Top 8 Factors To Consider Before Taking Out a Reverse Mortgage

Reverse mortgage can be an excellent retirement tool for many homeowners aged 62 and above. It allows you to borrow cash against the equity that you may have built up on your home. Apart from supplementing your income, it also allows you to stay in your home for as long as you want to. However, there are many things you need to consider before taking out a reverse mortgage.

The amount you get

The amount that you can get as a reverse mortgage depends on the kind of equity you have built up on your home. If possible you can get a home appraisal done to find out how much you are entitled to borrow. See if the amount suffices your requirements and then take your decision. The good thing, however, is that you will still have the title to your home for as long as you stay in it. Nevertheless, you will have to pay up your property taxes, homeowners insurance, and other charges to maintain your home, regularly.

Payment options

When it comes to receiving funds from reverse mortgage you can choose from different options. You can get it as a lump sum, a monthly payment, or a line of credit. You can also try a combination of these. Consider your personal situation before selecting the right option. If you have any large one-time expense to cover, you may want to go for a lump sum. However, if you need the money for your regular living expenses, you will have to choose the monthly payment option. In case you need the money only for emergencies or additional expenses, you can think about going for a line of credit.

Legislations

HUD keeps changing the rules for reverse mortgage every now and then. They may not affect existing borrowers. But as a senior homeowner who is thinking about taking out a reverse mortgage you may have to keep yourself aware of all these rules and regulations. According to the latest, HECM borrowers will have to now pay an initial mortgage insurance premium of 2% of their maximum loan amount instead of the 0.5% that they were paying previously. This is regardless of how much amount you draw up front. However, the annual MIP of 1.25% on the outstanding mortgage balance has now been reduced to 0.5% for all borrowers. The borrowing limits have also been reduced when compared to what they were previously.

Fees

There are many initial expenses associated with reverse mortgages such as loan origination fee, appraisal fee, mortgage insurance premium, and closing costs. They may come up to 3 to 4% of the loan amount and are generally financed into the loan. Apart from these, the lender might also charge some loan servicing fees. Many reverse mortgage lenders may get in touch with you via reverse mortgage leads. Check with all of them about the fees involved before you sign up an agreement with any of them.

Repayment plan

Unlike the traditional mortgage, reverse mortgages do not require monthly payments to be made. They become repayable only after you pass away or move away from your primary residence. This is not an option that you should consider if you are thinking about moving away from your home five years from now. If you do, you will not be able to recoup the closing costs that you pay against the reverse mortgage that you borrow.

Family opinion

Talking to your family members is very important before taking out a reverse mortgage. Your heirs may want to retain your home after you pass away. In most cases, the borrowers use up the entire equity when they take out reverse mortgages. And once the borrower passes away the home will have to sold off to pay back the loan. If the family members want to retain the home they will have to arrange for alternative means of financing to pay back the mortgage. Find out what your family members would want to do with your home before you take out your mortgage.

Use

How you use the reverse mortgage will determine if you would benefit from taking one out. There are no restrictions on how you use your mortgage amount. You can use it for your ongoing living expenses, go for a family trip, or cover your kitchen renovation costs. However, you will still need a plan before you get the cash. Your age also matters when it comes to using the funds from this kind of mortgage. For instance, if you are still in your early 60s, you may want to avoid unnecessary spending so that you don’t run short of funds at a later stage.

Alternate options

It will work for you if you are short on your financial resources and if your family members have no interest in retaining or inheriting your home. However, if you try seeing the bigger picture, you may find many other options. See if you have any other income or assets to sell. You may sell your home to your children, sell your home, refinance your existing mortgage or even decide to downsize and start living in a retirement community.

Reverse mortgage is available for all homeowners who are aged 62 or above. However, it may not suit everyone’s requirements. You will have to find out if this is the right option for you before you decide to borrow. Make sure you are aware of the fees and legislation and have a definite plan for usage and repayment. Also look out for alternate options that suit your needs better than a reverse mortgage can do.

