December 2022 Mat Su Real Estate Guide

Hey Cora, I know you are a realtor, and you want to sell homes, but wouldn’t I be better off just renting? Then I won’t have maintenance is sues, no mortgage, and just freer to move etc. What do you think?

Signed, Mr. Tenant

Dear Mr. Tenant, well, I can see where free dom might be a big pull for renting. But let me plant this little nugget into your brain – that will never leave... no matter where you live, you are going to be paying a mortgage. It just de pends on if it’s yours, or your landlords! Now I don’t mean to sound “kitchie” but it’s true. I have rental properties, so I love tenants. But for the past 20 years, my beloved tenants have paid my mortgage, my property taxes, my insur ance, my utilities, and my maintenance on this building. Yes, I said 20 years! They have been great! Some of them, I have helped buy their own home, and other tenants moved in. There are always tenants.

So, let’s ask that question: Is it better to rent or own a home? There is no answer to that. Be cause it all depends on you and your situation, your finances, your lifestyle, and your own personal goals in life.

Renting is a very predict able expense for the length of your lease, then it all changes. But you aren’t investing. Investing may not be important to you at this stage of life, or you would rather invest in something else other than real estate.

5) We want to belong to our community and take pride in ownership.

Reasons they didn’t want to rent:

1) It felt temporar y.

2) We did not like the location of the rentals that we saw.

3) We want to be able to have a pet if we wanted to and not pay pet rent.

4) We needed a larger place than most rental properties.

5) We wanted more land than most rental properties had.

6) We enjoy working on our home.

7) We wanted chickens.

8) We did not want all that money going to our landlord’s mortgage payments.

Let’s play a game... like Jeff Foxworthy in “You Might Be a Redneck”, but we will call it “You Might Be a Homeowner”.

1) Do you own a lawn mower and like the pattern it makes on your grass?

2) Do you love home remodeling shows?

3) Are dogs and kittens in your future sprin kled with a chicken or two?

4) Are you into bright colors, wallpaper, and drawer pulls?

Experience Matters!

Homeownership can also be a good invest ment. Of course, there are several factors that determine if your investment will be a good one or not. There’s location, local economy, style, trends, maintenance... it’s never the same, things change.

Recently, I had a couple move here from Ida ho. They know that they plan to be here 4 years. We did not have the discussion about renting vs buying because they knew, they wanted to buy! Here is their logic:

1) We want a place where we can make memories for our children.

2) We want somewhere to call our own and make it our own without asking for per mission.

3) When it’s time to leave, we want to sell our home and leave with some cash in our pocket. We have done the research and seen that we can expect an increase of about 2.5% per year conservatively. We won’t leave with a huge amount of money, but we will have more than we came with.

4) We want to write off the interest on our taxes.

5) Is a garage, a water bed, or a woodstove on your “must haves” list?

6) Financially, do your housing costs need to stay the same?

7) Do you know the dif ference between a screwdriver and a caulk gun? (I don’t mean a drink and a firearm)

If you answered yes to any of these ques tions... You might be a Homeowner!

Okay, so now let’s see if you might be a rent er!

1) Do you like having your weekends free to go out, or go camping every weekend?

2) Do you travel frequently?

3 Has yard work never “tickled your fancy” and only “gets your goat?”

4) Can you change gears quickly if you are asked to move out in 30 days?

5) Do you like to keep your options open?

6) Do you change your mind frequently?

7) Are you and tools like screwdrivers, wrenches, and paintbrushes on friendly terms?

If you answered yes to any of these ques tions... you might be a Renter!

Either way, you have to live somewhere. You do not need to have a huge down payment to purchase a house. So, if you think you Might Be a Homeowner, give me a call and let’s see if we can make it happen.

Remember, experience matters, and that I have, I can help you on this road. Call me!

getaway or a full time home!

Rent one and live in the other or a perfect home with a guest cottage!

