When Is The Best Time To Buy A House?

Todd Teta, chief product officer of ATTOM Data Solutions claims, “Closing on a home purchase the day after Christmas or on New Year’s Eve can be one of the most financially beneficial holiday-season gifts you can get.”  Although, some might think spring is the prime time for house shopping. December is the time to buy.  

Analysis from his company shows that there are only three days in the year where homes are seen being sold below market value.  All of which occur in December.  

The report shows discounts of .3% over sales price the day after Christmas and discounts of .1% on both, New Years Eve and December 4.  This study was determined with more than 23 million single family home and condo sales over the past six years.

If you haven’t found a home on one of these days, analysis shows December is the overall best month to buy with a stay pay premium 1.2% above market value.  Which in comparison is better than any other month with premiums as high as 7.1%.

Throughout the year, home prices hover around the same median despite the drastic jump in premiums; $197,500 in October; $198,018 in November; $198,000 in December.  

Moving away from yearly averages, and breaking it down by state shows homebuyers in Ohio experiencing the largest discount below market value, buying at 7.4% below market value in January.  In Michigan, with prices down 7.2% in February; Delaware, with prices down 6.3% in February; Tennessee, with prices down 6.2% in January and New Jersey, with prices down 5.8% in December.

Teta explains, “While lots of folks are shopping the day-after Christmas sales or getting ready to ring in the New Year, our data shows that buyers and investors are buying homes on those days at a discount, that’s a far cry from buying during June, when they are likely paying about a 7% premium.”

Real Estate Coaching Program

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The moment you’re just getting started with a new business venture, particularly those that revolve around skilled investments such as real estate, you tend to commit a lot of errors.

Most people who develop an interest in real estate investment end up looping from one mistake to another for years, even after devouring tons of ebooks, videos, and training courses on the subject.

What is the missing link stopping most aspiring real estate investors from achieving financial freedom with real estate investments? Why do some folks achieve huge success while some others see not even an iota of success?

Why Ebooks And Courses Simply Serve To Confuse You

Some weariless investors have been able to get started on their own and make lots of money, but they are the exception. When you find yourself failing continuously, what you need is a real estate mentor.

Electronic books and training courses drag you in different paths, but a real estate coach sets you on the right course to success. You gain substantial information from their expertise, and through their training, you are able to focus on a single goal at a time, which is paramount to success.

They can also recognize errors you’ve neglected and guide you on what to do instead. It’s like they’re an instructor, holding your hand and telling you exactly what to do. With that kind of support, your possibilities of success rise significantly.

The Only Real Estate Coaching Program I Endorse

You’ll find many real estate mentoring programs on the internet, all with similar claims of helping you become a six-figure realtor in as little time as possible.

All of these programs are clearly expensive, so choosing the right one is of vital importance. Choose the wrong one and you’ll likely wind up regretting losing time and cash you simply cannot really get back.

I’m a successful real estate professional, and I got my education from my coach, Phil Pustejovsky. Phil Pustejovsky owns the Freedom Mentor Apprentice Program – a program that shows you the ropes on how to achieve financial freedom in real estate.

The Freedom Mentor coaching program is not really a program you can simply buy whenever you want. You have to put in an application initially, and you’ll only be accepted to the program if your application is accepted.

The very fact that Phil Pustejovsky evaluates applications goes to show how much he wishes you to succeed. He’ll only take coachable, action-oriented, and positive thinking applicants.

Phil was once an amateur as well. He began from rock bottom and only began to attain success right after he met his mentor, Tom.

Ever since, he has been able to close 10s of millions of dollars worth of deals while earning millions of dollars in profits throughout the process.

If you think Phil’s knowledge would have a favorable impact on your real estate venture, then you need to pay special focus to the following paragraphs as I talk about his Freedom Mentor program in even more detail.

Why Freedom Mentor?

By signing up to the Freedom Mentor coaching program, you’ll gain access to premium tools and resources to help you close your very first real estate deal.

These consist of access to a lender database, an instruction/lead-generating software to help you get deals faster, and a customized investing plan.

That’s not all, though. You’ll also receive 3 live coaching calls monthly with Freedom Mentor’s coaches, 2 conference calls every week, and the capability to ask questions as well as immediately receive answers from the mentors through an instant message platform.

There are two very good features of this mentoring program that help it stand out from the competition. The first feature is the array of experienced mentors and coaches it includes.

You won’t get access to just Phil Pustejovsky’s mentoring once you become a registered member. Freedom Mentor is made up of a team of mentors and coaches personally trained and mentored by Phil.

