7 Smart Strategies for Kitchen Remodeling

HouseLogic® from Realtor.org reports that Kitchen Remodeling does not return all of the investment in the remodeling back to you in resale value.

Major remodeling often defined as a project costing $50,000+ is reported by HouseLogic to return about 74% of the cost back to you in your home's resale value.  However, smaller remodeling projects, defined around $19,000 return a higher resale percentage or approximately 82%.    

If you are spending this  much money, you want to  do your remodeling right.  HouseLogic reports on the "7 Smart Strategies for Kitchen Remodeling", article.

More Homeowners Return to Positive Equity in 2014

According to Realtor.com®, more homeowners will return to positive equity in 2014. ☺

Today it is estimated that over 1/5 of all homeowners are still underwater or had negative equity.  

In Northern Virginia last year, the average home value rose 7%.  It is expected in 2014 that home prices in Northern Virginia will rise 9%.   Good news for those with negative equity.

"Rising prices helped 2.5 million homeowners who were previously underwater regain positive equity status during the second quarter of 2013. However, approximately 7.1 million homes were still in negative equity at that time and an estimated 10 million homeowners, or about 21.1 percent of all homeowners with a mortgage, remained “under-equitied,” with less than 20 percent in home equity. The good news is that prices are expected to continue rising in 2014, which will lift more homeowners into positive territory. According to realtor.com®, median list prices for homes in October rose 7.57 percent above the same month of 2012."  

Source is:  http://www.realtor.com/news/experts-predict-2014-housing-market/#.Uri8hpEimVj

Mortgage Rates Drop

USA Today reported yesterday that the average  30-year mortgage rates dropped to 4.41% This is great news!  Full  article at http://usat.ly/1aaoAGX

15-year rates also dropped to 3.45% from 3.56%

Many economist are expecting rates this year to go up to 5%.  If you are thinking of buying a home---now is the time!  

7 Don'ts After You Apply For A Mortgage

"Common sense" is not always "common practice".  This is especially true when people are in the process of buying a home and do things that hurt or actually prevent them from buying   their dream home.

Below are the 7 actions that a home buyer should not do.

1. Buy home on your own.   The  commission for a Realtor® is paid by the seller or new home builder.  Why not utilize the expertise of a well established Realtor to find your dream home and to negotiate the sales price and terms.
   
2. Unexplained large cash deposits.  Lenders need to show your source of funds.  Sudden deposits of $5,000 or more in cash into your  bank account will cause your Lender to ask where the money came from.  Usually, funds deposited into your bank account that was 60+ days previous will not require an explanation as most Lenders ask for the 2 most recent bank statements.
   
3. Do not make any large purchases such as for a car or new furniture or a vacation.  This causes new debt and that will hurt your qualification for your home loan.
   
4. Do not co-sign a loan for another person.  When you co-sign, you are legally responsible for that debt if the  debt is not paid.  Lenders will count the payments against your income even though you do not make the payments.
   
5. Do not change banks or bank accounts.  Lenders need to track the source of funds and that is made very difficult if you change banks or bank accounts.  Also, a Lender may become suspicious as to the reason for the change.
   
6. Do not close any credit accounts.  My wife and I paid off several credit cards and we thought it was prudent to cancel the credit accounts as we thought less credit accounts the higher our credit score.   This was wrong.   Credit scoring companies take into consideration how long you have had the credit account, payment history and amount of credit outstanding compared to credit limit.  By closing out 3 long time credit accounts we actually hurt our credit score.
   
7. Do not apply for any new credit.  Credit inquires leave a record and multiple credit inquires will negatively impact your credit (FICO) score.  Do not do it.   Wait until after you have moved into your new home and then apply for new credit.  Also the lower your credit score the more expensive or higher APR you will pay on your new mortgage.

Tobin Seven, REALTOR® / Veteran is Agent with REMAX.   Website: www.SoldBySeven.com, phone 703 327-6800

7 Smart Strategies For Kitchen Remodeling

Great article from National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

If done right, a kitchen remodel can recoup much of its cost. Kitchen remodels in the $50,000 to $60,000 range recoup about 69% of the initial project cost when the home is sold.

A minor kitchen remodel of about $18,500 does even better, returning more than 75% of your investment, according to the most recent Cost vs. Value data from Remodeling magazine.

To maximize your return on investment, follow the link below for the  7 strategies to keep you on budget and help you make smart choices.

You also need a reputable person to do the remodeling.  I recommend someone I have used before and he is local and has been in business for 20+ years.  Recommendation is Mr. Nadeem Rahman.  Website:  http://www.cmihomedesignstudio.com/

Article from NAR is below:
http://members.houselogic.com/articles/tips-for-kitchen-remodeling/preview/

2014 Is A Good Year To Buy A Home

According to CBS News, home prices nationally in 2013 appreciated over 13%. This is a very good increase.  In 2014 it is expected that home prices will moderate to around 7% in the Northern Virginia area due to an expected increase in mortgage rates from the current 4.5% to around 5.0%  This is still a good increase in home values.

As CBS News pointed out; if you rent than at the end of 2014 you will have 12 cancelled checks for your monthly rent.  If on the other hand you owned your home than at the end of 2014, you would have 12 cancelled checks which go toward a home mortgage interest deduction and you also will see appreciation in your home value.  More details at CBS News http://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-2014-is-a-good-year-to-buy-a-home/