Galbreath Real Estate Blog
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5 Secret Sources of Down Payment Money
Whether you are planning to put down a full 20 percent or pulling together the cash for a 3.5 percent down payment for an FHA loan, your down payment might be the biggest single cash expenditure you ever make. Some scrimp and save for years, while others can ready the cash with less difficulty, but no buyer in the history of home buying has ever said they have too much down payment money.
Here's an insider secret: many buyers have a treasure trove of down payment resources at their disposal, hidden in plain sight. Here's a map to this hidden treasure – a handful of frequently-overlooked sources of down payment funds.
1. Your budget's biggest line items.
Home buying is one of those push-meet-shove-type situations. If you're serious about coming up with your down payment funds, sit down and backtrack over your monthly budget or your last month's checking account statements. Isolate your top 10 budgetary line items and do an internal gut check on...
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3️⃣ Ways To Save $100K On Your Next Home
Saving $100K on your next home sounds crazy, right? Savings like this are life changing and could allow you to do so much more with your future plans. Believe it or not, with a few changes in your game plan this is possible.
A strategy that will save you thousands of dollars in interest charges and cut multiple years off of your home loan, is paying extra on your mortgage monthly.
Understand that paying down the principal quicker on your home does not decrease your minimum payment each month. However, it will shorten the life of the loan and save you more money than most can save on their own.
⬇︎ Here are three ways to save you thousands on your next home ⬇︎
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Sell Your Home for Top Dollar (without leaving money on the table)
If a home shows well and is priced well, it should not sit in this market!
In this frenzied seller's market, achieving the best possible outcome when selling your home is pretty simple. It comes down to proper pricing and ensuring it's viewed (physically and online) by as many qualified buyers as possible.
Here are the two rules to follow if you want the most money for the sale:
1. List Under Market Value
As you can see in the chart below, there are negative consequences for overpricing your home. Listing it for sale above market value almost ensures fewer interested buyers taking a look.
2. Use an Experienced Seller's Agent
Seller's who sell their own homes receive far less money for their property than those who use an...
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Don't check your home's value without reading this first
People throughout the United States have begun relying on "Zestimates" as their one and only source for getting their home's current value. Sadly, as pointed out by the mainstream media below, this information can often be drastically wrong.
In fact, in Ohio, the median error rate is 5.8%. This can absolutely raise some eyebrows when people go to enter in their home's information for an automated home valuation.
LA Times, mentions that in San Francisco, California the median home value is near $1,008,000. With "Zestimates" being inaccurate at a rate of 11.6% this equates to about $117,000. This number alone...
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Why Are They Hiding Important Information That Could Cost You Thousands?
Knowing the average inaccuracy of the Zestimates in your area can greatly impact your decision on whether or not to trust that number. People have become so accustomed to trusting online home valuations because they don't know where else to go.
According to a recent case, the company's controversial "Zestimate" tool repeatedly undervalued a woman's home, making her home sell slower than she would like. This is not the only case of this type of inaccuracy happening. Read more about what this woman had to say about "Zestimates" here: