Real Estate and Investing News - W. Darrow Fiedler

How Your Credit Score Affects Home Buying

On March 16, 2021

In Finance, Investing, New, News, Real Estate, Uncategorized, Welcome

Credit score has several impacts on people’s lives, among them being home buying. It is a measure of personal credit files that dictates the worthiness of an individual. Let’s look at some of the impacts that a credit score can sum up.

Lending and Payment

Apart from a rock-solid financial history, a credit score also matters a lot in approaching lenders. It has an impact on the amount of loan you qualify for to purchase a house. They look much into applicants who have a good record with other lenders, especially on payment duration. Thus, it is also an indication that the respective borrower will be accountable and meet the obligations.

A good credit score implies that the borrower will repay and in the speculated duration. This varies depending on your credit report’s information that brings together your history of borrowed money and payment habits.

Mortgage Rates and Credit

For you to acquire the best mortgage rates, your credit score should be high enough. Persons with a low credit score will end up paying more money during the term of their mortgage. This is attributed to the increased interest and monthly payments.

Generally, a credit score of 700 and above will place you in the best position for mortgages and with the best rates. However, there are still better options for credits below 700. Below is a summary of the scores and statuses.

800 or higher is an exceptional credit, 740 and higher has excellent credit, between 700 and 739 is good credit, and between 630 and 699 results in a fair credit. But for 629 and below results to poor credit.

Down payment Amount

When your credit score matches the desired range, you will be in for a reasonable down payment. Additionally, there will be favorable terms such as a lower original fee. Also, borrowers who bring in more cash on the table reciprocate their potential of delivering and fulfilling the agreement terms.

Borrowers with a low credit score will raise trust issues and will be an accomplice of higher requirements. Such conditions can be incorporating private mortgage insurance into their loans which is results in extra costs. This is pragmatic, especially for new home buyers who need to create a reputable note.

What Real Estate Appraisers Might Not Disclose to You

By W Darrow Fiedler

On February 11, 2021

In Finance, Investing, Real Estate

The real estate appraisers help people in determining the value of their real estate properties. They assist buyers with the valuation information so that they don’t get overcharged by property owners. Similarly, the sellers, too, are protected against possible underpayments by willing buyers.

Real estate appraisers are also useful when a property owner intends to obtain a loan using their property as collateral. Without their input, the homeowners may secure smaller loan amounts than expected or fail to meet the minimum financial assistance requirements. Below are some things that the real estate appraisers may not want one to know.

They Don’t Know Much about an Area

Before the real estate property boom, appraisal officers used to work within specific counties or states. However, this has never been the case in recent years. Most Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs) have increased the tendency of sending their officers to different counties and states. Therefore, it’s likely that a real estate appraiser works in areas they know very little about.

They Hate Being Followed Around

Some homeowners or buyers usually find themselves trying to keep in touch with their appraisers most of the time. While they may think it’s the right thing to do, it’s their real estate agents and inspectors they should be spending more time with. Therefore, it’s appropriate to give the appraisers some space once they’ve received the valuation report.

They Do Most of the Evaluation Off-the-Site

Property valuation assessment should take up to about 8 hours. Surprisingly, most appraisal officers would take as little as a half of the total set assessment time. It happens so because of the increased use of technology in the process. For instance, some AMC agents could use video clips of the home from drones and computer-stored data about the property to compile the final appraisal report.

Last Minute Renovations Don’t Always Add the Value of the Property

Many people believe that making some little changes in the kitchen or the bathroom would increase their property’s selling price. But unfortunately, this isn’t true, and the appraisers know – only that they’ll never talk about it.

Consulting the real estate agents or inspectors in advance is by far the best way of ensuring a successful sale of a property. By doing so, the homeowner would get to know more than what an appraiser is always willing to share.

W. Darrow Fielder - The Right Time to Invest in Real Estate

When is the Right Time to Invest in Commercial Real Estate?

By W Darrow Fiedler

On January 19, 2021

In Finance, Investing, Real Estate

A market downturn can often be the opening you need to secure the commercial real estate you want. However, you’ll want to understand multiple factors that stand in between you from getting real estate at its cheapest point or getting it as it’s rising. Understand these factors skilled real estate investors use today when choosing to purchase commercial real estate.

Knowledge

Entering into a new market of commercial real estate that you haven’t dealt with before can be tempting if you’re looking for profits but you must stick to what you know. The reason you’ll want to stick to your knowledge is that you’ll be able to identify more easily properties that won’t bring you as much risk as going into a completely different industry. Over time, you’ll be able to even grow your knowledge of the industry you belong in by talking to other skilled investors. Ensure that you are always sticking with what you know when you are looking to invest in commercial real estate.

Local Experts

As you look beyond where you live, you might be tempted to invest in areas all around your country and around the world. It can be very profitable for you to split up your investments based on location but it’s key that you bring in local experts while doing so. Working with local experts will give you help in understanding key differences cities may have from one another such as real estate tax, how often property sells in a specific area, what type of people are moving in, and more. Make sure that you always partner up with local experts when looking to purchase commercial real estate in a specific area.