This mortgage is a lifetime decision that can help you lead your retired life peacefully and comfortably. However, you may still want to make sure it is the right decision to make before you reply with a ‚Yes‘ to one of the mortgage lenders who come to you via mortgage live leads.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Music Licensing – What, How and Why It’s Important for Your Business

Music licensing commonly refers to ‚royalty free music‘ or ‚production music‘. This is music that has been written and produced with the sole purpose of being used in another project. Anyone can then license this music for a fee, to use in their project.

What about commercial music?

Commercial music, written and performed by artists like Adele, M83 and U2 for example, cannot be used for any purpose other than personal/private performance. When you buy a CD or download an MP3, it is specifically stated that you cannot do anything with that song or music track except listen to it yourself. Any business use is prohibited, even playing it on the radio to customers at a hair salon.

To play commercial music to the public, a public performance licensed is required by the appropriate performing rights organisation of that country. In the UK it may be PRS or PPL. In the US/Canada, it may be BMI or ASCAP. These organisations arrange a fee to the proprietor of the business, based on the size of their business/location. This can be expensive, and time consuming just to play the radio to your customers on your premises, but does permit the business to play the radio to its customers without legal issues.

This is not a suitable solution for video production and filmmaking, as the usage and purpose of music is not the same. As many video production companies produce content for clients, they need background music for their video/film that is cleared for its intended purpose. When licensing commercial music, arranging such a license for online, public performance, in-store and mass distribution quickly becomes expensive and convoluted.

Royalty free music licensing offers a simple and cost effective solution to acquiring well produced music with all necessary rights for the client, within an affordable, transparent license.

Who needs to license music?

Anyone creating digital content with the intention of publishing it online or publicly. It’s really that simple. You cannot legally use music you have not written yourself, or licensed from a music library.

What about ‚home movies‘ and ‚personal projects‘?

The same rules apply to home movies and personal projects, but because these are produced not-for-profit, nor professionally on behalf of a client it is possible to use commercial music in this type of content. However, when this content is published to social platforms like Facebook and YouTube, you may find your video is blocked in certain countries, or deleted entirely. This is because commercial artists and record labels have an agreement in place that monitors use of their content on these platforms, and can enforce accordingly. There is however, many commercial artists and record labels who permit the use of their music in exchange for advertising. An ad will be attached to your content as a pre-roll, overlay or half-time break during the video in exchange for permission to use their music track. If you’re producing something personal, ‚for fun‘ then this shouldn’t be an issue.

The risks of using commercial music in professional video

A client may want the latest chart hit in their video because it resonates with their target audience, or they feel it represents their brand. However, as outlined previously this could end up immediately being blocked or deleted with further implications like account suspension. If the video is not blocked or deleted, then it will be served with ads.

This is the last thing you want for your client. You’ve produced a video promoting their new product, and before the video has even started, viewers are being shown ads for competing brands and products. It degrades the potential of the video and the brand.

Why license ROYALTY FREE MUSIC?

There are THREE key reasons why licensing music correctly is hugely important.

1. You’re using music that will NOT be subject to copyright claims, blocks or deletion when it is published online. This means you can deliver your end-product to your client without fear of any music related issues.

2. You can MONETISE the content you produce. If you’re producing the content for your own online channel on YouTube, you’ll no doubt be entered into the partner program, to earn money from ads displayed on your videos. You cannot earn money from these ads if the music is not licensed, as it will go straight to the artist/producer of the music. Pay for the music license, earn money from that music license. Simple.

3. Create an identity for your video. Whether you’re producing something on behalf of a client, or yourself. If you use a hugely popular, well known commercial music track, chances are that song will resonate with the viewer more than your content. However, if you create really good video content AND license the perfect music track nobody has heard before, you’re offering a completely unique audio/visual package that is new and fresh.

What about free music?

If you look for it, you will find music that is available to use for free. But ask yourself, why is it free?

Free in exchange for ads and revenue.

The creator could be giving you permission to use their music in exchange for ad-revenue online via YouTube and Facebook, and you won’t know this until you publish it and get informed ads will be displayed alongside your video, with all revenue going to the artist.

A poor quality sample

The free music track you’re using could be a low quality sample of something an artist is trying to sell. This could be a low 128kbs MP3 that appears suitable, but when played back against high quality content, will sound quiet, muted and generally not as good. When music is licensed from a library, it should be available in broadcast quality WAV or 320kbps MP3 as standard.

