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3683 Colonial Dr. Hilliard, OH 43026

July 12, 2019 by The Columbus Team

Mortgages and Credit Repair

July 8, 2019 by The Columbus Team

Buying a home is a major purchase and having bad credit is an obstacle. Your ability to obtain a mortgage is contingent on your credit score, employment, and overall financial picture, often heavily influenced by your FICO score. Your FICO score will influence your interest rate and subsequently your loan payments. However, if your credit isn’t perfect at this time, don’t let this deter your goal of buying a home. Instead, the desire to purchase a home can be a motivator to attend to your credit repair.

In a competitive Real Estate market, home sellers and REALTORS®, will be unlikely to consider your offer if it doesn’t include a pre-approval letter from your Mortgage Lender. Before you make your offer, improving your credit score can greatly affect the interest rate of your mortgage loan and ultimately the cost of your new home. We recommend embarking on a credit repair at least one year before you are ready to make an offer on a property. Talk with your REALTOR® to help you locate a great Lender that will work with you to repair your credit history.

Likely you will want to consider a twofold approach:

1) Dispute any negative information on your report; and

2) Rebuild positive credit and good financial habits moving forward.

The following are tips for improving your credit score:

Pay your bills on time. Set up payment reminders to ensure you pay all your bills on time. Missing credit payments is one of the biggest contributors to bad credit.
Reduce your debt. Come up with a realistic plan to reduce any debt you have, whether it’s credit card debt, student loans, etc. Even if you close an account, the debt will still show up on your credit report. If your debt is significant, consider meeting with a financial planner.
Manage your credit cards responsibly. Credit cards can actually improve your credit as long as you pay your bill on time and keep your balance below 30%.
Pay off debt instead of moving it around. It’s better to pay your debt on each credit card you have open rather than lumping it into one payment. Paying your debt and managing your debt ratio can actually lower your credit score.

We have many excellent lenders in the Columbus area and The Columbus Team REALTORS® will be happy to help you choose a Lender to help you obtain a mortgage. A lender will take an in-depth look at your household income and expenses, and they can tell you what mortgage payment would be best based on your current debt-to-income ratio.

Columbus Still Top 10 Hottest Housing Market!

June 25, 2019 by The Columbus Team

Columbus was THE hottest housing market in March 2019, and has maintained its place in the Top 10 US cities with 10 of those months being in a Top 5 position.

The fact that Columbus is still a Top 10 housing market is not a surprise to those of us who live here and know what Columbus offers its residents. Exceptional food, fun events, sports, education, medical facilities, technology and a great environment for business are only some of the reason we love living here!

Columbus maintains a hot housing market!

(June 21, 2019 – Columbus OH) – Columbus, Ohio has remained in the list of top ten hottest real estate markets in America since March 2018, based on rising demand and how long it takes to sell a home.

In ten of those 15 months, Columbus ranked in the top five, rising to #1 in March of this year.

“We’re not surprised by the avid interest in homeownership in this area,” said John Myers, 2019 Columbus REALTORS® President. “Columbus is the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the Midwest. We offer a business-friendly environment as well as a plethora of things to do, events, entertainment, and an abundance of incredible culinary options. It’s not a shock that people want to live here!”

The 3,200 home sales last month in central Ohio was 5.6 percent higher than a year ago and over 20 percent more than April. Year to date, home sales are just 0.2 percent above the 2018 sales rate primarily due to the lack of inventory.

There were 4,397 homes newly listed for sale in May. Although a modest increase of 0.1 percent from a year ago, they jumped 18.5 percent from the previous month (April).

As a result of the new listings, total inventory increased 16.5 percent from April, but remained only 0.1 percent up higher than May of 2018 according to the Columbus REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service.

The ten school districts that saw the highest number of new listings in May included Columbus, South-Western, Olentangy, Dublin, Westerville, Hilliard, Pickerington, Upper Arlington, Worthington and Lancaster.

Not surprising, several of the above made the list of top ten school districts that saw the highest number of home sales – Columbus, South-Western, Hilliard, Dublin, Olentangy, Westerville, Pickerington, Worthington, Newark and Upper Arlington.

Prices continue to rise in central Ohio! The average sales price of a home sold in May was $253,531, up 7.8 percent from one year ago. The median sales price was $220,000, also up 7.8 percent from 2018.

“Although, increased home prices might seem like a deterrent, the drop in mortgage interest rates over the past three months means that housing affordability is the best it’s been in a year,” added Myers.

