Many clients want to know whether it’s the right time to buy a home, or whether renting might be a better option. Let’s look at the advantages of each:

RENTING:

A big plus with renting is the caretaking and maintenance of your home. Of course, you should always take care of your home, but to not have to worry about some major items such as HVAC, appliances, roof, floods and the costs associated with those purchases or repairs is a plus for many. It’s also nice to simply make a call to the landlord when dealing with air conditioning and other issues.

Another plus is the flexibility of renting. If you’re new to the area and not quite certain where you want to live, renting gives you the opportunity to live in the community and learn about what it has to offer your family, work and lifestyle.

BUYING:

It’s frequently said that to rent is to throw money out the window. Ever wonder exactly what that means? Rental payments are just that – payments! A mortgage payment is much greater, but you are able to write off the interest associated with your mortgage payment and fees associated with closing, while paying towards full ownership of your home, giving you equity. These can add up to some big savings!

Another nice thing with buying a home – you’re the owner. You say you’ve always wanted a jetted shower? Well, if a rental doesn’t have it, you’re probably not going to invest in one, given that you’re not taking it with you when you leave. But with a new home purchase, it’s yours forever! You get to design your new home so that it fits your needs and desires.

Wondering whether a home purchase is right for you? Contact us for a free consultation; whether in Dallas, Plano, Frisco or elsewhere in DFW, we’re never too busy for your referrals.

While often overlooked, there have lately been more signs of a housing market comeback, both in Dallas and around the country, as real estate agents say that nationwide second home sales rose dramatically in 2011. Purchases of investment homes jumped by more than 64 percent during the year, as buyers rushed to take advantage of depressed prices and low finance rates, with sales of vacation homes up 7 percent during the year.

National Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun states that “during the past year, investors have been swooping into the market to take advantage of bargain home prices.” He notes that, among investment alternatives, “rising rental income easily beat cash sitting in banks as an added inducement,” and that “41 percent of investment buyers purchased more than one property,” a surge of growth supporting the housing market as a whole. This activity has allowed the combined sales of vacation and investment homes to be at the highest level since 2005.

Almost half of the investment home buyers paid cash for their purchases in 2011, as did more than 40 percent of vacation home buyers, showing that today’s buyers aren’t afraid to invest their hard earned cash, and helping to explain why investment home prices rose 6.4 percent last year, according to the Realtors.

As the market landscape for primary and second homes is always changing, we’d love to be your trusted advisor in navigating today’s real estate market. Whether in Dallas, Plano, Frisco or elsewhere in DFW, we’re never too busy for your referrals

With interest rates a key component of any real estate purchase, it’s worth noting that rates for 30-year fixed mortgages have been recently rising, with the current rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace at 3.97 percent, up 1/4 point from a week ago. This rate signifies the highest rate recorded on the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace in the last five months, implying that interest rates may be on the rise in the near-term.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate has been steadily rising, and briefly burst through 4 percent before falling again. While certainly not a horror story, these statistics should cause potential home buyers to wonder how long such low rates will be offered.

Erin Lantz, director of Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, recently stated that “mortgage rates hit 4 percent for the first time in five months after a collection of positive news,” due to recent optimistic readings on the US economy. “The Federal Reserve delivered a better assessment of the economy, and reduced speculation that the Fed would buy even more mortgage-backed securities, bank stress test results were more positive than many expected, and Greece’s second bailout plans appeared on track.” She goes on to explain that near-term interest rate changes should determine whether an upward trend will be in place for some time, or “whether we’ve reached a new plateau.”.

What does this mean for you? The time to buy a home is now! Waiting until the economic situation improves may leave homebuyers with 30 years of heightened borrowing costs. The key to being a successful homebuyer and investor is to plan for the long-term, rather than be swayed by week-to-week economic changes. While no one can predict the future, now might be a great time to find financing on the cheap, before it’s too late!

Whether in Dallas, Frisco, Plano or elsewhere in DFW, we’re never too busy for your referrals; contact us today!

In contrast, a real estate “agent” is a licensed professional that must be sponsored by a registered real estate broker. Agents work directly for the real estate broker, and can not complete a real estate transaction without the broker’s oversight.

