Why Right Now is a Great Time to Buy a Home

Buying a home is one of the most exciting parts of life. This is when you get to pick where you’re going to live for a long while and where you’ll get to entertain and show off for guests and loved ones. 

 The housing market has been a wild mess for the last couple of years, leaving many to assume that it’s still sky-high and unattainable: but now is the best time to buy a home since mid-2020.

These are the top reasons now it’s the best time to buy a property and what to look for!

Home Prices Are Falling

Home prices were reaching terrifying heights through 2021 and 2022, and they’re finally dropping and slowing down. Nobody wants to pay double what a house is worth, and a hot market like that makes it impossible to slow down and look at everything a property has to offer.

Thankfully, since prices have slowed down, more people can afford a great home! This means looking at whether or not you like the manufactured stone veneer instead of just making an offer the moment you see it’s on the market.

Prices are expected to continue dropping, but there’s no way to be sure if they’ll continue to do so through the next year. This is the time to stop and shop seriously.

Start Building Your Equity

The first five to ten years of your home payments are simply paying off how much interest you owe. After that, you begin building equity into your investment. Building equity means you can sell and make a profit, or you could get a loan against your equity and use it to repair or update your home down the line.

The important thing to remember is that the sooner you build your equity, the better off you’re going to be in the long term.

Save Money on Energy Costs

Many of the homes on the market right now are updated with great HVAC systems and smart thermostats! This is so much better than you could find in many apartments or rentals, where heating and cooling bills can be horrible for anyone to deal with. Instead, you can save money and focus on other parts of your property.

If your new home doesn’t already have a smart thermostat, this is an awesome tool you can put in later and still get the same perks. These are one of the best parts of a modern home since they let you heat or cool on a timer and control it from anywhere.

You can push this perk further by pairing it with great polyiso exterior wall insulation and ensuring the house soffit and fascia are as well sealed as possible.

Home Repairs Are Finally Affordable

In 2020 when the pandemic originally hit, the market screeched to a halt, and the industries that create building materials froze along with it. This created an immediate shortage of materials, and the prices never fully recovered until recently. Building materials, labor, and repairs are finally becoming affordable to the average person.

This price leveling means that more people can afford to fix up a home with fun perks like composite patio pavers after they’ve bought it instead of fearing a huge price tag for repairs right after dropping tons of money on an imperfect property.

More Options On the Market

There are tons of options on the market that weren’t there a year ago! In January 2022, many homes were off the market within a week, and most had an offer within the first three to five days. This made it almost impossible for some people to get their foot in the door, and many put in countless offers but were unable to snatch any home up, much less one they actually wanted.

Now that the market has slowed down, buyers are able to find far more options they couldn’t grab otherwise! This means there are tons of other options, from houses with more space to those in unique styles that were hard to get hands-on with just a year ago.

The Chance to Create a Place of your Own

Making your own home-sweet-home is a big step that can save you from a lot of drama and stress that comes from renting. You can put nails in the walls, paint, redecorate, change major parts of the property, and know that it’s yours and you’re safe to depend on it. 

This is especially important for your couples or those starting a family that wants to put their own prints on something. There’s nothing as special for families as getting to grow up in one single place together. Although you can still get this with apartments, there’s stability that can only come from owning a home.

This Is The Time to Buy!

Whether you’re buying a home as an investment you can sell in ten years or you’re trying to start a family, it’s important to know now’s the time to get going! Consider getting into the market and grabbing the home of your dreams before it’s gone.

Max Shafer is a freelance writer that loves sharing his knowledge and expertise on real estate. He lives in Land O’ Lakes, Florida where he enjoys spending time with his wife and researching real estate trends in his free time. Max’s work as a freelance writer can be found on Building Product Advisor, a new construction industry resource.

Built-for-Rent Single-Family Housing Forecast

Carolina Livng Rental Qualification Criteria

The Application Process.

The first step to renting a Sparrow home is filling out an application. We invite you to apply! All future residents are able to meet minimum employment and income requirements, and maintain a good rental and credit history. You’ll find an overview of these requirements below, and you can download complete detail at the link to the right. Review the information to decide if you’d like to apply. We hope you do!

Final qualification and approval is determined following review of your application.

Overview of qualification criteria

Income

Applicants must have a minimum combined household gross income of 3.0 times the monthly rent. To verify income, we require acceptable income documentation (summarized below) and may request additional supporting documentation!

Credit

A credit history will be completed on all applicants to verify credit worthiness. Income plus verification of credit history will be considered to determine rental eligibility and security deposit levels. Late payments, collections and charge-offs will be negatively scored. Open bankruptcies, eviction or collection actions or judgments will result in an automatic denial.

