Sacramento Real Estate Video Blog with Heidi Phong

We recently sat down with Nick Street of Mountain West Financial. Here’s what the mortgage expert had to say about the current interest rates.Selling your home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying a home? Click here to search homes for saleI recently sat down with Nick Street, a branch manager with Mountain West Financial. We had a great conversation about mortgages, interest rates, and more. For part one of our conversation, we talked about the current state of interest rates and what the future holds for them.Nick has been in the mortgage industry since 2004, so he has a wealth of knowledge to share. One of the things he has taken notice of in the last few years is that many people aren’t aware that interest rates are affected by how our economy is doing. When the economy is suffering, rates are going to be pushed down. When our economy is doing well, like it is right now, you will start to see rates increase. Interest rates greatly affect buying power in this market. If you’re approved for a $300,000 home right now with current interest rates, you would only be able to afford a $270,000 home if rates went up by just 1%.Interest rates have a big impact on buying power. Right now is actually a great time to buy for a number of reasons. For one, interest rates remain historically low. While it’s true they aren’t as low as they were last summer, when you look at historical data it’s clear that rates are still just about as low as they ever have been. Our market specifically gives buyers a lot of advantages that renters don’t have. Sacramento is a fairly affordable market as well.In part two, we’ll talk more with Nick about all things mortgage. If you have any questions for Nick, you can reach him at 916.262.7631 or at Nick.Street@MWFInc.com. If you have any questions for us in the meantime, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

Should you hire a buyer’s agent when purchasing a home? The answer is yes for a few reasons. Selling your home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying a home? Click here to search homes for saleWhy do you need to hire an agent when buying a home? There are actually a few reasons you’ll want representation when making that big of a purchase. First, the agent won’t cost you anything. Your agent’s commission actually comes from the seller as payment for bringing the buyer to the property. The bottom line is that you don’t pay a dime to have a buyer’s agent on your side. An agent will show you all the homes you want to see. Next, a buyer’s agent knows exactly how to negotiate the transaction. Things might come up that need to be negotiated such as repairs you want to be done before closing or complications with the appraisal. You’ll want someone on your side who you are confident can handle those situations for you. An agent can also show you all the homes you want to see. This means you won’t have to rely on open houses and drive-bys. Lastly, you want the transaction to be smooth, exciting, and fun. An agent will do all the heavy lifting for you so you can enjoy the process of buying your first home! If you have any other questions or if you are looking to buy or sell a home, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

If you want to have a successful home purchase, educating yourself on these 10 steps will help you prepare. Selling your home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying a home? Click here to search homes for saleIf you’re thinking about buying a home, you should know the transaction will be a little bit more complicated than your average purchase. Today I’ll give you the steps of buying a home so you can be better prepared to jump into the market: 1. Consult a real estate agent. Make sure the agent you hire knows your wants, needs, and time frame.  2. Apply for a loan. By doing this, you’ll see how much you can get approved for and what sort of rate you’ll get. You want to make sure the monthly payment will be comfortable for your family.  3. Look at the available homes that match your criteria. This step is when you’ll determine exactly what sort of home and neighborhood you want to be in.  4. Submit an offer. Once you have found your dream home, your agent will submit an offer and negotiate your terms.  5. Do your due diligence. Once your offer is accepted, you’ll need to do a variety of home inspections. An appraiser will also come out during this step to make sure the home is selling at fair market value.  6. Send your loan package into the underwriters to get approved for your loan. Do your due diligence. 7. Do a final walkthrough. You’ll want to make sure all the repairs have been done that the seller agreed to do. It’s your last chance to verify the condition of the property.  8. Sign the documents.  9. Pay the down payment and closing costs.  10. Get the keys! If you have any other questions about buying a home, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

The pre-approval process is crucial in determining your buying power. Here’s how it works.Selling your home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying a home? Click here to search homes for saleWhy is a pre-approval so important? What all goes into the pre-approval process?First off, you need to get pre-approved so you know what kind of home you are able to buy. Your pre-approval number is generally referred to as your purchasing power. How does your lender calculate this amount? By going through your credit, looking at your income, and determining your debt-to-income ratio, your lender will help you determine what mortgage payment you’re comfortable making.The interest rate you qualify for is a big factor in determining your purchasing power. For example, if you qualified for an interest rate of 3.25%, your mortgage payment for a $250,000 home would be roughly $1,088 per month. If you don’t qualify for that 3.25% rate and instead qualify for a rate as high as 4.75%, your mortgage payment for that same $250,000 home would increase to $1,300 per month. The interest rate you qualify for plays a big role in your purchasing power. See why it’s so important to know what interest rate you’re able to qualify for and lock in? That extra $212 could mean a lot. By saying yes to that increased payment, you’re saying no to eating out more often with your family. A higher mortgage rate means more sacrifices. Many times, I have to explain this process to my clients in more detail, so if you want to dive further into this subject matter, don’t hesitate to ask your own loan officer. They’ll be able to give you the answers you need before buying your first home. If you have any questions or are looking to buy or sell a home, feel free to reach out to us. We’d be happy to help!