Historical Data

Over time, the pricing of real estate can change due to various market and city conditions but you must refer to historical data rather than just current data when purchasing commercial real estate. The reason for this is that you’ll be able to compare the previous prices of real estate that you’re looking for with more key information like how many people are moving into a city along with the type of businesses that would use your commercial real estate. You’ll just want to make sure though that you consult experts that can help you understand important links historical data can have in one area over the other. Looking over historical data before purchasing commercial real estate is just one of the many other ways you can make smart purchases.

Why Your Properties Should Be Pet-Friendly

By W Darrow Fiedler

On September 27, 2017

In Real Estate

Pet owners consider their pets to be part of their family. If you’ve ever known someone who owned a pet, you would know it’s almost impossible to convince them to give up their beloved Fluffy to move into a home where they’re not wanted. As a landlord, here are some reasons why you should transform your properties into pet-friendly homes.

Fill Vacancies Faster

Many of your prospective tenants come with pets. According to the 2017-2018 National Pet Owners Survey, about 85 million families, or 68% of U.S. households own a pet. They say that owning a pet reduces one’s stress level. Allowing pets can create a more home-like feel for your properties. If you allow your properties to accept pets, your properties will become increasingly more attractive to the eyes of searching renters.

Keep Great Tenants

Pet-friendly options are not always easy to come by. Tenants with pets are more likely to rent from you longer simply because it’s easier to stay than trying to find another place that allows pets. Additionally, a responsible pet owner is more likely to be a responsible tenant and respect their living quarters.

Pet Rent

The practice of charging rent for a pet is becoming increasingly popular and is widely accepted by renters. The recurring monthly charge, that’s often determined by pet size, simply gets tacked onto the tenant’s rent. Check with your local laws regarding pet rent and research what other landlords in your area are charging. Common fees for cats and small dogs, such as Chihuahuas or Shih Tzus are between $25-$45 a month. If a tenant owns a large dog, like a St. Bernard or Mastiff, the fee can be up to $100. If you own ten properties and they all have a small pet rent fee of $25, that’s an additional $3,000 of additional revenue to you.

Pet Deposit

Similar to a security deposit, a pet deposit can help cover the costs of any damage done by the pet. This protects you as the landlord from paying out of pocket to fix the damage. A typical pet deposit is around $250. Again, check your local laws and the going rate in your area before you settle on a set amount.

Not only will creating your properties to be pet-friendly lead to more revenue but you will also create a stronger relationship with your tenants. Besides, each pet you allow is one less that ends up in a shelter.

W Darrow Fiedler Real Estate Social Media

3 Great Social Media Profiles for Active Real Estate Professionals

By W Darrow Fiedler

On June 5, 2017

In Real Estate

In the real estate environment it is important for professionals to stay up to date with everything from decor trends to who is leading in the industry. Social media can be a great tool to help professionals stay current with everything they need to know and make connections with other real estate professionals along the way.

Here are three great social media websites that you need to make a profile on today to advance yourself in the industry.

1. ActiveRain.

ActiveRain is one of the largest and most active social networks for professionals in the real estate industry. The network is home to nearly 300,000 members, and includes just about every type of real estate professional that there is.

The biggest aspect of ActiveRain is the enormous amount of knowledge you can gain by surfing through their website. With over 4 million blog posts on just about everything there is in real estate, members share their best practices as well learn from others.

One of the features that helps ActiveRain stand out from its competitors is the ActiveRain University (ARU). ARU hosts free webinars as well courses on how to grow and expand your real estate business. Courses range from, lead generation all the way to the best blogging practices for the real estate professional. Apart from webinars, there are also podcasts that you can listen to so you can learn while you are on the go.

ActiveRain is a great community to help you get started in the real estate industry and can further your expertise as a real estate professional.

2. Houzz.

A one-stop shop for home remodeling and design, Houzz offers the ability to find just about everything you could imagine during your remodeling or redesign process. Houzz removes the hassle of starting a new project by putting everything in one platform, where it is easy to save and categorize your ideas.

Upon entering the website, you can search for design ideas, products themselves, or even advice and stories to help further you along in your creative process. It doesn’t stop there though, Houzz offers the unique feature of being able to find local professionals in your area, to help with just about every stage of your remodeling journey.

It’s almost guaranteed that you will be on this site for hours, exploring all of the design concepts and stories that their community has to offer.

3. BiggerPockets.

BiggerPockets is more closely aimed at the real estate investing niche. The site offers many features that can help any type of real estate investor, from the new investor looking to make some side income to the seasoned veteran just looking to refine their skills.

The largest aspect of the site is their social network. With over 600,000 members, you are able to engage with other professionals no matter what section of the site you go on. You can connect with “colleagues” and build relationships with other investors and even meet members local to your area.

The site doesn’t stop there. The community section lets you interact with other users by posting on forums about different topics and also reading success stories from other users. If you cannot find what you are looking for on the forums, BiggerPockets offers an education section to help you get started or fill in the gaps along the way. The marketplace section shows real time listings in your area as well as finding real estate positions that are open.

One of the features that helps BiggerPockets stand out from the other social networks is the tools section. The tools section offers property analysis calculators and other resources to help professionals make more informed decisions during their investing.

BiggerPockets can help you take your investing to the next level.