Wishing you a Happy St Patrick's Day!

Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract. 

Credit Image: Corefact

How long do you need to own a home before you can sell it profitably? The answer depends on your individual situation, but generally speaking, the longer you own a house, the more you’ll net from its eventual sale. Sometimes life intervenes, however, and you need to sell after owning a property for only a few years. Here’s how to decide whether buying a home for the short term is right for you.

Length of ownership affects profitability

Conventional wisdom says that you always make money in real estate. Decades of steady population growth in Canada and the United States have generally put upward pressure on prices. But owning a home is not always profitable; sometimes it turns out you’d have been better off financially if you’d rented for the same period.

Interest rates and national and local economic conditions affect property values. Another factor determining whether you’ll make money when you sell a home is the length of time you’ve owned it. Conventional wisdom has it that you need to own a home at least five years before selling it. To make money when buying a home for the short term, your costs of buying and selling that house must be less than the equity you’ll accumulate during the time you own it.

Recovering costs to buy and sell

Making money on a property comes from building equity in it. Equity grows in two ways. One is when property values appreciate because of external factors, allowing you to sell the house for a relatively higher price than you paid for it. The other type of equity — called paid-in equity — is the amount of a property you actually own because of the down payment you made and the principal you have paid during your ownership.

To make money on the sale of a home, your total equity at the time you sell must exceed the costs of having bought and sold that home. These costs include:

• The closing costs you paid when you bought the home you’re now selling. You can find these costs listed on your closing statement.
• The interest you have paid on your mortgage during your short-term home ownership. Mortgage payments are the same amount each month, but the proportion of that payment that goes toward interest rather than principal shifts over time. In the early years of a mortgage, most of that payment goes toward interest, not toward the mortgage’s principal. This means that you actually build little paid-in equity through your first few years of payments. Check with your lender to determine how much interest you’ve paid.
• The costs you’ll incur selling the home. These include money spent to ready the house for sale, real estate commissions, and the closing costs you pay as the seller.

For any home sale to be profitable, the total of all these costs must be less than the price you sell the home for.

Improving your chances of profiting in the short term

If you are shopping for a house and think that because of job changes, a growing family or other reasons you may be buying for the short term, there are a few things you can do to improve your financial prospects.

• Buy a home you can more easily afford. Don’t strap yourself buying at the maximum that you can pay. One way to do this is to look for a home being sold by a distressed seller.
• Someone who needs to sell quickly because of a job move, divorce, or other difficult circumstance may discount the sales price to speed things along.
• If you think you may be buying for the short term, find a home that is offered at a discount because it needs fixing up. But research repair costs before you make an offer. If they’re high, you may not be getting a bargain.
• If you put down 20 percent or more on the home when you buy it, you will finance less and save on interest costs.

These tactics can help make it more likely that when you sell after buying for the short term, the equity you recover will offset your costs.

Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract. The article was revised from HOUSEOPEDIA’s original article.

Home renovations is an astounding $326.1 billion annual industry in the United States, with no signs of its growth stopping. Consumers constantly hear the message that their houses somehow fall short…which begs the question: Do our houses really need that much work or are we simply victims of reno hype?

Why Do You Want to Renovate?

First, consider your motives. Have you bought into what someone else thinks of your home? Do you really need stainless and quartz when your black appliances and granite work just fine? While the television remodeling shows are entertaining, they shouldn’t be considered the last word on your own remodeling decisions.

Will Renovations Detract?

Renovations typically aim to modernize, and modernization tends to erase historic details. Also, changing one room often leads to the next…and the next, as redoing one makes the adjoining room look dingy. This can create an artificial need to ‘improve’ more spaces.

Is Renovating Cost Worthy?

Assess your home objectively, and ask if the cost truly makes a substantial difference or if it simply increases your debt. Get at least three estimates from qualified professionals.

Is There Anything Wrong With Your Home?

Critically think about your home’s functionality: Does it heat or cool when needed? Do the roof, doors, and windows keep out the elements? What has broken due to age or normal wear and tear? The answers to these questions will guide you to necessary replacements versus falling under the spell of renovation hype.

