12 Things You Can Sacrifice When Buying A Home: Tips 10-12

Many homebuyers begin house hunting with a list of must-haves. This is particularly true for first-time buyers who have heard that theirs is a buyers market. I've notice that my younger buyers really expect a lot, then they're disappointed with what they find because they had read that the market's terrible. In many markets, the best homes for sale are now getting multiple offers and selling quickly. But even in a market where a buyer can definitely get more for his money, why should he pay for things he doesn't need? Just because you can afford to buy a 10-bedroom, 12-bathroom home with separate butler's quarters doesn't mean it's a good idea. Wouldn't you rather spend that extra money on something else? It's good to know what your deal-breakers are when you're looking for a home, but you should also be realistic about which things you don't need. Consider these 12 possible sacrifices, and then decide which you can give up to find a less expensive house that won't make you regret your purchase. In today's blog I will examine sacrifices 1-3

10. Single-family home

The old-school American dream involved a white picket fence and a home to call your own, but not every buyer needs that. Many buyers won't consider looking at homes called twins, or duplexes, which are attached in the middle but are two separate homes. The same goes for townhouses. With a townhouse, you can often get everything you want at your price range. Buyers can be reluctant because they have lived in apartments where you can hear your neighbors, but those apartment complexes have paper-thin walls. Thinking outside the single-family home can often mean a more updated home — even more space — for less. So don't automatically skip over townhouses, duplexes and condos.

11. A fixer-upper or project home

Lots of buyers just want to find a deal, they insist that they are willing to take on a project to get a deal. But when it comes to writing an offer, they don't want a deal. They want a home that requires absolutely nothing. Sure, a fixer-upper can be a bargain if you know what you're getting into. But generously estimate what it will cost to get that home ready to live in — and don't forget to include the cost of your time. Buyers should not to get too excited about foreclosures and short sales. Those homes are sold "as is," and the owners or others may have stripped the home of a lot of valuable things: appliances, plumbing and even kitchen cabinets.

12. Building amenities

Buyers think they need a lot of amenities in their high-rise condo building, but it's not always worth it to pay extra for those things. For example a luxury high rise may add money to the purchase price because of their high profile gym, but down the street might be a gm as well where membership is only $40/month.. Ammenities aren't always worth it

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Homes Are At Their Lowest Price Point In A Decade

Home prices fell to their lowest point in more than a decade in January, which helped to lift the pace of home sales, according to a report from an industry trade group. The National Association of Realtors reported that the median home price in January fell 2% from December to $154,700. That's the lowest price reading since November 2001, before the run-up in home prices that became known as the housing bubble. The median price is the point at which half of homes are sold for a higher price, and half are sold at a lower price.  Serving as a drag on existing home prices is a large inventory of homes in foreclosure. Distressed home sales, which includes homes in foreclosure and so-called short sales in which the home is sold for less than what is owed on the mortgage, made up 35% of sales in January.  But the pace of sales rose to the highest level since May of 2010, helped by the low prices and rock-bottom mortgage rates. The seasonally-adjusted annual sales pace of 4.57 million homes was up slightly from the revised 4.38 million in December. The last time homes sold at that pace, buyers were rushing to qualify for an $8,000 homebuyer's tax credit that was about to expire. The housing market has been showing signs of recovery in recent months. The combination of low mortgage rates and a decline in home prices means homes are more affordable than they've been in decades.

You can pick your friends and you can pick your fruit...but can you pick your friends fruit?

As community gardeners harvest their season's bounty, thieves are brazenly carting off tomatoes, plums, peppers and cucumbers by the bagful from plots others have lovingly tended. When fruits and vegetables are at their peak, gardeners are often inundated with more than they can eat, and many are happy to share — at least with those who ask.

Neighborhood Fruit, based in San Francisco, was created to help people find and share fruit. It provides a way for those facing a too-abundant harvest to share the wealth. It also provides tips on where to find fruit growing in public places that is free for the taking, though the rules vary city by city. It even has a mobile phone application and a video on fruit-gathering etiquette. With the real-estate crisis has come a new type of urban foraging: taking fruit and vegetables planted by the previous owners of foreclosed homes, figuring that the lenders won't care. The goal of the urban-foraging movement is to collect food and vegetables that would otherwise be wasted and share the produce with people who will appreciate it, whether it's the foragers themselves or a food bank. Defining just what constitutes a public place has led to arguments. In most municipalities, while the land between the sidewalk and the street is yours to mow, it technically does not belong to you.  That means your neighbors can harvest the fruit, it's still polite for them to ask before hauling off bags of fruit from in front of someone else's home.  Don't bother complaining to the city: You may lose the tree entirely. Most cities prohibit fruit trees in the parking strips or swales because of the mess they create.