The Best Investment

Income Tax Savings

Because of income tax deductions, the government is subsidizing your purchase of a home. All of the interest and property taxes you pay in a given year can be deducted from your gross income to reduce your taxable income.

For example, assume your initial loan balance is $150,000 with an interest rate of eight percent. During the first year you would pay $9969.27 in interest. If your first payment is January 1^st, your taxable income would be almost $10,000 less ? due to the IRS interest rate deduction.

Property taxes are deductible, too. Whatever property taxes you pay in a given year may also be deducted from your gross income, lowering your tax obligation.

When you rent a place to live, you can certainly expect your rent to increase each year ? or even more often. If you get a fixed rate mortgage when you buy a home, you have the same monthly payment amount for thirty years. Even if you get an adjustable rate mortgage, your payment will stay within a certain range for the entire life of the mortgage ? and interest rates aren´t as volatile now as they were in the late seventies and early eighties.

Imagine how much rent might be ten, fifteen, or even thirty years from now? Which makes more sense?

Some people are just lousy at saving money, and a house is an automatic savings account. You accumulate savings in two ways. Every month, a portion of your payment goes toward the principal. Admittedly, in the early years of the mortgage, this is not much. Over time, however, it accelerates.

Second, your home appreciates. Average appreciation on a home is approximately five percent, though it will vary from year to year, and in some years may even depreciate.. Over time, history has shown that owning a home is one of the very best financial investments.

Freedom & Individualism

When you rent, you are normally limited on what you can do to improve your home. You have to get permission to make certain types of improvements. Nor does it make sense to spend thousand of dollars painting, putting in carpet, tile or window coverings when the main person who benefits is the landlord and not you.

Since your landlord wants to keep his expenses to a minimum, he or she will probably not be spending much to improve the place, either.

When you own a home, however, you can do pretty much whatever you want. You get the benefits of any improvements you make, plus you get to live in an environment you have created, not some faceless landlord.

Both indoors and outdoors, you will probably have more space if you own your own home. Even moving to a condominium from an apartment, you are likely to find you have much more room available ? your own laundry and storage area, and bigger rooms. Apartment complexes are more interested in creating the maximum number of income-producing units than they are in creating space for each of the tenants.

If you are moving to a home for the first time, you are going to be very pleased with all the new space you have available. You may have to even buy more "stuff."

The Business Cycle and Buying a Home

Recession and Expansion

There are times when the economy is brisk and everyone feels confident about his or her prospects for the future. As a result, they spend money. People eat out more, buy new cars, and3;.

3;They buy houses.

Then, for one reason or another, the economy slows down. Companies lay off employees and consumers are more careful about where they spend money, perhaps saving more than usual. As a result, the economy decelerates even further. If it slows enough, we have a recession.

During such a time, fewer people are buying homes. Even so, some homeowners find themselves in a situation where they must sell. Families grow beyond the capacity of the home, employees get relocated, and some may even find themselves unable to make their mortgage payment - perhaps because of a layoff in the family.

In the business cycle of real estate, there are buyers' markets and sellers' markets...and some markets in between.  It is all based on supply and/or demand.

Supply and Demand - Inventory

During sellers' markets, homes sell quickly and sellers have a lot of pricing power.  As a result, prices rise more rapidly than at other times.  During buyers' markets, homes may sit on the market for awhile before selling, so sellers become more flexible and may even drop their prices.

The market is determined by supply and demand.

In real estate, the relationship between supply and demand is calculated as "available inventory."  At the current sales pace, how long would it take to sell the total number of houses available on the market?  That is how the real estate industry measures inventory. 

Inventory is measured in weeks and months.  Longer inventory times are associated with buyers' markets.  Shorter inventory periods are associated with sellers' markets.  Some buyers and sellers hope to time their purchase to take advantage of market cycles.