How is an agent able to show homes to their clients that they don't have as their own listings? I've received this question a lot lately, so I wanted to explain how it works and how we use the MLS.Selling your home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying a home? Click here to search homes for saleLately, I've had a lot of buyers wondering how I'm able to show them homes that I don't personally have listed. If my picture isn't on the 'for sale' sign, how can I show the home?When a homeowner decides to sell their home with the help of an agent, they're working with a listing agent. The listing agent puts the home on a service called the MLS (multiple listing service), which basically advertises that home to every agent who has access to the MLS. Why would you want your home advertised to these agents, though? When a home is put on the market, there's a certain commission that's agreed upon by the seller to pay the listing agent and the agent who brings them a willing buyer. The agent who brings a buyer is known as a buyer's agent.“Lockboxes let any agent show a home to their buyer, no matter who the listing agent is. ”  The Realtor who shows the home represents the buyer's side of the transaction, whereas the listing agent represents the seller's side of the transaction. Every agent who has access to the MLS also has access to a lockbox, which they can log into for access to the keys to the home. Every time a buyer's agent logs into a lockbox, their ID and license verification get sent to the seller to notify them who is looking at their home and how much traffic is coming in. This will give sellers an idea of whether their home is priced right and attractive to buyers. So that's how we're able to show homes to our clients that aren't our listings. I hope this helps you understand the MLS and how showings work, no matter who the listing agent is. If you have any other questions or you're looking to buy or sell a Sacramento home, give us a call or send us an email. We'd love to help you!

Today's video is dedicated to you. Thanks for all your support in 2016 and beyond. Selling your home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying a home? Click here to search homes for saleWith 2016 coming to a close, we just wanted to reach out today to wish you a happy holiday season as we head into the new chapter of 2017. Thank you so much for your support, your love, and your trust in us to serve you in buying or selling a home. We not only met but exceeded our goals this year and we couldn't have done it without your support. "We couldn't have done it without you!"We hope you and your family have a warm and safe holiday season. We look forward to serving you in the future.As always, if you have any questions or you're looking to buy or sell a home in Sacramento, we're always here to help!

Owning a home doesn't just give you a place to live; it's also a great investment. Allow me to explain why today.  Selling your home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying a home? Click here to search homes for saleOwning a home doesn't just provide you and your family with a place to live; it's also a great investment. Today, I wanted to share three reasons why:1. A mortgage is fixed, but rent is not. It depends on the landlord as to how much, but your rent will go up over time. A mortgage payment will stay the same throughout the lifetime of your loan.2. A mortgage acts as a forced savings account. Down the road, as you pay your mortgage and reduce the balance on your loan, you also increase your equity in the mortgage. If an emergency occurs or you want to make upgrades to your home, you can pull equity out of your mortgage because it acts like a savings account from the beginning. "A mortgage acts as a forced savings account." 3. You can rent out your home if you need to move, and they can pay down your mortgage. You can even potentially earn income from that renter.These are just three reasons why owning a home is beneficial to your finances. If you're looking for more reasons or you're ready to buy or sell a house, give me a call or send me an email soon. I'd love to help you out!

Interest rates have risen since the election, but if you bought a home now, you’d still lock in a lower rate than your parents ever could. Selling your home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying a home? Click here to search homes for sale Today, I have good news and bad news that I want to share with you. The bad news? Since the election, interest rates have gone up. Sadly, they’re no longer hovering around their all-time low average of 3%. The good news? It’s still a good time to buy. Why?To answer that, let’s turn back the clock a little bit. In the 1970s, interest rates were averaging around 8%. In the 80s, that average rose to 12%. Then, in the 90s, it shrunk back down to 8%. In the 2000s, it shrunk down a little further to 6%.  "You can still lock in an ultra-low rate by buying now." Now that we’re almost into 2017, our interest rates are averaging 4%. So, as you see, even as they’ve risen, they’re still incredibly low from a historical perspective. You may have missed out on the apex, but we can’t go back in time. Compared to previous decades, our rates are still historically low, so if you wanted to buy a home, you’d still be locking in a better rate than your parents ever could have. If you’re looking to buy or sell a home, don’t hesitate to reach out to me by phone or email. I hope to hear from you soon!

