Retire In Style - Strategies Toward Finding Your Dream Home

 This helpful article provided by Bob Shannon at http://SeniorsMeet.org :

 

Retirement is the long-awaited reward after a lengthy career. Dreams don’t end at retirement though, as this is merely the beginning of a rich, rewarding chapter of life. Retirement dreams often come with ideas in mind such as more time with family, traveling and diving into hobbies like homesteading. An important factor to consider along the way is whether your current home has adequate space for your family to visit as well as areas for your hobbies and daily living needs. If the logistics of buying a new home to meet your retirement needs feels daunting, there are some strategies you can employ to ensure success.

 

What to Consider for the Home

It can be challenging to find a home that matches your dreams and fits the budget. Finding an affordable home doesn’t mean you need to compromise your ideals, it may just require you to use your ingenuity to make it work. If you find a home with good bones and the basic idea of what you are seeking, don’t be shy about renovating. Often the difference between decent and ideal is simply a matter of knocking down a wall, adding an addition or building on a sunroom. Let your imagination guide you.

 

Home shopping is an emotional experience, and as a result, it is easy to fall in love with a place that isn’t suited for your practical needs in daily life. Before you begin shopping for homes, consider your square footage needs, the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and space for starting seedlings and hatching chicks if you plan to homestead. Designated space for a workshop can be ideal to avoid having to drag out equipment and put it away after each use. And the grandchildren might also enjoy having their own playroom for the same reason.

What to Consider About Lending

 

If you’ll need to take out a mortgage, there’s a lot to think about. As you consider loan options, shop around for the best lender. Your specific mortgage needs may differ from others, and a reputable lender will walk you through all the options to ensure that you get the best mortgage possible. You may be able to access lower closing costs through certain lenders or obtain a loan that is geared toward seniors. Beware of predatory lending and other scams on seniors, however, and if a plan seems too good to be true, it probably is. Consumer protections exist, and if you wish to check on the reputation of a lender, consider doing a background check on the organization before giving them any information.

 

Real estate can move quickly. It may feel as though you are being rushed through the process, but often realtors watch their clients lose a dream home because they were hesitant to take action.

The Silver Lining for Acting Fast

Acting fast on a real estate transaction can feel like a major gamble, particularly if your current home has not yet sold. The risk can offer rewards if you can withstand the pressure of buying before selling. Some of the rewards for buying first include the option to rent your existing home to pay for your new home’s mortgage and the ability to focus on one transaction at a time. Talk to your real estate agent as soon as possible if you realize you’ll need an extended closing.

 

Your retirement dream home may be more accessible than you think. Make a plan in advance, considering your housing and hobby needs, as well as space for your loved ones to visit. Make sure you invest time in learning about loan options prior to starting the process, and as you begin house shopping, keep your eye on renovation potential as a means of finding an affordable home. Honor your retirement dreams and enjoy your golden years in a home that makes you smile.

 

Again - our thanks to Bob Shannon at http://SeniorsMeet.org 

We Never Would Have Known

Obviously, the National Association of Realtors is trying to help with and encourage home (and all property sales) around the country. Hundreds of thousands of members around the country are paying dues (in more ways than one!) and expecting complete support.

We understand that statistics are kept all around the country about local home sales and prices, and that comparisons are made. These comparisons are made against previous months and years.

As we begin 2021, the nation continues to be in a pandemic. The real estate market comparisons are, frankly, not justified against one year ago and prior.

Our problem this week is that the NAR has put out its report showing home sales are down for November 2020. No kidding? It was a controversial and highly anticipated election month. Of course people were not looking to sell or buy nearly as much.

Yet, this report shows the decline. And, yes, there was an understandable decline in property sales during November.

But WHY is this being reported? We would like to think that NAR members would not want to give anyone even the slightest negative. Don't tell the public that not as many homes are selling. It does nothing but put some degree of doubt in the minds of people that may have been "thinking about" selling.

 

We would not expect any consumers to notice that there were no home sales statistics reported for a month, and there would not have been any doubt cast.

 

Even as the residential real estate market is overall encouraging, the real estate community should think twice about what gets reported. It needs to be positive, or not at all, while we deal with current circumstances.

 

 https://www.nar.realtor/infographics/pending-home-sales-snapshot

Making A Visually Impaired Person Feel At Home

 

 One of the many overlooked aspects of marketing in real estate is helping those who are disabled or have physical challenges with finding or modifying a residence in order to accommodate. 