Which improvements should you consider?

Some renovations do hold high return on value, increasing the worth of your home. Improving smart technology features, regardless of your home’s age, will mean increased functionality for you and will also attract buyers. Yes, kitchen and bath remodels tend to show a high return on investment but think about doing a moderate renovation to save money while still making the space more usable.

Sometimes, the least noticeable – and most practical – improvements mean more in the long run, such as installing energy efficient doors and windows, or a new roof.

Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract. The article was revised from HOUSEOPEDIA’s original article.

Credit: Images by Paul Brennan from Pixabay 

The hunt for a new home most often begins with the answer to one simple question. Do I want to purchase an existing home or new construction? Retro with character versus a blank slate? Consider these eight trade-offs before making your decision.

Purchase price. Statistics show that buying a new house may cost up to 20 percent more than buying an existing home, though circumstances in your market may be different. New construction tends to be further from urban centers. Existing homes in the city center will be higher than comparable houses in the outskirts. But not all cost increases are in the house itself. Commuting costs are much higher in the suburbs.

Floor plan. New homes are built with current tastes in mind, which means new construction will offer open floor plans with few walls in the main living areas. Also in new homes, windows are larger, allowing more natural lighting. Vaulted ceilings create an expansive feel. Bathrooms are larger and walk-in closets are commonplace.

Existing homes, depending on age, may have smaller, more defined rooms, smaller windows and lower ceilings. Homes from a couple of generations ago did not have walk-in closets and spacious bathrooms. To open things up will require remodeling, which should be figured into the purchase price.

Architectural style.  Part of the appeal of existing homes is the retro look of the architecture. Some older designs have a character that cannot be found in contemporary houses. In neighborhoods from generations past, homes were customized. Or enough time has passed that tract homes have been remodeled.

Builders in new subdivisions may have only a handful of designs. While they will try their best to keep identical homes from being built side by side, a house three doors down might be your home’s identical twin.

Features. New homes offer upgrades, which means buyers may choose to buy more expensive cabinets, counters or tile. In an existing home, update will have to be done after closing, which means dealing with the construction hassle. Electronic features, such as wiring for home theater and smart home technology, can be easily built into new construction. However, retrofitting an existing home is more difficult and expensive.

Lot size and landscaping. Unless you are building a custom home on your own, new subdivisions build houses very close to one another. Older homes have more spacious lots. Trees and landscaping on new construction lots are usually young and sparse, whereas older homes have the beauty of large mature trees and other established greenery.

Timing. With a new construction home, unless construction is underway, buyers must wait up to six months or longer for it to be finished. With an existing home, sales typically close in a month or two.

Maintenance. With new construction, everything is fresh. It will be years before you have to replace or repair even small items. With an existing home, an inspection is vital so the buyer knows the condition of the house and knows when items will need repair or replacement. Any expensive items that will need work soon should be used in negotiations for price concessions from the seller.

Energy efficiency. Newer homes are far more advanced than older homes when it comes to energy efficiency. This is true not only for the structure itself, but also for the systems. Unless they’ve been upgraded over the years, the insulation, windows and doors of older homes will be colder in the winter and warmer in the summer. Heating and air conditioning systems today operate far more efficiently, using less gas and electricity than even just five years ago. The same is true of appliances. An older home may need to be upgraded to get energy bills to a manageable level.

Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract. The article & the original photo was revised from HOUSEOPEDIA’s original article.

CREDIT IMAGE: HelpGuide.org

Foreclosure was likely the farthest thing from your mind the day you closed on your home. But sometimes, life circumstances intervene and leave you unable to pay your mortgage. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to help avoid foreclosure. Here’s our guide.

Don’t avoid, communicate

Say you’ve fallen behind on your mortgage payments because of a job loss, financial reversal, divorce, or health crisis. Scared and embarrassed by your dilemma, you may be inclined to avoid your mortgage company’s letters and phone calls. Unfortunately, that’s the worst thing you can do.

