Uncategorized

With rent rising and family sizes decreasing, millennials have started to opt for smaller alternatives when it comes to real estate. Maybe the trend came from IKEA showrooms, the micro-housing wave, or simply from growing accustomed to sharing apartments with one too many people. The fact remains: people may want to pay for smaller, but they still want to live as large as possible.

The goal is to avoid creating a highly congested space. Thankfully, experts like author and real estate professional Matt Parker have done the homework for us. Learn to make the most of your small space by following these tips from Parker:

Rooms with high ceilings, 9 ft. or taller, help make small square-footage spaces feel large. In many cases, liking or disliking a home has to do with ceiling height.
Add custom bookshelves high on one wall in a room. This creates a spacer for your eye, drawing your glance up and making the room appear larger.
Use large paintings in small rooms, one wall only, and you will be amazed how much bigger they feel, says Parker.
Follow this rule: If you havent used it in a year, sell or donate it. Parker recently did this, and removed about 25% of his familys clutter.
When it comes to clothes, consider quality over quantity. According to Parker, folks in Los Angeles often hire a wardrobe assistant who helps them pick four perfect outfits per quarter. Buy really nice clothes, that are really trendy, in small batches, then immediately get rid of them, he explains. What a win/win from a fashion/lifestyle standpoint!
Use a stand-up desk instead of a sit-down desk. Sit-down desks occupy about 100 square feet, explains Parker.
In small rooms, install a very large custom mantle. This lends a sense of grandeur to a small space.
To make small rooms feel more spacious, decorate with light colors: gray, white, light blues, light yellow, light green, and stick to the same color palette throughout the room.
Large floor rugs make rooms feel much bigger.
Parker also advises against buying huge wholesale quantities of food. Instead, buy one weeks worth of healthy, fresh food each week. You will feel better, and look better, like your home!

I am recommending people buy nicer things, enjoy them more, and live better lives. I am not indicating to stop consuming or become a hermit. Simply be decisive about what you love and eliminate the rest! You will not believe the sense of peace, and style, adds Parker.

As you can see, the trick to living large in a small space is to not be afraid to let go. Freeing up space usually taken up by clutter allows you to enjoy things you actually like. Thats what makes the transition worth it. Well, that and all the extra cash youll be saving!

Matt Parker is the author of Real Estate Smart: The New Home Buying Guide and Real Estate Agent Talks. Parker works entirely paperless and happily lives in a 560 square-foot home with his wife, where he prioritizes living, not clutter.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Coming up with the down payment on a home can be hard enough, and one way to make a home more affordable is to spread out the mortgage payments over 30 years.

But 30 years can be daunting, and that time can be cut down with a 15-year mortgage. Its a lot more expensive in the short-term than a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, but pays off through greater long-term savings.

Here are some things to consider when weighing a 15-year vs. 30-year mortgage:

Saving Money
It can be difficult to see the long-term benefits when looking at a monthly mortgage bill that will be 50 percent higher over 15 years instead of 30.

Paying a home loan off in half the time requires a larger payment, of course, but it can save you tens of thousands of dollars in interest charges. Why? Not only is more principal paid earlier, but interest rates on 15-year mortgages are usually better than other loans types.

Heres an example of a $200,000 mortgage at 30 vs. 15 years:

Mortgage type: 30-year 15-year
Interest rate: 4.5 percent 4 percent
Monthly payment: $1,013 $1,479
Total interest: $164,813 $66,288

Thats almost a savings of $100,000 by going with a 15-year loan. Divide that savings over 15 years and its about $555 saved per month.

Borrowers should make sure they have enough income to afford it, are able to manage their household debt and have money in liquid savings for emergencies.

Building Equity
Repaying a mortgage faster not only saves you money in the long run, but you build equity in your home faster, too. If home prices rise, your equity could grow as well.

This is good for many reasons, including making refinancing easier by lowering your debt-to-income ratio. While it wont improve your cash flow, it should make it easier to get approved for a home equity loan or home equity line of credit.

An Easier Retirement
Another big advantageif you plan to retire in the next 10 to 20 years, you won’t have to worry about mortgage payments during your retirement. Instead of a house payment, you can use that money for retirement expenses.

If you continue paying a 30-year mortgage into retirement, you may have to pull money out of your savings to make the payments.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Thinking about adding a home security system?

Criminals are less likely to target homes with built-in security, so installing one could protect your family and valuables.

Safety isnt the only benefit, though.

Some systems let you control them remotely, allowing you to unlock the door for visitors and keep an eye on your kids from work.

Security features could also be an attractive selling point if you put your house on the market.

You might even get rewarded with cheaper homeowners insurance, meaning the system could help pay for itself.

For peace of mind and financial gains, consider a home security system.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

If youre buying a home, you’ll more than likely be obtaining a mortgage, which you may not know much about. In fact, unless youve been involved in a home sale before, there are many things you will be learning about for the first time.

Here is a handy list of some of the key terms that every person involved in a real estate transaction should understand.

Appraisal:The written analysis of the estimated value of a property, as prepared by a qualified appraiser, which often determines if you will qualify for the loan.

Closing:One of the last steps of any sale. This is the meeting where the lender, buyer and seller complete the sale and mortgage process. Once the home closes, the home officially belongs to the new buyer.

Closing costs:This term refers to the money paid at closing to the lender and consists of a loan origination fee, points, appraisal fee, title search and insurance, survey, taxes, deed recording fee, credit report charge and other costs assessed at settlement. Closing costs usually average between 2 – 6 percent of the total mortgage amount.

Credit report:Simply a report of your credit history that a lender will use to determine if you are a good risk for a loan.

Interest-only mortgage: A loan whereby you only pay the interest portion of the mortgage payment each month.

Interest rate:The annual interest on a loan. The lower your interest rate, the lower your monthly payment will be.

Lock-in:The lenders guarantee that you will be granted a certain interest rate for a specific time period, such as 30 days before closing.

Origination fee:The fee charged by a lender for processing a loan.

Points:The amount that can be paid to a lender to lower the interest rate on your loan at closing. Each point is equal to 1 percent of the loan amount.

Private mortgage insurance (PMI):For those buyers who put less than 20 percent down on a home, lenders will require you to take out PMI, which is then added to your monthly mortgage payment. This protects the lender in the event that you default on the loan.

Title:The home document that proves ownership of the property.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Published with permission from RISMedia.