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Selling to a VA Home Buyer

Selling to a VA Home Buyer

Important News and Info

If you’re selling your home, it’s time to get familiar with the VA home loan — yes, even if you aren’t military yourself. Here’s why. Veterans or active duty military homebuyers are likely to use the VA loan when purchasing a home.

 

What you’ll learn in this article:
  • What is the VA loan?
  • Preparing Your Home to Sell
  • Research Housing Rates for Your Area
  • Market to Military
  • Meeting VA Requirements
  • The VA Home Inspection

What is the VA loan?

For those of you unfamiliar with it, the VA helps those who are eligible purchase a home at a competitive interest rate, often without requiring a down payment or private mortgage insurance. That means that they not only offer zero down payment loans, but also have lower credit requirements than alternative financing options.

As you can imagine (or have used yourself), the VA loan is a popular choice. So if you’re near a military installation, the likelihood of your potential buyers using this lending option skyrockets. Don’t be mistaken, while there are duty stations tucked away on their own, there are plenty positioned in the heart of major cities that you might not even realize. The point? Thorough research can help you to consider all aspects of the buyers in your area. As a home seller in a heavily dominated market, consider getting to know the lending terms of the VA loan and how to market to VA home loan buyers.

Preparing Your Home to Sell to a VA Home Loan Buyer

There are a couple of key things to know about selling your home to a VA home loan buyer.

“One is that there isn’t a safer bet to close on the market. VA loans have had a higher average closing success rate than conventional loans over the last five years. The other piece is that sellers are not required to pay any costs on behalf of a VA buyer. There’s a misconception that sellers have to pay a VA buyer’s closing costs or are on the hook for repairs if the VA appraisal turns up issues. This isn’t a zero-sum situation, and both are matters of negotiation between buyer and seller.”  — Chris Birk, Director of Education for Veterans United Home Loans and the author of The Book on VA Loans: An Essential Guide to Maximizing Your Home Loan Benefits.

Research the Local Housing Rates for Your Area

Here’s an interesting fact: you can look up how much military servicemembers and their families are allotted each month for housing. It’s called the Basic Housing Allowance (BAH). While it isn’t a perfect representation of each family’s personal budget, it does provide a decent baseline to understand where your property falls into the mix.

How?

  • Use the Department of Defense’s Basic Housing Allowance calculator to learn how much service members in your area are paid each month.
  • Enter your zip code and a pay grade. Unless you live close to the Pentagon, you’ll be better served by estimating housing rates on low to mid-level pay grades, such as an O3 or E5.

Estimate the mortgage payment for your property. 

Using a mortgage calculator, such as MortgageCalculator.org or Bankrate’s mortgage calculator, you can input your asking price, property tax, and estimated homeowner’s insurance. Consider adding two to three percent to your asking price to account for the VA funding fee for first- or second-time VA homebuyers.

Do the math.

Given the BAH for the local area and the cost of your home, will military homebuyers in your area be able to afford the monthly mortgage payment for a zero down payment VA loan? If your home sale price fits the military homebuyer’s budget, then great! It’s time to market to the military community. If not, homebuyers have the option to purchase your home with an alternative loan product—like state down payment assistance programs and FHA loans. However, for those who qualify, the terms of the VA loan are hard to beat.

If you’re in a tough selling market, consider working with your real estate agent to target homebuyers who may be eligible for these products.

Market to Military 

When you market to military homebuyers, you’re working with a unique clientele who, unlike any other homebuyer, operate on a time crunch.

Since military families receive PCS orders for an average of three years, they don’t have the luxury to take weeks or months to find a home to buy. Instead, many families find a home within just a few days.

Knowing this about the military home buying market will help you understand why it’s critical to have great photos, a detailed description of your property’s layout, and a video home tour. Each of these marketing tools will help ensure that you make it onto your military homebuyer’s shortlist of potential homes.

The Logistics: Meeting the Requirements of the VA

The process takes longer when you sell to someone who is using a VA Home Loan than that of most other mortgages. 

One way to expedite this process is to make sure that there aren’t any repair issues with your home that may cause either delays for repair or an outright rejection of your home. While the home buyer is required to pay for the inspection and appraisal, it’s not a bad idea to conduct your own pre-inspection with the intent to get your house ready to sell quickly.

For a few hundred dollars, you can mitigate this situation by hiring an inspector who is familiar with VA requirements. Consider it money well spent, as the VA loan follows a set of Minimum Property Requirements (MPRs) set to ensure that the property is safe, sanitary, and habitable.

