The decision to buy an old home versus a new one used to be simple for most people. The choice was usually dependent on budget and style (with a strong emphasis on budget). These days, the choice is less clear. The real estate market has been tumultuous for the past few years and today, the price gap between old and new has narrowed.
One of the reasons this has happened is because of the value of land. Even as the prices attached to homes for sale have dropped, the price of land has increased. Given that many older houses are built on expansive lots, they’re now commanding prices that bring them closer to newer models.
This article will explore some of the reasons to consider older and newer residences. Both offer advantages. Both also pose potential downsides. The following will help you make the choice that best suits your preferences.
Reasons To Consider Older Homes For Sale
First, older houses are often located in areas that are less likely to change due to zoning regulations. When you buy a new model, it’s difficult to predict whether a big-box retailer will move in next door.
Another advantage involves the craftsmanship. Older residences usually have a unique style while their newer counterparts often look identical to each other. This is especially true when they’re built in the same tract or neighborhood.
Older homes are frequently built near downtown centers. While having a big-box retailer’s parking lot next to your yard is less than appealing, being able to walk to your favorite restaurant is a major benefit.
Potential Downsides To Buying An Older House
Older houses also pose a few obvious disadvantages. Generally, there’s more maintenance and repair work involved with ownership. Also, the spaces (e.g. bathrooms) are often smaller than those you’ll find in new homes. Another downside – for some people – is that older residences were built smaller; 3,000 square-foot houses were less important decades ago.
Reasons To Consider New Homes For Sale
A new residence offers benefits that are impossible with older models. For example, there’s less maintenance involved (hopefully). It’s unlikely you’ll need to have the air conditioner replaced.
Also, new homes usually come with the amenities you would expect in a modern house. If you were to buy an older residence, you might be forced to purchase such things separately.
It’s also difficult to dismiss the psychological impact of owning a new house, as opposed to an older model. After all, it’s yours. No one has lived in it prior to you and your family.
Another advantage is size: most new residences offer more square footage. If you have a family – especially one with young children – the extra space might be valuable.
Potential Downsides To Buying A New House
New houses are built in tracts; each model in the tract is built according to the same floorplan and overall design. If you want your residence to project a distinctive style, this might be a significant drawback.
A potential downside that few homeowners consider is the growth pattern of the surrounding brush and trees. This may seem unimportant at first. However, landscaping and nearby vegetation can require years to mature before they reach a point where they’re able to offer an aesthetic appeal and shade.
Making The Right Decision
Buying old versus new is not as simple a choice as it seems when you’re looking at homes for sale. As described above, there are important pros and cons that should influence your decision based upon your priorities. If budget is not an issue, and you prefer ample space and modern amenities, a new model may be appropriate. On the other hand, if your value distinctive craftsmanship and less vulnerability to future zoning laws, an older residence might be a good fit.
The key is to consider all of the relevant factors as they relate to your personal needs and preferences in a residence. That’s the best way to make a choice that suits you and your family.
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When you hear the words “mobile home”, what do you immediately think? Hillbillies with rebel flags in their windows? The show “Cops”? Sure, that’s the stereotype, but the truth is that a huge number of Americans– about 20 million of them–live in mobile homes. And the demographic make-up of this group is not much different from normal residential subdivisions and apartment complexes.
Another little-known fact about this niche is that you can make excellent returns by investing in them- with amounts as low as $5,000 to $10,000. Returns in the neighborhood of a steady 10% to 20% per year. Compare that to your recent successes in the stock market and the rate on CDs at your neighborhood bank and you’ll see that those type of year-over-year returns are really pretty extraordinary.
So how do you invest in in this area successfully?
Get an understanding of the product.
Mobile homes are not constructed like the type of traditional “stick-built” housing that you are more familiar with. For example, a mobile home has no load-bearing interior walls. It is like a shoebox–only the exterior walls are load bearing. In addition, the utilities normally follow certain “troughs” that allow for easy access. You can find some cut-away drawings of mobile homes on the internet and you will be shocked at their simplicity. This simplicity, however, pays big dividends when it comes to repairs and remodeling. Unlike traditional home construction, a mobile home allows for an amateur to do a perfectly fine job.
You should go to a local dealer and walk through some homes–including some older trade-ins that are probably at the back of the lot–to get a feel for what the product is.
Get an understanding of what the customers’ needs are.
