Tag: military

Bossier City Skyline

What First Time Home Buyers Need to Know: #3 -Your Realtor®

Shreveport-Bossier City Homes and Lifestyle

Are you a first time home buyer? With so many choices to make and so much at stake, it’s essential that you prepare. For advice, check out the First Time Home Buyer Guide from realtor.com® to learn the 10 steps to purchasing your first home without a hitch.

When you’re buying or selling a house, you’ll likely reach out for professional help from a real estate agent. But how to choose? There are Realtors and just plain real estate agents, part-time and full-time agents, family friends who are in the business, maybe even neighbors down the street. Which one is right for you?

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How to choose a Realtor®

The first thing you might notice while trying to find home-buying help is all the different titles: agent, broker, Realtor®, etc. Are they all the same thing? Not exactly.

A Realtor® is either an agent or broker who is a member of the National Association of Realtors®. Realtors adhere to a detailed code of ethics to treat their clients honestly and fairly. Consider it added insurance that they’re committed to your cause.

A real estate agent is anyone who’s earned a license to sell property, which typically entails taking 100+ hours of course work and then passing a state exam. A broker is someone who’s continued his studies and can hire agents to work under him.

Conduct a preliminary search online

We shop online for everything these days, and finding a real estate agent is no different. Make sure to check out their Facebook page Reviews as well which will give you useful information.  Also, feel free to ask the Agent about the  number of years of job experience, number of homes sold, and the price of homes typically dealt with. Take note of a Realtor’s track record, because this can tip you off to superstar agents nearby and whether they’re a fit for your needs.

Work with a professional agent

Devin and Karen Carroll of Texarkana, Texas, found what they thought was the perfect house. So they reached out to a convenient real estate connection.

“I called a family friend who is a part-time real estate agent,” Devin Carroll says. “She showed us the house and we submitted an offer. It was at this point the fireworks began.”

Carroll says the seller’s agent was an experienced negotiator “ready to go to war for her clients.” His agent was immediately intimidated. It took only one phone call for the veteran agent to stand her ground on price, and “from that point on, my agent was scared to negotiate.”

Lesson learned. Carroll says the next time around, he’ll look for a professional agent, one who’s not scared to negotiate and who is more concerned with getting a great deal than with sealing just any deal.

Finding the right agent for home sellers

“The days are gone where a real estate broker simply places a sign in the yard, enters it into (the Multiple Listing Service) and sits around their office waiting for it to sell,” says Damian D. Hall, a real estate broker in Greenville, South Carolina.

For sellers, that means searching for a proactive, technology-savvy agent, Hall says. Because buyers start with the internet, he says “photos must be professional, magazine quality, and the description has to be detailed and really sizzle.”

Also, look for an agent who has some social-media marketing muscle. “It’s scary how much Facebook alone knows about its users, but at the same time it’s pure gold for those looking to put a product — or in our case, a listing — in front of the consumer most likely to buy the house,” he says.

Finding the right agent for home buyers

On the other side of the transaction, Scott Durham, a Realtor in Reno, Nevada, says there’s something to be said for a buyer’s agent with a solid track record of closing deals.

“The average real estate agent sold only four homes last year,” Durham says. “Think about if you are purchasing a home and you represent 25% of that person’s income for the entire year. Do you really think they have your best interest at heart, or will they do just about anything to get the deal closed?”

He says a typical buyer’s agent will simply search the MLS for homes, but great agents will hunt down homes that aren’t even on the market yet. They’ll contact homeowners in the desired neighborhood or launch a direct mail campaign in the desired area with specifics on the buyers and their family.

Ask questions

Ask all of these questions. This is no time for being shy:

