Rent vs. Buy – Where Real Estate gets Personal

Home ownership has always been considered as the cornerstone of the American Dream. Lately however, due to the ongoing housing crisis, renting instead of buying has been on the rise. Some pundits are saying that the benefits of home ownership are declining and renting as opposed to owning is the trend of the future. People on the other side of this issue are strongly disagreeing with such statements. Regardless of which way the debate goes, let’s look at the pros and cons of both renting and buying a house.

Pros of Buying

·         You have the pride of home ownership

·         You have achieved a part of the American Dream

·         You may benefit from tax deductions that come with home ownership

·         In the long run and under normal circumstances, you may benefit financially

·         You have full freedom to paint, remodel, drill, nail, and decorate your home as per your wishes

·         You won’t feel guilty about helping your landlord payoff his/her mortgage and enjoy the benefits at your expense

·         You can have pets

·         You’ll eventually be able to pay off your mortgage and become debt free

·         It gives you satisfaction that your kids can inherit your property.

 Cons of Buying

·         You will be shelling out a lot of your savings for the down payment

·         When you add property taxes, escrow and PMI (if you haven’t put 10 percent down) to your monthly mortgage payment, you’ll end up spending more than renting

·         You will be responsible for landscaping costs, home owners’ association fees and general upkeep expenses

·         Homeowner insurance is significantly higher than Renter’s insurance

·         Your appliances will eventually breakdown, requiring you to pay for repairs or replacements

·         In recessionary periods, you have the risk of significantly losing the value of your home

·         You may not be able to move easily or quickly to pursue better employment opportunities

·         You may incur additional expenses of managing and maintaining your property if you rent your house due to a forced relocation

·         The money you have spent on remodeling cannot be recouped if your house is in a down market.

Pros of Renting

·         Renting offers quick mobility and liquidity, but you lose quite a bit of freedom and you may have to make some compromises with your preferred quality of life

·         You really like the area but it is very difficult or expensive to buy a house there

·         If your rent is lower than the prevailing mortgage payments in the area, you’ll have more money for other things

·         If you have newly relocated to a town, renting for six months to a year may be a better option for you till you figure out where you want to live

·         Perhaps your personal financial situation is not healthy enough to buy a house at this time

·         May be your job requires you to stay in a city for a relatively short period of time and relocate to a different part of the country or world at a short notice

·         You may be in an area that has taken a severe beating during the recent real estate crisis, and the prices are still unstable

·         Your job situation may be shaky and even though you can afford to buy a home now, you have the freedom and peace of mind of being able to relocate quickly if need be

·         You are unsure how long you will live in the area, and it may also be very difficult to sell in that area

·         You don’t have to worry about your home losing its value drastically, leaving you with an upside down mortgage – where you owe more than the value of the house.

Cons of Renting

·         You are not building equity or assets when you rent

·         Your rent may sharply increase after your lease period ends if you are living in a high demand area

·         You like the house you are renting. But it has carpet, whereas you prefer hardwood

·         You desire to own a pet. But the landlord of the home you are renting has a no-pet policy

·         You prefer gas-based cooking, but the house you are renting has an electric stove

·         You like hanging lots of family pictures and paintings, but the home owner may restrict nailing walls

·         You have a problem with an appliance, but your landlord is not very responsive

·         You will not be able to cut a hole in a wall to conceal your home theater speakers

·         You emotionally resent the idea of helping your landlord become debt free instead of yourself

·         The owner of the home you are renting may become delinquent on the payments and the house may be foreclosed, causing you to lose your security deposit and your roof.

This is by no means a comprehensive list. Feel free to send us additional pros and cons to make this a bigger and better list.

Approached by someone about your loan delinquency? Common scams and how to avoid them

With mortgage delinquencies going through the roof in recent times, scam artists are coming out of the woodworks in droves. In this blog post we will highlight how to identify and avoid some of the common loan delinquency avoidance scams.

