5 Creative Ways to Afford a Home

One of the more difficult things to overcome when purchasing a home is how to pay for a home. However, finding the money to buy a home does not have to be a difficult process. There are several programs and opportunities for home buyers to find the money for buying a new home.

Below are some creative ways to afford your new home.

1. Down payment assistance programsThese programs give qualified applicants loans or grants to cover all or part of your required down payment. National programs include the Nehemiah program, and the American Dream Down Payment Fund from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and in the Tampa Bay area, use the Down Payment Resource Center.

2. Seller financing
In some cases, sellers may be willing to finance all or part of the purchase price of the home and let you repay them gradually, just as you would do with a mortgage.

3. Crowdfunding
Under this arrangement, your family, friends, or even a third-party may buy a portion of the home and share in any appreciation when the home is sold. The owner/occupant usually pays the mortgage, property taxes, and maintenance costs, but all the investors' names are usually on the mortgage. When it comes time to sell your home, you split the profits with your other investors.

4. Gifts
Perhaps a family member will loan you money for the down payment or act as a co-signer for the mortgage. Lenders often like to have a co-signer if you have little credit history. Family members also have the ability to give tax-free gifts to family members that can be used to help to afford a home.

5. Second mortgage
While you may be able to make larger monthly payments, but you do not have a lot of money in savings, you may qualify for a short-term second mortgage. This would give you money to make a larger down payment. This may be possible if you’re in good financial standing, with a strong income and little other debt.

6 Tips for Finding the Perfect Neighborhood

Your neighborhood has a big impact on your lifestyle. Do you want to be in an urban district where you can live, work, and play? Do you want to live in a rural area with lots of land and very few neighbors? Or, do you want to live somewhere in between? When it comes to real estate, location is the most important factor to consider when buying your new home.

Follow these six steps to find the perfect community to call home.

#1.
Make a list of the activities — movies, health club, church, etc. — you engage in regularly and stores you visit frequently. See how far you would have to travel from each neighborhood you’re considering to engage in your most common activities. If travel and commute time are important to you, find areas that are closest to  your most commonly visited places.

#2.
Do you have kids in the public school system? Check out the school district. Even if you do not, good school districts have a positive impact on resale values of homes. For more information on the public school systems in the Tampa Bay area, click here.

#3.
Find out if the neighborhood is safe. Consider not only the number of crimes but also the type — such as burglaries or armed robberies — and the trend of increasing or decreasing crime. Also, is crime centered in only one part of the neighborhood, such as near a retail area? Check out the makeup of a neighborhood by using the mobile app Sitegiest.

#4.
Determine if the neighborhood is economically stable. In the Tampa Bay area, check out the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation to see what will be happening to the Bay area economically in the near and distance future. The Urban Land Institute also has excellent information on the real estate climate at large, especially within the commercial and development spheres. High remarks in these categories means overall growth for neighborhoods.

#5.
See if you’ll make money. Unless you never plan on putting your home on the market to resell, making a profit on your home purchase is always an important factor when selecting your home. A real estate professional will be able to approximately calculate your rate of return on your home based on past and expected future real estate data.

#6.
Make personal observations. Once you’ve narrowed your focus to two or three neighborhoods, go there and walk around. Are homes tidy and well maintained? Are streets quiet? How does it feel? Visit the neighborhood at different times of the day and on different days of the week. Is the neighborhood quiet and safe on a Saturday night? Looking at a neighborhood at different times gives you a better overall impression of a neighborhood.

When buying your new home, the location is the most important factor. Follow these 6 tips to make the right choice for you.

Housing Trends Across the County

The Census Bureau recently released a massive amount of data and information regarding housing in the United States in 2013. It calculated and collected data about everything from the age of a home, to who lives in a home, to what areas have the most expensive homes and everything in between.

To give you a summary of the most important points in the recently released data, check out the infographic below.

To read the full report, click here.

Open House | Lutz | 10/18 | 1p-3p

Open House

Saturday, October 18, 2014

1:00pm - 3:00pm

22305 Magnolia Trace Blvd., Lutz, FL 33549

$285,000 | 5 Beds | 3 Baths | 2,858 sq. ft.

Luxury Lutz Living

Visit this 5-bedroom, 3-bathroom, 3-car garage home, nearly 3,000 square foot home with a pool, and a true separate in-law suite overlooking a tranquil pond.

The foyer opens to formal dining and sitting room leading into the spacious kitchen and breakfast nook.