You must respond when your mortgage company writes or calls. Better yet, be proactive and contact your lender as soon as you see you are in trouble. A borrower in a tight spot who explains his situation and requests help can often work out a plan with the mortgage company that helps him keep the house.

Steps to avoid foreclosure

Once you’ve shared the details of your situation, your lender may offer you some form of relief to avoid foreclosure.

• Your mortgage company may agree to a repayment plan in which you catch up on your missed payments over time. For example, if you missed a few payments but can now resume paying, the mortgage company may agree to let you add a couple of hundred dollars per month to payments to catch up. Or you may be allowed to make up the missed total at a later day under specific terms. These plans are known as repayment or forbearance programs.

• If the interest on your adjustable-rate mortgage is about to increase and you can’t pay it, your lender might be willing to delay the increase.
  If you have sufficient equity in the home, your lender may be willing to refinance your loan. The missed payments can be rolled into the new balance.

• You also may be able to borrow from a government program that grants loans to pay off unpaid mortgage balances. Another option is to rent out your home at an amount equal to your monthly payment. You move to a more affordable place while you catch up on your back payments.

Selling your home may be a way to avoid foreclosure and protect your credit. For this option to work, your house must sell for enough to cover selling costs and pay off your loan balance in full. If the home is worth less than your loan balance, you can request permission from your lender for what is known as a short sale. This option will negatively affect your credit, but not as severely as a foreclosure.

When foreclosure proceedings have begun

If you haven’t been able to work something out, you’ll be served a notice of default. Once that happens, your options narrow. Still, a few remain.

• You may still be able to sell your home, or short sell with the lender’s permission.
• You can offer your lender a deed in lieu of foreclosure. By surrendering your house to your lender and signing over its title, you save the lender the legal costs and time of foreclosure. This option is simpler than foreclosure but will negatively affect your credit in the same way.

Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract. The article photo was revised from HOUSEOPEDIA’s original article.

CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES

CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES

How long do you need to own a home before you can sell it profitably? The answer depends on your individual situation, but generally speaking, the longer you own a house, the more you’ll net from its eventual sale. Sometimes life intervenes, however, and you need to sell after owning a property for only a few years. Here’s how to decide whether buying a home for the short term is right for you.

Length of ownership affects profitability

Conventional wisdom says that you always make money in real estate. Decades of steady population growth in Canada and the United States have generally put upward pressure on prices. But owning a home is not always profitable; sometimes it turns out you’d have been better off financially if you’d rented for the same period.

Interest rates and national and local economic conditions affect property values. Another factor determining whether you’ll make money when you sell a home is the length of time you’ve owned it. Conventional wisdom has it that you need to own a home at least five years before selling it. To make money when buying a home for the short term, your costs of buying and selling that house must be less than the equity you’ll accumulate during the time you own it.

Recovering costs to buy and sell

Making money on a property comes from building equity in it. Equity grows in two ways. One is when property values appreciate because of external factors, allowing you to sell the house for a relatively higher price than you paid for it. The other type of equity — called paid-in equity — is the amount of a property you actually own because of the down payment you made and the principal you have paid during your ownership.

To make money on the sale of a home, your total equity at the time you sell must exceed the costs of having bought and sold that home. These costs include:

• The closing costs you paid when you bought the home you’re now selling. You can find these costs listed on your closing statement.
• The interest you have paid on your mortgage during your short-term home ownership. Mortgage payments are the same amount each month, but the proportion of that payment that goes toward interest rather than principal shifts over time. In the early years of a mortgage, most of that payment goes toward interest, not toward the mortgage’s principal. This means that you actually build little paid-in equity through your first few years of payments. Check with your lender to determine how much interest you’ve paid.
• The costs you’ll incur selling the home. These include money spent to ready the house for sale, real estate commissions, and the closing costs you pay as the seller.

For any home sale to be profitable, the total of all these costs must be less than the price you sell the home for.

Improving your chances of profiting in the short term

If you are shopping for a house and think that because of job changes, a growing family or other reasons you may be buying for the short term, there are a few things you can do to improve your financial prospects.

