Do I need a home inspection?

Yes. Even in this crazy market that we're in, in 2021, we would never recommend to our buyers to waive their home inspection. If you wanna pay above appraise value, you wanna pay more money, there's a lot of other creative ways to make your offer stronger. But at the end of the day, just visually walking through a house, there's a lot of things that we could be missing that a home inspector is gonna pick up. Please don't waive your home inspection. That's just a really easy way to get really hurt financially down the road when the property is not in the condition that you thought it was in.

An inspection normally costs around $500 to $600 bucks, depending on the type of inspections that you're getting and the type…

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Homeownership is still a crucial part of the American dream. For those people who own a home (and those looking to buy one), it’s clear that being a homeowner has considerable benefits both emotionally and financially. In addition to long-term stability, buying a home is one of the best ways to increase your net worth. This boost to your wealth comes in the form of equity.

Equity is the difference between what you owe on the home and its market value based on factors like price appreciation.

The best thing about equity is that it often grows without you even realizing it, especially in a sellers’ market like we’re in now. In today’s real estate market, the combination of low housing supply and high buyer demand is driving home values up. This is…

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Rents have increased significantly this year. The latest National Rent Report from Apartmentlist.com shows rents are rising at a rate much higher than the three years leading up to the pandemic:

“Since January of this year, the national median rent has increased by a staggering 16.4 percent. To put that in context, rent growth from January to September averaged just 3.4 percent in the pre-pandemic years from 2017-2019.”

Looking back, we can see rents rising isn’t new. The median rental price has increased consistently over the past 33 years (see graph below):

If you’re thinking of renting for another year, consider that rents will likely be even higher next year. But that alone doesn’t paint the picture of the true cost of renting.

…

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The last 18 months changed what many buyers are looking for in a home. Recently, the American Institute of Architects released their AIA Home Design Trends Survey results for Q3 2021. The survey reveals the following:

  • 70% of respondents want more outdoor living space
  • 69% of respondents want a home office (48% wanted multiple offices)
  • 46% of respondents want a multi-function room/flexible space
  • 42% of respondents want an au pair/in-law suite
  • 39% of respondents want an exercise room/yoga space

If you’re a homeowner who wants to add any of the above, you have two options: renovate your current house or buy a home that already has the spaces you desire. The decision you make could be determined by factors like:

  1. A possible…

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