Tag: Real Estate

Posted in Buying Homes

Why Being a Homeowner Is Beneficial in Today’s Market from a Local Real Estate Expert

Posted on by Your Real Estate Matchmaker

Today, many people have been wondering if it is beneficial to become a homeowner in today’s market. While the answer to this question may vary depending on an individual’s situation, there are definitely some advantages of becoming a homeowner that make it an attractive option for many. As a local real estate expert based in Saginaw, Michigan, I can provide insight into why being a homeowner is beneficial in the current climate.

One of the most obvious benefits of being a homeowner is the amount of equity you can build over time. When you purchase a home, your house will typically appreciate in value as time passes. This means that when you eventually decide to sell your home and move on to another one, you will likely be able to access equity that you built while owning your property. This can give homeowners financial security and flexibility as they move through life stages and accumulate wealth along the way.

Additionally, homeowners benefit when it comes to their credit scores as well. Making regular mortgage payments is viewed favorably by lenders and creditors which can lead to better credit ratings and higher chances of approval for other loans or lines of credit. Another financial benefit of becoming a homeowner is that mortgage interest is often tax-deductible which could result in lower taxes owed each year.

On top of financial benefits, being a homeowner provides individuals with stability and security that renting simply cannot provide. Owning your own home gives you control over who lives around you and what kinds of changes (if any) are made to the property itself – both inside and outside – without needing permission from someone else or having restrictions imposed upon you by landlords or other entities like an HOA (homeowners association). You will never have to worry about unexpected rent increases either which provides peace of mind when planning ahead financially each month.

Furthermore, there are intangible benefits associated with homeownership such as pride and accomplishment that come with investing in yourself rather than someone else’s asset; something that renters do not enjoy quite as much as homeowners do! Homeowners also tend to care more about their local communities since they are invested in them for the long term and therefore are more likely to get involved in community activities both on and off their property compared those who do not own homes locally.

Finally, now may actually be one of the best times for potential buyers interested in making an investment since housing inventory is currently limited due to Springtime activity combined with low interest rates across many states – including Michigan! These factors could offer potential buyers great opportunities when shopping around as this type of market tends to be competitive yet advantageous nonetheless if managed properly with assistance from an experienced local real estate expert!

In conclusion, there are several different benefits associated with becoming a homeowner that make it attractive especially during periods like these where housing inventory levels are low and interest rates remain relatively stable throughout much of the United States including states like Michigan here in Saginaw where I am based out of as a licensed real estate expert! From building equity over time to gaining control over one’s living environment as well enjoying financial savings via tax deductions on mortgage interest among other things, buying versus renting can prove beneficial if done responsibly so be sure to work closely with someone who understands what it takes for success before taking such steps!

Posted in Credit Score

5 Reasons You Need to Improve Your Credit As A Local Real Estate Expert

Posted on by Your Real Estate Matchmaker

If you’re looking to purchase a property or secure financing for your dreams, then improving your credit score is key. As a local real estate expert, I have seen the positive impact that credit improvement can make in giving individuals access to better mortgage rates and loan terms. Here are five reasons why it’s important for you to improve your credit before pursuing a home purchase.

Lower Interest Rates: One of the biggest benefits of improving your credit is that it can lower the interest rate on your loan. When lenders look at potential borrowers, they take into account their credit scores when setting their interest rates. The higher your score, the lower the interest rate you can expect on the loan – and this can result in substantial savings over time!

More Home Buying Options: Improving your credit will also open up more options for you when it comes time to buy a house or condo. If you have bad credit, many lenders may be unwilling to provide financing or may require higher down payment percentages than if you had a better credit score. Having a good rating puts more homes within reach and greatly increases opportunities for homeownership – something every person deserves!

Easier Debt Management: Good credit helps not only during the home buying process but after as well. Having high enough scores gives access to more attractive debt management options like balance transfers and debt consolidation loans which help reduce monthly payments significantly while paying off debt faster with more favorable terms than default repayment plans. This can help relieve stress and give peace of mind knowing that there’s an easier way to pay back debt without sacrificing personal financial security in order to do so.

Increased Access To Other Loans: Not only does having good ratings open up home buying possibilities but it also grants access to other types of financing such as car loans or personal loans with much lower interest rates compared to what subprime borrowers typically experience due to their poor scores! With regularly scheduled payments, these can easily be managed and paid off quickly – leading towards increased financial success long-term and asset building sooner rather than later!

Higher Credit Card Limits: As noted above, one benefit of improving one’s rating is being able to apply for more attractive cards with higher limits which allow consumers greater freedom in making purchases while avoiding excessive fees associated with maxing out their cards each month – something especially important during times of economic hardship where every penny counts! And because these are revolving lines of credit, regularly utilized ones lead towards even further improvements in a consumer’s score over time – meaning more opportunities down the road!