Criminal History

A criminal background check will be completed for each applicant and occupant age 18 years or older. The rental application will be denied for certain felony convictions up to ten (10) years prior to the application date, or any felony conviction for sex and terrorism related offenses regardless of time.

Rental History

Prior rental history will be verified. Rental applications will be automatically denied for current outstanding debt/civil judgment or eviction within the last five (5) years.

Pet Guarantee


Carolina Living Guarantees cover the cost to repair damages caused by approved pets exceeding the security deposit up to $500.

$500 Pet GUARANTEE

 

 

 

 

Conditions for Carolina Living Real Estate’s Pet Damage Guarantee:

  • Carolina Living Real Estate must have approved the pets & the tenant must be on a Carolina Living Real Estate Lease.
  • Damage by unauthorized animals is not covered
  • Carolina Living Real Estate will determine what is considered pet damage & repairs must be made by an approved vendor

***The Federal Fair Housing Act does NOT consider Emotional Support or Service Animals “pets” under the lease.

WHY OWNERS SHOULD OFFER A PET FRIENDLY HOME:

  • The American Veterinary Association estimates that 50% of renters have pets and that 35% of those without pets said that they would have pets if allowed by landlords
  • Pet-friendly properties rent in about half the time with twice as many applicants as properties not allowing pets
  • Renters with pets tend to stay in a property longer resulting in less turnover & reduced expenses due to vacancy
  • Happier Tenants – Studies have shown that owning a pet can improve happiness, well-being, and health

 

On Time Rent

Carolina Living Real Estate Property Management Guarantee
Carolina Living Guarantees that once we receive your rent your owner’s payment will be processed within 10 banking days or our services for that month are free.

On Time Rent Payment GUARANTEE

 

 

 

 

Conditions for Carolina Living Real Estate’s On Time Payment Guarantee:

  • Carolina Living real Estate will process rent received on-time within 10 business days or waive that month’s management fee. In addition, we collect the late fee and always include this amount with your rent, never retaining the amount for ourselves.Making sure you get your money as soon as possible is the reason we offer our On-Time-Rent Guarantee. This is NOT a Guarantee that tenants will pay rent, but a Promise that Carolina Living Real Estate will process rent in a timely manner.

Leasing Guarantee


If a tenant that we placed does not fulfill at least 9 months of a lease term, we will find a new tenant for your property at no cost to you.

Leasing GUARANTEE

 

 

 

 

Carolina Living Real Estate has an extensive screening process to ensure the tenants we procure are qualified; however, life happens, and when it does, we have you covered. If a tenant does not fulfill at least 3/4 of a lease term, we will find you a new tenant at no additional charge

Carolina Living Real Estate Screening Process:

  • All occupants 18 & over must apply
  • Applicants are approved based on a scoring process that is fair & consistent to comply with Fair Housing
  • Criminal background check
  • Credit check to detect any collections, bankruptcies & assess creditworthiness
  • Employment & Income are confirmed by contacting the actual employer or supervisor
  • Landlord references are interviewed & verified
  • Applicants with outstanding evictions, filed evictions or unpaid rental collections are not considered

Conditions for Carolina Living Real Estate Leasing Guarantee:

  • We must have placed the tenants. This guarantee does not cover tenants we’ve taken over or inherited
  • The guarantee is not applicable in the event a tenant does not fulfill their lease due to military orders, military transfers, or any other legal cancellation of a lease
  • The guarantee does not cover tenants who have abided by the lease terms by paying appropriate lease termination fees (if allowed)

30 Day Guarantee

Carolina Living Real Estate
Carolina Living Guarantees to lease your property in 30 days or less or we’ll manage it the 1st month for free!

30-DAY RENTAL GUARANTEE

 

 

 

 

Every day an investment property is vacant is a day of lost income. Adding the 30-day Rental Guarantee to your property management agreement assist with our owners ROI of an extended vacancy!

Conditions for Carolina Living Real Estate’s 30-Day Rental Guarantee:

  • Guaranteed Rental Price must be an amount agreed upon by both Owner & Carolina Living
  • The property must be vacant with all utilities on & meet our quality standards
  • The 30-day period is from the day the property is deemed move-in ready & placed on advertising for immediate occupancy through the time an applicant is approved & the security deposit is received
  • The property must be available for showings
  • The house must be pet-friendly
  • The owner must be under a Carolina Living’s PM Agreement that includes the 30-Day Rental Guarantee

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Are you tired of looking up and seeing more charges from your Property Manager? Look no further. Contact us to discuss with no obligation!

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There are many ways to invest in real estate that has short- and long-term benefits. We have helped many investors with their buy and hold business model as well as those doing flips.