Homes Are Incredibly Affordable in Bucks & Montgomery County

 

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Today, we're here to talk to you about the affordability of homes in our current market. There are a few reasons why homes are so affordable right now.

First of all, mortgage credit availability has gone up over the last two years. Two years ago, it was very difficult to get a mortgage. Credit standards are loosening and because of that, more buyers are able to get mortgages.

Secondly, FICO score requirements have gone down. It used to be that you needed a high FICO score, especially when the market wasn't doing well. Now your credit score doesn't have to be so high. In fact, if you weren't able to qualify six months ago, you could get a mortgage now!

Mortgage companies are also allowing you to make smaller down payments. You don't need to put 20% down on a home anymore. In fact, the current average is 10% down. First-time buyers are putting down 4%, and repeat buyers can put down as little as 13% across the country. That gives you plenty of leverage to buy a home today.

Another reason homes are so affordable right now is the historically low interest rates. Right now, rates for 30 year fixed rate mortgages are at 4%. Mortgages are incredibly affordable right now with these spectacular rates.

Finally, interest will be going up in 2016. As rates go up, you qualify for less money in a mortgage. You should buy now while rates are low and homes are affordable.

As you can see, now is a great time to buy a home. If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

Where Is the Bucks and Montgomery County Market Heading?

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Buyer traffic between July and September was very strong across the United States. For that same time period, however, seller traffic has been pretty weak nationwide. In other words, the demand for homes is outpacing the supply, which means we need more homeowners to step up and sell their homes!

Our goal is to get more sellers involved in the marketplace. A balanced market is a six-month supply, anything over is a buyer's market and anything under is seller's market. Right now, our inventory is sitting at 4.6 months, which means sellers currently have a huge advantage!
 

Despite the fact that we didn't have too many sellers in the marketplace, existing sales in the marketplace are way up year over year. Not only are homes selling -- they're selling quickly because inventory is low!

If you're ready to sell your home, there's simply no reason to wait! The market is in fantastic shape for sellers, so now is the time to start preparing your home for the market!

If you have any questions about our market, or if you would like real estate help of any kind, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!

When Is the Right Time to Sell?

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As the holidays approach, many sellers wonder whether they should take their home off the market and just wait until the spring season. Today, I want to share the pros and cons of selling now.

The most important thing to remember is that the best time to sell is when you're ready to. Conventional wisdom typically says that the winter is not a great time to sell, but now that the Internet plays such a huge role in real estate, buyers can look at homes year-round. The holidays don't stop people from buying and selling homes like they used to.

To be fair, there are fewer buyers in the cold months here in Bucks & Montgomery County. However, the buyers who do come out to view homes in the cold are quality buyers who are serious about making their move. Although there are fewer buyers in the winter, there are also fewer sellers, which means homeowners have less competition when listing in the winter months.

Recently, the Fed has made it clear that they intend to raise interest rates. When rates start to rise, it will take many buyers out of the market as their ability to afford a home will decrease as rates increase. This is why we highly encourage you to buy or sell now before rising rates negatively impact our market  

If you have any questions about the current market, or if you would like our assistance buying or selling this winter, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!

Join Us for Our Pie Giveaway!

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As most of you know, every year we have a Thanksgiving pie giveaway to honor the support of our past clients and to thank you for the referrals you have given us.

This year, we will be taking orders for apple and pumpkin pies up to Tuesday, November 17th. Call Barb at (215) 591-4796 to place your order, or send her an email at barb@lindadalerealestateexperts.com.

We will distribute the pies at our office on Tuesday, November 24th between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m., and Wednesday, November 25th between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. Just let Barb know if you would like an apple or pumpkin pie, and then you can pick it up at 1126 Horsham Rd, Maple Glen, PA 19002.

We look forward to seeing you, and we sincerely appreciate the support we've received. We wish you and your family a happy Thanksgiving!

How Can a Home Inspection Protect You When Buying a Home?

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People often come to us asking why they need to do a home inspection. Today, Rick Ray of SPY Inspection Services explains just a few of the many reasons home inspection are so important.

