What 2015 Might Look Like

Freddie Mac released its U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for November.  Let's see what 2015 has in store for us! 1. Mortgage Rates: Interest rates will likely be on the rise next year, up to 5 percent by the end of the year. 2- Home Prices: After a slowing in 2014 from 2013, it is expected that appreciation will drop further to an average of 3 percent in 2015. 3- Housing Starts: New home building is expected to rise by 20% from this year. 4- Single family loans: Mortgage loans for single family homes will likely drop by 8%, attributed to slowing of refinancing. 5- Multi-family loans: Loans for multi-family properties are expected to rise 14% in 2015. Read the article for more information at:  Freddie Mac Real estate predictions for 2015.

Prepping for the Winter

This is really important if you are selling a home, renting out property, or even for your own house. Prepping for winter can save you money as well as make a difference to a buyer! What can you do to help keep out those winter blues? 1. Replace Air Filters:

Get rid of the old and bring in the new! It helps refresh the house as well as make it not work so hard to keep it warm. This is a big money saver for you and some great information you can pass on to home buyers who love to save some money.

2. Check Your Thermostats:

If the thermostat is only, you can guarantee you are loosing some money there. Also make sure it's running properly! Thermostats that allow you to control the temperature by time settings can also be a great budget friendly option. While you aren't home or while you are sleeping, lower the temperature so you aren't wasting any heat! If you are selling a property set it a lower temperature and let Realtors know they need to turn it up in advanced to showing a home!

3. Clear Away Those Vents:

Make sure there is nothing blocking the vents and clean them out!! The more room they have to breath, the better heat circulation you are going to get.

4. Insulate Exposed Pipes:

Check your basement, make sure there aren't any pipes that are exposed. A frozen pipe can do some serious damage as well as be a huge cost in the long wrong. Insulated pipes are a cheap fix that can really save you later!

5. Outdoor Faucets and sprinklers:

Be sure to drain them before you turn them off! Take of the hoses and add a thermal cover for the winter.

6. Check for any leaks or cracks that might need to be sealed off:

Winter can bring a lot of wet heavy mess as well as serious cold winds. Those tiny cracks can make a difference if they are letting in cold air and a small leak can become a major one if not taken care of properly.

7. Lighting:

It gets dark earlier and it's important that things are well lit so you can see! Check to make sure your house has great interior lights throughout and stock up on those light bulbs!

8. Check in periodically:

If you have a home for sale or rental that's empty, check in periodically to make sure everything is running smoothly and there's no fixes necessary!

Holiday Decor that Can Help You Sell

Looking to sell your property during the holiday season? Here are a few tips to help you incorporate some holiday decor to help you sell!

Don't overdo the decor but adding a few simple touches can make it feel like being home for the holidays, which can create a great emotional bond between a buyer and a home.

Use common sense! Broad holiday decor that could be universally loved is a much better option than specific items. For example, snowflakes rather than snowmen or basic ornaments instead of personal ones.

Try to go gender neutral. Remember that you are trying to appeal your home to many different types of buyers. Going with neutral colors is a great way to go gender neutral as well!

Make sure it isn't hazardous! No candles that need to be lite, that could potentially cause a fire, and make sure it's somewhat child friendly in case buyers come with small children.

Use your decorations to highlight the features in your home and be careful to not hide the best spots as well!

I hope these tips will help you throughout the holidays!

Tips for Selling Your Home Fast

There is a great article I want to share with everyone today about selling your home fast! That seems to be what most sellers are most interested in, yet have a hard time implementing. This article by Lisa Ross has a great list of must do's to get your home out there and be seen and sold quickly! It may seem like it's coming up on the season where things tend to slow down but this year is expected to be different. Don't hold out on listing your home this winter, you may be shocked at how fast it sells!

She goes into detail about how these ways can help you whether you are a realtor, photographer, or just a homeowner. It doesn't matter what your title is, you all have the same goal in mind! Take a look at her article here to make sure you are on the right track!

Fall is Here!

Don't let the fall weather fool you! It's still buying season for real estate and it's said to be a great market in January as well! Why is that so?