Who else is using it?

You won’t be the only one looking for free music. People creating content purely for personal projects don’t have a budget for music licensing so they need something free. If you’re producing a project for a client who is paying you, would they be happy with you using the same free music track as everyone else? If it’s free, chances are a lot of people will make use of it.

Clearance and Assurance

Anyone can upload a music track online. There is no vetting, no quality control or legal assurance. Any Blog or digital content platform can host a music track for others to share. So, when you’re downloading a ‚free music track‘ how do you know the provider actually has the rights to provide it to you? When you license a music track from a professional curated library, you have the assurance that every single music track has been reviewed, contracted and published legally for you to license and use.

Why pay for music?

There are thousands of music tracks online. What difference is there between ‚Track A‘ and ‚Track B‘? As a video producer/filmmaker, ask yourself this question: „There are thousands of video cameras available. iPhones can shoot 4K video and you can plug a microphone into them. Why should a company hire me to shoot their video“?

When you license music from a reputable library, you’re paying for the expertise in writing and composing the music track. From the start, middle and end. The quality of instruments used. The production of dynamic audio, the builds and crescendos. The post production mastering and edits so that a 3 minute piece can be condensed into a short 30 second edit without losing any of the magic of the music track.

The difference you get when someone films a corporate video on their iPhone compared to someone filming the same video with a professional camera, lighting and staging is painfully obvious. It is no different when it comes to music or photography. There is the technology, the knowledge the skill and ability to combine them to achieve the highest quality result.

What can I do with licensed music?

Whatever you want. Music can be licensed for limited use or global distribution, mass production and broadcast. You can license music for a specific purpose and tailor it to accommodate any additional requirements at any time.

Licensing royalty free music is intended to be the most cost-effective and practical solution for using music in your professional projects. General online distribution is commonly a one-time license fee per track for lifetime usage.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

How Can I Sell My House For Cash?

If you are in the unfortunate position of not being able to sell your house and keep asking yourself „how do I sell my house for cash“, especially if you want to get rid as soon as possible, this article will point you in the right direction. You will find out the best and most efficient way to sell your house.

This article will also go into the reasons why people want to sell their home and why some people need a quick sale. It will also go into the whole process of a quick sale and what to expect when exploring an alternative to the long drawn out process of the traditional estate agents.

The reasons why most people ask „how can I sell my house for cash“ and want a quick sale may differ greatly:

*Couples going through a divorce would find it beneficial to cut all ties as soon as possible, so selling the house and splitting the proceeds would be of benefit in a very stressful situation.

*People who are in debt and heading towards repossession will be able to cash in before they totally lose out.

*People who need to relocate in a hurry can use the cash to help set up their new home.

*People wishing to downsize to a smaller property

*People wishing to upsize to a larger property

*People who simply cannot wait for the long drawn out process through the traditional open market via estate agents.

For whatever reason you wish to sell, you will benefit from the cash outlay after the speedy completion.

The process for a speedy home sale is relatively easy and straightforward. You simply provide details about your home to an efficient cash buyer. They will then assess your needs, requirements and suitability for a cash purchase. They will then give you an estimated offer.

Assuming you are both in agreement, a viewing of your property will be arranged. If the homeowner would like to proceed then a written offer will be made. All associated costs such as solicitor’s fees and all other legal costs of selling a house will be borne by the cash buyer. There are also no hidden charges so you will not be caught out forking out for unexpected costs.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Animal Farm – George Orwell – Review Summary Notes

Animal Farm is one of the two greatest works of George Orwell, the other being 1984. Animal Farm makes satirical allegories of the totalitarian communism of Soviet Russia. The novel is regarded as one of the all-time bests ever written by any author.

Animal Farm is a novel of betrayed revolution. It presents the corruption that followed the revolution led by Lenin.

In Animal Farm, the characters are animals and human beings. Among the animals, many of them are pigs, who are more often than not rulers. Apart from pigs, we see three main horses, a donkey, a goat, some puppies, rats, the sheep (plural number), a raven, a cat and hens.

