Articles
Don't Try this at Home - Why You Need a Realtor
When Less Costs More - Mortgage Interest Rates vs. Home Selling Prices
Thinking About Buying Investment Properties Again?
How to Get the Credit You Deserve
4 Ways to Protect Your Home and Your Wallet
Turning the Housing Market Around - One Buyer at a Time
Busting 3 Common Foreclosure Myths
Real Estate's Strongest Link - The First-Time Home Buyer
Harder than it Looks - Understanding the Appraisal Process
Don’t Try this at Home – Why You Need a Realtor
When you hear that someone managed to sell a home without representation, it’s likely that the sale was to a family member, close friend, or a tenant who was already renting and living there. These exceptional cases are not the norm, and there are powerful reasons why it is so difficult to make a sale “by owner.”
The biggest roadblock is that homes for sale by owner (otherwise known as FSBOs) aren’t included in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) that licensed agents and organizations use. A sign in the yard and an ad in the newspaper are no match for the widespread exposure gained from a listing visible on the MLS.
Since the FSBO has no listing agreement providing for a sales commission, many real estate agents won’t show these homes, since there is no promise of compensation. Again, this greatly reduces the number of potential buyers exposed to the offering, not to mention the fact that home buyers who do express interest will not have been screened by a professional to determine their qualifications.
Perhaps the most hazardous aspect of selling “by owner” is the potential for legal oversights and complications. Real estate transactions are loaded with potential liability for unrepresented and unwitting sellers. One overlooked form or improper disclosure could generate an expensive lawsuit.
Just as you wouldn’t enter the courtroom without an attorney, you shouldn’t sell your home without professional representation.
Mike Morgan
Team Morgan
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate
Whether you want to buy or sell a home in Miami, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, Dadeland Walk, South Miami, Coral Gables or Cutler Bay, you can depend on the Morgan team of realtors to assist you every step of the way during your real estate transaction.
When Less Costs More - Mortgage Interest Rates vs. Home Selling Prices
“Timing the Market” in real estate doesn’t work the way it does with stocks. Homes are bought and sold more out of necessity than to make an easy buck. However, some indicators give a clue when it’s a good time to buy. Like now!
Despite the fact that mortgage interest rates are low and home prices may still drop, now is the time to move if you have good credit and funds for a down payment. It would be a mistake to “wait and see” if interest rates or prices fall any more. Why?
Mortgage interest rates are low now because of federal bailouts, but continued low rates fuel inflation fears. That fear of inflation, in turn, causes “the Fed” to raise those rates. Waiting for a lower price on a home while interest rates climb, could make the home more expensive.
Example: purchasing a home now for $177,000 at 5% could make the total cost around $370,000 by the end of the loan term. But what if you wait for prices to fall more, and next year you get that home for $160,000. You saved $17,000 – right? Wrong!
If home loan interest rates rise 2% during that time, you could pay over $400,000 over the life of the loan - $30,000 more than if you bought now! If the math is still fuzzy to you, talk to an agent and crunch the numbers. You’ll be glad you did.
Mike Morgan
Team Morgan
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate
Whether you want to buy or sell a home in Miami, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, Dadeland Walk, South Miami, Coral Gables or Cutler Bay, you can depend on the Morgan team of realtors to assist you every step of the way during your real estate transaction.
Thinking About Buying Investment Properties Again?
If you can hear the whispers below the din of panic, you know that the recent financial and housing collapses have actually created some amazing opportunities for smart investors to start buying investment properties. Team Morgan, your Miami-based Coldwell Banker realtors, advise that low interest rates and depressed property values have combined in an environment favorable for long-term gains.
Real estate investing may not be for everyone, but if you’re in the right financial position, you have plenty of options. However, there is a right way and a wrong way to invest, and it’s the wrong way that led so many to suffer in the recent housing crisis.
Don’t think about investing in real estate until you’ve saved up for your nest egg and have held or reduced your expenses to keep it growing. Your money doesn’t work for you unless it’s your money.
