On the Father’s Day 2019 episode of the Accunet Mortgage and Realty Show, Brian and David give you updates and tips on the housing market heading into summer.

This week on the Accunet Radio Show:

Brian and David Wickert talk about changes in home pricing over time, and in honor of Father’s Day, Brian gives you 6 Fatherly Tips for a First-Time Homebuyer.

This week’s highlights

• Compared to the 1980’s, when Brian bought his first house, rates look fantastic. Rates have gone from 5% down to 3.99%.
• Right now, Fannie’s Mae’s maximum loan amount is $440,350. This number has changed in the past, and will change again — check up-to-date loan limits here.
• If you’re buying a home, start by planning and mapping your finances. Accunet’s Rock Solid fully-verified pre-approval gives you peace of mind before you buy, letting you complete your purchase knowing it’ll go through.

Brian’s 6 tips for first-time homebuyers

In honor of Father’s Day, Brian Wickert, founder and owner of Accunet Mortgage, has put together a list of fatherly tips to help you buy a home. While the list is geared toward new buyers, these tips and tricks are handy in any home sale — whether it’s your first or not!

1.      Start with financing.

Before you get any further in the process, take the time to map out your finances. How much can you afford to spend on a home? Is your credit score good enough for the loan you want?

Getting pre-approved for your loan can be the difference between an accepted offer, and losing out on your top choice (or multiple top choices, for that matter).

2.      Try to stretch your budget.

If you can, stretch every dollar as far as it can go. Generally speaking, it’s better to buy the home you can see yourself living in for 20 years rather than purchasing starter home.

Why? Well, rates are incredibly low right now, meaning it’s a better long-term investment. If you purchase a home with the intention to move out in 5-10 years, there’s no telling what rates will be at the time of that purchase — meaning you might end up paying much more than if you bought the same exact home in today’s market.

3.      Pay attention to property taxes, schools and location.

Location, location, location. If you think you’re getting a good deal on location because of an environmental factor – like being next to a gas station, or close to a busy street – you’re NOT getting a good deal. You’re paying what it’s worth, because of the deficiency in location.

Schools matter! A lot of first-time homebuyers don’t have children, meaning they don’t consider school district when making a purchase. Later on, when they have children, it becomes a big issue (no surprise). Choosing a home within a good school district saves yourself from choosing between a subpar school and the hassle of moving your family down the road.

Don’t forget about property tax. Whenever we preapprove someone for a mortgage, we’re really approving them for a monthly payment. Let’s say the payment is $2,000/month; You can either chew up some of that $2,000 by putting a lot of it toward property taxes, or, if you buy in a lower-tax area, then you have more payment left over for principle and interest — that means a bigger, better house.

4.      Use an experienced buyer’s agent

The importance of this cannot be overstated. Experienced buyer’s agents know how to negotiate and navigate when the going gets rough — which doesn’t happen often (maybe a third of the time), but when it does, you’ll sure be glad to have the help.

5.      Don’t be afraid to overpay for your home.

The market is tight right now. Meaning, if you want to stay competitive, you might need to be willing to overpay. Putting 0-3% down isn’t competitive. But if you can swing a 10% down payment, you seriously increase your chances of getting an accepted offer.

When you overpay, the only thing that changes is a fraction of your monthly payment. There are no additional out-of-pocket costs — meaning overpaying isn’t nearly as bad as you’d think.

6.      If you’re buying an older home, send your real estate agent (or go yourself) to check if permits were pulled for remodeling.

When you’re eventually ready to sell that home, you’ll have to disclose information on any remodeling, and the appropriate permits. If the permits weren’t pulled, that could affect the sale negatively.

Also, the tax bill you’re looking at paying might be artificially low. You don’t want to be in for a nasty surprise when the tax bill comes in, and the owner didn’t tell the city they added a bathroom or extra square footage.

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