The rental market in DuPont is doing well comparative to other towns in the pierce county area. A property averages less than 30 days on the current rental market and there has been some great steals for potential renters. It's a great time for renters to have an upgraded house with all the bells and whistles and still remain within their budget. The only shortage is the availability of larger homes for families. We have been noticing many clients coming in would like homes that are more than 2000 square feet, but due to these homes being rented so fast, many times they will have no choice but to rent a home below 2000 square feet. Still if you are able to locate a home in the larger square footage range, you should seriously think of renting before it's no longer available. Then further down the line you can rent a home you would really like to move into once you found it. Dupont Homes for Rent
The rental market in DuPont is doing well comparative to other towns in the pierce county area. A property averages less than 30 days on the current rental market and there has been some great steals for potential renters. It's a great time for renters to have an upgraded house with all the bells and whistles and still remain within their budget. The only shortage is the availability of larger homes for families. We have been noticing many clients coming in would like homes that are more than 2000 square feet, but due to these homes being rented so fast, many times they will have no choice but to rent a home below 2000 square feet. Still if you are able to locate a home in the larger square footage range, you should seriously think of renting before it's no longer available. Then further down the line you can rent a home you would really like to move into once you found it. Financing Your Dupont Home
The financing process has always been a stressful and tedious process and many times you feel like your left all on your own to figure it out. Fortunately here are some things you should know before you make that major decision to purchase a Dupont home. Before one begins the search for a home it’s best to get a pre-approval from a reputable bank or credit union. When you request a pre-approval they will ask for your monthly income, pay stubs, bank accounts and depending on which lender you use they can request more information from you before they decide to approve you.
Next, after you have got a pre-qualification and a round number of what you can afford you can now look at homes available in Dupont or other communities. When choosing your home it’s important to understand the differences in banks financing a condo and a single family residence.
Financing for a condo can be difficult at times when a certain percentage of the condo community is rented. Banks can have various ratios for this, but it’s important that you check the ratio with your loan officer before you make a decision to purchase a condo. The reason for this is because condo lawsuits peaked during the boom in real estate prices and banks became cautious of lending towards condos. Also condos can be difficult to get a second mortgage on.
If you choose to purchase a single family residence, then the financing regulations are much more lenient. The best thing about purchasing a single family residence is that there is more potential for future appreciation. Even if may not have any at the moment , when prices start to rise single family homes statistically show more appreciation in value in the longer run.
Once you have selected your home and return to the lender the lender will then give you a final approval once he verifies all the information you have provided him such as paystubs, income, bank statements, assets, debts, etc. Once you have a final approval escrow will be opened at one of your local escrow companies such as Stewart Title, American Title Insurance, and many others. Home insurance will also be opened and the bank will request what’s called an insurance binder with all your terms to be sent to them. Note that financing will not be complete until that insurance binder is delivered to the bank. Many times the single reason that the closing process is held up is because the insurance binder hasn’t been sent or created, so always follow up with the home insurance company that you choose.
After the binder has been sent, the home being purchased comes out to appraised value, and inspection contingencies have been met, then the lender should be ready to close on your Dupont home.
Fixing Your Home To Sell
The real estate market is a bit harder than what it was a few years. A few years ago you wouldn't need to do any significant changes or alterations to your house to make it stand out. But in todays market where you have many homes selling on the same street it's important to focus on some important remodeling aspects that can give you a quicker sell.
The first thing a potential home buyers sees is the carpet, the wall, and your furniture if you have any in the house. Houses that convert buyers have upgraded carpet pads that give a softer feel as you walk and a neutral toned carpet color. Try to stay away from subjective colors that a specific to a certain clientele. This may work in luxury homes, but has a hard time in general homes.
Again for Paint, a neutral color works best because most potential buyers match wall color with their furniture. Paint is also rather subjective so the best paints to use are off shades of white and creams. Contrasting colors may work as well, but tend to be most enjoyable in small rooms or bathrooms. Try to keep the colors consistent. The last thing you want is a plethora of colors running through your house like a circus.
Crown Molding and chair rails can make a rather dull house stand out. But chair rails have to match with the doors and kitchen outlay or you get a weird combination of wood colors.
These are cost effective and can help you tremendously. With these minor alterations you are looking at about a $3000-$5000 in cost depending which contractor you go with. You can take a chair rail class and buy a saw and do them yourself to save money. You can paint yourself and make sure to put primer and then 3 coats of paint to get that professional touch. Painting by spray gets you a more professional look, but rollers work as well if done right.
Well I hope these tips help and feel free to ask any questions if you would like some feedback.
Trends for Dupont Homes Part 1
The amount of DuPont homes for sale has seen a significant change since the boom time of 2004. Some of the major factors that gave way to the boom were the decrease in interest rates, which were normally 10%, had dropped to 4%. Another one was an influx of investment capital from foreign nations such as China which was buying our mortgage debt and securities. This over supply of capital caused Wall Street investors to pour money into banking and companies buying debt. But the most prominent cause was the banks relaxed regulations that made loan financing a walk in the park. You may have seen banks advertising “no doc” or “stated income” loans that pretty much guaranteed financing for anybody who was able to provide some “proof” of income. At the time investors were able to profit hugely if they were able to leverage their debt and not finance their income as in equity lines. The mistake that many made was that profit was thought of equity, but in reality it’s financed debt that should be avoided for the ladder, raw cash. For instance if I was to take out a second(equity line) for $100,000 on my house at 7% interest or to sell the house and profit $100,000, I would of picked to sell the house and have raw cash instead of interest bearing cash.
Now the banking regulations have completely changed and financing is as difficult as it’s ever been especially for those who have more than one home. But does this mean home prices will increase and rental rates will go up. It’s a difficult question to answer because of all the factors that one has to take into consideration.
While many drive around and see many dupont homes for sale, the interesting thing is that they are selling even in a slump economy. Dupont home sales have averaged the same since the 1st quarter of 2008 and have had a slight increase the 4th quarter of 2009 according to city-data, while home prices in Dupont have an average median of $300,000 since the 4th quarter of 2008. What does this mean? It means that prices and rents will either maintain their average or decrease, but not significantly.
