Two Real Estate Myths Debunked

The world of real estate seems to have more myths in it than most ancient cultures. It’s important for buyers who are looking for a property in the Grand Junction area to recognize these myths and to know that they aren’t true. In this post, we’ll be debunking some of the most prevalent.

Myth #1: Buying the Worst House on the Street Is a Good Idea?

This myth probably started because people thought they could get a better deal on the “ugly duckling”. While you might be able to get a good price now, you have to think about the future. What if you want to sell in few years? You could put a substantial amount of money into upgrades and additions, but will it really add enough value to the home? If you do nothing, it will still be the worst house on the block. This makes it harder to sell and you won’t get a great price. Don’t buy the worst just because you think it’s a good deal!

Myth #2: You Need Expensive Upgrades to Sell a Home

Even though upgrades may help the house appeal to certain buyers, there is no guarantee that they will help the home to sell faster, and there is no guarantee that it will help to increase the value of the house for that matter. Instead, you can focus on other types of improvements, such as painting, to make the property more appealing. If you are going to upgrade parts of the home, make sure they are upgrades that you can afford and that are recommended by your real estate agent.

  

There you have it; two of the biggest real estate myths debunked. Make sure you and others you know who are looking for property or to sell property, don’t fall for them!

Resource: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2015/01/residential-real-estate-myths-busted-zillow-talk.html

The Dangers of Buying a House in a Hot Market

The current housing market in Colorado has seen the fastest rising home prices in the country where between February 2014 and February 2015 alone, home prices rose nearly 10% as a whole. In Grand Junction, more and more houses are popping up for sale and increasing the competition for sellers. With the average home sitting on the market for 120 days, many home sellers in Grand Junction and surrounding areas are wondering when the metro Denver housing boom will hit the Western Slope.

The good news for homebuyers in Grand Junction is that there are more houses for sale with less competition. Many metro area city-dwellers are leaving the Denver area to find affordable housing on the Western Slope where they can take their time and look at more houses.

Ask anyone who has purchased real estate recently in the Denver area and they will likely tell you how difficult and frustrating it is to compete in a hot market. More often than not there are lines to view a house that has just hit the market one or two days prior and you have only minutes to decide whether to put in an offer.

When a buyer does decide to put an offer on a house, they can expect anywhere from 5-20 other offers to compete with, and some in cash. How does someone with FHA financing compete in a hot market when there are all-cash offers on the table? The answer is that it takes a lot of patience, perseverance, and timing. When you find the right house at the right time, you jump on it and throw your absolute best offer at it.

Even so, if and when you do manage to have your offer accepted by the seller, there’s no guarantee that it will appraise. Unless the seller is willing to accept a lower price, you’ll be the one left forking out more cash to the mortgage company to overpay for your now-overpriced home.

Top 3 Things That Can Destroy a Real Estate Purchase

When purchasing a house in Grand Junction there are a number of things that can turn a perfect opportunity into a nightmare. In real estate, contracts and timing are everything and if one of them isn’t on par with the other, the homebuyer is usually the one that suffers. Don’t let a great deal go sour by looking out for these top 5 things that can destroy a real estate purchase:

1. Insulting the seller. There are many ways to do this when putting an offer on a house, but the first step towards buying a home should never be to make an insultingly-low offer or bad-mouth the seller, the house, or the neighborhood. This will leave your offer in the trash bin instead of on the table.

2. Not getting financing. When a seller accepts a buyer’s offer and pulls their home off the market, forgoing other offers, the last thing they want to happen is have the loan fall through. Make sure you get your finances sorted out and locked down before you start making offers.

3. Buyer’s remorse. Going under contract on a house and finding out after the inspection that the house needs costly repairs is one thing because you can always renegotiate the purchase price, cost of repairs, or purchase credits; but putting an offer on a house that you already knew was in poor shape and then demanding a cut in price is a great way to put-off a seller.

Just remember that when you’re under contract, you still have some outs in case something goes wrong. Make sure you are certain about purchasing a house before putting an offer on the table or it could cost both parties a lot of time and money.

Inspection Is Essential When Buying Your New Home

Buying a home is probably going to be the largest expense that you ever undertake, so naturally, you need to make sure that you are careful when buying. You want to buy the right home in a great neighborhood, and you need to know that the home doesn’t have any hidden defects that might cost you down the road. Even when you find what seems to be the perfect home in Grand Junction, you need to work with a professional inspector that can assure you that everything is right with your home. Let’s look at some of the common trouble areas that the inspector will cover.

The electrical system of the house is one of the most important parts of the inspection. The inspector will check to see that the fuse box or breaker is in good condition, and that the outlets are working properly. They will also check the heating and air conditioning, as well as the plumbing. Inspectors will also check the basement and attic if you have them in the new home. They will look for leaks, roof damage, and other signs that something could be wrong fundamentally with the “skeleton” of the house.

Even though you might have an inspector, you should do some of your own inspections of the things that they might miss. For example, make sure that all of the toilets and drains are working properly. Open and close all of the windows and doors to make sure they work smoothly.

While you might trust the people from whom you are buying the home, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t something wrong with the place. It could even be something they are unaware of until an inspector points it out. You should always work with an inspector when you are buying a new place.

Resource: http://www.redbeacon.com/hg/10-things-inspect-buying-home/