Run as far as you can if you encounter any of these red flag situations:

A person or organization guarantees avoiding foreclosure and seeks upfront payment from you to discuss the specifics. The payment they ask may be in the range of one thousand to five thousand dollars and they may have a compelling dog and pony show to make you a believer. No one can guarantee stopping foreclosure proceedings, especially without performing an in depth analysis of your personal situation. Just remember that these scamsters will disappear as soon as they get your money, and they will never talk to a lender.

These sleaze bags claim to have the magic formula for stopping foreclosures dead in their tracks. Of course they will not talk to you without an upfront credit card number from you. They will then charge you for the initial consultation, phone calls and paperwork to get general information which you could have done on your own. Their objective is to lull you into a false sense of trust and security and prevent you from seeking qualified help. They will end up with your money and you will be left with huge credit card bills and an imminent foreclosure.

A person or organization, that asks you to pay them instead of your mortgage lender.

Again, these are unscrupulous criminals whose only agenda is to rip you off and fill up their pockets. Many scam artists create attractive flyers, fake testimonials and impressive credentials to convince their credibility to you. Just tell them you believe in researching everything thoroughly before making a decision…and you will perhaps never hear from them again. Here’s how this scam works:

Let’s say you put your house on the market because you are finding it difficult to make payments anymore. A potential buyer approaches you and offers to pay the full price you are asking and even promises to help you avoid foreclosure. But there is a catch. You are required to deed your property to this buyer and you must also move out immediately. What happens next is this so called buyer simply pockets the monthly mortgage payments you are giving him instead of sending it to your lender. The lender will eventually foreclose on you and you will be left wondering what happened because you were not in your house to read and act upon the bank’s foreclosure notices.

Another variation of this scam is where the so called buyer promises to bring the mortgage current. He will even let you stay in the home, provided you transfer ownership to him. Again, no payments are made by him to your lender and you will soon receive an eviction notice.

A third variant is the “rent or buy it back” offer in which just like the previous two cases, you are required to transfer ownership to this scheming buyer, with the understanding that you will be renting the house from him for an amount that’s lower than your monthly mortgage payment, with an option to let you buy it back from him in the near future. The end result is no different.

Fake counseling agencies

Some online companies with nice websites may convince you they are legit counseling agencies and bait you into giving them your personal information. To ensure that you give them your credit card, they will throw in many freebies such as a free 20 minute consultation to analyze your personal situation (which according to them is a $500 value!), a promise to cut a deal with your lender to lower your interest rate, or negotiate a lower monthly payment plan, etc., which by the way are things you can do on your own without spending a penny.

To avoid becoming a victim to any of these scams, do not give any personal information, credit card number or a check upfront to any individual or company without asking them for sending details in writing. Then call the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org) or your local consumer advocates to verify their authenticity. Most reputable businesses do not use pressure tactics to get your business, or make lofty promises. A prudent thing to do would be to first call your lender or an authentic non-profit credit counseling agency that does not require you to cough up upfront money or your credit card number. You could also contact a licensed professional real estate firm like Coldwell Banker Ackley Realty.

A heightened awareness of foreclosure prevention scams and proactive vigilance is the only way to combat this growing menace. Just remember that if anything sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Visit these websites for more information:

www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/public_affairs/factsheet/docs/fs06.htm

http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/foreclosurescamtips/default.htm

http://www.federalreserveeducation.org/news/multimedia/foreclosure_avoidance_scam_ads.cfm

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre42.shtm

2011 First Quarter Office Awards

Coldwell Banker Ackley Realty, just named "Top Office" AGAIN by Coldwell Banker. 

The Top Office Awards was presented to CBAR for the following awards.  This is a repaeat of the previous quarter.  CBAR has an exceptional team, who not only lists homes but sells them!

FIRST QUARTER, 2011

LISTING UNITS

SOUTHERN REGION

51-100 SALES ASSOCIATES

FIRST QUARTER, 2011

TOTAL UNITS

SOUTHERN REGION

51-100 SALES ASSOCIATES

Dorothy Buse Earns Top Spot at the Coldwell Banker 2010 International Awards

Each year Coldwell Banker ranks Associates on several different categories and on several different levels.  This year, Coldwell Banker Ackley Realty is proud to announce, Dorothy Buse was #1 in Florida, #1 in the South East Region and #1 Nationally. 