MLS# 22-9482 • $115,000

Spacious 3 bedroom log cabin in the heart of Chitina. Lots of character and charm. Kitchen, arctic entry, dining room, living room, hardwood floors, 1.5 BA, 3 BR. Wood stove, fireplace, 7k watt generator with shed, metal roof, storage shed. 3 Chitina lots (50x100 each). Located minutes form the Copper River. An adventurer’s dream!!

MLS# 22-9466 • $124,000

Ranch style house with 2 En-Suites! Views, views and more views make this house the unique place that it is! Spacious floor plan, large kitchen, over-sized 3 car garage, large windows to bring in the views and lots of light! Two full bathrooms in each en-suite, and two extra bedrooms to use for whatever you wish! Half acre lot. A must see!

MLS# 22-4925 • $680,000

Are you home for the holidays?

Home becomes an extra special space over the holidays. It hosts elab orate seasonal porch decorations, creates an inviting room for fami lies to make memories, and provides comfort and hot cocoa on cold winter nights. There’s nowhere like home this time of year.

If you’re still shopping for that spe cial space, there’s time to find the right fit before the end of the year. Winter offers an excellent time to make a new home purchase. We have several new homes that are nearing completion. We also have lots in exist ing communities or can build on one you own.

If you’re considering purchasing in the next few months, be sure to lock into an interest rate today. Locking down a rate ensures that if rates go up, you won’t be affected. However, if rates go down in the future, you can always refinance your home to bring down your mortgage payment.

While Alaskans enjoyed record-low

interest rates for more than a year, those low rates can’t last forever. Rates have gone up in recent months but that doesn’t mean you should wait for them to drop before buying. The rates the country saw over the past couple of years were historically low. That means they may never happen again. Today’s interest rates are more aligned with traditional trends. Ris ing rates have some potential buyers pumping the breaks. But that’s a good thing for you. Less competition means more options on the market and buy ers willing to make a deal.

Inflation is also something on the minds of many buyers. But recent re ports show inflation rates are better than expected. Recession is yet an other term being thrown around a lot in headlines. While experts have con flicting reports about the severity of what the U.S. economy might experi ence, here’s what inflation means for homebuyers: now is the perfect time to buy.

Historically, after periods of reces sion, housing prices go up while in terest rates come down. This means that if you buy now, you’ll have less competition, avoid higher home pric es and potentially have the ability to refinance when rates drop.

Homeownership offers many ben efits like security, investment and tax benefits. It’s also a chance to plant roots and be a part of a community. Consider giving yourself the gift of homeownership this holiday season.

If recent events have taught us anything, it’s this: we have more work to do. Racism is real, tragically so. Discrimination, in all its forms, still casts a long shadow in this country, and too many are being denied the opportunities that all Americans deserve. Our commitment to the diverse communities we serve starts with a Code of Ethics. Our code sets a higher standard for fairness in housing than any federal law, it’s backed by a culture of member accountability, and it extends to our work on Capitol Hill, where we continue to advocate for meaningful change.

At the National Association of REALTORS® we believe that fairness is worth fighting for, and we won’t stop until the fight is won. Because that’s who we are.

If you experience or witness discrimination in real estate, we urge you to report it.

Visit hud.gov/fairhousing to file a complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

REALTORS® are members of the National Association of REALTORS®

If recent events have taught us anything, it’s this: we have more work to do. Racism is real, tragically so. Discrimination, in all its forms, still casts a long shadow in this country, and too many are being denied the opportunities that all Americans deserve. Our commitment to the diverse communities we serve starts with a Code of Ethics. Our code sets a higher standard for fairness in housing than any federal law, it’s backed by a culture of member accountability, and it extends to our work on Capitol Hill, where we continue to advocate for meaningful change.

At the National Association of REALTORS® we believe that fairness is worth fighting for, and we won’t stop until the fight is won. Because that’s who we are.

If you experience or witness discrimination in real estate, we urge you to report it.

Visit hud.gov/fairhousing to file a complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

REALTORS® are members of the National Association of REALTORS®