Terry Anderson

Debating Between a Condo or a House? from Melissa Paul on Realtor.com

A condo can offer a good location at a less expensive price.

Buying a home is one of the biggest and most important decisions you’ll ever make. Whether you are a first-time buyer, or a veteran homeowner looking to trade up or make a new start, you will inevitably be faced with a number of questions. Your answers will lead you to the home that’s right for you.

One of the most fundamental questions all homeowners face is whether to buy a condo or single family house. There are advantages and disadvantages of each and only you can know what’s right for you.

For Boston newlyweds Michelle and Kevin Millsom, 31 and 36, it was an easy decision. With high-powered financial careers and no children, they were drawn to the excitement of the city and wanted their fingers on the pulse. They bought a penthouse apartment with a breathtaking view of Boston’s famous esplanade and Charles River.

“We enjoy everything the city has to offer—the restaurants, theatre, outdoor concerts. We walk everywhere and find the easy access to the airport to be a plus since we travel frequently for work,” said Kevin. “When we have children, we may think about a house in the suburbs, but for now this is where we want to be.”

Like all things, living in the heart of the city comes with tradeoffs. For the price of their two-bedroom/two-bath condo, they could buy a home three times the size, just a short 20-minute commute away. They share decision-making for their building with fourteen other tenants and pay pricey condo fees to cover the costs of insurance and upkeep. Their car sits idle most of the time in a $300 per month rented parking spot only to leave for short jaunts to the grocery store or visits to see family. But for Kevin and Michelle who want to spend their spare time out and about, the location and convenience can’t be beat.

On the other hand, Adriana Forte, 62, lives in a condo in the Boston suburb of Arlington and misses all that a single-family home has to offer. Six years ago, after her divorce, she bought a “condex,” (a two-family home with a shared wall) with the belief that managing a home would be too much for her alone. But it turned out to be the wrong decision for her. Now, she is desperately seeking a single-family house to call her own.

“It’s difficult to live with neighbors so close,” Forte said. “First there was the noise. My neighbors are night people, and every night they are just getting geared up when I’m trying to sleep. Then I found myself handling 100 percent of the finances and maintenance of the duplex—without compensation. I may as well be living in my own house!” Forte also misses the fresh air and private outdoor space. For her, maintaining a home and garden is pure enjoyment. The privacy is what she misses most.

What is most important to you? Give consideration to the following:

• Location – Where do you want to be? Are there options for both condos and single-family houses in this area?
• Privacy – Is it important to you to have complete privacy or do you find close neighbors to be a comfort?
• Responsibility – Do you need total control over decisions affecting your home or are you attracted to the idea of sharing decision-making with your neighbors?
• Maintenance – Are you a homebody who enjoys getting dirty in the yard or are you delighted with the idea of never having to cut a blade of grass again?
• Budget – How much do you have to spend? Depending on where you want to live, a condo may be the only option that meets your budget.

These considerations and others will help you determine the best choice for you now. And just remember, if your interests and priorities change in the years ahead, you can always sell your home and make a move, this time with experience as your guide.

The McMansion is Going the Way of the Dinosaur by David Reinholtz

It may be long overdue, but the McMansion appears to  have finally reached its end. This can be joyous news for many  environmentalists who have long seen these monstrosities as a  waste of resources, energy, and symbols of materialistic  society. For builders, though, it means that they need to  downsize their homes and sometimes also their staff.

During the  past several decades, average home sizes were continuing to  expand and in the beginning of the new millennium, the average  home size was around 2,300 square feet. In 2009, that number  had dropped to 2,135 square feet. This isn’t a significant  number in total square footage, but the trend makes perfect  sense from a global and national standpoint.

Multiple  factors contributing

There are many factors that are  apparently contributing to this decrease in home size. One of  the more significant factors is that square footage costs  money in property taxes as well as purchasing price and with  millions of people out of work, there’s just not the same  amount of purchasing power at the moment.

