Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Updated Rates
The rate as of today has dropped to 5% for a 30 year fixed mortgage. That is an amazing rate. Just a few months ago the rate was hovering around 6.25%. The difference on a monthly payment financing $200,000 is $157.79 / mo. The principal and interest payment on that home at 6.25% is $1,231.43 and at 5% is $1,073.64. You are saving over $150.00 of interest every month. This is a great time to buy a home. Just call me @ (256) 653-1165 or email me @ mike@gohsv.com to start your search. Thanks for visiting my blog and have a great day.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Current Rates
The rates have been steadily declining for the past few months. Currently they are right around 5.5%, which makes it a great time to buy a home. Of course that rate is for a 30 year fixed mortgage, the only kind I advise my clients to get. If you have any questions, just let me know at mike@gohsv.com.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Freeze on Subprime ARMs
Great news for sub prime mortgages. President Bust has put together an agreement to freeze interest rates for up to five years on certain sub prime adjustable rate mortgages. This is just a temporary fix, but it will help people keep their homes and not let them go into foreclosure. During the freeze, they should be refinancing to a fixed mortgage. Even if they cannot get a 30 year fixed mortgage at a rate they like, they will have the time to improve their credit rating, pay off debt, or do whatever they need to do to improve their standing.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Interest Rates
The rates for a 30 year fixed mortgage has been declining lately, which is great news if you are looking to buy a home. The rate is currently at 5.75%. It has been hovering between 6% and 6.25% over the past few months. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at mike@gohsv.com.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
New Blog
Thank you for visiting GoHsv.com and my Real Estate blog. If you have any questions or have a topic for a future blog, email me at mike@gohsv.com.
I will be changing the format of my blog. Instead of having a monthly blog with a lot of content, I will be posting a lot more often with shorter blogs. By changing formats, I will be able to bring much more information to you quicker. Let me know if you have any questions on Real Estate or any other questions about Huntsville.
Stay tuned for my first updated blog. Please subscribe to my Blog to have it emailed to you as soon as it posts. Thank you and have a great day.
I will be changing the format of my blog. Instead of having a monthly blog with a lot of content, I will be posting a lot more often with shorter blogs. By changing formats, I will be able to bring much more information to you quicker. Let me know if you have any questions on Real Estate or any other questions about Huntsville.
Stay tuned for my first updated blog. Please subscribe to my Blog to have it emailed to you as soon as it posts. Thank you and have a great day.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Why Huntsville?
Thank you for visiting GoHsv.com and my Real Estate blog. If you have any questions or have a topic for a future blog, email me at mike@gohsv.com.
WHY HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA?
Why would someone want to move to Huntsville, Alabama? I know Alabama does have a stigma about it, but Huntsville is nothing what you would expect. You truly have to see for yourself the culture, beauty, and way of life that makes Huntsville spectacular. It is one of few cities where you can choose to live in a condo in the middle of everything, subdivisions boasting many amenities, or having a farm with as little as a 30 minute commute to the Redstone Arsenal and Research Park. There are a lot of great reasons to move to Huntsville or at least come down and give it a chance, which I will be getting into in this post.
PERSONALLY
Personally my family and I moved to the Huntsville/Madison County area 2 1/2 years ago from the Chicago area. We were contemplating other places such as Florida, Arizona, and Kentucky. But every time we came down to Huntsville, we liked it more and more. I will be honest, a lot of people asked me "Alabama, really, why?" Now as family and friends came down to visit, they saw that it isn't all trailer parks but it is a thriving technology based city that attracts the best companies and prides itself for parks and entertainment. It is a great place to raise a family and has great nightlife for all tastes.
COST OF LIVING
A great quality that Huntsville has is the Cost of Living. Huntsville is 9% lower than the national average in Cost of Living compared to Washington D.C. being 46% above the national average. Your money goes a lot further here. For instance in the Chicago area I was paying $4,000/yr in property taxes, I have a bigger home down here and am only paying $700/yr. That is a considerable drop, especially since you are getting more home. It's not just taxes, gas is cheaper as well. From when I talk to friends from up north, the gas here is typically .30 cheaper per gallon. Factor that into a lot shorter commute times, and that is a big savings as well.
NIGHTLIFE
The Nightlife in Huntsville has something for everyone and is growing by leaps and bounds all the time. From Martini bars to Sports bars, to dance clubs and the theatre, Huntsville has something for you. Visit my "Nightlife" page on GoHsv.com for a more detailed list of what is out here in Hsv.
FAMILY
This is one of the main reasons we chose Huntsville, because it is such a great place to raise a family. There are a lot of parks and entertainment designed for families no matter the season. The schools in the Huntsville / Madison County area are some of the best in the state, as well as terrific private schools. Visit the "Kids Zone" & "Schools" pages for more info.