Similarly, don’t begin your real estate investment adventure until you’ve polished up your credit score. The best opportunities go to those with upfront cash and excellent credit. Make sure you get the lowest interest rates and best terms to maximize your borrowed capital.
Of course, the most important piece of advice we can give is to remind you not to over-borrow. Real estate markets are continually cycling up and down. Learn the lessons of the recent housing debacle, and don’t over- leverage yourself to the point you can’t survive a down period in the cycle. If you’re smart about it, you won’t get rich quick, but you will get rich right!
Team Morgan
Coldwell Banker Real Estate
“For Every Move You Make
Whether you want to buy or sell a home in Miami, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, Dadeland Walk, South Miami, Coral Gables or Cutler Bay, you can depend on the Morgan team of realtors to assist you every step of the way during your real estate transaction.
How to Get the Credit You Deserve
Mortgage loan applications are being reviewed far more thoroughly now than in the past and a good credit score should be 680 or higher to qualify for the best interest rates. So how do you determine your credit score, and know you’re getting the credit you deserve?
You are allowed to receive one free credit report per year from the three reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion). Take the time to review the reports for accuracy and act quickly to correct any errors or omissions.
Approximately 35% of your credit score is based on whether you make payments on time. Make sure that no late payments older than seven years are still on your report.
If you have paid off loans or credit cards, a zero balance should appear on those accounts. Sometimes, agencies don’t properly update those balances after settlement.
The length of your credit history determines 15% of your credit score, so make sure that the opening dates of all your accounts are accurate. Also check the limits on your credit cards for accuracy, and keep the balances under 50% of those limits. Total debt accounts for 30% of your credit score.
Finally, while you may be tempted to close credit card accounts with zero balances, doing so will negatively reduce your ratio of “available credit” to your debt. First, get the facts. Then, make corrections. Finally, apply for home financing with confidence.
Team Morgan
Coldwell Banker Real Estate
“For Every Move You Make
Whether you want to buy or sell a home in Miami, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, Dadeland Walk, South Miami, Coral Gables or Cutler Bay, you can depend on the Morgan team of realtors to assist you every step of the way during your real estate transaction.
Buying a Home? Steps to Consider Before You Take that Leap
As you’ve already read here, conditions are ripe to become a homeowner, and it’s time to determine if you’re ready to make the leap. While the price of the home is the largest factor, Team Morgan, your Miami-based real estate specialists recommend that you don’t forget about loan fees and closing costs, which add to your total amount of home mortgage financing. READ MORE...
When Push Comes to Shove - 4 Strategies to Sell Your Home Fast
If you're under pressure to sell your home quickly in a challenging market, you may have to swallow a large dose of reality and take some radical steps to increase your home's visibility. While making concessions can seem difficult, Team Morgan, your Miami-based Coldwell Banker realtors recommend that you consider the following four proven suggestions to produce a quick sale. READ MORE...
Dollars vs. Days - Determining the Best Home Sales Price
So you've decided to sell your home. That's an important step. But the next step you take is equally important - setting your asking price. Team Morgan, your Miami-based real estate specialists, recommends that you strive for a balance between generating offers and receiving top dollar for your home. READ MORE...
Home Sellers Beware: The Devil's in the Details
When you receive on Offer to Purchase, it's tempting to focus solely on the price. You might be ecstatic over a full price offer, but Team Morgan, your Miami-based Coldwell Banker realtors caution that you should be aware how "contingencies" could affect the likelihood of success. READ MORE...
Team Morgan Ranks Among Top 2% Of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Agents Worldwide
Miami-based realtors Team Morgan rose to the top of the Coldwell Banker ranks in 2009, in spite of a tough housing market. The realtors recently won the prestigious Coldwell Banker International President’s Circle Award. The award recognizes the top 2% of all Coldwell Banker real estate agents internationally. READ MORE...
