Central PA Real Estate Podcast with Dave Hooke

What are the current down payment requirements for getting into a home?

First of all, according to the National Association of Realtors, the majority of people in the United States think that you need 20% down to purchase a home. That is simply not true.

To give you some perspective, the median down payment for first-time homebuyers has been 5% for decades. There are many programs available to buyers that only require 3% down, and there are some special loan programs that don’t require any money down. You can even get grant money for closing cost assistance to get into a home.

Ask a local mortgage provider to find the best option for you

Ultimately, you need to talk to a local mortgage provider to assess your financial needs and profile so they can recommend a custom mortgage solution. Now may be the right time for you to make your first or second home purchase. 

If you need a list of local lenders or if you have any other questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

A lot of people ask whether the home value they find on Zillow, also known as a Zestimate, is accurate. Can you really trust that Zestimate?

Zestimates work almost the same way as a tax assessment: Zillow’s algorithm takes the sale prices of homes that are similar to yours and in the same area, then it compares that information to your property’s square footage in order to come up with an estimate on the value of your property.

Unfortunately, the reality is that, although they can be accurate sometimes, Zestimates are often incorrect. On average, the Zestimate has a margin of error of about 20%.

Zestimates have a 20% margin of error.

There are three factors that impact the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of your Zestimate: 

1. Your property’s location. If you live in a cookie-cutter subdivision that has a lot of like-kind houses and a high number of recent sales, then it’s highly likely that your Zestimate will be more reflective of the accurate value of your home. However, if your property is in a very unique area or if you have a rural property with a lot of unique features, then it’s less likely that the Zestimate will be accurate. 

2. Your property’s condition. If you made a lot of recent updates, the homes around you are not similar, or if your home has unique features such as a finished basement, a Zestimate will probably not factor those features into its calculation. 

3. Your property’s location in relation to recent sales. For example, you may live in that cookie-cutter subdivision, but if you live on the edge, then the algorithm will take properties outside of the subdivision into consideration when calculating your Zestimate. Those properties might just be a block away but if they are completely different than yours, that will definitely throw off your Zestimate. If you live in a subdivision where all the homes are bigger than yours or sit on a larger lot, then your Zestimate will also be incorrect.

Your Zestimate really depends on those three factors in your local real estate market. 

If you would like a more customized and accurate home value estimate, give us a call. This spring, we are offering a free, no obligation, maximum home valuation. Our representatives will go through your home, give you a detailed estimate of value, and provide a list of suggestions that you can use to maximize your home’s value. In other words, we will give you a list of things that will get you a good return on investment and increase your overall sales price. 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would be happy to help you!

When you sell your home, the listings photos are an incredibly important part of getting prospective buyers into it. However, there are five sale-killing mistakes that you need to avoid when you take your listing photos:

1. No more corners. For some reason, sellers love to take pictures of the corners of different rooms in their home. Nothing is gained from buyers looking at the corners of a room; instead, photograph focal points in each room.

2. The grass is always greener. Photos of nature surrounding your home make sense if you are focusing on some kind of flora or fauna. However, a close-up on the bark of your tree or a patch in your lawn does not make sense. Take a broad picture of your home with nature behind it or highlight some specific aspect of your landscaping.

3. On the outside looking in. Don’t just take exterior photos of your home. If you do, the buyer will wonder what is wrong with the home. Make sure there are plenty of high definition photos of the interior of your home.

There aren’t many people who want to buy a haunted house.

4. A haunted look doesn’t help. If your photos make your home look menacing, make sure you redo them. Dark, grainy photos with unclear shadows can make your home look haunted. Pictures that you take on your phone won’t make the cut, either. Make sure you have quality, professional photos. 

5. Let the sunshine in. It is a scientific fact that bright, well-lit homes sell faster and for more money. Give the public what they want and make sure your home is as bright as possible. 

If you have any other questions about listing photos or the home selling process in general, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Certain holiday decor can really amp us your home's curb appeal. Today, I wanted to give you a list of the top four ways to utilize it:

1. Highlight your home's architecture. Consider edging your home's roof, windows, or trim with holiday decorations to take advantage of and highlight your home's architecture.

2. Landscaping. Net lights make decorating with your landscape so easy that your kids can do it. Lay them over your hedges and take advantage of all the landscaping aspects that your home offers.

Don't forget about your front door.

4. Spread the love. Gates, walkways, fences, and your entryway are great opportunities to extend your decor to your entire front yard.

5. Don't forget about your front door. This can be as easy as adding a wreath. Whether you go with store bought or homemade, the opportunities are endless.

