Save Money as a “Green” Homeowner

Much like buying organically, many people feel that having a “green” home means they will need to throw away a lot of money to participate. However, as technology has grown, it is much easier, and often cheaper to own an environmentally-friendly home. Waste reduction for many green homes can reach 30% or higher savings on utility and water bills. In addition, many of the changes such as replacing a water heater with a tank-less water heater, will not only save you money in efficiency, but also has less maintenance over time, and can last up to 20 years, as opposed to 5-10 years of a standard water heater.

In addition to saving water during your showers, you can save money and water with smart irrigation systems that download current weather statistics for your area, such as humidity, wind speed, solar radiation, and precipitation, to determine when and how long your lawn and garden should be watered for optimum performance. These are systems that can save you up to 50% on your water bill.

 

Insulating your home, or I should say a lack of efficient insulation costs many homeowners hundreds, or even thousands of dollars a year in energy bills. This is often a problem with older homes that haven’t had window updated, have poor insulation in walls, and don’t have all of the cracks in areas such as the attic filled in. While the initial cost of replacing all of your windows can be spendy, this is something that pays off in the first 1-2 years of installation. Using gas filled windows, will save you even more money. Gas filled windows are typically filled with an inert, odorless, gas such as argon. These windows prevent build-up of frost in winter, air-flow, and keep your home cool in summer and warm in winter by allowing your heating and AC to operate at higher efficiency levels since they are not fighting a constantly changing climate within your home.

Solar panels are another feature that is now much more affordable. There are actually many local and federal incentives that make solar usage cheaper to install, which in return pays back in less expensive energy costs. Manufacturing and technology can also produce solar panels faster, with less expensive materials, and easier installation that drives the cost down. New technologies are soon to introduce transparent solar panels in windows, as well as solar energy drawn from building and construction material.

Living green in the 21^st century is more than recycling and composting, although those are still great ways to leave your mark on protecting the environment. Living green in the 21^st century is about reusing renewable and sustainable energy, which not only protects the world around you, but also helps reduce your energy spending. 

Home Space that Matters

Many people who first start looking for a home often neglect their future beyond 6 months or a year. The short sighted mentality is common, and can be due in part to simply not realizing where you will be in the future, or having the mindset that if your life changes you will simply move.

Take for example children. If you plan on having children within the next five years of buying a home, it is probably a good idea to plan for this with the appropriate number of bedrooms, and yes, even an additional bathroom. You may want to consider a playroom, and a fully fenced in yard. What you do in the meantime with that space is entirely up to you.

Another common problem is starting your own business. Again, if you plan, or even think there is a possibility of starting your own business in the next five years you should probably plan for that when looking for a home. Where that cute little nook seems like a perfect place to hang out with your laptop, that may all change when you have your own business and need to shut a door. So, plan on the additional room, or large closet where you can close the door, plant your feet, and focus on your company.

While many people focus on the core rooms—bedrooms, bathrooms, and size of the kitchen, having a prepared list of those special areas that mean a lot to you will certainly help in your search and decision making process.

For example, if you have always wanted a library or breakfast nook, write it down. Knowing what you want will provide you the strength to look beyond granite countertops and hardwood floors of a home that doesn’t have the rooms you are looking for.

Most homes readily list the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in the house, but if you are looking for more, make sure you jot it down. It may not make a difference between the home that don’t have an area for a library or breakfast nook, but it will make a world of difference for the homes that do have them. 

How You Know You're Ready to Buy Your First Home

Let’s face it. We all think we are ready to buy our first home well before we are. Along with the years of preparation and financial preparedness, few people realize the time-commitment and emotional toll purchasing a home can take on you.

Now, I don’t want to scare you out of buying a home. In fact, that would be pretty counteractive to what I do for a living. However, I do want you to know that feelings of excitement, along with concern and frustration are natural, and happen to most home buyers.

I think the biggest question most people face when buying their first home is, how do I know when I am ready to buy a home?

It’s a legitimate question, and one which most people should ask their selves. Luckily, there are some indicators that you are both financially and emotionally ready to purchase a home.

You’re financially prepared:

This is a big one! You need to be financially prepared to purchase a home. Your lender will be looking at three types of your finances.

·         Your income vs. expenses: Can you afford, and pay back the loan?

·         Credit worthiness: Do you have credit, and if you do, do you pay your bills on time?

·         Down payment: Down payment is variable depending on your lender and type of loan, but you will likely need some money down.

