John Watts's (zwatts1) Blog

According National Association of Realtors (NAR), one-third of first-time home buyers turn to family and friends when purchasing a home last year.  Many of these buyers are receiving a gift.  If the financial aid received is documented as a gift in the loan process, the money is not required to b...

When buying or selling your home all buyers and sellers incur closing cost associated with the transaction.  Normally, closing cost (need to include commission and if 5% down payment) are about 8% to 12% of the property purchase price depending on the type of transaction, other than full cash tra...

Forbes.com recently interviewed interior and furniture designers what they expect to emerge in home design in this new decade.  Off-trend may be the new trend in this decade creating bigger and bolder statements versus the all-white or neutral interiors.  Lighting fixtures will be used to make a ...

Per realtor.com, projected housing inventory in 2020 likely to tighten making it a greater challenge for buyers purchasing a home.  At the same time, there will probably be lower interest rates creating more buyers.  In addition, they predict the inventory of homes available for sale may hit a re...

Projected by TransUnion report there will be an increase in first-time home buyers.  The next 3-years, they estimate there will be 8.3 million first-time buyers entering the mortgage market.  This is an increase over the prior 3-years (2016- 2018) where 7.6 million first-time home buyers were add...

Homeowners who wish to sell their home has a choice to take an instant offer (usually must make a decision in mere days) or sell their home the traditional way.  Selling the traditional way using a real estate agent may result in greater return on your investment.  More companies are investing in...

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently released a survey that we are experiencing lower mortgage rates at this time which makes it more favorable to purchase a home.  Nearly two-thirds of people believe this a good time to move forward purchasing a home.  At the same time, there is a...

The time of year has arrived where homeowners need to think about caring for their lawn during the autumn months in order to have a great lawn come next spring.  Homeowners need to have a good plan to lay the groundwork for next spring.  Here are some suggestions:Mow the lawn – The lawn needs reg...

Now we are seeing a rise in homeowners selling their home to iBuyers versus selling their house on the open market.  Selling to an iBuyer offers more convenience and allows the seller to plan their physical move with less stress.  Since iBuyers may help make your move less stressful, but which me...

Usually home inspections that have best chance to receive a clean inspection report are new homes that have never have been live-in.  Clean inspection report means there are no defects and meet current building code requirements in the area.  To insure there is no defects and property meets curre...