This creates a type of apprenticeship in the industry. For most states, a newly licensed professional must work for a broker for a certain number of years before the agent can qualify to become a broker themselves.

There’s also many experienced agents who have never chosen to pursue a broker’s license; rather, they like working “in the field” as real estate agents, rather than running an office as a broker. These agents can be experienced, but prefer the job of working directly with Buyers and Sellers to that of an office administrator. However, the downside to using independent agents is that they frequently lack the expertise and available resources of an established brokerage.

When you work with Covenant Realty, you can rest assured that you have the support of a full-service, longstanding brokerage, with a solid history of success backing us up each time we go to bat for your transaction. While some might call us biased, we feel we have the cream of the crop when it comes to effective agents, and we’d love to put our team to work for you and your family!

Whether in Dallas, Plano, Frisco or elsewhere in DFW, we’re never too busy for your referrals; contact us today!

Lawn Improvements:

Overgrown, patchy lawns and bushes can cause your home to stand out in a bad way. To tame your front lawn at a reasonable cost, a lawn service company can trim your lawn and shape your hedges. Your curb appeal can then go from messy to maintained, without blowing your budget!

Overall Cleanliness:

The proverb that you get one shot at a first impression is true; you have to make the interior of your home shine from the moment a potential buyer walks through the door! For a small fee, a cleaning service can perform a thorough top-to-bottom scrubbing. Even with regular cleaning, nooks and crannies can be overlooked; let a cleaning service do the dirty work to make your home sparkle!

Visually Increasing Your Square Footage:

Your home’s size dramatically affects the value, but square footage isn’t the only space that counts. Visual space (how large a home

feels) is important too, so it’s important to make each room in your house feel larger. Heavy closed draperies can be replaced with vertical blinds or shutters to let light in. When you allow a sunny room, it feels larger and more open.

Also, large mirrors can visually double the space in larger rooms. Finally, clear the clutter, making rooms feel much less cramped and maximizing your visual square footage to interested buyers.

To maximize the equity in your pocket from your home,  you’ll want to connect with Covenant Realty today.   Whether searching in Dallas, Frisco, Plano, Richardson or elsewhere in DFW real estate market, we’re never too busy to work with great people who appreciate a higher level of attention and care.

Here is a link describing what the award is about and what TEAM networking provides.

http://brucecarnohan.com/blog/

Thank you to TEAM networking for considering me worthy of such an award. 

In closing, we live in a culture that says you can either be successfull or be happy, but you can’t be both.  My community of friends in this group, as well as those who work by referral would tend to disagree.  Thank you to my clients and friends for their faith in me as their advocate and resource in real estate.

Sincerely,

Ryan Kirkpatrick

Sincerely,

Ryan Kirkpatrick

Background

Katrina was a referral from a former client and friend of mine.  Often, my work is rewarding through the process helping those I have the opportunity to serve side step dangerous obstacles.  Being a guy, I don’t tear up that much, but her note below struck a chord.  Katrina, I appreciate the time you took to write this and articulate how I go about my work day to day with those I serve. 

Ryan,

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have done for me and helped me through the past several months.  It has been a complete pleasure working with you.  I don’t know how I could have made it without you!!

I am reflecting back on the whole process and all that we have been through in the past couple months that have at times felt like an eternity.

Thank you so much for being so patient with me while we were searching for the perfect home.  You were so helpful through the entire process.  It was wonderful knowing that you had my best interest in mind.  I am so thankful that you could see the danger zones; from electrical poles, to messy kids, commercial real estate in the backyard, big scary dogs, terrible foundations, and gigantic trees, just to name a few I remember when we walked into my home and knew it was the one.  What an amazing feeling that was!  I know that I will be so happy in my new home and I am positive that we got a great deal for it!  I could not be here without you!

Words cannot express how thankful I am that you have not only had my financial interest in mind through this but you have also been such a great spiritual support and friend.  I definitely know that closing on this house has been one of the hardest things I have  gone through in my life.  You have been amazing through it all.  Not only have you gone above and beyond as a realtor to get every silly thing Chase had requested asap, but you have been there for me emotionally as well.  I think there would probably be a lot more trouble between myself and Chase if you hadn’t been there to talk me down on several occasions.  I am so thankful for your knowledge in the banking business and support through it all.