4 Ways to Protect Your Home and Your Wallet
If you already own or are in the market to buy a home, you know that insurance is not just a luxury, it’s a requirement. It’s important not to skimp on certain coverage items. But Team Morgan, your Miami-based real estate specialists, recommends 4 steps you can take to reduce your overall premium.
1. Installing a security system (and operating it!) can lower your premium by 5% or more. You’ll just need to provide your insurer with a copy of your contract or latest statement. Also, while newer homes have smoke alarms already installed, hooking them up in an older home might also reduce your premium by as much as 10%.
2. Increase your deductible. Just like with health or auto insurance, increasing your deductible on homeowners insurance will reduce your premium. Just be sure you’re prepared to pocket smaller repairs like broken windows or damages from leaks.
3. Look for multiple discounts. If your policy is held by a company that also offers auto or health insurance, look into discounts for multiple policies. You could save a percentage on both your homeowners and auto policies, for example.
4. Conduct an Inventory of your valuables. Another money (and time and stress) saver is to document everything in your home with a photographic inventory. Store photos, cds or videos in a fireproof box or preferably, a safe deposit box off site. This will reduce the time and effort required to complete a claim, and guarantee an accurate replacement payment.
Team Morgan
Coldwell Banker Real Estate
“For Every Move You Make”
Whether you want to buy or sell a home in Miami, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, Dadeland Walk, South Miami, Coral Gables or Cutler Bay, you can depend on the Morgan team of realtors to assist you every step of the way during your real estate transaction.
Turning the Housing Market Around - One Buyer at a Time
An article appeared in the New York Times that beautifully illustrates the opportunities today’s real estate market offers. A mother working two jobs saved up for a down payment and managed to buy a large home with a pool for $187,000. Three years ago, that same home had sold for $370,000!
While sellers are still feeling pressure, Team Morgan, your Miami-based Coldwell Banker realtors has noticed that buyers with stable incomes and good credit histories are beginning to spread a “feel good” vibe throughout the industry. Conditions have literally never been better for first-time home buyers. Affordability has seldom been higher and interest rates have hardly been lower. Selection of inventory is vast, and sellers are highly motivated.
As more buyers enter the marketplace, the ripple effect will be felt far and wide. When they purchase a highly affordable foreclosure or “short sale,” they have removed a distressed property from the listings, improving values for other homes in the area. When they buy a “traditional” listing, that sets off a chain reaction whereby the sellers in turn will purchase another home, from sellers who will in turn buy another home, and so on and so on.
You probably get the picture now. As we approach stability in real estate, all indications are that prices will begin rising again. As the market approaches recovery, don’t miss your opportunity for the buy of a lifetime.
Team Morgan, Coldwell Banker
“For Every Move You Make”
Whether you want to buy or sell a home in Miami, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, South Miami, Coral Gables or Cutler Bay, you can depend on the Morgan team of realtors to assist you every step of the way during your real estate transaction.
Busting 3 Common Foreclosure Myths
A homeowner facing mortgage default typically has two options: foreclosure or short sale. A bank foreclosure can be devastating, both emotionally and financially. The Miami real estate specialists at Team Morgan believe a home short sale, or one in which the lender accepts a selling price less than the amount owed, is a better option for both the lender and the homeowner.
Regrettably, nearly seven out of ten homeowners go through foreclosure without ever listing their home for sale. This is due largely to three common foreclosure myths, which we are going to put to rest.
First, homeowners assume the bank would rather foreclose than accept a home short sale. Not true – a foreclosure is often more costly for the lender, and home short sales often sell for more than foreclosed listings. The banks are willing to try anything possible, within reason, to avoid the foreclosure process.
Second, homeowners believe there is a stigma attached to short sale listings, and that buyers have no interest in such properties. Not true – in reality, many buyers specifically seek out such offerings for the value they present compared to traditional listings.
Finally, homeowners often assume that there’s not enough time to close a short sale before foreclosure is final. Not true – home foreclosure is a lengthy process and there is time to negotiate a better result, but you need to start today.