Dorothy’s 2010 Awards

#1 Sales Associates National Awards! This prestigious national award recognizes the top producing individual COLDWELL BANKER® sales associate in North America for Total Units.  (Approximately 90,000 associates)

#1 Sales Associate Regionally Awards recognizes the top producing individual sales associate, from independently owned and operated COLDWELL BANKER® companies for each of the U.S. Regions in the categories of Adjusted Gross Commission Income and Total Units. Dorothy won both categories!

#1  Sales Associate by State Award!  This award recognizes the top producing individual from independently owned and operated COLDWELL BANKER® offices in each U.S. state for Adjusted Gross Commission Income.

Sales Level Designations

International President’s Premier  - less than 1% of all sales associates internationally qualified

Dorothy Buse

Peter Macera

International President’s Circle - the top 4% of all sales associates internationally qualified

Rajia Ackley

Domincio Pagan

David Plasencia

International Diamond Society -  the top 7% of all sales associates internationally qualified

Dave Couture                                                   

Marion McKenzie

Jeanine Madden

Paul Antonelli

International Sterling Society - 11% of all sales associates internationally qualified

John Guelde

The relationship between Real Estate and Social Media

Marketing and PR have dramatically changed in the past several years because of the financial woes gripping the nation. Gone are the days of fat budgets for glossy printed brochures, multiple billboard ads, TV commercials and other forms of traditional methods. While many of these old marketing channels will hang around with a diminished stature, the social media way of marketing and PR is spreading like wildfire, and with Facebook having over 500 million members, social media is here to stay. It is therefore important to learn its relationship with the real estate industry and the right way to play it.

The foundation of an effective social media strategy starts with the website. A website is the backbone of an agent’s online presence. Baby boomers and the younger texting generations do most of their searches online for researching and buying all kinds of products and services. Even if agents have a strong social media presence, prospective clients will always want to visit their websites to gather facts and do a gut-check. Some of the key ingredients of a good website include an elegant design, user-friendly navigation, great content and Search Engine Optimization (SEO), to make it appear at the top of search engine results. Since consumers are increasingly using their smartphones for web searches, it is important to make your website mobile friendly.

After taking care of the website, it is time to create a social media strategy. This is important because social media gives agents the opportunity to create a two-way conversation with their prospects. Today’s prospects demand and expect immediate information. They also want it to come directly to them through smartphones, tablets and in some cases, their automobile dashboards. There are many ways to enter and conquer the world of social media. It may be through blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIN, and a plethora of other platforms. It is therefore imperative to first become familiar with some of these popular sites because it will help you determine which direction to go in depending on your interests and strengths.

Facebook is perhaps the best platform for real estate agents because of its relationship factor. It allows people to easily opt-in and refer others. By creating relevant content, it can also be used for targeted advertising campaigns and online promotions to attract potential customers to the agent’s website and Facebook page.

Realtors can carve a niche by using blogs to position themselves as experts in their field, particular neighborhoods, types of housing and other aspects of their business. By consistently posting blogs on a variety of focused topics and issues, agents can attract a huge following, which could bring in qualified leads and referrals, and increase their visibility. It is important to make your blog insightful and interesting in order to continuously add new fans.

Twitter is also a great tool for realtors because it can be easily used with smartphones. Because of the 140 character limit for each tweet, brevity is the key. Unlike email, it provides you an opportunity to broadcast your message to all of your followers in real time. It can be used to broadcast new listings, open house events, model home showings, and links to pertinent articles.

LinkedIN can be used to build meaningful and direct connections with vendors, lenders, prospects and past clients. You can build credibility by answering questions in your area of expertise. You can ask satisfied customers to recommend you on your LinkedIN profile, which can help potential clients to choose you for their home buying and selling needs. You can join and participate in many groups or start your own group.

Other sites such as YouTube, Flickr, Stumble Upon and Digg are also good social media applications for agents. You can create your own customized YouTube channel to show videos of listings, virtual tours, testimonials of happy buyers/sellers, how-to video articles, etc. Similarly, Flickr can be used to display photos of homes, office events, and conferences.

