Stage 5: Escrow, Inspections and Underwriting

Stage Five: Escrow, Inspections and Underwriting Insider Secret: It’s critical that you attend your home inspections. Why: When it comes to inspections, many first-time buyers expect that a home will either pass or fail.  Except in a few jurisdictions where the government imposes certain condition requirements for a home to be sold, the home inspection
Tagged under: , ,

Stage 4: Negotiations

Stage Four: Negotiations Insider Secret: Your family and friends can cause you to lose your dream home. Why: With so much information on the web and the news every day about the recession and the buyer’s market, everyone seems to be an armchair economist/real estate savant.  But much of that news is national and based
Tagged under: ,

Stage 3: House Hunting

Stage Three: House Hunting Insider Secret: “Distressed” doesn’t always equal “discounted” – in some cases, a “regular” sale can be a deeper deal. Why: Short sales and foreclosures have grown to comprise roughly 30 percent of the homes sold on today’s market, even higher in some areas. The average sale price of foreclosed homes was
Tagged under: , ,

Stage 2: Getting Pre-Approved

Stage Two: Getting Pre-Approved. Insider Secret: Working with a mortgage broker referred by your real estate broker or agent may save you money. Why: Bolstered by the real-life stories of a couple of bad apples, TV pundits and some consumer advocates have spun the tale of a real estate industry cartel, whereby sinister agents hook
Tagged under: , , ,

Stage 1: Deciding Whether It’s the Right Time to Buy

Buying a home is not a discrete event; it’s a process – a sequence of events that happens over time, sometimes over as long as several months or even years! Here’s to helping you make the best decisions at every phase of your homebuying process! Stage One: Deciding Whether It’s The Right Time to Buy.
Tagged under:

If you can qualify for a loan, now is the time to buy!

If you are able to get a loan, real estate is ‘as affordable as it gets’ according to data from Moody’s Analytics. Home affordability has returned to pre-housing bubble levels or even fallen below the average in many U.S. markets. In September 2010, the ratio of home prices to annual household income had fallen to
Tagged under: , , , , , , ,

Why “Now” is the time to buy!

•Mortgage rates continue to be at or near historical lows •Low rates and recalibrated home pricing is driving the highest level of “home affordability” in the history of this index •The challenge to the buying opportunity created by high affordability is relatively low consumer confidence given the economic recovery we are in •High affordability struggles
Tagged under: , ,

Home Ownership Offers Plenty of Tax Benefits

While renting offers zero tax breaks, buying a home offers several tax benefits that can make homeownership more affordable. The following are a few of the tax benefits to home ownership, according to Stephen Fishman, an author and lawyer who specializes in small business, tax and intellectual property law. ▪ Home mortgage interest deduction: Home owners
Tagged under: , , ,

Biggest Match of a Young Wrestler’s Life

When faced with adversity and challenges in life, it is best to stick together and show your support for one another.  Harriton High School (Lower Merion School District, Lower Merion, PA) Wrestling team knows this all too well.  When junior Austin Wortley was told he had Hodgkins-Lymphoma it ended his active wrestling season, of which
Tagged under: , , , , ,

Another Happy Client

“Kevin Toll helped find my family a great home in the area we desired, within our budget, and in a timely fashion. Kevin had great patience with us as we explored all of our options and made us feel like we were always receiving his undivided attention. Kevin also saved us money. He is a
Tagged under: , , ,