Make Your Home Better!
By Mark Pontz- Sr. LoanOfficer at loanDepot
I know—the home purchase market is brutal right now.
In all of Lancaster County, PA, there are only 192 resale homes available as of my writing this article (this number does not include promised new homes that have yet to be built). Based on the population, that amounts to just 0.04 homes per person! Yes, you read that right. For every one person in Lancaster County, there are just 0.04 homes available to purchase.
But what does that mean for you? Well… it means that your odds of submitting the winning bid for any home of interest to you are likely very low. As in “Vegas low” (where the house always wins).
Plus: Out of those 192 homes available, what are the odds that any one of them will be exactly what you’re looking for? And that it will be in your budget?
Even lower, I’d say.
So, what the heck can you do about it?
Well, how about making your current, comfortable home… even better?
Think about it—you bought your current home because it was right for you. The schools, the neighborhood, its proximity to all of the places that you love and frequent… has any of that changed? If it hasn’t, rather than fight the currently nearly unwinnable fight to purchase a new home, why not make your home—which was a great fit for you in the first place—even better?
Those factors that have driven home prices up at a breakneck pace have likely done the very same thing for the home you currently live in. So what does this mean? Simply put, it means that you can very likely tap into that equity to improve your current home—to invest in a new, amazing kitchen, or a primary bath renovation, or even an entire addition that finally gives you the added living space you’ve been craving. Improvements to a home in which you are already comfortable and happy!
I recently spoke with Mark Black of Aston Black, a kitchen remodeling specialty company. He shared that for an average-size kitchen, a very nice remodel upgrade package starts around $80k. If you were to access that amount of your equity at a rate of 4.0% (for example) for a fixed, 30-year term, it would equate to $382 per month in payments. So, ask yourself: Would any home you could find today—in the event you were the successful buyer—have a kitchen perfectly designed for and by you? Suddenly, you might find that your thoughts are shifting from “We need to fight to purchase a new home!” to “Let’s make our home better!”
You loved your home when you bought it… and you will almost certainly love it even more when you improve your space with a new kitchen, bathroom, or living area (all just for example).
Give me a call at (717) 475-4444 or email me at mark@markpontz.com to find out just how likely—and affordable—your dream renovations could be.
loanDepot NMLS# 174457.
Mark Pontz NMLS# 33151, Senior Loan Consultant.
Rates, terms and availability of programs are subject to change without notice. loanDepot.com, LLC NMLS ID 174457. Licensed Mortgage Lender No. 31342.
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