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Lexington Park Real Estate GuideQualifying the Buyer for your Lexington Park PropertyEither you or your agent will want to weed out potential buyers who cannot afford to purchase your Lexington Park home. Items to investigate include the buyer’s debt and credit history, current income and employment, the availability of cash for a down payment, the time the buyer needs before closing on the home and the buyer’s level of interest in your home as compared to other properties. Lexington Park HOME BUYING PITFALLS TO AVOIDSellers usually rely on sales of Lexington Park homes of comparable value to determine a fair and realistic price to set for their home but many sellers feel their home is worth much more and price their home accordingly. Buyers must also be tuned into sales for comparable homes in Lexington Park in order to judge the price of any home that is under consideration. Being “House Poor” gets to be “Old New” real fast. A large and beautiful home with little or no furniture tends to be empty and cold. A life where almost every dime of income goes to the support of the Lexington Park house wears thin very quickly and is a frequent cause of family stress. Pushing yourself right up to your limit leaves you highly exposed when the inevitable changes to the national or your personal economy occurs. Lexington Park Real Estate CyclesIn the business cycle of real estate, there are buyers' markets and sellers' markets...and some markets in between. It is all based on supply and/or demand. Lexington Park is no exception. There are times when the economy is brisk and everyone feels confident about his or her prospects for the future. As a result, they spend money. People eat out more, buy new cars, and... they buy houses, namely Lexington Park. Then, for one reason or another, the economy slows down. Companies lay off employees and consumers are more careful about where they spend money, perhaps saving more than usual. As a result, the economy decelerates. When there are fewer people in the market to buy homes. This is true for the Lexington Park real estate market as it is for all markets nationwide. Guidelines for Buying Lexington ParkLet’s say everything is a GO! You have found the perfect Lexington Park home. You know you can afford it and it is actually priced below what you expected to pay. What a bargain! Yes there are bargains to be found in Lexington Park. At this point it is fine to put in an offer on the property but only with a well-planned contingency. Of course, it the home is going to be financed, the lender will want a Home Inspection before agreeing to lend money on the property. However, you need to protect yourself by making an offer SUBJECT TO a clean bill of health from the Home Inspector of your choice. This kind of a contingency gives you an out if the inspector finds a problem with the roof, or foundation or other structural problem that was not apparent to the seller or to your agent. This does not mean you will not buy the house but you will have a good reason to renegotiate the price with the seller. The Benefits of Selling Lexington ParkIf your Lexington Park holdings consist of both a personal residence and a rental, you can sell your personal residence and exclude up to $250,000 ($500,000 for a married couple) on the gain. Then you move into your rental, live in it as your personal residence for two years and then sell it, again benefiting from the $250,000 or $500,000 exclusion. This is true even though most or all of the increase in value occurred before you converted the property to your personal residence. What Makes Lexington Park Sell?If your only reason for selling your Lexington Park is for the purpose of taking your profits there are a couple ways to approach this. Assuming you have lived in the Lexington Park for two years so you can avoid federal tax consequences, if you sell when prices are high and rent until prices come down before buying a replacement home, you will have maximized your profit. Remember, if you sell when prices are low, you will still make a profit and be able to buy a replacement home while prices are still low. |
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