Orange County, CA Real Estate Video Blog with Torey Severino

Showing posts with label southern California real estate. Show all posts

How Will Your Buying Power in Southern California Be Affected in 2016?

There are many great Orange County and Coachella Valley area homes for sale. Click here to perform full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (949) 441-0701 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Interest rates are rising, so how will your buying power be affected? Furthermore, how do you determine your buying power?

The first thing I would recommend is to find a good lender and have them run your credit score. After this, they’re going to examine your debt to income ratio. Some people who run businesses that use a lot of cash will have trouble at this point. Your sources of income have to be documented, otherwise this could hurt your debt ratio score.

All of these things will help to determine your buying power, but you will also need to figure out how much you can put towards a down payment. You want to try to put 20% down to avoid paying private mortgage insurance, but you don’t want to stretch yourself too thin. If you're a veteran, take advantage of a VA loan, and if you're buying in a rural area, you can use a USDA loan. There are many different loan products that can help you put a larger down payment towards a house.

Lastly, what are your total assets and your total debts? Consider your total debt that may not show up on a credit report.

It’s important to know your buying power before looking at homes. When you know what you can afford, the home search process becomes much more simple.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. This is an excellent year to buy a home, so don’t miss out on this opportunity because you’re unprepared!

Should You Buy or Rent in Southern California?

Recently, I got a great question from a client: "Is it better to buy or rent in this 2016 real estate market?" Today, I thought I'd answer this question for all of you out there. There are a few factors you should consider:

1. It's all about timing.
How long do you plan on staying in the area? Are you only going to be there for a couple years, or are you in it for the long haul? If you're planning on sticking around long-term, renting can be very problematic and very costly.

In Orange County, most rents exceed what it would cost to pay for a mortgage. Rather than paying a landlord, get a mortgage and pay yourself. Lock in a low interest rate and keep your payment fixed. In fact, your mortgage payment might get lower over time as you make more money and pay down your mortgage.

2. Know your options.
Find out what kind of mortgage you can qualify for. I've seen many situations where a tenant leases a property for one year and plans to lease it a second year. However, since the market's improving, the landlord decides to cash out and get their equity. Where does that leave you, the tenant? You have to move again! Renting every two years can be very troublesome, so find out what kind of mortgage you are qualified to get.

3. Rental prices are increasing.
I mentioned this earlier, but it's incredibly important. Rental costs are going up. It is more expensive to rent a home than it is to own one.

4. Tax consequences.
Owning a home gives you a major advantage in the mortgage deduction, which can significantly impact your finances over time. I recently had a client discover that it would only cost an additional $200 a month to own a home than to rent one, and owning came with more tax breaks. Why would you continue renting at this point in time?

If you have any questions about today's video or about real estate in general, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Five Steps to a Successful Home Sale in Southern California

Before listing your home, there are a number of things you need to do in order to get the results you desire.

1. Have the carpets cleaned. It's really important that your home looks nice and smells nice. Carpets are a major factor!

2. Give your baseboards a makeover. It really helps when a buyer walks into a home with nice, clean molding with no nicks or scuffs.

3. Freshen up your front door and landscaping. Don't spend a lot of money, but be sure to put some time into sprucing up the exterior of your home. Curb appeal is very important!

4. Check you furnace and A/C. Make sure they are operational and functioning. These are the big things that show up in home inspections, so take care of them ahead of time!

5. Declutter your home. Less is more when selling! Start packing now, and throw out or donate anything you no longer use.

We hope you found these five tips helpful for your move. If you would like additional tips, or if you need real estate assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!

How Is the Southern California Market Doing?

We are headed into the fourth quarter of the year, so today we wanted to give you a quick market update to get you up to speed.

Right now, we have roughly 5,000 active listings. Over the last three months, we are listing about 1,000 properties per month and selling 735. So, we are selling about 75% of the listings that are coming on the market, but what’s going on with all that extra inventory? We are adding about 267 homes per month to our inventory and as we head into the next season, we hope to continue to sell this inventory, but for now it’s a constant reminder that price is the most critical factor whether your home is going to sell or sit on the market for an extended period of time. In the desert, we are averaging about 110 days on market.

In Orange County, we have close to 8,300 homes for sale right now. Coming out of the selling season, you have about 3,800 listings taken per month and 2,900 sales per month. We are adding about 900 homes per month, but demand is very high, especially in the condo market, where purchases are up an incredible 17%.