These are the coaches you’ll be receiving assistance from. You’ll get access to a combined pool of knowledge and experience from some of the leading coaches in the industry.

The second feature that makes this program so remarkably good at helping ambitious realtors gain success is its 50/50 split.

This essentially implies Phil shares all of his valuable real estate secrets with you, and you share 50% of the profits from your first few deals with him.

When you’ve closed your first couple of deals, you can then carry on to become an independent property investor, equipped with all the insights you’ve obtained from the mentorship program.

If you have a knack for teaching or coaching, you could even establish your own mentoring program and teach your apprentices the actions required for success exactly like Phil does.

Some of Phil’s previous apprentices are currently managing their own mentoring programs after becoming successful real estate investors.

Note: I know the program offering improvements every now and then as they continue to fine-tune it and improve it. Nevertheless, this is up to date as of this writing.

Summary – Action Takers Desired

The Freedom Mentor coaching program is tailored towards folks who are 100% dedicated to becoming successful real estate investors. If you aren’t ready to treat real estate investing like a business, this specific program may not be for you.

The tools, resources, and mentoring provided in the program are more than enough to set you on the right path to financial freedom.

Considering that you’re sharing your first few returns with Phil, it’s in his best interest to make you succeed, and you have as much resolve to accomplish just that. It’s a jointly advantageous agreement, so you practically can’t fail if you invest the effort and time to help make this work.

Generally, the Freedom Mentor program is the best way to get started in real estate investing. You’re receiving all the help you need from a veteran in the business. There’s really nothing else you need to help make your real estate ambitions come true.

2 Things To Consider Before Home Buying

Not all home sellers are completely truthful about the condition of their property. It is unfortunate that if you were to hire a professional inspector for each viewing, it would get incredibly expensive. Thus, here are a few things that you can spot yourself, telling you to avoid the purchase.

The first thing is that you must get to know the neighborhood. This is of absolute vital importance. Is it a growing community, or is it in decline? If there are many foreclosed homes and businesses, the community is going through tough times. Make sure you visit the area on two different occasions. In doing so, you will also become aware of traffic. Do also come at least once at night, so you can see whether the streets are safe and quiet at night or not. Speak to the police and ask for statistics on local crimes.

You should now look at the property itself and how it was treated. Signs of regular maintenance are hugely important. If it looks run down from the outside, it is likely that the inside isn’t in a much better condition either. Always look at the wiring too. Although you probably won’t be able to identify all of the problems yourself, some red flags are easy to spot. If you spot that outlets are warm or that lights flicker, there is likely to be a wiring problem. Similarly, if you notice that there is a single wall, or just a few walls that have been painted very recently, where others haven’t, the owners may be hiding something. Also inspect the windows. Look at whether the windows have mold or condensation or are hard to open; this could be a sign of expensive problems.It goes without saying that if there are any rooms that the sellers don’t want you to see, you should avoid the property completely. If there have been any structural changes to the original property, you need to check whether these were done in accordance with various building regulations.

At the end of the day, only you can decide whether or not you should purchase a property. Additionally, if you find that there are certain problems, you could use this as a negotiating point to drive the price down. You do have to ask yourself whether that bargain is worth the potential financial hassle you are putting yourself through. Whether you purchase a property as an investment or as a home, it is always going to be a building that somebody will live in, and you need to make sure that the quality of life in that property can be pleasant and enjoyable. It goes without saying that checking the condition of the property itself is very important, but the area it is in must be focused on as well. To check on the actual property, all you really need to do is hire the services of a property inspector. When it comes to the neighborhood, however, you need to have a personal feel, something that cannot be achieved by a check box list.

Key Details When Thinking Of Selling a Property

Basic Particulars Of Finding Selling a Property

Many people are starting to invest in real estate so if you have any plans of selling your house, you should do it now. The only dilemma is that it’s extremely challenging to sell a property.

Many of you have probably seen some articles informing you that selling a house is easy. There are also some ads that will let you know that they could sell your house within weeks. If you will opt to reduce the value of your property, it might be more appealing to the customers, but it’s not an advisable thing to do.

Although the supply outstrips the demand in the real estate market, there are still a lot of methods to sell your house. We’re going to give some suggestions on the best way to do this successfully.

The Curb Appeal of your home

First impression lasts so you need to make sure that your house is attractive enough for prospective customers. If you’ll think of yourself as a customer, what are the certain things that you want to see in the exterior of your house? Is your house good enough to draw in the attention of possible buyers or you should perform some maintenance? The outside of your house will be the first thing that potential customer will see and you must understand that they are always paying attention to the external design of the house that they really want to buy.

