These are many of the same questions I hear from prospective home buyers who are considering buying a home in Oklahoma City and want to know if they can afford to buy a home. You can buy a quality Oklahoma home, but you want to make sure you can afford it and that your motives for buying a home are in line with your short-term (five-year) career and lifestyle goals. Job change on the horizon? Marriage? Family relocation? These are all considerations you need to make when asking whether you should buy a home and how much home you can afford.

As a professional Oklahoma City real estate agent, I get asked these ‘should I buy’ and ‘ can I afford to buy a home’ type questions at social events, new buyer meetings and civic club functions. While it is hard to make a universal answer in many of these circumstances, I have had the pleasure of being able to schedule a more in-depth meeting with serious home buyer clients and dig into their actual motivations and financial situations when it comes to discussing buying a new home. In most discussions, the overwhelming consensus is that buying a home is a good thing for that client and that they can afford to buy a home.

Here are some of the topics I have covered with clients to reach a conclusion on their ability to buy a home and whether they can afford it:
How long will you be living in the home?: Buying a home is a good solid financial move if you plan on staying in your home for more than 3 years. This time frame allows you to build some equity in your home and make desired home improvements that could increase the value of your home.
What is your current financial and career situation?: Can you afford a home? Discuss your financial and career situation with family and a trusted financial adviser. I have a solid team of mortgage and home loan professionals who can help you assess your ability to buy and determine a safe range of prices in homes that you qualify to look at and consider buying. You should always get pre-approved for a home loan, not only to make you a stronger home buyer when you make an offer, but to allow you to know realistically what price range of home you can afford when you buy a home.
What is your tax bracket and taxable income status?: Home payments are largely deductible home loan interest when you first buy a home. You will realize tax benefits from this deduction that you don’t get from renting.
How do you feel about renting? Are you happy with the restrictive lifestyle options in renting an apartment?: Pride of ownership is a non financial facet of owning your own home. Don’t discount how important your emotional well-being and community pride will be enhanced by becoming a homeowner.
Lifestyle Freedom and Making Your Home Your Own: Use and enjoyment of your home is something you can’t really have when renting an apartment. Affording to buy your home is more than dollars. Look at your lifestyle, your ability to customize and decorate and make your home your own.

Can I Afford to Buy a Home? | Buying a home is a big decision in your life

All things considered, buying a home in Oklahoma is a good thing for you and your life. Always take note of the discussion topic points above and discuss with your real estate agent the nature of your financial situation, job plans and family considerations. Get good advice from qualified home mortgage professionals. Start checking out the Open Houses each weekend in your local real estate market area. Educate yourself and find a quality local Realtor who can guide you on making the best offer on your future dream home here in this Oklahoma City homes for sale real estate market!

Have you ever considered buying a home and did not know how much home you could afford? Did you ever let your doubts on how much home you could afford hold you back and keep you renting long beyond the time that you thought you would wait to buy a home? Did you see any reasons listed above that could motivate you to seek advice and guidance on making the move to become a home owner?

If you are selling your home , there are two things you want from the process. You want to sell your own home fast and you want to get a good price on the sale of your house. The longer your property sits on the market, the longer you will find yourself making house payments on a home you no longer can live in. Whether your move be due to job transfer, deciding to move up to another local property, family issues or just a personal choice; the longer the home for sale lingers on the real estate market will be the longer you endure house payments, uncertainty and delay in moving forward with your life. You might even find yourself in a new house before you sell your old home and suffer under having two house payments in your life? Never a good outcome!

So what is the best way to sell your home? Have you ever wondered on the best way to sell your home?

As a professional Realtor in this Oklahoma City real estate market, I can attest to the large number of homeowners who experience relief, less listing time on the market and a better selling price when they finally decide to delegate and outsource the home sale process to a real estate professional . You want to sell your home, not spend time experimenting with maybes and trial runs of days wasted trying to figure out how to sell your home. The appreciation and feedback I get from my home seller clients at the closing table indicates to me that we would all be wise to delegate the more of our lives to dedicated and competent professionals in order to reclaim our precious time and realize a successful outcome in our life endeavors. When you sell your home, your most valuable asset, your house, it is certainly no different. The goal is to sell your home. Life is short, money issues can cause stress, so let a professional assist you when it comes time to start preparing your home to sell!

Here are five ‘Sell Your Home Fast Tips’ to remind you that you should never enter into the complicated process of selling your home without using the services of a local, experience professional real estate agent.

When you sell your house with the help of a good Realtor, it will relieve you of the tedious and complicated process of marketing, promoting and showing your property. Nothing can be so full of troublesome details, nuances, and even danger as trying to sell your house yourself. The mass of details, process, screening of potential home buyers and evaluation of effective marketing and promotion can be overwhelming to the point of your giving up on selling your home and moving on with your life. Don’t let frustration with the process stop you from living and achieving your dreams. Delegate the often complicated tasks involved with selling your house to a real estate professional.

