Buying or Selling a Home/house

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Expert: - 3/31/2011


Question
I need help with this question.

I pay rent $1500 per month.  I am thinking of getting a house because in the long rent and only like even 7 years, the rent would be $126,000.  I would better pay that for a house.

Answer
Hi Henry,
Sounds like you've got a good idea.  You're certainly paying enough to afford a home, but remember you you need to have funds for closing costs and a down payment.  You can expect closing costs to be about 3% of the value of the house and on a Conventional Load, down payment will be 20% of the Sales price.  If you are short of funds for this, talk with a lender to see if you qualify for an FHA or VA loan.

Buying or Selling a Home

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Sharon Huneycutt, Realtor, Associate Broker, GRI, e-PRO

Expertise

A lot of people who want to move to the mountains don't really realize what it might involve. For instance, here in North Georgia, if you want a mountain view, you may have to drive up very steep roads. Will you have well water (That's usually good!)? Do you speak septic tanks? Have you considered that if you want really want to get away from it all, you'll do it on a gravel road? What's difference between a Log home and a Log Sided home? How can I tell? Who takes care of the house when you're not there? Where can you stay to check it out? This is a very popular area for second homes and investment properties or when you finally decide to get way from it all, I can find your perfect property. I can answer questions on North Georgia Mountain living, housing, land, amenities, and activities. We handle a lot of foreclosed properties in our office so I have become a Certified REO Specialist. REO means Real Estate Owned and is the industry name for a Foreclosure. It refers to "owned by a bank or other corporate entity". If it involves an area of expertise I don't have, I can probably tell you what kind of an expert you do need.

Experience

We've had property in the Ellijay area for over 10 years. My husband, who is a Civil Engineer and Appraiser, and I built our own log home. We researched log homes and North Georgia for three years before choosing Ellijay. Because of the building experience and being married to an engineer/appraiser, my real estate experience is a bit more extensive than average. I also am an education freak believing that the more you know, the better off you are. My husband and I both like photography, so we drive and hike all over the mountains looking for pictures.

Education/Credentials
MHA, CMA, Licensed Realtor, Associate Broker, e-PRO, GRI, Certified REO Specialist. Realtors are required to have 24 hours of continuing education every 4 years. In the last three years, I have 180 hours so far!

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