• Buy a home you can more easily afford. Don’t strap yourself buying at the maximum that you can pay. One way to do this is to look for a home being sold by a distressed seller.
• Someone who needs to sell quickly because of a job move, divorce, or other difficult circumstance may discount the sales price to speed things along.
• If you think you may be buying for the short term, find a home that is offered at a discount because it needs fixing up. But research repair costs before you make an offer. If they’re high, you may not be getting a bargain.
• If you put down 20 percent or more on the home when you buy it, you will finance less and save on interest costs.

These tactics can help make it more likely that when you sell after buying for the short term, the equity you recover will offset your costs.

Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract. The article was revised from HOUSEOPEDIA’s original article.

With the COVID-19 pandemic keeping buyers close to home, video tours of seller’s homes are in greater demand than ever. If you are selling your house, it’s vital to make it look its very best in a video home tour. Here’s how to get your place ready for showtime!

The camera sees all

It’s always been important to stage a home before shooting a video tour. But today’s buyers may make offers without ever setting foot in your home. That means the tour needs to peek inside closets, pantries, cabinets, refrigerators and even drawers to allow would-be buyers to see everything they would check out if they toured your home in person. Since you can’t rely on keeping undesirable elements out of sight, off-site storage is your friend when you are prepping for a video home tour.

The first step is decluttering

Cluttered houses are a turnoff under any circumstances, causing buyers to think your space is too small for them. But clutter looks doubly bad on screen. Give your home a clean, minimalist look by focusing on these areas as you prepare for your video home tour.

• In the kitchen, clear counters of small appliances such as toasters, mixers, and coffee makers.  Declutter and organize your cabinets and drawers, moving unnecessary cookware, dishes, serving pieces, glassware and the like to storage. Organize your pantry and refrigerator.
• In bathrooms, clear the counters as you did in the kitchen. Pare down stacks of towels in the linen closet so the storage doesn’t look cramped, and declutter vanity drawers and medicine cabinets. (It’s a good idea to hide any medications before shooting a video home tour, not to mention valuables and other items you don’t want the public to see.)
• Drastically reduce the contents of your closets, then hang clothing with equal spacing between each piece. Make sure all hangers match and face the same direction.
• If rooms are crowded, remove some furniture. Arrange what’s left with sufficient space in between, as a room looks small if the furnishings are too close to each other. In the living room, for example, seating should be 36 inches apart, and the space between sofa and coffee table should be about 18 inches. Area rugs should be a foot or two from walls.
• Throughout the house, remove knickknacks, sports trophies and family photographs from shelves and walls. Tuck the cords of audiovisual equipment out of sight.
• Clean out the garage and neatly organize the yard implements and tools you need to keep there.

Cleaning before a video home tour

Your home needs a good, deep cleaning before a video home tour, just as it would if you were showing it in person. Consider hiring a professional maid service to make your house sparkle. But if you want to handle this job yourself, focus on the following.

• Since the tour will begin at your front entry, make sure that area is swept and dusted. Retouch paint as needed.
• Sweep, dust and/or vacuum floors, and mop where possible. Remove all spots from carpeting.
• Remove all smudges from painted walls. Touch up paint where needed.
• In the kitchen, clean counters thoroughly with warm, soapy water. Rinse, then buff with cooking oil on a microfiber rag to make them gleam.
• Thoroughly clean the inside of your refrigerator. If your refrigerator and other appliances are stainless steel, use a special cleaner to shine them, making sure not to leave streaks.
• Clean all windows inside and out to let in as much natural light as possible.

Lighting

To ensure your video home tour looks its best, bring as much light as possible into your house.

• Turn on every light, even if you are shooting the video in the daytime.
• Open or take down blinds and curtains to admit the maximum amount of natural light.
• Make sure all light bulbs work. Decide on one type of bulb, such as LED or fluorescent, and use it consistently in all outlets to create even lighting.
• Eliminate shadows and dim areas as much as possible.

Spring and summer bring fresh air, lightness, and a sense of rebirth as the world comes alive again after hibernating. Check out these easy home design tips for the warmer months.