VA Home Appraisal 

“The appraisal process looks a bit different. Beyond the typical home valuation, the VA also considers broad property condition requirements. These Minimum Property Requirements are rooted ensuring Veterans are purchasing homes that are safe, sound, and sanitary. This assessment isn’t as in-depth as a home inspection, and any issues raised by the appraiser can be addressed in order to keep the deal moving forward.” — Chris Birk

Common things evaluated by the home appraiser: 
  • Heating and electricity. If the home has a wood-burning stove, is there a backup system?
  • Water. Does the home have a water heater and access to drinking water and a working septic?
  • The roof. Does the roof have a substantial amount of life left? Are there any leaks?
  • Access. Can you reach the property by foot or car by way a private or public road year-round?
  • Defects and deterioration. Is the home free of defects to include poor construction, or wood-eating insects like termites?
  • Paint. Is there any lead-based paint that’s chipping or peeling that needs repaired?
  • The location. Is the home located on a gas or petroleum pipeline or near high-voltage electric lines?

Tips for finding a home inspector: 

  • Get recommendations. You can’t be expected to know the local professionals when you’re new to the area. Check with your real estate agent, loan officer, or experienced friends who can point you in toward a respected home inspector.
  • Look within reputable organizations. Organizations like the American Society of Home Inspectors and the National Association of Home Inspectors require certifications for membership. Finding a local who belongs to one of these groups assures a high standard of service.
  • Know your state laws. Licensing requirements vary from state to state. If you’re unsure of yours, ask your real estate agent and make sure your home inspector meets the criteria.
  • Ask for a sample inspection report. Nothing is better to determine the quality of someone’s work than viewing a sample of their job. This can tell you a lot about an inspector’s level of experience. You’re looking to make sure the report is clear and that it includes images of any identified issues around the property. You’ll also want to see recommendations made for potential homebuyers.
  • Consider your budget. Home inspections aren’t free. The cost can vary depending on the provider, the size of the home, and location. However, they most often fall within $300 to $500.

VA Home Inspection 

Things the home inspector looks for: 

  • Structure. What’s the condition of the property’s construction (walls, floors, foundation, roof, and ceilings)?
  • Exterior.  How much life is left in the current siding, windows and trim? Looking at other features– how’s the exterior lighting and fences? Is there proper drainage based on grade and elevation?
  • Plumbing. What are the pipes made of? Is everything up to current standards to include the toilets, showers, sinks, faucets?
  • Systems. Are the chimney, fireplace, water heater, furnace, A/C unit, and septic system all in good working condition?
  • Roof and attic. Is the framing sound? Is there proper insulation and ventilation?
  • Electrical. Is the electrical wiring properly grounded?  Are all the light fixtures and the main electrical breaker safe and working correctly?
  • Appliances. What’s the condition of the appliances like the dishwasher, range, built-in microwave, garbage disposal, smoke detector, and any other relevant small appliances in the home?

At the end of the day, remember that VA home loan buyers want the same thing as everybody else: location, good schools, and more. The basics to preparing your home to sell for a VA home loan buyer are the same as most others; it’s simply a few particulars that keep you on your toes.

By Danielle Keech

 

 

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Johnson’s Sierra Lifestyle Team is experienced in working with VA buyers and sellers. We are here to guide you through the process.

How To Monitor Your Credit

How To Monitor Your Credit

Important News and Info

Way too many of us have a story about our credit card getting hacked or about being a victim of one of the massive data breaches in recent years. As technology becomes more and more a part of our financial lives, it becomes increasingly important to keep a close eye on our personal credit.

By monitoring your credit score and credit report, you can make sure you know if someone has opened unauthorized accounts in your name.

Monitoring your credit has the added bonus of helping you make sure your credit rating is where you need it to be.

The Easiest Ways To Monitor Your Credit

To put this task in “set it and forget it” mode, you should set up an account with at least one website designed to monitor your credit. (If you’ve frozen your credit, you’ll need to unfreeze it with at least one credit bureau first.)

Monitoring Your Credit With Credit Karma and Credit Sesame

When we talk about monitoring your credit, we’re talking about keeping an eye on both your credit reports and your credit scores.

Credit reports include all the details on your credit accounts, both current and closed. The reports track payments and other information for every loan, credit card and line of credit you have. 

Your credit scores are numbers based on that credit history and activity.

If you have any credit history at all, the “big three” credit bureaus — TransUnion, Experian and Equifax — will each have both a credit report and a credit score associated with your accounts. The good news is that you can access all of this information for free online.

Credit Karma

Money expert Clark Howard’s favorite site for monitoring your credit is Credit Karma. This site lets you keep tabs on your credit score and view credit reports for free. Once you set up your account, you’ll get:

  • Your estimated credit scores from TransUnion and Equifax
  • Access to your credit reports from TransUnion and Equifax
  • The option to get an alert when your credit score changes or something is added to your credit report (credit monitoring)
  • Additional services including identity monitoring, free tax filing, and access to your auto insurance score

Again, you will need to set up your Credit Karma account before you freeze your credit, or you’ll need to unfreeze your credit in order to sign up.