Team Morgan
Coldwell Banker Real Estate
“For Every Move You Make”
Feb. 2010
Whether you want to buy or sell a home in Miami, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, South Miami, Dadeland Walk, Coral Gables or Cutler Bay, you can depend on the Morgan team of realtors to assist you every step of the way during your real estate transaction.
Real Estate's Strongest Link - The First-Time Home Buyer
Everyone wants to know, “When are things going to return to normal in real estate?” If by “normal” you mean the conditions and shady financial dealings that created the artificially inflated markets of five years ago, then Team Morgan, your Miami-based Coldwell Banker realtors, believes we need to redefine that concept of “normal.”
The bad lending practices of the past are indeed making it more difficult now to secure financing, but try to understand that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Those days of lower standards and easy money led us into this predicament in the first place. It’s good for housing and for the economy when banks become interested in whether loans will be repaid.
In the “new” normal, home prices will stabilize, the number of sales will start gaining, and more people will again realize the benefits that homeownership offers for both personal and financial security. There are already signs the housing market is experiencing the initial signs of recovery thanks to historically low interest rates, affordable prices, government incentives, and motivated sellers.
All of these factors combine to get first-time buyers excited about a purchase. As these consumers enter the market, they will trigger other purchases, and the chain of transactions grows. Your real estate representative can reveal a wide range of affordable choices and guide you toward securing the financing you need to make your dream of home ownership come true.Team Morgan, Coldwell Banker
“For Every Move You Make”
Whether you want to buy or sell a home in Miami, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, South Miami, Coral Gables or Cutler Bay, you can depend on the Morgan team of realtors to assist you every step of the way during your real estate transaction.
Harder than it Looks - Understanding the Appraisal Process
Do you imagine property appraisers sitting in a darkened room, waving their hands over a crystal ball to produce the mysterious and all-powerful document of a home's value? It's easy to think that's the case, what with the real estate markets changing so rapidly. However, Team Morgan, your Miami-based Coldwell Banker realtors, would like to dispel the notion of magical figures and urge you instead, to look more carefully at the process.
When appraisers compare against similar properties, it's not just the final price that counts. They also factor in any “incentives” offered to home buyers, such as sellers who pay closing costs or remodeling allowances.
Perhaps the most important factor that lenders review in a house appraisal is the closing dates of the “comparables” (other homes by which yours is measured). Unfortunately, with today’s stricter lending requirements, most “comps” must have sold within the last 60 or even 45 days to carry weight. Markets change so quickly that any sale price over two months old may be completely irrelevant.
In today's market, many people are concerned about how foreclosures in a neighborhood affect determination of value. Technically, appraisers shouldn’t consider them, because they don’t fit the Appraisal Institute’s definition of “a property reasonably exposed in a competitive market.” However, if several area homes have been abandoned, we know the negative effect that can have on a home’s “perceived” value.
If you’re planning to sell your home, express your concerns about the appraisal process to your representative, who will offer explanations and suggestions for improving your report’s results.
Team Morgan, Coldwell Banker
“For Every Move You Make”
Whether you want to buy or sell a home in Miami, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, South Miami, Coral Gables or Cutler Bay, you can depend on the Morgan team of realtors to assist you every step of the way during your real estate transaction.
All in the Family
Jan. 2010 - Now is a very attractive time for parents to help their children become homeowners. Why? Many areas of the country are experiencing buyers’ markets. Plus, current tax laws combined with the fact that prices and interest rates may never be lower than they are now. As a result, your Miami real estate specialists at Team Morgan suggest you should strongly consider making this potential investment in your children’s future.
Parents can provide a significant down payment, free of taxation to their child. Individuals may gift up to $13,000 per year, so two parents making gifts to their child and spouse can give a total of $52,000 on one year without paying gift tax!
Above and beyond the outright gift, you may loan your family money, as long as you charge a minimum interest rate, which is currently very low. Then you can make your gifts each year, and your child’s family can use the gifts to pay the loan!
