Moving is something most people will need to do at one time or another. Tens of millions of Americans will move every year. Whether you are looking for a new apartment on UMoveFree or wanting to buy a new house in your city, one of your primary concerns will be how much you will spend.
This is especially true when buying a home, as you will often be locked into a mortgage for several decades. How much you spend will depend on not only the selling price of the home but also the interest rate. The interest rate you get will primarily depend on your credit score and a couple of other things. But why is your credit score so important when buying a home?
Without any further ado, this article is going to go over why your credit score is so important when buying a home.
It is a Reflection of Your Financial Responsibility
The first reason why your credit score is so important is that it serves as a reflection of your financial responsibility. Lenders will look at your credit score to see how you have been able to handle credit in the past. A good score will show that you’ve been able to handle it and remain responsible/make payments. On the other hand, a bad credit score could show them that you have struggled in this area in the past. This could impact whether they decide to provide you with a loan or not.
It is riskier to lend money to someone with a low credit score, as they have a spotty history when it comes to either making payments or making them on time. This risk is especially large when it comes to a large loan like a mortgage. A lender wants to feel confident they will be paid back a large amount of money they lend to you for a mortgage. Lenders want to ensure that they are repaid what a borrower borrows, and a good credit score can give them some peace of mind.
Another reason why your credit score plays such a critical role in the home buying process is that it will have an impact on the interest rate you get. A person with a higher credit score will often get a lower interest rate, and those with a low score may get a higher one.
This is because the lender can feel more comfortable that they will be repaid, and thus can offer slightly better terms to the borrower. The terms offered can also be a little bit different depending on your credit score. And while you might not think a percentage point or two difference in your interest rate means a lot, you’d be wrong. This small percentage difference could equate to thousands and thousands of dollars paid over the lifetime of the mortgage.
Now that you know why your credit score is so important when buying a home, what sort of credit score should you aim to have before buying a home on a conventional mortgage? In the USA, credit scores range from 300-850. Generally, if you have a score of around 650 or so, that should be good enough to satisfy most lenders and their requirements. If you want better rates, up to your score into the 700s or 800s for the best rates and terms.
If you start to go below that, you run the risk of potentially being denied or having to deal with some pretty unfortunate terms. Of course, every lender is different. Some may be willing more to work with those that have lower credit, while others are only comfortable working with those with a spotless credit history. Also, while important, it is a good idea to remember that a credit score is only a small part of your overall mortgage application. Things like your income, down payment and existing debt will also come into play.
In conclusion, we hope this article has been able to help you see why your credit score is so important when buying a home.
Look, if you’re buying your first home, you might want to consider finding some cheap property and learning how to “pilot” the thing first. However, not everybody has that luxury, and sometimes you’ve got to hope your aim is true with the one-shot you have available. Here’s the thing: even if you’ve got everything else arranged, what if you get in a bidding war?
What if some other buyer sees the same house you do, likes what they see, and wants to snatch it out from under you? What’s your move? Well, you want to go into the home-buying process with this in mind. The following are a few tactics a first-time homebuyer can use to win a bidding war with another home buyer.
1. Get Pre-Approved And Have The Paperwork Ready
First, show the seller that you can “ante up”, as the saying goes.Get pre-approved, have proof of this pre-approval with you as you go to purchase the property. If the seller shows a better offer from another buyer, you can ask whether or not they’re approved. If they’re not, you’ve got an advantage. It’s a slight one, but it’s there all the same.
If you can’t get pre-approved, then you’ll want to regroup before you return to the seller with a serious intent to purchase. Get a cosigner on a loan or something like that, and use that sort of paperwork as your approval. Different situations have different variables, but there’s always the potential to see your sought outcome.
2. Can You Pay In Cash? If Not, Up Your Offering Price
If you can pay in cash, do so; that will often decide a seller on the spot. In a radius of about 120 miles surrounding Dallas / Fort Worth, there are some very affordable units—some in the $50k range. You have to live in Texas, and such properties have their issues, but they’re in a range where some first-time homebuyers may be able to pay for the home outright.
If you can do that, you’ll win just about any bidding war you’re in—unless the other guy can pay outright as well. But most first-time homebuyers won’t be in a position to pay in cash. If you can’t do that, then offer more on the property. Keep in mind, you only want to do that if you’re so interested in this property thatyou’re willing to be in debt a little while longer.
3. How Much Can You Put Down? Expand That
The larger a downpayment on the property in question, the higher the likelihood you’ll win the bid. Even if those with whom you’re competing offer more, a downpayment is cash-in-hand. Meanwhile, the future isn’t something anyone can rely on 100%. Many people have lived long enough to know the wisdom of a “sure thing” when you have it.