There are three reasons why owning a home is better than renting one, and they’re not just about the money. Selling your home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying a home? Click here to search homes for saleOne of my clients recently ask me, “Should I buy now and own a home, or should I keep renting and save for a bigger down payment?”This is an important question. Everybody’s situation is a little bit different, but if you find that you’re asking yourself the same question, I can tell you that there are three reasons you should stop renting and go ahead and buy. The first reason is that when you write rent checks to a landlord, you’re paying them—not you. You’re not building any equity for yourself—you’re building equity for your landlord. If you’re renting to try and save for a bigger down payment and prevent PMI being added onto your mortgage, you’re not doing yourself any favors. In all that time, you could’ve been lowering your mortgage and building equity for yourself. The second reason is that when you own a home, you can do whatever you want to it. When you rent, if you want to change anything substantial about the property, you need permission from the landlord. Even if the landlord does give you permission, you’re only upgrading their property—not yours. “Owning a home means building long-term equity. ”  The third reason is if you do buy a home and the experience is too overwhelming, after five years, you have the option of turning the property into a rental home and becoming a landlord, yourself. Do you want to be able to do whatever you want to the house you’re living in? Do you want to be able to pay yourself first and build equity in the long run? Do you want the freedom to be able to become a landlord in the future? If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, you probably have your answer. If you have any questions about this topic, please feel free to reach out to me by phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you!  

There are three aspects of a home inspection that anyone buying a home needs to understand. Selling your home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying a home? Click here to search homes for saleToday I wanted to discuss three important aspects of home inspections. The first thing to remember is that you as a buyer will have to pay for the home inspection. You don't want the seller to pay for the inspection because if they do, they will choose the inspector. As a result, the inspector will look out for the seller’s best interests instead of yours. You want the inspector to be working for you so that he or she can give you an unbiased opinion of the home. Secondly, you will get some recommendations for inspectors from the agent that is helping you buy the home, but you're not obligated to choose any of them. Feel free to do your own research on a home inspector that fits your needs.“You want to be able to choose your own inspector. ”  Finally, don't expect the home inspection report to be very detailed; it will only cover the basics. An inspector is not going to break down walls and look at plumbing or wires. They will only cover the cosmetics of the home to make sure it looks decent, that the water is turned on, the gas works, the power outlets work, and whether the roof looks good. We still recommend having a roofing professional come out to do a detailed roof inspection to find out whether it's certifiable.  Hopefully, this gives you a better idea of what to expect when it comes to home inspections. Remember that you can be present during the inspection. That way, the inspector can address any specific concerns you have. If you have any more questions about home inspections or you're thinking about buying or selling a home in the Sacramento area, give me a call or send me an email. I'd love to help you out!

When you're getting ready to buy a home, don't skip the mortgage pre-approval. Getting this verification from a lender will help you know what you can afford and show sellers that you're a serious buyer.Selling your home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying a home? Click here to search homes for saleThere are three reasons to get pre-approved for a mortgage before you shop for a home:1. You'll know what you can afford. People will come to me wanting to look at homes in a certain price range and then proceed to get pre-approved. Many times, these buyers end up qualifying for more than they thought and have more options for buying a home. You won't have to cap yourself because you'll know what you can afford.2. You won't know what interest rates will be until you lock them in. If you look for a home first and then get pre-approved, you won't have a good idea of what your payment is. You might find out that payments are more than you can afford on a monthly basis, and we have to reduce the purchase price. Interest affects more than just the price, so you want to lock in your rate before shopping.“Getting pre-approved tells you exactly what you can afford. ”  3. You can provide the seller with the pre-approval letter. This is huge if you find yourself up against other offers. If you don't have a pre-approval letter and the offer you're competing against does, the seller will most likely go with the offer with the pre-approval. Why? All the lender information is there to verify that the buyer has the necessary funds. Sometimes sellers who go under contract with buyers who aren't pre-approved will cancel the deal within a week when they find out about their pre-approval status. Don't underestimate any of these three points about getting pre-approved for a loan before you look at homes. If you have any questions about the pre-approval process or you're thinking about buying a home in Sacramento, give us a call or send us an email. We'd be happy to help!

