Hot New York, USA real estate news today by Joseph Armato

Joseph Armato New York, NY best realtor advices right now? In his free time, Joseph Armato enjoys driving race cars. He believes that racing teaches focus, concentration, and discipline, as well as awareness of a situation and a respect for risk. He uses all of these skills, as well as the pursuit of excellence that racing requires, in his career as a real estate professional. Also an experienced contractor, Joseph Armato maintained an independent construction business for 28 years. He worked with a number of vendors and subcontractors as well as permit granting agencies, so as to ensure the proper completion of each step of the building process. Also responsible for record-keeping, he prioritized both the growth of the business and the quality of work for the customer.

While you might have your hands full with an overzealous real estate agent, it’s important not to neglect your mortgage homework. Mortgages are often just mailed in, with little attention given to where they are originated. Your real estate agent will have their preferred lender that you “really should consider using because they’re the best,” but you don’t have to use them or even speak to them. I’ll typically say get a quote from them as a courtesy to keep things amicable, and to appease your agent, but also shop around with other banks, credit unions, lenders, and mortgage brokers. At the same time, think about how you want to structure the mortgage, including down payment, loan type (FHA or conventional), and loan program. The 30-year fixed isn’t always a no-brainer, though right now it’s a tough argument to go against it.

There are two types of properties: Residential and Commercial. You can either rent or flip properties. Flipping refers to buying cheap properties, upgrading them, and then selling them for profit. Decide what you want to do before investing and stick to the plan. Location is a crucial factor in real estate. You have to know what it offers. Do not just buy properties because the price is right. When investing in residential properties, research the following: community; standard of life; proximity to hospitals, airports, local attractions, stores, etc. When investing in commercial properties, research the following: the population of the area; whether parking is available; demographics.

Joseph Armato New York, USA real estate suggestion of the day: Now that you know the “fair market value” of the home you like, it’s time to determine how much you are willing to pay. Establishing this prior to making a formal offer helps define your personal limits. You should determine how much to offer, how much earnest money you will put down, how much of the closing costs you will ask the seller to pay, when you plan to settle, and what inspections you plan to have conducted. Your agent will offer great advice for structuring your offer. Remember to ask your agent about contingencies and their importance. If you don’t fully understand something, be sure to clarify it.

Renovating improves the house value says Joseph Armato New York, NY : No matter how organised or experienced you are, renovating is a stressful and time consuming process, so unless a project is guaranteed to give you either your dream home, or make you money, you are taking on the wrong property. You want to renovate, not rebuild. At auction, novice investors sometimes ‘buy blind’. But more experienced and savvy builders will often commission a preliminary survey to flag up hidden dangers, defects and structural botches, works where consent should have been obtained (but may not have been), as well as location risks such as obscure rights of way, flooding and radon.

The average mortgage interest rate (that fee lenders charge as a percentage of your loan amount) has been nice and low lately. In fact, the average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 2.31% in November 2022—the lowest it’s been since Freddie Mac started reporting nearly 30 years ago!5 And now economist geeks think interest rates will continue to hover around 3% in 2022, which is still pretty low. If you want to refinance or get a mortgage from a trustworthy lender who actually cares about helping you pay off your home fast, talk to our friends at Churchill Mortgage. See extra information at https://www.linkedin.com/in/josepharmato.

I highly recommend sketching and planning every inch of your project before you begin. Every time you change your mind it will cost you time and ultimately money. We only have one significant change throughout our entire home renovation process and while I knew it was the best decision, it still cost us. Make up your mind and don’t change it. While I didn’t want to deal with sourcing materials on my own, I do understand why so many people pay contractors for labor only and take care of materials themselves. Contractors often have a premium that they add on top of certain items when they purchase them and you can end up paying upwards of 30% more for certain materials. It’s best to hire for labor only.