... The 3 words that no one wants to here these days whether it is during the inspection period of a home sale or during an insurance renewal application more and more times we are finding that there is work to be done and since the cost of roofing materials as well as construction labor has risen dramatically it can be a pricey problem during a home sale buyers and sellers are quite often forced to do some sort of renegotiation of price and terms other times the sale simply gets cancelled and the roofing problem is temporarily unresolved the owner is then left to sell the home AS IS or do the repairs/replacement on their own with the belief that they will net more money at the closing table for the time and effort to address the roof concerns once the roof has been completed its likely that the roof portion of the insurance policy will be less costly and provide some future benefit to the homeowner but living in the times instant gratification and the savings accumulating slowly over time not everyone feels that the cost/benefit is ideal for them today's show talks more about the scenarios that unfold&nbsp; &nbsp;

About That Roof...              Episode 174

... and the difference between being "in the market" or "out of the market" home sellers are faced with the choice when the put their home on the market and their fate will come down to 3-4 things  location condition marketing price position  and if they nail these things then they will be "in the market" and having showings - offers - and contracts if not then they will be "out of the market" and their homes will linger on the market for far longer than they should and almost always sell for less than if they were in the market from day 1 similarly, home buyers also have a choice some key factors in a successful purchase  proof of funds readily available a well written offer purchase price based on market facts flexible terms based on seller needs  without these in place a buyer will be "out of the market" and struggle to purchase a home a buyer that submits lowball offers on day 1 of a listing most likely poisons their own water and creates unnecessary friction with seller complicated offers with numerous moving parts and endless continegencies almost never work out listen in to get the details on the strategies that are working &nbsp; &nbsp;

A Tale Of 2 Markets...          Episode 175

... And The Real Estate Market Didn't Crumble Once again the Fed didn't drop interest rates And while there is a perception&nbsp; that home buyers will not buy right now there is a growing number of buyers buying admittedly many are cash buyers that are largely unaffected by interest rates but there is also a signifcant amount that are making purchases despite the rates there are a number of ways to reduce the rate including a refinance down the road when people are going to move its common that they will do so&nbsp; regardless of interest rates I do believe that interest rates will gradually go down over the couse of the year for the moment concerns of inflation and other uncertainty will cause the rate drops to be slow at first and increase over time today's show breaks down how and when it will happen &nbsp;

The Fed Did Nothing...     Episode 176

...is the week right before or after April 15 this is the time of year when most taxpayers are acutley aware of the financial picture and have had conversations with their financial advisors regarding large purchases and investments the documents the need for mortgage qualification are easily accessible to provide to lenders for approval its also a time where those with children in school are preparing for a summer move that takes place between the end and start of the school year so now that we know the best time to sell it becomes more important than ever&nbsp; to be "in the market" with your home sale pricing timing the market is never easy but the data has shown mid April to be the most advantageous time to sell todays podcast talks about the forced multiplier of this savvy home sales strategy

The Best Time To Sell Your Home...       Episode 177

...The are reports of some abrupt changes in real estate 1st Quarter Trends are showing some surprises The inventory had been increasing steadily until a precipitous drop of about 30% of homes for sale hit&nbsp;over the last 7 days Another report states that Interest Rates will drop to 4% within the next 2 weeks which would be amazing for home buyers A different report that really shocked me shows that home values are down 37% since the 1st of the year the market is about to go bonkers we will be watching things very closely to see what is actually about to happen next listen in to my April 1 podcast &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Your Not Going To Believe What Just Happened In The Market...     Episode 178

... begins with understanding a few simple strategies The method that every individual has the most control over Is to increase their credit score paying down debt usually increases a score but not always let's suppose that you have $4,000 that you can use to pay off a credit balance and you have a credit card with a 4k balance&nbsp; with a monthly payment of $100 per month and a car payment with a 4k balance with a monthly payment of $500 per month which would you pay off ? most people would be tempted to pay off the car and I can understand why but what if the car loan is a 5 year old trade line and the credit card was only a few months old paying off the car closes out that tradeline which can significantly reduce your average trade line age and might actually cause your score to go down so now you have a decision to make getting rid of a $500 payment helps your mortgage pre-qualification more than getting rid of a $100 payment but what if you can have your cake and eat it too? typically - a car loan that has 10 months or less of repayment time left on the loan is not counted against a borrowers application so now you get the best of both worlds each situation is different and we always recommend&nbsp; that you consult with the professional that you are working with listen in to today's show to learn the other 2 strategies

3 Ways To Get A Better Interest Rate...           Episode 179

...Rocket Mortgage is making some big moves They are in the process of acquiring Redfin They are also in the process of acquiring Mr Cooper They are quickly becoming The proverbial 10,000 pound gorilla Its such an interesting play A Gigantic mortgage company adds on a large real estate company with a super sized online presence and then goes a step further by also adding on the largest mortgage servicing company clearly they are looking to be the most complete end to end service provider in the combined real estate/mortgage space which can be really good or not so good for consumers for those looking for these services Rocket is wagering that people will want a 1 stop shopping platform I sense that there will be a segment of that audience that will prefer to create their own experience and select each provider on their own and avoid the bundled service package today's show talks about the impact of this move

Rocket News Flash...          Episode 180

...aren't coming at least in the way that you might think that they are There won't be some new "tax" on real estate sales But there will be an impact to the market as many people are pausing their real estate activities and with that, many may cost themselves a lot of money we only need to look at the numerous recent distractions to understand that make the choice to do nothing is a choice  covid rising interest rates buyer broker agreements elections  none of these caused the real estate markets to crash despite a plethora of prognosticators insisting that it would prices have remained stable despite all of the "noise" and my suspicion is that the market will be more than fine in fact, the tariffs may actually push the market forward in a big way as countries begin to make deal with the U.S.A that lower trade barriers and help businesses grow it wouldn't shock me to see interest rates come down over the summer and I anticipate that home sales will increase and that property values will increase before the end of the year listen in to hear the details on how I think its going to play out &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Real Estate Tariffs...        Epidsode 181

...will bring increased activity to the real estate market Home buyers and sellers create artificial deadlines every year New Years - Elections - Tax Season - End of School Year The "wait and see crowd" typically activate themselves the weeks before and after the April 15 tax season finish line its the time of year where most people have their greatest clarity of their financial picture and with this increased activity comes opportunity new homes will hit the market with greater frequency short term rentals may be sold or converted to long term rentals investors will adjust their portfolio holdings families will move to different school districts new "empty nesters" will downsize the recently retired will be making their relocation plans today's show provides and a road map to succeed and some tax strategies&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

The End Of Tax Season Effect...               Episode 182

...when you were sure that it would quickly sell for top dollar Let's start with the basics There are 3-4 things that really matter most  location condition marketing price  did you nail down those 4 things ? if you did not you have your answer if you got those 4 things right then we need to dig a little deeper how about the 4 point inspection ? how well did the home do with regard to  roof plumbing hvac electrical  let's suppose that you did well in all of those areas now what ? what about the wdo inspection (wood destroying organisms)  wood rot termites is there a transferrable termite bond  any past evidence of flooding in the home? has there been a hurricane claim on your insurance? has a water line ever broken in the home and filled the house with water? did you try to sell it on your own? were you highly responsive when people called? was the home proefessionally cleaned? did you hire a company to pre-inspect the home? I have given you the proverbial tip of the iceberg here listen to today's show to hear whats below the surface &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

3 Ways To Get A Better Interest Rate... Episode 179

Black Hole Of Real Estate