12
Jan
By Jim Hasek
Real Estate Tips, ,

Real Estate Terms: The ‘Debt to Income’ Ratio and How It Affects Your Home Purchase

The real estate market is rife with terminology that can make a home purchase seem more than a little complicated. If you're currently looking for a home and are considering your loan options, you may have even heard the term 'Debt to Income' ratio. In the interest of simplifying things, here are some insights on what this term means and how it can impact your home investment. Determining Your 'Debt to Income' Ratio It's important to consider what exactly your DTI ratio is before your home purchase as this will quickly determine how much home you can actually afford. To…
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07
Jan
By Jim Hasek
Around The Home, ,

Dealing with an Empty Nest? 5 Great Reasons to Downsize into a New Condo

There's a good chance if your children have recently moved out that your home is feeling a lot larger than it used to, and perhaps you're re-considering the extra space. If downsizing to a condo is on your mind and you're weighing the benefits of this kind of move, here are some that might make it worth the switch in size. A Little Extra Money With the additional money you should be making off the sale of your home, there's a good chance that downsizing may provide you with extra assets to sock away for retirement, travel or whatever your…
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06
Jan
By Jim Hasek
Home Buyer Tips, ,

5, 10, 20 Percent or More? How to Determine How Big of a Down Payment You Need

Whether or not you're new to real estate, there's little doubt that you've heard the term down payment as it relates to purchasing a home. There's a lot of different information out there in regards to how much this figure should be and it can be hard to determine exactly what the importance of this payment is. If you're trying to determine the ideal amount to put down, here are some things to consider. Explaining Down Payments And Why They're Important The down payment is probably one of the largest single payments you'll make for anything, and this is why…
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31
Dec
By Jim Hasek
Home Buyer Tips, ,

Did You Know: Here’s Why Buying a New Home Grows Your Wealth Faster Than Renting

There can be many downsides to both renting and buying, depending on what side of the coin you are on, but if you're leaning towards purchasing a home it can have added benefits for your bank account that renting does not. While renting can certainly alleviate many of the costs that go along with property ownership, here's why purchasing a home can have positive monetary affects in the long run. The Good Impacts of Inflation While inflation is often seen as a dirty word, a real estate purchase can see the positive side of inflation with how your home purchase…
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30
Dec
By Jim Hasek
Home Buyer Tips,

Three Things You Can Expect when Buying a Home This Winter

When you're looking into purchasing a home, there are plenty of things to watch out for at any time of the year, but there are a few things that you can expect during the winter months that may be a little different than other seasons. If you happen to be on the market for a home and are thinking of buying, here are three things you may want to consider for the winter buying months. A Little Bit Off The Top While there is significant home buying that goes on throughout the fall, it's often the case that things slow…
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11
Dec
By Jim Hasek
Home Buyer Tips, ,

Moving to a New Home? Use These Websites and Apps to Research Potential Neighborhoods

Relocating to a new city? Thinking about moving to a new neighborhood? While word of mouth from friends and family is valuable, sometimes it's necessary to get a different perspective. With the advancement of technology, it's now possible to research new neighborhoods without getting up off the couch. Here are some websites and apps that have proven invaluable with researching new areas: Use The Forums On City-Data For Exact Answers While city-data.com is a valuable resource for people who are looking into relocating to a different city, one of the best uses of the site is the active forums. Here,…
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