In these uncertain times, we are still seeing condo buyers buying at an alarming rate. A condo in Orange County won’t be on the market more than 60 days on average.

As for interest rates, I predict that they are going to remain around where they are now in the coming months; there hasn’t been much to hint that they will be rising very dramatically any time soon.

If you have any questions for us or are looking to buy or sell in Southern California, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

How Will Home Sales Affect Your Buying and Selling Decisions?

I recently read an article in USA Today that discussed how home sales recently spiked to an 8-year high in June. This is fantastic news, and is most likely happening due to the resurgence of buyers who had previously gone through a short sale or foreclosure. These buyers have finally waited out their time to be able to purchase again.

Because of this influx in buyers, we are currently seeing prices driven to an all-time high. If you’ve even been considering selling your home, now may be an opportune time to do so. Why else? Well, for starters, interest rates are going to rise soon. We aren’t sure when or by how much, but we do know a rise is impending. Now could be the best time for you to sell in the foreseeable future.

If you’ve been on the fence about buying, here’s the question you need to answer for yourself: How long do you plan on living there? It’s not about when you buy, it’s about how long you keep the investment. If you buy right, you can take advantage of the market down the road.

I hope these tips were useful. If you have any additional questions for us, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to speaking with you!

Are Home Inspections Necessary in SoCal?

Welcome back, everybody. Today we are talking about home inspections, and whether you should get one on your next home purchase or not.

I recently spoke with a few buyers, one who was purchasing a new construction home and one buying a resale home. They both asked me the same question, which was, "Should I have a home inspection done before I buy?"

My first bit of advice is YES! Get a home inspection on any home you plan on purchasing, regardless of whether it's a resale or a newly built home. With an inspection, you will have an independent professional who is going to check every corner of your home for any imperfections it may have. The inspection itself takes just a few hours, but it could save you so much more in the long run.

Ten years ago, I purchased a new construction property. As I walked through the property with the builder's representative, who is there to protect the builder's interest, I noticed about 25-30 items that needed to be addressed. Once I ordered a home inspection, they found about 25-30 more problems that I completely missed.

Once we are armed with that list of items, it puts us in a better position to negotiate and get the things fixed that would have cost a lot more.

On a resale property, we usually make a request for repairs. However, with older homes, things are going to come up, and you're not going to be able to have everything fixed as a buyer. The problem here is every buyer wants everything done on a home inspection, while sellers don't want to do anything. The trick is finding a happy medium, such as fixing all of the health and safety concerns and not as many of the cosmetic issues.

If you are buying or selling, we recommend you get a home inspection. If you get one as a seller, it's a great incentive to offer buyers in a difficult market.

So, get a home inspection and protect yourself. And if you have any questions, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

Should You Offer a Home Warranty?

Hey everyone, today we are discussing home warranties, and whether you should get one as a buyer and whether you should offer one as a seller.

The first question we're going to answer is, "What is a home warranty?" Basically, it's something the seller pays for at the close of escrow to insure the appliances, A/C, and pool equipment. Most buyers will ask for the sellers to offer a home warranty, since the buyer hasn't lived in the home before.

By paying for a home warranty, you are ensuring that this property is being sold in good condition and if something goes wrong, the buyer would pay a service call to the home warranty company to replace it. In 99% of offers, the buyers will request a home warranty. The only two cases where you will have to provide a home warranty as a buyer are in the case of a short sale or foreclosure.

The home warranty generally costs between $400 and $700, depending on the size of your property. By providing a home warranty, you are extending in good faith that the home is in good condition and everything is in proper working order.

If you have any questions about home warranties, or anything else real estate related, don't hesitate to give us a call. We would love to help you out!

What Do Recent Southern California Market Trends Mean for You?

Today I have a quick market update for Southern California, so you can have an idea of what to expect when buying or selling real estate this summer!

Here are the most recent numbers for Orange County:

Active listings: 8,454 properties, a 20% decline from last year
Sales: 2,944 sales, a 10% decline
Days on market: About 60 days

Here are the numbers for the Coachella Valley:

Active listings: 6,372 properties, a 4% decline from last year
Sales: 841 sales, a 6% decline
Days on market: Around 100 days

What do these numbers mean for you? Give me a call or shoot me a quick email to learn whether now is a good time to buy or sell. It really depends on your particular situation, and I would love to sit down and break down the numbers with you. I would love to hear from you and help you make the most of current real estate conditions!

