Brande Bradford... South Metro Atlanta Specialist

Doing A Budget To Buy A Home Is Important

Anyone looking to buy a home no matter where you live, it is extremely imperative to make a budget. You are probably wondering why making a budget is a must. It is simple. A budget will assist you, giving you a financial layout so you know just how much you can afford to spend on a new home and how much of a monthly payment you can afford.

However, before you spend the time to do a budget, even though a budget doesn't take that long, you need to make sure it's a place your going to stay at for at least 2 or 3 years. If you can't see yourself staying put at least that long, then you need to stop looking to buy. It would not be worth your time buying a home that you have no interest in keeping or staying in for at least that long.

Your budget plays a very important role when it comes to buying a home and how your going to move on. There are two parts to your budget, your monthly income and your monthly expenses. Figuring your monthly income is easy if you get a paycheck on a steady basis, however if you are self employed it can be more difficult to figure and take more time to figure out.

Always write down all your information as you go, you don't want to mess up on figuring it out because you could end up putting yourself in a really bad position, that will be hard to recover from. Once you know your monthly income, you can now move on to your expenses. Your expenses must include everything from rental payment, utilities all the to groceries and money for fun activities. Once that is completed, you can decrease from your monthly budget and see what you have left.

By looking at your budget you can determine how much of a house payment you can afford. Just make you take what your paying for rent and include that in the amount you have left from your budget, this will give you the amount you can afford for a house payment. If your buying a house you won't have a rent payment there for that amount is not going to be in your monthly expenses, so it is important to include that in your end amount.

As you can see having a budget to buy a new home is important. Of course you can probably get away without doing one but it is a risk. This will be a huge investment, a long term one at that, so this shouldn't be a risk your willing to take. It doesn't take long to figure out a budget, sit down and take the time to do one and proceed from there.

Renting or Buying, What Would You Do?

Are you someone that would rather rent than buy? Honestly, I don't see how anyone would want to rent if your able to buy. I know I wouldn't rent! However, if your not sure if your going to be or want to be in the area your in for a long period of time (I say at least 3 years), if your budget isn't good enough to take on that type of investment, or have credit issues, then renting is really the only logical thing to do. But you need to work on all of those things, to make it possible for you to buy.

Think about this, your renting someone else's home, paying them a monthly payment to stay there and I am sure the payment is higher than their loan payment is, to make a bit of a profit. Who wouldn't want to make a profit on a rental property? Except for you, it's just tossing money out the window. You are going to have to eventually move from that place and you won't have anything to show for it except all the money you just tossed away. Depending how long you stay there or rent from someone, it can be very costly over the years, especially with rental prices rising each year. Your rent is $850, that is $10,200 for just a year, and of course that doesn't include your security deposit and cleaning fees when you first move in. As you can see renting can get very costly for you, especially if you have a landlord who doesn't fix anything and its all up to you.

Even though buying a home can be a steep investment upfront, with the loan amount, points, down payment, appraisal and application fees if there are any, these fees are usually recovered after the first 3 years, that is why i said at least 3 years up above. With that being said, each year your home should go up in value, usually about 3 percent on the average, but depends on the area you live in and also depends on the economy right now. Some areas are starting to move forward and go up in value, some are remaining neutral, and alot are below value owning more on their homes than they are worth, due to the foreclosure crisis.

This is another good reason to buy, housing prices are very low right now and you can get a good home in a good area for alot less than you could 2 years ago. When housing prices start moving up again, the values will rise back up and you could end up with alot of equity in your home, which makes for a great investment! Just make sure you research the area your interested in. Call a local realtor in the area that has some good feedback (testamonials), this will tell you just how good they are with their clients. Ask the realtor their opinion of the area, the schools, the values and prices of the homes. Way all your options and take it from there.

Happy House Hunting!

That is what alot of people seem to think anyway, when they are looking at builder homes! But it's not always true.

Your looking at a brand new home, just built, your first thought is "I don't need a home inspection done, it's brand new!" If it's new it must be in a good condition with no problems right? This is not true. Just because the home is brand new does not mean there isn't anything wrong with it. A new home can be just as much of a problem as an older home can be. Just because it hasnt been tested, lived in, or have years of wear and tear, it can still be filled with problems.

There are builders out there who do poor quality work and some that try to cut corners to give themselves a break. Having a house inspector come out to evaluate the home and letting the builder know you are having one come out, will let them know that if there are any problems that they are hoping aren't noticed will be by the inspector, maybe they will take care of it and not cut so many corners. I have seen this done first hand. I have walked through brand new homes, saw corners being cut just to get the house done because it was in the process of being sold.

Hiring an inspector to come out, before you buy could be a great help to prevent a loss on the investment at hand. YoHowever, a house inspector can be quite expensive depending on the time involved. They can cost a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars sometimes more! If you end up buying the house, it would be worth it in the long run, then again if your not quite sure or really cannot afford to hire an inspector, there are some things you can look for to see check the overall quality. This way you can find out if hiring an inspector is going to be worth it. Hopefully the list below will help you to determine if hiring an inspector is worth it!

