The FHA 203k Can Save Realtors Gas Money
With gas prices nearing (and surpassing) $4 a gallon, we'd all love to cut down on our driving. For businesses who rely on driving to make their money, gas prices become more than an annoyance. Believe it or not there's a mortgage option out there to help Realtors® actually save gas money. Not only can the FHA 203k save home buyers on hassles, but it can help trim the fuel budget for agents.
Let's look at the home buying process in an honest fashion. Most home buyers will decide it's time to start looking at houses, then figure out if they know a real estate agent. Quite often a family member will recommend a licensed Realtor they've worked with in the past. Word of mouth referrals are extremely powerful in the real estate world. From there the buyers start looking at homes - in home magazines, online or by driving around. This is where curb appeal and superficial decor come into play. the "prettier" a house is, the more we like it.
Now, what often happens is these buyers contact the real estate agent and ask to see homes or go to open houses. And quite often the Realtor or agent is happy to drive the buyers around the neighborhood looking for the right home. But here's where it can go wrong.
The agent shows a house the buyers like (because they've talked and the agent knows the buyers want 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a finished basement). In today's housing market, some of these homes have the basics buyers want, but they've sat vacant and may need a little TLC. Imagine this Realtor showing a house and the buyers say, "We love this house but the paint is ugly, the carpets smell like cat and there's no deck with that sliding glass door."
So everyone piles back into the Realtor's car and goes to the next neighborhood. At $4 a gallon and about 25 miles per gallon of driving, looking at a dozen homes in a day can become expensive. Now the agent is watching the expenses pile up and the buyers are becoming frustrated.
Instead of wasting time and money, everyone can look at that first house that meets the basic needs of the buyers and realize that the other wants can be met with the FHA 203k. This home improvement loan allows the buyer to roll the cost of things like new carpet (no more cat smell), paint (no more ugly walls) and a deck (now that back slider opens up to the perfect backyard) directly into the mortgage.
Now instead of driving 300 miles on a Saturday (which adds up to about $50 with the numbers above) only to find no "perfect home," and repeat the scene over the next 2 months...home buyers and Realtor alike can find a house and turn it into that dream home with FHA 203k home financing.
Get the details on how much the FHA 203k costs here.
Download "The FHA 203k Survival Guide" to learn more about this home improvement loan option. If you're an agent, this guide can help you sell more housing stock and sell it the first time you show that house. Get the free guide at the button below.
(gas prices photo: Flickr user Andrew Mager)