FALL FESTIVAL FOR HOME BUYING!!

 Buyers, f you want to get a good deal, your odds are best to buy a house during the fall and winter months. Now that Halloween is over, don't be afraid to buy your new home!

Year after year, closings in January tend to show a dip in prices, suggesting that buyers who made offers in November and December got the best deals. In the summer of 2014, for example, median home prices climbed past $220,000, only to drop below $200,000 in January of 2015. Median home prices nearly hit $240,000 the following summer, only to move down again in the late fall.


Knowing this, many sellers don’t list their homes later in the year, and many pull their listings in the late fall in hopes of starting fresh in the spring. Sellers who stick with it, though, are the most motivated. 

A RealtyTrac analysis of home sales over the past 15 years pegged October as the best month to buy at a discount, 2.6% less than the fair market value at that time. Buyers who shop later in the year may be able to negotiate a better price.

Call Team Red and let us help you find your next home. If you were already thinking that you wanted to buy a new home soon, this might just be the perfect time to find your dream house and pay a little less and get your new mortgage while the interest rates are still historically low.

Home Inspections

The Importance of Home Inspections


When it comes to selling your home, the last thing you want to do is hold up a sale because of a simple problem that could have been identified by investing in a home inspection. While it may not be the No. 1 item on your to-do list as you prepare to list your home, a home inspection is an integral piece of the puzzle. Bringing to light any problems or issues that need to be addressed, a home inspection can save you a lot of time, money and headaches.

By the same token, if you are buying a home, you definitely want to have a licensed Home Inspector look at your new home-to-be!

Frank and Cathy will take you through each step of the home-buying or home-selling process. Call us at 205-335-5554 or 205-572-2557 for all your real estate needs. They will make the process easier for you and make your Real Estate transactions a pleasant experience. Cathy and Frank take each client's needs very seriously. Our goal is to provide a higher level of customer service in this business of Real Estate. We would ask you to give us the chance to show you what customer service is all about.

Here are some of the most common problems a home inspector can unearth.

Bedroom Windows.

All rooms listed as bedrooms must have an operating window with 30 square feet of clearance for fire escape. Bedrooms must also have heat. If a home is listed with three bedrooms, and one does not meet both these requirements, it cannot legally be called a bedroom.

Furnaces and Compressors.

Rust in the heat exchange is a common problem that shows up during home inspections. Another common problem involves missing insulation where required by code at the time the house was built, or an improvement or replacement was installed.

Electrical Issues.

Common electrical code violations include electrical junctions not enclosed in a junction box, a lack of GFCI outlets in bathrooms and kitchens, or reverse-polarity on outlets. These are inexpensive things to repair, but by not doing so, it can hold up a sale.

Lifesaving Equipment.

Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are required by law in most states, and not having them will be considered a code violation.

Plumbing.

A number of plumbing issues are very common, with violations ranging from dripping faucets to loose toilets and improper drainage.

Structural Problems.

While these can be more expensive to fix, if they aren’t taken care of properly, they can prolong a sale. Violations in this area include rotten wood trim around windows and doors, rotten or cracked siding and missing flashing on roofs or above windows and doors.

Extra Rooms.

If you had your basement fixed up at some point while living in the home, or even added a sunroom, be sure you have the proper permits in place. This will need to be taken care of before any sale can go through.
Don’t put your home sale in jeopardy because of code violations that can be easily fixed. Hire an inspector, make the necessary changes and enjoy the comfort it brings when the closing comes to fruition.

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