First-time home buyers and first-time home listers are in a very similar situation; as such, if you can find a first-time seller, you may be able to more effectively win a given bid.
5. Be Personal With The Seller
If you’re approaching the purchase of a home-like someone buying a used car, that’s going to work against you. You’re not buying some cheap hotrod, you’re buying a home that was lived in for a chunk of the seller’s life.
They’ve got an investment in that property that’s a lot deeper, emotionally, than that which comes with a car. Lean into that, and sentiment toward you from the buyer may win you the bidding war.
Getting The House You Want The First Time Out
First-time sellers are likely going to make mistakes in the home acquisition process, but the tips listed here should help you at the very least come out on top if a bidder interrupts the process.
Get pre-approved, pay in cash if you can; if you can’t, raise your offer. Beyond that, increasing your down payment, finding new sellers, and being personal are also good tips in winning the bid.
Buying a home can be the most overwhelming and stressful experience in your life and with this page we want to give you the resources that first time home buyers need to have an awesome home buying experience.
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products.
– Buying your first home can be one of the most stressful, overwhelming, and expensive experiences in your life. This is why we created The First Time Home Buying Podcast, to make this experience EASY and DELIGHTFUL for you. Our goal is to EMPOWER you, the first time home buyer, with all the information and tools that you need so that you can make a great decision buying your first home.
– Follow the step-by-step guide to buy your house: Let us guide you through every step of the homebuying process. We simplify the complexity and empower you with information you need, when you need it.
Save Time
Download our Free Chrome Extension, to save time keeping all your favorite homes in one place and to collaborate with others in your home search.
Save Money
Get First Time Home Buyer Grants & Down Payment Assistance to understand the type of grants and assistance you have access to as a first time home buyer on www.downpaymentresource.com
– It lets you compare your FICO Scores and credit reports from all 3 bureaus—Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax—side-by-side, and gives you the tools to review and to correct that the information.
– They also have a great simulator so you can see how opening a new credit card or paying down debt will impact your score about the 3 major bureaus.
– With MyFico you’re getting a more in-depth, full picture of your credit health which you should do before getting in touch with your bank to get a pre-approval letter.
Read the book Buy or Run: because it offers home buyers an honest perspective on the questionable relationship between many realtors and home inspectors and tips on how to get the most of your home inspection
WHAT IS THE DOWNPAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM IN FLORIDA?
The Down Payment Assistance Program provides funding to eligible first time homebuyers to purchase a new or existing home. Funding may be used for qualified closing costs and down payment associated with purchasing a home.
WHO QUALIFIES?
First Time Home Buyers: A person who has not owned a home in the
past three years. Exceptions are made for
displaced homemakers.
Requirements
1. Income cannot exceed program income limits (see Income Guidelines Chart).
Down Payment Assistance Orlando
2. Provide the greater of $1,000 or 1.75% of sales price towards down payment and closing costs.
3. Have a loan commitment for first mortgage.
4. Have a minimum credit score of 640.
5. Residency in Orlando Metropolitan Statistical Area (Orange, Osceola, Seminole or Lake County) for the last 12 months.
6. Must have legal right to permanently reside in the United States.
ELIGIBLE PROPERTIES
Single Family homes, condominiums, townhouses, modular homes located in Orange County, but outside the city limits of Orlando.
Maximum sales price for new and existing is $214,000.
Mobile Homes are not eligible.
HOW DO I GET STARTED?
1. Attend an approved Homebuyers Educational Seminar. To register contact the following agencies:
H.A.N.D.S. of Central Florida 407-447-5686 (OPTION 4) English 407-447-5686 (OPTION 2) Spanish Website: http://www.cflhands.org
2. Contact a lending institution to obtain a loan commitment and be qualified for a first mortgage.
3. Find a home priced within the program sales price limits and within your pre-approved loan amount.
4. Have your lender complete your home purchase loan package and forward it to the Housing and Community Development Division.
LOAN CONDITIONS AND REPAYMENT
Assistance up to $30,000 may be provided.
Homebuyers must attend a pre purchase homebuyer seminar.
Orange County’s Down Payment Assistance must be repaid if the property is not occupied by the borrower during the lien period, sold, rented or refinanced.
10 year deferred loan.
OTHERS
For additional information about the Down Payment Assistance Program contact
Orange County Housing and Community Development Division: 525
East South Street, Orlando, Florida 32801
Telephone: 407-836-5150 Fax: 407-836-5197
Down Payment Assistance Program for First Time Homebuyers
SOURCES: This is a transcription of this flyer: https://www.orangecountyfl.net/Portals/0/Library/Neighbors-Housing/docs/Down%20Payment%20Assistance%20Flyer.pdf
How are you doing? I hope you are all doing great with your families hoping for this virus to go away … be patient summer is coming … then we will be able to leave our homes, got to the beach, and swim!!!! 🏖🏊♂️
Here at HomeFlow we’ve been busy making the home buying experience better for home buyers and this is the summary of our work and learnings for the last 3 months.