  • How long have you been in real estate? You’re looking for a seasoned agent and while she doesn’t need decades of experience under her belt, less than a year of experience can be concerning.
  • How long have you lived in this area? One noteworthy exception to the previous question is if she’s lived in the area for a long time. A newly licensed agent shouldn’t be automatically removed from consideration,” says Mindy Jensen, a Realtor with Equity Colorado Real Estate. If they’ve lived in the area their entire life, they likely know more about it than an agent who has been in the business for years but only recently moved to the region.” Weigh overall experience against local experience when making your decision.
  • Do you have a team, or do you work alone? Many standalone agents are excellent, but don’t ignore the value of a team. Working with a team is important,” says Angelo Puma, a real estate agent in Keller, TX. It increases response time and availability. Often, solo-run agents are double-booked when you need their attention, and you may lose that perfect property.”  
  • What is your schedule? If they’re not a full-time agent, you need to know when they’ll be available. If the only time you can see houses is in direct conflict with times they have to be working their other jobs, you could miss out on a lot of properties,” says Jensen.
  • Do you have any vacations planned? If they’re heading out of the city anytime soon, make sure they have a back-up in case you find the perfect home while they’re out of the country. Murphy’s Law rules Realtor vacations,” says Jensen.

**Ryan Wheeler is an expert real estate agent and military veteran serving buyers and sellers of homes in the Shreveport Bossier City area.  Click Here to See if I Should Be Your Agent 

Bossier City Skyline

What First Time Home Buyers Need to Know: #2- How Much House Can You Buy?

Shreveport-Bossier City Homes and Lifestyle

Are you a first time home buyer? With so many choices to make and so much at stake, it’s essential that you prepare. For advice, check out the First Time Home Buyer Guide from realtor.com® to learn the 10 steps to purchasing your first home without a hitch.

See the complete article Find out more here

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If money was no object, where would you live? Would you choose a cozy private villa complete with a garden, far away from the bustle of the city, or a swanky condo in an upscale township that offers facilities like a clubhouse and a swimming pool? Even if you fostered sensible ideas about what kind of home you can afford, being bombarded with ads featuring over-edited glamour shots of beautiful bedrooms overlooking the sea and lush gardens full of frolicking children will tempt you into desiring a home that is at least a little, if not well out of your budget.

Everyone’s idea of a dream home may be different, but since money is an object for most, these aspirations should be toned down accordingly. However, most home buyers end up stretching their finances when they take the plunge to turn their dream into a reality. But do you really need the bigger bedroom, attached terrace and Italian marble floors? In trying to buy that perfect home, you might end up denting your finances beyond repair. Further, the costs involved go far beyond the sticker price of the house, and if you don’t factored in the additional expenses, you might be in for an unpleasant surprise. Read on to find out how to prevent the roof over your head from becoming a burden on your finances.

How much home can you afford?

Getting a ballpark estimate of how much home you can afford boils down to how much money you’re pulling in.

“The general rule of thumb is that you can purchase a home that costs two or three times your annual salary,” says Harrine Freeman, a financial expert and the owner of H.E. Freeman Enterprises.

So if you’re making $80,000 per year (and you have a reasonable amount of job security), that means you can afford a house up to three times that, or $240,000. That said, “this is only an estimate and does not account for your monthly bills,” says Freeman. So let’s dive into more specifics.

Follow the 28/36 rule

If you’re overwhelmed by numbers, budgets, and big-ticket decisions, follow the 28/36 rule, a simple but effective guide for affordability. The “28″ refers to your monthly housing payments—things such as mortgage, insurance, and taxes—which shouldn’t be more than 28% of your gross monthly income (ideally it should be less). This is easy to calculate, because all you need to do is multiply. For example, if your gross (meaning before taxes are taken out) monthly income is $6,000, multiply that by 28% (or 0.28) and that means you shouldn’t pay more than $1,680 on your home.

The “36″ refers to your debt-to-income ratio, which compares how much money you owe (to credit cards, colleges, car loans, and—hopefully soon—a home loan) to your income. This ratio should be “no more than 36%,” says Freeman; ideally, it should be much less. Think about it in terms of your monthly expenses: If you make $6,000 per month but spend $500 paying off debts, you divide $500 by $6,000 to get a debt-to-income ratio of 8.3%. This is great, but adding $1,680 per month in mortgage payments would push up your monthly debt load to $2,180 and your debt-to-income ratio to 36%. This is exactly the maximum experts say you can afford. Going past this threshold is a risky move.

Once you know both these numbers, as well as how much of a down payment you plan to contribute, you can easily work out the maximum monthly mortgage payment you can afford—and by extension, the priciest house you should buy. According to realtor.com®’s Home Affordability Calculator, if you make $6,000 a month, pay $500 in debts (pre-house), and can make a down payment of $40,000, if you get a 30-year fixed mortgage at 4% interest you can afford a house worth $277,800. Plug in your own numbers and see what happens!