The master suite features a private access to the pool and the master bath featuring a garden tub, separate shower, and dual sink vanity.

The in-law suite features a full bedroom and bathroom with private lanai access. This home is eligible for USDA 100% financing.

For more information on this property, please contact Nico Hohman or visit this listing on the MLS.

The Worst Bang for Your Buck Renovation Projects

If you are looking to do some renovation to your home - whether you have an older home or a brand new home - you should spend money on remodeling projects that will help add value to your home. But not all projects add the same amount of value. In fact, some projects don't add any value at all.

The next time you consider some renovations to your home, know that the following projects may not add the value you think they will add.

Landscaping

Curb appeal is a very important feature of a home. Many home buyers will eliminate a home simply based on the exterior look and feel of a home. Therefore, the landscaping should make the home stand out. However, the landscaping should not be the focal point of the home.

Extensive landscaping, lots of planters, and various landscaping accessories do not add value to a home. Home buyers will see a yard that needs extra maintenance as one that needs more labor, more time, and more money. All these extras lead to lower asking prices when your home comes on the market.

Pools

Swimming pools, especially in the Tampa Bay area, are almost a necessity for year round outdoor enjoyment. While the utility of the pool is very high, the amount of value added to your home is almost always less than the actual cost of the installation of the pool.

Carpeting

According to Porch.com, "carpet can easily look dingy, trap allergens, and doesn’t have the longevity of hardwood floors. Typically prospective homebuyers like to see solid flooring – in fact, many home buyers would love to know if any valuable flooring can be salvaged underneath carpeting. So if you already have a solid flooring surface, invest your money into refinishing the hardwood floors and tile you already have."

Specific Rooms

Rooms should be relatable to the widest audience possible while also making them unique. If you have a bonus room, a great set up for the room would be to make it into a TV watching space. Make this space unique by decorating the room with your favorite college memorabilia. But, if you set up the space for your underwater basket weaving hobby, you may turn off most buyers as they will not understand how the room should be used.

Over Improvements

As always, "location, location, location" is the most important aspect in real estate and to an extent the renovation industry. Therefore, know what type of additions are common for your neighborhood and stick to those guidelines. If you live in a neighborhood where laminate flooring and formica countertops are common in the kitchen, do not expect to get a great return on your investment when you install marble flooring and engineered stone countertops.

Staying away from these renovation projects and focusing on projects that will add more value to your home is the best way to improve your home's worth.

South Tampa Home for Sale - Update!

6901 S. Sparkman St., Tampa, FL 33616

3 Bedrooms | 2 Bathrooms | 2,752 sq. ft.

Update - Price Reduction - $259,000
MLS #2714433

This charming, South Tampa brick home sits on a large corner lot in the heart of the Port Tampa neighborhood on a quaint, brick-paved street with convenient access to MacDill Air Force Base. Original hardwood floors can be found throughout the downstairs living areas, as several windows bring in plenty of natural light to compliment the striking wood-burning fireplace.

A cozy breakfast nook and a delightful den bring added areas to drink your morning coffee or work from home.

An extra large laundry/mud room with loads of storage space leads right out to the covered patio and spacious backyard.

The backyard has an oversized shed with an added loft area to maximize storage.

The second floor bonus room is over 700 square feet and has endless possibilities for table tennis, game area, or movie theatre.

Down Payment Assistance Programs

This home qualifies for eight down payment resource assistance programs to help most homeowners afford the home of their dreams. To learn more about these programs on this particular home, click the links below.

1. EARN Individual Development Account (IDA) Program
2. Florida Assist Down Payment Assistance (DPA)
3. Realtors Care Foundation of GTAR Inc. (RCF) - Down Payment Assistance Program
4. Florida Assist Down Payment Assistance (DPA) Targeted
5. Florida First
6. Florida Housing Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) Program
7. Florida Housing Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) Program Targeted
8. Florida First Targeted

This property is listed and brokered by Nico Hohman and Bill Hunt with Real Living Casa Fina Realty. For more information, please email Nico at nico@casafinarealty.com or call Nico on his cell at (813) 638-4971.

Open House | Saturday, Oct. 11 | New Tampa

Open House

8361 Dunham Station Dr.

Tampa, FL 33647

Saturday, October 11, 2014

1:00pm - 3:00pm

Visit this beautiful four bedroom, 3.5 bathroom, 4,938 square foot (total), $640,000 oasis on a conservation lot with a pool and spa in the Grand Hampton neighborhood. This estate features separate two-car and one-car garages connected via a circular driveway.