These four tips will really help you boost that curb appeal, whether you're selling or not. 

I hope you enjoyed this topic and all the topics we discuss in our videos. If you have any feedback for us or topics you'd like to learn more about, reach out to us anytime via phone or email. We look forward to hearing from you.

When buying a home, it’s very important that you have your down payment ready to go. Here are a few unique options to help you save for a down payment:

2. Ask the seller for help. Asking the seller to assist with closing costs is a common way to free up more money for your down payment. Ask your lender what the limits for closing costs are on your loan program, and then ask your Realtor to help negotiate for the seller to pay the closing costs on your behalf.

3. Look into government options. The department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, has a site with links to all 50 states. These links provide information on different options to help you get the home of your dreams. There is also the Good Neighbor Next Door program, which provides closing cost assistance for teachers, firefighters, police officers, and more. Of course, there is also the VA loan, which helps veterans purchase homes.

If the seller pays closing costs, you’ll have more money for the down payment.

4. Check with your employer. Some employers offer programs to help low-to-moderate income employees purchase a home.

5. Take advantage of special lender financing options, such as a USDA or FHA loan. You may have to meet certain income requirements in order to qualify for one of these loans. The property has to meet certain requirements as well, but these are great options to help buyers get the home of their dreams.

Of course, you can always combine some of these options to get the home that you want. If you have any questions about any of these five methods, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

If you are planning on selling your home, how can you make sure that you select the best agent for the job? We have seven questions that you should ask when interviewing agents in order to hire the best one.

1. How long have you been selling homes? You wouldn’t want to go to a doctor who’s just one year out of medical school. It’s helpful to have an agent that’s been in the business a while and has some experience under their belt.

2. How many homes did you sell last year? A lot of agents like to tout the success of their company. Ask them how they have done year to year. Ask them to bring that data along to the interview. Again, it’s helpful to work with an agent who has a lot of experience. You could have a long-time veteran agent who has been in the industry for 20 years but only sells two homes a year, or you could have an agent who’s been working for four years but sells 30 to 40 homes a year. The second agent would have more experience.

Not all real estate agents are Realtors.

3. How are you going to market my home? It’s important to have a detailed marketing plan that is written down. 

4. Will you represent me exclusively? In Pennsylvania, an agent can represent you the seller, or the buyer, or both. If an agent is going to do dual agency, make sure that you understand it and consent to it. 

5. How will you keep me informed? We find that communication is one of the most important things to our sellers and clients. Ask them what their communication plan is and how often they intend to talk to you. 

6. Can you provide references? Ask for three or more references and ask for contact information. Make sure that you follow up with them so you can see what their experience was working with this agent. 

7. Are you a Realtor? Not all real estate agents are Realtors. If your agent is a Realtor, that means they are a member of the National Association of Realtors, which has been a champion for professionalism and ethics in real estate for over a century. 

Those seven questions will help you pick the best agent for the job. If you have any other questions about hiring an agent or selling your home, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

As a home buyer, what are the five most important things to know about home inspections?

1. You can choose your own inspector. You can get a referral from a real estate agent or someone else who’s recently bought a home or just look up the National Association of Home Inspectors. This is an association that home inspectors are typically members of if they’re qualified. If they’re members of that association, they’ve typically completed a training program, shown competence in the home inspection trade, and completed a written exam.

2. Inspections are not a pass/fail process. A lot of our clients believe that the inspection is a black and white result, but that’s not the case. On the contrary, home inspections are often general reports that consist of 20 to 40 pages of general information about the home which you can use for many years into the future in reference to the structural elements of your home. They do include a list of material defects and (usually) safety issues, and it’s your responsibility to determine if those things are concerning enough to impact whether you’re going to purchase the home or not.

Inspections aren’t black and white.

3. Inspections are intended for adverse conditions. They’re not necessarily just for cosmetic issues. We advise that you attend the inspection just so you can talk with the home inspector about what’s important and what’s not, in their opinion. No house is perfect; all of them have some adverse conditions and defects that are listed in the inspection.

4. Our agreements of sale in Pennsylvania allow the home buyer three different options as the result of the inspection period. The first option is to accept the property based on the information in the report. The second option is to terminate the agreement and get your earnest money back. The third (and most common) is to ask the seller to repair some of the items that came up in the report.

5. Home inspectors are not specialists. They are more like general practitioners that are going to give you information about all aspects of the home. We advise that you consult a specialist like an electrician or a plumber if there is a major issue that needs to be addressed. Do this before you choose any of the options discussed in number four.