As a buyer, if you find yourself in a multiple offer situation, there are three strategies you can use to help you come away with the home. Selling your home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying a home? Click here to search homes for saleThere are three strategies that you as a buyer can utilize to win a multiple offer situation.The first is shortening the contingency period in your offer. A contingency period in a normal offer is anywhere from 17 to 21 days. Your offer may look stronger if you shorten up your contingency period to perhaps 15 or 10 days. This makes you appear to be more serious about your offer. The seller might be willing to take your offer over other offers that are higher just because your contingency period and your terms make more sense for them.  “Shorten the contingency period in your offer. ”  The second strategy you can use is writing a personal letter to the seller letting them know why they should choose your offer over everyone else’s. That letter could mean the world to them because it makes your offer more personal.The third strategy is to include your lender’s information in your offer. This includes their cell number, email, and the name of their company. In this case, if the seller is looking to do their due diligence on the offer to make sure that you’re approved or have the amount ready for the down payment, they have all the information they need in order to do so.If you’re looking to buy our sell a home, don’t hesitate to get in contact with us. Just give us a call or send us an email, and we’d be happy to help you.

Selling your Elk Grove Home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying an Elk Grove Home? Click here to search homes for saleWhat happens on a listing appointment? Typically, sellers who contact us have a general idea of what the house is worth. Thanks to different sites like Zillow and Redfin, you can get a good approximation of what the home is worth. So why have us walk through the house? First, we give our professional opinion. We let you know exactly what to do to net the most money for your home and sell it the fastest.We also tell you what not to do. We have saved sellers thousands of dollars by letting them know what mistakes to avoid. Not long ago, a seller contacted us and we went on a listing appointment. He talked about renovating his entire kitchen and redoing a bathroom. We advised him to hold off on those major repairs and recommended some smaller fixes instead. Not only did he not have to invest all that time and money on renovating his kitchen, he also got $20,000 more than he expected thanks to our advice. “WE'LL TELL YOU HOW TO NET THE MOST MONEY FROM YOUR HOME SALE. ” After the walk through, we send you a listing agreement. From there, we take professional photographs of your home. We have a great, unique marketing system that allows us to get multiple offers for our sellers. At our listing appointments, we cover everything from A to Z. We have contractors and vendors available to help with the necessary repairs that will sell your home for top dollar. If you have any other questions, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you.

Selling your Elk Grove Home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying an Elk Grove Home? Click here to search homes for saleRecently, I had a buyer consultation with a client, and she asked, “How is the real estate market doing?” Right now, Sacramento has about 1.3 months of housing inventory available. To put that in perspective, a balanced market has four to six months of inventory. Anything below that is considered a seller’s market. With only a little over a month of inventory available, houses that are priced correctly are flying off the market in as little as 10 days. Demand is incredibly high right now, and if a buyer finds the right home, they are moving quickly to make sure they get it. Part of the reason why demand is so high is because interest rates are at an all-time low. The buyer I spoke with was able to get a 30-year fixed rate of 3.6% by working with our preferred lender. If you’re like me and you have a 5% interest rate on your home, now is a good time to look into refinancing your mortgage. Even though it’s a strong seller’s market, it’s a strong borrower’s market as well. The second quarter of 2016 is even better than the first. Since this is such a strong seller’s market, a lot of our properties are getting multiple offers. Recently, we listed a property at $429,000. The property got eight offers and closed at $452,000. The appraiser warned us that the property wouldn’t appraise, but it did! In April, we closed 27 transactions, which is almost a deal a day. As you can see, the Sacramento market is booming. If you have any questions, just give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Selling your Elk Grove Home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying an Elk Grove Home? Click here to search homes for saleWhat’s the best way to find your dream home online in Sacramento? You’ve probably visited at least one of the three real estate giants online in Zillow, Trulia or Redfin, which make up almost 80% of online real estate market. The problem is, the listings are often outdated.Have you or anyone you know found a home you really loved online, only to find that it sold weeks or even months ago?For this very reason, we have a website called www.HeidiPhongHomes.com where you find not only the most relevant info for your house, you’ll do it for free. Us Realtors have access to what’s called the MLS, which is where all new business goes. Agents use it to find houses for their clients - and while you won’t have access to the MLS, our website pulls data from the MLS nearly in real time. Everything is fresh and current, which means no outdated listings like you run into with Zillow, Trulia and Redfin.If you’re looking for homes in the near future or even just shopping around, you want to visit this website. And as always, if you or anyone you know is looking to buy or sell, think of us. We’d love to work with you!