Typically, we do not do guest posts, but Harry Cline at NewCareGiver.org provides a great case to do so with the below article.

Thanks again to Harry Cline for this valuable info:

 

If you are in the process of making modifications to a house to help a person with a visual impairment feel at home, you have a great deal to consider. Your top priority should be to make the home as organized and functional as possible. People are much more comfortable in spaces that are free of clutter and organized in a logical way. You also should consider the person’s needs and routines. When you make modifications with the person in mind, you’re sure to create a comfortable space that helps him feel right at home.

 

1. Get Organized by Eliminating Clutter

 

While you may have an organization system that makes sense to you, your organization system should be logical enough that it makes sense to others. For instance, if you throw everything from chewing gum and masking tape to knife sharpeners and scissors into a junk drawer, you probably will be the only person in the home who can locate a specific item in that drawer in under 30 minutes. Organized chaos may work for you, but it will not work for a person with a visual impairment.

 

That’s why one of the first things you should do to help a person with a visual impairment feel at home is to get organized by eliminating clutter. Clutter makes it difficult to navigate the home, and it makes it virtually impossible for someone with a visual impairment to find anything. Go room by room and make sure that there is a place for everything. If there isn’t, decide which items you want to keep, which you want to donate, and which you want to discard. Don’t forget to remove clutter from drawers, closets, cabinets, cupboards, and pantries, too.

 

2. Address Repairs and Clean Up

 

Safety is a top priority, so you’ll want to tackle any repairs that if left alone could be hazardous. For example, loose handrails, broken windows, hard-to-navigate corners and broken steps could prove risky for a visually-impaired person. Tackle what you can yourself, and outsource any other repairs to professionals.

 

Now is also a good time for a top-to-bottom clean. Get into the nooks and crannies, dust, clean counters as well as appliances, and make sure the bathroom has been given a thorough once-over. This is also a good time to address any deeper cleaning needs such as carpeting, curtains, upholstery and even air ducts.

 

3. Make It Easier to Cook

 

People with a visual impairment prefer to be independent, so it’s a good idea to make a few modifications to your kitchen to make cooking a little easier. There are several kitchen gadgets and tools available to assist cooks with low vision. One helpful gadget is a thermometer that reads temperatures aloud. It’s also a good idea to purchase some extended oven mitts to protect the forearms from accidental burns, a liquid indicator to avoid spills, and measuring cups and spoons with large print. Consider adding a task light to kitchen work areas, especially where people cut food, to make sure there is as much light as possible.

 

Another helpful tool is the PenFriend 3. When you start organizing your kitchen, you may be surprised when you find just how many food items are of similar size and shape. It becomes difficult for a person with a visual impairment to distinguish these similar items, but the PenFriend 3 solves the problem with its audio labels. Label everything from pasta to canned beans in the pantry.

 

With a few simple home modifications, you can help a person with a visual impairment feel right at home. Begin by eliminating clutter and getting organized, hiring a housekeeper, and making it easier to cook.

What's Up, Doc? Unfortunately, It's His Time

The national play-by-play announcers come under criticism from fans of the participating teams seemingly all of the time, with one exception. And now, sports fans have lost that exception, albeit due to a partial retirement.

Mike "Doc" Emrick announced that he is stepping down from play-by-play of NHL games after exactly 50 years of having done so. It doesn't seem as if any hockey fans criticized his descriptions at any time. His incredible enthusiasm for the NHL came through as solidly this month in the Stanley Cup Finals as it did 40 years ago.

Emrick, who took the "Doc" nickname after graduating from college with a PhD, was the lead voice for NBC over the past 15 years. Some will recall his years as lead voice for USA Network when they carried the NHL in the 80's and early 90's, working with Bill Clement as his analyst.

He called the Stanley Cup Finals 22 times, along with an incredible 45 calls of Game 7 of a Stanley Cup series. Although Doc will continue with NBC Sports on a part-time basis, this is a blow for hockey fans. From here, he has been, by far, the best of all of the lead national announcers of all of the pro sports.

Speaking of lead national announcers, like him or not, you have to give Joe Buck a ton of credit for dealing with the broadcast schedule Fox (and 2020) brought his way over these couple of weeks. Last week, he called 6 consecutive games of the NLCS between Atlanta and L.A. on Fox and FS1. (That came off of doing NFL games the previous Thursday and Sunday.) Buck was unable to call Game 7 of the NLCS because he was scheduled to go from Dallas to Tampa to call the Packers-Buccaneers doubleheader game on Sunday (10/18).

Due to the  postponement of the Chiefs-Bills game to Monday (10/19), Joe called the late afternoon game, making it a highly unusual call of two NFL games in two days. His "every day" schedule continues this week with the first two games of the World Series on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday he calls the NFL game between the Giants and Eagles, and then it's back to Dallas to call the World Series games on Fox until conclusion. This schedule is unprecedented work for a national announcer.

Sportscaster Mike Yam was able to bounce back after being dropped from the Pac-12 Network as part of layoffs made before the Conference decided to play this year. Yam has been added by NFL Network as an anchor, as well as continuing on SiriusXM's college football channel as a host.

This coming weekend marks the return of the Big 10, much to the delight of ESPN/ABC and Fox Sports. Here is the schedule, with Eastern Times, for this coming weekend:

    Friday, October 23rd: Illinois @ Wisconsin, 8 PM, BTN
    Saturday, October 24th: Nebraska @ Ohio State, 12 PM, Fox
    Saturday, October 24th: Rutgers @ Michigan State, 12 PM, BTN
    Saturday, October 24th: Penn State @ Indiana, 3:30 PM, FS1
    Saturday, October 24th: Iowa @ Purdue, 3:30 PM, BTN
    Saturday, October 24th: Michigan @ Minnesota, 7:30 PM, ABC
    Saturday, October 24th: Maryland @ Northwestern, 7:30 PM, BTN

The MAC also returns and will take over with a series of weeknight telecasts. These might attract more viewers than past seasons because they will not be opposed by NBA or NHL telecasts this fall. Here is the MAC schedule for the first two weeks of their season:

    Wednesday, November 4th: Ball State @ Miami, Ohio, 7 PM, CBS Sports Network
    Wednesday, November 4th: Western Michigan @ Akron, 6 PM, ESPN3
    Wednesday, November 4th: Ohio @ Central Michigan, 7 PM, ESPN
    Wednesday, November 4th: Buffalo @ Northern Illinois, 7 PM, ESPN2
    Wednesday, November 4th: Bowling Green @ Toledo, 8 PM, ESPNU
    Tuesday, November 10th: Kent State @ Bowling Green, 7 PM, ESPN

    Tuesday, November 10th: Akron @ Ohio, 7 PM, CBS Sports Network    

    Tuesday, November 10th: Miami, Ohio @ Buffalo, 8 PM, ESPN
    Wednesday, November 11th: Toledo @ Western Michigan, 8 PM, ESPN2

   Wednesday, November 11th: Eastern Michigan @ Ball State,7 PM, CBS Sports Network                 

   Wednesday, November 11th: Central Michigan @ Northern Illinois, 8 PM, ESPNU

Overall it will be interesting to monitor the ratings for the NFL and college football starting next week, since there will be no major competition from other sports during November and December.

Comparing Apples to Poison Ivy

 The story (linked below) is designed to restore faith in radio advertising, which is understandable. However, in doing so radio is taking a similar approach to real estate. In this instance, the two are similar. 

Radio offers audience targeting, as some stations appeal more to males, females, and/or age groups in order to attract appropriate advertisers. To do so, past and present listener statistics are important to the decision makers. 

Meanwhile, many real estate offices look at it the same way. Realty offices and associations keep putting out comparison statistics on home sales and market trends, always based on previous months and years. 

How anyone can put any credence into any trends from before March 2020 at this time is beyond my radar at this time. Radio has been hit hard by the pandemic, just as real estate and most other industries. 

People were buying, selling, and renting homes one year ago under drastically different circumstances than we have today. They may have felt different about their jobs and financial security. In addition, their home may have been in a location with respect to their commute, which now may be a thing of the past.

Just as our radio listening habits may have changed over the past year, it has little or nothing to do with the station(s) that people choose to listen to. Same theory for real estate. Comparing against one year ago is no longer a reasonable comparison. At least it won't be until April 2021.

http://www.insideradio.com/free/the-connected-car-is-helping-show-the-effectiveness-of-radio-advertising/article_fc1c74a4-0d24-11eb-b4fc-cbe25e79323f.html

May I Have The Envelope Please?

The story linked below is, technically, a real estate "story", but the reality is this is a marketing inspiration. 

 

Briefly, the Newsweek story is about a real estate investor that purchased a single family house to rehab and eventually sell for a profit. During his interior "tear down", he discovered envelopes of cash amounting to roughly $10,000. He gave the money to the seller and then did not accept the reward offered by the seller and family for doing this good deed.