Timing Your Purchase to the Market Cycle

One problem with attempting to time your purchase to the business cycle is that even experts have problems accurately predicting the future economy.  Even when they can, the real estate market does not necessarily move in tandem with the stock market or the economy as a whole.

Part of the reason is interest rates.

When the economy is doing well, interest rates are generally higher.  The result is that fewer people can afford houses.  When the economy slows down, interest rates fall, the "affordability index" moves up and more people can afford houses.

As you can see, this cycle does not move "in sync" with the rest of the economy.  It is also influenced by how many people have jobs, whether they are well-paying jobs, and consumer outlook for the future.  All these factors make it difficult to know, in advance, whether the housing market is going to boom or bust. 

What makes most sense is the "buy and hold" strategy.  Buy a home you expect to remain in for at least seven years or more.

Why You Should Not Wait to Purchase a Home

Even if you could "time the market," that strategy would most benefit first-time buyers. 

You see, people who already have a home usually need to sell it in order to come up with the down payment for their next home.  Even if they don't, they would have to carry the debt and obligations on two homes at the same time.  This can create financial hardship, even when you rent out the previous home.  There are maintenance costs, renters don't always make their payments on time, the rent may not cover the mortgage and other costs, and sometimes the property may be vacant.

So if you are a move-up buyer and want to purchase your next home during a depressed market, you generally have to sell your current home during that same depressed market.  If you want to sell during a boom, then you also have to purchase during the same boom.

It tends to equal out.

Finally, suppose you are a first-time buyer and wait think the end of a boom is near?  If you guess wrong, are you going to wait...and wait...and wait...till the next depressed market?  If so, you could miss out on loads of depreciation...

...and that is assuming you guess right about your market timing.  In 1996, when the home market was struggling, who would have predicted what the next seven years would bring?

Example

For example, you may want a house with a view, but the payment is higher than you feel comfortable with on a thirty-year fixed rate mortgage.

What do you do?

Purchase the house anyway and budget more carefully for the next few years? Buy the same house without the view and get it cheaper? Make a larger down payment by borrowing from your 401K or family members, so you get a lower payment? Get an adjustable rate mortgage with a smaller payment instead of a fixed rate loan? Or buy a smaller house and still get the view?

When viewing the house, most people look at it emotionally and envision it as a safe, happy, comfortable home. Later, when making the offer or filling out a mortgage application, your logic may begin to kick in, instead.  That's when "buyer's remorse" may come up, but...that's a different article.

Balancing Act

The trick in buying real estate is to view all decisions with both a logical perspective and an emotional perspective. If a situation presents itself that requires a trade-off, decide on whether there is a huge conflict or a small one. Logic should win the big conflicts, but emotion should always be a factor, even winning the small ones.

You will find yourself owning a warm, happy, safe home ? and an investment for the future at a price you are willing to pay.

Finding Your Realtor by "Accident"

When someone decides it is time to sell their home, they interview several Realtors from different companies to determine which one is best for them. They want someone who will represent them and someone they feel will do an effective job at marketing their home.

However, when someone decides to buy a home, they usually end up with their Realtor through sheer accident. Why don´t homebuyers search for a Realtor the same way that homesellers do?

Instead, homebuyers usually end up with a Realtor as a result of answering an advertisement. The advertisement will give a brief summary of a home available for sale along with the price, but it says nothing at all about the Realtor.

So...

...does it really make a difference?

Listing Agents and Selling Agents

You see, there are two "sides" to every sale.  The listing side and the selling side.  Most deals have an agent representing each side, so there are generally two agents involved   The seller's side is represented by the listing agent.  The buyer's side is represented by the selling agent (also known as the buyer's agent).

Agents can deal with both buyers and sellers, but the majority tend to focus their efforts on one or the other.  Some even exclusively handle either buyers or sellers.

So what should you do?

We simply recommend that you take as much care to hire a real estate agent as you would for any other professional.   Ask questions.  Ask about education, experience, and focus. 