If you are someone who still manages your check ledger, or is on top of your finances daily, then you are likely in a good position to begin looking for a home.

You actually want to settle down:

If you have been dreaming about staying in one place for a long time, as in years, then you are probably in the right mind set to own a home. Unless you are flipping a home for profit, you really want to have the finesse to stay for a while. Owning a home isn’t as simple as waiting for the lease to end before you move. So, if you are ready to settle in, then good for you. You might have a home in your future.

You really, really love DIY:

Whether you are looking for an older home, or a newer one, at some point you will have to fix or replace something in your home. So, if you love DIY projects, you are simply in a better position to handle some of the problems that might occur, whether the problem is a leaky faucet, or a burst pipe.

You are patiently ready:

Many people who want to buy a home are ready to jump and do everything at once. However, the smart home buyer realizes that shopping for a home is as much a commitment as signing the paperwork to buy the home. You need to have the ability to choose a home that works for you and understand the importance of not buying, just to buy. Rather you want to buy what fits for you.

It’s a buyers’ market:

While this is not a steadfast rule, you would be wise to manage patience and wait to purchase until you are in a buyers’ market. This simply means a market that is currently saturated with homes for sale, giving the buyer more flexibility in their bids, and available homes. Depending on where you are looking a buyers’ market could be seasonal, or may be only influenced by the economy.

The Difference Between Pre-Qualification and Pre-Approval

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Today, we’ll talk about the difference between getting pre-qualified and pre-approved for a mortgage. When a pre-approved or pre-qualified client approaches me, I need to first find out which one they actually are. There’s a clear difference.

For pre-qualification, a buyer contacts a lender with financial information and the lender bases their decision off these numbers. This model relies heavily on information provided by the buyer directly. No pay stubs, W-2s, credit score report, or similar paperwork are involved for the lender to make this decision. While the buyer may still be honest with the lender, it’s not official.

For pre-approval, documentation is required to make a decision. This is what you really want. A buyer created a relationship with a lender by giving them required paperwork. There’s documentation attached to the information they provide. The lender has the opportunity to discuss a buyer’s work history and any debt to understand the loan. The lender then determines whether or not a buyer could afford a certain mortgage.

There’s a vast difference between the two processes! You’ll want a pre-approval letter over a pre-qualification as a buyer. If you’re not submitting paperwork, you are not pre-approved, but instead, only pre-qualified.

If you have any questions about this topic, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, please don't hesitate to reach out to us!

Is Now a Good Time to Sell in Long Island?

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A lot of my clients in Long Island think that the real estate market shuts down during the fall and winter, but this is not true. Traditionally the spring and summer real estate markets are the busiest, but just because they're competitive doesn't mean that it's also the best time to sell a home. 

The fall and winter may actually be the best time to sell your home, and there are two reasons why this is true. When you sell your home in the fall and winter, you have much less competition surrounding it. When you have fewer sellers in the market, your home has a greater chance of selling quickly and for top dollar.

The other important factor comes down to how many buyers there are in the market. In the fall and winter there are usually fewer buyers, but they are far more serious about purchasing your home. This means that you have an opportunity to sell in a less crowded market with more serious buyers.

What does that mean for you? It means that you can sell more quickly and for more money in the fall and winter! 

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or if you'd like to sell your home for top dollar this fall!

How to Buy a Home in Long Island

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Today I'll go over the steps to buying a home in Long Island. From the outside, purchasing a home may seem like a long and tedious process, but once you have a basic understanding, it seems much less intimidating. 

Get approval from a reputable lender:
This is the most important part of the buying process. Once you know how much you can afford, it makes the process of searching for a home much easier. You'll also become a much more desirable buyer in the eyes of a seller once you have a pre-qualification letter in your hand.

Find a buyer's agent: 
It's important to work with one agent and form a relationship with them. This allows the agent to find homes that you want, and it makes the process of communicating much more efficient. Define what is important to you and let your agent know.

Locate the home that you want and put in an offer: 
Once you have found a home, you need to place an attractive offer on it (a good price with good terms) and get some inspections done. You'll want an engineer inspection in order to tell you what may need to be fixed and what maintenance needs to be kept up. 

After the inspections you'll receive contracts from the seller's attorney: 
You will sign these contracts with your down payment and send them back to the seller, who will also sign them. Once this happens, you're in full contract and the loan process can begin. This will take 30-60 days in Long Island, but after this, you're a homeowner! 

This was a brief run-through of the home buying process, so if you have more detailed questions about buying homes in Long Island, please don't hesitate to contact me.