Renting vs. Buying A Meridian Idaho Home

There are many valid reasons for buying vs. renting a Meridian Idaho home.

Meridian Idaho Home

The following five reasons will prompt you to think about the benefits of buying that Meridian Idaho home you’ve been wanting vs. continuing to rent.

Owning Can Cost Less Than Renting

If you’re renting, you know that rents continue to rise in the Meridian ID rental market.

Homes that rented for $950 a few years ago now rent for $1,500/month or more.

I have investor clients who routinely rent their 1,800 sq. ft. homes for $1,800/month in one day.

Today’s low-interest rates often result in a home payment that’s less than the rent you’re currently paying.

If you’d like to compare home payments to your current rental expenses, give me a call at (208)938-5533, or e-mail me, and I will help you compare the cost difference between renting and owning your own home.

You Can Make It Your Own

Tired of being told where you can park, not being able to hang pictures, not have a pet, and dealing with neighbors who complain about everything you want to do?

Owning your own home allows you to live your life as you choose; not by your landlord’s rules.

Stop Paying For Your Landlord’s Home

Every time you pay your rent, your landlord pays down the loan on the home you’re living in with YOUR rent money.

Landlords become wealthy by having people like you buy homes for them by paying them rent.

Don’t be “that person” who pays for someone else’s home!

Your Rent Won’t Keep Increasing

If you finance your home with a fixed-rate loan, your principle & interest payments will be fixed for the period of the loan.

When you rent, your landlord can raise your rent every time your lease or rental agreement expires.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have your housing costs locked in so you don’t have to worry about being priced out of your home by your landlord?

No More Neglected Repairs

Many Meridian Idaho rental properties are owned by absentee owners.

And, many of those absentee owners try to manage their rental properties without hiring professional property management.

If you’re renting from an absentee landlord, there’s a good chance your landlord will ignore your requests for repairs.

When you own your own home, YOU are in charge of taking care of your home.

YOU decide what needs to be repaired, or improved, without having to get the approval of your landlord.

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Like to know how you could become a homeowner?

Becoming a homeowner isn’t as difficult as you might think.

You don’t need a huge down payment and your payment might be less than rent!

If this makes sense, give me a call at (208)938-5533  or e-mail me and let’s talk.

I’ll explain the home-buying process and answer all of your questions so you can make an informed decision about buying that Meridian Idaho home you’ve been considering!

There’s no scripted sales talk and no persuasion ~ just factual No-BS straight talk!

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Don’t Buy A Meridian Idaho Home Sight-Unseen!

Our hot real estate market is encouraging some Meridian Idaho home buyers to buy homes sight-unseen.

Meridian Idaho Home

I know because I recently worked with a very excited California buyer who found another Realtor® who told them a better story than mine.

(I always lose out to other Realtors® with better stories because I’m boring, methodical, and forthcoming about the homes I help my clients buy!)

After two weeks of advising them what to do and (mostly) what not to do, they bought a Meridian Idaho home that they had seen on the internet, sight-unseen, from another agent.

Buying sight-unseen raises all sorts of issues, including:

  • What does the home really look like ~ inside and out?
  • Is it in good condition, or is it a rental property that has been trashed by several past tenants?
  • Is the home a lipstick-on-a-pig remodel, done by amateurs who failed to get the required permits and did everything on the cheap?
  • Is it in pride-of-ownership condition, or has that fragrant cat pee in the carpet been masked by repeated applications of Febreze?
  • Is the home on, or backing to a busy street?
  • Is the home near a school that will generate more traffic?
  • Is the home near a fire station that will provide soothing siren noises in the middle of the night?
  • Will the adjoining street be widened to accommodate more traffic in the future?
  • What does the neighborhood look like?
  • Are most of the nearby homes owner-occupied, or mostly rental properties owned by absentee owners who haven’t seen them in the past two years?
  • Is the home under the flight path for the Boise airport?
  • If so, are you familiar with the approach/departure paths for the airport, depending upon weather conditions?
  • Which school district is the home located in?
  • Is the home on sewer or does it have a septic tank?
  • Does the home have city water, or does it rely upon a private well for drinking water?
  • How old are the major components of the home, including the roof, HVAC, appliances, water heater, carpet, and other items?
  • Has the home been remediated for crawlspace water or mold?
  • Have all owners signed the listing paperwork?
  • Can the seller deliver clear title at closing?
  • What are comparable homes selling for near the subject property?
  • How long has the home been on the market?
  • Why is the seller selling the home?