If you are active on multiple social media accounts, there are apps available to help you automate and schedule the delivery of posts and tweets. Also feeds from one or more accounts can be syndicated to your other social media accounts, which in turn will help you in creating a greater following.

Coldwell Banker Ackley Realty is at the forefront of social media technologies to better serve its buyers and sellers. Raising the bar on traditional home searches, Coldwell Banker has created smartphone apps which enable tech savvy consumers to perform GPS-enabled searches for listings and sales in 28 countries. Also, their listings from Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow and other websites feed directly to Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Please visit our various social media sites and follow us for interesting articles, specials and announcements.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ColdwellBankerAckleyRealty

Twitter: http://twitter.com/AckleyRealty

You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/ColdwellBankerAckley

Linked in: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=1095987

Remodeling Ideas that Increase Value

Any remodeling you under take is going to increase the value of your house. However, some improvements add very little value while others add a lot. Before starting any remodeling work it is best to do detailed planning about colors, materials, styles and costs. It is also important to keep in mind that if you add a lot of additional rooms or make radical changes, you may end up pricing your house way above the average selling price of homes in your area. This could make it difficult to sell your house, or in soft markets, it may not sell at all.

To avoid such pitfalls, let’s examine remodeling projects that give the highest return on investment. In the prevailing buyers’ market it is very important to raise the perceived value of your house either by raising your home’s curb appeal and/or increasing its value through smart, cost effective remodeling. The best way to figure out which way to go is to find your home’s current value by calling a real estate agent or by using one of the many websites that can show it instantly. If you are calling an agent you should also ask the prices at with remodeled houses of the same size as yours were sold in your neighborhood. The agent can also do a Comparable Market Analysis (CMA) to analyze the average value added for different types of remodeling. This will help you determine how much money to spend and what kinds of renovation projects to do.

Curb Appeal

The first thing buyers notice about your home is its exterior and since first impressions are very important, remodeling the exterior and landscaping gives one of the highest returns on investment. Look at your house from various angles on the outside and take pictures. Create a checklist of things that need fixing or replacing. Repainting the exterior, including the patio, immensely enhances your home’s curb appeal. Paint or replace the main door, mailbox and shutters. A lush green, weed free lawn with colorful flowers and plants amplifies the image of your home. Invest in professional landscaping if you don’t want to do it yourself. Replacing old light fixtures above the main door and near the garage are also recommended. A walkway lined with lights and a pressure washed driveway and exterior will give the house a new look. If the steps leading to your door have iron railings, give it a fresh coat of paint.

Kitchen

The kitchen is arguably the most important and most used room of any house, not only because it is where food is stored, prepared and consumed, but also because it tends to be the social hub of most family activities. If you have the budget, replace your appliances with ones that have a high Energy Star rating. Stainless steel appliances are hot these days. If you have an old sink consider replacing it and also replace the faucet along with it. Granite counter tops are very popular these days. Replace or repaint old or damaged cabinet doors. Redoing the kitchen floor with hardwood or tiles is also an option that may pay off. Consider adding can lights and drop lights above the island to make your kitchen look elegant.

Interior Paint

Do you still have original wallpaper in your kitchen or your children’s room? If so, this has got to go. In the early 90’s it was fashionable to have different colored or multi-colored wall paint in various rooms. Today, homeowners prefer neutralized wall colors that complement the flooring, appliances, drapes and furniture. If you already have neutralized colors decide if a fresh coat is required.

Bathrooms

Renovating a bathroom or adding a new one will definitely increase your home’s value. Aging baby boomers prefer having their master bedroom on the first floor. If yours is not on the first floor see if it’s possible to convert a powder room into a full bath, and if you have a spare bedroom close by, you may even want to consider attaching the remodeled bath to it. If you have the space and budget to add an extra bathroom, it would be a big plus. Changing faucets, shower heads and shower doors will also enhance the bathroom’s look and feel.