Make The Right Improvements

You should make the essential upgrades inside and outside of your home to attract the customers. They always want a complete package where they won’t need to make repairs on the house.

If you’re the seller, you should make sure that you’ll check everything that needs fixing and improvement. You should never over improve your house because there are some upgrades that won’t really make a big difference in the value of your house.

Upgrades can certainly raise the value of your house and its chances to be sold, but you can’t make an improvement that would not pay in the end. You must do your research and invest in the things that may offer the best return.

Eliminate The Clutter

When you’re referring to clutter, these are things that you should eliminate from the house when you’re selling it. You’ll need to get rid of your personal items, collectibles and art works because it’s going to not help you in selling the house. Eliminate The unnecessary things in the house and leave the furniture to help make the rooms bigger. The aim is to help the customers visualize what they need to do in your property when they bought it. When they enter your property, they will begin to imagine what they need to add so you must remove the unnecessary and personal items inside the house. It’ll be hard for them to do this if your personal items are still inside the house.

Put a Competitive Price

If you plan to sell a home in [LOCATION], you need to put a great value for the property. If you will put a low value, it will be similar to leaving money on the table and if you priced the house too high, it’s going to be unattractive to buyers. If you’re speaking about home buying, the buyers always look for houses that are very similar to yours and compare the costs. If your house is too costly, the customer will check out other houses and ignore you. Most buyers are depending on home financing so they cannot really afford houses that are very costly. Even though you can sell the house for a lower value if you would like, you won’t be able to get back your investments.

Employ A Real Estate Agent

If you are thinking that you could do the selling on your own, you’re making a major mistake. If you are not a professional real estate agent, don’t even think about selling your property since you do not have the knowledge and experience to do so.

If you will decide to do this on your own, it’s possible that you will not be able to sell your house or you’ll get a bad deal for this. You can get fortunate and find a good deal for your house, but you should remember that selling a house is not about fortunate since we’re speaking about a huge amount of money.

You must employ an agent and permit them to handle everything for you. You will need to pay them, but it’s always better than getting a bad deal for the house.

Prior to selling your house, you should think about all of these simple guidelines so you will not make any mistakes. The real estate market is very complex so you need to know anything and everything about this before you sell your home.

Before You Help Someone Out With Their Mortgage Loan, Read This Article. Put Yourself First.

6 Things to Seriously Consider Before Becoming a Co-signer

When co-signing a mortgage, you are also risking your own credit worthiness. Anything that happens regarding this loan will directly affect you. Here are some facts about co-signing on a mortgage you should fully understand before you commit. See: The Responsibilities of a Cosigner.

Relationship doesn’t matter, although it helps. When you co-sign to help somebody else qualify for a mortgage, the expectations should be fully explained and documented. You should talk about plans of action in case the person you are co-signing for can’t pay back. Discuss in advance what a defaulted payment will mean for your relationship. The most painful part of this relationship when it goes sour, is the financial troubles, but also a dead relationship with a loved one.

Someone else’s choices shape your chances.

Any delinquencies will appear on your credit report as well, as you have just as much obligation on his liability as he does. Remember that the responsibility to make timely payments is still split 50/50 between the two parties. Read: Why You Should Never Co-sign For a Mortgage.

Get used to each other.

All parties are conjoined. The person who you co-signed for will have to pay off the mortgage by means of refinancing you off the mortgage, or by selling the property, which pays off the note.

You may want to consider living together.

You don’t have to live in the property you are co-signing for, referred to as a non-occupant co-borrower. However, if all parties purchase and live in the house of their primary residence, there is a greater level of transparency of financial status amongst the borrowers, which could mitigate difficulties down the road.

Your borrowing power will be reduced.

Your ability to get another mortgage, another credit card, or another car loan will be hindered to the extent of how much of your income and liabilities are being used for the benefit of the person you originally co-signed for. Simply put, to co-sign for someone else reduces your chances of qualifying for future credit obligations.

Make sure you understand what co-signing really means.

People co-sign for other people to help secure mortgage loan financing, not knowing the full ramifications of what co-signing does for the long-term prospects of obtaining credit in the future. For further reading, see: Introduction to How Mortgage Co-signing Works.

Emotionally Letting Go Of Your House Isn’t An Easy Thing To Do. Here Are Ways to Help You Transition

Emotionally letting go of your home is not an easy thing to do. In fact, its much easier said than done. It’s easy for people to remind you that it’s a business transaction, and to take your feelings out of it. But, the fact is, homes are very sentimental to all of us. Here are some ways that you can ease into letting go of your home emotionally throughout the selling process. Read: 15 Reasons Why Homeowners Sell Their House.

