First-time Homebuyer Archives

How Home Ownership Impacts Your Net Worth

October 30, 2013 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

How Home Ownership Impacts Your Net Worth

If you were to ask people what they think home ownership means, you’re likely to get all sorts of answers, ranging from security, family, sense of community, or wealth. However, in recent years, due to the economic conditions, many Americans have begun to question whether home ownership really is a good investment towards building wealth.

In order to address this concern, the Federal Reserve has recently conducted a study on homeowners and net worth. They found that the average American family’s net worth is $77,300. Of that net worth, 61.4% of it is in home equity. That’s $47,500!

Compared to renters, a homeowner’s net worth is over 30x higher. If that doesn’t speak to you just yet, consider this: The average homeowner has a net worth of $174,500 while the average renter has a net worth of just $5,100. This is because the monthly payments homeowners make on their mortgages go towards building equity. When you rent, you’re just throwing your money away. Your rent does nothing for you, whereas a mortgage payment will help you significantly build wealth.

The bottom line is that buying a home is still a sound investment and a great way to build wealth. It’s probably the only investment that you will make that, in addition to building your wealth, will also provide shelter and higher quality of life for you and your family. Start building your wealth now – buy a home.

Other articles that may interest you:

First Time Homebuyer Series: 3 Steps To Getting Started

First Time Homebuyer Series: Can You Afford To Keep Renting?

Low Interest Rates Aren’t Expected To Last – Now Is The Time To Buy A Home

Buying A Home During The Holidays

October 28, 2013 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

Buying A Home During The Holidays

Many potential homebuyers may assume that the holidays are not a good time to buy a home. This is a common misconception. There are numerous reasons that buying a home during the holidays can be a good choice. Serious buyers would be wise to consider taking advantage of the unique market conditions that occur during the holiday season. Here are some reasons buying a home during the holidays can be beneficial to you.

Motivated Sellers – Those who choose to list their home for sale during the holidays are often under pressure to sell. Since these sellers can be so highly motivated, they are more likely to cut you a great deal.

Less competition – Since many homebuyers do choose to wait out the holiday season, this means less competition from other buyers. Lower competition with other buyers may mean you’ll be able to negotiate a better price for a home you want to purchase.

Better Interest Rates – Interest rates drop every December through January on a cyclical basis. In addition to that, due to the current market conditions with the Federal Reserve planning to taper bond purchasing, real estate and mortgage experts expect interest rates to begin a continuous rise beginning after the holidays. The Lowry Team’s preferred partner, Justin Phillips at Rapid Mortgage can work with you to meet your financial needs for buying a home during the holidays.

Tax Deduction – Buying a home and closing on it by the New Year can mean a significant tax deduction for you. All the mortgage interest you will be paying monthly is fully tax deductible. Property taxes will also be an annual deduction as long as you own your home.

Faster Closings – Closings are historically shown to be faster during the months of November and December due to the fact that the number of transactions occurring during these months is lower. The Lowry Team has a Transaction Coordinator that makes sure the process from contract to closing goes as smoothly and as quickly as possible for you as a buyer.

Other articles that may interest you:

Low Interest Rates Aren’t Expected To Last – Now Is The Time To Buy A Home

First Time Homebuyer Series: 3 Steps To Getting Started

First Time Homebuyer Series: Can You Afford To Keep Renting?

West Chester & Mason Ohio Real Estate: This Month In Real Estate – October 2013

October 9, 2013 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

West Chester & Mason Ohio Real Estate: This Month In Real Estate – October 2013

This Month In Real Estate for October 2013: Factors that drive first time home purchases and taking a look at the national home sale numbers.

Home sales nationally continued to improve in both unit sales numbers as well as increases in average sale price. The national average on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage is currently at 4.50% Get preapproved for a home loan Locally as of this writing, a 30 year fixed rate mortgage is averaging around 4.29%

According to Keller Williams (KW) research first time home purchases are primarily drive by three factors.

1. The current real estate market – the current market in our area is very advantageous for buying a home right now. First Time Homebuyers will find home prices are still low and represent great value. Mortgage interest rates have now gone back down slightly after a very quick run up over the last few months

2. Financial readiness – while financial readiness is very much an individual issue, the affordability factor that today’s low rates and home prices offer can not be overlooked.

3. Location & price – location is most often identified by first time homebuyers as being either close to their workplace or close in proximity to where the currently live.

Thinking of buying a home? Start your search on our real estate search engine: www.LOWRYTEAM.com

Thinking of selling your home in one of our areas of specialization including West Chester, Mason, Fairfield Township and Liberty Township ? Find Your Homes Value Here – Right Now

Homes with the best pricing and the best condition go first and sell quickly! Need more information on preparing your home for sale?