Read more about signing up for Credit Karma here.

Credit Sesame

Credit Sesame is a site similar to Credit Karma but doesn’t offer quite as many services. It’s also largely free and signing up gets you:

  • Your estimated credit score from TransUnion
  • The option to get alerts when your credit score changes or something is added to your credit report (credit monitoring)
  • Additional services such as identity protection and limited identity theft insurance

Unlike Credit Karma, Credit Sesame does not give you free access to any of your credit reports.

Read more about signing up for Credit Sesame here.

Other Ways To Monitor Your Credit

You may have noticed that neither Credit Karma nor Credit Sesame gives you access to your Experian credit report and score. But you can get your reports for free directly from both Experian and Equifax by creating online accounts with them (Experian also includes your credit score):

TransUnion does not currently provide free access to your credit report.

However, by law, you are entitled to one free copy of your credit report per year from each of the bureaus. AnnualCreditReport.com is the only place authorized by the federal government to give you access to all three at once.

Read more about the different ways to get your free credit reports here.

Final Thought: Freezing Your Credit

While monitoring your credit is crucial, it still means that you’ll find out if someone else has opened a credit line in your name only after the fact. So you should freeze your credit with all three major credit bureaus.

With a credit freeze in place, no one (not even you) will be able to open a new line of credit in your name without first unfreezing your credit — which only you should be able to do.

Get step-by-step instructions for freezing your credit with all three credit bureaus here.

Written by Clark.com Staff

https://clark.com/credit/how-to-monitor-credit/

Fire Ready Go Bag Check List

Fire Ready Go Bag Check List

Important News and Info

Living where we do in the foothills, among the trees and beauty of nature means that we may at some time be faced with the threat of wildfire. What can we do to be prepared if that time arises?

Well, let’s think about your situation. Do you have pets,  medications, pictures, and important documents? Of course, you do! We all have something we couldn’t bear to lose or at the very least would make life difficult if we did.  Let’s make a list and prepare a bag now. My emergency checklist may be different than yours so really think about it and make changes as needed so you don’t have to think about it when under the pressure of evacuation. Get your emergency go bag ready, NOW. Here is a sample checklist. Print the PDF and hang it up where you can easily see it. Place items in a bag or laundry basket where they are easy to grab on your way out the door.

Pack your go bag so you can grab it and go!

 

EMERGENCY EVACUATION GO BAG CHECKLIST: Click here for a printable version

Emergency Go Bag Checklist

Important documents

  • Birth certificates

  • Driver’s license

  • Social security cards

  • Passports

  • A list of personal contacts

  • Proof of insurance

  • Pink slips for cars

  • Deed to your house

  • Life insurance policies

  • Passwords

  • Thumb drive/memory card

  • Laptop

Supplies

  • Fire extinguisher

  • First aid kit

  • Flashlights

  • Extra batteries

  • Phone chargers

  • Food and water, 3 day supply

Medications- prescription and non-prescription

 

Pets

  • Carrying crates

  • Medications

  • Food/water for three days

  • Leashes

  • Food bowls

Personal items

  • One change of clothing and shoes for every member of the family

  • toothbrush/toothpaste

  • Hairbrush

Items that cannot be replaced

  • Special photographs

  • Family Recipes

Other items to consider adding to your emergency go bag

  • Eyeglasses, contacts, contact solution

  • Infant formula, wipes, bottles, diapers

  • Sleeping bags or blankets and pillows for each person in the household

  • Feminine hygiene items

  • Paper plates, bowls, plasticware, cups

  • Paper and pen

  • Books, games, puzzles

 

Let’s make a list and prepare a bag NOW.

Click here for a printable version

Fire Ready Go Bag Check List

Nevada County Fire Preparedness

Important News and Info

Living where we do in the foothills, amongst the trees and beauty of nature means that we may at some time be faced with the threat of wildfire. What can we do to be prepared if that time arises? Well, let’s think about your situation. Do you have pets,  medications, pictures, and important documents? Of course, you do! We all have something we couldn’t bear to lose or at the very least would make life difficult if we did.  Let’s make a list and prepare a bag now while there is no immediate threat. My emergency checklist may be different than yours so really think about it and make changes as needed so you don’t have to think about it when under the pressure of evacuation. Get your emergency go bag ready, NOW. Here is a sample checklist. Print this out and hang it up where you can easily see it. Place items in a bag or laundry basket where they are easy to grab on your way out the door.

Pack your go bag so you can grab it and go!

