Is Granite Going Out of Style?

Pick up any kitchen magazine and you’ll find a story about the latest and greatest design trends. Some, like shaker cabinets, have staying power, while others fall out of vogue almost as quickly as they appeared (we’re looking at you farmhouse sink). Given the fact that trends, by definition, come and go, it only makes sense that granite countertops will eventually lose their place as the must-have material. And while granite countertops remain one of the most popular design features, some interior designers suggest we’ve reached the end of the granite countertop trend.

The End of the Trend?

As far as countertops are concerned, granite is a material that wasn’t widely used until the late 80s. However, it wasn’t until the late 90s and early 2000s that it became the material of choice that it is today. With it’s near ubiquitous presence in kitchens across the country, granite is still one of the most popular countertop options you can choose; it’s just not as in demand as it once was.

There’s lots to love about granite. It’s durable, looks good, and is becoming more affordable. That being said, granite appears to have become a victim of its own popularity. Homeowners are individuals, and individuals like their homes to be a reflection of their personalities. For many, granite is just too mainstream. But there’s a bigger reason fewer homeowners are choosing it: in recent kitchen designs the countertop is less and less of a focal point and granite is almost impossible not to notice.

Subtle Style

Today’s kitchen styles are becoming more understated and neutral. Given that a kitchen’s color theme determines countertop selection, you’ll find that homeowners are choosing countertops that seamlessly blend into the rest of the kitchen, rather than stand out. While it’s difficult to achieve a neutral look with granite, it’s decidedly easier when using more subtle materials such as marble, soapstone, and quartz. Not surprisingly, these are the materials that more and more homeowners are demanding.

Choosing the Right Material

If you’re getting ready to remodel your kitchen you’ve likely given a lot of thought to what kind of countertops to go with. The fundamental question to ask yourself is who are you remodeling for? If you’re remodeling for yourself and not planning on moving anytime soon, choose the materials that you like most. If that means granite, go with granite. However, if you’re remodeling with an eye towards selling soon, we advise going with a more neutral option. You’ll get the classy, upscale look you’re going for, but not at the risk of alienating potential buyers who don’t care for granite

Getting a Mortgage: Why SO MUCH Paperwork?

We are often asked why there is so much paperwork mandated by the bank for a mortgage loan application when buying a home today. It seems that the bank needs to know everythingabout us and requires three separate sources to validate each and every entry on the application form. Many buyers are being told by friends and family that the process was a hundred times easier when they bought their home ten to twenty years ago.

There are two very good reasons that the loan process is much more onerous on today’s buyer than perhaps any time in history.

1. The government has set new guidelines that now demand that the bank prove beyond any doubt that you are indeed capable of affording the mortgage. During the run-up in the housing market, many people ‘qualified’ for mortgages that they could never pay back. This led to millions of families losing their home. The government wants to make sure this can’t happen again
2. The banks don’t want to be in the real estate business. Over the last seven years, banks were forced to take on the responsibility of liquidating millions of foreclosures and also negotiating another million plus short sales. Just like the government, they don’t want more foreclosures. For that reason, they need to double (maybe heaven triple) check everything on the application.

However, there is some good news in the situation. The housing crash that mandated that banks be extremely strict on paperwork requirements also allowed you to get a mortgage interest rate probably below 5%.

The friends and family who bought homes ten or twenty ago experienced a simpler mortgage application process but also paid a higher interest rate (the average 30 year fixed rate mortgage was 8.12% in the 1990’s and 6.29% in the 2000’s). If you went to the bank and offered to pay 7% instead of <5%, they would probably bend over backwards to make the process much easier.

Bottom Line

Instead of concentrating on the additional paperwork required, let’s be thankful that we are able to buy a home at historically low rates.

Why Isn’t Your Home Selling?

If the listing for your home hasn’t been attracting buyers for a few weeks in a fast-paced real estate market, or for a few months in a slower one, you certainly have good reason to be worried.

A home doesn’t sell due to a variety of factors, some of which you can control and some of which you can’t.

Let’s start with the things you can control, which also happen to be the most important elements of any home’s appeal to buyers: price and condition.

Price Your Home Right, From the Start

A good REALTOR® will help you determine the correct price for your home based on a thorough comparative market analysis (CMA). The reason it’s so important to price your home appropriately from the beginning is that a home that’s priced too high will languish on the market without any offers.

Even if you lower the price later, you will have lost the momentum of the initial listing period and buyers will assume there’s something wrong with the home. Eventually you may sell it, but more than likely the final sales price will be lower than your correct initial price would have been. Price your home too low and you have lost out on potential profit.

Your price should be based on current local market conditions, not on what you need to pay off your mortgage, what your neighbor sold her place for a year ago, nor your guesstimate of what your home is worth. Your REALTOR®’s CMA will look at recent sales, homes that didn’t sell and were pulled off the market, and current listings to guide your price decision.

Condition of Your Home

Regardless of your local market conditions, buyers have high expectations for your home, beginning with the exterior. While you don’t necessarily have to spend a lot of money, you do need to raise the level of your home’s curb appeal with some sweat equity. Pull weeds, trim the grass, plant a few flowers and perhaps paint your front door to make sure prospective buyers don’t decide to drive away.