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Buyers aren't necessarily concerned with starting late in the school year or moving during the holiday season, they have better things to be doing like like checking out their next spot to be. Thanks to virtual listings, buying season is now almost all year long!

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Buyers are also catching on with the trend that there is less competition on off season. This spring and summer it was really hard to catch a break if you were trying to buy a home. With most offer's being cash and multiple offers on almost every house, it was almost inevitable that you were going to be outbid.

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Why are we hearing that January will be a good buying time as well? Because the holidays will be over and people will be ready to make their next move in the next year before the competition gets hot again.

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This is looking like a good season to have a home for sell!

Five Interesting Things for Investors!

As if my reasons about why investing in homes was a great idea post before wasn't good enough for you, here are five things that realtytimes put together that make it even more intriguing:

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1. Rising prices:

The buying market is low and the houses are starting to sell for more! This is the perfect time to see appreciation in a home with little input. This includes rental properties which are going to raise in profits as well!

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2. Affordability:

With everything still on the cusp of going up, you can snag a great house for a great deal! Mortgage rates are low, which offers a great opportunity for those who do want to rent and can raise the prices later without the mortgage rising!

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3. Rental Prices:

In some markets the rental rates have already shot up! You can already get a great low mortgage rate and a high rental rate and start off on the right foot.

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4. Capital:

Capital is more accessible. Private investors are able to find financing for parts of their returns. Gain some insight on what opportunities you have to for investing in real estate.

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5. Stress Free:

When you think of being a landlord you certainly do NOT thing of being stress free, well now you do! With service oriented businesses and technology-based solutions these days, you can divvy out all the stressful parts of being a landlord to someone else! Consider a property manager.

Perks of Being an Investor!

There are plenty of perks for being an Investor when it comes to investing in homes that are being remodeled or rehabbed! Here are just a few:

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1. You don't have to find the home!

The rehabbers do that for you! Being an investor means you get handed options of homes you'd like to invest in, or to invest in the company rehabbing itself! No searching required for a good opportunity required!

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2. You don't have to worry about the details:

No calling and checking up on contractors, no extra expenses or hidden fees, no stress or worries!

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3. You don't have to sell the home and worry about the financial ends of it:

You invest X amount and receive a percentage of the income - really just coming out with anything extra is a bonus right!?

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4. It doesn't cost a fortune to invest.

Depending on the person/company you are working with, they will have a minimum investment number so you can go with the lowest option and still make out pretty well!

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5. You can reinvest and reinvest!

There are so many homes on the market and plenty of homes that need a little rehab to move forward with. The opportunities are almost endless!

Interested in investing? Call us for some details!

Worried About Capital Gains Tax?

Here's something you might want to do some research on before you sell your home! If you are one of the lucky few in this economy that have made a profit on your home, you might be worried about capital gains tax.

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Not sure what capital gains tax is?

"Capital gains taxes are charged when you sell something that’s increased in value such as an investment like a stock or property. If you held onto the asset for more than a year before you sold it, then you are taxed on a long-term capital gain at a tax rate of 0% to 20%.

If you owe taxes, the amount you will pay depends on your tax bracket.

• If you’re in the 10% to 15% tax bracket, your capital gains tax rate is zero.
• If you’re in the 25% to 35% tax bracket, your capital gains tax rate is 15%.
• If you’re in the 39.6% tax bracket, your capital gains tax rate is 20%"

- via Michelle, Realtor.com

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Luckily there are some exemptions for those who may have to pay tax!

If you are single there is a $250,000 exemption from your taxes, if you are filing joint there is a $500,000 exemption from your taxes. Sounds great huh!? But there are some requirements. The home must be your primary residence, you must have owned the property for a minimum of two years, and you must have lived there for at least two of  the past five years. This alone can save some from having to pay a huge amount when it comes to taxes.

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Don't qualify for that? There's one more way that you can possibly be exempt from taxes. If you have put any money on home improvements toward the house, then you can use those improvement costs to take away from the income of the home. This is one of the many reasons you should always keep track of how much you've invested in your home.