Apply for mortgage pre-approval

Another easy way to get a sense of how much home you can afford is to approach a lender and apply for mortgage pre-approval: That’s where they’ll take a look at your financial past and present circumstances to determine how much money they’re willing to loan you to buy a home. Added bonus: Mortgage pre-approval makes you a more attractive home buyer to sellers, since they know you’ve got financing to back up your offer.

Consider your dreams and the alternatives

Once you’ve determined how much you can spend, you can start weighing what you absolutely must have in your home—and what you’re willing to sacrifice if necessary. Use the “pick 2″ rule: price, quality, location. Typically you can prioritize two of those categories, but not all three. Your best bet is to stick to an amazing neighborhood for an amazing low price, and know that your home might not have that pool, wine cellar, or other amenities you’d hoped for.

These trade-offs are just the reality of house hunting, so don’t be disheartened. Consider widening your search to different neighborhoods or knocking a few items off your must-have list until you find the location and amenities that best fit your budget. Weigh what really matters for your dream home, then start performing preliminary searches online using sites such as realtor.com. And try to stay optimistic—with enough searching and some luck, you could find it all.

Having a clear set of priorities and a pragmatic approach should help you find the right home, no matter what your budget.  When looking to buy a home for your own use, if you find the right match and are financially ready, you must take the plunge.

Once you’ve determined what kind of house you’re looking for, it’s time to put your feet to the pavement and start checking out the market in person. To do that, you’ll need a Real Estate Agent.

**Ryan Wheeler is an expert real estate agent and military veteran serving buyers and sellers of homes in the Shreveport Bossier City area.

Bossier City Skyline

What First Time Home Buyers Need to Know: #1- Improve Your Credit Score

Shreveport-Bossier City Homes and Lifestyle

Are you a first time home buyer? With so many choices to make and so much at stake, it’s essential that you prepare. For advice, check out the First Time Home Buyer Guide from realtor.com® to learn the 10 steps to purchasing your first home without a hitch.

See the complete article Find out more here

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Step 1: How to Improve Your Credit Score

Pull your credit report

Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion are the three major U.S. credit bureaus and each releases its own credit scores and reports (a more detailed history that’s used to determine your score).  Although they do pull from different sources their scores should be about the same.  For example, Experian considers on-time rent payments while TransUnion has detailed information about previous employers.

To access these scores and reports, financial planner Bob Forrest of Mutual of Omaha recommends using AnnualCreditReport.com, where you can get a free copy of your report every 12 months from each credit-reporting company. It doesn’t include your credit score, though—you’ll have to go to each company for that, and pay a small fee. Fee’s tend to range in the $25-$40 range.

Or you can check with your credit card company: Some, Capital One and Discover offer free scores and reports.  Once you’ve got your report, make sure to review it carefully, particularly the “adverse accounts” section that details late payments and other slip-ups.

Assess where you stand

Remember the better your credit history, the higher your score will likely be which means the better your ability to get a home loan. The Federal Housing Administration requires a minimum credit score of 580 to permit a 3.5% down payment, and most lenders will require at least a 620, if not higher, credit score. So what can you do if your credit report is in less than tip-top shape? Don’t worry, there are ways to clean it up.

How to improve your credit score with error disputes

A Federal Trade Commission study in 2013 found that 5% of credit reports contain errors that can negatively impact your score. So if you see anything, you can start by sending a dispute letter to the bureau, providing as much documentation as possible, per FTC guidelines. You’ll also need to contact the organization that provided the bad information, such as a bank or medical provider, and ask them to update the corrected data with the bureau. This may take a while, and you may need documentation to make your case. But once the bad info is removed, you should see your score bump up.

Eliminate one-time mistakes

Ok, so you’ve made a late payment or two—who hasn’t? Call the company that registered the late payment and ask that it be removed from your record. “If you had an oopsy and missed just a payment or two, most companies will indeed tell their reporting division to remove this from your credit report,” says Forrest. Granted, this won’t work if you have a history of late payments, but for accidents and small errors, it’s an easy way to improve your credit score.