Inside, your home needs to be consistently clean, neat, decluttered and depersonalized so that buyers can visualize themselves living there. Your REALTOR® should be able to suggest ways to  prepare your home for a sale, which, by the way, is nothing like the way you live in it. Your kitchen counters should be cleared, your bed always made and your dishes always put away in case a buyer wants to visit.

Marketing Your Home

When you choose a REALTOR®  to list your home, make sure you ask about photos and a marketing plan. The majority of buyers look online first at properties so it’s crucial that your home has multiple professional-quality photos that make it look as enticing as possible, and that your home appears on multiple websites so buyers can see it. A listing without a photo or with one badly lit photo isn’t likely to generate many offers.

Make Your Home Available

One of the more challenging aspects of listing your home for sale is that you must make it available to buyers as easily as possible. Buyers prefer to see a home without the owner there, so make sure there’s a lockbox at your property and that you allow nearly unlimited access to prospective buyers.

Overcome Challenges

Sometimes market conditions or a specific flaw in your home make it tougher to sell as quickly as you would like. Your REALTOR® can help you evaluate the market and let you know if you need to offer particular incentives, such as closing-cost help. If your home has an awkward floorplan or is located on a busy street, you and your REALTOR® can come up with ways to emphasize its positive aspects and deemphasize any negative aspects, such as by staging the backyard or highlighting the renovated kitchen.

Don’t Forget These Costs When Buying a Home

You’ve crunched the mortgage calculators, estimated your tax payments, and taken a realistic look at how much house you can afford. You’ve stuck within your range when scouring the realtor.com® listings, being careful not to bust your budget.

But there are more expenses involved in home buying than just the property costs. And those additional payments, if you don’t factor them in, can be high enough to derail your conscientious planning.

Here’s what to keep in mind:

Buying Costs

You’ve got your mortgage pre-approved, but that’s not all you will need to fork over to get the keys to your new place. Services that need paying:

• Your buyer’s agent fee
• An appraisal to confirm a reasonable market price for the property
• Inspections of structural, mechanical, pest or other potential issues
• A real estate attorney to review all contracts (depending on the state)

Property taxes vary widely, up to 4.2% of a home’s value in some states, according to a CNN map published in 2013. Depending on when you buy, you may owe the previous owners for property taxes they have already paid. You may also need to pay fees to a local association, such as a condo homeowner’s association.

Moving Costs

Moving into a home can involve major expenses for packing, storing and transporting your possessions and yourself. If you are moving across the country, the costs could be significant. Even moving across town can cost more than you planned for truck rental, movers and equipment.

Utilities

Setting up your telephone, electricity, gas and water—did you budget for these expenses? They could cost more at your new place, especially if you’re moving to a larger home or from a rental.

New Stuff

You may need to purchase appliances or furniture for your new home. Some items, like your old particle board bookshelves, may not be worth the cost of moving. Again, if you are sizing up, you face the potentially fun, but possibly financially draining, challenge of filling the new place.

Maintenance and Renovations

Trees fall on roofs. Gutters need cleaning. Driveways need repair…. A standard rule of thumb is to budget at least 1% of your home’s purchase price each year for home maintenance costs.

Maintenance can include things such as painting, replacing roof shingles, fixing or upgrading plumbing and wiring. The amount you will need to pay for maintenance can depend on the age of the home, the previous owners’ upkeep and the climate.

Homeowner’s Insurance

You won’t be able to obtain a mortgage without homeowner’s insurance covering both the property and its contents. However, the standard insurance may not cover natural disasters such as floods, tornadoes and earthquakes. Depending on where you live, you may want to consider taking out additional insurance to cover such risks.

Private Mortgage Insurance and Title Insurance

If the down payment on your home was less than 20% of the purchase price, you will have to pay for Private Mortgage Insurance. PMI protects your lender in case you default. It’s standard, and fees vary. The rules are complicated, but usually once you have paid down the mortgage so you owe less than 78% of the purchase price, you can drop the PMI payments.

Title insurance offers protection for you (and your lender) if you later discover that someone else could lay claim to the title, and therefore ownership, of the house.

Even if you are lucky enough to avoid paying for PMI, you find a low-cost attorney you can trust, and you have a modern, energy-efficient house, these expenses can still add up to thousands of dollars. That prospect should not scare you away from homeownership, but it always helps to be prepared.

Should You Replace Your Windows?

The case for replacing your windows

The most common question a homeowner has regarding new windows is whether or not they’re worth it. That depends. Do your current windows barely open or have rotted frames? Are they drafty and prone to excessive condensation? More important, will you be staying out for the next ten years? If you answered yes to any of these, new windows make sense.

For one, windows that don’t open are a safety hazard, especially if there’s a fire. Second, drafty windows drive up your utility bills and diminish indoor air quality, while excessive condensation could lead to wood rot and mold growth. Last but not least, new windows can boost your home’s curb appeal and value.

So, how much can you expect to pay? If the window frame is intact, you can expect to spend between $300 and $700 per window, including tear out, disposal and installation for most standard window sizes. As you might imagine, custom windows are more expensive, often $1000 or more per window. Keep in mind that these costs do not include replacing the window frame. Expect to spend up to twice as much per window if you need to replace the frame, too.

Making the right choice

Given the costs involved, it’s easy to understand why so many homeowners get stressed out about what to do. Our recommendation is to clearly define your needs and weigh your options against your budget and acceptable payback period. More times than not, the numbers will guide you to the right decision.

Feel free to call or email me with any questions you may have regarding upgrades and value of your home.