What went well and what didn’t?
The good news is that we got 2 out of our 3 goals done, which is pretty great and I am proud of it! But we didn’t get 200 accounts created by users because we were still changing our product weekly and we didn’t pay enough attention to it.
Goals Q1 2020
Run 14 experiments to learn ✅
Build the home buying checklist ✅
Have 200 accounts created by users ❌
So, what did we learn and what are we doing next?
These are the main things that we’ve learned regarding the home buying process:
Home buyers start their process looking online for properties (not going through a checklist! I learned that hard way 😅) and they want agents to leave them alone while they search.
Buying a home is very disorganized and all over the place, including finding properties, sharing documents, and keeping track of all the messages, etc
On top of that, closing on your home is an unexpected pain for first time home buyers (getting a mortgage particularly), because they think it is easier (similar to renting) and their agent will do everything for them (which doesn’t happen) 🙅♂️.
Home buyers don’t see the value in agents to buy a home. They don’t trust them because their interests are misaligned. They find them unscrupulous, and they think they have intimidated home buyers with a very complex process, where is shouldn’t be … but they hire one out of fear of screwing up. 😨
To find agents most home buyers ask their friends and family 👫👨👨👧👦because they don’t trust review sites on the biggest purchase of their life.
The problem is, the best and most experienced real estate agents don’t want to work with home buyers (because they may not get a commission from them because buyers often change their mind or “ghost” them 👻) so home buyers end up working with new and less experienced agents, which doesn’t help.
If you have good professionals, the home buying process goes very well happy 😄. But if you don’t it causesgreat stress 😰 and you may end up losing a lot of time and money (bad property inspections, losing a home because lender is slow, etc).
And although other companies have developed in the past great tools to help home buyers, they have all failed and closed down because they couldn’t make a profit, as a) it was too expensive to acquire home buyers and b) they were not making enough money (they charged a subscription for those tools to agents, but agents were not interested in paying for it).
Goals for the 2nd Quarter of 2020
So, based on these learnings, this is what we are going to do in Q2 2020:
Product: moving forward we are going to focus on acquiring users by :
building great content (with a podcast, a blog, and others) and a fantastic community (forum) and
creating an awesome tool for home buyers that are looking for homes, our home-search collaboration tool
Changing our business model: from now on we are:
a marketplace where home buyers can find excellent professionals to help them with their home purchase. We will monetize that with ads, referral fees, and subscriptions.
a virtual real estate agency (in NY only) where we will help you closing on your home once you’ve found one (from negotiating your offer to getting your keys). We will monetize through real estate commissions and we will refund you, the home buyer, part of it back (like the Redfin model)
The ask 😇
We are building this together with you, the home buyer. So please, let us know your thoughts.
Thanks so so much in advance and I hope you have a wonderful sunny blessed day!
Laura
PS: Life is Great!
You’re getting this email because you are helping us in our mission to make the home buying experience easier and cheaper for home buyers. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please feel free to unsubscribe below 😇.
So, over the last 3 months we’ve been hyper-focused building HomeFlow’s Checklist (our first feature), and learning about our users and today I am thrilled to announce that our first feature, the Home Buying Checklist is LIVE!!!! 🚀🥳🎈Let me know what you think. You can see it here: https://tryhomeflow.com/checklist
So, what have we learned in these 3 months? 🙌
Product
– Home buyers are excited about the home buying checklist and they want to share it with their friends and family (a sign of product-market fit? 🤩).
– Many users call us the TurboTax for home buying.
– Most of our users are on their mobile
Others
– We shouldn’t start a podcasting until the tool is built
– Pitching is nerve-wrecking but pretty awesome too
So, what are we doing next?
– Next month we are going to work on improving our design and try to make it more delightful.
– We will also try to reach 300 monthly active users, which is our goal for this quarter.
The ask 😇
Please, if you or someone you know is thinking about buying a home, on the process, or just finished, let me know, please as I would love to meet up.
Thanks so so much for everything you do! It takes a village to raise a startup!
You’re getting this email because you are helping us in our mission to make the home buying experience easier and cheaper for home buyers. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please feel free to unsubscribe below ?.
So, what happened last month? TOP AGENTS!
Last month, we focused on helping home buyers and sellers find great top real estate agents because there are over 2 million real estate agents and you never know who to trust. So, what did we do?
Launched a new website (https://www.homeflow.co), to help home buyers and sellers get in touch with top-performing real estate agents
Collected a list of top-performing real estate agents in Brooklyn based on their track record (how many properties they sold, what type of properties they sold, for how much, and how long it took them to sell)
And, what are we doing next month? CONTENT!
