Archive Page 2

07
Jan
10

10 Steps to Home Ownership – Step 10:What’s Next?

Welcome to the last in my series of 10 blog posts. Thank you for sticking with me for the past week and a half. I hope that by the bottom of this page, you will be completely prepared to go out there and purchase a home!

Step 10: What’s next?

So you’ve completed all the steps up to this point. You found a Realtor, you found a home, you made an offer, you signed all the paperwork, you closed, and now you’ve gotten the keys to a house that you can now call yours. What else could be left for you to do???

Well, first off, you want to find a safe place for all those papers you received copies of at closing. They are all extremely important when it comes time to do your taxes. Later on, they’ll figure into the home-selling process as well.

At closing, you should have figured out the status of all the utilities on the home. They need to be paid up to the closing date by the owners of the home. After that, you should make sure to transfer them all to your name to avoid any service interruptions.

About two weeks after closing, call your local property records office to ensure that the new deed has been recorded and there is an official record of your ownership interest in the home.

When sellers vacate a property, they don’t exactly scrub it down for you. After closing, the house will be ready for you to go in, clean it out, remodel it, paint it, etc. The sky is the limit!

From here, what you do with your home is completely up to you. Be sure to keep all of the proper insurance coverage up to date so you’re covered in the event of fire, theft, flood, earthquake, and so on…

Thank you so much for sticking around. I hope that this series provided some useful information for those new to the home buying process.

Happy house hunting. Let me know if I can help!!

07
Jan
10

Nashville December Home Sales Increase over 13%!!

The following information was provided by Don Klein at the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors:
My own interpretations will be in italics.

DECEMBER HOME SALES INCREASE OVER 13 PERCENT

4th Quarter Shows Significant Increase; Year-end Status Improves Dramatically From Mid-Year Conditions

There were 1,612 home closings in Greater Nashville during December, representing a 13.3 percent increase from the 1,422 closings reported during December of 2008. More people are buying houses! That’s great for buyers because it means that mortgage loans are becoming more accessible. It’s good for sellers because inventory is decreasing and putting a little more power back in their hands.

During the 4th quarter there were 5,730 closings in the region, which is a 29.8 percent increase over the 4,413 closings in the 4th quarter of 2008. More closings = less deals falling apart due to unavailability of financing and other contingency factors.

And, there were 21,183 closings at year-end for 2009, which is 12.6 percent lower than the 24,246 closings for 2008. Could be dismaying, but we have to account for the lack of activity at the beginning of 2009.

The median residential price in December of this year was $164,000 and for a condominium the median price was $149,900. That compares with median prices of $163,750 and $132,062 respectively in December of last year. And, there were 1,339 sales pending at the end of December 2009, compared with 1,250 at the end of December of 2008. Prices are stabilizing and more contracts are being written.

Inventory is down to 20,774, compared with 21,274 in December of 2008. Power is shifting back ever so slightly to the sellers.

From Kenny,

This information is encouraging to say the least.

Activity is being spurred, in part, by the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, as well as low interest rates.Both of those incentives are, however, on their way out much more quickly than you may realize. The time to act is now!

Let’s get together and talk about your options.

Think about it.

Kenny Silva
Real Estate Consultant

Silva Real Estate Group
www.thesilvagroup.net

Cell:(615)336-6638
Office:(615)425-3600
Fax:(615)690-8721
Email:kenny@thesilvagroup.net
Facebook:http://bit.ly/7ZU3cI
Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/kennysilva
LinkedIn:http://www.linkedin.com/in/silvareg
WordPress:http://silvareg.wordpress.com

Keller Williams Realty
30 Burton Hills Blvd Suite 175
Nashville, TN 37215

07
Jan
10

The Shiny New Gadget – When the Novelty Wears Off, How Does Your Wallet Feel?

With this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in full swing, my blog reader is jam-packed with updates from Gizmodo about the next best thing.

3D HDTVs, 3D camcorders, tablet PCs, digital book readers, and so on…

These things all sound amazing and let me tell you, I’m usually the first guy to jump on the band wagon.

But…

I walk out into my living room, look at my 46-inch Sony Bravia, and am reminded about the short obsolescence cycle of any exciting new piece of technology. I bought this bad boy about 2 years ago when they were all the rage. It was my breathtaking new centerpiece and everybody loved it.

And today? …It’s a dinosaur!!

Almost immediately, my state of the art, top of the line television set was dethroned and replaced with the next best thing. Now, I can’t go to Best Buy without seeing my current model priced at about half of what I got it for!

Take a tip from me, don’t jump on that band wagon just yet. Don’t rush out and buy one of those new 52″ 240 Hz Bravias right this second. Let the new thing become yesterday’s thing and reap the benefits of the accompanying price drop.