The animals are more allegorical than real. The interpretation of the meanings is often left to the reader, but generally the consensus is that they represent different classes. Again, the humans represent another class. Thus, the novel demonstrates multiple classes.

All animals are equal, but some are more equal than the others.

All animals are supposed to be of the same class, but in reality, some animals are of superior class.

Pigs: Old Major represents Lenin/Marx. He had introduced the animals to the song Beasts of England. Napoleon (allusion of Stalin), the villain, a Berkshire boar, gets more powerful gradually, with help of the puppies whom he uses as secret police. He drives out Snowball (allusion of Trotsky), from the farm and uses dogs to enforce his dictatorship. He changes the commandments to allow him have privileges such as eat on a table. He and the other pigs learn to walk upright and behave like those humans against whom they had revolted. Snowball, allusion of Trotsky, was working for the good of the farm and had won over most of the animals hearts, but was driven out by Napoleon and his dogs. Napoleon also had spread negative rumors on Snowball. Squealer (allusion of Molotov) is Napoleon’s minister of propaganda, and his main assistant for all practical purposes. He uses statistics to confuse the animals and show that they had improved quality of life, and the animals, with little memory of life before revolution, accept. Minimum is a poetic pig representing all the admirers of Stalin inside and outside Russia.

Humans: Mr. Jones, a heavy drinker, the disposed tsar. His attempt to recapture the farm is spoiled by the Battle of the Cowshed (Russian Civil War). Interestingly, Napoleon eventually becomes as much a drunkard as Jones. Mr. Frederick, the tough owner of Pinchfield, a neighboring farm, represents Hitler and his farm represents Nazi Party. Mr. Pilkington is apparently nice but is shrewd. He and Napoleon draw the Ace of Spades (the highest card in a card game) and begin a bad fight, symbolizing the tensions between US and Russia. Mr. Whymper (loosely alluring Western intellectuals) is hired by Napoleon to represent Animal Farm in the human society.

Horses: Boxer is the hardest-working entity in the animal farm. He is dedicated to the success of the farm. Boxer invests all his loyal, kind, dedicated self to the farm’s „good“ as portrayed to him by the farms leaders. His hoofs eventually splits and he is sent to death by Napoleon when he could not work any more (and Napoleon spread the rumor that he died peacefully in a hospital). „I will work harder“ was the motto of Boxer in any tough situation, and his brain-washed trust was shown by his maxim „Napoleon is always right“. Clover is Boxer’s companion. She works with Boxer and loves him and cares for him, and takes the blame on herself when Boxer splits his hoof. She is deeply respected by the three younger ones who eventually take Boxer’s role. Mollie is a third horse – a self-centered mare – who wears ribbons in her mane and eats sugar cubes (lives a life of luxury), and is pampered by humans. Later she leaves for another farm seeking better comfort.

Other animals: Benjamin, the wise donkey who could read also, represents the Jews and lives till the end of the novel. Muriel is a wise old friendly goat like Benjamin, but dies earlier in the novel from old age. The cat represents laziness, the rats represent some arbitrary people who roam around, the sheep represent the masses (and Napoleon manage the sheep such that he is supported and believed by them) and the hens represent the rich peasants. Moses is an old raven (bird) that sometimes visits the farm from Sugarcandy Mountain, a place where the hard-working animals go after death he claims. The puppies are the ones that Napoleon specially raises and makes a secret police out of them. They become one of the backbones of Napoleon’s power in the Animal Farm.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Securing Your Georgia Home Loan – Georgia Dreams Coming True With State Help

In 2007, the state of Georgia was ranked as the 7th leading state for foreclosures by a trusted source in the industry, RealtyTrac. That was more than a 30% increase from 2006 and the number of homes affected was close to 60,000.

That is bad news for thousands of homeowners who have lost their homes, but it doesn’t have to be bad news for everyone. If there is a silver lining to be found in the tragic economic downturn in Georgia and the rest of the world, it is the fact that thousands of people who could not previously afford to purchase a home are now happy homeowners.

The state of Georgia has been implementing programs such as the Georgia Dream Homeownership Program to help these people get into homes and reduce the number of foreclosed homes sitting empty.

