Are you considering renting in Northern Virginia? With remarkably low interest rates, perhaps you should consider buying? Here are 5 solid reasons that buying is better than renting.
- Be your own landlord. The landlord picks the paint colors. The landlord decides whether pets or smoking is allowed. If you are the landlord, you make the decisions. And you decide whether to extend your lease or not.
- Paying the principal is forced savings. Everyone knows that paying off a mortgage is better than paying rent forever.
- Fixed-rate mortgages never rise – and eventually you pay them off. With mortgage rates at record lows, people who buy now are locking in real bargains.
- Good schools. Family-sized rentals are harder to come by in areas with excellent public schools.
- Spacious properties in pleasant neighborhoods. Sizable homes in attractive communities are almost always owned – not rented.
“Using a real estate agent is a very good idea,” says the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). "All the details involved in home buying [
and selling], particularly the financial ones, can be mind-boggling. A good professional can guide you through the entire process and make the experience much easier."
Selecting the right professional is the key to a successful real estate transaction. Better than working with a simple real estate agent, you’ll want the services of a Realtor®.
What’s the Difference Between a Real Estate Agent and a Realtor?
More than two million people have earned real estate licenses but only a small percentage of these are Realtors. Realtors are members in good standing of the National Association of Realtors, their state association of Realtors and a local real estate board. Realtors are held to high standards of ethical behavior and must undergo continuing education annually to remain accredited.
All agents of Nesbitt Realty are Realtors!
What Does a Realtor Do?
Realtors in {Location_Name} are required by law to:
- perform necessary and customary acts to assist in the purchase or sale of real estate.
- perform these acts in good faith and with reasonable care.
- properly account for money or other property placed in his or her care.
- disclose “adverse material facts” which are, or should be, within the agent’s knowledge.
Realtors can help buyers pre-qualify for mortgages and keep abreast of the latest home listings. They can assist sellers in preparing their homes and screening potential buyers. They can show investors the properties that fit their risk profiles and long-term investment strategies.
Nesbitt Realty in {Location_Name} can quickly locate the perfect home for you, or sell your home in the shortest possible time frame. Our agents can efficiently organize and coordinate meetings with potential buyers and sellers.
A Nesbitt Realty Realtor will be well acquainted with the important things you'll want to know about the neighborhood you may be considering:
- the quality of schools,
- the safety of the community,
- traffic volume,
- price,
- Metro accessibility
- nearby parks and attractions
Our agents have immediate access to homes as soon as they are put on the market, saving you hours of wasted drive-around time. When you’re ready to make an offer on a house, our Realtor will help structure the deal to save you money. He or she will explain the advantages and disadvantages of different types of mortgages and guide you through the mounds of paperwork.
When it comes to selling your home, a Realtor will save you time and aggravation. Their commission will vary depending on your location. Realtors pay for all advertising, schedule all open houses and make sure potential buyers are qualified. The money they can save you is often more than the cost of their commissions.
For more information or to set up an appointment call Stuart at
(703)765-0300.
Kim told The Wall Street Journal recently that low mortgage rates are helping to make buying more affordable than renting in many markets.
About “18 months ago, the industry was nothing much to look at: dilapidated foreclosures were flooding the market, home equity had suffered the worst retrenchment in a generation, and housing starts and sentiment were far below historic troughs levels,” Kim notes. “But after stabilizing in 2012, both new and existing home prices are now accelerating much more rapidly than in the 1990s cycle.”
Source: “The Housing Market: Not Your Analyst’s Oldsmobile?” The Wall Street Journal (April 23, 2013)
