It sounds like a crazy thought right now doesn’t it?  With the number of foreclosures and bank owned homes, you’d think we were going to be in this situation for a long time.  But this article will give you a new perspective- one that I don’t think any news source has reported on so far.  There are two reasons for the upcoming shortage:

1. The population of the US is growing at a rate of about 1,000,000 people per year and new construction has nearly stopped in many areas.

2. The Echo Boomers are coming!  The Echo Boom generation (born from 1982 to 1995) is huge and second only in size to Baby Boomers.  These are people of home buying age now and are going to impact housing for years to come!  Full Article

Crime! Everyone cares about how much crime there is in an area that you want to buy a home, but its always been difficult to find consistent sources for data on crime.  Trulia has just come out with a beta Crime Map that could very well be the solution we’ve been looking for.  In Portland, OR, where I live and work, we have PortlandMaps.com which is excellent.  The Trulia Crime Map only covers major cities right now but it sounds like they’re rolling it out to other towns soon.   It has a cool ‘heat map’ that allows you to zoom into a specific area and even get the details of individual crimes including exact location, type of crime and if an arrest was made.  Check it out!  Trulia Crime Map

I get asked regularly, “Should I buy a home at an Auction?”

Those of you who have read anything I’ve ever written can guess what I’ll say!  It Depends!  Recently some great clients of mine were interested in a home that was going to be in an auction with one of the major national home auction companies.  I read through all the many many pages of “fine print” that the auction company provided and had some serious concerns.  Here is what I found:

Read More »

3 Things You Need to Know About Energy Tax Credits

I recently read an excellent article entitled  Energy Tax Credits: Beware False Promises by Houselogic.com and it really opened my eyes to some things I didn’t know about these kinds of tax credits!  When you’re buying your first (or any) home, you’re going to be watching your dollars very carefully and you could miscalculate savings on energy projects you have planned for your new home.  For example, did you know:

1.  Energy Star Ratings are no guarantee you’ll get a credit! You need to do your own research and make sure you and your project qualifies- don’t rely on the word of contractors or store employees.  Remember, nobody cares as much about your money as you do. Read More »

Top 3 Most Overlooked Things When Buying a Home

Realtor Holly Kirby of Virginia wrote a very insightful blog entitled 10 Less Obvious Things to Consider When Buying a House and it really got me thinking… what are the most overlooked things when buying a home?

Looking at her well thought out list, I’ve chosen the Top 3:

1.  Where will you be willing to sacrifice.

I LOVE this one!  We never get everything we want in a home, so in order to get what we REALLY want, we need to decide what we are willing to give up.  Want a terrific location (and you should) then you’ll need to give a bit on the size of lot or less bedrooms or baths.  Maybe even give up, gasp, a garage!  Buying a home is a process of elimination, not of selection.  Why You Must Divide Your Wants vs Needs should help you with this one. Read More »

They Buy Homes!

Last year, 20% of homes were purchased by single women and only 12% by single men. AOL- Buying a Home: Why Single Women do it More Than Men.  We see this all the time and have our own take on it although this article is interesting.  Statistics show that, when a couple is buying a home, women have 70% of the decision (sorry guys, its true), so it follows that they are the more motivated of the sexes to buy when single.  Who knows why, maybe men are more nomadic and women want stability?  We’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject!

Fact:  In 2010, 1 in 4 home sales was a foreclosure.

That is an interesting fact from Realtytrac.com, but what does it mean to you?  First let me tell you that we expect that number to be very similar this year.  That large of a percentage of bank owned homes means that you will tend to see prices being attractive this year as well in most markets.  Banks tend to price their homes on the lower end of value in a neighborhood and if you’re willing to jump through a few hoops (not a horrible number of them) then you could get yourself a good deal!  For more info, checkout our post 7 Myths & Facts About Bank Owned Homes

Ok, this isn’t so much a tip as it is some great facts about First Time Home Buyers from a recent survey. Its always interesting to see where you fall compared to averages.  Keep in mind that this is nationally and your area could vary:

50 The percentage of homes bought by First Timers in 2010 (up from 41% in 2008)

10 Number of years First Time Buyers plan to stay in their new home

30 Typical age of a First Time Buyer

$152,000 Median price paid by First Timers in 2010 (versus $215,000 for repeat buyers)

1540 Average square footage of First Time Buyers homes

$59,900 Average income of a First Time Home Buyer

12 Number of homes the average buyer saw over 12 weeks before buying one

Get it in Writing!

As they say, “Verbal agreements aren’t worth the paper they’re not written on!”  You need to be sure that anything your Buyer’s Agent or the seller say will be done is in writing.  Here are some examples of what I mean:

• Changing a closing date
• Furniture or other personal property included in the sale
• Any expenses that the seller says they will pay for
• Any repairs- very important!

If in doubt about anything a seller agrees to do or anything you want in a purchase, be sure to get the seller to sign agreeing to it or it just may not happen!  More details in our Lesson Purchase Paperwork Overview.

How many homes do most buyers see before buying one?

In 2010, the average home buyer looked at homes for 12 weeks and saw 12 homes before buying one.  Also, 50% of all homes bought in 2010 were first time home buyers!  If you’re wanting to buy a home with the least amount of stress and frustration, you need 3 things:

1.  Get educated (good thing you’re on a home buying education website right now!)

2.  Get a good Buyers Agent.

3.  Get a good Mortgage Professional.

These three things will make the process go many times more smoothly than if you just jump into the deep end of the pool without any swimming lessons or professional help!