Eliminate credit card balances

“A good way to improve your credit score is to eliminate nuisance balances,” says John Ulzheimer, a nationally recognized credit expert formerly of FICO and Equifax. Those are the small balances you have on a number of credit cards.

The reason this strategy can boost your score: One of the items your score considers is just how many of your cards have balances, Ulzheimer says. That’s why charging $50 on one card and $30 on another instead of using the same card (preferably one with a good interest rate) can hurt your credit score.

The solution to improve your credit score is to gather up all those credit cards with small balances and pay them off, Ulzheimer says. Then select one or two go-to cards that you can use for everything.

“That way, you’re not polluting your credit report with a lot of balances,” he says.

Increase your limits

One no-brainer way to increase your credit score is to simply pay off your debt. Not an option right now?  Here’s a cool loophole: Ask your credit card companies to increase your credit limit instead. This improves your debt-to-credit ratio, which compares how much you owe to how much you can borrow.

“Having $1,000 of credit card debt is bad if you have a limit of $1,500. It isn’t nearly as bad if your limit is $5,000,” Forrest says. The simple math: Although you owe the same amount, you’re using a much smaller percentage of your available credit, which shines well on your borrowing practices.

Leave old debt on your report

Some people erroneously believe that old debt on their credit report is bad.  The minute they get their home or car paid off, they’re on the phone trying to get it removed from their credit report. Negative items are bad for your credit score, and most of them will disappear from your report after seven years. However, “arguing to get old accounts off your credit report just because they’re paid is a bad idea,” Ulzheimer says.  Good debt — debt that you’ve handled well and paid as agreed — is good for your credit. The longer your history of good debt is, the better it is for your score.  One of the ways to improve your credit score: Leave old debt and good accounts on as long as possible. This is also a good reason not to close old accounts where you’ve had a solid repayment record.Trying to get rid of old good debt “is like making straight A’s in high school and trying to expunge the record 20 years later,” Ulzheimer says. “You never want that stuff to come off your history.”

Pay on time

If you’re often late with payments, now’s the time to change that. You do have the power to improve your credit score yourself. Commit to always paying your bills on time and consider signing up for automatic payments so it’s guaranteed to get done.  With all of life’s distractions having one less thing to worry about that is already setup, processed and ready to go is an excellent way to go.

Give yourself time

Unfortunately, negative items (such as those habitually late or nonexistent payments) can stay on your report for up to seven years. The good news? Changing your habits makes a big difference in the “payment history” segment of your report, which accounts for 35% of your score. That’s why it’s essential to start early so that you’re sitting pretty once you’re shopping for homes and find one that meets your needs.

Once you’ve set your credit on a better path, it’s time to tackle the next major hurdle: saving for a down payment.

**Ryan Wheeler is an expert real estate agent and military veteran serving buyers and sellers of homes in the Shreveport Bossier City area.  Connect With Me

Bossier City Skyline

What Are VA Loan Closing Costs?

Shreveport-Bossier City Homes and Lifestyle

Are you a military veteran who needs to buy a house in Shreveport Bossier City?

Closing costs are those costs and fees associate with buying a home.  However, if you are active military or a veteran you may be exempt from some costs or may be able to negotiate others if you use your VA loan benefit.

Most military members are not independently wealthy and have not saved for years and years to buy a home.  Many are cash-strapped and are forced to rent, stay on base (which is also renting) or buy a home.  Not because they want to so much as because the service has forced them to make that decision.

Given a forced decision being able to use one’s VA benefit to get a mortgage to buy your own home can be the best answer to prayer.  Eligible military borrowers who use this option can buy a new home with no down payment and no Private Mortgage Insurance payment.  However, the VA does charge a funding fee of up to 3.3% which gets rolled into the loan itself.

But borrowers of any type will still face the dreaded obstacle which is closing costs.  Like death and taxes there’s really no way out of them.  Someone will need to pay (either the buyer, seller or mixture of both).  More on that in a minute …

Closing costs are those costs outside of the mortgage that just for the business of buying or selling a house and in the Shreveport Bossier City area, can equate to about 2.5% of a $225,000 loan.  These costs include lender’s fees, taxes, insurance, and other items needed to transfer the property to the new owner.  Payment of such is required at the time when you sign the papers at the Title company.   The good news is that as a military member using their VA loan benefit you are exempt from some closing costs and have ways to manage some of the others.