REAL ESTATE
Coming from a major city, houses look like a steal down here. Homes that would easily be $1,000,000 + in a major market, you could get for $400,000 here. The Huntsville / Madison County area has any kind of living you can think of. There is downtown living, subdivisions with club houses, pools and many more amenities, to open land from 1 acre to 100+ acres. As I stated before, you can have a farm and have only a short commute to work. Feel free to visit the "Real Estate" page and search for yourself, and if you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
You never know if Huntsville is right for you, unless you take the time and come down and look around. It will be well worth your time. Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and if you have any questions just email me at mike@gohsv.com. If you have a topic for a future blog as well, just let me know. Thank you and have a great day.
Don't forget to visit GoHsv.com and tell everyone you know.
WHY HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA?
Why would someone want to move to Huntsville, Alabama? I know Alabama does have a stigma about it, but Huntsville is nothing what you would expect. You truly have to see for yourself the culture, beauty, and way of life that makes Huntsville spectacular. It is one of few cities where you can choose to live in a condo in the middle of everything, subdivisions boasting many amenities, or having a farm with as little as a 30 minute commute to the Redstone Arsenal and Research Park. There are a lot of great reasons to move to Huntsville or at least come down and give it a chance, which I will be getting into in this post.
PERSONALLY
Personally my family and I moved to the Huntsville/Madison County area 2 1/2 years ago from the Chicago area. We were contemplating other places such as Florida, Arizona, and Kentucky. But every time we came down to Huntsville, we liked it more and more. I will be honest, a lot of people asked me "Alabama, really, why?" Now as family and friends came down to visit, they saw that it isn't all trailer parks but it is a thriving technology based city that attracts the best companies and prides itself for parks and entertainment. It is a great place to raise a family and has great nightlife for all tastes.
COST OF LIVING
A great quality that Huntsville has is the Cost of Living. Huntsville is 9% lower than the national average in Cost of Living compared to Washington D.C. being 46% above the national average. Your money goes a lot further here. For instance in the Chicago area I was paying $4,000/yr in property taxes, I have a bigger home down here and am only paying $700/yr. That is a considerable drop, especially since you are getting more home. It's not just taxes, gas is cheaper as well. From when I talk to friends from up north, the gas here is typically .30 cheaper per gallon. Factor that into a lot shorter commute times, and that is a big savings as well.
NIGHTLIFE
The Nightlife in Huntsville has something for everyone and is growing by leaps and bounds all the time. From Martini bars to Sports bars, to dance clubs and the theatre, Huntsville has something for you. Visit my "Nightlife" page on GoHsv.com for a more detailed list of what is out here in Hsv.
FAMILY
This is one of the main reasons we chose Huntsville, because it is such a great place to raise a family. There are a lot of parks and entertainment designed for families no matter the season. The schools in the Huntsville / Madison County area are some of the best in the state, as well as terrific private schools. Visit the "Kids Zone" & "Schools" pages for more info.
REAL ESTATE
Coming from a major city, houses look like a steal down here. Homes that would easily be $1,000,000 + in a major market, you could get for $400,000 here. The Huntsville / Madison County area has any kind of living you can think of. There is downtown living, subdivisions with club houses, pools and many more amenities, to open land from 1 acre to 100+ acres. As I stated before, you can have a farm and have only a short commute to work. Feel free to visit the "Real Estate" page and search for yourself, and if you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
You never know if Huntsville is right for you, unless you take the time and come down and look around. It will be well worth your time. Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and if you have any questions just email me at mike@gohsv.com. If you have a topic for a future blog as well, just let me know. Thank you and have a great day.
Don't forget to visit GoHsv.com and tell everyone you know.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Selling Your Home - Part III
Thank you for visiting GoHsv.com and my Real Estate blog. If you have any questions or have a topic for a future blog, email me at mike@gohsv.com.
In our third installment of "Selling Your Home", I ask the question: Is using a Realtor worth it? That really is a loaded question. What it comes down to is the cost of using a Realtor vs. the time and work involved in doing everything on your own.
COMMISSION
The commission is the money a seller pays a Realtor to sell their home. It is not a set fee, normally it is neogotiable. In our area, it is usually 6% of the sales price. Some Realtors will lower the commision but when they do, make sure you ask them if they also limit some of the ways they advertise. Realtors have to pay for all their own advertising, so if they make less, they may not spend as much in adervertising as they normally would. Also, the commission is split between the sellers agent and the buyers agent. Usually it is a 50/50 split. So for a 6% commission, each Realtor would get 3%. But if the same Realtor represents both sides, he/she will get the full 6%.
