Cut Your Mortgage by 8 Years With This Trick

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I wanted to share an important tip with you. I guarantee that it will literally save you tens of thousands of dollars if you own a home or you're thinking about buying a home.

It's a secret your banker won't tell, and quite frankly, doesn't want you to know. The secret is how you can pay off a 30-year mortgage in 22 years.

It's really simple. All you need to do is make one extra mortgage payment a year. Sure, you could save money with interest rates as low as they are by getting a better rate with a 15-year mortgage, but the payment jumps up substantially. Payments on 15-year mortgages are a lot harder on families with two kids, car payments, and student loans, for example.

So the trick is to go with a 30-year option, and make one extra payment each year. That will cut your mortgage down by eight years! Think about what this would do for your cash flow!

You might be thinking you don't know if you can save up an extra payment every year. There's another trick to make that aspect easier, too. You can do this by making bi-weekly mortgage payments. Since most people get paid every two weeks, you can have half of your mortgage payment taken out of each check - most banks will set this up for you for free. If you get paid every two weeks, that means you get paid 26 times a year. This slowly builds an extra month's worth of payments into total payments over the course of a year. You'll still pay off your mortgage eight years early.

If you have any questions on how this works, please feel free to call me. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.

Is Price More Important than the Terms in an Offer?

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation 
Call me at (518) 861-7016 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation

Today, I want to talk about something we always talk about, whether you're a buyer or seller. For some reason, people always focus on the price. That drives me wild sometimes because price is not the only factor to consider in the home buying transaction. When negotiating, we always encourage you to look at price and terms. Sometimes, the terms are more important than the price. You have to look at the big picture.

Here's an example for buyers. I've seen buyers negotiate for three days, and then they got the deal they wanted. They got 1,000 bucks less than what they expected to. That's great! But then, they go to the same bank they've always done business with to handle the financing. They don't shop around, and wind up paying a quarter point more on a 30-year mortgage.

Guess what? If you do that, you've just blown that 1,000 bucks you spent three days negotiating for, and then some! That quarter point will cost you way more money than $1,000 over the next 30 years.

As for sellers, we see you guys holding out for top dollar all the time. Then, we take a look at the seller's situation, and it turns out they're moving into a new construction home. The reality is, they have to move into temporary housing before their new home is ready. So sure, you get the bragging rights of getting top dollar, but you have to move twice.

In the long run, the inconvenience and cost of temporary housing probably cost more than getting that top dollar. It might have made more sense to take a lower offer with a closing period that allowed them to move directly into the new construction property.

Ultimately, my thought for the day is this: Don't focus solely on price. Think about your carrying costs or mortgage costs. As your real estate agent, we will help you consider the offer from every angle in order to save you money in the long run.


If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Check Out Our New Listing Using Drone Photography

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation 
Call me at (518) 861-7016 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation

Today I want to share one of our new listings with you. This demonstrates some of the ways that technology has changed the real estate business and the way we market homes.

We shot some of this video tour with a drone, which gives you a great view of the property. That's just one of the ways technology has changed the real estate marketing game.

The property is located at 101 Anthony Way. The 4,000+ sq ft property has fantastic water slide in the back that your kids will love. Watch the video for a complete tour!

If you have any questions about today's video, or about real estate in general, feel free to reach out and contact me! I would love to help you.

Are You Looking to Buy and Sell?

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation 
Call me at (518) 861-7016 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation

Today I'll be answering a question that I received from someone who watched my last video. It has to do with whether or not you should sell your home before you buy a new one. This can be a tricky situation for some people, and it really depends on what you're trying to do.

The problem with selling your home now is that we can get it sold in a week, and then you only have two more weeks to find another home to move into. So you're scrambling to find a home that you're going to live in for 20 or 30 years, and that's never a good situation. On the flip side, if you find your dream home, then you'll be in a rush to sell your current home and you may have to discount it.

My solution to this problem is to have you sit down with me and I can help to assess your financial situation. Some buyers are pickier when choosing homes, and some buyers can afford to pay two mortgages at once. Ideally we could arrange the sale and purchase to be on the same day, and we've done this for many clients in the past. It's really not as difficult as it may seem.

We also have a guaranteed sale program, which will alleviate a lot of the risk and stress for you in a situation like this. 

If you need help buying or selling a home in Albany this summer, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'm always here to help!

How Much Can You Expect to Pay for Closing Costs in New York?

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation 
Call me at (518) 861-7016 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation

What are closing costs in New York state? This is a question I've received A LOT recently, so I thought I would take the time to answer it today. Unfortunately, in the state of New York, closing costs are more expensive than anywhere in the country. 

As a buyer, costs will fluctuate substantially depending on the lender. Lender fees, bank fees, and attorney fees, among others, will be included when you close. The mortgage recorded tax will cost you 1-1.25%; if you take out a mortgage for $300,000, for example, you will have to pay the state at least $3,000 just for the right to take that mortgage out. 

