Best Louisiana real estate market opportunities today with Jason Adams

Jason Adams New Orleans top real estate strategies in 2022? Limit your house payment to no more than 25% of your monthly take-home pay. This payment includes principal, interest, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance and, if your down payment is lower than 20%, private mortgage insurance (PMI). Plus, don’t forget to consider homeowner’s association (HOA) fees when preparing your budget. Save at least a 10–20% down payment. A 20% or more down payment helps you avoid PMI—an extra fee added to your mortgage to protect your lender (not you) in case you don’t make payments. Anything less than 10% will drown you in extra interest and fees. Saving a big down payment like this is possible! If you stay patient and motivated, you can save for a five-figure down payment by this time next year. See additional details at Jason Adams.

While you’re at it, you should check your credit scores (all 3 of them) and determine if anything needs to be addressed. As I always say, credit scoring changes can take time, so give yourself plenty of it. Don’t wait until the last minute to fix any errors or issues. And while you’re addressing anything that needs more attention, do yourself a favor and put the credit cards in the freezer (or somewhere else out of reach). Lots of spending, even if you pay it back, can ding your scores, even if just momentarily. It can also increase your DTI ratio and limit your purchasing power. Ultimately, bad timing can create big headaches. Additionally, pumping the brakes on spending might give you a nice buffer for closing costs, down payment funds, moving costs, and renovation expenses once you do buy.

The most important of my home renovation tips is this: your contract should outline the schedule of which the project will be completed and at what point draws will be made. ‘Draws’ is the term for financial payments that the homeowner makes to the contractor usually in percentage form. So for example: weeks 2 & 3 will be for demolition, installation of the framing, base work for the hardwood floors, and wiring for the electrician. 10% draw. From the very beginning, you need to stick to the draw schedule to the T. Let the contractor know that any single delay any of the line items means a delay of payment. Contractors will often tell you that they need more money to finish a certain section but that makes for a slippery slope. Trust me.

This should be a necessity for anyone who is buying real estate. You don’t want to buy a home that has a crack in the foundation or needs a new roof. A home inspection can spot these and other things that are wrong with the house, which gives you far more negotiating power, and it gives you a reasonable idea of what to expect in terms of expenses for the future. What type of storage space does the estate have? Is it a luxury home with plenty of space, or is it going to be a tight squeeze when you move all of your stuff in? This is important as you begin your home search, you want to set proper expectations for how much room you’ll really need.

Here are some real estate opportunities from Jason Adams Metairie: Once you select a lender, you should speak with a loan officer as quickly as possible. At this point, there is one thing you should know. Pre-qualifying means absolutely nothing. All pre-qualifying does is determine the amount of the loan you could qualify for based on factors such as your credit, salary, etc. It does not guarantee that a lender will actually loan you the money. It’s more important to get PRE-APPROVED. Pre-approval means that your application has been submitted to a lender who is willing to extend you a specific loan amount, pending a property and appraisal. Being pre-approved lets you know that you won’t be denied for a loan, and it also provides you with leverage to negotiate the purchase price of a home with the seller.

Have Financial Goals: If you want to accomplish financial goals, you need to figure out what goals are important to you first. Having a clear goal can keep you motivated and help you come up with a plan to reach that goal even faster. Now, don’t think that you need to set outrageous goals. If this is your first time thinking about personal financial goals, start off small and work your way up from there. I’d suggest coming up with a few different goals in each of these categories: What you want to achieve in the next 3-months, In the next year, In the next five years. This way you’ll have some short-term goals to look forward too, and some long-term goals to work towards as well. Your short-term goals may even be small stepping stones towards your bigger goals. So, remember to set long-term and short-term goals, and keep track of them too! Write them down somewhere and set a day each month to track your progress.

Renovating increases the house value says Jason Adams : Renovation can turn into a nightmare if your builders or subcontractors fail to do a good job. Always be suspicious of an estimate or quote that is considerably cheaper than all the others, or someone who is available for work immediately. Ask for references, and speak to their previous clients. The golden rule when refurbishing older buildings with solid walls is to use traditional materials that are compatible with the way they were originally built, i.e. lime-based mortars, renders and plasters, rather than anything containing modern cement. Old buildings with shallow foundations are affected by seasonal ground movement and because cement is very brittle it tends to develop small cracks. This allows rain to penetrate, which then can’t escape. Modern paints applied to walls can also cause trouble by blocking natural evaporation.

This is one of California’s most affordable markets— the median home value here is only $385,000. That’s less than half the statewide average, though prices are rising rapidly, increasing by 16.7% year over year. The pace of sales here is brisk, though possibly slowing down, with homes selling after an average of only 10 days on the market in May 2022 – a slight increase from the previous year’s 8 days on market. Supply seems steadier here than in many other California markets, with 471 home sales in May 2022, a small decrease of 5.4% below the previous May’s 498 sales.