by rtdosen | Oct 9, 2015 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
Top 5 Things to Consider When Building a New Home By Ryan Dosen Buyers in today’s market have been getting frustrated. Despite the fact that inventory levels are close to last year’s levels, it seems like there’s a shortage of quality homes on the market. Inventories are actually down slightly and the pace of home sales in Chester County has increased (Suburban West Realtors Association reports that year-to-date home settlements are up 15.2 percent). With more buyers buying and fewer homes for sale, we’re still seeing attractive, accurately-priced homes flying off the shelves. As a result, many of these frustrated buyers will turn to new construction, choosing to pay more for the chance to get exactly what they want. However, rather than etching their wants in stone, these buyers would be wise to take a few notes from the people in the business of new construction. To learn more about what new construction buyers need to know, I sat down with Scott Megill, homebuilder and co-owner of multi-generational, award-winning luxury homebuilder Megill Homes of Chadds Ford, PA. 1 – Maximize Structural Spaces According to Megill, one of the most important things to consider when designing a new home is maximizing the home’s structural spaces. Once these spaces are set and built out, it is very difficult to change them or add to them later in a cost-effective manner. Megill says that “when designing your home, you want to pay special attention to the rooms that you will spend the most amount of time in. Design these rooms with enough area so that you will be able to enjoy...
by rtdosen | Oct 2, 2015 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
State of the Market: Fall Edition By Ryan Dosen Fall is here. Welcome are the cooler temperatures and beautiful colors, as well as the typical flurry of real estate activity. People have returned from summer vacation, kids are back in school, and many will try to close transactions before year-end and the holidays. In general, the market seems to be following a similar path this year, at a noticeably faster pace. Pending Home Sales Remain Up Year-Over-Year The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that “pending home sales retreated in August but remained at a healthy level of activity and have now risen year-over-year for 12 consecutive months.” NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index is also up 6.1% year-over-year. Pending sales are an important indicator for the real estate market, as they represent the number of transactions that are under contract, but not yet closed. A measure of closed transactions would show us where the market is today. However, most are more concerned with where the market is headed. Pending transactions represent closings that will, for the most part, occur in the next couple of months—providing a decent indicator of the real estate market’s health in the near future. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for NAR, says that “pending sales have leveled off since mid-summer, with buyers being bounded by rising prices and few available and affordable properties within their budget…. Even with existing-housing supply barely budging all summer and no relief coming from new construction, contract activity is still higher than earlier this year and a year ago.” In Chester County, housing supply has dipped about 7 percent since...
by rtdosen | Oct 2, 2015 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
TRID Clears the Air on Home Loan & Settlement Terms By Ryan Dosen New forms, new procedures, and new requirements are coming for real estate loans and settlements by way of the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule. For loan applications taken on or after October 3, 2015, Good Faith Estimates go the way of the dinosaur and lenders will have heightened requirements for getting you to the closing table. For consumers, the changes should largely be positive, unless you find yourself working with a lender or agent that is not prepared for the changes. Changes to Loan Paperwork Currently, lenders are required to provide their clients with Good Faith Estimates (GFEs) and Truth-in-Lending Act disclosures (TILAs). The GFE provides the consumer with lender, sales price, loan amount, interest rate, and type of loan information. The TILA provides the consumer with the loan’s interest rate, along with information about fees, such as loan origination fees, underwriting and processing fees, and other costs associated with the loan. Starting on October 3, the GFE and TILA are replaced with a 3-page Loan Estimate form. The new form provides the consumer with much of the same information, but in a format that is supposed to be more easily digestible. Changes to HUD-1 Currently, the HUD-1 Settlement Statement is the form that is signed at closing, summarizing all payments being made pursuant to a real estate transaction. The HUD-1 and final TILA forms are being replaced with a new 5-page Closing Disclosure form. In addition to providing a breakdown of financials, this form is used to disclose many of the terms and...
by rtdosen | Sep 28, 2015 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
Home Buying Process Starts with a Major Decision By Ryan Dosen The first step in your home buying process isn’t driving around your ideal neighborhood looking for “For Sale” signs. It isn’t going online to run a search on the latest properties to hit the market. It isn’t sitting down with your Realtor to discuss the best homes in the area. It isn’t getting pre-approved for a mortgage. It may actually be choosing your college major. Of course, not everyone will go to college. Nor do they need to in order to buy a home. And of course, different people will take different paths with the same college degree, some more lucrative than others. But the bottom line is that, on average, your choice of degree puts you on a path to generally make a certain amount of money. Your choices and work ethic can certainly alter your path and future income, but the fact remains that your choice of college degree significantly impacts your future income and the home(s) you will eventually purchase. It is in this way that your choice of college degree could be said to be the first step in your home buying process. This is all very logical and unsurprising; however, most 18-year olds are probably not thinking specifically about buying a home when they are choosing a major. College Majors and Home Affordability More than 300 college degrees were analyzed by PayScale and Realtor.com, and engineering majors dominate the top of the list of incomes and mid-career (10+ years) maximum affordable home prices. Petroleum engineers sit at the top of the mountain with...
by rtdosen | Sep 25, 2015 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
Yearly Do-It-Yourself Home Inspections Pay Big Dividends By Ryan Dosen Home inspections aren’t just for home buyers. Failure to perform yearly inspections on your own home is a mistake that can cost you big time down the road, especially when it comes time to sell. Like most problems in life, issues with your home are best dealt with early on and while they’re still small. Performing a brief yearly inspection of some of your home’s most common and easily examined problem areas will put you way ahead of the curve and in prime position to minimize the impact and cost of the inevitable toll that nature and life will take on your home. Easy Do-It-Yourself Home Inspections You’re probably not a home inspector. You may not know how to test your home’s electrical system. You likely don’t have the knowledge or tools necessary for performing a hydraulic load test on your home’s septic system. There are many items in your home that you’re probably not going to be able to assess on your own. But that’s no reason to avoid inspecting your home altogether. Especially when it comes to water intrusion, there are many simple inspections that you can perform on your own that will help you protect your most valuable asset. Exterior Inspections Timothy Dahl of Lifehacker.com recommends a yearly visual inspection of your home’s exterior and the usual suspect problem areas, perhaps with the aid of a pair of binoculars. Dahl recommends checking your downspouts and gutters for cracks, clogs, and damaged elbows, as runoff can get into your foundation and cause water damage. Dahl further...
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