You also have to pay title insurance, which is based on the price of the home and can run several thousand dollars. Additionally, the lender may ask you to put up a year's worth of taxes in escrow - that's cash you need to come up with on the spot! When you add all these factors together when buying a home, the closing costs can run you up to 5% when buying in our state.

Fortunately, it's a whole lot cheaper on the selling end. The attorney fee is generally between $500-700, and you'll typically owe a couple hundred dollars for a transfer tax. Unfortunately, there is an additional closing cost where you will pay for an abstract or title search for the buyer in Schenectady County. Other than these fees, there really isn't much else!

If you have any questions about the buying or selling process, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, give us a call or shoot us a quick email. We would love to hear from you!

What's Happening with Albany Real Estate This Spring?

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation 
Call me at (518) 861-7016 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation

Spring is here, and with the blooming of flowers also comes the booming of the real estate market. As the snow melts, the inventory of homes will increase substantially. This increase will certainly lower home prices, so the sooner you list your home, the more money you'll be able to get for it. 

If you're purchasing a home this year, it's a fantastic time to do so. Inventory will be increasing tremendously in the next 60 days, and affordability is sky-high right now. Just be aware that competition will be fierce, because other buyers will want to take advantage of these tremendous real estate conditions. 

Interest rates are still at historic lows, but they're not projected to stay low for long. It's important to remember that just a 1% increase in interest rates decreases your purchasing power by 10%! So, the sooner you get out and buy, the better off you will be. 

Overall, it's a great time to be in the market whether you're buying or selling, and we would love to assist you with either of those endeavors. Please don't hesitate to call us!

Money-Saving Tax Programs You Should Know About

There are many great Albany homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (518) 861-7016 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

We've reached the end of January, and unfortunately that means your property tax bill is due. I cannot change the due date of your bill, but I have some helpful tips in order for you to pay a little less in taxes this year and also in 2016.

What I've noticed is that a lot of homes in Albany are overvalued, which means that you'll end up paying more taxes. Be sure to check the assessment of your home and file the proper grievances if you don't agree with what your home is valued at. We can help you file a grievance - it's a free service we offer in order to serve you. 

Another thing I'm noticing in Albany is that not many homeowners are taking advantage of the Star Savings Program, which will impact the school taxes that you owe in September. Everyone is eligible for the Star Savings Program as long as you have a primary residence and your income is less than $500,000 per year. Go to your town's assessor and ensure that you have that exemption in place. 

If you are 65 or over, you are then eligible for the Enhanced Star Program. Contact us or your municipality in New York for assistance with applying for that program. 

Veterans also should be aware of the Veterans' Exemption, which applies to combat and non-combat veterans. The exact qualifications vary by municipality, but be sure to ask us or contact your local municipality.

If you have any questions about this topic, or if you would like to know anything about the real estate market in Albany, please don't wait to call or email us. Our full-time professional staff will be eager to help you in any way possible.

Why is it a Good Time to Buy and Sell?

 There are many great Albany homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (518) 861-7016 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Why is it a Good Time to Buy and Sell?

The fall real estate market has been tremendous so far this year. Personally, we put 7 homes under contract in the last 4 days. You will see that this market is actually great for both buyers and sellers once you hear about some of the programs we have going on. 

For buyers, we want to tell you about a great program we have for new construction homes. If you are thinking of buying a newly built home, please do yourself a favor and call our office first. We have a rebate program in place that will save you thousands on the purchase of that home, at no cost to you. This rebate will save you money in the range of $4,000-$6,000.

For our sellers, if you have been considering listing your home, now might be the right time. We are currently offering an incentive to all agents in the area between now and the end of the year. Any  agent that sells one of our listings gets a certificate for a 5 day cruise for two. The idea here is that this will give a lot of agents more of an incentive to sell one of our homes if a cruise is involved.

If you are interested in buying or selling a home before the end of the year, please give us a call. If you have any other questions at all, feel free to contact us as well. 

Q and A with Top Real Estate Coach Hoss Pratt

There are many great Albany homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (518) 861-7016 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Q and A with Top Real Estate Coach Hoss Pratt

Recently on a trip to Philadelphia, we happened to run in to Hoss Pratt, one of the most successful real estate agents in the country. Hoss talks with Realtors all over the country on a daily basis, so we wanted to ask him a question: What is your advice to anyone who is a buyer or seller in today's market? Hoss Replied:

" Find an agent that is an expert in the market, and an expert in marketing. Find someone who understands the local marketplace at a very high level and work with the people you like working with. That's what it's all about."

If you have any questions about real estate that you think we could answer, please give us a call or send us an email. We'd be happy to take the time to answer your questions.