We work closely with SPY Inspection Services in Lansdale. During a home inspection, they will look at seven main components. They will look at the foundation and the framing of the home to ensure it's structurally sound; the exterior of the home, focusing on doors, windows, grading, driveways, sidewalks, and the attached decks and porches; the roofing, looking at the age of the roof, the gutters, and the shingles; the plumbing, including the water heater and drainage systems; electrical systems, like service entrance wires, the panels, the breakers, the fuses, and the outlets; the HVAC components, including the heating and air conditioner systems; and a complete interior inspection, looking at the walls, ceilings, floors, stairs, the garage, and any appliances included with the sale of the house.

Home inspections are simply a safe way for the buyers to know exactly what they're buying! There are over 100 items that the folks over at Spy Inspection Services will look at, so they are clearly very comprehensive. If you have any specific questions about the home inspection process, you can reach Rick at (215) 362-1234 or Info@SPYInspections.com. Of course, if you need help on the real estate side of things, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!

Why Should You Consider a Pre-Listing Home Inspection?

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Lately, there has been a trend developing in the real estate industry regarding home inspections. Many sellers are now choosing to do a pre-listing home inspection before they even put their home on the market. Today I have brought in my favorite home inspection expert, Rick Ray from Spy Inspection Services, to talk about the advantages of getting a pre-listing home inspections. There are 6 main benefits. They are:

1.  Choices

With a pre-listing home inspection, the seller is in control. They can choose when they want to have the inspection done, who they want to do the inspection, and they also have the opportunity to inform the inspector about upgrades or improvements made to the home. 

2. Flexibility

Once you have the pre-listing home inspection report, you can be proactive about any changes or improvements that need to be made to the home in order to sell for the highest amount of money possible, according to the home inspector. It also gives you ample time to get competitive bids put together in order to do those changes and upgrades, which is often more cost-effective than having to do improvements based on the buyer’s inspection.

3. Putting together an accurate listing price

This is huge. A lot of times this accurate listing price can be put together in a way where we actually get a higher asking price because the home was inspected better than we thought. It also limits re-negotiations by identifying problems ahead of time.

4. Full disclosure

This is huge for buyers. By providing this pre-listing inspection, you give the buyers more confidence in their purchase. When they get the inspection report and see the third-party evaluation, it lets them know you are trustworthy and they might even waive their own inspection as a result.

5. Less stress

When all of these things are combined, it leads to much less stress for both buyer and seller.

If you have any questions for us, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. If you want to get a hold of Rick for any of your home inspection needs, give him a call at (215) 362-1234 or send an email to info@spyinspections.com.

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

The Best Place to Live

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Many relocating buyers ask me why Montgomery & Bucks County is such a great place to live. 

There are really too many reasons to mention, but if I had to narrow it down, I would say one thing is we are a mere three-hour drive from 25% of the population of the United States.

We have the best of everything. We have the city, the suburbs, and the country. We have the best schools and beautiful farms. Our schools compete with private schools throughout the nation. The weather is great through all four seasons. Winter is about two months long, and then it's spring again 

We are also very close to Philadelphia, the birthplace of our nation, so our area is rich with national history. 

No matter what you're looking for, you'll find it here. If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

What Simple, Inexpensive Updates Can You Make on Your Home?

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If you are looking to sell your home, your goal is to get the most money possible in the shortest amount of time. One of the best ways to add value and appeal to your home is through home staging. Home staging is the art of selling a home faster by making a home more appealing to the right buyer. You have a lot of options for how you want to go about it. You could hire a professional staging company, which could be substantially costly. However, most of the time, a few simple fixes is all it takes to transform a living room. 

Today we are going to go through some of our most favorite, inexpensive home staging tips for you. We hope these will help you save both time and money when it comes time to sell your home.

A fresh coat of paint is always a good idea. Neutral, warm colors work best for highlighting the natural light in your home. This will make it easier to brighten the room with some colorful accessories and pull everything together.

A common design problem facing many homeowners is that they have no real entry way, as their front door opens up to the living room. To fix this, you can add a table, some lighting, and a rug to "fake a foyer" and make it feel like the living room and entryway are two different spaces.

A patterned rug, some pillows, or bright curtains add a ton of texture and an eclectic layer to the space, which is essential to a well-designed room.

In some cases, a "make-under" is just what you need. In the case of most fireplaces, taking some accessories and clutter away enhances the look and feel of the room greatly.