With that awesome data, we are going to write >30 blog posts ranking the top real estate agents by Brooklyn neighborhood for 2019. We hope those blog posts will help us grow and give a lot of value to home buyers and sellers too.
At the same time, we are going to start a podcast focused on helping first-time Homebuyers. Why? To share great information, build our audience, connect with great influencers and become an expert in the field
This will be my second podcast, and I am super excited about it!
So, what did we learn last month? Ads are expensive!
We learned that Google Ads are super expensive!! This is why we are going to focus on creating content and growing organically, like NerdWallet (what a great company! You can learn how they grew here)
We also learned that Homebuyers often don’t reply to cold emails and calls from real estate agents. This was shocking at first but who could blame them? All I’ve heard since becoming a real estate agent is that it is all about making money from your clients (ouch!).
The ask ?
Keep on being AWESOME and stay tuned because this month I’ll send a couple of emails to get your thoughts about the podcast. If you could reply to those, that would be super helpful ?
Thanks so so much for everything you do! It takes a village to raise a startup!
I decided to leave my full-time job at Chegg to focus on HomeFlow 100%.
It feels really great and I am super excited about the change! ??
Design:
In September, I interviewed 9 awesome home buyers about the design of HomeFlow, a step-by-step home buying tool.
The feedback was mixed at first because the tool was too complex ?.
Now after making some changes, the feedback is starting to get better (phew!).
“Top Agents” Experiment:
Last month, I also decided to start focusing on initiatives that will make revenue faster
This is why, Lakhwinder, our awesome developer, has built a really great website that will recommend home buyers and sellers a top-rated agent based on their performance data (number of transactions, the average time to close, etc) for any area.
You can see the website that we are going to test here: https://findagent.tryhomeflow.com/
Traffic
September was also a good month for site traffic.
We had 231 users coming to our site, from which 32% of them (74) came from organic traffic.
So what are we doing next month?
Design:
In October, I will keep on interviewing home buyers to improve the design of the step-by-step home buying tool
“Top Agents” Experiment:
Also in October, we will start sending traffic to our new website to understand our conversion rates
Content – Podcast!
Also in October, I will start planning the podcast
The goal is to help anyone looking to buy or sell their property by interviewing successful home buyers and sellers, and top service providers
The ask ?
If you or someone you that know is looking to buy or sell a property in New York, please let me know because I can help you with the process and give you back 1% of your purchase price back after closing. That is around $10k on a $1M property.
Thanks so so much for everything you do! It takes a village to raise a startup!
This is what happened in the month of August ☀️2019:
Design: In August we completed the prototype of our tool ?. Below you can see one of the main screens, the dashboard, where users can see and access all the information about their home purchase at once. What are your thoughts? You can click on the image to see the design in more detail.
Content: Also in the month of August, we published 5 new blogposts
Traffic: We also saw a 214% increase in organic traffic (from 8 to 21 organic visitors ?), mainly the result of continuously optimizing our site for Google and building backlinks (last month we got 15 new backlinks!).
SO WHAT ARE WE DOING NEXT MONTH
Design: We will start interviewing homebuyers to get their thoughts on the design so that we can complete it and improve it. The goal is to create the all-in-one tool to help home buyers buy their first home.
MVP: We will start working on the MVP of the product, which would be the first 4-5 screens, including the dashboard and the checklist.
Content: We will also keep on creating super valuable content for Homebuyers and spreading the word about HomeFlow through Google and our Social Media channels.
THE ASK
If you have bought a home before or you are thinking about it, I would love to talk to you ?! Let me invite you to lunch, dinner or a drink and let’s talk about you!
Thanks so much in advance for your great support. Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you!
I hope you have a really wonderful and sunny day ☀️!
On our team updates, this month we hired an all-star SEO expert to improve our ranking in Google ?and an excellent social media professional to help us create an awesome community of homebuyers ?. This brings our total team to 7 people, and I feel really honored and grateful to have them all on-board! Thank you all!
BUSINESS
Accelerator: This month we also applied to MetaProp’s accelerator, which is the best property technology accelerator in the World and which also happens to be located in New York! If you are curious, you can see my SharkTank-style pitch video of HomeFlow here > We will know if we’ve been accepted next month! Wish us luck! ?
Real Estate License: In July, I also got my real estate salesperson license to represent homebuyers in NY and learn more about their pain-points, so starting September I will start helping others finding their dream home in NY ?
Revenue: This month we also received our first $50 dollars!!! How? One of our recommended service providers sent us a $50 gift card for referring him a home buyer. I am thrilled and super grateful and I take this as a great sign that our business can work and be profitable ?!