So if your home sells for $200,000. I as your agent, for the seller, would get 3% of that or $6,000. But with that money, I have to split some of it with my company. Say I am on a 70/30 split so I get 70% of that original $6,000 which would be $4,200. Now with that, I need to take out my own taxes on it, so I would estimate and take out maybe 25% for taxes which would leave me with $3,150. Now I would take the $3,150 and then subtract the amount that I spent on advertising your home and then I would have the money I made selling your home.
Now I am not saying, "Oh those poor Realtors have to give up all their money." Because I know everyone has seen Realtors driving very high end cars and living in fancy homes, but that is just a select few, most of us aren't living like that. I just wanted to give you a little insight into commission and how it works.
TIME & WORK
Now in Part I, I discussed everything that is involved with selling your home. I will never discourage someone from trying to sell their home themselves. I offer any help I am able to provide, unless something I would do would make them my client, then I would have to tell them if I assist you any further, than the only way I can help you is to list your home with me. The only way I would advise against selling your home by yourself is if you really had to move immediately and did not already have someone lined up to purchase your home.
Most people who sell their homes FSBO (For Sale By Owner) typically give themselves 2 to 6 weeks to sell it, and if they don't, then they end up hiring a Realtor to assist them. It is alot harder to advertise FSBO, to get maximum exposure. Alot of buyers go to a Realtor to help them find a home, mostly because it is free for a buyer. If your home is a FSBO, the Realtor is not going to know about it unless they just happen to drive past your home. But if you are on a road that has alot of traffic or in a very sought after neighborhood that alot of people want to move into, then it might be worth your while to try it.
If you do decide to try it, this is where the TIME & WORK part comes into play. Moving is already a very stressful time, make sure you do have the time and patience to handle all the aspects of selling your home that I touched on in Part I. It isn't impossible by any means, just make sure you do your homework and know what you are getting into.
If you have any questions about selling your home, either with a Realtor or FSBO, do not hesitate to email me at mike@gohsv.com.
In our third installment of "Selling Your Home", I ask the question: Is using a Realtor worth it? That really is a loaded question. What it comes down to is the cost of using a Realtor vs. the time and work involved in doing everything on your own.
COMMISSION
The commission is the money a seller pays a Realtor to sell their home. It is not a set fee, normally it is neogotiable. In our area, it is usually 6% of the sales price. Some Realtors will lower the commision but when they do, make sure you ask them if they also limit some of the ways they advertise. Realtors have to pay for all their own advertising, so if they make less, they may not spend as much in adervertising as they normally would. Also, the commission is split between the sellers agent and the buyers agent. Usually it is a 50/50 split. So for a 6% commission, each Realtor would get 3%. But if the same Realtor represents both sides, he/she will get the full 6%.
So if your home sells for $200,000. I as your agent, for the seller, would get 3% of that or $6,000. But with that money, I have to split some of it with my company. Say I am on a 70/30 split so I get 70% of that original $6,000 which would be $4,200. Now with that, I need to take out my own taxes on it, so I would estimate and take out maybe 25% for taxes which would leave me with $3,150. Now I would take the $3,150 and then subtract the amount that I spent on advertising your home and then I would have the money I made selling your home.
Now I am not saying, "Oh those poor Realtors have to give up all their money." Because I know everyone has seen Realtors driving very high end cars and living in fancy homes, but that is just a select few, most of us aren't living like that. I just wanted to give you a little insight into commission and how it works.
TIME & WORK
Now in Part I, I discussed everything that is involved with selling your home. I will never discourage someone from trying to sell their home themselves. I offer any help I am able to provide, unless something I would do would make them my client, then I would have to tell them if I assist you any further, than the only way I can help you is to list your home with me. The only way I would advise against selling your home by yourself is if you really had to move immediately and did not already have someone lined up to purchase your home.
Most people who sell their homes FSBO (For Sale By Owner) typically give themselves 2 to 6 weeks to sell it, and if they don't, then they end up hiring a Realtor to assist them. It is alot harder to advertise FSBO, to get maximum exposure. Alot of buyers go to a Realtor to help them find a home, mostly because it is free for a buyer. If your home is a FSBO, the Realtor is not going to know about it unless they just happen to drive past your home. But if you are on a road that has alot of traffic or in a very sought after neighborhood that alot of people want to move into, then it might be worth your while to try it.
If you do decide to try it, this is where the TIME & WORK part comes into play. Moving is already a very stressful time, make sure you do have the time and patience to handle all the aspects of selling your home that I touched on in Part I. It isn't impossible by any means, just make sure you do your homework and know what you are getting into.
If you have any questions about selling your home, either with a Realtor or FSBO, do not hesitate to email me at mike@gohsv.com.
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