Credit improvement isn’t just about getting better rates on mortgage loans; it’s about opening doors that otherwise would remain closed due to having weak ratings in the first place! Whether wanting improved debt management options or greater financial freedom overall, taking action towards improving one’s rating should be seen as an investment into both short-term stability and long-term success – all through simple steps such as checking reports regularly, disputing errors promptly, making timely payments consistently and focusing on reducing existing balances whenever possible!

Posted in community, home ownership, Midland Saginaw Real Estate, Uncategorized

NIGHTMARE NEIGHBOR

Posted on by Your Real Estate Matchmaker

Is there anything worse than having a “Nightmare Neighbor”? I can think of one thing – being one! For any of you who might read my blog regularly, this topic might not seem to fit the norm of MoniqueKnowsRealEstate.com where most of my posts are topical issues about real estate stats, design ideas, & buyer or seller tips. A recent confrontation with a neighbor of my own prompted this article.

A typical Michigan Spring means anything goes. This year was no different with random snow flurries, cold temps, and a whole lot of rain. The rain played the instigator in my Nightmare Neighbor scene. My yard is just over an acre. It is quite long and narrow, with the house being situated about half the distance back.  Last year I had a professional landscaping service do my weekly lawn maintenance. This year however, because my college daughter was going to be home and the fact I have 4 investment properties to maintain – I thought it would be a perfect time to get a rider and give my daughter a little extra cash. It so happened I had a client whose home I had for sale was moving out of the area and I purchased her mower. I brought it home, was able to get the front yard mowed, but the back was way too wet. A week passed, I had to get that back mowed! I went out to discover that my “new” used mower was broken. Ugh!! I couldn’t get anyone out right away to repair it and the landscaping company had already started their new season of routes and couldn’t fit me in.

The next weekend I took an entire Sunday off of work (which is a real rare thing) so I could spend the day mowing, weed-whacking, planting flowers and my vegetable garden. I was super excited because I love to work outdoors. I had gone to Lowe’s the previous Friday to purchase a new John Deere and it was to be delivered on Sunday. Let’s just say they had to make 3 deliveries on Sunday but I did end up with my mower.  I hopped on with a smile on my face a vroomed right out to the back yard. I made it just around the back corner when I noticed a neighbor waving his arms frantically. I thought there was an emergency so I stopped and shut the mower down.  He began screaming at me. What a disrespectful neighbor I was to have that long grass, my dandelions were blowing in his yard, my trees dropped sticks in his yard, I had a dead tree that needed to be cut… Which then escalated into “all the neighbors hate you” and a train of yells, shouts of obscenities, and criticisms which had absolutely nothing to do with the back part of my lawn being long. I was dumbfounded. I really just wanted to run, hide, and cry. Who was this person? What on earth prompted such rage? Never before in the almost 3 years I’ve lived there has my lawn been overdue for a cut – ever.

I thought about it long and hard. It was easy to decide my neighbor was a “Nightmare”. Who would get so crazy about a lawn? And why, I thought, if he had an issue – didn’t he just say something to me. Back came memories of growing up in a farming community, where when something needed to be done like a barn raising, a fencepost, or even a wedding reception – the neighbors all came! We were all friends or at least very friendly. We knew each other. I reckon if our lawn suddenly looked shabby – someone would have shown up with a casserole – on their lawnmower – dropped it off and cut the grass knowing something had to be wrong. That’s the life I grew up with.

What’s my point in sharing this story? Certainly not to trash my neighbor. I think however, that we need to remember “the old days” and apply them to today. Do you know your neighbors? You should. I imagine if I knew this neighbor a little bit better, he may have approached me that my dandelion seeds were bothering him. Or I may have known that something crazy was going on in his life that caused him to be extra stressed. Most of all though, it made me stop and think about what my neighbors might think. Just because it doesn’t bother me to have a random dandelion in my backyard doesn’t mean my neighbor doesn’t despise it. When I set my trash out on to the street on the day before trash pick-up, my neighbor might think it is horrible. When I drive my lawn tractor around the trees that are along the property line, which means the blade is facing out and it blows a bit of grass in their yard, I might think it is ok – they have a 5 acre yard after all and how else am I going to go around the tree closely? They might think it is rude. So, the crux of it all is as with many things; communication. Talk to your neighbors, ask them what they think. Find out what’s important to them, even though you might think it is ridiculous. Gee, kind of sounds like any relationship, right? And, I think a nice plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies goes a long way! Make your neighborhood a special place to be. 🙂