After all, buying your next house is probably the biggest purchase you've ever made in your life.  Does it make more sense to find your agent by accident...or by design?

Do You Make an Offer With the Listing Agent?

For argument's sake, suppose you see a property that is "just perfect" and you don't have an agent yet?  Do you make an offer with the listing agent? 

Well, most deals have two agents involved.  The listing agent markets the house and represents the seller.  The selling agent represents the buyer.  The seller pays the real estate commissions to both agents.

When you make an offer directly to the listing agent, there is only one agent involved instead of two - so things work a little differently.

Agency  and Disclosure

When you make an offer directly with the listing agent, the agent will disclose the possible working relationships that exist - whether they are going to represent both you and the seller, or just represent the seller.  There will be a document you sign called an "agency disclosure" that spells out the relationship.

When representing both sides, an ethical agent becomes more of a transaction facilitator or perhaps a "dual" agent, depending on what state you are in.  In effect, they are not an actual advocate of either party but mostly an information provider and communication conduit. 

The agent will convey offers and counter-offers back and forth, but won't provide opinions to one party or the other on how "negotiable" the other party might be.  In addition, they will answer questions, explain things as the transaction progresses, make suggestions about whether getting inspections is a good idea - and so on - but they won't be your advocate or the advocate of the seller.

If the agent discloses that they are acting just for the seller, then they are the advocate of the seller -- and you are on your own.

Road Bumps & Conclusion

Most real estate transactions go fine, but almost every one has a challenge or two.  These challenges are often routine, but sometimes not.  One party may come out on top in a dispute and the other may feel that they did not.

When there is only one agent, the buyer may sometimes feel that the agent took the seller's side in a dispute.  Often the criticism is not merited, but human nature being what it is - it happens.

In the end, make an informed decision.  If you are considering making an offer directly to the listing agent, ask questions.  What are you giving up by not having your own agent?  What will you gain by presenting an offer via the listing agent?  When you get your answers, make your decision on what you want to do

Why Listing Agents Advertise - Is it What You Think?

Listing agents place ads for several reasons. First, they need to show the seller that they are doing something to sell their home. Second, by showing how much they advertise, they can also attract other individuals who are thinking of selling their homes.

They point to their ads to show their clients that they are aggressively marketing the property.  When other home sellers constantly see ads from a particular Realtor, they are inclined to want to list with that Realtor, too.  So even though the ads look like they are directed toward home buyers, they often have another purpose.  To attract home sellers.

What sellers don´t normally realize is that a listing agent´s true marketing emphasis is directed toward other Realtors, not the general public.  Their main goal is to convince the selling agents (buyer's agents) to find buyers and make offers.  This is a good thing because if you are selling a home, you want as many Realtors as possible bringing buyers around to take a look.  Most of a listing agent's marketing efforts toward other Realtors are invisible to the general public, but it is where an effective listing agent does a home seller the most good.

Additionally, many listing agents now have "teams."  One member of the team will probably be a licensed agent who acts in the way described just below:

Selling agents (buyer's agents) do advertise homes for sale in order to attract buyers. Although the ads do market a specific property, they are mostly intended to attract buyers in general -- not a buyer for that specific property.  The agent would be happy if you did buy the property you called on, but it happens so rarely that they do not expect it.

What happens when you call on a real estate ad is that you often schedule an appointment to go look at the advertised home. While you are out looking at that home, you will probably want to look at others -- so the agent will show you a few other homes, too.  Eventually, you and the Realtor will zero in on what you need and like in the proper price range and you will make an offer.

That is how most buyers find their Realtor -- by "accident."

Finding and Using Your Own Realtor

Shopping for an Agent

If Automobiles were Houses

How to Conduct the Search for a Good Realtor

Interviewing a Good Realtor

When a Realtor Asks to Meet With You

Finally, any decent agent will always ask for an appointment to meet with you, too. It is only natural, since they earn their living by commissions. However, Realtors are also supposed to act as your agent, looking out for your interests before their own. You want a Realtor who takes that responsibility very seriously. If someone seems too much like simply a salesman, then maybe you should look a little further.