The double glass entry doors are guarded by a lavish outdoor courtyard. The first floor interior boasts a two-story family room with a gas fireplace that opens into the outdoor space. 

The kitchen features 42" upper cherry cabinets with crown molding, a long, central island, granite countertops, built-in microwave and a gas cooktop recessed into a beautiful tiled alcove with back splash and listello tile border.

Both a luxury living room and dining room showcase the tile and plantation shutters throughout the home. The grand master suite looks over the spectacular deck and pool.

Wood floor and wrought iron staircase railing lead to the upstairs bedrooms, the game room, a loft space, and a surround-sound wired media room. A spacious upstairs balcony overlooks the pool and wooded conservation view.

The community amenities include a pool, spa, flume slide, playground, picnic areas, tennis and basketball courts, fitness center and clubhouse.

Open House | 8361 Dunham Station Dr. in Tampa | 10/11/14 | 1PM - 3PM

This property is listed and brokered by Nico Hohman and Fadia Bazzi with Real Living Casa Fina Realty. For more information, please email or call Nico Hohman at nico@casafinarealty.com or

(813) 638-4971.

3 Tips for Buying a Home in the Fall

The fall and winter months typically see less activity than the spring and summer months for the residential real estate market. The reason is simple: fewer sellers are on the move, meaning there are fewer homes on the market for buyers. That leaves current home buyers in the fall and winter months in a less than ideal situation as inventory levels are lower and the supply of currently available homes is thinner than in other parts of the year.

However, there are ways for home buyers to increase their chances of getting their new house and lower your chances of losing out to another buyer.

1. Prepare financially
As a home buyer, when you make an offer on a home a seller will review your offer. When there are multiple offers for the same property, it is important to make your offer stand out from the other offers. Should you choose to purchase your home using financial leverage, having a pre-approval letter from a lender will make your offer more desirable to sellers.

2. Know your goals
You should know what type of property you would like to purchase before you start looking to buy a home. If you know you want a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 1,800 square foot, traditional style home in a neighborhood on the north side of town, and that very home comes on the market, be ready to make a decision on buying that home quicker rather than later.

3. Be patient
When there are fewer homes on the market, it may take longer for you to find the home that is right for you. Not to worry, if your timeline is flexible, be prepared to wait a few months until the right home comes up for you. Or, if you are more rigid in your time table, consider a short-term solution to get you through the colder months and wait until the next busy buying cycle.

Currently, the housing supply in the Tampa Bay market is at a two-year low. Being prepared to put your best foot forward when making a decision to buy a home is the most important step you can make when purchasing a home in a tight market.

Home Inspection Cheat Sheet

Two of the most important steps to take before closing on a home are the home inspection and the final walk through inspection. Whether you are looking to purchase a new home, an existing home, or a fixer-upper, always get a home inspection.

New Construction
If you are looking to purchase a brand new home from a home builder, always get a home inspection. The builder will perform inspections to ensure that the home meets city, county, and state building codes but these are only to maintain minimum building standards. A home inspection will inspect a home above and beyond minimum standards. Depending on when you have place a contract on a new construction home, you may be entitled to multiple home inspections at various stages of the construction process.

Existing Homes

The most common type of home inspection is one performed on an existing home that is to be used as a primary residence and when the home does not need major improvements. If possible, you should be with the home inspector as he or she conducts the home inspection. With almost every contract to purchase a home, a home inspection allows you the opportunity to either back out of the contract should something be wrong with the home, or it allows you the chance to renegotiate on the contract price based upon the results of the home inspection.

Fixer-Uppers

When purchasing a fixer-upper, a home inspection should still be performed. Although you may have the intent to remove the old electrical wiring in your plans to remodel the home, a home inspector may still be able to uncover larger issues on your project that you were not planning on renovating.

Final Walk Through

With the final walkthrough inspection, you want to take note of the following items:

• Make sure the repairs you have requested have been completed

• There have not been any changes to the property since you last viewed it

• All items that were included in the sale price are still there

• All appliances and systems are still in working order

• The landscaping is in the same condition and style as when you put the offer in on the home

• Any garage door and gate openers and still in your possession

• Make sure all personal items have been removed

Keep these useful tips and guidelines handy and you will be sure to get everything you need and want out of your home inspections.