Friday, July 20, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Tyler Homes ~ Tyler Texas Home buying tips. 6 Signs you are ready to buy
If you are thinking about buying, you're not alone. So are you ready to make the move? You might be if you:
1. Are familiar with the market. If you've been paying attention to how much houses are listed for in the neighborhoods you're eyeing and have a realistic view of how much a house will cost you, you're in good shape. But if you're dreaming about that big corner house with no clue about it's asking price, you may want to spend some more time becoming familiar with the market and how much houses are going for.
2. Have the money for a down payment and closing costs. The down payment is a percentage of the value of the property. Freddie Mac says the percentage will be determined by the type of mortgage you select. Down payments usually range from 3 to 20 percent of the property value. Also, you may be required to have Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI or MI) if your down payment is less than 20 percent. Closing costs include points, taxes, title insurance, financing costs and items that must be prepaid or escrowed and other settlement costs. You can expect to pay between from 2 to 7 percent of the property value. Generally, buyers will receive an estimate of these costs from your lender after you apply for a mortgage.
3. Know how much you can afford. Freddie Mac says that as a general guide, your monthly mortgage payment should be less than or equal to a percentage of your income, usually about a quarter of your gross monthly income. Also, your income, debt and credit history go into determining how much you can borrow. As a general rule, your debt -credit card bills, car loans, housing expenses, alimony and child support -- should not be more than about 30 to 40 percent of your gross income.
4. Know what additional expenses will come with owning a home. This includes homeowners insurance, utility bills, maintenance costs -- roofing, plumbing, heating and cooling.
5. Have your credit in good shape and make sure your credit report is accurate. Potential lenders will view your credit history -- how much debt you've accrued, how many accounts you have open, whether your payments are made on time, etc. -- to determine whether they'll give you a loan. You should get a report from each of the three credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union.
6. You haven't made any recent major purchases, particularly a vehicle. If you do, you may have a harder time getting a loan -- or it could potentially lower the amount you'll be approved for.
Thank you for visiting Tyler Homes web site. If you should have any questions about purchasing a home from
Tyler homes contact Tyler Homes at the numbers listed below.
Shy Shinalt
903.533.8114
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Tyler Homes ~ Tyler homes for sale ~ Two-thirds of Colo. wildfire evacuees back home - KYTX CBS 19 Tyler Longview News Weather Sports
Two-thirds of Colo. wildfire evacuees back home - KYTX CBS 19 Tyler Longview News Weather Sports
Tyler Homes & Tyler homes group supports our fellow Keller Williams agents in Colorado during these tough times.
Tyler Homes & Tyler homes group supports our fellow Keller Williams agents in Colorado during these tough times.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - Melted bowling balls in the front yard were among the strange sights that met C.J. Moore upon her return Sunday to her two-story home, now reduced to ashes by the worst wildfire in Colorado history.
"You wouldn't think bowling balls would melt," she told The Associated Press by phone from the scene in her Mountain Shadows neighborhood, where she was among residents who were allowed temporary visits to areas most affected by the fire.
More than a week after it sparked on June 23, the Waldo Canyon fire was still being attacked by some 1,500 personnel. But crews working grueling shifts through the hot weekend made progress against the 26-square-mile fire, and authorities said they were confident they finally had built good fire lines in many areas to stop the spread of the flames.
So far, the blaze, now 45 percent contained, has damaged or destroyed nearly 350 homes.
It was just one of several still burning in the West, where parched conditions and searing heat contributed to the woes facing crews on hundreds of square miles across Utah, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.
In Colorado Springs, a line of cars a mile long queued up at a middle school checkpoint, where police checked the identification of returning residents and handed them water bottles.
While searching for her great-grandmother's cast-iron skillets, Moore marveled at the juxtaposition of what burned and what hadn't. The bowling balls had been garden decorations.
"To find my mail in my mailbox, unscathed. It's just unreal. Unreal," she said. "Bird baths are fine. Some of the foliage is fine."
Three neighbors' homes were unscathed. Only concrete remained of other homes, including hers. Cars were burned to nothing but charred metal.
"Good Lord! I've never seen anything like this. And thank God there was nobody there. Thank God there were no people here. There would have been no been no hope.," Moore said.
Not far away, Bill Simmons and his wife, Debbie Byes, returned to their tri-level, passive-solar stucco home and found no damage - just some ashes in the driveway.
"The water and electric's back on. You know, we're good to go. We're feeling pretty happy about it at the moment," Simmons said by phone. "We're feeling pretty sad for our neighbors and pretty lucky for ourselves. It's been a real sobering experience."
Authorities said they would lift more evacuation orders Sunday night, bringing the total number of people who remain blocked from their homes down to 3,000 from more than 30,000 at the peak of the fire.
Rich Harvey, incident commander for Waldo Canyon, said crews continue to make good progress.
"We're cautiously optimistic," he said Sunday morning. "We still remain focused on things that could go wrong."
Authorities are still trying to determine the cause of the fire, which so far has cost $8.8 million to battle. Dangerous conditions had kept them from beginning their inquiry, but investigators were able to start their work on Saturday.
More than 150 National Guard soldiers and airmen helped Colorado Springs police staff roadblocks and patrol streets.
A "bear invasion" confronted a few mountain enclaves west of Colorado Springs. The scent of trash had enticed black bears pushed out of their usual forest habitat by fire.
People who left in a hurry didn't take typical precautions to secure household trash against wildlife, said El Paso County Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Kramer.
"So that's become an attraction for the bears," Kramer said.
State game officials were trying to shoo the bears out, he said, and Dumpsters were stationed to help volunteers and returning homeowners throw stuff out. Kramer didn't know how many bears were causing problems.
Among the fires elsewhere in the West:
- Utah: Fire commanders say Utah's largest wildfire has consumed more than 150 square miles and shows no sign of burning itself out. Hundreds of firefighters are trying to hold the Clay Springs fire from advancing on the ranching towns of Scipio and Mills on the edge of Utah's west desert. The fire has destroyed one summer home and threatens 75 others. The fire was 48 percent contained on Sunday.
- Montana: Crews in eastern Montana strengthened fire lines overnight on a 246-square-mile complex of blazes burning about 10 miles west of Lame Deer. More than 500 firefighters are now at the lightning-caused fires that started Monday and have destroyed more than 30 structures.
- Wyoming: A wind-driven wildfire in a sparsely populated area of southeastern Wyoming exploded from eight square miles to nearly 58 square miles in a single day, and an unknown number of structures have burned. About 200 structures were considered threatened.
- Idaho: Firefighters in eastern Idaho had the 1,038-acre Charlotte fire 80 percent contained Sunday but remained cautious with a forecast of high winds and hot temperatures that could put hundreds of homes at risk.
- Colorado: The last evacuees from the High Park Fire in northern Colorado have been allowed to return home as crews fully contained the blaze. The 136-square-mile fire killed one resident and destroyed 259 houses, a state record until the fire near Colorado Springs.
Shy Shinalt
903.533.8114
Tyler Homes
Tyler homes ~ Tyler Home How to Negotiate the best deal
How to Negotiate the Best Deal
Buyers have the advantage in this shifting market
Buyers are finally being able to take advantage of cooling trends in previously hot markets. Multiple offers are no longer being thrown at sellers as soon as the For Sale sign hits the front yard.
Competition has dwindled in many areas as investors disappear and buyers take to the sidelines. Unless a buyer thinks his local market is headed for a big downturn, this could be the pause that allows him to get into the market with a few perks unheard of in recent years as a bonus.
Competition has dwindled in many areas as investors disappear and buyers take to the sidelines. Unless a buyer thinks his local market is headed for a big downturn, this could be the pause that allows him to get into the market with a few perks unheard of in recent years as a bonus.
So how do you know what shape your market is in? Economists believe that real estate is closely tied to employment, so if you’re in an area of growing employment, don’t expect to see double-digit depreciation anytime soon. In areas such as the Midwest, where auto manufacturing is king, prices have fallen sharply and will likely continue until the industry rebounds.
Here are 10 things buyers need to know to negotiate the best deal in a market shifting to their favor:
1. Human nature is the biggest problem for sellers and buyers to overcome in a changing market. Prices stagnate or drop a few percentage points and it’s amazing how different buyers and sellers react. Sellers still think their house is “special” and immune to the market. Buyers figure every seller is about to be foreclosed on and make ridiculous low-ball offers. Smart buyers do their homework, know what size home they need, how much they can afford and then search the market for what they want and negotiate fairly.
2. When you make an offer, know the recent comparable sales; it’s the best bargaining tool. “See what’s going on out there,’’ says Beverly Durham of ReMax Gold Coast Realty in Camarillo, Calif., where entry-level single-family homes begin at $500,000. “Make an offer $10,000 to $15,000 under what the last one sold. Even in this market, if you insult your seller, they won’t want to deal with you. Sellers know what the last one sold for. You want them to at least look at your offer.”
3. Find out as much as you can about the seller’s motivation -- retirement, job, divorce, wants to move up but only if he gets the right price. Durham says if a buyer knows the seller’s motivation they can negotiate a better deal or move on to the next property.
4. Multiple Listing Service (MLS) properties usually state what the seller owes. If not, your agent should be able to track down the figures. There’s a big difference in negotiating with an owner who owes more than the house is worth and one who has a lot of built-up equity.
5. “After 45 to 60 days the seller is usually absolutely sick of keeping their house spotless and sick of people walking through,’’ said Durham. This is when a seller may be the most anxious about selling their house as traffic to their house has likely fallen sharply.
6. Unless you’re incredibly handy and have time and cash, go after houses that are as updated as you can afford. This is easier to do in a stagnant or falling market and fixers aren’t usually discounted enough to be worthwhile.
7. In a tighter market, it’s not too much to ask the seller to add the closing costs to the price of the house. It’s better to put 20 percent down and add the closing costs to the loan than put 15 percent down and pay the costs upfront.
8. Items to ask for that shouldn’t offend sellers are paying for new kitchen appliances or washer and dryer. Most sellers will be willing to do so to close the deal. Durham also says it’s OK to ask sellers to pay up to the first year of homeowner association dues.
9. Don’t request anything that requires quality workmanship. “Don’t ask them to paint,’’ Durham said. “They won’t do it the way you want. They’ll do a lousy job.’’ Also, don’t get carried away and ask for the entire store. Be reasonable.
10. Make sure to look at the big picture. In changing markets you should be planning to stay for at least five years, so don’t get caught up in a $2,000 price difference. Remember, the goal is to get the house you want to live in for some time, not to impress friends with how you worked the previous owner.
If you are thinking of buying contact Shy Shinalt with Tyler Homes. We would be glad to assist you in anyway to find the write Tyler home for you and your family.
Shy Shinalt
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)