What Does a Flattening Market in Riverside County Mean for You?

There are many great Orange County and Coachella Valley area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (949) 441-0701 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Today, I want to share a quick market update so you know how the market is doing and what to expect moving forward. It's really a tale of two cities right now, as there is quite a disparity between Riverside County and Orange County. Let's take a look at the numbers!

In Riverside County, appreciation has stabilized, as we're coming out of 35 months of year-over-year appreciation. A lot of buyers in the Coachella Valley are from foreign countries, and because their purchasing power dropped with the fluctuating value of the dollar, they haven't bought as many homes as they did in years past. This isn't necessarily bad news, but we are starting to see the market level off after years of growth.

If you're selling in Riverside County, you need to price your home correctly if you want to have a successful home sale. Buyers just aren't as active as they once were in this area.

On the other side of the coin, Orange County is the 5th fastest growing market! Inventory is low and demand is incredibly high, so this is an incredibly competitive marketplace! Most homes are selling in under two months, and the homes that are in the best condition and priced right are going even faster. In order to lock in the home of your dreams in this active market, it's crucial to work with a real estate professional for the best results

If you have any questions about market conditions in your particular area, give me a call or shoot me an email. I would love to help you make the most of market conditions, wherever you're at!

Can a Single Photo Sell Your Home?

Before I begin, I'd like to let everyone know that we're always looking for new talent on our team. If you know anyone with experience in real estate, whether it's buying, selling, or administrative work, we could use their help. We're always looking for good team members.

Homes are marketed primarily on the Internet right now, and almost 90% of people are searching for homes online. This is why it's so crucial to have professional photographs taken of your home if you wish to sell for top dollar. The better your photography is, the more views and attention your property will receive.

Home buyers are also very busy, and when they see a good home with nice features, they tend to jump on it. Photos provide buyers with a good idea of what type of condition your home is in, and this helps to find better buyers for your property. It's especially important to highlight the best features of your home, as well as any upgrades that have been done on it.

Have you ever seen a home online that you liked, but you couldn't quite tell what the home was like from the photography? You probably just skipped it and went on to the next listing, and that's what people will do with your home if it's not photographed well. To capture the best photos outdoors, early morning and dusk work best. If you're taking photos on the inside, the midday is best because the sun will be shining on the inside and natural light presents the home in a beautiful way.

This may seem obvious, but make sure your photos are straight, clear, and focused. If you look on the MLS you'll see some very poor photos, and you should have a good idea of what you need to avoid by looking at them.

The most important thing to remember is that a great photo is no substitute for a great price.

If you're looking to sell your Southern California home, please don't hesitate to contact me. Now is a great time to sell!

Do You Know How to Handle a Multiple Offer Situation in Southern California?

The busy spring market is in full swing here in Southern California! With so much activity in our market, many people are asking whether listings are receiving multiple offers. The short answer: Yes, yes we are!

If you are a seller who has received multiple offers, it means you have priced your home well! This is a fantastic situation to be in and, because our market is so competitive, you can jockey those offers against each other to get more money or better terms. Sometimes your home will close quicker as a result!

From a buying standpoint, if you are making offers that aren't getting accepted, you need to step back and reassess your situation. Are you paying cash? If you're not, your offer is a lot weaker than every other buyer who is offering a cash deal. If you're getting a loan, the least you can do is get a letter of pre-approval from a lender. When you get one, be sure your agent is sending it in with each offer you make! You also need to ensure you are making a clean offer; avoiding contingencies and other troublesome requests in your offer will go a long way toward making it more attractive to the buyer.

If you have any questions about multiple offer situations, whether on the buying or selling side, give us a call or shoot us a quick email. We would love to help you accomplish your buying and selling goals in the Southern California area!

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About Torey

Torey Severino is not your average agent. His experience, unique style and aggressiveness are what he uses to sell homes every day in this market. Torey and his team want to know your real estate dreams and goals, so they can help you and your family get what you want, in the time you want, with the highest level of service.

For buyers, they previews all listings and inventory to ensure that you will have your needs met. For sellers, they offer an aggressive plan that will sell your home for the highest amount of money in the shortest amount of time. They look forward to being a valuable resource to you regarding the world of real estate.

Torey Severino
CalBRE # 01318534
Bennion Deville Homes

Orange County, CA

949-441-0701

Coachella Valley, CA

760-568-1515
torey@bdhomes.com
toreyseverino.com

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