Adding a home office may payoff in urban areas since a lot of people are increasingly telecommuting or starting home-based businesses. Investing in finishing a basement, replacing windows and siding or adding additional rooms may only add value to houses in hot real estate markets. New flooring does not add any significant value to your home. However, replacing worn out carpet in high traffic areas is definitely a good thing.

What is Curb Appeal?

The importance of creating a good first impression is considered very important for jobseekers and sales professionals. The same is true for the curb appeal of your home. Most potential homeowners are very clear about their requirements of the home they are seeking. In their quest to find that perfect home, buyers visit several “open house” events. Open house?…Why isn’t it called “open home?”  This is because when buyers tour open houses they are visually inspecting and analyzing the various tangible aspects of the house such as how spacious are the bedrooms, is the kitchen big enough, does the patio offer privacy and so on. All they are doing is looking at various houses which fit their specific requirements and criteria. But at some point in their search, they will find this one house that “feels like home.”

So what was magical about this one particular house that felt like home? It probably had all their desired needs on their checklist. But it may also have fulfilled their wants, emotional factors and other intangible feelings which gave them the feeling that this could be their home. Studies have shown that one of the factors that positively influence homebuyers’ emotions is the curb appeal of the house. Although this is such an important part of selling a house, surprisingly very few sellers invest time and money on improving curb appeal prior to putting their homes on the market.  Here are some simple steps you could take to significantly improve curb appeal of the house you are trying to sell.

Start with the exterior. If buyers don’t like what they see on the outside, they will perceive the inside to be not that great either, which means you won’t be able to bring them inside. Mow and edge the lawn, rake leaves, mulch flower beds and make the yard weed free. Trim bushes and get rid of overgrown or dead branches. If it is spring time plant some flowers. Having a lush green lawn and a well-landscaped yard is a big piece of the curb appeal puzzle. Consider having a seasonal wreath on the door or an American flag or the flag of your favorite sports team near the main door.

Pressure wash your driveway, walkway and sidings. Paint the exterior and interior if required. Clean windows inside and out with a glass cleaner. Stain and polish your main door if required. The same goes for door knobs and handles. Repair or replace broken shutters, gutters and shingles. Don’t forget the mailbox. Give it a fresh coat of paint or replace it if the one you have has worn out. Leave the outside lights on till about 10pm. Many people who work during the day and on weekends do their drive-byes in the evening after work. Ensure that the house number is clearly visible even at night.

After creating a wow factor on the outside do the same for the inside. Have all your carpets steam cleaned and vacuumed and your hardwood floors polished. Replace non-working bulbs, broken light fixtures and switches. Tighten hinges of cupboard doors and polish their door knobs. Clean the surfaces of stovetops, dishwasher, microwave, refrigerator and oven. Don’t forget to clean and polish granite countertops. Organize tools and bicycles in the garage symmetrically. Clean and stain the patio.

Place fresh cut flowers on the kitchen island and/or in large planters on either side of the main door. Light candles that have subtle fragrances in the kitchen, bathroom and other places in the house. Turn on the fireplace if it is winter to create a warm and cozy ambiance. Bake a batch of cookies so that their aroma wafts through the entire house. It will have a lingering effect on the buyer.  If the house is located on a busy street or highway, play soft jazz or classical music to drown out traffic noise. This will also take care of noisy neighbors or their barking dogs.

Dust and clean mantles, furniture, drapes, curtains and other surfaces.  Replace broken blinds. Scrub shower walls and bathtub floors. Clean and disinfect sinks and toilets. Fix leaky faucets and showerheads. Ensure that walk-in closets are neatly organized.

After you have taken care of the above mentioned tasks get a second opinion. Ask a friend or your agent to walk through the exterior and interior of your house. They may find other small issues that you may have missed. Creating a good feeling involves touching various human senses including visibility, smell, touch and noise. While people’s preferences, tastes and choice vary, a nice smelling house with a clean and well organized interior and an inviting exterior can bring every house one step closer to becoming someone’s “home.”