Thinking Ahead About "Buyer´s Remorse"

If you are thinking of buying your first home, you should take out a pen and paper right now and draw a line down the center of the paper. Calmly and logically, think of all possible advantages to buying a home and write them down on one side of the page. Afterwards, you should list all the disadvantages on the other side of the line.

Then save the list in a place you will be certain to remember.

Sound silly?

Of course it sounds silly. Who needs to write down their reasons for buying a home? After all, home ownership is the central theme to living the "American Dream."

Naturally, while in hot pursuit of this dream you are going to be excited about the future -- researching neighborhoods, searching MLS sites on the internet, viewing homebuyer´s magazines full of appealing homes that are just "minutes from the beach" with "fantastic views" and "cozy family rooms."

Next comes the really good stuff ? looking at houses. Full of imagination and optimism for the future, you wander about each home envisioning a happy and contented life for you and your family. The first house may be "too big," and another may be "too small," but you are certain to find one that seems "just right." So you make an offer and wait anxiously and excitedly for the counter-offer. Finally, you and the seller agree on terms and you have bought yourself a brand new home!

Congratulations! Break out the champagne and celebrate!

However3;

Later that night or perhaps the next day, you start to worry about whether you made the right decision. Doubtful thoughts will intrude. Can you afford it? Is it the right time? Should you have waited? What if you lose your job? What if this happens? What if that happens? Anxiety and stress set in. Sleep may be hours in coming.

This is a normal response to buying a home and is called "Buyer´s Remorse." You have just made the single biggest purchase you have ever made in your life and it can be downright scary. Logic deserts you. Worry takes over.

Remember your list?

Back when you were thinking semi-logically, you were fairly rational about home ownership. You catalogued the good and the bad, weighed them against each other, and decided that buying a home was the smart thing to do. Reviewing the list will help resolve your buyer´s remorse.

You will not be totally stress-free, but it will help.

Of course, in spite of this advice you will probably not take the time to make that list now ? before you buy a home. Hardly anyone ever does.

So when buyer´s remorse sets in and you remember reading this column, here is what you do...

...get a piece of paper and draw a line down the center. Then3;

You know the rest.

Buying a Home With Resale Value

Location ? Local Community, Town or City

Before you can actually pick out a house, you need to choose what cities or communities you would like to live in. There are many factors you should pay attention to, not only for yourself, but because you intend to eventually sell the home to someone else. Carefully choosing your community is the first step in "location, location, location" and can help maximize your future potential resale value.

Economic Stability

When choosing a community for your purchase, it makes the most sense to buy in a city with a viable and stable economy. Five, ten, or even fifteen years from now ? when you want to sell your home ? you can have a reasonable expectation that your community will still be a desirable place to live.

In addition to residential neighborhoods, there should be a healthy mixture of commercial and business districts. These not only provide jobs to the local residents, but also add an income source that the city can use to upgrade and maintain roads and city services.

In fact, you should take a drive and see how well the community is maintained. You have probably heard of "pride of ownership" when referring to an individual home or an automobile. Look to live in a city that demonstrates community pride, as well.

Local Government Services

In addition to community pride, check on the services provided by local government. One example would be the local library system. Are there several library branches? Do they stock a good selection of books, including recent best sellers?

You should also look into local crime statistics and see how the city compares to the national average and other local communities. Is the police force effective and responsive to community needs? Are fire stations located strategically around the community so that they also can respond quickly in an emergency?

Another area of inquiry is community services. Does the city sponsor youth sports and have well maintained athletic facilities and parks? Do they sponsor community events, such as an annual parade? Are there activities available for children, teenagers and senior citizens?

