Tradewater Realty

Welcome back to our blog series on navigating the home buying process as smoothly as possible. In our previous post, we discussed the importance of getting pre-approved for a mortgage. Now that you have that crucial step out of the way, it's time to dive into the exciting part: starting your home search. As an experienced real estate agent, I understand that the home buying journey can feel overwhelming. That's why I've put together this step-by-step guide to help you find the perfect home that suits your needs, wants, and budget. ### Step 1: Determine Your Must-Haves and Deal-Breakers Before you start browsing through listings, it's essential to establish a clear vision of what you're looking for in a home. Take some time to make a list of your must-haves, such as the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, and location. Then, jot down some deal-breakers that would make a property a no-go for you (e.g., proximity to a busy street, lack of parking...

Buying a house is a significant investment, and it's important to determine your budget before starting the home buying process. In this blog post, we'll provide tips on how to calculate your budget when buying a house. 1. Assess Your Finances The first step to calculating your budget is to assess your finances. You need to determine how much you can afford to spend on a monthly mortgage payment. Consider your income, expenses, and debt when making this calculation. You may want to use a mortgage calculator to help you get an idea of what your monthly payments could be. 2. Calculate Your Down Payment Your down payment is the amount of money you pay upfront towards the purchase of your home. Generally, the standard down payment is 20% of the purchase price of the house, but some lenders may allow you to put down less. A larger down payment means a lower monthly mortgage payment. You can use an online down payment calculator to see how much you may need to save for a ...

Congratulations on deciding to buy your first home! It's a big step, and at Tradewater Realty, we're here to help make the process as smooth and stress-free as possible. In this post, we'll walk you through the home buying process from start to finish, so you can feel confident and informed every step of the way. Step 1: Determine Your Budget The first step in the home buying process is to determine your budget. This will help you narrow down your search and ensure you're looking at homes you can afford. Consider your income, expenses, and any debt you have. You'll also need to factor in the down payment and closing costs.  At Tradewater Realty, we can help you get a better idea of what you can afford. Use our mortgage calculator to estimate your monthly payments, and contact us to get pre-approved for a mortgage. Step 2: Start Your Home Search Once you have your budget and pre-approval in place, it's time to start your home search. Work with a Trade...

As an appraiser, one of my main jobs is to figure out how much a property is worth. When I'm doing this, I have to think about a lot of different things, like where the property is, how big it is, what condition it's in, and how old it is. When it comes to age, there are two different ways we talk about it in appraisals: actual age and effective age. Actual age is just how many years it's been since the property was built. This is based on official documents, like building permits, that tell us when the property was constructed. Effective age is a little different. It's more about how the property looks and works right now, and is based on things like how well it's been maintained and whether it's been updated or renovated over the years. For example, a property that was built 50 years ago might have an actual age of 50, but if it's been taken care of really well and looks like it's in great condition, we might say its effective age is lower. On the othe...