These type of homes are the least expensive form of detached housing in the U.S. As a result, they appeal to lower-income Americans- often folks who earn minimum wage. This group is not nearly as demanding as buyers with higher earnings who are looking at much more expensive housing options. That’s not to say that they have no standards, because they do. But their standards are much lower and much easier to satisfy. Many of the cosmetic issues that you would find unacceptable in a $100,000 house are perfectly fine in a $10,000 mobile home. These include stains on flooring, wall taping and bedding, quality of paint job, condition of appliances, etc. These reduced expectations make the investor’s life much easier, as it takes less to make this type of investment ready for sale, and it is much easier to meet the demands of the customer.
You should look at some of the mobile homes for sale in the newspaper to see what is offered in your market, as well as the price points. You will be amazed at how “rough” many of the offerings are, and how low the price points are.
Team up with a mobile home park owner.
Many owners would love to work with investors to buy and sell homes in their parks. These types of relationships are essential, as a successful investor will need certain concessions from the park owner to ensure that they get a good return on their investment. These concessions include free lot rent at any time that the home is vacant, help on marketing the home, and sometimes financial bonuses for each home sold.
Start small and add-on based on performance.
The proof is in the pudding. Start off with one investment in a mobile home- maybe $10,000 to buy one home. From this one investment, you will learn a tremendous amount about the process, from choosing a decent home to marketing and real-life profit and loss. A normal deal will have a return on your money of 10% to 20% per year. There are certain instances when you will have a much higher return- 50% or more- but these are rare and should not be taken as the norm. Anything less than 10% is unacceptable and you should analyze what you did wrong and learn from it.
When you “partner” with a mobile home park owner, they will take a vested interest in your success and your odds of making a higher return are much greater.
Conclusion.
There are few options today that offer 10% and greater real returns on your investment dollar. One of the safest is mobile home investing. It’s a simple product that appeals to a simple customer. It is not subject to changes of technology that render it useless, or to changes in taste that make it no longer attractive. It has been around, undisturbed, for over 60 years.
Jeff Foxworthy makes very funny trailer park jokes. COPS has a heyday filming scenes of intoxicated people at some of the worst mobile home parks in the U.S. But you have to understand that these are promotional stereotypes–and not the norm. The normal mobile home park resident is just a regular person making their way through life–and offering you a very handsome return on investment.
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homesite.obeo.com Contact: Morris and Raper Atlanta New Homes Directory 770-671-0088 kwolfe@mresults.net for more information about this home.
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3539 Netherland Inn Road, Kingsport TN
For more information on this property call Town & Country Realty at 423-239-5196-, 423-245-8212, 423-477-2888, 245-2888 or log on to www.RealtyTNC.com or from your mobile at www.RealtyTNC.com/Mobile.
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New Homes and Real Estate in Sedona
Sedona, Arizona has seen a significant increase in visitors and residents over the past several years. If you have ever visited, you would not be surprised. Sedona offers visitors and residents alike, beautiful scenic views of red rocks and mountain landscapes. The recent growth has attracted new business owners and an increase in the demand for new housing communities.
Homes for sale in Sedona are attractively priced, and amongst state-of-the-art fixtures and energy efficient appliances, many new homes in Sedona currently offer buyers exceptional value for their money. Be it an existing home or a new home, making a home investment in this city is sure to bring in its rewards in terms of built-up equity value in the coming years. Given today’s housing market situation, this is particularly true. Home sales have slowed somewhat over the past several months, which has resulted in buyers having more options to choose from. Many industry experts predict home values to significantly increase as we move closer towards the latter part of 2009.
There are currently plenty of choices for potential Sedona new home buyers such as single-family homes, condominiums, modular homes, builder move-in ready homes, townhouses and much more. Prospective homebuyers in the Sedona area should research a good real estate agency in the area to aid them with their new homes purchase.
When hiring a real estate agent it is recommended for buyers to seek out the services of a buyer’s agent. This will ensure that your interests are protected in every aspect of the home buying transaction. A buyer’s agent works to appease the buyer and will, more than likely, always disclose all information available on the particular property under consideration. Unlike seller’s agents who are often more interested in getting through with the deal; which causes them to focus more so on only the positive aspects of each property.
Another important issue that many new home buyers will overlook is to have a home inspection done on the property that they are seriously considering purchasing. It is a common misconception that new homes are not without minor repair issues. Be sure to have a home inspection conducted on your potential new property, even if the home is a new build as new homes are often without minor repairs. If the seller or the builder refuses to acknowledge the existence of a problem condition specified in the home inspection report, or refuses to help, then the buyer should beware. A good real estate agent will bring this to their client’s attention.
