FHA Changes the Rules for Buying a Southern New Hampshire Home for Sale

The FHA, or Federal Housing Administration, has helped many a homeowner buy a Southern New Hampshire home for sale by providing mortgage insurance through FHA-approved lenders. However, a change in policy, announced in January, may make it harder for those with poor credit.
  
Before we talk about FHA's change in policy, let's cover a few of the basics about the FHA and how it might help you buy a Southern New Hampshire home for sale.
  
What is the FHA?
The FHA is a government agency that provides mortgage insurance to approved lending institutions.  It assists homebuyers by providing mortgage insurance to lenders to cover most losses that may occur when a borrower defaults.  This encourages lenders to make loans to borrowers who might otherwise not be able to get a loan.
  
What is an FHA Loan?
An FHA loan is a loan provided by an FHA-approved lender and insured by the FHA. In other words, the FHA guarantees that a lender won’t have to write off a loan if the borrower defaults – the FHA will pay. Because of this guarantee, lenders are willing to make mortgage loans.
  
An FHA loan might help you get a mortgage by providing:
·       Lower down payments
·       Lower closing costs
·       Easier credit qualifications
  
Now let's talk about the changes FHA is making…
  
The Future of FHA Loans
Until recently, the FHA has managed to weather the real estate turmoil rather well. In fact, the turbulence surrounding other lenders had potential homebuyers flocking to take advantage of FHA loans. However, even FHA's bank account is starting to suffer. In order to shore up capital reserves and keep 34 million families in their homes, the FHA is changing the rules.
  
Before the changes, borrowers were required to pay a down payment of 3.5% of the cost of the home. Now, borrowers with a credit rating below 580 will be required to pay at least a 10% down payment. As well, the good upfront mortgage insurance premiums of 1.75% are increasing to 2.25%. The FHA is now trying to get Congress' approval to raise the annual premiums from 0.55%, although the amount it will seek is still unknown.
  
What This Means for You
If you’re interested in buying a Southern New Hampshire home for sale, but haven’t because you’re waiting for the market to bottom out, you may end up losing out on a great deal. With almost record low mortgage rates, home values lower than they’ve been for eight years, the first-time and upgrade homebuyer tax credits and a wide selection of homes, there may never be a better time to buy.
  
Whether you want to use an FHA loan or a traditional loan, I can help you cash in on this great buyer's market. Call me today at 603-821-1134 or email me at dave@daveheeter.com.

How Live-In Stagers Can Save Your Southern New Hampshire Home For Sale

If you have a Southern New Hampshire home for sale and it’s sitting vacant, it's a perfect target for vandals. The signs are obvious, such as uncut grass and lights that never come on. In fact, a vacant house doesn’t just look vacant; it feels vacant.

Vandals aren’t the only problem for a vacant Southern New Hampshire home for sale, however. The other problem is that a vacant home usually sells for less and sits longer than a well maintained, occupied home. So what’s the solution?

Well, if you live close by, you can visit the home, cut the grass, turn the lights on and keep it maintained. However, if this is more trouble than you’d rather go through, there’s another option – a live-in home stager.

You’ve probably heard or read a slew of information about home staging. If you haven’t, home staging is the practice of making a house look its best and has been proven to bring consistently higher prices and faster sales for homes. Home stagers are trained to stage a house in the most attractive way to entice buyers.

Benefits of Using a Live-In Stager
A live-in home stager is slightly different from a traditional home stager, but provides several benefits to homeowners wishing to sell their empty houses:

·       No vacancy, no vandals – An empty home brings vandals. However, people are much less likely to vandalize a home that is well maintained and occupied. A live-in stager, as the name implies, stays in the home until it’s sold.

·       Home staging and maintenance – One of the worst turn-offs for a potential homebuyer is to walk up a lane surrounded by tall, uncut grass into an empty, cold home. A live-in stager brings their own furniture to turn that empty home into a visually-appealing, warm living space. They cut the grass and keep the home looking beautiful until it’s sold.

·       Residual income – Best of all, you aren’t paying them; they’re paying you. Now, obviously they won’t be paying full rent. In general, live-in stagers pay 25% – 40% of the normal rental rate. However, a vacant home isn’t doing anything but sitting there until it’s sold.

If you’ve been trying to sell a vacant Southern New Hampshire home for sale, and it’s still on the market, try a live-in stager. It may be the best decision you make this year!

If you’re trying to sell your home, I can help.  Call me at 603-821-1134 or email me at dave@daveheeter.com for more info.

2010 Trends for Southern New Hampshire Homes

Even though it may sometimes seem like it, home building and design trends are not conjured up using a crystal ball. They are the result of surveys, observations, lifestyles, socioeconomic issues, entertainment, technology, and most importantly, the needs and desires of buyers.

