Will the “Good Life” Be Ready When You Are?

The Life of Riley was a TV show from the 50’s starring William Bendix but the title’s origin came from an expression meaning that a person was living the “good life.” Most people envision themselves living the good life by retirement but don’t really have a plan to get there.

There’s a rough rule of thumb used to estimate how much net worth a person would need by the time they retire to generate a certain income. The target annual income is divided by a safe, conservative yield to determine the investable assets needed.

A person who wanted $100,000 annual income generated from a 5% investment would need investable assets of $2,000,000. If a person had $500,000 now, they would need to accumulate $1.5 million more by the time they retire. If it was estimated to be 15 years away, they would need to save about $100,000 a year, each year until retirement.

It is a sobering example that could be depressing without a plan. It might be easy to say, “I should have started sooner” which may be true but there is still hope.
Gradually, over the next several years, accumulate rental property and allow the tenant to retire the debt for you. The equity in each property will grow from the amortization of the loan each time a payment is made. It also grows as the property increases in value due to appreciation.

Single family homes as rentals offer the investor an opportunity to meet their retirement and financial goals for the following reasons:

• The ability to borrow large loan-to-value mortgages
• At fixed interest rates
• For long terms (easily up to 30 years)
• On appreciating assets
• With significant tax advantages
• And reasonable control not offered by alternative investments.

All my best, 

Myra Spano, REALTOR® 

 

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About the Author:

 

Myra Spano is a service and results oriented real estate agent with her client’s goals as top priority.  Myra is recognized as a top producing agent in her office in Virginia Beach and enjoys working with both buyers and those selling their homes.

 

For information about purchasing a home in Virginia Beach, visit her website.  This site is focused on homes available for sale in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  Email, call or text to make an appointment begin your home search.

If you are considering selling your home in Virginia Beach or one of the surrounding areas, visit the seller’s website to request a Free Market Analysis of your property.

 

Myra Spano & Prudential Towne Realty is awaiting to provide the real estate guidance you need.  Contact us now to make your home dreams come true!

The Most Common Mistakes While Hunting for Your Dream Real Estate Property

The most common mistakes while hunting for your dream real estate property

Buying a real estate property is a daunting, intimidating and also an emotional process at the same time. But if you make the mistake of allowing the emotions to get the upper hand, you may become a victim of the most common mistakes while buying a real estate property. Buying a home has got far-reaching implications and therefore you have to take some important decisions so that you don’t land up in a mess. Usually, mistakes during buying a real estate property usually stem from emotions and if you can put back your emotions under control, you can successfully buy a housing property with ease. Here are some mistakes that you need to take into account when you’re buying a real estate property.

• Head over heels in love with a property beyond your affordability

It is usually seen that once you’ve fallen in love with a particular real estate property, it is pretty tough to get back. You start dreaming about that house and everything about it. But something that you forget in the meanwhile is that you need to buy a home within your affordability. When it comes to buying a house, you have to be sure about the fact that you need a mortgage loan too. Therefore, falling head over heels in love with a property way beyond your affordability is a bad financial move that should be avoided.

• Assuming that there’s nothing better than what you’re seeing

Unless you’re someone who is a high-end buyer who’s only looking at custom homes, chances are high that for any home that you’re looking to buy, there will be similar identical homes that are also there. Thus, assuming that there is nothing better in the market and that the one that you’re checking is the best one is actually wrong. Check the neighborhood nicely so that you may get a real estate property that comes in with all the features that you need according to your budget.

• Rushing in to stroke an offer on the real estate deal

In a hot real estate market, it may be necessary to complete the deal when it comes to looking for a home. But you have to maintain a balance within your decision as hasty decisions always lead to sorrow. While hurrying, make sure you don’t neglect some important steps like checking your neighborhood area, checking the transportations available and the distance of your home from the nearby school, college, parks and other important places. Only after you check all such details should you take the decision of buying that house.

Therefore, when you’re in the market to buy home for sale, you should take the above mentioned factors into consider. Also get pre-approved for a mortgage before you start shopping around for a mortgage so that you may know the limit up to which you can search for a real estate property. You can also determine your affordability this way.

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Shane Parker, Guest Blogger for The Real Estate Savvy

 

Author Bio

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Shane is a financial writer, he has also made notable contributions through various articles written on different subjects related to the real estate industry.  This article is about the most common mistakes while hunting for your dream real estate property.

Breathe Easy

The benefits of regularly changing the heating and air-conditioning filters are obvious to homeowners; the real challenge is creating a system to make sure it gets done.

A reasonable schedule would be to replace it with a new one-inch pleated filter every 60-90 days. Households with shedding pets should consider replacing them every month. Some people change their filters every month when they pay their electric bills. A simple system would be to set a recurring appointment on your calendar like Outlook or Google.

Filters trap dust, mold and bacteria which can directly affect the air quality and play havoc with your allergies. When a filter is dirty, it prevents proper airflow and allows dust, dirt and allergens to blow through your home. Changing your filter regularly helps to avoid maintenance, improves equipment life and produces increased energy savings.

