Greater Lexington Real Estate Podcast

According to a recent survey, not being able to save up enough money for a down payment comes in at the top of the list. 55% of prospective homebuyers cited this as their main stumbling block to achieving homeownership.

With the continuing growth of home prices, things aren't getting any easier for them. In fact, homeownership rates reached a 20-year low last November.

It might be hard to imagine, but just a decade ago many lenders offered easy, no-money-down mortgages. Anyone with a pulse could qualify for one. However, after the financial crisis, mortgage standards have become more restrictive. A typical mortgage now requires a 20% down payment.

If you have decent credit and a steady income, you might also qualify for a number of specialized programs that require little or no down payment.

First, there's the USDA loan, which is valid for homes in certain regions, such as rural and suburban areas. With zero money down and lenient credit requirements, the USDA loan can be a great choice..

Second, there’s the VA loan, which you can apply for if you or your spouse served in a branch of the military. It's possibly the most generous zero-money-down mortgage because of low interest rates and low closing costs.

Third, there's the FHA loan. It does require a 3.5% down payment, but that is much more achievable than the 20% required for a conventional mortgage. There are also a number of credit unions and first-time homebuyer programs that might apply to your particular situation.

There’s one more important thing you should know. If you decide to get one of these no-money-down mortgages, chances are good you will have to pay private mortgage insurance, which can drive up your monthly payments. Private mortgage insurance will disappear after your mortgage balance is under 80%, and the money you do pay will be tax deductible in most cases.

As you can see, there are lots of options to make owning a home a reality for you, even if you haven't saved up tens of thousands of dollars.

If you need any advice on getting a no-money-down loan, give me a call at (859) 983-7999. I can put you in touch with some experienced lenders who can answer your questions and help get you started. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

 

It’s important to use a Realtor when buying or selling a home. Often, sellers think about hiring a professional to get top dollar with the least amount of hassle, while buyers might use an agent to mediate the process.

The home search typically begins online. In fact, 92% of buyers use the Internet to start their search. Interestingly enough, 95% of homes sold still use a Realtor or Builder’s agent. There’s a high number of real estate professionals still involved in transactions. Only 2% of buyers purchase directly from a seller.
 

Although the Internet is a great way to start, buyers will eventually use a Realtor to help with the process. They have the experience to know how to handle a transaction efficiently. If you’re thinking about selling a home, don’t underestimate the role of a real estate professional!

As always, give me a call or email with any questions or concerns. I’d be happy to help you!

 

The residential housing market has been hot recently. Home sales have bounced back to their second-highest price since February 2007.

As we approach the winter, many agents report an increasing amount of multiple offer situations. Listings are sometimes selling above listing price. If your home hasn’t sold yet, take another look at your listing. It could be the price holding buyers back! Increasing a price by 10% can dramatically reduce the amount of interested buyers interacting with your listing.

The bottom line: the market is hot. If your listing isn’t getting showings despite active online activity, sit down with your agent. You could be over by up to 12%. Revisit the price. At Rector Hayden, we use “the price on target” model to determine how much to price your home.

Feel free to contact us about a free consultation. If you have any questions, give us a call!
 

Many clients wait to sell their home after the holidays. Honestly, the holidays are a great time to sell. Here are some reasons why.

First, inventory is low. Sellers have less competition on the market. The inventory levels now are even lower compared to this time last year! Less competition helps your home stand out.

Second, buyers are more serious in the winter. These buyers, asking for showings during the holidays, are highly motivated to buy a home. Some may have been relocated by their employers, and need to be in a new home by January 1st.

Next, you have control over the showings. If you need a few days off from showings because of family, it's not a problem. We'll schedule showings to accommodate your schedule. You don't have to skip the celebrations when you sell during the holidays.
 

In fact, some homes show better during the holidays! These homes look nice and decorated. Your house might look its best this time of year. Take advantage of this opportunity. It's an excellent time to list and show buyers your beautiful home.

Finally, listings increase substantially after the holidays. We predict new construction will make a comeback in 2016. If you wait to sell your home until after the holidays, you will face more competition and less demand for your home.

Selling your home during the holidays is a fantastic opportunity! You will have less competition, more serious buyers, and you can still celebrate the holidays without the added stress of showings. If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

Today, we want to share a resource with you that will be updated on a monthly basis. It's called the Rector-Hayden Realtors (RHR) Report, and you can find it by following this link: http://rhrreport.com/. Every month, you can check that document to see what market conditions are like in Central Kentucky.