Importance of being pre-approved before you start viewing homes

Unless you are going to pay cash to buy your home, it is extremely important to first get pre-approved for a loan. Before delving into the significance of pre-approval, it is important to differentiate it from pre-qualification, since the two terms are often confused or mistakenly considered the same.

Prequalification is merely an informal estimate of how much house you can afford. Based on your stated income and total expenses, a lender would make an educated guesstimate of the loan amount you would potentially qualify for. A credit check is generally not performed for this process. A debt-to-income ratio is calculated which simply tells how much you should be able to borrow. The loan amount specified in the pre-qualification statement does not provide any credibility with either the lender or seller. If you are in the early stages of your home-buying process, you can use a free pre-qualification calculator from the Internet to get a clear idea of the loan amount you may qualify for.

Unlike prequalification, Pre-approval carries a lot of weight in the mortgage industry and it offers plenty of benefits to the home buyer, which we will outline shortly. Your lender would begin the pre-approval process by performing a much deeper probe of your financial affairs. You will be required to produce hard evidence of your income from employment and other sources such as a business you may own; assets, loans, monthly financial obligations, wage garnishments, tax returns, investments, and bank statements. You would have to pay for a mandatory credit check that the lender would perform for obtaining your credit scores, payment histories and a record of any payment defaults or bankruptcies. The lender would also communicate with your employer to verify employment status, history and current income. The lender then processes all this information and issues you a pre-approval letter, which specifies the exact loan amount they are willing to give you, the interest rate for the loan, monthly payment amounts and other terms.

Arming yourself with a pre-approval letter puts you in the driver’s seat in your hunt for a home. It offers you significant advantages over other buyers that are not pre-approved. Some of the benefits include the following:

·         Sellers love you because you are a serious buyer and not just a tire-kicker or looker

·         Some sellers and listing agents only accept offers from pre-approved buyers

·         Some owners will only show properties to pre-approved buyers

·         Since you know the exact loan amount you can get, you can focus your search on homes in that price range

·         Realtors and listing agents will take you seriously

·         It gives you leverage in the negotiation process

·         In a hot market, it gives you the ability to act quickly when you find the right home

·         For a seller you are more attractive than a cash buyer because they need to provide bank statements and a letter from their bank as proof of cash in hand, whereas you don’t

·         Because of stricter lending practices, your pre-approval may be delayed or denied because of financing issues, and you may lose the opportunity to make a timely offer

·         It will force you to get your financial affairs in order upfront, so that you don’t end up scrambling to get it done in a hurry when you find your dream home and want to pull the trigger.

When you are seriously ready to start your home buying process, getting preapproved is the best way to begin. It assures all stakeholders that you are a serious buyer. Just consider this fact.  To set up a home showing, the seller, seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent must coordinate the appointment. Sellers may have to make arrangements for baby-sitting, clean the house, and drive away with pets, house guests and elderly parents for a set amount of time. They turn on the lights, cool down or heat up the house to make you comfortable…and hope that you would buy their house. If you are not a pre-approved serious buyer, you are wasting everybody’s time and inconveniencing everyone involved in the house showing process.

When you are ready to make an offer on a house, you must submit the pre-approval letter with it. Be aware that if you are submitting an offer on a REO property, you may be required to get prequalified through a second lender even if you are pre-approved through your lender.

The reason for this is the listing agent or bank may have built a long-term relationship with a lender who they consider to be dependable and whose judgment they fully trust. To smoothly make the sale, the bank will often make prospective buyers to go through a prequalification process through their lender. This is similar to the “second opinion” that people choose to seek while making important decisions prior to going under the knife for a surgical procedure. Since all lenders are not the same and the experience of loan officers differ, the bank uses the second pre-qualification process to vet the sale.

2011 Women Who Mean Business Awards

Last night, the Orlando Business Journal recognized Central Florida’s top businesswomen whose efforts and creativity helped better our region and their firms. This year, 15 women are finalists in three categories: Business Owner of the Year, Business Executive of the Year, Up-and-Comer of the Year.

Coldwell Banker Ackley Realty's President Rajia Ackley was selected as a Finalist in the Business Owner of the Year Catagory.  Congratulations Rajia!