When shopping for filters, it’s understandable to look for the best bargain but the cheapest price may not be the best choice. When purchasing, recognize that HEPA-rated and HEPA-type filters are not the same thing. HEPA stands for high-efficiency particulate air. A HEPA filter meets or exceeds standards for efficiency set by the U.S. Department of Energy. Most HVAC contractors recommend HEPA filters.

Some filters need to be changed monthly and other types have manufacturer recommendations of every three months. An alternative to disposable filters are the permanent, washable types. These will cost more initially but because you can clean them and re-use them, eventually, you’ll recapture the cost and realize savings.

All my best, 

Myra Spano, REALTOR® 

 

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About the Author:

 

Myra Spano is a service and results oriented real estate agent with her client’s goals as top priority.  Myra is recognized as a top producing agent in her office in Virginia Beach and enjoys working with both buyers and those selling their homes.

 

For information about purchasing a home in Virginia Beach, visit her website.  This site is focused on homes available for sale in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  Email, call or text to make an appointment begin your home search.

If you are considering selling your home in Virginia Beach or one of the surrounding areas, visit the seller’s website to request a Free Market Analysis of your property.

 

Myra Spano & Prudential Towne Realty is awaiting to provide the real estate guidance you need.  Contact us now to make your home dreams come true!

 

Real Estate and Investment – What Are Your Options?

Real estate and investment – What are your options?

Real estate is not that tough a field for you to invest your money, this is because, you can simply start off with renting out the parts of the home you live in. so, there’s no doubt that real estate investment is quite a popular investment option, for you to invest your money and therefore generate some extra income. Other than renting out property, if you have become more confident on the investment options, you can try out the other ways too.

Different investment options

Some of the most common options through which you may be able to invest your money within the real estate market and then let it grow are:

1. Real estate investment trust or the REIT – You will be required to become the member of the corporation, with regards to the real estate business. This trust involves the trading of the major exchanges and the properties acquirement is done mainly with your money. It helps you in generating a regular income, and it also becomes easier for you to get the required exposure, with regards to those of the non-residential buildings too. 

2. Investment groups – These are more like investing your money within the mutual fund, where you are actually required to become a member of the investor groups. You thus, will be required to let out single or even the multiple units, to the management company, which you owe. The company then is going to acquire your property and maintain it too, other than renting these out. 

3. Trading – You can simply buy and resell properties within little time span. This also is known as ‘flipping’. You would not be required to spend any money in order to develop the real estate property. However, as this basically involves quite a large amount of money, this can even result in huge loss. 

So, you can see that there are various options through which you may be able to invest within the real estate market.

However, before investing in the real estate market, you will also have to consider the different pros and cons which are associated with it. These are:

Pros associated with real estate investment:

• Tangible asset: This is more of a real kind of investment and is tangible.

• Tax benefits: You have the opportunity to claim the deductions with regards to the tax returns like the amount paid for the purpose of maintenance and the loan costs, the agent charges, and so on.

• Long term: The benefits are long term, as the money grows over the time.

Cons associated with real estate investment:

• No liquidity: You may be required to sell off the property at lower price.

• Bad tenants: You may be required to deal with really bad tenants. 

So, based on these factors, you will be required to decide which way you are going to invest your money in the real estate market.

Shane Parker, Guest Blogger for The Real Estate Savvy

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Author Bio

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Shane is a financial writer,he has also made notable contributions through various articles written on different subjects related to the real estate industry.This article is about the importance of Real estate and investment.

Whose Commission Is It?

One of the most common reasons buyers want to deal directly with the seller is because they feel they can save the commission. It’s a valid consideration but interestingly, it’s the same reason the seller isn’t employing an agent.

Both parties cannot save the commission. The buyer feels they have earned it because they’ve had to find the home, determine its value and negotiate with the seller. They had to arrange their own financing, title and inspections.

The seller equally feels that they have earned the commission because they too have had to research value, financing and title work. They have incurred all of the marketing expenses and have invested hours upon hours to be available to show the property, hold open houses and answer inquiries.

There is certainly value in all of the things that buyers and sellers are willing to do. However, only one person can save the commission assuming the buyer and seller can reach a written agreement.

The Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers survey reports that 14% of sales were For-Sale-by-Owners in 2003 and 2004 compared to just 9% in 2012. The trend shows that agent-assisted sales rose to 88% in 2012 from 82% in 2004.

The three most difficult tasks identified by for-sale-by-owners is attracting potential buyers, getting the price right and understanding and performing the paperwork. When surveyed, sellers most value the home selling in an anticipated time frame and for an expected amount.

Experienced, third-party advocates helping buyers and sellers is a valuable contribution to the transaction which may determine whose commission it is.

All my best, 

Myra Spano, REALTOR® 

 

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About the Author:

 

Myra Spano is a service and results oriented real estate agent with her client’s goals as top priority.  Myra is recognized as a top producing agent in her office in Virginia Beach and enjoys working with both buyers and those selling their homes.

 

For information about purchasing a home in Virginia Beach, visit her website.  This site is focused on homes available for sale in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  Email, call or text to make an appointment begin your home search.

If you are considering selling your home in Virginia Beach or one of the surrounding areas, visit the seller’s website to request a Free Market Analysis of your property.

 

Myra Spano & Prudential Towne Realty is awaiting to provide the real estate guidance you need.  Contact us now to make your home dreams come true!