EMERGENCY EVACUATION GO BAG CHECKLIST

Important documents

  • Birth certificates

  • Driver’s license

  • Social security cards

  • Passports

  • A list of personal contacts

  • Proof of insurance

  • Pink slips for cars

  • Deed to your house

  • Life insurance policies

  • Passwords

  • Thumb drive/memory card

  • Laptop

  • Other___________________________________

  • Other___________________________________

  • Other___________________________________

Supplies

  • Fire extinguisher

  • First aid kit

  • Flashlights

  • Extra batteries

  • Phone chargers

  • Food and water, 3 day supply

  • Other ______________________________________

  • Other ______________________________________

  • Other_______________________________________

Medications- prescription and non-prescription

  • _______________________________________

  • _______________________________________

Pets

  • Carrying crates

  • Medications

  • Food/water for three days

  • Leashes

  • Food bowls

  • Other __________________________________

  • Other __________________________________

  • Other __________________________________

Personal items

  • One change of clothing and shoes for every member of the family

  • toothbrush/toothpaste

  • Hairbrush

  • Other ______________________________________

  • Other ______________________________________

  • Other ______________________________________

Items that cannot be replaced

  • Special photographs

  • Family Recipes

  • Other ______________________________________

  • Other ______________________________________

  • Other ______________________________________

Other items to consider adding to your emergency go bag

  • Eyeglasses, contacts, contact solution

  • Infant formula, wipes, bottles, diapers

  • Sleeping bags or blankets and pillows for each person in the household

  • Feminine hygiene items

  • Paper plates, bowls, plasticware, cups

  • Paper and pen

  • Books, games, puzzles

Click here for a printable version of this checklist

Cool Weather Gardening in Nevada County

Cool Weather Gardening in Nevada County

Important News and Info, Lifestyle

Fall Gardening in Nevada County

Harvesting from the garden can be so rewarding, especially when you know what to look for.

One of our favorites in Nevada County this year is watermelon. You can tell when the melons are ripe by the small leaf that grows in the V of the stem that comes off of the melon. When this is dried and crispy you can be assured that your melon will be ripe and juicy. My seven-year-old son goes out to the garden daily to check. I’m lucky I was even able to get a picture before he picked it.

Ground cherries are another thing that have done really well in our garden. We’ve had hundreds of them, not only do the kids like to munch on them, but the chickens go crazy over them. They kind of taste like a sweet tomato. You know they are ripe when the wrapper turns brown and it falls to the ground. We discovered that letting them sit on the ground for a few days makes them even sweeter.

As the temperatures get cooler in the foothills, and the summer crops are starting to fade, we are preparing for our cool weather garden. I love to visit local nurseries and plant sales to see what is available.

If you would like to pick up some great veggie starts for your cool weather garden the Master Gardeners of Nevada County will be having their Fall plant sale coming up on Saturday, September 22 from 9-12, at The Demonstration Garden, 1036 W. Main Street in Grass Valley (on the NID grounds). http://ncmg.ucanr.org/.  Hope to see you there!

Brakes On The Real Estate Market

Brakes On The Real Estate Market

Important News and Info, Real Estate

Low Inventory Plagues The  Market

Inventory levels of existing homes continue to act as brakes on the Real Estate Market.  If you are a buyer looking for a home, you are likely abundantly aware of that reality.  You are not alone. Shortages of existing homes are common in most markets in the United States. In fact, in 4 of the past 5 months, sales of existing homes dropped. August saw increases in the Northeast and Midwest, offset by decreases in the south and West.

Existing home sales fell in August 1.7% to 5.35 million nationwide, the lowest levels in nearly a year. Demand among buyers remains high, fueled by employment gains, rising incomes and low mortgage rates…great news for those selling their house!  Low inventories put upward pressure on prices. Hurricane Harvey in Houston, and Irma in Florida will contribute to lower levels of deals closed in those area this year and likely into 2018.

Key Stats

Total housing inventory at the end of August dropped 2.1% to 1.88 million existing homes available for sale nationwide, 6.5% lower than a year ago. All-cash transactions were 20% of the market with 15% of those individual investors.

What’s Up In Nevada County Real Estate?

Third quarter Nevada County Real Estate sales are up 11.4%. Number of homes for sale average 420 per month. Number of homes sold average 135 per month. Average price per square foot in Nevada County is about $220 per square foot. Average days on market has been running at about 40 days. Average sales prices are in the mid $400,000s. Average prices FOR SALE are in the mid $600,000s.

Nevada County Real Estate And You

What does this mean for Sellers and Buyers in Nevada City, Grass Valley, Penn Valley, Alta Sierra and South County?  If you are a seller with a well-priced home in good condition, you are likely to be doing a happy dance within two months of listing your property. If you are a buyer, do your due diligence and be ready to pull the trigger on an offer when that just-right house hits the market. Have a professional, well educated real-estate agent on your side to negotiate and advocate for your interests.  And… welcome to the best places in the world to live…in Nevada City, Grass Valley, Alta Sierra, Penn Valley and surrounding communities.

Source: Realtor Magazine & Nevada County Association Of Realtors Statistics