This is a program in operation through the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. It was established in recognition of thousands of people who dreamed of taking advantage of the Federal tax credits for home buyers and the rock bottom prices within the housing market.

Georgia Dream Home Loans

The loans that are secured through this program are typical FHA, VA, or conventional loans but they receive fixed rates that are often lower than the going rate in the state. This reduces the monthly payments on the loans, making GA home loans more affordable to people with lower incomes.

In order to qualify for these special rates you will be required to live in the home as your primary residence, which eliminates those purchasing property to be rented out to others or as investment property in other ways.

To find out more information on this aspect of the program, you should visit one of the lending providers working with the state of Georgia to keep this program in operation. Some of these lenders include: BB&T Mortgage, Community Capital Bank, Element Funding, New South Federal Savings, and Prime Lending. Many other banks in the area are also participating in these state programs, so give your bank or credit union a call to see if they can point you in the right direction.

Georgia Dreams Second Mortgage Program

If the down payment is what stands between you and your GA home loan, the Georgia Dream Homeownership program can help you as well. This aspect of the program makes taking out a GA home loan more affordable by offering a delayed second mortgage, usually for applicants also taking advantage of the first mortgage program described above. This second mortgage will be for either $5,000 or $7,500 and will need to be repaid once the home is no longer being used as a primary residence, is sold, or transferred to someone else.

This second mortgage serves as help with the down payment and closing costs, as long as the applicant puts up $500 of their own money toward those costs. This has opened the door to home ownership to thousands of Georgians who otherwise would not be able to afford a GA home loan due to the upfront expenses.

These loans are intended to help specific groups of people, including:

* First – time home buyers

* Single parents

* Displaced homemakers

There are also some special loan terms which can be obtained by health care workers, the disabled, and those who are purchasing homes that are certified by Energy Star or similar programs.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Why Calls-To-Action Are Important

What’s a call-to-action? In marketing, a call-to-action or CTA is an instruction to the audience to provoke an immediate response, typically using an imperative such as „call now,“ „find out more“ or „schedule an appointment.“

Calls-to-action take on many different looks and purposes when you’re marketing your real estate business. You’re in business to sell homes so you need to generate new leads and referrals and to do so, you need to direct prospects to engage with you. This is where calls-to-action can help. A button, a banner and links are all calls-to-action and they always perform better when there is a sense of urgency.

Common Calls-to-Action

Download. Whether it’s a First Time Buyer’s Guide or Tips to Get a Mortgage, offering prospects something of value in exchange for their email address is a great call-to-action. Remember not to ask for too much in exchange or it will suddenly become a burden and the prospect will not follow through. Simply ask for a name, email and maybe one other piece of information like a phone number. The more you ask, the more you risk a higher abandonment rate.

Share. It can be a button or a word hyperlinked. Use this CTA when you want someone to share your social message or blog post. There are plug-ins available that will appear in your choice of spots on the blog post, but typically, a share CTA at the top of the post performs best. Facebook offers businesses a call-to-action on their pages. Leverage these to direct visitors to your website to connect.

Subscribe. If you have a blog, add a „subscribe“ button. Place it in a few spots on your blog, particularly the first page in a column to the right or left of your content. You can add a „subscribe“ pop-up when viewers are almost finished reading your article.

Scheduling. Offering a link to an online scheduler is a great CTA as your prospect can book an appointment with you without calling or leaving messages or any hassle. A link to a scheduler in an email or on a web page is easy for the visitor to use outside of office hours. A scheduler offers a calendar sharing only your available time. The client schedules time and you receive a notification. You can confirm the appointment or send out an alternative time. Online appointment booking is easy and client friendly, and the best part is that appointments can be made seamless through your email system 24/7.

Note that the online scheduler is probably used the least and offers the most value within emails. Leverage the online scheduler within your „new listing“ emails to help clients schedule tours or setup appointments to sign papers. Add a link to your email signature and remind clients that they can book appointments according to THEIR schedule by using the scheduler.Impress upon the urgency to book time to view new listings in a very tight real estate market directly through your email signature.

Get More Information. This CTA is typically at the end of an article or web page. The CTA is to answer additional questions by contacting you or entering information in a contact form.

