Own This House For Under $1,000 Per Month

We have a client that just went under contract to purchase a home and we couldn't believe how low his payment is going to be. But I'm looking at the estimated payment provided by the lender and it's true. Now to protect our client's privacy, the picture in this blog post is a home that the May-Wall Team sold earlier this year in the same neighborhood as the home just purchased by our client. Same builder, same neighborhood, very, very close in price and just down the street.

But here's the deal. Our client has been preparing to purchase this home for about a year now. He has saved up for his down payment and will be able to pay 20% down. By paying down a substantial amount, he avoids having to escrow taxes and insurance. Rather than give that money to his lender as part of his monthly payment, he can keep those funds until they are due to be paid. Thus earning interest on those funds for the entire year. Also, he doesn't have to pay a mortgage insurance premium (PMI) to the lender. PMI is an added cost that you pay to your lender if you finance greater than 80% of the purchase price. Lenders require this because the buyer is considered a higher lending risk.

The biggest impact on his low monthly payment though is that his interest rate is 3% over 30 years. Can you believe that? 3%!!! The annual interest alone is less than the cost of renting an apartment for the year. Actually it's about 3 times less than what he would pay in rent.

Our client's new home is 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, with a study and formal dining room and is almost 3,000 square feet of beautiful.

So I know what you are thinking....I don't have 20% to pay down on a house. Well, you might be surprised how fast you could come up with that down payment if you really put your mind to it. How badly do you want it? Maybe all you need is a plan. Wanna talk about it? Just give me a call. I'll be happy to discuss some steps you can take now to get into that home of your dreams when the time is right.

HGTV Debuts New Show For Single Women

I am so excited.  I just read that Sandra Rinomato will debut her new show "Buy Herself" on HGTV on April 16th.  The show will center around single women purchasing a home all by herself. 

Ms. Rinomato is a real estate broker in Toronto who first brought her real estate expertise to the small screen in her show "Property Virgins" in which she helps first-time homebuyers make that first home purchase.  "I wasn't guaranteed to get that paycheck every Friday, so that was an issue for me," Ms. Rinomato said in an interview. "When I bought a house completely on my own after a breakup, I was used to having a dual income; and then all of a sudden, that extra person wasn't there anymore."

I can’t think of anyone better than Sandra to take on this new show.  I’ve watched her over the past few years on HGTV and she has great skill in helping to guide prospective homeowners through the buying process.  With her experience as a single female homebuyer I think she will bring valuable information to single women out there who are contemplating taking the plunge.

I hope you will join me in watching the first episode on HGTV at 9:00 P.M. Central Time on April 16^th.  And feel free to let me know what you think of the show.

Posted by Monte Wall

Broker Associate @ Keller Williams Premier Realty

www.SingleWomenBuyHomes.com

You Can Thank Ann Marie

In 1966 Marlo Thomas hit the air waves in the character of Ann Marie, a single girl living on her own in New York City, facing many of the struggles that single women today also face.

Not far behind in 1968 was Diane Carroll in the role of Julia, a widowed mother of a young son, also on her own and succeeding.

Probably most notable was Mary Richards in 1970, a role played by Mary Tyler Moore.  (Who can forget the theme song?  I bet you’re humming it now.)  Mary was a young professional also living on her own and providing quite well.  There was also her single friend, Rhoda Morgenstern, residing one floor up.  Also a single woman living on her own.

While these characters of the 1960’s and 1970’s may not have owned the apartments in which they lived, they definitely paved the way for single women today who want to be independent, strong, and yes, even fashionable and attractive.  There….I said it.  I think women can be all of the above.  In fact I believe that it’s inside every woman, no matter what her background or current situation, to be whoever she wants to be.  But it doesn’t come easy and it doesn’t come without sacrifice.

What I really want to focus on in this blog post  is that single women can be self-sufficient and that can lead to home ownership.  And that can be very freeing…liberating if you will.  There’s something very special about being in control of your surroundings.  You decide what color the walls will be, or what flooring you step onto when you get out of bed, or whether or not your kitchen looks like it belongs to….you name her (Giada?, Ina?  Rachael perhaps?).

I want you to consider the prospect of owning your own home.  It’s not for everybody.  Some women don’t want the responsibility.  And that’s OK too.  But if the notion of having the American Dream makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside, then it’s a thought worth pondering.

One significant note as I close this post.  These women did not have extravagant, large dwellings.  Their apartments  were small but they were cute.  Which just goes to show that even if all you can afford is a studio condo, you can still make it great.

Posted By Monte Wall

Broker Associate @ Keller Williams Premier Realty

www.SingleWomenBuyHomes.com

Today We Launch

This is the day we have been planning for quite some time now.  This is the day the May-Wall Team launches a new segment of our business that is geared toward helping single women buy homes…if that’s what they want to do.

According to information provided by the National Association of REALTORSÒ, home ownership by single women is twice as great as that of single men.  Generally speaking, home purchases by women make up about 20% of ALL home sales.  That’s a lot!  Single men represent only 10% of the market.  That’s an interesting fact since women have not fully reached equality on the pay scale with their male counterparts. 

We feel that the single woman prospective homeowner is a market that has been greatly overlooked in the real estate industry.  We want to change that.  We want to provide information to single females that will give them insight into their ability to achieve their dream of home ownership.    Knowledge is a powerful thing.  Sometimes just knowing that you are capable of doing that thing you want to do is enough to spur you on to the next step.

So you might be asking, "Just what qualifies you to help this particular segment of the market?”  Well, experience for one thing.  I got married for the first time when I was 36 years old.  I was working in the financial industry from the time I was 22, had job security, and a good savings.  But I was scared to death to take the plunge into homeownership.  It was something I really wanted to do but just did not have the courage.

When I was single back in the mid-1990’s there was a condo in the Houston area that I almost bought.  It was going to cost me $60,000 and the payments would probably have been less than what I was paying in rent.  I was living in that same complex for crying out loud and paying rent of $600 a month (that was a lot back then.)  Today that same condo sells for between $110,000 and $115,000.  At that sales price I would have gotten my investment back plus some.  I didn’t recoup any of the rent I paid out while I lived there.  Hmmmm.  I probably should have pulled the trigger on that one.  Sometimes playing it safe doesn’t pay off in the end.

I want to help single women buy homes.  So my mission is to provide as much information as I can and to be a resource to single women who currently rent but would rather own.  Whether you are never-married, divorced, or widowed, I can relate to the challenges you face in regard to owning a home of your own.  Please send your questions my way.  I’m here to help.

Posted by Monte Wall

Broker Associate With Keller Williams Premier Realty

www.SingleWomenBuyHomes.com