The RHR Report is a great place to go if you want a snapshot of the current market. The 10-page document is also a great place to look up market numbers dating as far back as 2008 in order to identify trends. You'll find pending sales, closed sales, the average sales prices by county, the number of listings on the market by price point, current month vs. past month sales, months of inventory, and many other important categories for people interested in what our market is up to.
 

When looking at the inventory, know that any price range that has over six months of inventory is a buyer's market, and anything less than six months is a market that is favorable for sellers. Again, if you want to take a look at where our market is heading, you can find the report here: http://rhrreport.com/. If you have any questions for us, please don't hesitate to call or email us at any time. We're always here to help!

Today I'd like to speak about the importance of home

warranties. Not a lot of people know, but they can be valuable to both

buyers and sellers. I'll be explaining why this is true today.

The warranty that we recommend to our buyers is the HMS

Home Warranty that is offered by Berkshire Hathaway. If I'm listing a

home, I also like to recommend that my sellers also purchase a warranty for the

home buyers. This is a nice gesture, and it's a major benefit for a

buyer to purchase your home. It gives a buyer peace of mind, and that's

extremely valuable in this industry.

home warranty up front and they will then be covered during the listing period. The

sellers will only have to pay for the warranty once the home is closed. This

essentially means that the sellers get a free home warranty.

This warranty covers all mechanical components including

plumbing, electricity, hot water heaters, etc. Warranties don't cover

pre-existing conditions, so you can't buy one and then have your roof

replaced with it.

around $500) and we don't make any money by selling them. We

just think it's a great idea for our buyers and sellers.

As always, please don't hesitate to contact me if you need

help buying or selling homes in Lexington!

Today we are excited to talk to you all about appraisals. We’ll

go over what they are, how they work, and how they affect the purchase of your

home.

Every time you write a contract, there will be a clause in

there saying that a home has to appraise in order for the sale to go through. These

aren’t required with every type of financing, but definitely are for FHA and VA

loans. 

If the home doesn’t appraise out to at least the value it

was purchased for, you have the option to void the contract and/or negotiate

the price down. An important thing to remember about appraisals is that they

are one person’s opinion on the value.

in coming up with an appraised value, but there is some art to it as well. By

using comparable homes, an appraiser will determine whether your house is

priced fairly. If a new house sells the next day and it’s a more comparable

home to yours than another one was, your home will then probably appraise a

little differently. 

appraisers have a responsibility to look for certain things and areas where

improvements can be made. Sometimes you might get a conditional

appraisal that says your home will appraise for x amount if you fix a certain

problem. 

Hopefully this has been helpful to you. The appraisal

typically takes about 48 hours to come back after it has been completed, and

the lender will let you know when it comes in.

If you have any questions for us about appraisals, feel

free to give us a call or send us an email. We can’t wait to hear from you!

 Today, we'll discuss the importance of home inspections.

a complete home inspection. In Central Kentucky, that entails

having a licensed home inspector come in and examine the home.

You will also need a radon inspection. In our area,

you have a 50/50 chance that there will be radon in the home, and you will need

to get a mitigation system. The radon test takes place over a 48-hour

period, so set up the radon test early to make sure it's done in accordance

with the inspection period.

although this usually happens outside of the inspection period.

four hours. The inspector takes photographs and writes a report on any issues

they have found. Then, they go over everything with the

buyer. Usually they will walk through the house with the buyer to show them

exactly what they are talking about, and the buyer can ask any questions they

may have.

the seller. Prior to the closing, you will do a final

walk-through of the home to see if all the repairs have been done, and you can

go into closing with confidence.

If you have any questions on today's video, give me a call

or send me an email. I'd be happy to help you!

When you go to sell your property this spring, you're probably going to need to spruce it up a bit. Decluttering your home is an essential part of the staging process, and it can add a lot of value to your home despite the simple steps that can be taken to make your home look like new. Today I'll be going over a few simple steps for decluttering.

These are just a few ideas I had to share with you, but there are endless ways to organize and clean your home to attract buyers and increase your final sale price. If you have any questions about this topic, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. Whether you're buying or selling in Lexington, consider me your #1 resource for real estate!

With the spring real estate market blooming here in Lexington, I thought this would be an opportune time to update you on what's going on in our local market. I'm going to be taking a brief look at how the market wrapped up in 2014 and how this will affect us in 2015. 

Keep in mind that affordability is as high as it's been in a long time. We expect a lot of buyers to come onto the market this spring, and this scenario will be great for both buyers and sellers alike. You have a chance to move up into a nice home, or to buy a great starter home.

If you have any questions about the real estate market here in Central Kentucky, please don't hesitate to contact us. We're always willing to lend a helping hand to you.