These are just a few of the CTAs commonly used in marketing to convert a prospect into a client. Add CTAs to every web page, blog post and email newsletters to generate interest while providing another touchpoint, a reason to connect with you.

Try an online scheduler within your email signature. You have a call-to-action in every email you send. Clients can schedule appointments online and book time on your calendar-without calling, emailing or any hassle at all. See how calls-to-action like online scheduling can increase your business.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Public MLS System in Canada – How Does It Work?

The public mls system is the official site of the Canadian Real Estate Association. It is the gateway to all the listings across Canada. As stated at their website the public mls website is a medium provided by REALTORS® across Canada to help market properties that are listed on the mls.

Ths definition of mls is multiple listing service.

Almost all local board mls systems provide data to the public mls system to facilitate the public’s search of mls listings in their particular areas and across Canada.

All people who have access to a computer have access to the public mls system in Canada. It is similar to the public mls system in the United States.

Most real estate boards in Canada (the Toronto Real Estate Board – TREB – being one of them), upload partial listing information to the public mls system on a regular basis.

It is important to know that the public mls system is for the public and only provides limited information about the particular listings. Realtors utilize their local mls system to search and find mls listings and they have access to far more details and information about a particular listing than what is available on the public mls system. The privacy act in Canada is the main reason for this.

Conclusion

The public mls system is available to everyone to use to search and see mls listed properties across Canada.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

The Advantages of Using a Realtor

This subject gets pondered a lot, by both buyers and sellers. I want to address it, but I want to disclose upfront that I am a realtor, so my perspective will be somewhat biased.

If you are purchasing a new home, I would always, ALWAYS recommend using the services of a realtor. First of all, and this may be your most important reason, you do not pay for any of the services provided. That’s because the realtors on both sides of the transaction are paid by the seller as part of their Listing Fee.

Beyond any economic reasons, however, a realtor will have access to every property for sale that is listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for your area. Simply by providing a few details about what you are looking for and where, a realtor can literally make hundreds of homes available to you for your review (depending on how specific your parameters are). That gives you the chance to review the list from the comfort of your home and weed out those properties that don’t suit your needs. If any questions are raised during your research, your realtor will be the one to track down the answers for you..

When you have narrowed down your selection and have chosen properties you’d actually like to visit, working with a realtor is key. Most sellers that list their home, do so in order to make sure that their home is being shown to „real“ buyers being accompanied by a licensed real estate professional. For convenience, most listings provide for a lockbox or Sentrilock box for secure access to the home. Obtaining the lockbox code will be impossible unless you are a licensed realtor. Homes that are being sold by the owner (FSBO’s) are a different matter and I will get into that later in this post.

The buying process includes a number of steps that a realtor can not only facilitate, but expedite, as well. Once a buyer has decided on a property, the realtor can prepare your offer documents (contracts, addenda, disclosures, etc.) for your signature and present them to the seller. One your offer is accepted, your realtor can guide you through the process to a successful close of escrow. This will include having the home inspected, the attorney review of the contracts and the processing of your mortgage financing. If a buyer doesn’t have access to an attorney, lender or home inspector, a realtor will be able to provide references for those services.

Your realtor can also provide significant help in the negotiating process. They know the current market and can tell you whether the home is priced accordingly. They will also be able to assess the market value of the home based on its condition or any upgrades the seller has made.

From a buyer’s perspective, it only makes sense to utilize the services of a professional as you search for your dream home. This is especially true when you consider that you pay no fee for those services.

As a seller, the decision becomes a bit more complicated. Many sellers are discovering that the market value of their home is not as much as they had hoped and they have to sharpen their pencils in order to break even. When you consider a realtor may charge a listing fee of anywhere from 4-6%, the list of costs to sell your home, after the payoff of your mortgage, can make that break even point difficult to attain.

The advantages to listing your home with a realtor are myriad. They include, but are not limited to, the accurate analysis of your home’s market value, the Open Houses, staging recommendations, signage, Multiple Listing Service inclusion and, most of all, the extensive marketing of the home (THE most important advantage).