Here are some of the national and Southern New Hampshire homes trends to expect in 2010.

Green is growing.
A study conducted by Burst Media in late December, 2009, found that 90 percent of Web users surveyed have incorporated some aspect of going green into their lives, and overall, they are willing to pay a premium for environmentally friendly products.

Homes are getting smaller.
For 2010, home builders say they will focus on lower-priced and smaller homes. More than 95 percent of home builders surveyed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in January said that was the way they saw their businesses evolving.

Single-story homes are in.
Because of the rise in homebuyers who are 55 years of age and older, more single-story Southern New Hampshire homes are being purchased. According to NAHB, barely over half of new homes today are built with two stories or more. Two-story homes peaked at about 55 percent of the market in 2006.

Lower cost, more practical homes are being purchased.
In an attempt to respond to consumer demands for practicality, as well as hold the line on prices, home builders surveyed by NAHB are most likely to include these features as standard in their houses this year:

•Walk-in closets in the master bedroom
•Laundry rooms
•Insulated front doors
•Great rooms
•Energy-efficient windows
•Linen closets
•Programmable thermostats
•Energy-efficient appliances and lighting
•Separate shower and tub in master bathrooms
•Nine-foot ceilings on the first floor

Here are the features builders said they are least likely to add to houses in 2010. You'll notice a lot of the items being eliminated are luxury features, as builders try to lower costs.

•Outdoor kitchens
•Outdoor fireplaces
•Sunrooms
•Butler’s pantries
•Media rooms
•Desks in kitchens
•Two-story foyers
•Multiple shower heads in the master bath
•Smaller kitchens

Want to buy one of the new Southern New Hampshire homes in 2010?  Call me today at 603-821-1134 or email me at Dave@DaveHeeter.com to get started.

Rules for Rehabbing Southern New Hampshire Real Estate, Part 2

In Rules for Rehabbing Southern New Hampshire Real Estate, Part 1, you received the first five rules for rehabbing. Now, let’s go more in depth about how to rehab a home with the final six rules:

1.    Check out the neighborhood. Before you do any work to the property, walk through the neighborhood and take note of the property exteriors. What kind of landscaping do they have? Which colors do you see on the front doors? What type of siding do most of the homes have?  There is no point in spending extra money for amenities the other homes don’t have.

2.    Start with the exterior. If you begin your work on the outside, you will already create interest in people watching you work. This also tends to be relatively simple work. Trim the shrubs. Replace dead plants. Weed the flower beds. Paint the home’s exterior and window trim.

3.    Tackle the interior. You have two options for working inside: complete specific tasks throughout the entire home or work in individual rooms. Some people like to see the progress of completing a room; others like to see entire tasks, like painting, done at one time. No matter what you choose to do, start by removing the carpet. Take down switch plates. Remove the interior doors. Repair the walls. Fill in nail holes. Paint everything in neutral earth tones.

4.    Update kitchens and bathrooms. Check the plumbing. If you need to, install a new toilet, sink, or bathtub. Replace the fixtures and hardware. Replace or paint the cabinets. Go ahead and install new counter tops. They are worth the minor cost.

5.    Replace or repair floors. After the painting and installation is finished, start working on the floors. Hire a professional to install new carpet and padding. Replace or repair any other floors that are in need of work.

6.    Sell it. You can either move in to the home or put it on the market. If you sell the home, calculate your costs and check with a Southern New Hampshire real estate agent about the home’s market value. Begin advertising it for sale. Hire a real estate agent to help bring buyers to the home.

Rehabbing a home is a great way to create the ideal home for you or to make money as a real estate investor. Call me today at 603-821-1134 or email me at Dave@DaveHeeter.com for more tips on rehabbing your Southern New Hampshire real estate.

Rules for Rehabbing Southern New Hampshire Real Estate, Part 1

If you watch television home improvement shows, you’ve surely seen shows about rehabbing homes. When you buy Southern New Hampshire real estate that needs repairs, you can get it for a great price and build instant equity once the work is complete. Whether you decide to live in the rehabbed home or sell it, you've gotten a good deal.

Here are the first five rules for rehabbing Southern New Hampshire real estate:

1.    Buy low. The good news is that homes needing work usually
already have discounted prices. You want to buy the home for as little as possible because you are going to have to spend more money rehabbing the home.

2.    Have a budget. You need to know before you begin the project exactly how much money you have to spend. Include the cost of the house, labor costs, permits, and the price of materials. Don’t leave out anything, and do everything in your power to stick to the budget you set.

3.    Take good notes. Walk through the home with at least a flashlight and a way to write down notes. Count the number of windows, doors, and rooms. Write down anything you see that will need to be replaced or repaired, including flooring, walls and ceilings. Include anything that seems out of the ordinary to you. These notes will help you plan your rehab.