Take your time. If you don’t have to move quickly, don’t. If your agent is pushing you to list by next Friday, that’s his or her agenda not yours. Work to your own plan and only list when you and your house are ready. If you start the process of selling your home and then realize it is too painful, wait a little longer. 

Get help from family and friends. Sometimes it is too difficult to pack up all the memories alone. Putting away photographs, removing clothes, packing up children’s items, packing up holiday decorations. It can be very disheartening, as all of your memories lie in the house. See: Moving Grief: How to Feel the Loss, Celebrate the Gains.

Get outside help. A home stager is a great place to start. They can provide an objective pair of eyes and practical help and advice. They will keep you on track and support you through the process. Don’t be embarrassed to go talk to someone. It’s okay. 

Accept that moving on doesn’t negate the past. Take pictures of your house, rooms and special possessions. Write down your memories of the house too. Put everything in a memory box and pack it away for your next home. Even if it seems upsetting to do that right now, you’ll thank yourself for it later.

Ask yourself “What will the house sale give me or enable me to do?” Perhaps now you have the money to travel as you always wanted to, or to buy a house in a new city you have always wanted to.

Think and talk in chapters. This property was one chapter. There have been many, and there’ll be more. Look forward to the next chapter of your life. However, if you still really aren’t ready, wait. For further reading, see: Three Ways to Emotionally Detach From Your House

Things Your Painter Probably Isn’t Going To Let You “In On.” Know The Facts Beforehand

hiring_professional_painter

Things Your Painter Probably Isn’t Going To Let You In On

There are many honest, experienced painting contractors out there that do wonderful jobs. While you shouldn’t assume all painters are out there to rob you, you should be armed with proper information so that you don’t end up in a bad situation.

The materials cost less than he said
It is not uncommon for painting contractors to charge homeowners above what they should for materials such as paint and primer. Know that they probably paid at least 25% less for these materials than they charged you for. Paint stores that have strong relationships with the painting contractor will usually give them great deals. This means that they can mark up the price on you and make a hefty amount of money. Insist on buying the paint yourself rather than getting charged more than you would have. This allows you to provide paint as needed instead of paying for paint you didn’t need — if you do, you can be sure they will take that excess paint to their next project.

He made a big accident
Accidents are unavoidable, and should sometimes be expected, especially when it comes to a serious painting job. A ladder may fall and hit a window, a painter may knock over that sculpture you bought, shattering it into pieces, or paint may splatter onto your new rug. Be sure that your painting contractor is covered through insurance, otherwise, you more than likely will not be compensated for it.

He didn’t give you real references
Hopefully your painting contractor gave you references from actual clients that were pleased with his or her work. However, remember he chose his best clients. Four satisfied clients out of 100 does not mean he does a great job. Be sure that his references don’t consist of friends and family disguising themselves as previously satisfied clients. Instead, search on trusted websites such as Angie’s list where you know that their feedback is real.

There might be lead in your home
Standard renovation procedures may include sanding, cutting, and demolition. These processes can create hazardous lead and dust chips when using lead-based paint, which is notoriously harmful to pets, children, and adults. Contractors can become EPA Lead Abatement Certified by taking courses that teach them how to safely contain the area, clean up afterward, minimize dust, and properly dispose of any hazardous materials.

Know that if your house was built before the 1980’s, your home probably contains lead based paint. This needs to be safely removed by a certified professional. The complications regarding your health that can be caused by lead dust or flakes in your home are endless, and extremely serious.

He’ll take your money and go
You get what you pay for. If you choose a painting contractor without the proper insurance, feedback, or proper credentials, you can be sure that there will be serious problems down the road. Deposits are the norm, and you should expect to pay one. It is normal to pay about 30-50% of the estimate in order for the painter to get the supply he needs. Any deposit requested above this is a red flag. Deposits protect both of you, but if you pay too high of one— the only party it protects is your painter, not you.

MIA
It is important to be at your home to supervise the work. While this may not be ideal, it is crucial if you want the job to be done, and done right. For example if a higher paying job is getting close to its expected completion date, they will not be prioritizing your job. Consider adding work time expectations into a contract, such as “Mondays and Tuesdays 8 hour days required.” When the workers leave for the day, have them tell you when they will be back and for how long.

He could take your house.
A construction lien is not a subject to be taken lightly. A construction lien is a legal hold on a house which can be filed by a home improvement contractor who has not been paid for his or her work on that house. It is important to know that if you do not pay them, the property can be sold to pay debts.