Ruthie's Corner

3 Sure Fire Ways to Lose When Buying Your Next Home! Thinking about making a move?  GREAT! What an exciting time for you. Before you begin your homebuying journey, be sure to avoid these 3 sure fire ways homebuyers lose – big time – when buying a new home. You may ask:  “lose”? How can I lose? Great question. Too many buyers rush into the homebuying process before they’re ready.  And doing so not only wastes their time but, in some instances, it costs them thousands of dollars. Keep reading to learn what these top 3 mistakes are . . . so you make sure to avoid them!   Not getting prequalified BEFORE beginning your search Many buyers make this mistake, thinking they know what they can afford. What you may not consider, however, are other costs associated with home ownership – or a host of other issues that bear on the issue of your credit. I’ve worked with some buyers who were pleasantly surprised that they could actually qualify for MORE than...

It’s Not Greek, It’s just ‘Real Estate’ Talk: De-coding the Language of Home Selling I totally get it! You’re thinkin’ about selling your home but you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by what’s involved.  So many “gurus” out there telling you to do so many things. And then, to make matters worse, they use terms that sound almost like a foreign language. No worries. Here are some home-selling terms and their meaning in plain English. So long as you have an experienced agent representing you (like me!), no need to worry about fully understanding the nuances CMA (a “Comparative Marketing Analysis” or “Home Valuation”) A CMA is an analysis real estate pros perform, looking at the local market and comparable homes that recently sold (often called “comps”) as well as those currently on the market and are pending (or failed to sell). After studying, your real estate agent prepares a report estimating your home’s current market value. Escrow (aka the “paperwork” held by a th...

Insurance is a necessary evil. When you buy a home, you get to buy home owners insurance. Which sounds like a great deal, however it is important to make sure that you get the right coverage for your area. In Southern Teller County, it is important to make sure the property you are buying is not in a flood plain. If it is you must by Flood Insurance .   Also, another component of home insurance that we see up here is Fire coverage . We do not have a lot of fires here due to great fire mitigation that the residents do, but some of the larger fires have impacted our area and insurance companies are wanting fire coverage on their policies. We are a desert tundra so we do get cold but when we are in a drought it can get rough. Recent storms have brought some much-needed moisture but the fire danger changes every day depending on the winds. Keeping up on knowing what you will need as far as home owners insurance is going to be helpful in making sure you do not get hit with a big...

4 Tips for Saving Money for your 1st Home Saving money is never easy. When you’re hoping to purchase your first home, saving is a necessity! Try these cost-saving tips and soon you’ll have a nest egg to put toward your new place. 1.  Make a budget and stick to it . Consumer.gov has tips for making a budget. Create your budget and then commit to sticking to it (knowing that hard work will pay off when you find that beautiful home to call your own)! Be sure to track what you spend. And make sure to avoid any unnecessary spending – this is not the time to be buying a new car or making any similar large purchase. 2.  Talk to a lender about what you can afford . I know it’s exciting to go out looking at homes. But before doing so, you owe it to yourself to speak to a lender. Your lender will ask about your income and expenses and, within about 10 minutes, will be able to calculate what you can afford. Your lender can also help lay out all expenses associated with ...

Why Now Is The Time To Buy If you have been considering purchasing a home, you may be curious to know if this is the right time in the market to make your move. The market is fast changing, with new laws coming into play, interest rates are constantly rising, and a whole slew of things buyers have to face when it comes time to picking the right house. What does that mean for you? Well, that there isn't a better time to buy than now. Let's break down the benefits of purchasing a home now, instead of waiting.    1. INTEREST RATES ARE SOARING If you haven't been keeping up with the real estate market, you might be missing out on the data around interest rates. They are going up, and they are going up fast. 5% may not seem like a lot, but can be the difference between hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars on what you are paying out towards your loan on a monthly basis. Would you want to pay an extra $200 towards interest for your...

Don't Replace Your Agent With The Internet With the influx of new technology and web based solutions, it isn't a surprise that everything is moving fast into the era of the internet. From sites like Uber to Grubhub, we generally can pull up our phones or laptops to order what we want with ease. And with every industry being revolutionized by technology, the same methods are "attempting" to be applied to the real estate industry.  We could all agree that the simplification of the process through paperwork would be much appreciated by agents and buyers/sellers alike; but the attempt of replacing the agent by sites like Zillow and other third party resources, can lead to a snowball affect of disaster. Think about real estate being smack dab in the middle of fast food and a doctor. You can use your mobile device to quickly place your order for a $20 meal, but when it comes to getting a surgery, you'll want to put that phone...