Warm Month Colors

Spring and summer traditionally mean pastels, but don’t let that stop you from using bold, vibrant colors. Yellows, golds, greens – you’ll find all of these reflected in nature, and they’re good choices for freshening your home design for the warmer months. Also watch for blue/green hues and softer, more muted versions of some primary colors to lead the way in 2021. Consider painting a focal point wall in a bathroom or living room in a trendy color to change up your interior, then coordinate with throw pillows and accessories.

Wreaths

Wreaths for your front door or inside the house make a simple and easy element to switch out as the seasons change. Use ribbons and other materials in bright colors along with other season-appropriate materials. Wildflowers, bird nests and eggs, tulips, daffodils – pick the elements that say spring to you and incorporate them into your décor.

Table décor

Linens should be swapped out and washed regularly, especially if they’re used frequently, and a change of season makes the perfect time to switch. Put away those fall- and winter-themed centerpieces and opt for fresh flowers instead. Keeping the blooms changed out with new ones will bring a sense of life and lightness to the room, as well as some color. Use a spring- or summer-based theme and create table arrangements around it for both casual and formal dining areas. Also add glasses appropriate for cold mixed drinks like margaritas to your table settings or bar area for easy access.

Bedrooms and bathrooms

You can put away those heavy down or down-alternative comforters in exchange for lighter-weight quilts. Likewise, swap out the flannel or jersey sheet sets for cotton ones, which breathe more easily during warmer months. For your bathroom, think about towels and rugs in brighter colors. Botanical artwork featuring seasonal plants and colors can quickly update your rooms and coordinate with bedding and towels.

Living rooms

Unless your home stays cold, you can probably put the heavy throws away in a blanket chest or closet. Clean them first before storing inside bags to keep dust mites from collecting. Replace them with a lightweight throw in a soft texture like chenille, which will make your seating area appear more inviting, even if it isn’t used much. Use season-appropriate plants in living rooms and choose airy window treatments like sheers to open up the space and let light in.

Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract. The article was revised from HOUSEOPEDIA'S original article.

With homes trending smaller, today’s houses are being built with cleaner lines and styles to emphasize the open concept. Detailed trim work and dark stains are out; light colors and simpler styles are in.  Let’s look at six of the latest trends.

Cabinets. Painted cabinets in bright colors with straight, simple lines are in vogue.  The cabinets may be white from top to bottom, or have the “tuxedo look,” with one color of cabinets above and a complimenting color for the lower set. Detailed router work on cabinets and ornate handles have given way to straight lines and simple pulls. Also gaining in popularity is the open-shelving concept rather than cabinetry. This look is usually coupled with white subway tile.

Counters.  After a long, popular run, dark patterned granite is giving way to lighter, brighter quartz surfaces in both kitchens and baths. Edges are straight, simple and clean.  Decorations on the counter are minimal. Small appliance garages keep the mixer and toaster out of sight for a cleaner and less cluttered effect.

Floors. Hardwood is still in fashion, but the trend is toward wider planks, darker stains and a slightly roughed-up look. Laminates and engineered floor materials are stronger and in some cases less expensive than hardwoods. Having a continuous floor from kitchen to dining to living room ties the entire living space together. In carpeted areas, new advances in fibers make carpet silky soft.

Walls. Some version of beige has been the “play it safe” builder standard for decades because it is neutral, but today’s homes are being painted in varying shades of gray or a blend of beige and gray. Call it “greige.”

Appliances.  Smart phone technology has influenced appliance designs. Stove tops using touch screen technology allow you to turn on and set heat levels with a finger swipe. Having no knobs furthers the uncluttered look. Refrigerator surfaces have matte finishes, even in white, that resemble your cell phone’s back cover. Also in matted finishes are stainless steel stove and oven fronts. Swinging French doors on the oven eliminate the old single door that cuts off walking space.

Bathrooms simplified. Little-used garden tubs are out, along with the ornate trim flourishes. Instead, consumers want bigger showers with seating, large custom tile, multiple shower heads and frameless doors. Cabinets and counters follow the trend of kitchens with brighter looks and simple lines.

Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract.