by Erin Romanski | Jun 8, 2020 | Buying a Home, Community
Home ownership is an admirable step into the American Dream. However, if you’re a first time home buyer, there might be some mystery looming about the process. There really are so many facets to purchasing a home, but once you understand it all, it’s smooth sailing. That’s what we’re here for. We want you to know exactly what you’re getting into, and we even have some tips for you to start with! Shop around for a lender. We have a recommendations that we love to work with who’ve taken great care of our clients. Ask questions about things such as earnest money, PMI, loan selling, and types of loans.You do not need 20% down to purchase a home. There are many mortgage options allowing from 0% down (USDA and VA loans), 3.5% down (FHA) and 5% or more down options with Conventional financing. Click here to view the difference between them all!Hire a Romanski Group Real Estate Agent to represent your best interests.Don’t move too quickly! Be patient. You might need to make a list of totally non negotiables, but let the rest go. Set a budget and do not exceed your budget! Diligence in this area gives freedom in the buying process because you know exactly what you can and cannot afford. When looking at houses, be sure to take in the neighborhood as well! Here are a few tips on that. Building a home is also an option as a first time homebuyer. Contact The Romanski Group for a list of recommended home builders in the Greater Lafayette area. Periodically, our team organizes a First Time Home...
by Erin Romanski | Jun 8, 2020 | Buying a Home, Community
As Indiana continues to take strides toward long term physical, social, and economical health, Gov. Eric Holcomb and his team have another wave of openings and developments unfolding for the entire state. The next segment, affectionately titled, “Where We’re Going” gives clear instruction for the current active date of June 14th, 2020. Journey with us and explore the details of what Greater Lafayette, IN life will be like as stage 3 gives way! For future or additional modifications and up to date social distance regulations, please refer to the “Back on Track” website. It’s easy to navigate, with convenient, accessible, thorough information. The official Executive Order details can be found here. Who is Open or Opening Soon? According to Governor Eric Holcomb’s Back on Track Plan, we are currently in stage 3. This includes gatherings of up to 100 people, restaurants open at 50% capacity, gym openings, and quite a bit more. Click here to view an entire document recording all specifics of stage 3. On June 14th, 2020, Indiana moves into stage 4. This moves restaurant seating to 75% capacity, malls and office buildings to full capacity, opens and lifts restrictions of government buildings, and opens movie theaters and bowling alleys at 50% capacity. Click here to view the entire document recording app specifics of stage 4. Real Estate and the Corona Virus Real Estate remains an essential business, and we’re ready to help at any time. Buying a home right now is a great option with interest rates at record lows! The market tilts in the seller’s favor currently, so selling your home is a great options right now,...
by Erin Romanski | Jun 5, 2020 | Buying a Home, Community
Greater Lafayette, IN is a great place to live, and we’re not just saying that. There are many contributing factors to this claim. However, some of the biggest pertain to our growing industrial and business presence. This benefits Greater Lafayette, IN community members in obvious ways such as product and job availability, diversity, rising incomes and therefore rising house prices. When you take Lafayette, IN through the list of, “10 Things You Should Look for When Choosing a New Neighborhood,” from Forbes Magazine, it checks all the boxes! Now that you’re convinced to move this direction or stay for a lifetime, here are some “smaller scale” neighborhood selection pointers. When you scope out a suburb or small subdivision, keep these things in mind. Upkeep of surrounding houses. There are certain factors to this, but overall, the houses throughout the neighborhoods reflect a couple things. It can sometimes reveal the presence of an HOA (Home Owner’s Association) or the absence of one. An HOA can be helpful in overall appearance, requiring community members to purchase certain mailboxes or other exterior house items. It can also allude to the rental to home ownership ratio. This is important because a healthy, established neighborhood has a mixture of both rentals and owners. Forbes says, “According to industry estimates, you want to ideally buy in a community where less than 25% of homes are rented out.”School district“One Realtor.com survey found 91% of prospective home buyers said school boundaries were important in their search. There’s no shortage of school ratings online, but the data can be narrow. GreatSchools.org, for instance, compares test results for all schools in the state, which...
by Erin Romanski | May 20, 2020 | Buying a Home, Market Updates, Selling a Home
The spring of 2020 is one that will never be forgotten! Greater Lafayette market has held steady despite the pandemic. Here are some stats for March and April 2020 compared to the same time periods in 2019 to give you a snapshot of what happened… Demand Due To Low Housing Supply A normal market is considered to have a 6-7 month supply of inventory to be considered balanced. We have seen and experienced in Tippecanoe County that a shortage of inventory tends to keep home prices strong and has resulted in multiple offers and bidding wars. Tight inventory is a main reason the ball is still in the sellers’ court. The inventory of existing homes for sale remains below the 6 months needed for a normal market and is only at a 1.7 month supply looking at April 2020. This means, there are not enough homes for sale to satisfy the number of buyers in our market. Historically, a homeowner would stay an average of six years in his or her home. Since 2011, that number has hovered between nine and ten years. There is a pent-up desire for many homeowners to move as they were unable to sell over the last few years due to a negative equity situation. As home values continue to appreciate, more and more homeowners will be given the freedom to move. Many homeowners were reluctant to list their homes over the last couple of years, for fear they would not find a home to move into. That is all changing now as more homes come to market at the higher end. The choices buyers have will...
by Erin Romanski | Apr 25, 2020 | Buying a Home
Now could be a great time to take advantage of our virtual home buying program! For the past several years, we have helped many buyers purchase homes without having to leave the comfort of their current home. HERE’S HOW IT WORKS: Virtual home buying might not be for everyone. You can still have the option of doing any of the above safely in person with us. For every step of the process, we make virtual an option to make things easier on you. For up-to-date information on YOUR Indiana area neighborhood or a FREE Seller Consultation – call The Romanski Group at (765) 293.9200. Using an experienced team is the way to get your home SOLD! You deserve the BEST Realtor in the Lafayette Indiana...
by Erin Romanski | Feb 11, 2020 | Buying a Home, Homeowner Tips, Market Updates
The recent drop in mortgage rates may have you dreaming of buying a new home or refinancing your current house. You’re not alone. Today’s low interest rates are providing a break to new homeowners, making homeownership more desirable and achievable at the same time. Freddie Mac explains, “The combination of very low mortgage rates, a strong economy and more positive financial market sentiment all point to home purchase demand continuing to rise over the next few months.” There’s a current narrative that owning a home today is less affordable than it has been in the past. The reason some are making this claim is because house prices have substantially increased over the last several years. It’s not, however, just the price of a home that matters. Homes, in most cases, are purchased with a mortgage. The current mortgage rate is a major component of the affordability equation. Mortgage rates have fallen by over a full percentage point since December 2018. Another major piece of the affordability equation is a buyer’s income. The median family income has risen by approximately 3% over the last year. The chart below is featured from FRED Economic Research. It shows the 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage in the United States from 1980 to current times. Look at that drop, how crazy! In just 40 years, mortgage interest rates have dropped almost 15%! What an incredible cost savings! The National Association of Realtors (NAR) releases a monthly Housing Affordability Index. The latest index shows that home affordability is better today than at almost any point over the last 30 years. The index determines how affordable homes are based on the following: “A Home Affordability...