Selling your Elk Grove Home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying an Elk Grove Home? Click here to search homes for saleIs it better to own a home or to rent? As a real estate advisor, there really isn’t a straight answer. In fact, to find out what the right answer is for a particular client’s situation, I ask the following questions: What are your plans for the next 2-5 years? You need to think about your relationships and your job before you make the leap into homeownership. If you may be relocating in coming years, locking in a mortgage may not be the best option.How much are you paying in rent? If rent is, say, $1,600 a month, you have options out there where you would be paying the same amount of money in monthly mortgage and principal payments. What are the benefits of homeownership? If you own your home, you can write off some of your expenses when tax season comes around and, historically, home prices increase over time, so owning a home becomes a type of forced savings. With rates at historic lows, owning a home is more affordable than it usually is! What are the disadvantages of homeownership? When you become a homeowner, you are responsible when things break. If you’re not someone who is willing or able to fix things or find someone who will, homeownership may not be for you. Whether you should buy or rent really depends on how you react to these questions. Buying is not for everyone, but I know there are many people out there unaware that it’s even an option. If you want our help determining what might be best for you, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!

Selling your Elk Grove Home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying an Elk Grove Home? Click here to search homes for saleHave you ever wondered why some homes fail to sell? Typically, there are four reasons for this:Poor marketing. Gone are the days when an agent simply puts up a yard sign, enters your home on the MLS, and waits for a buyer to come along. These days, savvy buyers are cruising the web for homes. In fact, according to the NAR, over 90% of buyers find homes online before they go out looking. We invest over six figures to get our listings  seen by the highest number of buyers!Bad photos. You can’t take photos of your home with an iPhone and expect it to sell. The first showing is online, and if you don’t have professional photographs, buyers won’t even waste their time clicking on the listing. We send out a professional photographer to all of our listings and create a virtual tour for them as well. Incompetent agent. Homes often fail to sell based solely on the agent. There are great agents, in-between ones, and horrible ones. A bad agent will price the home incorrectly and fail to return phone calls. You need an agent who is going to be with you every step of the way!Pricing. Many sellers think they can price their home high and just negotiate down if necessary. However, putting the right price on the home from the start is crucial if you want to sell quickly and for top dollar. It’s not an exact science, but our team has mastered the pricing process! If your home failed to sell for one of these reasons, or if you want to avoid the same fate as other buyers, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you! 

Selling your Elk Grove Home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying an Elk Grove Home? Click here to search homes for saleWhether you’re buying or selling a home, before you hire a Realtor you need to ask them a few questions. We’ll be discussing two very important questions today. Is your Realtor full time or part time? You want a full-time Realtor if you’re buying or selling. Why would you let a part-time worker help you make such an important investment? You want someone that is dedicated to you and your needs.How many homes did they sell last year? If they sold less than 20 or 30 homes, you may want to find someone with more experience. This industry isn’t easy, and you need someone that can help guide you through it, especially in the tough Sacramento market.If you want to hear more questions you should ask your Realtor, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you!

Selling your Elk Grove Home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying an Elk Grove Home? Click here to search homes for saleThere really is only one reason to buy or sell a home right now. That has to do with supply and demand. We have an extremely low supply of homes and a major demand for them.We only have about a 40-day supply of homes here in Sacramento, which is uncharacteristically low. A healthy market would have 4 months of supply, so we need homes on the market! Homes are selling within 25 days and if your home is priced well and in good condition, it could sell even faster.So, what's driving all the demand? Rising interest rates are to blame. People are buying homes now because they know that interest rates will only climb higher. By purchasing a home now, you can save thousands of dollars in interest over the lifetime of your loan.If you're interested in buying a home, I suggest that you do so now. The same goes for home sellers. It's just a great time to be in the real estate market right now. I look forward to hearing from you!

Selling your Elk Grove Home? Click here for a free home value reportBuying an Elk Grove Home? Click here to search homes for saleOn behalf of our team, we just want to say thank you so much! Because of you, we've had our best year in 2015. We value our relationship with you, and just wanted to wish you a Happy New Year.