Do you love reading awesome real estate content? If so, you’ve come to the right place with the latest real estate roundup we publish every month. Beat the dog days of summer with the best real estate reads of July 2021.

Articles ranging from home improvement, financing, selling a home, and homeownership can all be found here! Let’s take a deep dive so you can get caught up on some essential real estate topics.

Obtaining A Loan With Bad Credit

For many people who buy a house, getting a mortgage is a vital part of the purchase. One large factor in getting a loan is your credit score. So can you buy a house with bad credit?

You certainly can!! But buying a home with less than perfect credit does present its challenges, as Bill Gassett, a Hopkinton MA real estate agent, points out. There are bad credit home loans available to purchase a house. Start with trying to improve your credit first. Small tweaks in your credit profile can sometimes return big results. And, a better credit score saves you money.

But if you still cannot get your credit score up, don’t worry; there are still options for borrowers with bad credit. The FHA loan is a popular loan program to look at if you have poor to fair credit. Take a look at the extensive options available to you to get a bad credit home loan.

Debt To Income Ratio

When we talk about getting a mortgage, not only is a credit score important, but so is the debt to income ratio. It is a major qualifying factor your lender will use when underwriting your loan.

Luke Skar explains that it’s a simple calculation comparing the amount of money you make to the amount of debt you pay every month. Most current loan programs will allow monthly debt to be between 41-43% of your total income. Some loan programs are more; some are less.

What does that monthly debt include: housing expense (principal, interest, property tax, insurance, HOA fees), car loans, student loans, minimum payments on credit cards, personal loans, etc.

Best Real Estate Articles July 2021

Finishing A Basement

Finishing a home basement is a home improvement project that many homeowners take on. A finished basement adds valuable living space and can increase your home’s value.

But before starting any home improvement project, one must consider the cost of the project versus the value increase in your home…. Cost vs. Value. Don’t assume that you will recoup every dollar you spend on your basement remodel will return the same amount in the additional value in your home. Very few, if any, home improvement projects return dollar for dollar.

Kevin Vitali, a Haverhill MA real estate agent, suggests getting the moisture in your basement under control first. Make sure your basement does not have any water penetration and control the moisture from condensation.

Things to Consider Before You Ship a Car

Did you just find out that a new job will be bringing you from the east coast to the west coast? There will be a lot to do when it comes to such a long-distance move. One of those tasks will be how to get your car to the new destination. Does it make sense to hire a car shipping company, or should you do it yourself?

Most people opt to hire a professional company due to time constraints. You will have quite a bit going on in your life already, so the time involved with transporting a car will only complicate matters.

Before starting this adventure, you should understand some of the vital things to know about moving a car. Take a look at this excellent resource for some car shipping tips. You’ll be glad you did.

What to Know About Physically Moving a Home

When you find a home you really love, it is tough to let go. A house becomes a home because of all the lasting memories that are created. Sometimes packing up and moving doesn’t fit the bill. If this sounds like you, one of your options may be to physically move the house from one location to another. But what does this involve?

Take a look at everything you need to know when you’re contemplating moving a house. Learn some of the vital considerations such as cost. Educate yourself to understand all of the pros and cons when relocating a home.

Automating Your Home

Younger generation home buyers are starting to expect home automation. Home automation allows you to perform some simple tasks, monitor, and secure your home.

Paul Sian, a real estate agent in Cincinnati, OH, suggests home automation can protect your home even when you are not home.

Have a finished basement? A water sensor can alert you of water penetration in your basement, allowing you to catch it before a problem.

Away in the winter, and the heat goes out? You can get an alert to your phone and prevent costly repairs from a frozen pipe bursting.

Home automation can be quite simple and inexpensive and can save you a lot of aggravation down the road.

Selling a Tenant Occupied Property

Selling a home can be challenging on its own. But selling a tenant-occupied property adds an extra layer of difficulty, as Sharon Paxson, a Newport Beach CA real estate agent, points out. You have to coordinate showing among all the tenants, get the property in showing condition, etc.….

Selling a home that you are renting out, whether single-family or multi-family, puts fear in every tenant’s heart. They don’t know what is going to happen with their situation, and they are nervous. Talk to your tenants and make sure everyone has a solid understanding of what is going on.

You need your tenants to co-operate for a successful home sale. Sharon gives us 8 tips for selling a tenant-occupied property.

How Do Real Estate Agents Get Paid?

Wondering how a real estate agent gets paid? It’s pretty simple. Whether they are working with a buyer or a seller, an agent is paid a commission usually based on a percentage of the sale. If the agent doesn’t close, they don’t get paid.

Vicki Moore, a Pacifica California real estate agent, explains how an agent gets paid. If you are thinking of entering the real estate industry as an agent, it is good to know how and when you will get paid.

But it doesn’t end at the closing. Commissions are split with the office you work for, and every agent will have expenses for maintaining and running their business they must pay out of the commissions they receive.

Selling a Home to a Family Member

When you are selling a home to someone you don’t know, it is pretty straightforward. Quite often, you may never meet the buyer until the closing. Most of the time, a real estate agent works as an insulator between a buyer and seller. What happens, though, when you sell to a family member? What are some of the most vital considerations?

Take a look at the excellent article put together by Upnest here at Massachusetts Real Estate News. Get some solid tips and advice on the most important things to think about before dealing with a close family member.

How To Clean A Basement

Even if your basement isn’t finished, it can be a valuable commodity for homeowners. It makes for great storage space. But sometimes our basements can get out of control over the years.

Alex Capozzolo, a San Fransisco real estate agent, provides 6 tips for cleaning your basement.

Effectively cleaning your basement starts with pairing down the items you have stored. Often we tend to save items that we no longer use. A good rule of thumb is if you haven’t used a particular item, it is time to get rid of it.

House Flipping Mistakes To Avoid

The home flipping shows we see on Reality TV make it look so easy, and the profits look huge. But flipping a home for the inexperienced can turn into a nightmare.

Michelle Gibson, a Wellington, FL real estate agent, provides 7 expensive house flipping mistakes to avoid.

It first starts with picking the right house to flip. Just because a home is inexpensive, it does not mean it is a good flip. You must consider the market, the home amenities, the location, and the cost to fix the home for a profit.

Previous Best of Real Estate Articles

 

Kevin Vitali

 

About the author: Kevin Vitali of EXIT Realty provides this month’s real estate roundup. Kevin is an experienced agent with 20 years under his belt. Let Kevin put that experience to work for you on the sale or purchase of a new home.