How are VA closing costs different?

Like all other loans, VA loans are all issues by private lenders.  However, the loan is insured by the Department of Veteran Affairs.  Closing costs on a VA home isn’t too much different from that of other mortgages — with a few exceptions, which can help a VA borrower reduce the cash required to bring to closing.
Uniquely to the VA:
Prohibits some fees:  Lenders are not allowed to charge certain costs on VA loans.  Among them are lenders fees for attorney services, mortgage broker commissions, settlement charges and prepayment penalties.
Limits a lenders origination charge:  A lender may not charge a VA borrower more than 1% of the loan as an origination fee.

How much are VA closing costs?

As previously stated closing costs on VA loans are not much different than others.  And everything you are responsible for paying will be sent to the borrower three-days after you apply for the loan in the form of a Loan Estimate document.  The finalized form is called the Closing Disclosure which will be the exact numbers to expect and should be send to you with three days of the closing date.

Closing costs for a VA loan can include:
The Loan Origination Fee:  This fee is the lenders charge for preparing the loan.  It isn’t always applied (and many good lenders waive it for military!)  But if it is applied it can be no more than 1% of the loan amount.

Other fees: These other fees include the appriasal, credit report, title insurance, taxes, homeowners and flood insurance as applicable, surveys, government recording fees and insurance.  Also included are any “discount points” which is essentially a way to “buy down” your interest rate.

How to Limit These Out-of-Pocket Costs

So who is responsible to pay all these fees?

Well, real estate is a negotiable business.  That’s where having an experience real estate agent comes in handy!  In Louisiana, negotiating these expenses best happens before the home goes under contract and it is certianly possible to get a seller to pay all of your closing costs.  But a seller is limited to 4% of the loan amount.  But, again, here in our market 4% will likely always be more than enough to cover all closing costs should that agreement be made between the buyer and seller.

In the Shreveport Barksdale Bossier market offering a seller full asking price to buy their home is a great way to increase your chances of the seller paying all closing costs for you.  This can be a savings of $6,000 – $8,000 dollars on average that can remain in your bank account.  Of course this all depends on the ability of the seller to do that but given this military friendly community your odds are quite good!

Who Can I Trust to Help?

Here in this area there are many great local lenders who specialize in VA loan mortgages.  I can provide you with a short list of lenders … just reach out to me and ask!  And I absolutely recommend using local experts instead of national, insurance companies or big-bank lenders.  As your agent, my job is to stay in constant communication with all players in the process and it’s nearly impossible to do that with those national chains who only work Monday thru Friday 8a-5pm.  And if I am lucky enough to reach them I have to go through an extension number and likely wait for them to call back.  These types of business practices are not helpful when it’s your home on the line.  #VAloans

 

**Ryan Wheeler is an expert RE/MAX real estate agent and military veteran serving buyers and sellers of homes in the Shreveport Bossier City area.  Connect With Me

Bossier City Skyline

Brand New Construction, Legacy, North Bossier City

Shreveport-Bossier City Homes and Lifestyle

Brand New Construction in Legacy Subdivision: 857 Abita Chase, Bossier City, LA

If you are looking to buy a new residential, single family home in Shreveport or Bossier City then this could be the home for you!  This is a 3 bedroom home with 2 baths, new construction home for sale in North Bossier’s premiere subdivisions, Legacy! #expert_bossier_agent

OPEN HOUSE August 05, Sunday 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

$ Click for current price
3 BEDROOMS | 2 (2 full ) BATHROOMS | 1,749 SQUARE FEET

New Construction 3-bedroom 2-bath Home features Upgraded crown in Master secondary living area with cased windows in main living area and a tray ceiling with LED Lighting. Granite counters in kitchen with upgraded cabinet hardware and White cabinets. Window blinds throughout. Community features a pool walking trails, playground and fishing pond.

Presented By:

Ryan Wheeler

Realtor
RE/MAX Real Estate Services
318-572-6498
Licensed In: LA
License #: 0995693439

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Licensed in the state of Louisiana. Each office independently owned and operated.

**Ryan Wheeler is an expert RE/MAX real estate agent and military veteran serving buyers and sellers of homes in the Shreveport Bossier City area.  Connect With Me