There may be other ways to be exempt but that would require talking to a tax consultant or your tax adviser! Make sure you know all of your options before you make a move you might regret.

What Windows Can Really Do

Windows are one of the things that we look at when renovating a home. You may not realize the benefits of new windows in a home, but they can really make a difference and not just by how they look!

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Windows can provide a home with many great things like natural light, warmth from the sun coming in, and ventilation when needed! It can also be burden to a home when it isn't properly maintained, taken care of, or installed properly. A homes energy efficiency relies on all of those things in order to keep the costs down. This is where we keep an eye out when purchasing a home to make sure it will benefit the new home owners.

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Things you want to look for in order to decide if you need new windows or not is caulking, weather stripping, air leakage, cracks, gaps, and be sure to check the joints as well. Is the window operable, does it open and close to ventilate, and can you safely lock them? Are they going to withstand a storm and weather for your location? These are questions you need ask yourself when looking both inside and outside at windows.

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The next important thing is choosing your replacing windows. There's no point in replacing them if you aren't going to invest what's best for your home. Check the energy efficiency ratings before you buy and since there are so many options these days, you shouldn't have trouble finding ones that are beneficial and beautiful! The last step is to make sure they are installed properly. Improperly installed windows are just as bad as old windows!

I hope these tips help if you are in the process of buying a home or renovating home!

Winning A Bidding War

These days, winning a bidding war isn't about who has more money! If you are entering a bidding war with that attitude you may just lose out before you know it. "What sellers really don't want to do is waste time," said John Walsh, Total Mortgage.

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Reconsidering how you bid could get you the home you've been dreaming of! Most sellers these days know if they bought at the high end of the market and are selling now, that they aren't getting back what they put in. It's mostly about the efficiency of time.

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Whether they have a new home they are waiting to move into, or are just ready to get out, time is of the essence! Not to mention time also costs money these days.

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So how do you save these sellers time? Make sure you are going into your contract with an open mind. If you can let them be the deciding factor of the move in date, and show flexibility they'll be more likely to choose you over someone with high demands even though they may have a higher bid!

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I hope that's a helpful hint to those of you who are buying!

Becoming Mobile

Most websites these days also have a mobile site to make it easier for everyone to stay in touch. It's gotten to the point now where if you aren't mobile friendly you are behind the times! With tablets and phones taking over the internet since we are all on the go, it's those companies that have the mobile sites down to science that are succeeding in more ways then one!

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This is no exception when it comes to real estate and getting your home out there for all to see! You want to be using the marketing system to benefit you and if viewers can't see what you are offering from all sorts of media than you are at a loss!

Top 15 real estate networks by Web traffic, May 2014

Real estate network	Total unique visitors in March	Desktop unique visitors	Mobile unique visitors
All real estate sites	94.0 million	64.3 million	54.7 million
Zillow (Yahoo) real estate network	53.8 million	32.3 million	30.6 million
Trulia (RentPath) network	30.8 million	17.7 million	16.8 million
Move Inc. network	23.7 million	13.1 million	13.4 million
Homes.com (ForRent.com) network	10.6 million	5.9 million	5.3 million
Redfin	5.9 million	3.0 million	3.2 million
MSN Real Estate	5.4 million	4.9 million	0.6 million
Apartments.com sites	4.9 million	2.9 million	2.2 million
Coldwell Banker Real Estate	4.3 million	3.0 million	1.5 million
Movoto	4.2 million	2.4 million	1.9 million
Century 21 International	3.5 million	2.2 million	1.4 million
LoopNet sites	2.5 million	1.7 million	0.9 million
U-Haul	2.5 million	1.2 million	1.3 million
NCI Interactive	2.1 million	1.2 million	1.0 million
Internet Brands Real Estate	1.6 million	0.9 million	0.7 million
Apartment List (formerly Vertical Brands)	1.5 million	1.0 million	0.5 million

Source: comScore

The numbers don't lie! Have you considered taking your business to mobile friendly site?

Zillow Pocket Listings

Zillow is at it again! Finding great ways to make life a little easier and a lot more fun when it comes to home searching. They have a "coming soon" feature for brokers and agents that you won't want to miss!

"Agents can manually upload their coming soon homes to Zillow while brokerages and MLSs can opt in by adding a “Coming Soon” field to their current feeds or building out a separate, new feed dedicated to coming soon listings. Agents can renew a coming soon listing for up to 30 additional days." - Paul Hagey

This is going to give Zillow the upper hand of having a look out at what's to come in the market prior to being on the MLS. I am loving this new idea and hoping it sticks around.

Florida is Hitting the Map!

With the summer sunshine out and about, people are packing up there things and heading to the beach! This year, Florida is the place to be. So much so that you might not want to just pack a suitcase, but consider packing up all your things! Realtor.com just confirmed that there are some seriously great hot spots for purchasing a home in Florida and we are loving the idea.

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So to go along with the theme,  here are a few reasons we think you should be keeping your eye on Tampa this year:

1. The Food Is Spectacular!

They have some of the most amazing locally owned restaurants you won't find anywhere else. Don't just limit yourself to seafood either! There's a wide variety of choices from Hawaiian fusion at Roy's to Greek at Dimitri's on the Water that will make your mouth water.

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2. The Attractions:

The Lowery Park Zoo was rated in Business Journal as 2013's best Non-Profit. Parents magazine also raved about this being the place to take your children!  There's a long list of things to do in Tampa as well like: Busch Gardens, Tampa Theater, Bayshore Boulevard, Steinbrenner Field, Henry B. Plant Museum, Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, Raymond James Stadium, Florida Aquarium, and Adventure Island to name a few.

3. The Weather

The fact that it's pretty much summer year round really makes an outdoorsy person happy! Constant sunshine, random rain showers that only last a few minutes at a time, and a great breeze off the beach - what more could you ask for?

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4. Financial Freedom!

The cost of living is fairly low with a lovely no state tax! You can easily find a gorgeous home for under $250,000 and still be able to afford all those restaurants, attractions, and events happening around you.

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5. The Obvious Reason - The Beaches!

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Home Inspiration

One of the things we look for in a home is outdoor space. Having indoor square footage is almost as important as outdoor! There are times we have built a deck or added a fence onto a home to give that extra space a little updgrade and show off all it has to offer. Here's some ideas for some outdoor space that might just inspire you to enjoy a little extra square footage:

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House Flipping Facts

We love what we do, but we also know there's a chance we have to take with each home we flip. It's fun to look at a home and see it's full potential and know you can give back the life it always wanted, but it does come at a cost. Is the cost worth it in the long run?

According to Housing Wire there are some great profits to be had in certain areas! Even with the market being slow and the values of homes taking a while to appreciate, if you are smart at what you are doing and staying ahead of the game, you have a shot.

RealtyTrac made a list of places that are hitting the market with great potential.

"To make the list, counties had to have at least 100 single-family homes flipped in the last 12 months (April 2013 through March 2014), see an average gross return of 30% or more on flips during that time period, have an unemployment rate below the national average of 6.7% in March, and have an increase in foreclosure activity in the first quarter of 2014 compared to a year ago." - Housing Wire

It's nice to know that we make the cut in one of the best markets to flips homes so we can continue to do what we love!

Home Inspiration

Getting neutral colors to work for you! When we are updating a home we love to chose paint colors that a neutral to give you a great feel for what the room could be. Since color choices are often very personal, here are some great ways you can work with the neutral paint if you aren't looking to paint when you move in!

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via inspiredbythis

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Making Credit Better

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With the signs of the housing market finally recovering, there are still some issues that seem to be facing home buyers that might soon be fixed! It might not be as a hard as it has been to access the credit you need to purchase a home, which has been holding back a lot of activity in the real estate world as well as other parts of the economy.

"Moody suggests that if the acceptable credit score reverted to more traditional and sustainable standards that existed prior to the housing bubble, then the pool of potential mortgage borrowers could increase by more than 12.5 million households." - CNN

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According to CNN the FHA and FHAH took important steps to make sure responsible credit worthy homeowners were able to obtain a loan without repeating history where home buyers were given credit they shouldn't have been approved for.

This isn't going to be a short process, it's going to need a lot of work to make sure everything is done appropriately this time around, but it's looking good for those who should be able to purchase home will be actually be able to!

Dressing Up A Fireplace

When we walk into a home and see a fireplace that has been ignored, there are always so many options to consider when fixing it back up to the centerpiece it was made to be.

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Some fireplaces aren't usable anymore, and the best thing to do is make them a place to display a little of your personality into the home. Giving it a great mantle piece can really add some character and make it shine.

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Others just need a simple paint to bring it back to life! Picking a neutral color is a great idea so you can change pretty much anything around it and it still looks amazing.

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A pricey but gorgeous option is dressing it up from head to toe! Making it really stand out as the place to be in the room makes it really feel like home.

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Sometimes a little stone can go a long way. Giving that that classy timeless feel can make a huge difference in the way it fits in the room.

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Tile is another great affordable option  that can give a little character to the room without breaking the bank account.

Which is your favorite look?

Prices In Tampa Climbing!

Is it just me or does the thought of Tampa, Florida seem like a great place to be right now!? This winter weather has been rough and most of us are ready for some serious sunshine! I'm not the only one feeling this way because the Tampa housing market is on a serious climb!

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According to CNN, most of the housing market was leaning towards purchasing homes for the price and getting the best deal, not necessarily where the jobs were. Now we are looking places where the jobs are growing and the housing markets are making a statement! Getting that dream home you always wanted near the water in the sunshine is looking pretty great right about now.

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Some other things that are looking great in Tampa? For one, it's been rated one of Sperlings Best Places to Live! There is a lot to do with major parks, aquariums, and museums to choose from as well as a wide variety of shops to choose from.

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If you are bringing kids with you, you are in for a treat. The school systems are great and not to mention the University of Tampa is there! The local economy is noteworthy with big name companies that are helping to keep them strong like DUKE Energy and Raymond James Financial.  The cost of living is affordable and so is the housing market at the moment, but that may change soon! It looks like I'm going to need to book my next flight there as soon as possible!

Ready Made VS Custom

What are the perks of a ready made home verses customizing it yourself? If you are leaning towards customizing, you might consider these few things that you might not have thought about!

1. The total cost of a renovated home vs renovating a home:

Renovating a home can get expensive really fast! If you find a home that needs a little TLC and looks like it would be great for a DIY project, make sure you know the house inside and out. It's important to know where all the electrical, plumbing, and load bearing walls are before you start daydreaming of what the room could be. Purchasing a home that's already updated to your style could easily be cheaper in the long run and avoid the stress of working through the process.

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2. Customizing can be cheap if you do it right:

Buying a renovated home doesn't mean you can't customize it in other ways! A change in paint color can make a huge difference in a room and chances are high once you move in you can easily make it feel like the home you always wanted with your own decor. Even if there is one thing that you'd rather change, the cost of changing one item like counter tops as opposed to an entire kitchen is much easier to handle and can be done in a reasonable amount of time.

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3. Better materials at a better price:

Renovators usually get great discounts on items that you would pick out yourself at a much higher cost. Hardwood floors, granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances may seem easy enough for you to put into a home but you'd be surprised at how much it can add up. Because most renovators get a great discount on these materials, it ends up costing you a lot less in the total price!

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4. Labor costs you didn't expect:

If you decide that one of the items you wanted to customize in your home is something that you can't do on your own, you may find the costs of labor to be astronomical! When a renovator is working on the home, the cost of labor tends to be smaller because they are doing multiple items at once and get a great packaged deal. For the cost of labor to come in and work on one small project could cost just as much as renovating an entire home to make it worth their time.

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5. Working with codes isn't as easy as you think:

Making sure you get the best quality and that everything is to code is something that might be a huge stress when customizing your own home. A renovator can't get around these when working on a home so you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that everything is done correctly and at a great quality. Not to mention having to work with inspectors to ensure it's right might not be a cost you planned for.

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