I could go on and on and on, but you get the idea.

Don’t let an over-stimulated Realtor® whip you into a buying frenzy and buy a Meridian Idaho home sight-unseen!

FWIW, I don’t do sight-unseen sales with my buyers.

You’ll need to see the home you buy before I will write an offer for you.

BTW – That home I mentioned above was painted glossy Royal Blue and located near a major, busy road.  I would have recommended against buying it if I had continued working with that buyer.

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The Ugly Truth About Real Estate Scripts

If you’re the typical Meridian Idaho home buyer, you may already have encountered real estate agents who use real estate scripts.

real estate scripts

You may think your agent is responding to your questions with spontaneous, factual answers as you would expect in a normal conversation.

But, there’s a chance that your agent is using scripted responses to your questions.

Real estate scripts are commonly used to persuade and overcome objections.

Amazingly, some agents are actually taught to memorize and use them as part of company training programs.

Memorized scripts are especially useful for new agents who don’t know what to say to clients because they have no real estate experience to accompany their new real estate license

I recently saw a large national real estate company’s training manager in an online post, urging the company’s agents to memorize and practice their scripts each morning.

This is so foreign to me that I have trouble visualizing doing it.

What do you do, stand in front of your bathroom mirror and chant your memorized scripts every morning?

That seems a lot like reinforcing that you’re a fake who must rely upon trickery to make a sale.

The concept is bizarre and disgusting to me.

If you’re doubting that real estate scripts are commonly used, check out these links:

https://mapscoaching.kw.com/script

http://cbmarketingmix.com/take-advantage-of-30-free-email-scripts-now/

http://therealestatetrainer.com/category/real-estate-agent-scripts/

http://www.tomferry.com/tag/real-estate-scripts/

I could provide numerous other links, but you get the idea.

If you’d like more examples of this practice, simply Google “real estate scripts”.

Disgusting, isn’t it?

How disingenuous must an agent or real estate company be to use these scripts?

Whatever happened to simply being straightforward and honest with people?

Successful, professional agents tell their clients the truth about their intended transaction vs. spewing incessant, insincere, scripted sales talk.

I learned, long ago, that a good client doesn’t need to be tricked into buying or selling a home.

They simply need their agent to understand what they want to accomplish and help them achieve their real estate objectives.

Sadly, some real estate agents spend more time learning the tricks of their trade than learning their trade.

When you grow weary of working with agents who use these tactics, give me a call at (208)938-5533 or e-mail me.

I despise tricky sales tactics.

My past clients will tell you that I’m experienced, direct, factual, and tell them the truth, even if it isn’t what they had hoped to hear.

Over many years, I’ve actually earned a reputation for telling my clients to “not” buy homes that I will not recommend when I could easily just shut up and make a sale.

I will tell you the truth, even if it means we don’t do business together.

That’s why I’ve survived and thrived during my 46-year real estate career and enjoy working almost 100% with repeat and referred clients.

So . . . . when you’re ready for a fresh approach, I’d enjoy hearing from you!

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I specialize in Boise Idaho homes, Meridian Idaho homes, and Eagle Idaho homes.

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Don’t Buy A Meridian ID Home On The Internet

I run into a lot of people who think they can buy a Meridian ID home on the internet.

Meridian ID Home

Statistics reveal that over 90% of all home buyers begin their home search on the internet.

Most homes look good on the internet, but you must physically visit a home to see what it’s really like.

It’s important to understand the business model of the Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com real estate portals.

None of those three real estate portals are in the real estate business.

They’re in the advertising business.

Those portals then sign up real estate agents who need “leads” to potential home buyers.

Many of those agents pay those real estate portals thousands of dollars per month for those leads.

When you click on a listing and request more information, you become one of those “leads”.

There’s a lot of “eye candy” and misinformation on those real estate portals, including photos that are cropped, enhanced, and altered to enhance their appearance so you will request more information.

It’s also common practice to post photos of other properties with the words “photo similar” when agents are unable/unwilling to post current photos.

That practice is especially common for new homes that are under construction.

