energy, so you will need to focus on moving any items out of the way if the shadows become a problem.

Maintaining the panels

You need to choose an installing company that allows you to get regular maintenance done to your panels once in a while as part of the original deal. Although they require minimal maintenance, you should still keep that in mind when you look for solar panels, avoiding shady companies and second hand solutions.

P.S. Real estate is booming this Spring! Homes are selling fast and for the highest prices in years. It is never too early to get your home ready for the market or for buyers to call me to discuss the Spring market. Don’t miss out on your dream home & interest rates below 4%. Call me for details today!

May 28, 2015 by changescapeweb Leave a Comment

Fifteen Shades of Green: Building Design Tips

Green building is not an invention of 21st century. However, sustainable design has been out of the scope of architects for quite a long time. As the resource shortage and the severe climate changes impose actual dangers on the environment and the society, “green” building reached its peak. These constructions are healthy for both the nature and their occupants.

The most impressing thing to the ordinary viewer is probably the ingenious design. Each building has unique and transcendent look. Although architects are free in the expression of their creativity, they still follow certain techniques. On the other hand, the expert builders should adopt specific techniques and get updated on the current trends.

1. Long Life, Loose Fit, Low Energy

In other words – sustainability, flexibility and energy – efficiency. The idea was presented by the Welsh architect Alex Gordon. His prophetic vision has become the basic of the nowadays green building.

2. Social impact and Functionality

Designing a built environment that complies with both the social and ecological needs is corner stone in sustainable architecture. The building should not only serve its primary purpose as an administrative space or home, but it should also improve or add up to the surrounding environment.

3. Location

The location determines the approach that the architect and the expert building team will undertake. What are the benefits and the downsides of a certain area? Making use of the natural resources such as light, water, wind and soil will shape the future design of the building.

4. Adjusting To The Climate

What makes a sustainable building so special is that its design is perfectly adjusted to the local climate. This allows making the most of a certain environment, even if it’s not exactly favorable.

5. Reuse, Reduce and Recycle

These principles don’t apply simply to the materials used in the construction. Many architects choose to work with buildings that don’t function anymore. Instead of destroying the old place and rebuilding it again, they use the existing structure. In this way builders and architects reduce the waste.

6. Quality Materials

Sustainable buildings are made to last. That’s why these constructions usually incorporate good – quality and eco – friendly materials.

7. Landscape

As mentioned earlier, sustainable building is not only about creating a structure. Include also the exterior that surrounds it. The outdoors environment will contribute to the aesthetics and the energy –efficiency. For instance, strategically situated trees can shade out the area, decreasing the energy for cooling the building.

8. Durable Interiors and Low Maintenance

One of the primary characteristics of sustainable building is an interior with timeless design. The indoors spaces should require minimal resources for their maintenance.

9. Indoor Air Quality

The building services should use low or no – VOC s products such hard surface flooring and non – toxic paints and finishes to ensure the high quality of indoor air.

10. HVAC System

This system will control the residential climate, ensuring that building doesn’t use more energy than needed.

11. Energy Conservation

Architects come with different creative ways to incorporate renewable energy resource in the construction – from solar panels and passive solar integration to glazing and high – efficiency appliances.

12. Water Systems

The most popular choices are rainwater harvesting systems and tankless water heaters. The collected water is then used for the sprinkler systems in the landscape.

13. Insulation

This is another feature that has huge influence on energy conservation. Heating and cooling contribute sufficiently to the building’s energy consumption.

14. Ventilation

There are two types of ventilation – passive or natural and mechanically powered. The choice depends on the local climate specifics.

15. Eco – friendly appliances

Everything that can save you energy and thus decrease the carbon pollution can be incorporated – from water and energy conserving household appliances to office equipment.

Real estate is booming this Spring! Homes are selling fast and for the highest prices in years. It is never too early to get your home ready for the market or for buyers to call me to discuss the Spring market. Don’t miss out on your dream home & interest rates below 4%. Call me for details today!

April 22, 2015 by changescapeweb Leave a Comment

Top 5 Real Estate Sales Tips and Guidelines to Follow

There are a lot of things happening on the real estate markets around the world, but things may not be all that bad for everyone involved. It has a good set of challenges involved, but with the right time and research being done, you will find a buyer for your property without too much trouble. The tips ahead will give you more information on that matter and how you can make your sale a reality:

1. The first and foremost thing you need to do is to ensure you have a proper maintenance done to your property before you put it on the market. There is no point in trying to sell something that doesn’t have a good look and happens to be in disrepair. A potential buyer will want to see all aspects of a home and if they see something that doesn’t work all that well, they will not feel interested in what the property has to offer. You need to ensure you manage even the smallest of issues, as they will become a big problem. Broken doorknobs, faulty duct-work and pipework, as well as any other types of damage will need to be dealt with promptly or else you will have little chance of a sale on any market.

2. You can focus on getting some staging done for the exterior of your home. A nice, fresh coat of paint, making your landscape shine and even some nice furniture to add to the overall appeal. The more comfort you have out there, the more welcoming the home will look overall and potentially more interesting to buyers.

3. You need to make sure your future buyers have unrestricted access to your property so they can see it in all its glory. There are many ways you can do this, but you should ensure you have done this ahead of time to allow your real estate agent to look at things and let them point out the good parts of your home while downplaying its weaknesses. Giving the agents a key and access is extremely important, so make sure you also have a good time they can do viewings, since this will make your potential sale more likely to happen.

4. Stick to keeping your prices as reasonable as you can. There are many buyers today that happen to be aware of the ways they can find more about prices in the area, so you will need to keep that in mind and that they will know if your price is abnormal and bloated. You can ensure a faster sale if you set your price at about a 10% or so lower than the rest of the homes in your area. This should still give you what you need, but you will not have to wait for a long time to make your sale as a result.

5. Another step worth taking is to de-clutter the entirety of your property, keeping it clear and allowing it to shine with more space than it had before you do that. If needed hire a professional house clearance company to help you out. You would do well to remove any personal items from the property as well, as this will allow people to project their own vision of what the home must look like instead.

For more helpful property maintenance tips read at this site

1. Banking on the Overnight, High-Dollar Sale

2. Under-Staging

3. Unwanted Buyer Gifts

4. Scenting Strain

5. Not Protecting Privacy

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