Thanks for reading my story – Feel free to check out my other blog posts, videos, and website for all kinds of real estate information – They’re all available on my website. http://www.homesofmidmichigan.com

 

Posted in Home Buyers

HOUSES ARE LIKE SPOUSES! Great Info For Buyers

Posted on by Your Real Estate Matchmaker

They cost as much – can be cold and drafty – potential to take away your paycheck! Oh my, this is not what I was thinking when I posted that I would be writing an article with the title Houses Are Like Spouses; but those were some of my followers lines! Lol……

Here’s what I was thinking: Have you heard that line before, “There’s no one perfect spouse”? This is the direction I was headed. Stay with me here. You see, I love working with buyers. For the most part they are super fun and it is so exciting when they find “The one”. But in reality, I don’t think there is any “one” perfect home, as there isn’t necessarily a perfect spouse. No house is perfect, neither is any person. Though, as they say – there might be one perfect for you. Or at least one that you can work on where the end result is indeed the perfect match. 🙂

When I begin working with a buyer, I ask them to get me a Wish List. Write down some major and most important factors you are looking for in a home; just like your mom told you to do when you were looking for that special person in your life. There are a lot of things you can like &/or dislike in a home. Some are deal breakers, others are fixable, changeable, or just not that important. Decide what is the most important aspect in a home for you. It will be different for everyone. Maybe location is most the highest on the list for you. Maybe it needs to be a 1 story, have a main floor master, or you just have to have a pole barn. What is it? Narrow it down. Make sure you are aware of the items that are deal-breakers & those that are “Gee that would be nice”.

The reason is because most likely there won’t be one home that has it all. But, there may be several that have everything except one or two things. I rehab a lot of homes. Buy them, fix em, and re-sell. I have come to look for the possibility in homes. Maybe I found the perfect location but I understand most people want a master suite and this home doesn’t have it. I just closed on one of those last week. Voila, for under $5,000 I am making a master suite and have added another half bath off the kitchen to make a 2 1/2 bath home, that was originally a 2 bath and it will soon have that ever sought after master suite with walk-in closet and bath. Things aren’t always that expensive. Most things can be done. Would it have been economical for me to have purchased a home that I would have had to actually put an addition on? Nope, absolutely not. But this one worked perfectly for me.  At my personal home though, I’m considering an addition; one that will make my home just the way I want, and it is focused on things I know the return on investment is high.

Here are some main things you should consider when buying a home: location, setting, style (ranch, 2 story), # BR’s & BTH, basement, attached garage, pole barn, acreage, and of course price. What is important to you? When we look for that perfect person, we may have to teach them to kiss – our way! Or to put the toilet paper roll front ways. These are trainable and changeable things. Just like there are things in a house that we can do to make it a home, OUR home. Don’t miss out on something that could be just perfect for you!!

Posted in Best Time to Sell, Buying Homes, Real Estate Bay Midland Saginaw, Selling Homes

Best Time to Sell? Is it too late?

Posted on by Your Real Estate Matchmaker

Spring, Spring, Spring!!! That’s what people think about when you mention the best time to sell real estate. Is it true? If you’re thinking about putting your home on the market, should you wait til spring? Well, my response to people in the past has always been that if April is the month with the highest number of closings, then people are obviously looking in February and putting offers in during March in order to close in April or May. I’ve looked at our Mid-Michigan stats before, but I thought recently that I’d study them a bit closer in regard to when people are most likely to buy. The truth is – it’s not Spring! At least not here in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

According to the closing stats, each of our three counties vary slightly. Midland County has a highest number of closings in June, with May & August tied in second and September coming in slightly after them. Saginaw County #1 closing month is August, with June being second and September & May being tied for third.  Bay county is almost the same as Saginaw, with August being 1st, May being 2nd and June & September tie for 3rd.

The biggest margin between the 1st and 4th most popular month is only 9 sales. So, in reality there are several great months to sell. Tis true that January is markedly the slowest month in all three counties, but things still sell. So what would my advice be to sellers? Get it on the market now! You can’t sell a house that’s not on the market. Your biggest asset is going to be your agent and their marketing plan, not the month. And for buyers, go on out and keep looking. Inventory is good. Been listing like hotcakes. Truth is; whenever you’re ready to buy or sell – that’s the BEST time to do it!

Remember, if you’d like a free market analysis I’m only a call/text/email away. And if you’re ready to find your next perfect home – same applies to you! 🙂 I would love to assist you.

Until next week – Monique, Your Real Estate Matchmaker; Connecting buyers and sellers for a perfect match.