Now that this has come to an end, I am so glad that not only have I finally gotten the house I have been dreaming about, I have also gotten a new friend.  I do hope that we continue to keep in touch and I will definitely refer everyone I know to you.  Through all of this I can look back at some mistakes I wish I hadn’t made.  However, the best choice I have made is choosing you as my realtor!!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart,

 Katrina Krumholtz

At Covenant Realty, we put our expertise to work every day, focusing on getting top dollar for our clients’ home sales. As a sample, here’s a few tips that might be useful in proceeding with your sale:

Consult a Professional:

As a start, you should have an agent and/or interior designer inspect your home. While Covenant Realty agents provide this as a courtesy, we can refer you to professional designers to assist as well; an hour with a good designer can provide lots of great ideas for sprucing up your home. Even small improvements, such as paint or furniture changes, can go a long way toward improving your home’s look and feel. 

Work with an Inspector:

While cosmetic repairs can help, functional factors including roofing issues, termite infestation or outdated electrical systems must be fully operable when you sell your home — and you can’t fix these if you don’t they’re broken. A home inspector can investigate the areas of your home that you don’t normally see. and they can discover hidden problems early in the process. Since small problems such as a hidden water leaks can become big, expensive problems quickly, an inspector can help find and fix these issues quickly.

Paint!

An extremely simple, cost-effective improvement is paint! Freshly painted rooms look clean and updated, which can add serious value to your home before you sell. Note that neutral colors appeal to the greatest number of people, so these should make your home most desirable. Necessary supplies could be as little as a few gallons of paint, rollers, painter’s tape, drop cloths and brushes, so this improvement is a no-brainer for many home sellers!

These are just a small sample of what Covenant Realty agents bring to your home sale. Whether in Dallas, Plano, Frisco or elsewhere in DFW, put our expertise to work for you; we’re never too busy for your referrals!

Some luxury items, such as a kitchen water filtration system, can really spruce up your home for potential buyers. These systems can purify your water, but they will also lower your customers’ grocery bills – no more bottled water purchases! A water filtration system is an example of an inexpensive addition, but these are the small luxuries homebuyers love, and can give you an edge in the sales process.

Improve your home’s indoor air quality:

Air quality isn’t just an outdoor issue; if you have aging carpets in your home, they may be hiding contaminants and allergens. To determine if your carpet needs replacing, you may want to hire a professional company to test your home’s indoor air quality. If the test results show your carpet should be replaced, make sure to choose natural products like tile or laminate floors that will keep your air allergen-free for years. Thest hard-surface floors are much easier to clean, don’t trap odors, provide a more modern look for your home and are highly appealing to buyers.

No popcorn ceilings:

Few structural elements can date your home more than a popcorn ceiling; dedicating some time to their removal can really add dollars to your home’s value. Ceiling popcorn removal requires only a visit to the hardware store to purchase a softening solution, allowing the popcorn to then be easily wiped away. While seemingly a small improvement, this move will make your home that much more modern in its appeal, catching the eye of many more potential homebuyers.

Whether in Dallas, Plano, Frisco, McKinney are any surrounding cities we’re never too busy for your referrals; feel free to contact Covenant Realty at your convenience.

Considerations include the following: 

Location: This factor is hard to escape; if your home is located in a more desirable area, you will be able to command a higher price than for other homes.

Condition: Better maintained and impressively shown houses will always sell for more than neglected homes.

Amenities: If your house boasts popular amenities, you’ll be able to price your home accordingly higher. 

Price per Square Foot: It’s always important to keep the neighborhood’s average square price per home in mind when pricing your home. 

A formal appraisal of your home can help if your property is unique, there hasn’t been much activity in the neighborhood lately, there are disagreements about the price, or other factors that make your home difficult to price. Appraisers can consider the home’s location, proximity to schools and public facilities, the lot size, the home’s size and condition and recent property sales, among other factors, in making their assessment. 

At Covenant Realty, we’re never too busy for your referrals! Whether in Dallas, Frisco, Plano or elsewhere in DFW, we’re happy to assist with all of your home sale or purchase needs; contact us today!