Kai Degner

Should you ask your lender for a "pre-qualification letter" or a "pre-approval letter" to know if you can buy a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County?

Assuming you plan to finance a portion of your purchase, you will want to meet with at least one mortgage lender or broker at the beginning of your process so you can know the answer to an important question: "How much money can will bank lend me for a home?" That dollar amount helps focus the home search.

There are many professional and qualified lenders in the local area who can evaluate your financial position and give you an idea of what you can pay to buy a home (contact us if you need a few suggestions for professional lenders).

Pre-Qualification vs Pre-Approval

It is common to confuse these two very different analyses. Pre-qualification letters and pre-approval letters are both useful, but only one carries with it the credibility of a full study of financial history.

1. “Pre-Qualification” - A Ballpark Estimate With some basic information about your income, credit history, and current debt, a lender can usually issue a pre-qualification within a day or so – sometimes within an hour. A pre-qualification is an educated guess about how much home you can afford to buy. It can be done in a quick meeting, over the phone, and even online - and it's usually free.
   
   A pre-qualification is a starting point to understand how much of a mortgage you can afford, but it does not take all aspects of your financial history into account. It’s a ballpark figure, that can change with a more detailed analysis.
   
   Because a pre-qualification is based surface level information - perhaps without any documentation, credit check, or proof of income - it should not be relied on as completely accurate.
   
   
2. “Pre-Approval” Letter - The Real Deal
   A pre-approval letter carries much more weight and is an important step in buying a home in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.
   
   A pre-approval analysis requires documents such as tax records, proof of income, bank statements, credits reports, current debt-to-income ratio, and more. By the end of this pre-approval analysis, a lender can give a confident estimate of how much of a mortgage you can afford.
   
   Showing a pre-approval letter to a seller can give them confidence in your offer to buy a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County.

So, if you are very early in your home search process and just curious about what you might be able to afford, get a pre-qualification letter. If you then plan to get more serious, contact the Kai Degner Homes Team to start your home search and simultaneously begin the process to get a pre-approval letter.

Questions about real estate in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County? Contact the Kai Degner Homes Team anytime!

Do you want to buy a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County, Virginia? It's a great choice!

The decision to buy a home is obviously one of the biggest for an individual or family. The Kai Degner Homes Team prides itself in providing professional and comprehensive service helping people buy a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County. There are a number of key stages to buy a home, each of which the Kai Degner Homes Team can assist with.

Steps to Buy a Home in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County

1. Decide to Buy a Home in the Harrisonburg-Rockingham County Area!
   This might seem obvious, but it is important! Some people dabble, searching through the homes on the market because it is interesting and fun. Deciding to buy a home is a higher level commitment and should be approached in a serious manner.
2. Meet with the Kai Degner Homes Team
   Don't be shy, let's start a conversation about your goals to buy a home. Perhaps you want to a buy a home next year - or perhaps next month. Whatever your timeline, let's start a conversation about your goals and how we can make a plan to achieve them. Contact us!
3. Meet with Your Lender(s)
   Assuming you plan to finance a portion of your purchase, you will want to meet with at least one mortgage lender or broker at the beginning of your path to buy a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County. There are many professional and qualified lenders in the local area who can evaluate your financial position and give you an idea of what you pay to buy a home.
   1. Just dabbling? Ask for a "Pre-Qualification"
      With some basic information about your income, credit history, and current debt, a lender can usually issue a pre-qualification within a day or so - sometimes within an hour. A pre-qualification is an educated guess about how much home you can afford to buy. It is a starting point to understand how much of a mortgage you can afford, but it does not take all aspects of your financial history into account. It's a ballpark figure, that can change with a more detailed analysis.
   2. Getting Serious? Ask for a "Pre-Approval"
      A pre-approval letter carries much more weight and is an important step in buying a home in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. This analysis requires documents such as tax records, proof of income, bank statements, credits reports, and more. By the end of this analysis, a lender can give a confident estimate of how much of a mortgage you can afford.
4. Search the Market
   1. Let the Kai Degner Homes Team Search for You!
      Being members of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Association of REALTORS© gives us access to powerful search tools that let us customize searches based on your desires.
   2. Search Yourself at SearchShenandoah.com
      The Kai Degner Homes Team has a custom online real estate property search tool designed for home buyers the Harrisonburg-Rockingham County area. The features let you save search results and get automatic email updates when properties that fit your interests hit the market or lower their price. You can register at www.SearchShenandoah.com right now!
5. Visit Selected Homes for Sale
   Your online search of homes for sale in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County will identify homes you want to visit - and the Kai Degner Homes Team will organize these visits and come with you on each appointment. We can can give extra insight into the property's history, characteristics, and competitiveness.
6. Make an Offer
   At some point, you will have found a home to buy and you will want to submit a offer to purchase the property. The Kai Degner Homes Team uses official, legally-sound forms from the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Association of REALTORS. We will walk you through these questions and considerations before making an offer to buy a home in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County:
   1. Price (What's a good price to offer?)
   2. Closing Date (How long should you leave yourself to secure financing?)
   3. Personal Property (Should you ask for that washer and dryer?)
   4. Home Inspection (How do you request an inspection be done before you buy?)
   5. Closing Company (What company should do your settlement)
   6. Closing Costs (Do you want the seller to pay some of these costs?)
   7. More!
7. Negotiation
   The sellers may make a counter offer - and you might counter back - before agreeing to the final terms. The Kai Degner Homes Team assists throughout this entire process.
8. Home Inspection
   The home inspection is a critical part of many home purchases. We will coordinate this inspection, help interpret the results, and work with you to determine what items you can ask to be fixed by the sellers. This is done through a contractual process that we help facilitate.
9. Pursuing Financing
   You will work closely with your lenders to provide necessary information for you to apply for a loan to buy a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County. We provide real estate specific information during this process.
10. Final Walk-Through
    Assuming the financing comes through, the home inspection rep/airs are complete, and other contingencies are met, you will do one final walk-through of the home prior to closing.
11. Transferring Utilities
    The Kai Degner Homes Team will assist in making sure all your utilities are ready when you walk in your new home!
12. Closing and Settlement
    The Kai Degner Homes Team will accompany you to the closing table and make sure that the settlement statement reflects what was agreed to in the purchase contract. Assuming all is correct, closing will proceed - and you will own a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County!

