Record Refi Rates Tempt Rehoboth Beach Homeowners

Getting a mortgage refinance has seldom looked more attractive than it does this October. Ads for seemingly ridiculously low teaser rates are popping up all over the place -- and even if the closing costs are hefty (many aren’t), the underlying rates make them all but irresistible.

But do you qualify?  Some folks don’t realize that a refi can be just as tough as getting a mortgage in Rehoboth Beach in the first place. Or tougher. One client has a stunning property, top credit, and a guaranteed income stream that was more than adequate to fund the refi. She put together all the required paperwork, hosted an inspection (the inspector told her, ‘this is the finest property in the area’), and then waited a week before being told she had failed to qualify.…

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Predicting Future Rehoboth Beach Property Listings

How about this for a stunner: each and every day for the next 17 years, more than 10,000 American "baby boomers" will hit retirement age. That is based on 65 being considered retirement age (although many 65-year-olds I know haven’t the slightest intention of abandoning their careers anytime soon). Nevertheless, the impact that this demographic wave will have on everybody is bound to be substantial.

In the housing industry, even seniors who are anything but retired will be gravitating toward newer, smaller homes that better fit the lifestyle of adults whose children are now out on their own. So some fine-tuning of property listings will be in order. I expect more Rehoboth Beach property listings to start emphasizing smaller footprints and some other…

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Home Sales: The New Normal is…Normal!

September is a transition time for almost everybody. Here in Rehoboth Beach, the kids have shifted into school gear, adults have moved out of vacation mode, and businesses are already sprucing up for the (believe it or not) Holiday Season.

In real estate, we are looking with more than casual interest at what’s going on nationally. Especially those measures that tend to affect Rehoboth Beach home sales. The largest professional association in the country is our own National Association of Realtors®.  At the beginning of September, they broke another piece of welcome news. This one looks like the difference between ‘indicators’ of a strengthening home sales market -- and signs that it’s already fact.

The NAR release was about TOM. No, as you have…

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Buying homes Feels Right Again

The other day I read an opinion piece that I really couldn’t agree with. The writer expected a pause in the pace of the residential market upturn now that many of the most obvious bargains have been snapped up. He thought that was to be expected, and that a further rebound would be likely to follow. His idea was based on the notion that many otherwise well-qualified prospects – buyers who may have narrowly missed the bottom of the market -- would now be waiting for prices to fall again. They would only reappear once they realize that those super bargains were a once-in-a-lifetime affair.

In my experience, individuals who are even half-serious about buying homes in Rehoboth Beach are usually not motivated by squeezing every cent from the bottom line.…

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Curb Appeal Fetches Rehoboth Beach Home Sales Action

Success in Rehoboth Beach home sales depends on many factors -- and when your own home is the one that is being offered, you want to do the most you can with any factor you control Your home’s interior condition and design are likely to be the key considerations after a buyer has decided to make an offer. However, it’s the exterior – the view that initially catches potential buyers’ eyes – that can have a disproportionate impact on whether they get to that stage.  Much of how they perceive the entire property will be influenced by that first impression. It’s the home sales industry’s well known ‘curb appeal.’

Any home’s appeal will, of course, benefit from fresh, clean looking surfaces overall. Scrubbing and painting may the first order of the day, but…

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Buying vs. Renting

Study Yields Change in Buying vs. Renting

Rehoboth Beach Rental Homes & the Rent vs. Buy Metric
New Rental Homes Metric: Both Clever and Hilarious

For everyone who rents (or leases) Rehoboth Beach rental homes, it’s a choice that comes up every year: rent or buy. In addition to the common sense considerations everyone brings to that important decision, some financial measurements have been developed through the years that attempt to bring an element of rationality to a largely subjective decision.

Actually penciling out an answer isn’t always satisfactory because it is literally impossible to quantify elements like peace of mind. To some who own their Rehoboth Beach homes, there is great peace of mind in controlling their own destiny. To others, the…

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Rehoboth Beach Jazz Fest

In case you have not given thought recently to a weekend get away at the beach, you may want to consider.  The Rehoboth Beach area is a great weekend get-away any time of year.  It has really become a year round destination when you look at it as 52 weekends a year the town is vibrant and alive.  Not only do most of the restaurants now operate year round, offering unbelievable specials during the week for off season vacationers and locals, there are special events scheduled almost every weekend of the fall season.  One of the favorites, Jazz Festival takes place on Wednesday, October 12th through Sunday, October 16th.  This year there will be shows offered on three stages - the Rehoboth Convention Center, the Rehoboth Theatre of the Arts and Epworth…

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