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Homes For Sale: Problems With Purchasing And How To Overcome Them

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Couples who missed the high-interest rate mortgages and the burst mortgage bubbles of a decade ago are now the ones looking to buy homes. The problem is, many of the homes available in areas are way out of reach for these couples that spent the last decade scraping together money for a down payment and closing costs. Why is that? If you are one-half of these couples who are flabbergasted by the prices of homes for sale, here are the problems experienced by similar couples across the country and how to overcome them.

Land and Homes Are at a Premium

People relocate, and as they do, fewer houses and properties are available in the same area where you live. If you have noticed several new neighbors and they are all from several other states, this could very well be your problem. With a heavy influx of buyers to your area, the real estate market does a one-eighty and becomes a seller's market, which means sellers can now charge a lot more for their homes and properties than they were charging one to six months before. That said, maybe you would want to reconsider relocating yourself to another area in the same state, or another state altogether. If you are already an "empty-nester," this is a very good time to relocate to another state.

Property Taxes Have Gone Way Up

Things that affect property taxes are bigger homes built close by, properties that are exceptionally landscaped and maintained (giving them greater curbside appeal and value), lower crime rates, wealthier neighbors and schools with excellent ratings. Simultaneously, all of these factors also contribute to an influx of home-buyers and fewer houses for sale. Even though many people would prefer lower property taxes, they might reason that all of the above are worth the higher taxes. Move out of the county in which you reside, since property taxes are governed by city and county agencies. There is sure to be a city and county nearby or within your same state that has lower taxes.

Inflation Deflated Your Home-Buying Nest Egg

Inflation over the last ten or twenty years took your initial down payment goals and closing costs and flattened them. That fifteen thousand you worked so hard to get? Now you need another couple thousand to another ten thousand to make up the difference between what you have saved and the reality of the current down payment and closing costs for most homes on the market. Waiting another decade to collect what you need now definitely will not make things better. It is advisable that if you can borrow the extra funds or have a family member "gift" them to you, you can make up the shortfall and be better for it in the long run.


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