Single Family Rentals: How Does it Affect Homebuyers?

Single family rentals: how does it affect homebuyers?

By now you’ve probably heard of the huge business deal that closed in the single-family rental (SFR) market last week. If not—Invitation Homes and Starwood Waypoint Homes, two of the largest SFR landlords merged. It was a $4.3 billion dollar deal with a combined 82,000 homes in 17 metro areas. Pocket change, right?

The merger brought up important questions among homebuyers and renters, especially considering the Wall Street Journal described the deal as one that will no longer make homeownership essential to the American dream as more consumers choose to rent. According to the Urban Institute, the trend of consumers switching to renting will continue as more people delay marriage and children…

2868 Views, 0 Comments

How Much Mortgage Can You Afford?

How much mortgage can you afford?

Before you start scheduling showings or visiting open houses, make sure you have an accurate idea of your budget and how much mortgage you can afford.

Before you plan to spend the maximum amount you’ve been approved for, consider whether you can really afford the mortgage your lender offers.

According to the latest data from Trulia, the median selling price for a home is $192,000. That’s far more than most of us could afford to pay in cash, and why most of us take out a mortgage. But don’t rely on a lender to tell you how much of your monthly income you can comfortably spend on your home. They may let you borrow the maximum possible amount, but that doesn’t mean you…

3652 Views, 0 Comments

Stretching the Dollar

Stretching the dollar

It’s important to find a job that is both rewarding and in an area buyers enjoy—but what about being in an area that will produce the most income? You can check out where Orlando Florida Ranks, Thanks to research by Trove Technologies, a technology company that helps customers pack, move, and store personal and household items as well as maximize excess inventory of small, locally based moving companies, there is a list of regions that not only produce the most income for a chosen profession, but will also stretch that dollar further than other areas.

Trove Technologies took the salaries from 770 professions, considering cost-of-living and tax data in 195 U.S. cities, and organized the best and worst professions in each state,…

3128 Views, 0 Comments

Home prices are rising and inventory is low - Is there a Bubble Ahead?

Home prices are rising and inventory is low - Is there a Bubble Ahead?

Home prices are rising and inventory is low in Davenport FL - sound familiar? That fact has been talked about nearly to death, but it’s for good reason. Though it means that housing confidence is up and on a positive trajectory, it also means for certain areas that we could be headed for a correction.

Eight in 10 American’s, or 79 percent, say that homeownership is still a part of the American Dream, which is why ValueInsured has ranked the Housing Confidence Index score at 68.7 on a hundred-point scale. However, the expectation that homes will continue on their value path has decreased significantly.

According to ValueInsured, 57 percent of the American homeowners that were…

5334 Views, 0 Comments

Homeownership: Not Just for the Wealthy

Homeownership: Not Just for the Wealthy

Low-income households have struggled for many years to obtain the American Dream of homeownership in Davenport FL, however that’s beginning to change. According to Trulia, economic inequality is still a subject that the U.S. is handling. They study homeownership inequality by the gap between the bottom third share of homeowners versus the top third, omitting retirees.

In Americas 100 largest metros, households with higher-income own homes at as much as 4.4 times the rate of those at the bottom. Though the historical trend has shown the market as off limits to low-income homebuyers, now that isn’t true for every metro. The average age of a cities population, the magnitude of a housing market’s price range,…

3074 Views, 0 Comments

Boost Your Home Value with Improvements For Every Budget

Boost your home value with improvements for every budget

Experts offer their top ideas for boosting curb appeal.

You landed a new job and find yourself planning a cross-country move in three months and need to Sell your Davenport FL Home. Or, maybe you finally have the time to spend on home improvement now that the kids are out of the house. Here are some great approaches to home improvements geared toward a wide variety of budgets. We interviewed a number of experts to ask for tips, and all agreed with New York City-based designer Courtney Cachet who said, “For anything past the very basic DIY projects, I strongly recommend a licensed and insured professional.” 

Ready to channel your inner…

3069 Views, 0 Comments

Deciding Between an Agent and FSBO? Read This First

Deciding Between an Agent and FSBO? Read This First

When gearing up to sell your home in Davenport Florida, there could be a number of reasons you might be tempted to take on a For Sale By Owner sale. Maybe you’d like to avoid losing profit to a real estate agent, and you’re hesitant to involve another party in selling your property. Perhaps you think that you know your local market — and your own house — better than anyone else. You might question what a real estate agent could bring to the table that you haven’t already accounted for, especially when all the information you need is already online.

Even though roughly 70% of people start out with a FSBO, it’s a fact that FSBO sales aren’t usually successful. In fact, according to the National…

3285 Views, 0 Comments

What Does A Home Inspector Do?

What does a home inspector do?

Hire A Home Inspector

You found the right house in Central Florida. You put in your offer, and it was accepted. Congratulations. But now, it’s time to hire a home inspector to go over every inch it – inside and out – to make sure everything you see and don’t see won’t develop major problems once it’s your house.

(Find your house in Central Florida)

Protect Yourself And Your Investment

A home inspector can protect you and your money by showing you where things are past their prime, or if something is in great shape. The inspection isn’t for the lender, the real estate agent or the seller.

It’s for you – the buyer. And it's a big deal.

“Remember that you are making a very big buying decision, and it’s…

4441 Views, 0 Comments

A Helping Hand from HUD

A helping hand from hud

Notice to Central Florida Homebuyers:  The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced on Wednesday that its continuing its commitment to fighting discrimination in housing by making available grants totally $38 million through its Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP). The funding supports multiple fair housing activities, including testing, outreach activities, public education, and building capacity.

The FHIP is an effort by HUD to bring together fair housing organizations and other nonprofits to assist people that believe they’ve fallen victim to discrimination. Organizations send out testers—who are both non-Hispanic whites and minorities—with the same financial qualifications to see if they are treated…

3437 Views, 0 Comments

The Hurdles of Housing Inventory

The hurdles of housing inventory

It’s a shortage of skilled labor and higher development costs that are keeping construction starts low and housing inventory strapped in all areas of the country and in Davenport Florida, according to new data from Freddie Mac. According to the GSE, the number of open construction jobs has increased steadily since the housing crisis nearly a decade ago.

According to Freddie, the housing market has largely recovered since the Great Recession—with one holdout: inventory.

“A decade after the Great Recession, the housing market is rebounding,” Freddie Mac reported. “House prices today are higher than they were at the peak in the summer of 2006, near-record-low mortgage rates have boosted housing demand, and sales…

2979 Views, 0 Comments