If a homeowner decides to sell their home by themselves (FSBO or For Sale By Owner), all these costs are borne by the seller. Obviously, the marketing becomes the most costly item. Putting a For Sale sign in your yard and paying for a 2″ x 2″ ad in your local newspaper will not reach the amount of prospective buyers needed to sell your home in a reasonable amount of time. The speed at which a home is sold is directly proportionate to the amount of buyers that view the home. A realtor’s marketing campaign, if effective, can produce a consistent stream of showings. Showings produce offers and offers lead to successful closings.

In the final analysis, a seller has to look at their net proceeds to determine the viability of listing with a realtor. Even with all the advantages listed above, if a seller has to bring money to the closing table, that will weigh heavily on their decision. Being a realtor, I would always recommend listing your home with one of my esteemed colleagues. However, I am not oblivious to the economic conditions that many homeowners face and many people have successfully sold their homes as a FSBO.

Whatever your decision and whether you are a buyer or seller, there are always going to be obstacles that you must overcome. If you find you can’t seem to navigate these obstacles alone… call your local realtor.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Real Estate Statistics Explained

Basic Real Estate Statistics Explained

We are going to define some of the basic real estate statistics that get thrown around on a regular basis. To do that, we will use one real estate market, located in Hood County Texas. Even more granular, we will use the single family numbers for homes in Granbury Tx, a small town of approximately 8,000 residents which has seen substantial real estate growth in the past 12 months. It is important when reviewing real estate statistics to use a group of numbers large enough for consistency, but granular enough to tell your story.

The statistics that we will be referencing are true and accurate for the year discussed but are being used to define the real estate statistic itself.

We have chosen Granbury Tx as our example because the growth of the local real estate market there make the statics stand out.

Anytime you are evaluating statistics, especially in real estate, the source of the numbers are extremely important. In most instances, the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) provides the most accurate numbers when referring to real estate. This is because they have all listings by all local real estate brokers in their database. For the sake of explanation of the data, we will be looking at the numbers for home sales in Granbury Tx, directly from the MLS. These numbers are meant to give an example of how to read the statistics themselves. Anytime you evaluate real estate numbers, its important to pay close attention to how the numbers are gathered. In this instance, we will be using ONLY single family properties in the city of Granbury.

Basic Real Estate Statistics

  • Number of Sales – This one is pretty self explanatory. It is simply the number of single family homes sold in a particular month. In January of 2015, they had 51 single family homes sold. One thing to pay attention to when looking at this statistic is are they using the Under Contract date or the day the property actually went to closing. These two dates are usually between 30 and 60 days apart, so its critical that you know which one is being referenced. In addition, many of the homes that get calculated, if you are using the „under contract“ number may not actually close! In our example, we are using the number of homes that actually closed. In January of 2016 they had an increase of over 49% which brought the total to 77 from 51. Growth of that level is very seldom ever seen.
  • Sales Volume – Sales Volume is simply the total amount of dollars spent on single family housing within that month. Once again, when reviewing this statistic, its important to keep the property types consistent. If you are comparing two areas to see which one has grown more and you include vacant land in the number for one area, you must include it in the other too. As previously mentioned, our examples only include single family properties. With Number of Sales looking at the units, you would expect the Sales Volume to go up appropriately, but in this instance, it went up even more than the units (by percentage). The total Sales Volume of single family homes in Granbury in January of 2016 was $15,191,500 as opposed to the January of 2015 number of $9,281,915. That is an increase of over 63%. Because the Sales Volume went up at a larger rate than the number of units, this reflects the average home sale being much larger in 2016 than 2015.
  • Months of Inventory – This is a commonly referred to statistic when examining a real estate market. This statistic refers to at the current rate of sales, how long will it take to sell through the existing level of inventory. This reflects the supply and demand for the market. In our example, in January of 2015 the level of inventory was 9 months and in January of 2016 it had dropped to 6 months. That is a 33% drop in available inventory! This means if you are looking to buy a home in Granbury Tx, it will be a little tougher in 2016 as there is less inventory available to buy.
  • Median Days To Sell – This stat simply refers to how long it takes for single family properties to be put under contract. Don’t let the „to sell“ confuse you. To accurately show the demand for active homes, you really want to track how long it takes to go „under contract“. The process of acquiring final lender approval, insurance and getting to a closing can vary on a variety of factors. In January of 2015, the Median Days to Sell was 88. That number dropped by over 30% to 61. Once again, this tells you if you are looking for homes in Granbury TX, you better get your offers in quickly as the most desirable homes are going fast!
  • Average Price – This statistic can be derived in a variety of ways. We are going to use it in its most raw form and simply be the Average Price of Homes Sold within that month. Be careful when looking at this statistic printed anywhere as how the user defines the date sold can vary. Needless to say, Average Price can be used for active homes for sale or for the homes that sold. The Average Price of ACTIVE homes for sale is generally a pretty useless number as you can list a home for any price, without any possibility of it ever selling. Many homes listed for sale are at unrealistic prices thus the Average Price of Active homes for sale can fluctuate dramatically and give little insight into the market. You will want to look at the Average Price of SOLD homes. In January of 2015, the Average Home Sale was $181,998 and it jumped to $199,888 in the same month in 2016. This is an increase of almost 10%. This is not a number that truly tells the increase in home values across the board, but simply of the homes sold in that month, what the average was.
  • Median Price – The Average Home Sales Price can be skewed by a variety of factors. All it takes is one 5 million dollar home sale to throw those numbers off. To get a better view of the overall increase in value, it can be better to look at the Median Sales Price. Median Sales Price takes the number that is perfectly in the middle. For instance, if you have 11 homes that you are using in your statistic, you would take the sales price of the 6th one. This leaves 5 homes sold higher and 5 homes sold lower. In this instance, they are pretty close as the Median Sales Price increase from January 2015 to 2016 was 9.69%. This shows that we didn’t have the Average Price skewed too much because of an extremely large or extremely small sale.