PRODUCT
Tool: Our awesome designer has been working day and night to create HomeFlow’s tool, which will let home buyers follow an instructional step-by-step process for buying a home. As soon as the design is completed (by the end of August at this lightning speed ⚡️) we will show it to our community of homebuyers to gather their feedback and improve it before we start building it.
Website: Also our awesome designer (who is also a great PHP developer too! lucky me!) has finished building our brand new website which you can see below or clicking on this link > We are still improving the copy and fixing some bugs ? but please let us know what you think ?
SO WHAT ARE WE DOING NEXT MONTH
PRODUCT
Tool: Next month we will keep on working on the design of the tool so by the end of the month we can have a clickable design that we can show to our community of homebuyers. The goal is to start building the tool in September ? and to launch our first MVP by December 2019.
Content: Next month we will also keep on creating super valuable content for Homebuyers and spreading the word about HomeFlow through Google and our Social Media channels.
THE ASK
I’ve been looking for a good accountant in New York for a while now, do you know anyone you would recommend? ?
Thanks so so much in advance for your great support in this awesome adventure. I am really grateful for you! And please, let me know if there’s anything I can do for you! ?
I hope you have a really wonderful and sunny day ☀️!
This is what happened in June 2019. The theme of the month was hiring and I have really good news! ?
CO-FOUNDER
Last month I found an awesome technical co-founder, who is as excited as I am to fix the home buying process and make it easier and cheaper for home buyers to buy a property. I am thrilled and super honored! For the time being and until he wants, I’ll hold on disclosing his name but these are exceptional news and I am super excited to have him on board!!!
DESIGNER
Also, last month we found a great first-class designer that has created our new logo that you can see below. What are your thoughts? Doesn’t it look really awesome? ?
HomeFlow: So, what are we doing next month?
DESIGN
Now that we have our logo, we are focusing on creating HomeFlow’s landing page and the design of the product, so that we can start building the tool by early September ? and get closer to help millions of homebuyers save time and money on the biggest purchase of their lives!
REAL ESTATE LICENSE
I am also getting my NY Real Estate License to get to know the real estate market better and understand even more home buyers pain points. I expect to be fully licensed by August!
MARKETING
Next month we will also be thinking about how we are going to spread the word about HomeFlow, so if you have any ideas, please let me know! ?
HomeFlow: The Ask
This is super hands-on!
Please, if you have a second today, go to this document and let us know what do you think about the copy and the design of our new landing page (if you are in your desktop, you can easily add your comments clicking anywhere in the screen). You will help us build something really GREAT!
Thank you so much in advance! You are awesome and I wish you the really best!!
Last month we were looking for a new name for our product as we couldn’t trademark the name we had before, and I am happy to report that after lots of thinking and back and forth emails, we’ve found an awesome name for our startup: HomeFlow
I uploaded all our content to our new website last month and we are already seeing some traffic (+100 visits last month), which is really great ???
Thanks so much again everyone for your help!
LOGO
At the same time, we went “logo hunting” and we are thinking about something similar to the design below. What do you think? Do you like it? What would you change?
Next month, I would like to send you our final logo and start uploading it everywhere! ?
HOMEFLOW UPDATE: SO WHAT ARE WE DOING NEXT MONTH
CONTENT
Content is KING ? because it will drive users to our site for free. This is why next month we will:
Continue writing articles based on the most popular searches on Google with the help of Gina, Marge, and Sarah, our awesome content writers
Start building backlinks from other sites to rank higher in Google
Share our content in social media to ramp up our traffic
LEGAL
We will also start the trademark application for HomeFlow to secure the name so we don’t have to change it again ?
HOMEFLOW UPDATE: THE ASK
I am looking for a co-founder!
Over the last few weeks, I realized that starting your own company alone is really hard because you keep on doubting yourself and changing your mind which isn’t great! ?
At the same time, partnering with someone with a technical background will help us create the product and iterate much faster.
This is why I am looking for a technical co-founder. Someone excited about disrupting the real estate industry and making the home buying experience easier and cheaper for home buyers.
Do you know someone that could be interested? Could YOU be interested?
Thank you so much in advance! You are the super BEST!
Last month we brainstormed hundreds of names to find a short, memorable, and trademarkable name for our home buying app.
We haven’t found that awesome name yet but we have some new names for you to check that are safe to trademark. Do you like any of them?
Fluux
Xaila
Xeila
Balni
CONTENT
In February, we started blogging about the home buying process to market our new app and although it is still very early we are starting to see some traction, which is really great! ? These are the numbers:
– 278 users visited our site since we started blogging
– 17% of those users come from organic traffic (Google)
On top of that, we rank for 130 search terms (keywords) in Google related to the home buying process ?
