Little things that will affect the Home Buying process

A little depth in the Home Buying Process, this article by Saving Thousands gives great tips and knowledge of the qualifying process. The Taxes and HOA fee for a potential property could effect how much you may qualify for in reference to you Mortgage.

http://www.savingthousands.com/home-buying-process-overview/ by saving thousands

Buying Land for a $teal

Growing up in the U.S Virgin Islands, the only major purchase made by families was usually the buying of land. Unlike in the U.S where people buy homes built by a builder, in the islands the process is done  by buying land, getting an architect to help you design your layout, then hiring a contractor to build the final product, your HOME.  In this article credit to Jeff Frantz their is alternative in buying land at a discounted rate known as Tax Deeds. In a nutshell  the property owner fails to pay the taxes on the land causing the govt to take control because of the default, in this situation you could become Superman and pay the tax debt off where the former owner can pay you back with interest on the money you fronted to them, to forfeiting the property to you at a discounted rate.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/4432-richmond-historic-home-renovations/blog_posts/46754-tips-on-buying-land-through-tax-deeds 

credit to the author Jeff Frantz

My offer is accepted what happens next.....

credit to Ryan Fitzergerald of Raleigh Realty http://www.raleighrealtyhomes.com/blog/seller-accepts-your-offer-10-things-that-come-next.html

Though the order may vary, because that's what happens, but this illustration gives a good idea of the after process.

#First90Days in Real Estate

The First 90 days as a Realtor is very interesting, and is very daunting because you will have a whirlwind of things to do while keeping your sanity. Just like any business the first year is the hardest because for any business to strive you need capital coming in. The #first90days is all about marketing and learning at the same time.  Though I am not in my #first90days here is a list of everything done so far in building the business.....

• Brokerage Partnership
• GCAAR Membership
• MRIS Membership & Knowledge of using that system
• E/O Insurance Coverage
• Sales Meetings after Sales Meetings
• Marketing 
• Website creation www.byroncharlesrealty.info
• Blog creation www.byroncharlesrealty.blogspot.com
• Social Media PR 
• Facebook www.facebook.com/ByronCharlesRE
• Pinterest www.pinterest.com/byron_charles/
• Brokerage page www.byroncharles.averyhess.com/
• Car Decal 
• Announcement to your Circle (Family and Friends)
• Mortgage101
• Real Estate101
• Photography Picture
• this is just a few more to come, Whoever said starting a business is easy?

What is a MORTGAGE?

When I first heard the term MORTGAGE, I was 10yrs old and had no clue, I ask my dad and he jokingly stated "Son its something that if I do not pay, we will be homeless". Can you imagine the fear, but that was years ago, now i'm an adult tasked with paying my MORTGAGE. All jokes aside a "MORTGAGE" is loan to finance the purchase of home and consist of 5 parts Collateral; Principal; Interest; Taxes and Insurance. Credit to www.Realtor.com for the video below.

Did you know? You could use a Realtor for finding Rentals

The next time you are searching craiglist for a Rental, just call a Realtor. That's right aside from just finding permanent home's, Realtors  assist in the rental business as well, linking landlords with tenants and tenants with landlords. WHY, because the real estate business is truly a people business, today its a rental but next year it might be a home. When people receive good service they always come back. Last note we are a good negotiators as well. 👌

What is COMP in Real Estate?

What is COMP in Real Estate? COMP is short for Comparable. When it comes to COMP your Realtor will pull information from the MRIS on recent sold houses in the area. The usual criteria is to search 3 properties similar in location, size, # of bedrooms and bathrooms and a settlement of date within 6 months.

Luckily for us, their is a number of free online sites that will give you and idea on what the Comp is, though not as accurate as an appraiser, it should at least keep you within the Ballpark.

Credit to BiggerPocket.com 

http://www.biggerpockets.com/rei/real-estate-comps-house-value/ 

Free House Value Sites

Zillow.com – Zillow is the biggest player in the online house values game, through a feature called a “Zestimate,” which is an automated estimate based on public records and sales comps. You can also search for “sold” listings to determine your own comps.

Trulia.com – Like Zillow, Trulia allows you to search “sold listings” to gather comps.

Redfin – An online brokerage with online property valuation tool.

Realtor.com – Realtor.com is now allowing you to search for your home’s worth by showing what houses sold for in your area.

Property Shark – Property Shark provides public data on a property, recent sales, sale history, and comparables. No need to provide your contact info, either.

Pay Property Value Sites

Home Smart Reports
Home Smart Reports offers a pay house value engine including property information, nearby sales with map, and a neighborhood summary, as well as a much more advanced report with risk analysis, many more comps, and other statistical charts.

RealQuest.com
The RealQuest service (rated tops by several BP members) provides tons of useful data on a given property. Basics include: Property Detail Report, Comparable Sales, Parcel Map/Assessor Map, Street Map, Neighborhood Information, Legal and Vesting, Automated Valuation (AVM), Transaction History, Custom Searches, and Flood Maps.