Estate houses in Bethlehem PA? Ranked in the top 1% of Berkshire Hathaway agents nationwide, Rebecca L. Decker Francis and her team specialize in the Lehigh Valley luxury home market. Combining their professional marketing expertise, business acumen and extensive relations both locally and abroad, Rebecca and her team can help buyers and sellers alike achieve their goals. Whether buying or selling a fine home, their access to the latest technologies and market research, along with their ability to network with other top luxury agents will benefit clients and enhance their buying or selling experience. Read even more information on read more on Rebecca Francis Team.
Create A List Of Amenities – When shopping for a home, list the Top 10 features (fireplace, fenced-in yard, new appliances, etc.) that are most important to you. Establishing this criteria early will save time shopping for inappropriate homes and keep you from buying a home on a whim. Your top reason for buying a home should be the value you are getting. That being said, some of your top 10 amenities could be sacrificed if an incredible value becomes available.
A Credit Card is Not Free Money: A credit card is a useful tool in your finance toolkit, but it’s not free money. When you purchase something with your credit card, you are borrowing money from the bank. If you don’t give that money back in time, the bank is going to start charging interest on your balance. This debt can build up and become a monster if you don’t pay off your balance every month. However, if you use a credit card responsibly and pay off the balance every month, it’s a good way to start building credit. Most credit cards also have other benefits such as rewards points, cash back, or travel points. So, should you have a credit card? Well, it depends. If you’re capable of paying off the balance in full every month, then you should have no problem managing a credit card and staying out of debt. PS: If you are going to use a credit card, you should monitor your credit score & credit report regularly with a free tool like Credit Sesame (or Borrowell if you’re in Canada). One last tip: Treat your credit card as a debit card. Pay it off in full every day if you have to. I try to pay off my balance every couple of weeks so that I don’t forget. I also use Trim to remind me when payment is due.
Location is by far the most important part of buying real estate. You can change condition, you can change price, you can’t change the location of a house. If there is one thing a buyer should never sacrifice on its location. The location of a house will have the largest impact on its price, and potential future appreciation. One analogy we use to demonstrate how important location is this: If you take the least expensive home in the world, and you put it in downtown New York City, it is worth millions. If you start shopping homes for sale in all different locations you’ll never build a proper frame of reference to understand what constitutes a great deal, a good deal, and a lousy deal. You want to become an expert in a certain area so that when it comes time to make an offer, you can do so with conviction and confidence.
Lastly, take a moment to ensure you actually want to buy a home as opposed to continuing to rent. I constantly hear the old “throwing away money on rent” line and it never gets old. Then I proceed to fantasize about renting with not a care in the world. Are you sure you’re throwing away money on rent? Renting can be pretty awesome. You don’t pay property taxes, homeowners insurance, HOA dues, PMI, or mortgage interest. And you can leave whenever you want. That sounds like a sweet deal too. Oh, and if anything goes wrong, you can just call your landlord or property management company. With a home, the problem is yours, and yours alone to deal with. Broken water heater? You’re paying thousands out of pocket, not the landlord.
In Lehigh Valley, you’ll quickly find that the pace of life allows for less time commuting back and forth from the office and more time establishing a homebase within the community, plus some extra time (and money) to taste your way through the local food scene, immerse yourself in arts and culture, and explore the great outdoors with an impressive lineup of parks, trails, and waterways. In the pages ahead, we offer a look at the region through the eyes of locals who call Lehigh Valley home. Explore opportunities for living, working, and learning in this land of makers and dreamers, fueled by heritage and tradition that build strong, thriving communities. Find more details at rebeccafrancisteam.foxroach.com.