It would be a pleasure to help you buy a home in the area! If you are ready to have a conversation about taking the steps to buy a home, let's begin a conversation. Contact us today!

See Recent Tips for Home Buyers by the Kai Degner Homes Team

See why the Kai Degner Homes Team should be your choice to sell a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County.

Do you want to sell a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County?

To sell a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County, you need a combination of key strategies that the Kai Degner Homes Team prides itself in providing home sellers.

The Harrisonburg-Rockingham County area is in a buyers market, which means selling real estate is a competitive process - only a combination of best home-selling strategies guarantees that your home is best positioned to sell (see the latest Harrisonburg-Rockingham County Real Estate Market Analysis).

The Kai Degner Homes Team focuses on key strategies to sell a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County. There are many things you cannot change about your real estate, each of which may make your real estate more attractive or not (location, layout, neighborhood, slope of yard, the market, etc). The Kai Degner Homes Team Key Strategies are based on what IS in the home owner's control. 

1. SMART Presentation - Make Your Home Shine!
   Your best opportunity to sell a home is when a potential home buyer comes to see inside! What are the most important characteristics that buyers notice? What should you fix before putting your home on the market? Should you paint or not? How can you best stage your home? The Kai Degner Homes Team knows these answers, and we work with home owners to prepare their home to shine when someone visits the home!
2. SMART Marketing - Be Where the Buyers are Looking!
   So, how do you get people INTO your home to see it?! That's where the Kai Degner Homes Team's comprehensive, strategic marketing plan comes into play. 
   1. Professional photography is critical: you should demand it, and we don't settle for anything less.
   2. Strategic online advertising is an absolute priority - almost 90% of home buyers searched online during their home search (that's why professional photography is so important). Do you know what the Top 10 Real Estate websites are? We do - and your property will be featured on them.
   3. Strategic print advertising. Did you know only 3% (yes, THREE PERCENT) of buyers said they bought a home because they saw it advertised in print (like the newspaper)? News flash: just printing newspaper advertisements is NOT effective marketing to sell a home today. We balance print advertising so it is focused, and helps actually sell a home - we don't rely on it too much (that's a mistake).
   4. Much more! Contact us to learn about the rest of our marketing strategies to sell a home in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County (we're obviously not going to put ALL (or even most) of our best marketing strategies on this page - we want to share those in person with you!).
3. SMART Pricing & Market Analysis - The Most Important Decision to Sell a Home At what price should you sell your home? How much higher than you are willing to take should you price your home? This is the most important part of selling a home in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. It is no secret that this is not the best market for your home to sell: the average home sits on the market for over 200 days - many times because it's priced too high. This doesn't mean you need to give your home away. We are going to do the detailed research to show you how to price it so you can sell your home and get the most the current market will bear. We will be honest and upfront with pricing, and give you the facts, to make a smart decision on pricing.
4. SMART Innovations - What can YOU offer that NO ONE else can? What are some creative ideas that work in your home? What can you offer that no one else can? We will identify these and use them to sell your home in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.
5. SMART Negotiating - Let's Make a Deal A home for sale that is marketed correctly, shines at the showing, and is priced competitively will receive an offer from the prospective buyer. The Kai Degner Homes Team helps evaluate the many different components of the offer: price, closing date, financing contingency, home inspection contingency, personal property requested, and more. Negotiations and communication will continue through closing.
6. BONUS Strategy - The Kline May Realty Company of Real Estate Agents The Kai Degner Homes Team is proud to be part of Kline May Realty, the highest producing real estate brokerage in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. No other brokerage in the area sells more residential real estate than Kline May Realty (contact us for evidence of that claim - we're happy to provide it). Our agents work together extremely well, and assist each other in helping home buyers and sellers meet their goals.