There’s also the issue of computer-generated estimated market values that are often wildly inaccurate.

The real estate portals use tax assessor data to calculate estimated values.

In Idaho, that tax assessor data is as much as a year old and of little value for determining property values.

The real estate portals even admit this in their fine-print Terms of Service on their websites.

There’s no substitute for researching and viewing a home before making an offer.

The easy way to find a quality Meridian, Idaho home is to work with me and let me do the legwork for you before you seriously consider a specific home.

My broker-level MLS access allows me to see the true property information in MLS, including agent remarks that are not displayed to the public.

Many (most?) Meridian ID home listings are embellished and fail to mention negatives like traffic, power lines, airport flight pattern, flood zones, mold, and other important issues.

My extensive research, prior to showing you homes, helps avoid wasting your time on properties you would reject with full information.

Why not let me help you find the right property?

Give me a call at (208)938-5533 or e-mail me and let’s talk.

I work with only a few clients at a time to ensure a high level of service and communication.

You will not be handed off to a junior team member.

And, I will tell you the truth, even if it means we don’t work together.

No sales talk, no persuasion, just old-fashioned straight talk about your next Meridian ID home!

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The Ideal Eagle Idaho Home: Part II

Part II: How I Help My Buyers Find The Ideal Eagle Idaho Home !

Eagle Idaho Home

 

The Home

Was this home built with quality materials and workmanship?

Does the home have quality components?

Or, was it built to a price point to save building costs?

Look for undersized HVAC components, small water heaters, cheap kitchen appliances, and other indicators of inferior quality.

Is the home the largest home in the subdivision?

It’s best to have a home that is within the price range of other nearby homes.

Generally speaking, it isn’t a real good idea to own the largest, most expensive home in a subdivision.

(I’ve personally learned this lesson from past experience).

How old is the home?

In general, newer homes are better built than older homes.

Older homes are also more likely to require more maintenance than a newer home.

Has the HVAC system been serviced regularly?

Look for service tags on the HVAC system to confirm that it has been maintained regularly.

Many (most?) homeowners fail to have their HVAC system serviced regularly.

Filthy furnace filters are a dead giveaway that the HVAC system hasn’t been serviced recently.

How old is the HVAC system?

HVAC systems often have a lifespan of about 15 years.

Regular servicing can extend that expected lifespan.

If the HVAC system is more than 15 years old, you’ll be replacing it soon.

How old is the water heater?

The typical lifespan of a water heater is 8-10 years.

Water heater lifespans vary, depending upon the quality, hardness of water, and other variables.

Thanks to recent federal regulations, new water heaters may be too large to fit into the area where an old water is installed.

That could require costly relocation to install a new water heater.

How old is the roof?

If you’re considering a 20-year old home that was built with 20-year composition shingles, you’ll be replacing the roof in the near future.

Most newer homes are built with at least 30-year composition shingles.

The best composition shingles are 50-year architectural composition shingles.

If the home has wood shake shingles and is more than 20 years old, you will face a costly re-roofing job.

Tile roofs are expensive, but rarely need to be replaced.

How old are the kitchen appliances?

Appliances don’t improve with time.

If the home has appliances that are more than 10 years old, you’ll be replacing them soon.

Does the home have full rain gutters?

Local building codes do not require full rain gutters, but they’re vitally important to avoid crawlspace moisture issues.

Look up to see if the home you’re considering has full gutters.

Then, look at the downspouts and confirm that the roof runoff water is drained underground, away from the home.

Is the home a “flip”?

Many flips are nothing more than “lipstick on a pig” that you should avoid.

I see a lot of homes with golden oak cabinetry that has been brush-painted glossy black (with the oak grain showing through).

There’s far more to a remodeling project than glitzy, inexpensive drawer pulls, flimsy carpets, light fixtures, and cheap new appliances.

Confirm that all work was done with the required permits and completed by appropriately-licensed contractors.

You should also get paid receipts for all completed work to avoid issues with mechanic’s liens and title insurance.

Are homes in the subdivision well-maintained?

Take a drive around the area surrounding the home you’re interested in.

You can easily determine if nearby homes are well-maintained.

Lack of maintenance for nearby homes will negatively affect your home’s value.

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These are just a few of the things that I consider while evaluating properties to show my Eagle, Idaho buyers.

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