Enormous thanks to our awesome team of content writers, Gina, Sarah, and Marge who are making all this happen! You are all fantastic! Thanks again! ?
DESIGN
Last month we completed the wireframe of the product that covers the most common pain points from first time home buyers.
Below you can see the screenshot of one of the sections, the Score.
The goal of this section is to let you know where you are in your property purchase process while telling you which steps you should take next. We are also applying a gamified design to make it fun and engaging.
What are your thoughts about it?
VISION
Last month we also completed the 2021 vision for the company and the product.
This is a document that goes through how the team and product will look like in 2021, the problem that we are going to solve and our business model.
It is a great read, but only if you have time as it is almost 5 pages long!
Next month we will keep on writing useful content and once we have a new name (and domain!) we will start migrating it and asking other sites to link back to us so that we can rank higher in Google.DESIGN
Next month, we will also hire a great designer to create the first version of the app ???.ENGINEERING
And next month too, we will also start networking to find an awesome tech co-founder to help us create this awesome product.
THE ASK
If you know an engineer that would like to be a founding member of the coolest property technology app in New York, please let me know. I will start interviewing engineers next month to find the perfect match!
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? OUR MISSION
We are doing this because we believe buying your first property should be an easy and even enjoyable process.
We want to fix this with the power of technology while having a lot of fun!
MEME OF THE MONTH ?
Thanks to all of you for all you do. It takes a village to raise a startup ?
Our team of writers, Gina, Marge, and Sarah, will keep on publishing awesome content to help homebuyers understand the process and help us build a pipeline of beta users for our app.
App Design
We will focus on sketching and prototyping the first version of the app ???.
Trademark
We will start filing a trademark application for HomeFlow to protect our brand.
THE ASK
If you are thinking about or in the process of buying a property or if you just bought one, please let me know because I would LOVE to talk to you.
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? OUR MISSION
HomeFlow is a FinTech company that wants to help more than 300 million people make better decisions when buying a property. As of now deciding to invest in property is one of the most stressful decisions in a person’s life. We at HomeFlow strongly believe this can be fixed and turned into an easy, painless, and even enjoyable process simply by using the right technology.
People shouldn’t need a degree just to buy a property and take an important step towards their financial freedom and the life they want to live. With HomeFlow, buying a property is for EVERYONE thanks to the easiest home buyer app on the market providing superior tools and services for free, and creating technological solutions for everyone.
HomeFlow is a company focused on progress, fun, and positivity both for its users and its employees. At HomeFlow, we want everyone to have the chance to be financially free, and in our opinion investing in property is one of the best paths towards that goal.
MEME OF THE MONTH ?
Thanks to all of you for all you do. It takes a village to raise a startup ?
Looking online for properties – 44% of all home buyers
Contacting an agent – 17% of home buyers
Searching online for information – 11% of home buyers
Surprised? I sure was! This process has changed tremendously in the last decade due to technology!
So far, based on interviews with buyers, data, and my own experience, I would like to build a home buying tool that can:
Guide home buyers and give them recommendations based on where they are in the process.
Help home buyers find great professionals and communicate with them efficiently.
Assist homebuyers finding properties that match their criteria.
Allow homebuyers to upload and share documents related to their home purchase from one place.
And it makes sense to build a home buying tool like that because research showed that the most difficult steps of the home-buying process are:
56% finding the right property
20% doing the paperwork
16% understanding the process
SO WHAT ARE WE DOING NEXT MONTH?
In order to build something that users want, during the next month I will “get out of the building” ? and have interviews with at least five home buyers.
THE ASK
If you are thinking about or in the process of buying property or if you just bought one, please let me know because I would LOVE to talk to you.
Also if you know someone that is in the process, please let me know too!
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
Because buying a property is one of the most significant financial decisions in your life and also one of the most stressful ones, and we think it can and it should be easy, painless, and even enjoyable. It also happens to be an enormous opportunity where technology can make a huge difference. So, let’s fix this together!
MEME OF THE MONTH
Thanks to all of you for all you do. It takes a village to raise a startup ?
Today someone asked me how to make sure buying a property is a good decision for your money. When my husband Josh and I bought a property in Brooklyn, we used this home sale proceeds calculator that a very good friend of mine uses to analyze his property investments. He says you should always know how much profit you will make when you sell the property you buy.
Here, when you enter your data (highlighted in green) it returns to you the profit that you expect to make when you sell and your annual return of investment.
You can access it clicking here or on the image. Enjoy it and have fun!
And if you want to learn more about the home sale proceeds calculator, read on. The following information will give you a detailed understanding of what it’s for and how to use it.
How much profit can you make from selling the house you are planning to buy?
