Home Buying Risks. Lose 8% on Day 1! Hold LONG TERM! {Video}

Many Realtor blog posts will say “BUY NOW!!”, or “Interest rates can’t get lower!” Over here we first say DON’T BUY, ASK WHY (since 2006 when I had hair). Which means, let’s first figure out if buying is right for you, and THEN move forward. No “don’t want money on rent” B.S. Heck Rent is CHEAPER!!

Did you know the moment you buy a home, you lose 8% equity! For those of you that put down 10%, that is an 80% loss in your investment overnight, or with a stroke of a pen (actually hundreds of strokes, those damn stacks of closing paper).

Everyone has heard about the “Drive a new car off the lot” effect. Well this is the same. (on the flip side, most car values keep going downhill.)

I’m not trying to scare you, but just put into perspective how real and huge an investment this is. You better get it right, and have the right representation (subtle plug?? Contact us 3-6 months before you think you are ready! This ain’t a checkout in Target.). Did your mom’s friend’s agent warn you about this? Or that “great deal” agent? Probably not.

One of my first qualifying questions is “HOW LONG DO YOU PLAN ON LIVING IN (more…)

  • 2
  • March
  • 2013
Posted in Buying Risks., market timing | 6 Comments »

Death of the Starter Home?

(get sneak previews of posts by following my Tweets: @franklyrealty)

A Brilliant marketing executive came up with the idea of promoting the “Starter Home” (not to be confused with the “starter wife”). Buy a small home or condo… stay in it for two to four years, use the increase in value, “equity,” and buy a bigger a house.

Problem is an assumption was made: Maryland home prices will go up! And why not? Real estate went like 60 years without 1 annual drop nationwide. It was a no brainer. But when people don’t think, bad things happen.

If prices don’t go up, homebuyers are (more…)

  • 12
  • September
  • 2009
Posted in Buying Advice, market timing | 5 Comments »

Hurry for Tax Credits? Or WAIT?

Are you better off buying in Virginia DC and MD AFTER the tax credit expires? Maybe.

Everywhere you turn (even CNN.com) you read about the $8,000 1st time homebuyer tax credit and how you need to “Buy Now” (anybody remember that NAR ad from 2006?). Gotta hurry up before the Dec 1st Expiration!

(Sidenote: that expiration means you need to CLOSE by then. If you are looking for a short sale gamble, and you want the credit, you better get it under contract NOW. And everyone else, don’t be an idiot and schedule your closing on the 1st. At least close a week early. There will be a backlog, and hiccups, and you might miss your tax credit.)

So Warren Buffet says whenever you see a herd running in one direction, you are supposed to walk the other way. (more…)

  • 31
  • August
  • 2009
Posted in Buying Advice, market timing, Uncategorized | 10 Comments »

Market Bottom ALERT! I have 100% Proof!

 I officially have 100% proof that we have officially hit rock bottom.

No other indicators from NAR or the government have been as accurate as the proof that I have. I found a 100% correlation!

When My MOM SELLS, (more…)

  • 22
  • April
  • 2008
Posted in Buying Advice, Humor, market timing | 33 Comments »

UP 14%!? No, Down 26.2%!? DATA. What Is It Good For?

I was reading The Washington Post on Sat November 24 and I came across their “Real Estate Trends” report for Fairfax County. They compared the first 6 months of 2006 to the first 6 months of 2007, excluded condos, and they used data gathered through the courthouse (ie. not the MLS).

Out of the 47 zip codes, they said the #1 fastest growing zip code was 20170, Herndon at +14.4%. (more…)

  • 26
  • November
  • 2007
Posted in Buying Advice, data manipulation, market timing | 6 Comments »

Attn. Market Timers! The EXACT Best Day to Buy!

 Frankly, the #1 questions I get are market timing questions like: “Have we hit bottom?” and “Is NOW the time to buy?” Well, after months of thinking and market analysis I’ve discovered the EXACT time you should buy, down to the DAY!

So you no longer believe the “Buy Now!” campaign from the National Association of Realtors. Especially since The New York Times quotes the former Chief Economist David Lereah as acknowledging he had gotten it wrong (more…)

  • 4
  • September
  • 2007
Posted in Buying Advice, Don't Miss Best Of, market timing | 37 Comments »