Your local agent, if they are a good one, will have amassed a wealth of information on these subjects of inquiry. It is also another reason to always use a local agent.

Schools

Even if you do not have school-age children and do not intend to have children, you must pay attention to the local school system. That is because when you sell the property, many of your potential buyers will have concerns of this nature.

You will want to know if the local schools are overcrowded. Take a drive around and see if there are auxiliary trailers outside the local schools. Call up the local school district and see if elementary aged children always attend the school closest to their home. If not, ask why. Are there enough schools to support the local population? If not, are there plans to build new schools? How will building new schools affect local property taxes?

You should also check to see how local students score on the standardized tests. You can ask your agent about these things, but you should also get the local phone numbers so you can ask yourself.

There are also school reports available for free on the Internet.

Property Taxes

Property taxes may be higher in one town than another nearby city. This can sometimes affect whether potential homebuyers view a community as a desirable place to live. Often, they will choose not to purchase in a community with higher taxes, though this decision is not always justified. Higher property taxes often mean newer and more modern schools, well-maintained roads, and bountiful community services.

In addition, you will often find that the "cost per square foot" of homes is lower in cities that have higher property taxes. This means you can buy a bigger house for less money. Since the mortgage payment may be lower, but the property taxes a bit higher, the monthly housing costs may be approximately the same in each city.

However, many agents and prospective buyers have a bias against a community with higher property taxes. If resale value is important to you, make property taxes a consideration when choosing the location of your new home

Determining Your Offer Price

When you prepare an offer to purchase a home, you already know the seller´s asking price. But what price are you going to offer and how do you come up with that figure?

Determining your offer price is a three-step process.

First, you look at recent sales of similar properties to come up with a price range. Then, you analyze additional data, such as the condition of the home, improvements made to the property, current market conditions, and the circumstances of the seller. This will help you settle on a price you think would be fair to pay for the home. Finally, depending on your negotiating style, you adjust your "fair" price and come up with what you want to put in your offer.

Comparable Sales

The first step in determining the price you are willing to offer is to look at the recent sales of similar homes. These are called "comparable sales." Comparable sales are recent sales of homes that compare closely to the one you are looking to purchase. Specifically, you want to compare prices of homes that are similar in square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, garage space, lot size, and type of construction.

If the home you are interested in is part of a tract of homes, then you will most likely find some exact model matches to compare against one another.

There are three main sources of information on comparable sales, all of which are easily accessed by a real estate agent. It is somewhat more difficult for the general public to access this data, and in some cases impossible. Two of the most obvious information sources are the public record and the Multiple Listing Service.

Determining Your Offer Price

Comparable Sales in the Public Record

The most accessible source of information on comparable sales is the public record. When someone buys a home the property is deeded from the seller to the buyer. In most circumstances, this deed is recorded at the local county recorder´s office. They combine sales data with information already known about the property so they can assess property taxes correctly.

Provided there have been no additions to the property, the information available from the public record is usually correct regarding sales price, square footage, and numbers of rooms. This makes it easy to use the public record as a source of data for comparable sale information.

Accessing the data is another matter, at least for the general public. Realtors can generally look up this information through title insurance companies. The title companies either compile the data directly from the county recorder´s office or purchase if from other companies.

One problem with the public record is that it tends to run at least six to eight weeks behind. Add another four to six weeks for the typical escrow period and you can see the data is not current. The most current information is the most valuable.

Determining Your Offer Price

Comparable Sales in the Multiple Listing Service

Most of the public is aware that the Multiple Listing Service is a private resource where Realtors list properties available for sale. Recently, the public has been able to access some of that information on such sites as Realtor.com, MSN HomeAdvisor, and others.

Once a property is sold and the transaction has closed, the selling price is posted to the listing in the Multiple Listing Service. Over time, it has become a huge database on past sales, containing much more information on individual homes than can be gleaned from the public record. This information is only available to real estate agents who are members of the local Multiple Listing Service.