 

Of course, this is not to say that Mr. Dow would not have done such a wonderful thing under any circumstances. I personally know more than one person that found large sums of cash while "going through" a home which had not been theirs. Let's just say that money was not returned.The point here is that by doing so, Mr. Dow gained it back with far more than $10,000 worth of publicity. At the same time, he made another family very happy, while benefiting in his own way.

 

By returning the money, Mr. Dow gained favorable publicity for himself and the company he represents (which has independent offices around the country). He could not have bought that kind of publicity, especially in a publication such as Newsweek, for "only" $10,000. And that does not include any other publications and sources which pick up the story.

 

From a marketing standpoint, this was a brilliant move. Quite frankly, some homeowners have a poor image of "rehabbers" because of the discounted prices they get prices for after negotiation. This story goes against that reputation, while placing Mr. Dow ahead of the pack in his category. 

 

Again, Mr. Dow may have returned the money regardless of the reward. In this case, everyone benefits in some way. This story will (most likely) lead to at least one "additional" rehab project for him and his team. Chances are the profit from just one deal will amount to more than $10,000. Whatever that total, he would not have generated that without this article.

 

That becomes his "reward" for returning the money.  It is also great real estate marketing. It was also his "reward" for the seller!

 

https://www.newsweek.com/man-finds-10k-hidden-home-purchased-returns-all-1536708

Will Healthcare Loans Take Away From Mortgage Loans?

 It was only a matter of time before a money company would figure out how to finance healthcare costs, especially with everything we are all facing at this time in our lives.

In theory, this company (described in the article linked at the conclusion) has an excellent idea in terms of enabling people to be able to pay off exorbitant health care costs over a period of time.

From the standpoint of impact, the guess is that real estate will be the industry to feel the negative impact from this idea. If and when this healthcare financing takes off, it is likely that thousands of people will receive these loans. Chances are the healthcare costs could be well into five figures and perhaps into six figures in come cases. 

Those are loans which will be the equivalent of a mortgage for these thousands of people. Logic tells us that if thousands of people now have healthcare loans which are equal to what a mortgage would be, the likelihood of also carrying a mortgage drops significantly.

Obviously, the need for personal (or family) healthcare financing is not a choice or an option like a mortgage is. Regardless, the odds are that people will concentrate on spreading out healthcare payments takes priority over buying vs. renting or combined living with other family members. 

As a result, this approach could be good for landlords and not good for sellers.

 

 https://www.americanbanker.com/news/new-subprime-lending-startup-will-focus-on-financing-healthcare

The New Second Home Is A Temporary One

 It is an interesting finding that "high end" second home sales are considered to be on the rise. Instead of incorporating this into a market trend, it would be better to consider the impact on the future.

My take is that people are not doing this as a real estate investment or to have a "second home" for the long term. The longer these 'buyers' can work from home (or without having to constantly commute to an office location), the lower the chances of returning to that status.

As soon as they learn they don't have to "return" to their current city home (the 'first' home in this scenario), the next step will be to place the 'first' home on the market. The "second home" will become the primary residence. 

If, for some reason, they need to return to commuting, the "second home" goes back on the market or becomes a rental property.

You heard it here first.

 

 

 https://www.builderonline.com/money/economics/as-covid-19-continues-high-end-second-home-sales-are-on-the-rise_o

Think Before Marketing Property Amenities

With all due respect to this listing agent, I'm going to use this example to point out the need to make every single property description as unique as possible while maintaining focus on the overall presentation.

This home (linked below) is promoted as a "custom built dream home", which could very well be the case. However, the property also contains a hangar and an airstrip.

It is true that would be something that is a part of a custom built home and property. However, those features are, if I may venture to guess, not likely to be "dream home" amenities for the majority of buyers.

In addition, one of the first facts provided in the description is that the location is "45 minutes from O'Hare Airport".

First of all, being 45 minutes from anything is not something worth highlighting. But that point is overruled by another question. If this property contains a hangar and airstrip, why does it matter where the nearest full sized airport is?

My point is that further in, you see that this home and property do have many desirable amenities. In order to appeal to a larger pool of potential buyers, those need to be pointed out well ahead of the airplane and airport facts.

It is not always what makes a property unique. It is identifying the most likely selling points before publishing the description.

Unless this was changed since it's 8/6/20 posting, here is the description in question:

http://mredllc.com/smyl/myListing/?id=MDk4OTkzNTg6NzY3OQ