There are hundreds of ways to look at the same numbers, when referencing to real estate, so be very careful to read the fine print on exactly what numbers they are using. When making comparisons, you will want to make absolutely sure that both are referencing the same property types, dates etc. It like the old saying says… there are lies, damn lies and statistics.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Buying Villa Holiday Home Cyprus – A Place of Your Own on a Paradise Island

Are you searching for a great location to go to in order to escape from your busy life in the city? How about looking for a place which has clear water and friendly locals? Consider buying or renting a villa located in Cyprus! If you want to buy a holiday property then Cyprus is an awesome island in the Mediterranean Sea which hosts visitors from all around the globe, and can also be a good place for taking a long vacation on a holiday or simply for rest and relaxation.

Buying villa holiday home Cyprus provides you with a variety of purchasing options, regardless of whether you prefer a seashore getaway or a metro-style apartment in one of the little villages. If you are house hunting on this lovely isle, all sorts of bargains are out there waiting for you. Cyprus apartments for sale are also plentiful in various locales here, but the majority of the homes on the island’s real estate market are luxury villas.

If you want to examine many villas quickly, Pafos villa hunting is property the best approach to take. Pafos is usaully spelled Paphos in the West. It is the island’s largest coastal district and contains the longest stretches of shoreline that Cyprus has to offer. Tourists can buy or rent villas and apartments in this area quickly and without difficulty. Many villas are available for purchase in the Pafos area for less than 100,000 British pounds or 200,000 American dollars.

If you’d like to look for a holiday villa, home, or apartment on Cyprus, you don’t have to go to the island in person. Instead, you can search online for pictures and data about available properties, most of which are posted on the Internet. The real estate systems are similar to the American and British systems, and you’ll feel right at home with the way that the property listings are laid out online.

You’ll find that many of the online retailers who list Cypriot properties also publish plenty of pictures of the surrounding countryside. You’ll be able to see tons of gorgeous views, including ocean and beach pictures, as well as shots of the insides of the houses for sale. Even the city centers are picturesque, offering diverse and beautiful architecture. Best of all, most towns are only about an hour from the sea, so you’ll always be able to see the ocean with a short drive.

If you are considering purchasing a villa as a vacation residence, the isle of Cyprus can provide you with marvelous options online or on the spot. You can be sure that these properties will make a reconnoitering trip here absolutely worthwhile. If such an expenditure is within your means, you will be delighted to discover that a short getaway (or a long retirement) in Cyprus is the most effective way to unwind regardless of how high your stress level may be.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

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