1. Check the structure, make sure no walls are bowing out, or not square in the corners. Watch the floor for flexible areas, make sure it is solid. Try slightly jumping see if you feel softness on the floor.

2. Make sure there is no water damage. Look at the gutters and drains, do they empty away from the house or straight to the ground? Does the ground slope away from the house?

3. Make sure the roof is propertly done, the shingles are done correctly.

4. Check the house for quality work in the tile, the paint, hardwood floors, the moldings, things of that nature.

5. Check fixtures, especially in the kitchen and bathrooms. Make sure the sinks, toilets and tubs are secure and work properly and that the water pressure is good. A good way to check it is turn on the faucets let them run a second then flush the toilet at the sametime. Then watch the pressure in the faucets.

6. Make sure the electric is good, that all the numbers and locations of receptacles are sufficient enough for the needs of the house.

7. Check the plumbing and water heater. Make sure the pipes are copper. Is water heater gas or electric (gas is more efficient than electric for the water heater).

8. Check the heating and air conditioning. Are there any rooms without registers, how many registers are there? Where is heater located and what type is it? Is there central air?

9. Check the insulation as well. Usually can check it good through the attic, check to make sure it is proper type for the area you live in, meaning the climate you live in, colder climates require thicker insulation.

10. Does the home have any fireplaces? Are there screens or doors if so? Is there a combustion vent, dampers, log lighters?

If these things seem to be good and pass your inspection and you really like the home, then it's time to get that inspector out and really go through the house with a fine tooth comb! Remember this is a big investment for you, so you want to make sure your getting your money's worth! Of course if you have any issues with any of the things to look for, depending if it's alot or a little, might want to keep looking. These are just some ideas of what to watch and look for when buying a home. Doesn't mean you will find anything wrong, but you can never be to careful when it comes to your investments. Happy House Hunting!

Buffing Up Your House To Sell It

Sellers are always asking, what can I do to help make my home sell faster. What can be done around the home to make it look more appealing to those potential buyers. The answer is a simple one, but you will need to be in the mood to do the work. You don't need to make "HUGE" changes, no knocking down walls or renovating any rooms, just some a bit of hard work and an eye for detail. There are three things you can do, don't have any clutters anywhere, clean and repair things and the colors in the home if you have some wacky bright or dark colors, change them to a more neutral one.

De-cluttering is one of the best things you can do. You want to create a home that has a lot of extra space and organized. This means removing of piles in the closet, all the sentimental things that are stacked up all over the place. Potential buyers do not care about your sentimental things, they are looking for that extra space and a home that is nicely laid out, that gives them the ability to imagine themselves living there.

Cleaning is a must after decluttering. Also seeing what needs repaired and painted will be easier now that there is no clutter. Cleaning means, emptying and wiping out all drawers, cupboards, the kitchen and the bathroom. I know this all takes time and you may end up looking like this lady, but it will be well worth to you in the long run.

As for the painting, if you have dark rooms or bright rooms, sometimes that is a turn off for potential buyers so you want to try to do some neutral colors, beiges, whites, soft greens. You are trying to make your home look move-in ready and be as appealing as it possibly can. You want your home to shine and give it as much newness as you possibly can. You want the buyer to feel they are buying a very nice home that looks as if it was brand new.

How To Find A Good Agent

How do you find a good agent and what makes them a good agent?

Everyday it seems as though home prices are continuously dropping a little bit making more of a buyer's market. Alot of areas are starting to see sales growths due to this. You need to have a realtor who knows the area and is experienced with the homes in the area of the marketplace. A agent knows how to find the best home that will best fit your needs and wants in a home.

Always check on the agent your talking too. Find out how satisfied others have been. Ask for a list of clients who were satisfied with their services. See if anything was missed, not addressed or misreprsented in anyway. Doing this will help you to know if the agent your talking too really cared about their clients or cared more about just making another sale. It is good if you find a agent who is connected to other agents in the area. This will give you an advantage as well. Will they go the extra mile to help you prepare your home to be sold? Below is the list of ways that can help you to find a good agent.

1. Always meet the agent why they are out and about showing houses, doing open houses. A good agent doesn't spend much time at their desk, they are always out and about.

2. Ask your friends and relatives what agent they used. If their agent had good results for them, it is safe to say, they will have the same results for you.

3. Make sure the agent is knowledgeable about the local area your looking in. Ask questions about the area, if you know more than they do about the area, move on to another agent. Someone that doesn't know more than you isn't going to be of much help.

4. Another good way to find a good agent is by looking online through Google for a listing of homes for sale in the area your looking. Of course this is more than likely to pull up sellers agents instead of buyers agents but usually they can refer you to a good buyers agent.

5. A good agent will be able to help guide you through all the stacks of paperwork you might have to do and help you go through all lenders to pick the best one that will fit you.

6. Will the agent send you listings that fit your specifications by e-mail and how often?

7. Will they take you to tour homes or send you on your own?

These tips should help you to begin your search for a good agent. Good luck!