Are you a home buyer looking to build home equity as part of your long term financial plan? Or are you planning to buy a starter home with the intention of buying a bigger place? Whatever your purpose may be, it’s useful to think like a house flipper. And, it would be handy to have a home sale proceeds calculator to know how much profit you can make when you sell your home.
Home buyer to home seller mindset
When it comes to buying a home, you should always have the mindset of a home seller. Always think long term and in terms of potential returns on investment when you’re planning to buy a home. Doing this can make you more confident in buying a home and reassures you, as a first time home buyer, that you’re making the right decision.
Buying a home may be heavy on the pocket but it comes with several benefits. You have the full freedom to use the property as you want as the home owner. You may also be eligible for tax breaks and your home equity may serve as your nest egg.
Getting familiar with a home sale proceeds calculator
Buying a home and knowing what it means for you financially gives you assurance in making the investment. The best way to assess the value of a potential home is to put yourself in the shoes of a home seller.
Putting yourself in the shoes of a home seller will give you a better idea of the value of a home. In this case, you need to compute your home sale proceeds or how much funds you’ll have left after selling your home and paying off the expenses you could possibly incur in the process. Doing this helps you decide if a home is worth investing in. To make the process easier, you can use a home sale proceeds calculator.
A home sale proceeds calculator is a tool that helps you compute how much profit you can make if you sell your home. With this calculator, you just need to input the home’s sale price and the costs entailed in putting your home up for sale.
Your home sale proceeds will depend on factors such as your mortgage balance and closing costs. It would be useful to get familiar with the possible expenses you can incur and we will give you an overview of these expenses in the next section.
Factors to consider when calculating home sale proceeds
When using a home sale proceeds calculator, you need to factor in the home sale price, mortgage payoff amount or mortgage balance (if applicable), and closing costs.
Here’s a quick overview of the usual items that a home sale proceeds calculator will ask you to input and what they mean.
Home Sale Price
Home sale price refers to how much your home could sell for. Determining the right price for your home is crucial in closing a sale. Pricing too high could make your home unsaleable and an exceedingly low price may lead to losses on your part.
The price of your home should also be based on the current price of similar properties in your area. Aside from that, you should consider prices from past sales and the market value of neighboring homes to determine a reasonable price estimate. When you find the most reasonable price for selling the home, you can input in the amount in your home sale proceeds calculator.
Mortgage Payoff Amount
If you’re selling a home with a mortgage, here are some of your options:
1. Pay off the mortgage using the proceeds from the sale. The mortgage payoff amount is your outstanding mortgage or the total amount that you need to pay off to settle everything that you still owe your mortgage lender.
2. Allow the buyer to assume the mortgage. This means that the buyer will take over your outstanding mortgage and pay the remaining balance. This transaction will require the approval of your lender.
When you sell a mortgaged home, you need to do make a decision between those options to transfer the title of the property to the buyer.
Note: Some lenders charge a prepayment penalty for paying off your loan before the end of the mortgage term. This penalty can be a flat fee or a percentage, usually 2 to 4 percent, of the remaining loan balance. Other lenders use a sliding scale fee where the prepayment penalty decreases over the years. For instance, the penalty maybe 4% in the first year but decreases to 3.5% on your mortgage’s third anniversary.
Closing Costs
Closing costs refer to the fees and other expenses needed to close a sale. Here are some of the most common expenses you may incur when you settle a real estate transaction.
Real Estate Agent Fees
Real estate agent fee refers to the commission given to real estate agents involved in the process of selling your home. This expense accounts for the biggest chunk of the expenses you’ll incur in selling a home. The real estate commission is usually around 5% to 6% of the home sale price. For a $350,000 home, for instance, you need to pay around $17,500 to $21,000, which is split evenly between the buyer’s and the seller’s agents.
This cost covers the fees incurred by agents while doing the legwork and assisting with the paperwork to sell the property. This fee includes expenses for taking photos of your home, updating your listing, and arranging tours and open houses. If you sell your property as for sale by owner, you can skip this expense. However, a real estate agent can save you time and effort when selling your home.
Home Ownership and Overlap Cost
Home ownership and overlap cost are the expenses you incur when you’re selling your property while moving to a new home or paying for a short-term rental. It’s more convenient to allot 1% of the sale price to cover the expenses you incur during this transition period.
This cost will also cover expenses for two homes at the same time. These expenses may include your mortgage installments, utility costs, homeowner’s association fees, homeowner’s insurance, and property taxes.
Staging and Preparation Cost
You need to make sure that your property is attractive and presentable to attract potential buyers. Staging a home is all about enhancing your home’s best features. Depending on the condition of your home, staging and preparation expenses would cost you from $1,000 to $8,600.
