Year: 2022

How do interest rates affect my home purchase?How do interest rates affect my home purchase?

June 16, 2022June 16, 2022| Carrie SummersHow do interest rates affect my home purchase?| 0 Comment| 9:45 am

When you’re paying interest on a home loan, it’s amortized over the life of the loan.  That means that in the beginning of your loan term, most of your mortgage payment will go toward paying off interest. Over time, a larger percentage of your monthly payment will be applied to your loan’s principal balance.
Nothing affects a home’s affordability more than interest rates. After all, we live with the monthly payment, not the amount of the loan.
Look at the chart below depicting the monthly payments for 30 year loans of $400,000 and $750,000.
As you can see, just a 1% change in the interest rate can have a drastic effect on the monthly payment.
I’m here to help, call Carrie with questions 970-759-2540.

Homeowners Insurance – The BasicsHomeowners Insurance – The Basics

June 13, 2022June 13, 2022| Carrie SummersHomeowners Insurance – The Basics| 0 Comment| 5:23 pm

Homeowners insurance policies pay to repair or replace your home and belongings should they be damaged in an unexpected event, such as an accident, fire, storm or other disaster.

How Much Coverage Do You Need?

Start with the coverage limit. Consider the cost of completely rebuilding your home and replacing all the belongings inside it.

Your lender may require you to carry a certain amount of homeowners insurance — often equal to or greater than the amount of your mortgage. At this stage, you should also consider whether you’d like to insure your belongings according to their actual cash value or replacement value.

Understand What is Covered

It typically covers damage from fire, windstorm, hail, water damage (excluding flooding), riots, explosion, as well as other sudden and unexpected losses., i.e. theft, and the extra cost of living elsewhere while your home is repaired or rebuilt. Make sure you understand the policy so that you are able to cover the cost of repairs/ belongings replacement.

Shop Around

Not all insurance policies or companies are the same so it’s important to make sure you are comparing apples to apples.  With home prices soaring, be sure your insurance covers what your home is worth now, not when you bought the home.

For more tips give Carrie Summers with Colorado Ranch & Home Realty a call 970-759-2540.

Why Zillow Home Values Should Not Be TrustedWhy Zillow Home Values Should Not Be Trusted

May 5, 2022May 5, 2022| Carrie SummersWhy Zillow Home Values Should Not Be Trusted| 0 Comment| 9:12 pm

One of the most common questions I get is, “how accurate are Zillow home value estimates?”

The majority of the time, these Zillow home values a.k.a. “Zestimates” are NOT accurate. Zestimates are created by an automated system that cannot think for itself, or account for variations or unique characteristics that can alter the price.

One of the factors impacting the Zillow Zestimate is the property’s assessed value from tax records. Rarely does assessed home value have a correlation to market value. Assessed values are used by the county to collect taxes.

Another data point that Zillow uses is the most recent selling price of a property. The market is changing so quickly and a sale price that is years old is no way to estimate the current value of a home.

Zillow estimates the values of over 100 million homes across the country. It would be impossible for them to predict the value of each home accurately. Zillow does not enter properties but relies on their system instead. They have no idea that you spent $50,000 renovating your kitchen and bathrooms. Zillow also doesn’t know if you have a $20,000 structural crack in your foundation, or if your roof needs replacement. They also have not idea if your home is in a desirable area.

Zillow can be a useful tool, but it does not provide adequate accuracy on home prices to be used exclusively.  Want to know the accurate market value of your home? Call Carrie Summers with Colorado Ranch & Home Realty 970-759-2540.