The Rebecca Francis team? Placed in the top 1% of Berkshire Hathaway agents nationwide, Rebecca L. Decker Francis and her team specialize in the Lehigh Valley luxury home market. Combining their professional marketing expertise, business acumen and extensive connections both locally and abroad, Rebecca and her team can help buyers and sellers alike achieve their goals. Whether buying or selling a fine home, their access to the latest technologies and market research, along with their ability to network with other top luxury agents will benefit clients and enhance their buying or selling experience. Discover more details at check it out.
Now that you know the “fair market value” of the home you like, it’s time to determine how much you are willing to pay. Establishing this prior to making a formal offer helps define your personal limits. You should determine how much to offer, how much earnest money you will put down, how much of the closing costs you will ask the seller to pay, when you plan to settle, and what inspections you plan to have conducted. Your agent will offer great advice for structuring your offer. Remember to ask your agent about contingencies and their importance. If you don’t fully understand something, be sure to clarify it.
Have an Emergency Fund: If you lost your job tomorrow would you have enough money to live off while you look for a new one? If not then you’re not alone. This study found that although Americans are doing a better job at saving, around 24 percent of them (57 million people) don’t have an emergency fund. Now I don’t want to be a negative Nancy or a Debbie downer, but emergencies happen all the time. They may not happen to you, but it’s always good to be prepared. You can’t predict an emergency, but you can prepare for one. The best way to do so is to set up an emergency fund of 3-6 months living expenses. That means if you lost your job tomorrow, you’d be able to live off your emergency fund for 3-6 months while you look for a new one. Net worth can seem like a tricky topic, but it’s quite simple. Your net worth is how much money you are worth. If you were to sell everything you own, then pay off everything you owe, how much money would be left?
There will be times when you have the opportunity to create more space through proper organization and utilizing it efficiently. There are also some homes that just won’t allow you to store much stuff because there is no attic or basement, and the storage closet outside is relatively small. Millennial attraction to homeownership has grown significantly in recent decades. Mostly because there are now options where a 20% down payment is not the requirement. This gives a much larger pool of buyers the ability to buy a home. Especially, first time home buyers who receive a lot of help!
While you might have your hands full with an overzealous real estate agent, it’s important not to neglect your mortgage homework. Mortgages are often just mailed in, with little attention given to where they are originated. Your real estate agent will have their preferred lender that you “really should consider using because they’re the best,” but you don’t have to use them or even speak to them. I’ll typically say get a quote from them as a courtesy to keep things amicable, and to appease your agent, but also shop around with other banks, credit unions, lenders, and mortgage brokers. At the same time, think about how you want to structure the mortgage, including down payment, loan type (FHA or conventional), and loan program. The 30-year fixed isn’t always a no-brainer, though right now it’s a tough argument to go against it.
Discover a place with the vibrancy of your favorite Crayola® colors, the soundtrack of your favorite Martin® guitar riff, and the romance of historic covered bridges. Steeped in pre-Colonial, early American, and industrial history, Lehigh Valley is bursting with nationally-recognized events, exciting nightlife, adventurous outdoor activities, and modern and contemporary arts not what you’d expect from a place that is also home to rolling hills and calming countrysides. Find additional information on https://rebeccafrancisteam.foxroach.com/.