Staging and preparation cost varies depending on the size of your home, the length of time the property has been on the market, and the amount of work required. This expense could include cleaning, repairing, landscaping, painting, your home. You have to allocate a certain amount for this expense. Choose the most realistic estimate and input the amount in your home sale proceeds calculator to compute for net profit.
Seller Concessions
Seller concessions pertain to closing costs that the seller agrees to pay on behalf of the buyer. This serves as an incentive to make a property more attractive to buyers and to make it more likely for the seller to close the deal.
Depending on the location of the property and the buyer’s down payment, this expense can range from 1.5% up to 2% of the sale price. As the seller, you may pay expenses such as the attorney fees, loan processing fees, and inspection fees.
Transfer Taxes and Other Settlement Fees
You also have to account for transfer taxes and other sales settlement fees when computing your home sale proceeds. Most states charge transfer taxes between 1% up to 3% of the sale price. Check how much the transfer taxes would cost you in your state and input the actual amount in your home sale proceeds calculator.
The settlement fees, on the other hand, cover the accounting, legal, and other expenses related to preparing the contract. The seller also covers payment on the owner’s title insurance premium and other miscellaneous fees related to the transaction.
How to Calculate for Home Sale Proceeds
If you have never tried using a home sale proceeds calculator, don’t worry, the process is straightforward. All you need to do is enter all applicable expenses required to sell your home.
1. First, gather all the information related to selling your home including the home sale price, mortgage payoff amount id just need to fill up the home sale price or the reasonable and fair market price of the home you wish to sell.
2. Next, input the sales price and the costs you’ll incur in the relevant fields in your home sale proceeds calculator.
3. If you plan to pay off the mortgage when you sell the home, input the mortgage payout amount.
4. Finally, push the calculate button to compute your sales proceeds. If you are using a spreadsheet calculator, the relevant fields should be updated once you input the values.
After doing these steps, you should figure out your estimated net profit on the sale of the property. Here are some home sale proceeds calculators you can use to find your estimated profit.
In Redfin’s Home Sale Proceeds Calculator, you just need to input the home sale price, outstanding mortgage, and the general location of your property. While Redfin has a low margin of error in providing estimates, don’t forget to check for the estimated value of the property through other websites.
Zillow helps you determine how much your home is worth by simply entering the property’s address. With just a few clicks, you can figure out how much the home is worth but these values may not be always accurate.
If you prefer spreadsheets that you can personalize and access at will, try Home Flow’s home sale proceeds calculator. With a spreadsheet calculator, you have full freedom in choosing the price of the property and in adding expenses.
Estimating the value of your Home
Owning your home allows you to build wealth through your home equity. If you make the right purchase, you can even sell the property at a profit in the future. Owning your home provides you with the freedom to build your dream home. It may help you save you money on taxes and take advantage of other benefits.
Knowing the amount of profit from the sale of your home empowers you to make informed decisions. With some help from a home sale proceeds calculator and a bit of research, you’ll be more confident about choosing the home to buy. And this extra step could be something that you’ll thank yourself for in the long run.
The mission of HomeFlow is to make the property purchase experience easier for every one
UPDATES
Last month’s focus was to understand if agents would recommend to their clients a tool that would help buyers:
understand the property purchase process, clearly seeing where they are in the process and next steps
have all their documents easily accessible in one place
be able to find, and easily coordinate their real estate team (agent, lender, lawyer, inspector, etc)
Why did we do that? Because 80% of all the properties sold in America go through an agent.
So what did they say? ?
Some of the older agents felt a little bit threatened by technology. They said they wouldn’t recommend this tool because they thought to guide their client was their role as an agent and they didn’t think technology could do their job better than them.
Others at large agencies already have access to some internal tools, which are adequate but not great, particularly for buyers.
Younger agents and those at smaller firms were pretty excited by it and said they would recommend this tool to their clients.
SO WHAT ARE WE DOING NEXT MONTH?
Next month, we are going to focus on talking to property buyers to understand what they are struggling with when purchasing a property. The goal is to fix those issues.
We will talk to buyers at any stage of the property purchase process, from just thinking about it, to going to open houses, in process of closing, or already purchased a home.
THE ASK
If you are thinking about buying a property, in the process, or just bought a property, I would LOVE to talk to you. Just simply click on this link to set up a time to talk: https://calendly.com/lauramoreno/letstalk/ Also if you know anybody in the process, please let me know or forward them the link above.
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
My husband and I bought a property in Brooklyn in May 2018 and the process was pretty bumpy ?. We want to fix that with technology. Why? Because buying a property is one of the most significant financial decisions in your life and also one of the most stressful, and we think it can and it should be easy, painless, and even enjoyable. It also happens to be an enormous opportunity where technology can make a huge difference. So, let’s fix this together!
MEME OF THE MONTH
Thanks to all of you for all you do. It takes a village to raise a startup ?
