Asifa Zia -The Realtor YOU want

  Winter is here, and its time to start prepping your home for all kinds of crazy weather. The snowy cold and wet weather can be disastrous for the homes. Damage caused by ice and water can b very costly to repair. Its better to prepare your homes ahead of the weather, and save on those costs. Here are some of the things you can do: 1. Inspect your roof, 2. Check all your gutters that they are all clean, and not clogged, 3. Test your sump pump to make sure that it is running and get a backup battery pack if you need, 4. Get your dryer vent cleaned,  5. Check your doors and windows for air leaks, Seal all the leaky windows and doors, you will see a big saving in your utility bill.  6. Turn off your outdoor faucets and make sure your outdoor pipes are insulated, to avoid frozen pipelines.  7. Have your fireplace and chimney inspected. 8. Protect your lawn furniture and store away your lawn equipment. 9. Have your furnace inspected, to make sure everything is running smoothly, and ready f

Market often have questions about the importance of getting a home appraisal and an inspection. That’s because high buyer demand and  low housing supply  are driving intense competition and leading some buyers to consider waiving those contingencies to stand out in the crowded market. But is that the best move? Buying a home is one of the most  important  transactions in your lifetime, and  it’s critical to keep your best interests in mind.  Here’s a breakdown of what to expect from the appraisal and the inspection, and why each one can potentially save you a lot of time, money, and headaches down the road. Home Appraisal The home  appraisal  is a critical step for securing a mortgage on your home. As  Home Light  explains: “. . . lenders typically require an appraisal to ensure that your loan-to-value ratio falls within their underwriting guidelines. Mortgages are secured loans where the lender uses your home as collateral in case you default on the agreed-upon payments.” Put simply:

Finally there is good news for the home buyers, they can expect more home inventory and this more choices in Fall 2021. In the residential real estate market, trends generally follow a predictable and seasonal pattern. Typically, the number of homes available for sale (or active monthly listings) peaks in the fall. If we look at the active monthly listings for 2021 , we’ll see that the number of homes on the market has increased fairly steadily since spring this year. New  data from realtor.com  shows that the number of homes available for sale inched up 5.7% in August. That follows 8.8% and 10.4% inventory gains, respectively, in June and July. Since bottoming out this spring, inventory is up 30%.  The  realtor.com  data  shows we’re still seeing an increase in active inventory month-over-month. While that gain is a bit smaller month-to-month , September numbers are still up from the month prior. The buyers faced challenges like bidding wars, multiple offer situations, and not much of

  During the Great Recession, just over a decade ago, the financial systems the world depended on started to collapse. It created a panic that drove some large companies out of business (ex. Lehman Brothers) and many more into   bankruptcy . The financial crisis that accompanied the current pandemic caused hardship to certain industries and hurt many small businesses. However, it hasn’t rattled the world economy. It seems that a year later, things are slowly getting back to normal for many companies. Why is there a drastic difference between 2008 and now? In a  post  from  RealtyTrac , they explain: “We changed the rules. We told banks they needed more reserves and that they could no longer underwrite toxic mortgages. It turns out that regulation — properly done — can help us navigate financial minefields.” Here are the results of that regulation, captured in a graph depicting the number of failed banks since 2007. What was different this time? The post mentioned above explains: “In 20

  According to the latest   report   from   Black Knight, Inc. , a well-respected provider of data and analytics for mortgage companies, 6.48 million households have entered a forbearance plan as a result of financial concerns brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s where these homeowners stand right now: 2,543,000 (39%) are current on their payments and have left the program 625,000 (9%) have paid off their mortgages 434,000 (7%) have negotiated a repayment plan and have left the program 2,254,000 (35%) have extended their original forbearance plan 512,000 (8%) are still in their original forbearance plan 116,000 (2%) have left the program and are still behind on payments This shows that of the almost 3.72 million homeowners who have left the program, only 116,000 (2%) exited while they were still behind on their payments. There are still 2.77 million borrowers in a forbearance program. No one knows for sure how many of those will become foreclosures. There are, however, three maj