If you need to sell a home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County, give the Kai Degner Homes Team an opportunity to earn your business. We only get paid when we sell your home, and we put your interests first.

We know you have many options for real estate agents to sell your home, so we are prepared to give a full presentation of how we would prepare, market, price, and position your home so you have the best chance to meet your goals.

Contact us today - call (540) 442-0316, email Kai.Degner@KlineMay.com, or use this simple form. Let's start a conversation about how to sell your home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County.

Originally posted as Sell a Home in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County at KaiDegner.com.

My good friend John Eckman at the Valley Conservation Council recently posted about the 2011 Better Models for Development Awards, which recognized 12 projects in the Shenandoah Valley that are, "examples of how to grow in ways that respect local character, create livable communities, complement historic resources, and conserve natural assets."

“We seek to honor projects that show successful innovation right here in our backyard,” said Sara Hollberg, author of the Valley Conservation Council's book, Better Models for Development in the Shenandoah Valley 2010. “Each developer and each community has choices they can make that will help keep the Valley a unique, beautiful, and vibrant place even as we continue to grow and prosper. These projects and many like them demonstrate these better ways to develop.”

Harrisonburg is home to the Downtown Impact Award winner, described here:

Wetsel Complex Rehabilitation (Harrisonburg, Virginia) “Downtown Impact Award” The Baker Family Built in 1935 by Nielsen Construction Company, the Wetsel Seed Building housed various operations of the seed company including offices, mixing facility, warehouse, and garden center. The company located out of downtown in 2006, leaving a key building vacant. New owners Marvin and Robin Baker have rehabilitated the structure into a mixed-use space including office, retail, and a restaurant. The new Wetsel Complex pays full homage to its roots, including keeping the Wetsel sign on the building, retaining historic features, and weaving historic displays into the restaurant décor. Displays feature history and photographs of buildings that used to stand in the downtown area. One of those was Union Station, cleared in the 1950s for the seed company parking lot and now remembered by the restaurant by that name on the first floor. The rehab has attracted other strong tenants. The upper floor serves as offices for Rosetta Stone employees while two new retail businesses have opened on the first floor. Together the restaurant, offices and stores house close to 100 employees. The combination of mixed uses within the single structure strengthens each other and the surrounding community. This puts this block squarely back in the positive column again for downtown vibrancy. (Source)

Other award winners are from Berryville, Boyce, Buena Vista, Luray, Harrisonburg, Staunton, Waynesboro, Greenville, Lexington, Daleville, Eagle Rock, and Botetourt County. See the full list of the Valley Conservation Council's 2011 Better Models for Development Awards.

Originally posted at KaiDegner.com

Harrisonburg is the latest city to be dedicated an Appalachian Trail Community! The Appalachian Trail Conservancy makes it official at this upcoming Fridays on the Square in downtown Harrisonburg, so come to Court Square at 6:30pm on Friday for the dedication ceremony and stay for live music from Eric Brace and Last Train Home! According to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

The Appalachian Trail Community™ program is designed to recognize communities that promote and protect the Appalachian Trail (A.T.). Towns, counties, and communities along the A.T.’s corridor are considered assets by A.T. hikers and many of these towns act as good friends and neighbors to the Trail. The program serves to assist communities with sustainable economic development through tourism and outdoor recreation, while preserving and protecting the A.T.

To earn the designation, the City applied in partnership with local businesses, educational organizations, and outdoors groups. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy reviewed the application and granted Harrisonburg status as an Appalachian Trail Community in March 2011. To learn more and to get involved, contact the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, the regional organization that supports trail maintenance and preservation work.

"The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, through volunteer efforts, education and advocacy, maintains and protects the Appalachian Trail and nearby lands as well as acquiring and maintaining other trails and related facilities in the Mid-Atlantic region for the enjoyment of present and future hikers."

Harrisonburg will celebrate the Appalachian Trail by inviting anyone who has ever hiked a part of the trail - or is currently hiking the trail - to join a parade entry during the annual Valley Fourth 4th of July Celebration. Other benefits to hikers will include places to rest their feet, relax, and refuel before hitting the trail again. Harrisonburg will join only a few other official Appalachian Trail Communities: