Tag Archives: rental homes

How Much Of A Home Do You Qualify For?

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 Keys House

You have saved a down payment, cleaned up your credit, have been looking on-line dreaming for months now and finally have found a great Realtor to help you. So now what? Go out looking at homes? Not so fast. You need to find out how much of a house  you can buy? It does no good to look at $350K homes when you are more in the 250K range. If you start, believe me, it will be very had to settle in your mind on what you saw and what you can get. You need to meet with a lender and get the good news- “Yes you are pre-approved for a motgage of _____.

Have you  ever wondered how they come up with what they do and what formula is used?  The chart below is a handy guideline to reference what your payment would be based on your income and how much home you can afford. Look how interest rates play into this. Its huge! For example, we bought our house in 1998 and paid a whopping 7.25%!  Look at the difference today versus then. In other-words you can afford more house now. I bank with BECU and checked current rates today they are at 3.881% for a 30 year. In the 4rth quarter of 2012 rates were about 3.36%. There coming up!

We know these great rates wont last forever so if your on the fence take a look at what your payment would be and see if it makes sense for you. For example here in Snohomish County rents are around the monthly payment for a $300K  single family home. Crazy huh?

If you decide now is the time contact me and lets get started ! 

Interest Rate 3.25% 4.25% 5.25% 6.25% 7.25%
200,000          
Monthly Payment $1,266 $1,377 $1,496 $1,620 $1751
Monthly Income $3,246 $3,542 $3,835 $4,155 $4,489
Hourly Pay $18.73 $20.37 $22.12 $23.97 $25.90
250,000          
Payment $1,572 $1,712 $1,860 $2,015 $2,179
Income $4,032 $4,389 $4,768 $5,168 $5,586
Hourly $23.26 $25.32 $27.51 $29,81 $32.23
300,000          
Payment $1,879 $2,046 $2,223 $2,411 $2,606
Income $4,817 $5,246 $5,701 $6,181 $6,683
Hourly $27.79 $30.27 $32.89 $35.66 $38.55
350,000          
Payment $2,185 $2,380 $2,587 $2,806 $3,034
Income $5,603 $6,103 $6,634 $7,194 $7,780
Hourly $32.33 $35.21 $38.27 $41.50 $44.88

www.snohomishcountyhomes4u.com

Considering a Remodel Project This Winter? Know The Average Cost Before Starting

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Water HeaterInspect

Welcome to 2013! Do you know  its expected to be a double digit year in remodeling?

Since the Seattle Remodeling Expo  is going on right now and through the weekend what better time to give an idea on how much those new windows or kitchen remodel would be. If a project is in your horizon this year, whether large or small, take your time and compare. Its amazing the cost difference and quality so pay yourself back a bit and do your homework. But most of all have fun!

These are average costs of typical projects and could be more or less depending on materials, labor costs or if your doing it yourself. For example, we added on our home a family room addition. The below states typical cost at about $101K.  We added 940 sq. ft on our split level home for a family room and additional down stairs bedroom. Our cost 75K but, I have a handy husband who did most all of the labor except for foundation, framing and electrical. Still a chunk of money and the time spent was enormous. Many late nights after work and weekends to complete.  So when you do factor in costs dont forget to consider your time. Oh, and the possible arguments with your spouse in Lowes (yes, I do know first hand). Most of all from me to you~~ Good Luck!

 

PROJECT JOB COST RESALE VALUE COST RECOUPED
Minor Kitchen Remodel $20,947 $19,165 91.5%
Garage Door Replacement $1,742 $1,531 88.4%
Entry door replacement (steel) $1,473 $1,252 85%
Deck addition (wood) $12,938 $10,596 81.4%
Window Replacement (wood) $13,504 $10,995 81.4%
Attic Bedroom $61,066 $46,981 76.9%
Basement Remodel $76,393 $58,337 76.4%
Major Kitchen Remodel $64,209 $48,745 75.9%
Deck Addition (composite) $17,358 $13,045 75.2%
Bathroom Remodel $19,204 $14,431 75.1%
Siding Replaced (Vinyl) $14,161 $10,080 71.2%
Two-Story Addition $191,902 $135,006 70.4%
Roof Replacement $26,086 $17,942 68.8%
Family Room Addition $101,311 $69,611 68.7%
Entry Door Replacement $3,959 $2,696 68.1%
Garage Addition $69,904 $45,893 65.7%
Master Suite Addition $127,813 $82,764 64.8%
Bathroom Addition $48,237 $29,747 61.7%
Backup Power Generator $16,996 $8,783 51.7%
Sunroom Addition $85,177 $43,184 50.7%
Home Office Remodel $31,239 $15,777 50.5%

Are Foreign Buyers Taking Our Homes?

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Did you know….

More foreign buyers are seeing attractive opportunities in the U.S. housing market. A National Association of Realtors (NAR) survey revealed that home sales to international buyers were up 24% for the 12 months ending in March. Finally, a Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) survey showed demand for purchase loans was up 13% for the week and up 4% from a year ago. This put it at the highest level in more than six months!

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Do you think it takes away from buyers looking for homes to owner occupy? I am a bit torn on this one. Recently, I have had a few Canadian investors contact me that have cash to buy homes. They want to purchase to rent out. On one hand I welcome the business and realize that for most Bank Owned and HUD homes investors must wait a set amount of time to give owner occupied first preference. On the other hand I worry since our inventory is so low that it will further put a squeeze on the homes available here to first time home buyers and folks relocating here for jobs. I would love to hear your opinion and thoughts?