If neither one of these options works for you, you could buy the home yourself and then set up a Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT), with the home passing to the children at the end of an established term, tax free. It’s important that you consult with your financial advisor and employ an attorney to handle this kind of transaction.
Start by meeting with a real estate agent and explaining your situation. Contrary to what you may have been hearing, there is practically no better investment today than real estate.
Team Morgan, Coldwell Banker
“For Every Move You Make”
Whether you want to buy or sell a home in Miami, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, South Miami, Coral Gables or Cutler Bay, you can depend on the Morgan team of realtors to assist you every step of the way during your real estate transaction.
You may not think of your home as a commodity. After all, a commodity is a raw material or product that can be bought or sold. Although a home is not a raw material, it is built out of many, like a box full of wood, steel, cement, glass and copper.
Over the long term, home prices usually rise along with the cost of commodities used for construction. Even though high housing inventories may be keeping prices artificially lower right now, the cost of the raw materials that are intrinsically tied to a home’s value are rising rapidly.
Since construction costs appear to be on the rise for the immediate future, buying now is an ideal investment, and a hedge against the rising cost of commodities. A home is a store of value for all the materials, land and labor involved in its construction. That’s why the long-term value of a home is tightly connected to its production cost, making it a very different type of investment from stocks or bonds.
Investing in commodities has always been a great way to make lemonade from the economy's lemons. And what better way to buy into the commodities market than by purchasing a home? Eventually, home prices will be pushed higher by the rising cost of raw materials, so make your move now!
In areas where home prices have significantly declined, some owners find themselves strapped with mortgages that total more than their home's value.
When options such as extending the term of the loan or negotiating a lower interest rate have been exhausted, then a short sale may provide the solution. READ MORE...
Time to Make Lemonade
When one hears the word “foreclosure,” images are conjured of families unable to meet loan commitments and forced to consider unpleasant options.
However, it’s not only homeowners that suffer from a foreclosure. Renters can be “out on the street” if their landlord defaults on mortgage payments.
A report from the Mortgage Bankers Association states that nearly 20 percent of recent foreclosures have been against investors who did not live in the property, and even tenants in good standing face having to vacate the premises if they’re renting one of these properties.
Why mention this gloom and doom scenario? Because home values have declined and buyers are seeing the best deals in many years. While unpleasant for sellers, price declines increase affordability for buyers. So if you’ve been renting, now is a fantastic time to turn that monthly payment into equity.
Interest rates have inched up, but still-historically-low rates combined with very affordable housing yield a formula that should put you in a home that you own for the same amount you are now paying for rent. Not to mention that at a lower purchase price, you’ll enjoy some great appreciation over the coming years.
Just because you’re renting now, you’re not necessarily safe from suffering the consequences of a foreclosure.
Launch an Offensive
When buyers become scarce, sellers have to step up and make their offering stand out to attract attention. Without spending a fortune, sellers can easily highlight several of their home’s features.
First, beat buyers to the punch with a pre-listing home inspection. By discovering and fixing problems before buyers ever see the home, you can impress them with a worry-free, move – in – now opportunity.Leave your repair receipts out during showings, so that buyers can see all the improvements you’ve made just for them!
Once the mechanical and structural features of your home have been addressed, move on to the aesthetic details. First impressions count, so make sure your home is inviting from the curb. Spiff up landscaping, paint, entries, and windows.
Inside, pay attention to bath and kitchen details, because those rooms are often most important when buyers are making a decision. Aside from deep cleaning, consider updating bath and kitchen features with new and contemporary drawer pulls, faucets, and even sinks.
Finally, get a jump on your moving by organizing your closets and ditching or packing all you possibly can. A good guideline is to reduce your closets to half-full, so that the buyers can easily picture the space for their own storage needs.
A few “preemptive strikes” should be all you need to attract buyers and offers, so ask your agent for tips today!
Sept. 2009
