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DC
METRO REAL ESTATE
Serving
the Real Estate needs of the communities of
Manassas, Bristow, Haymarket, Warrenton, Gainesville
and Culpeper in Northern Virginia
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Dave
Scardina
Broker
/ Owner
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703-829-SOLD
866-909-0900
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News About Bristow Real EstateBristow HOME BUYING MORTGAGE PITFALLS TO AVOID
ALL MORTGAGES ARE NOT ALIKE. There are far too many variables—type of mortgage, term, lender and amount of points to mention a few—not to investigate all of your options in Bristow. Don’t simply accept the first plan presented to you, whether it is from a mortgage broker, an agent or on the recommendation of a friend. Spend time comparing to get the best plan for you.
HOME INSPECTION – A MUST. If you should ever think about skipping the Bristow home inspection in order to save money, stop and give yourself a good shaking. In the scheme of things, the Home Inspection fee is small potatoes but it is a very important step for any buyer to take. Going without a Home Inspection or choosing an unqualified inspector puts you at risk for not knowing about potentially expensive or even hazardous defects in the property.
Guidelines for Buying Bristow
The Internet is great but nothing really substitutes for your personal inspection of homes that are for sale in the Bristow. When you have visited plenty of homes online and in person when the right property comes along you will know it.
It is perfectly normal for buyers to have a general idea of what they want in a home without a great deal of specificity. Research, both online and in person will help you define your Bristow needs but you can and should know your financial needs before you even start looking. I recommend that buyers go through the process of prequalifying with a lender or at least with a real estate agent in order to narrow the search among homes that are a possibility. Many agents refuse to show homes to prospective buyers who have not been pre-qualified.
Buying Bristow Below Market
On most real estate Websites you can enter the parameters you want for your Bristow. Include the price, size, features and location and the technology will notify you automatically the moment a property that meets your needs comes on the market. Now if what you are looking for is a particular type of property for a price that is significantly under market, you’d better be prepared to act quickly because you aren’t the only one who’s looking for a bargain.
Often times, when a home comes on the market priced under the market there are extenuating circumstances. Maybe the house needs maintenance. Maybe the yard needs work. If you are prepared with a certain amount of knowledge about the costs of roofing, painting, landscaping and other types of deferred maintenance, you will be in a position to evaluate whether or not the Bristow is priced well enough that it truly is a bargain and not a fixer-upper nightmare.
Rent or Buy Bristow
For most people, the chance to trade nondeductible rent payments for mostly deductible mortgage payments is a powerful inducement to trade a rental home into a Bristow of your own. This is by far the single most important reason why people decide to buy their first Bristow.
However, whether you are considering your first Bristow investment or planning to move up, the number crunching necessary to figure out how much house you can afford depends on two calculations: one for actual monthly outlays, the other for the true, after tax costs.
Rent or Buy Bristow
In the early years of your Bristow mortgage, nearly all of every monthly payment is interest. This means you are only paying off a tiny bit of the loan principal, but it is good news in terms of tax savings.
The monthly payment for a $100,000, 30-year, 8% mortgage on your Bristow would be about $734. In the first year of your mortgage, $7,970 of your $8,805 payment or 91% would be deductible as mortgage interest. Even in the tenth year, almost 81% of your payments would be deductible. What this is worth to you depends on your tax bracket but this tax savings built into the home-buying equation is why you can afford to make higher mortgage payments than your current rent payments without squeezing your budget. There is no similar tax subsidy for renters.
When Bristow Does Not Sell
Here is where your agent’s expertise and diligence comes into play. A top agent will consider what similar Bristow have sold for within the last 3 to 6 months and compare those homes condition, features and location with your home. If there are no comparable sales in the area, which is often the case with custom or one-of-a-kind properties, the agent may suggest that you obtain a formal appraisal.
A homeowner who must sell and sell quickly needs to price their Bristow at or slightly below market to ensure a quick sale. A different homeowner may want to sell but has time and wants to get the top market price. These homeowners will often price the home slightly above current market prices and expect interested buyers to offer a lower amount to start the negotiation.
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