Other articles that you may find interesting:

First Time Homebuyer Series: Can You Afford To Keep Renting?

First Time Homebuyer Series: 3 Steps To Getting Started

First Time Homebuyer Series: 3 Steps To Getting Started

September 30, 2013 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

First Time Homebuyer Series: 3 Steps To Getting Started

1. Hire A Real Estate Agent
Buying a home as a first time homebuyer is a complex process, one that a real estate agent specializes in navigating. A real estate agent will advocate for you and your interests throughout the whole process, which makes it important for you to find the agent that will best fit your needs. The Lowry Team takes a team approach to home buying and selling. The Lowry Team consists of members that are focused on areas of specialization including Listing Specialists, Buyer Specialists, Transaction/Listing Coordinator and a Marketing Director. This ensures that you get more focused attention and your home buying or selling process goes as smoothly as possible.

2. Get Preapproved
Getting preapproved acts as a dry run of the loan application process. The mortgage lender uses details about your credit, income, assets, and debts to estimate how much mortgage you can afford. This reduces the potential frustration of looking at homes beyond your means. A preapproval also serves as a good indication to potential sellers of your general creditworthiness. Most sellers will not accept an offer without at least a pre-approval letter; so if you are serious about buying a home this should be one of the first steps you take towards purchasing your new home. The Lowry Team works with a preferred lender that will help you with this important step towards buying your dream home.

Read The First Part Of The First Time Homebuyer Series Here

3. Narrow your search areas

Maybe there is a particular part of town you have always wanted to live, maybe you need easy access to the highways for your job commute. Your real estate agent will help you narrow down your search to the areas that fit your needs best. The Lowry Team specializes in in West Chester, Liberty Township, Mason, Monroe, Fairfield Township and the Northern Suburbs of Cincinnati. You can find more information and search homes for sale in different communities at www.LowryTeam.com/search

Other articles that may interest you:

Thinking Of Buying A Home – You Should Wait!

7620 Dover Court West Chester Ohio – Condo For Sale

First Time Homebuyer Series: Can You Afford To Keep Renting?

September 23, 2013 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

Can You Really Afford to Keep Renting?

With the rising cost of renting, many people are considering buying a home. However, some are worried about affordability. If you are paying rent, you can afford to buy a home.

Consider this example:

Buying A Home:

Mary’s $900 mortgage payment includes $700 of interest. Her total annual house payments are $10,800. At the end of the year, $8,400 of that is tax deductible ($700 x 12months). She is in the 28% tax bracket, so her savings are $2,352. Her actual housing cost for the year is $8,448.

Renting An Apartment:
Joe believes he can’t afford to buy. He pays $800 in rent each month which makes Joe’s housing costs for the year $9,600. He thinks he is saving money by renting, but he is actually spending $1,150 more than Mary, and he isn’t building any equity.

Interest rates have decreased in the last 10-14 days and are now once again right around 4.50%. Most experts do not expect mortgage interest rates to stay this low, with home loan experts predicting a rise to 5.00% A raise in mortgage rates of .50% is equal to a 10% increase in home prices and affordability.

So the question you should ask yourself is: Can You Really Afford to Keep Renting?

Ready to start searching for your first home? Start your home search here: www.LowryTeam.com

Here are some quick searches to get you started:

West Chester Ohio Homes For Sale Under $200,000

Liberty Township Ohio Homes For Sale Under $200,000

Mason Ohio Homes For Sale Under $200,000

Monroe Ohio Homes For Sale Under $200,000

Fairfield Township Ohio Homes For Sale Under $200,000

Fairfield Ohio Homes For Sale Under $200,000

Other articles that may interest you:

Thinking Of Buying A Home – You Should Wait

Did You Miss Out On The Buyers Market?

West Chester & Mason Ohio Real Estate: This Month In Real Estate – April 2013

April 17, 2013 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

West Chester & Mason Ohio Real Estate: This Month In Real Estate – April 2013

This Month In Real Estate for April 2013: The Real Estate Market Has Shifted and takes a look at the national home sale numbers.

The real estate market has definitely shifted in recent months. What does that mean for homebuyers? Well in previous years most real estate markets have been a buyer’s market. Today, most areas and neighborhoods have transitioned to seller’s markets.

Homebuyers today need to expect competition for homes. In many areas including West Chester, Mason, Fairfield Township and Liberty Township and in many price ranges multiple offers are back and happening very frequently.

Homes with the best pricing and the best condition go first and sell quickly! Buyers need to be confident in what they are looking for in a home so that they can act quickly when finding a nice home that meets their needs. Homebuyers must also get pre-approved!

Get Pre-Approved For A Home Loan Right Here!

Other articles that you may find interesting:

Did You Miss The Buyers Market?

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