4.    Be realistic. Many buyers underestimate the amount of time and money it will take to rehab a home. Round your expected costs up to the nearest $5000. Set aside part of your budget for problems that may arise during the rehab. You never know when a wall is hiding a structural defect that you will have to repair. Keep your timeline flexible.

5.    Hire professionals. You will be able to do some of the work yourself, but you will need professional help for some of the work. Find a good plumber, electrician, carpenter, and roofer. Negotiate prices with them and never pay them for all the work until the job is completed.

Looking for homes to rehab?  I can help.  Call me today at 603-821-1134 or email me at dave@daveheeter.com for more information about rehabbing Southern New Hampshire real estate.

Job-loss Mortgage Insurance: A Second Change at Southern New Hampshire Homes for Sale?

Even those with a steady job and sufficient income may be cautious about signing their mortgages for Southern New Hampshire homes for sale. They realize that signing mortgages sets them up with payments for a significant amount of their lifetimes. Others worry, especially now, about losing their jobs in an unstable economy. The “what if” game begins, and potential homebuyers know that, if they lose their job, there’s a very real possibility they might lose their home.

Job-loss mortgage insurance gives homebuyers a “fallback plan” should they ever lose that stable income. It’s a definite relief to many who want to buy Southern New Hampshire homes for sale, but can job-loss mortgage insurance really help homeowners? Or, is it just another way to swindle the innocent out of hard-earned money?

What is it?
Job-loss mortgage insurance is exactly what it sounds like. Some insurance companies offer an insurance plan to help you pay your monthly mortgage payment should you lose your job. Although it’s been around for years, the big companies, such as Bank of America and GE Casualty, have begun picking it up in the past 10 years.

How does it work?
Job-loss policies pay all or part of your mortgage payment if your job loss is involuntary, and some pay if you become medically unable to work. Policies vary depending on the provider, but most go into action after a month of unemployment. Most also have a wait period which means they won’t pay out during the first six months after you've purchased the policy.

Maximum monthly benefits, what the policy covers and whether you have to be receiving unemployment benefits are just a few things to look over while researching providers. As usual with anything insurance, make sure you read the fine print.

Is it worth it?
A lot of financial advisers say not to bother with the job-loss mortgage insurance. Take the money you’d be spending on insurance and build a savings account to hold six months worth of payments. However, many first-time home buyers have depleted their reserve funds just to get the house, and may not have the money to put aside.

My advice to you…
If you’re interested in buying one of the Southern New Hampshire homes for sale, but you're worried about your job stability, look into job-loss mortgage insurance. Once you have the facts, policy information and coverage costs, figure it into your finances (payments for coverage vs. building a six-month fallback account) and decide what’s best for you.

If you’re looking for a beautiful home at a price you can afford, I can help.  Call me today at 603-821-1134 or email me at dave@daveheeter.com.  If you want to start browsing properties, enter your search criteria in my MLS Property Finder search.

Owning Southern New Hampshire Homes - Has the American Dream Died?

Some people who are supposedly “in the know” believe the American dream of owning a home has died.  They spout “facts” that say home ownership – not just for Southern New Hampshire homes, but also across the nation – is no longer on the minds of the majority of Americans.

Additionally, according to some of these individuals, suburban sprawl is the reason for:
·    the housing bubble burst,
·    the break down of social mores,
·    global warming (due to commutes, of course)
·    and more.

It’s amazing that the nation’s suburbs can cause so many problems, isn’t it?

Is the American dream of home ownership really dead? The number of people buying Southern New Hampshire homes versus renting them points to a definitive… maybe. However, in newspapers and on the Internet, we’re seeing tons of “if you can’t sell your home, rent it out” information. We’re seeing potential homebuyers being told that renting may be the best option. Why?

The economy, of course. While there are plenty of want-to-be homeowners, those same people choose to rent rather than own for a wide variety of reasons. The main reason, however, is that they think it will be cheaper.

When you first think of buying a home, it sounds like an overwhelming prospect with lots of money involved. However, while the down payment is much more than it would be for a rental property, it’s time to really look at the cost. Instead of example numbers, let me point you to Money-Zine.com's Rent vs. Buy a Home calculator.

Now, before you start plugging in numbers, remember that for the time being, the national average for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage is still closer to 5% than to 6% (It may surprise you how much of a difference a 1% increase in interest rate makes in the overall numbers). The national averages for mortgage rates in general are ranging from 4.5% to 5.5%. Of course, every situation is different, but think about it and really do your research before you decide whether to rent or buy one of our Southern New Hampshire homes. Don’t just assume it’s better to rent; renting may not be the cheap option you think it is.

If you’d like to find your piece of the American dream, I can help.  Call me today at 603-821-1134 or email me at dave@daveheeter.com.  If you want to start browsing properties, enter your search criteria in my MLS Property Finder search.