Saturday, June 4, 2011

Are You A Veteran Of A Military Branch? You Can Buy A Home With No Money Down

Today I had the opportunity to talk to a young buying couple about the possibility of owning their first home. We talked and had discussed some options available to them. One of the things we talked about was financing. Which lead me to the question.."have you ever served in the miltiary for our country?"
Being a military veteran myself I realize that one of the greatest benefits I received when I got out was to be able to purchase a home through the Veterans Administration (or more commonly known as the VA) with NO MONEY DOWN. Yes, a benefit our servicemen and women receive for serving our country is that the government will guarantee the loan with no money down.

You still have to qualify for the mortgage as you would any other program. In addition, the debt to income ratios still have to be in line for the house you want to buy. However; if you can qualify for a mortgage and are a veteran of a military branch honorably discharged you may qualify for a VA mortgage.

Unlike other programs that have restrictions on where you can buy and what type of house you can purchase the VA does not care. If the house qualifies for a mortgage and passes the inspection and appraisal porcess with approved credit they will loan you the money.

I closed one recently where we got the seller to pay closing costs and the buyer had to come to the table with $13.00 to close. Yes, that is not a misprint a total of $13.00 and he owned a house (with the bank).

if you are looking to buy a house and are a veteran of the military you have served your country and this is just oen way the governmetn helps us out.....

Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Ask Your Realtor About Days On Market Before Making An Offer

One thing that seems to elude buyers today when they are looking at homes and thinking of putting an offer in is how long has it been on the market. This can be a critical questions to ask your Realtor in order to assess the strenght of your offer and the motivation of the seller.

In the Charlotte, NC. listing service we have the option of seeing the history of a house. regardless if it was listed with different Realtors in the past. We can pull up and see when it first went on the market and what they started at for price. In addition I can tell you when they lowered their prices and by how much. So the question is why is this important?



If you are looking at a house that has been on the market for less than 30 days do you think that the seller is as motivated as one that may have their house on the market for 130 days or more? If it has been on the market for a short period of time you may not get the great deal you are hoping for on the house. There may be a lot of showings at that time and the seller could be thinking that with all these showings soemone is going to give me close to my asking price.

In comparison a home that has been on the market for 3 times that time without an offer would be more amicable to negotiate a deal with you becuase of the lack of offers on the house.

Another reason is what if the seller just reduced the house price down in the past few weeks. Is the seller more likely to have less room to negotiate now than before?

I recently had a buyer that wanted to make an offer on a house. When I looked up the house I realized the seller had just lowered his price $20,000 three weeks before. I had to prepare my buyer to understand that the seller may not have the negotiation room they want...the house was priced right for the neighborhood and was a fair market value. My buyer wanted a slightly less value for the house...But by them putting in a low offer and the seller countering with close to their asking price my buyer would have felt insulted he said had he not already known that the house was reduced $20,000 three weeks ago.

My buyer said he would have normally walked away and looked for another house. Knowing all the information allowed him to make a rational descsion based on the information and negotiate a price both he and the seller could agree on...Now the seller is happy they have their house sold and my buyer got the house he wanted at a fair price.

Knowing everything there is to know about the house and the timeline of the hosue on the market can make the difference between buying a house and not....

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

How Is The Housing Market in Charlotte?

I am asked all the time how the housing market in Charlotte is. The market is good for buyers and sellers right now. Buyers have a lot of choices out there in terms of homes to choose from and sellers are seeing more buyers coming out to look and buy homes.

Click here for a detailed report showcasing the trends in the housing market for all of Charlotte. If you would like a more detailed report on a specific area of Charlotte; register for your zip code to be e-mailed to you on a weekly basis.


Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com

Monday, May 30, 2011

Memorial Day...A Remeberance


Today marks the day we honor our fallen soldiers and countrymen who gave their livves so that we enjoy the freedoms and liberties we have today. Graves throughout the country today will be honored with an amercican flag honoring those men and women who gave so much for us. Parts fo the country does parades honoring our fallen....

I write this I reflect on history and my life. I served in the Army during the Persian gullf crisis. There was a thought when we first were told about the mission and deployed that we may never come back. Yet, as one soldier put it; "it is our country and our freedoms and liberties I fight for. I am willing to give my life so that my family and everyone can enjoy those freedoms and liberties. They can make descions on where to live and work and play. I volunteered to fight for my country and die if necessary; becuase I beleive in America and what it stands for."

It has been over 15 years since I heard those words spoken to me. Yet three times a year I seem to remeber them as if I just heard them. It makes me appreciate more what I have and what others have given up for me. I too volunteered to fight our country and knew there would be a chance I would not come back from a war. But it was a choice I made. Not one made for me. Just as so many men and women who gave their lives for this country did.

You may not know anyone who died serving this country...but take time out today from the family gatherings and picnics and pool gatherings and remeber why we celebrate this day.....Without these fellow fallen brethen this day may not have ever existed......

Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Do Pictures Really Matter When Selling A home?


Does the picture your Realtor takes of a house and subsequent photos of the house make a difference in getting your home sold? This photo is from a listing that did not sell and the seller could not figure why they had no showings.

For the record, there were a total of five photos and this might have been the best one. The reason I say this is becuase when they called me after their house did not sell and their listing agreement was up; they wanted to know why. I had sold two other homes in this neighborhood for more money than they were asking.

So I asked if they had seen the listing online and viewed the photos the Realtor took. They said NO. I always e-mail a copy of the multiple listing sheet and all other advertsing to the seller. I beleive the seller and I are in a partenrship to get their home sold for the most amount of money in the quickest time frame. Why would you not want feedback from each other?

My question is; why is your Realtor not....In this housing market with so many choices available to buyers why not ensure that your home is shown in it's best light? And if you were looking to purchase a home today would you look at this house based on this photo?

Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com