If you have any questions about home inspections or anything else related to real estate, please don’t hesitate to give us a call or shoot us an email. We look forward to talking with you soon!

What is a short sale? There a few things you need to know about short sales if you’re thinking about purchasing one.

For example, if you sign a mortgage note that you owe a lender $100,000 and you sell the property for $90,000, it would be considered a short sale.

What a lot of people don’t know is that you can actually sell a property for more than what is owed to the lender in some cases, and it would still qualify as a short sale. As an example, if you owe $100,000 to a lender and you sell a property for $105,000, but your closing costs are $7,000, it would only net the lender $98,000, resulting in a short sale.

The other important thing to know about a short sale is that it requires a lender’s approval for the sale to go through. This differs from regular sales in which only the owner’s approval is required. The lender’s approval is required when you’re giving them less than what is owed to them.

Short sales can take a long time to close.

Why would a lender ever consider accepting less than what is owed to them? Well, if the lender reviews all of the owner’s tax returns, verifies their employment, and finds out that the owner is completely insolvent, they know that there is no chance that they would ever get paid what was owed to them without selling the property. In this case, they’ll consider accepting less money over foreclosing on the property, which takes months or even years and an involves a lot of fees in some cases.

What should you know if you’re considering buying a short sale property?

If you have any questions about short sales or anything else related to real estate, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help you!

The market is extremely hot for sellers right now, and as a home buyer, it may not be as easy to get your offer accepted as it has been in the past. Here are a few tips to help make your offer stand out and win you the home you want:

1.  Keep your offer simple and straightforward. This is especially important if there are multiple buyers making offers on the same property. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you should neglect important aspects of the transaction that concern you. Just keep in mind that if there is something you can do to eliminate a contingency, your offer will be simpler, and therefore much more attractive to the seller. 

2. Consider writing a personal letter to the seller. I know that this may sound cliché, but personal letters really do make a difference. Statistically, it’s been shown that offers which appeal to the seller emotionally have a better chance of standing out and being accepted than other offers do. If you and your family are really excited about this home and all of its features, let the seller know all of the specifics. Compliment the way that the seller has maintained the home, include your vision of it for your family, and make sure that the letter is personalized. Don’t hesitate to include a picture of you and your family within the letter for maximum impact.

Personal touches can make all the difference to the seller.

3. Have your loan officer personally follow up with the seller or listing agent. This is probably my favorite tip and the one that is the most neglected. This will make a huge impact because one of the biggest concerns for a seller is the strength of your financial situation. Most buyers will have a pre-approval letter included with their offer, but very few will have their lender call the seller personally to explain that they’ve looked over all of your financials and have determined that you are completely qualified to buy the home. A loan officer that is confident in you as a buyer will give the seller peace of mind when it comes to reviewing your offer.

4. Be ready to act swiftly in the event of a counteroffer. Strike while the iron is hot and don’t take multiple days to respond to a counteroffer. Instead, quickly consider whether you’re going to accept the counteroffer or quickly counter the counteroffer to keep the ball rolling.

These tips can make a world of difference when submitting your offer and may even help win you the home that you want in the end. If you have any other questions about buying or selling a home in our market, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to speaking with you!

We all know that a lot of people in the South Central Pennsylvania area list their homes on the market in early spring with a lot of those homes going under contract in early summer. But what about fall? How good is the fall selling season going to be? Each year is different, but I think that there’s something special about the fall season this year. Here are three things to keep in mind:

1. The bulk of spring listings are expiring. Many of the homes still on the market were listed in spring, and as a result, there is less competition, particularly when you consider how your home will stand out as a new listing and fewer days on the market that your listing will boast.

2. Fall home buyers are more serious. These buyers have been looking at listings for months, and they are eager to conclude their search and move in comfortably before the holidays.

3. Interest rates are still at all-time lows. There is a threat that’s looming in people’s minds that rates are going to increase sooner rather than later. In a normal year, people may postpone their decision to buy a home until the spring, but this year I sense that these low interest rates will create some additional demand.

There is less competition in the fall selling season.

First, you have to prepare your home to account for the particular fall conditions. For example, you need to check the HVAC system and replace your furnace filter so your home will be warm and smell fresh. Get it tuned up and call an HVAC contractor to inspect it. Also, make sure to turn on all the lights; you've got to compensate for the shorter, cloudier days. Cleaning up the yard is also a must in order to maximize your curb appeal.

The second thing you need to do is price your home appropriately. You can always give our team a call and we’ll give you a free, no-obligation consultation to get an estimate on your home.

If you have any other questions about selling this fall, don’t hesitate to give me or my team a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.