Or, rather, a house is not an investment.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not discouraging the idea of home ownership as a smart or worthy venture—especially in San Francisco, one of the few places in the world where owners have traditionally seen a consistent and high return on their real estate investments. Nor am I suggesting there is no need to be prudent about financial decisions concerning real estate.
I’m talking about the tendency for some buyers to lose sight of what I think is the main reason for purchasing a property: To have a place to call home.
Alain de Botton eloquently speaks to this in his book The Architecture of Happiness. He writes, “We need a home in the psychological sense as much as we need one in the physical: To compensate for vulnerability…we need our rooms to align us to desirable versions of ourselves and to keep alive the important, evanescent sides of us.”
I try to remind clients of this when they begin fretting unduly over rates of interest or appreciation, or when they let fear of overpaying—a legitimate and understandable concern!—divert them from obtaining the home they truly love.
The financial benefits and risks of home ownership are only part of the picture. At least equal conside
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I received a wonderful article from Loan Officer Sidney Stonecypher at Peoples Bank yesterday that I thought was more than worthy of passing along to our homeowners and renters on our blog. Below are some helpful tips for staying safe when making repairs or renovations to your home.
WITH HOME FIXES, SAFETY FIRST!
More and more people are doing their own home upgrades. Heres how to be safe:
1. Always wear safety glasses.
2. Wear earplugs if its noisy.
3. When spraying paint or herbicides or installing insulation, cover up head to toe and wear a respirator.
4. The 4-to-1 rule with ladders–for every 4 of height, place ladder bottom 1 away–and dont stand above the third rung from the top.
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A little slice of paradise of just sold yesterday. A client of mine just purchased this fabulous home at 5105 Oxford Drive on Siesta Key. This 2004 built home is on the grand canal so the new owner will be able to hop on the boat behind the house to easily enjoy the boating lifestyle. This home is also not too far from the Siesta Key village and the recently ranked #1 beach in the country – Siesta Key beach.
Fabulous Siesta Key home on the Grand Canal, designed and built by Ed Eible in 2003. 4 Bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths and 3209 sq ft, heated pool by heat pump and 13, 500 lb. boat lift. A wonderful outdoor loggia is the perfect place for al fresco dining. This perfectly designed home shows like a model.
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Having a good credit score is one of the most important things needed to buy home with mortgage financing. A credit score is essentially a standardized way to determine ones ability to pay back a loan.
Prior to buying for a residence loan, it’s an excellent thought to go at the time of your credit rating report. It is totally free to get your credit score in past and record once a year when you go to annualcreditreport.com. The site lets you see your credit rating report as viewed by the three significant credit score bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and Transunion.
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