Current housing report – May 2019

Columbus REALTORS® is comprised of almost 8,000 real estate professionals engaged in residential sales and leasing, commercial sales and leasing, property management, appraisal, consultation, real estate syndication, land development and more.

The Columbus REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service (MLS) serves all of Franklin, Delaware, Fayette, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Pickaway and Union Counties and parts of Athens, Champaign, Clark, Clinton, Fairfield, Hocking, Knox, Logan, Marion, Muskingum, Perry and Ross counties.

Advice for First Time Home Buyers

June 24, 2019 by The Columbus Team

Buying a house for the first time can churn up all kinds of emotions. From exhilarating to nerve-racking, it’s an experience that you will need to be prepared for. We’ve put together some advice for first time home buyers to make your purchase run as smoothly as possible.

An important step is to go see a lender. It’s easy to miss this step when you’re wrapped up in the excitement and anticipation of your first home, but meeting with a lender, or multiple lenders, to find the best financing option for you is vital to the process. (If you don’t know where to start, we have a list of reliable lender contacts)

Having a lender allows first-time homebuyers to have good negotiating power right from the start. Your lender can go over your credit history and provide you with helpful advice on how to handle any issues that may hold you back from purchasing. If your credit is good, lenders will pre-approve you for a home you can afford. This gives you the advantage of knowing just what your price range truly is and will help manage your expectations. A lender can tell you exactly how much you’ll have to put up for down payments and closing costs which allows you to present the best possible firm offer for a home you like. This is very attractive to sellers, especially in our current market.

Once you’re pre-approved, you will know the following:

The maximum price you can afford. This will allow you to make a firm offer as well as move quickly on a house that may get other bids.
How much money you need for down payment and closing costs.
How much the seller will need to help with closing costs, if necessary. Discussing closing costs from the beginning can ensure you don’t lose the home during negotiations.
If you have any credit issues and how you can resolve them.
If you have been pre-approved for the loan. This is very attractive to sellers.
That your paperwork has been submitted and processed. Therefore, you will not have lengthy waits for the bank to evaluate your credit, etc. when you’re ready to make an offer on a house.
How long it will take for final approval of your loan.

You now know what you can afford, what you can offer, and what you need to negotiate from the seller. As a first-time homebuyer, you’ll have the facts and be ready to purchase your home.

Now comes the fun part, shopping for your dream home!

We’re here to help first-time homebuyers. Contact our team today and we’ll walk you through each step of the process. We look forward to introducing you to your first home!

Make Your Home More Energy Efficient

June 10, 2019 by The Columbus Team

Many people are looking for ways to make their homes more energy efficient. The reasons vary from saving money on utility bills, helping the environment, and increasing the value of their home. Some of the ways to do this require significant changes to your home, and others can be smaller changes.

Invest in New Doors and Windows

While this is a major expense, getting new energy efficient windows and doors can really help with the utility bill. The latest windows are double paned and offer excellent insulation. Some options even come with tinting, another value-add to the efficiency. When it comes to doors, make sure you are choosing the right insulation for the Columbus climate. If you can’t afford new doors, adding an efficient storm door is a good alternative.

Replace Lightbulbs with LED bulbs

This is one of the easiest things to do. LED Bulbs are much more efficient than the old incandescent bulbs of the past. They are more expensive, but they also last much longer, making it a double money saver. You can buy LED bulbs for almost every lamp and lighting fixture you can purchase.

Check Your Insulation

If your home is not brand new, check your insulation. This is especially important if there were water leaks or damage to your roof. Insulation can settle if it is the fiberglass kind. So even if you had enough insulation when it was installed, it may not be enough now. You may only have to add to it and not completely replace it.

Install Energy Efficient Appliances

All new appliances are energy efficient, but even if you replaced your appliances five years ago, more efficient machines are out now. The biggest energy user besides a HVAC system is your clothes dryer. Replacing it can add significant savings to your energy bill. The other great thing about replacing appliances is that you can do them one at a time when your budget allows. Look for the Energy Star label on appliances.

Get a Tankless Water Heater

Think of all the energy you will save by not heating a bunch of water daily. Installing a tankless water heater means you have hot water only when you need it. Another advantage is there is a lot less chance of the water leaking from a tankless water heater than a traditional water heater. The tankless also takes up much less space. They are expensive to install, but long-term savings will outweigh this cost.

Making your home more energy efficient is a great selling point if you plan on selling your home in the future. Even if you aren’t planning to sell, making your home more energy efficient is a great way to save money. Doing all of these things will also help the environment because you are using less energy. Some of these improvements, such as installing energy efficient windows and doors, may qualify for a tax credit, check with your tax advisor or someone from our team.