The mortgage crisis  has also contributed to this downsizing. Many lenders are  being more scrutinizing when evaluating potential buyers and  are not offering the massive loans that they were just a few  short years ago. It seemed throughout the nineties that these  McMansions were growing larger and larger and with them, so  was their price.

Homeowners across the nation are deciding that  having a smaller home is simply a better investment. After  all, how many couple with two children really need six  bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a three or four car garage?

Home heating costs are part of the equation

It can’t be  stated enough that the cost to heat a home during the winter  months, or to cool it in the hot summer months, has gone up  significantly during the past several years. When a family is  struggling to make ends meet for their McMansion and then add  to that the rise in these costs, it can break almost any  budget. When the costs to heat and cool homes continued to  rise, the call for less square footage really kicked in.

People  stopped and looked around at their existence and realized how  much space was wasted within their homes. And the downsizing  began.

Living within one’s means is a new concept?

After  the seventies, credit cards and credit companies began to  blossom like never before. Americans were encouraged to spend  on credit. If they wanted something right now, it wasn’t such  a bad idea to buy it, put it on the charge card, and worry  about the cost later. As the eighties rolled into the  nineties, McMansions began to take off like nobody’s business.

The idea of buying the house of your dreams was planted in  many would-be homeowners. Why not buy what you will want ten  years from now at that time? It didn’t seem to matter whether  the mortgage was consuming almost every dime that you made;  you had credit in the bank in the form of credit cards. People  ran up ten, twenty, thirty thousand dollars and more just  trying to survive and make ends meet so that they could keep  up with their enormous homes.

Those days seem to be drying out  now for millions of Americans. Credit card companies are  closing accounts, raising interest rates, and looking to  tighten up on their own lending practices, which means that  virtual endless stream of funds is running out fast. Sizing  down with homes is the logical step and while the industry may  suffer some lag when the McMansion finally goes extinct, the  next phase will begin.

Who Is a Typical Candidate for Credit Restoration by Anthony Zanaglio

Typically, a candidate for credit restoration has a credit score below 640 and has negative information recorded in their credit reports.  Many clients are in the process of making a major purchase, such as a home or a car.  Some may be looking to refinance or take out a loan for home improvements.  Regardless of their purchasing goals, good candidates are willing to work toward the goal of improving their credit.

Deciding to use a credit restoration company is a great idea, as the efficiency and experience that the company brings to the process can be of considerable help.  However, as with any business it is important to choose a reputable company that provides excellent service and is honest and reliable.  Many credit restoration companies advertise directly to consumers via the Internet, newspaper or mailings, while others market to industries that utilize the credit score, such as real estate agents, loan originators, and car salesmen.  When selecting a credit restoration company, choosing a reputable company with an established track record that is referred by a reliable source is typically a better option than selecting a company based upon its direct advertising.

What’s the Cost and How Long Does It Take?

The average fee for credit restoration is around $400, though some companies charge as little as $250 or as much as $800.  Be cautious of the companies that charge higher fees because you can basically receive the same service for a lower fee.  Also, beware of those companies that may charge monthly fees and drag the process out over a year.  Because the credit restoration process can be completed within 90 days, there is no reason to pay a company for a year or more when the same process should be completed for a single fee in three months or less.  Do-it-yourself credit restoration kits are also an option for consumers, though many clients do not have the time or patience to perform the process on their own.

How Effective is the Process?

Credit restoration is extremely effective, although it is practically impossible to determine how much one specific action may affect a consumer’s credit score.  A change of one factor can impact the score, though the degree of that impact depends upon how it relates to other factors and the history included in the report.  For example, a person with a long credit history and several positive accounts will be affected less by five late payments than will a person who has just recently established credit and has only five accounts total, with all five accounts reporting late.

The key to credit restoration is to correct those factors that will most likely boost the client’s credit score.  However; it is the client’s responsibility to remember that building a good credit history over time — by paying bills promptly, having a variety of accounts established, and keeping balances below 40 percent of the credit limits — is the best strategy for having and maintaining excellent credit.  For this reason, it is impossible and inadvisable for any credit restoration company to guarantee clients that their credit score will improve, though in most cases it will.