Using a good Realtor will allow you to be protected from legal liability thanks to the experience and education of your real estate agent. Don’t believe there is legal liability when selling your home? What do you do when a prospective home buyer enters your home and injures themselves? What protection do you have trying to conduct an Open House while groups of people are moving about your home, around your belongings? What methods do you have to complete paperwork related to a buyer’s offer on your house? The days of a deal being done over a handshake are long gone. Just look at the yellow pages in the lawyer section and think a bit harder about assuming the liability yourself. Avail yourself to the experience and training of a professional Realtor to make your home seller experience safer and more effective.

Proper pricing of your home is much more likely to get you multiple offers and a better price on your home. It’s really true on how much of an impact proper pricing can have on the final selling price of your home. Too many home seller who don’t conduct proper pricing research think that they should list the home as high as possible, and then if no offers come in they slowly drop the price in stages over a period of time. All this does is tell the Realtors who are representing home buyers that you are getting no offers and might even be a desperate home sellers. This ends up being what is called ‘chasing the price trend downward’. Home buyers will be hesitate to make an offer on your home because they figure there is something wrong with the property or that you will just be lowering the price again next month, so why rush in and make an offer now? You are much most likely to attract a good price for your home if you price it competitively. Why? Because you are more likely to attract MULTIPLE OFFERS on a home for sale. This could actually end up driving the selling price HIGHER due to buy competition for your house. A savvy real estate agent understands this strategy and home sellers would be wise to heed the Realtor’s knowledge on this pricing tactic.

Sell your house with a professional Realtor. It will give you back your most valuable asset. Your time is irreplaceable and by outsourcing the home selling process to a good real estate agent, you will be able to get the home sold and still reclaim your precious time for the important things in your life. You have one life to live. Let the professionals take care of the details and myriad tasks required to get that home sold. Your Realtor knows the best strategies and tactics to get your house sold quickly and for a good price!

Even though our current real estate market is still generally described at a ‘buyer’s market’, don’t be fooled. Buying a house in OKC can seem deceptively simple at first glance. After all, shouldn’t eager Oklahoma City home sellers be beating down YOUR door? You’re a willing and ready prospective home buyer and you assume that the market will allow you to make serious low ball offers and be greeted with open arms and an accepted contract by OKC home sellers.

Don’t get ahead of yourself! Oklahoma City did not see the run up in home prices that were occurring in many areas of the United States a few years back. Therefore, when home prices declined due to the financial and real estate ‘crisis’, the property values remained in a stronger position here in OKC than in many other areas of the country. As a home buyer, you want to realize that many homes in OKC sell for only a small percentage less than the listing sale price. This is your best indicator that OKC is not as strong a ‘buyer’s market’ as one would be lead to believe after digesting the massive negative national media coverage. This brings me to the subject of Quail Creek Oklahoma City.

As a professional Realtor® I often get to perform tours of homes for sale in Quail Creek. I love running research reports on the Quail Creek area. Belonging to the Quail Creek Golf and Country Club has afforded me great friendships and knowledge on the Quail Creek real estate market. I know personally that not only have property values held strong in Quail Creek OKC, but I also know about the big benefits of anyone who would buy a home there

Consider these positive benefits of owning a home in Quail Creek OKC:

Quail Creek Golf and Country Club: Quail Creek Golf and Country Club is an established and vital part of the Quail Creek community in the northwest section of Oklahoma City. The Club is situated on 158 acres with 125 acres devoted to the golf course. The golfing, dining, private pool, tennis and entertaining options at this country club are second to none. This local country club is a huge benefit for any home owner in Quail Creek.
Lake Hefner Trails and Recreation: Located close to the Quail Creek community is Lake Hefner. This Northwest OKC lake is a focal point for dining, biking, running and walking trails, boating and windsurfing, and beautiful sunsets. You won’t find a lake like Lake Hefner so close in town and providing so much to a local community.
Lake Hefner Parkway: This highway allows easy access to Edmond, Downtown OKC, and the surrounding areas. Once you exit Quail Creek onto 122nd Street and turn West, you will almost immediately find the access ramp to Lake Hefner Parkway. It also connects easily to Memorial Road, the Kilpatrick Turnpike and the wonderful city of Edmond. Ease of access to all of OKC makes Quail Creek a very desirable community to make a home.
Quail Creek Demographics: Quail Creek is composed of luxury homes, but the price point of many of these homes will surprise you. There is great topography and diversity of floor plans and landscaping. You will appreciate the variety of lots and design in Quail Creek.