If you are building a custom home in Sedona, a local real estate agent will be able to suggest several reputable home builders. Many builders offer a unique look and design to their homes and pre-existing floor plans; you can also have your own architect design your perfect home and have a local Sedona homebuilder build it for you.
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What Really Is A District Then?????
My friend works as a District Manager for some company, whose job is to hire work-at-home sales reps. But the company gives my friend resumes from people who live all over the USA to recruit and hire. But if my friend lives on the West Coast then how is it possible to hire someone from the EAST COAST? Isn’t a “District Manager ” only supposed to hire people in their OWN District? I thought a “District” means “a certain area” or “region”. Even the dictionary’s definition says the below:
1. a division of territory, as of a country, state, or county, marked off for administrative, electoral, or other purposes.
2. a region or locality: the theater district; the Lake District.
3. British. a subdivision of a county or a town.
So why would a corporation allow my friend to hire reps that do not even LIVE in their District, unless “District” could also mean “group of people” or “staff of people”. What do you think? What really IS a District then?????
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Falling sales and rising foreclosures has chopped 18% from home prices in 20 major U.S. cities from Oct. 2007 to Oct. 2008, the fastest rate on record.
According to the S&P/Case-Shiller index, home prices in Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Francisco sunk the most – giving back 32.7%, 31.7% and 31.0% of their value in a year’s span, respectively.
The ocean-side metros of Miami, Los Angeles and San Diego followed, with respective declines of 29.0%, 27.9% and 26.7%.
Atlanta, Seattle and Portland entered what Case-Shiller called “the double-digit club,” with annual rates of decline of 10.5%, 10.2% and 10.1%, respectively.
The three best performing housing markets – meaning the ones that lost the least value – are Dallas (-3.0%), Charlotte (-4.4%) and Denver (-5.2%).
On a monthly basis, Detroit was hit the hardest, with home prices falling 4.5% from September to October of this year. That’s a dramatic leap from the 2.5% decline from August to September.
“The bear market continues; home prices are back to their March, 2004 levels.” David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s, said in a news release.
Recent statistics from the National Association of Realtors suggest similar pain. Single-family home sales fell 8.0%, the slowest sales growth since July 1997, NAR reported last week.
And the national medium home price fell 13.2% from last year to $181,300, the largest drop since the NAR started tracking statistics, and likely the largest decline since the Great Depression, said Lawrence Yun, the trade group’s chief economist.
“Falling home prices would lead to faster contraction in consumer spending and further deterioration in bank balance sheets,” Yun said in a news release. “More importantly, falling home values would lead to higher loan defaults, including those recently modified distressed mortgages.”
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homesite.obeo.com Contact: Morris and Raper Atlanta New Homes Directory 770-671-0088 kwolfe@mresults.net for more information about this home.
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We analyze several housing market indicators in order to present an in-depth breakdown of Antioch Ca Homes for Sale Market comparing December 2008 to December 2009.
Summary of Key Points
Antioch Ca Homes for Sale market has taken a major hit from last year
Median Sales Price (+4.91%), Median Days on Market (-39.95%), and Number of Units Sold (-51.63%)
Big Picture: Out of 20 cities analyzed in the East Bay, Antioch suffered the largest decline in the number of units sold
Antioch Ca Homes for Sale
The city of Antioch experienced a 4.91% increase in median sales price from last year going up from $205,565 (Dec. 08) to $215,660 (Dec. 09). This modest increase in median sales price might at first glance seem like good news for Antioch however, when compared alongside median days on market and number of units sold, we realize that it is not so simple. Median days on market for a house in the city of Antioch for December 08 was 52 days compared to a meager 31 days in December 09 and number of units sold have taken a major beating going down by more than half from 306 units in Dec 08 to 148 units in Dec 09. The increase in median sales price coupled with a 39.95% decrease in median days on market should theoretically spell good news but a 51.63% drop in units sold says otherwise. The increase in sales price in this case dissuaded buyers from purchasing new homes.
There is good news for neighboring city Brentwood because Brentwood Ca Homes for Sale saw a modest increase in median sales price of 1.03% and a semi-dramatic increase in units sold of 24.49%. Neighbor Concord also witnessed a small increase of 1.15% in median sales price but Concord Ca Homes for Sale suffered pretty much the same fate as Antioch with a drop of 13.07% in the number of units sold.
Read detailed information on Antioch Ca Homes For Sale , Concord Ca Homes for Sale ,Brentwood Ca Homes for Sale and 55 other major cities in Northern california on our Blog
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