How Does Credit Restoration Work by Anthony Zanaglio

Credit restoration companies — which should be distinguished from debt management/negotiation companies — rely on the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to assist consumers in increasing their credit scores.  The FCRA provides that the consumer has the right to question any unverifiable, inaccurate, or erroneous information reported in their credit file with any of the three major credit bureaus.  This information may include reporting about collections, late payments, charge-offs, judgments, tax liens, foreclosures, garnishments, and bankruptcies.

Once the credit bureaus are notified of a disputed item on a consumer’s report, they have 30 days from the date they are notified of a dispute to verify the item(s) in question with the original creditor.  If the original creditor does not verify the account within that time, the delinquent account or late payment must be corrected or deleted from the credit file.   At this point, the score will adjust immediately with the three major credit bureaus. Same law applies for the removal of inquiries.

Although consumers can and frequently do choose to dispute and work toward correcting inaccurate information on their own, the process can be very confusing and time consuming.  Credit restoration companies present another convenient option — just as people can file their own taxes, but may choose to pay an accountant to provide the service.

In addition to communicating with the bureaus regarding the disputed items, some credit restoration companies also consult with clients on how to obtain and maintain good credit.  Also, some companies that may help consumers settle accounts that are not removed during the process.

What a Cusomer is to Us… and Mahatma

A customer is the most important visitor on our premises.

 He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him.

 He is not an interruption of our work. He is the purpose of it.

 He is not an outsider to our business. He is part of it.

 We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so.

Make sure you ask the right questions of your home Inspector By Michele Dawson from Realty Times

How much can you afford for a house payment… thoughts from Real Town

How much can you afford for a house payment… thoughts from Real Town

If you’re thinking it’s time to take that leap forward and buy a home, the first thing you’re going to need to know is what you can afford. You don’t want to waste your time  looking at (and getting attached to) homes that are out of your price range.

Rather, have a good idea of what you can afford and set a limit to your big purchase. To know how much you can afford, you will need to figure out your debt-to-income ratio. This figure is a percentage that’s based on how much personal debt you’re carrying in relation to your income. Lenders will use this in determining how much mortgage debt you’ll be able to handle.

Although in some areas, the debt-to-ratio percentage differs, the general debt-to-income ratio is 36%. Another good guideline to remember is to keep the gross monthly income going towards your housing expense at not more than 28%.

So, using this guideline, how can you find out how much of a monthly house payment you can afford? First of all, figure out the total monthly debt you can handle by multiplying your monthly gross income, before taxes and any other expenses, by 36% (or 0.36). Next, add up all of your family’s FIXED monthly debt expenses. These are your expenses that are regular and don’t change. They would include your automobile payments, minimum credit card payments, student loans, child support, etc. These would not include varying expenses like groceries – simply your fixed expenses. Once you have this amount, you would subtract it from your total monthly debt that you figured out in the first step.

The number this leaves you with would be your maximum mortgage payment allowance. It is the most you can afford. You’ll need to remember that the number you come up with will have to include not only your mortgage payment, but also insurance and property taxes. There are calculators you can use online to help you figure out what you can afford based on that amount. Of course, this will tell you what you can afford at maximum. This doesn’t necessarily mean that that is how much you should spend. Consider your circumstances, other debts and money spending habits, and realistically how much you’d feel COMFORTABLE spending each month. Create a budget so that you know where your money is going, how you can alter it if you choose, and how much you could truly afford on your new home.

Give Terry a call at 970-227-7355 for further information or to help you through the process!

Welcome to our new website!

Thanks for taking a look at our new web site…. I’m glad you found us! We have added even more information to assist you in buying or selling real estate here in Northern Colorado. Also, if you are thinking you may have a little “Caribbean soul” lurking about, check out the St. Croix section of the site and take a look at some possible investment in Americas Secret Paradise!!