You could spend well over a few thousand dollars with a staging company, or you could do these fixes yourself for around $500. That's a small investment considering the value that you add to your home by adding those pieces.

If you have any questions for us about staging your home or anything else real estate related, give us a call or send over a quick email. We are always here to help, and would love to hear from you!

How Can You Buy and Sell Simultaneously in Bucks & Montgomery County

A lot of home sellers also need to buy a home. This creates a common problem where people need to buy and sell simultaneously. This can be a logistical nightmare if proper planning and organization are not involved. 

1. Selling first and then buying: You can sell your home and get equity to help you buy another, but then you have to hurry to find another home if you want to avoid having to use interim housing.


2. Buying a home and then selling: This is a good option if you can afford it. Rushing into a home purchase is risky, and we don't recommend it. Paying a double mortgage is difficult even for people who can afford it, but this strategy also allows you to focus energy on selling your home for top dollar.


3. Buying and selling at the same time: This is where my experience comes in. We can use contingency clauses to ensure that as soon as you sell, you have a home to move into. This strategy takes a lot of communication and planning, but it's entirely possible and we've done it many times before.

If you need any assistance when you're buying, selling, or doing both at the same time, please don't hesitate to contact me.

When is the Best Time to Sell Your Home?

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People often ask me when the best time to sell a home is, and I think it's always a good time to sell. We see more activity in the market during the summer, so your home will have an increased chance to sell quicker and for more money. 

The benefit of selling during the summer would be the lower amount of inventory around here. With less competition and more demand, you would have a good chance to sell well. Even when there are fewer buyers in the market, they do tend to be more serious. These buyers usually have children that need to be in school by the fall, so they're not going to play around very much. 

When selling in the summer months, I would make sure that the price and condition of your home is your biggest concern. The price needs to be comparable to other homes in the area, and it's very important not to overprice a home. As far as condition goes, I would recommend getting a home inspection done so that you can make repairs before your buyers come in and view the home. 

On a side note, it's very important to keep your home cool in the summer. You don't want your buyers thinking that the AC system doesn't work, because on a hot day, this could be a deal breaker. 

If you're thinking of selling this summer, please don't hesitate to contact me. I would love to come out to your home and discuss what can be done to sell it for top dollar!

Before You Buy a Home, Make Sure You Do This

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Welcome back to our blog. Today I am here with Ann Blasko and we are going to talk about getting your finances in order so you can buy a home. She is going to go through with us some of the most important steps to consider when you want to buy a home.

 

The first of these is getting a credit check done. If your credit is not where it needs to be to purchase a home now, there are steps you can take now so you will be ready a few months down the road. 

The next step is getting a pre-approval. Two years ago it was pretty difficult to get a mortgage and there were very strict lending guidelines. Banks didn't want to lend, except to very qualified buyers. Over the last year, the guidelines have loosened up quite a bit. There are now loans you can get with no money down, lower credit scores are accepted, and the availability of credit has doubled over the last year.

There has been a lot of talk about interest rates as of late and where they are headed. They are definitely going up, but by when and by how much is still very much a mystery. The FED has announced that rates will be rising this year, and most experts are predicting them to rise anywhere from .25% to .5% by the end of the year. Every time that rates go up by .25%, the affordability of buys decreases by 10%! Based on both home prices and rates, now is a great time to buy a home.

If you have any questions for us, we are always here to take your call or email. We look forward to talking with you!

What's Up with the Bucks & Montgomery County Real Estate Market?

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I wanted a way to stay in touch with past clients and friends, so I am going to start sending you these video blogs every few weeks. Today we are going to give you a market update for Montgomery and Bucks Counties, so you know exactly what conditions are like if you've been thinking about buying or selling.

A lot of people have been asking us lately about the local market. Here's what's been happening.

We have a huge demand for homes right now, with a ton of buyers out in the market, but few sellers. Because of this, homes are selling very quickly. Move-up buyers, who in the past have passed on buying a new home, are confident enough to move up now, leaving their homes available for first-time buyers.

Right now, the average days on market is 85, but we are so much busier now than we were a year ago. Even with the lack of inventory, it's still a great time to buy because of low interest rates. Our market is setting up perfectly right now for buyers to buy and sellers to sell, all at reasonable prices.

If you have any questions for us about the market or real estate in general, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!