Think about it.

Kenny Silva
Real Estate Consultant

Silva Real Estate Group
www.thesilvagroup.net

Cell:(615)336-6638
Office:(615)425-3600
Fax:(615)690-8721
Email:kenny@thesilvagroup.net
Facebook:http://bit.ly/7ZU3cI
Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/kennysilva
LinkedIn:http://www.linkedin.com/in/silvareg
WordPress:http://silvareg.wordpress.com

Keller Williams Realty
30 Burton Hills Blvd Suite 175
Nashville, TN 37215

06
Jan
10

What on Earth are you talking about??? – Real Estate Jargon Defined

Welcome back!

Ever listen to people talk about real estate and have no clue what they’re saying?

It’s like they’re speaking another language, right?!?

Admit it… No one is going to judge you… I didn’t understand most of it until recently.

Maybe you have friends who are searching for a house and looooove to talk about it.
Maybe you’ve been watching stories on the news about the housing market.

Glaze over this list from the FTC for a few minutes and give yourself a little brush-up on the terms.

Federal Trade Commission – “Talking the Talk”

Now you’ll be better equipped the next time you find yourself in a real estate conversation.

If you want a little more information, I’m always available for a cup of coffee.

Think about it.

Kenny Silva
Real Estate Consultant

Silva Real Estate Group
www.thesilvagroup.net

Cell:(615)336-6638
Office:(615)425-3600
Fax:(615)690-8721
Email:kenny@thesilvagroup.net
Facebook:http://bit.ly/7ZU3cI
Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/kennysilva
LinkedIn:http://www.linkedin.com/in/silvareg
WordPress:http://silvareg.wordpress.com

Keller Williams Realty
30 Burton Hills Blvd Suite 175
Nashville, TN 37215

Each office independently owned and operated.

05
Jan
10

How Do I Get There?

It’s 2010. You’ve got goals and dreams, but how do you get there?

For me, I see a beautiful house on a hill and a family with a few cars and a dog in the background.

Typical, blue-collared American dream right?

But how do I get there?
Easy. Have a plan and stick to it. My plan centers around real estate, but not as my occupation, as an investment.

When I work with first-time home buyers, I make it a point to relate to them that their first house will not be their last.

You buy one, build some equity, use that equity to move up a few years later… And so on and so forth…

Play your cards right, manage your money well, pay extra on your mortgage and 20-30 years down the road, you’re sitting in your dream house. Best of all, it’s probably paid for!!

Houses = forced savings accounts. Let’s not forget that, historically, home prices appreciate at a rate of about 5% a year over the long-term.

Think about the freedom of having a valuable home with no housing payments. How secure would you feel? How much more flexibility would you have with your income?

Would you rent it out and buy another one? You could. You’d make that much more money in the process.

If you haven’t read it yet, The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach really spells out how to achieve your dreams and financial independence in this nearly automatic way.

Check out David Bach’s work at:
http://www.finishrich.com/books/automatic_brandhome.php

Why am I telling you about this?
It’s in my best interest to help you purchase a home, but I’m not too concerned about my interests with this post. It’s really about helping you do something to secure your future.

What if I told you that for the $700 a month you’re paying in rent right now, you could be paying $700 to own a condo down the street?

Would you continue to pay that money on your landlord’s mortgage, or would your start paying it on your own mortgage?

Mull it over. Give me a call if you feel like taking a huge step towards financial peace and freedom.

P.S. Interesting fact from the National Association of Realtors:
The average homeowner’s net worth is $231,000.
The average renter’s net worth is $5100.

Think about it.

Kenny
(615)336-6638

04
Jan
10

Renovating a Bathroom? Tile ideas from about.com

Great tile ideas for your upcoming bathroom renovation!

Bathroom Tile Pictures

Posted using ShareThis

02
Jan
10

Desperate homeowners turn to short sales to unload houses | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

Desperate homeowners turn to short sales to unload houses | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

Posted using ShareThis

30
Dec
09

Undeck the Halls: Tips for Packing Away the Holiday Decorations | RISMedia

Undeck the Halls: Tips for Packing Away the Holiday Decorations | RISMedia

Posted using ShareThis

30
Dec
09

Home Sellers: Top 5 Home Improvement Projects Based on Cost and Return on Investment | RISMedia

Home Sellers: Top 5 Home Improvement Projects Based on Cost and Return on Investment | RISMedia

Posted using ShareThis

30
Dec
09

Tips for Homeowners: How to Budget for Home Maintenance | RISMedia

Tips for Homeowners: How to Budget for Home Maintenance | RISMedia

Posted using ShareThis




Picture

Kenny Silva

Authors

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1 other follower

Twitter Updates

Check out our Facebook Page!


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.