Working for yourself has a lot of benefits. You can enjoy a flexible schedule, control your income and do what you love. But there can be some downsides too. When you’re ready to buy a home but you work for yourself or work as a freelancer, you may find it harder, but not impossible, to get approved for a mortgage.
Here are 5 tips to help you get buy a home as a freelancer: Be Organized If you own a business and have one stream of income, this should be easy for you. However, if you work more a gig structure with multiple sources of income, organization is absolutely crucial. You will need to track down proof of employment and income, references, previous employers and landlords. It’s going to be quite the pile of documents, but it will make your life easier in the long run. You will need to convince a lender to loan to you, unlike W2 employees who have pay stubs to show. The more you have to prove you are a safe person to lend to, the better off you’ll be.
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Summer is known for house projects, keeping the lawn green and the flowers growing. But have you ever thought about what projects your home actually needs? The weather in the summer offers endless opportunity to get to work on your house and prevent any problems from popping up in the winter.
Here are 5 summer home projects you need to do: Clean window screens Your screens have quite the job to do. We often think of them as simply keeping out bugs, but they also catch seeds, leaves and even dirt. Window screens can build up gunk on them quickly, especially if you’re fond of breezy summer nights inside. Save some time once a year to give your screens a good clean to get the most life out of them. Take your screens down and scrub them with hot, soapy water. After they have all been scrubbed down, prop them up and rinse them off with the hose. Don’t put the screens back on until they are completely dry. Are you wanting to stretch your green thumb this summer? Whether you have acres of land to plant a garden on or a modest condo with limited space, there are gardening solutions for everyone. Although the ideal time to plant has passed, it’s still possible to create a garden. Make the most of your summer and grow some grub.
Here are 5 ideas for growing a garden anywhere: HOAs have grown in popularity over the past couple of decades, especially in newer master planned communities. Many homeowners turn up their noses at the idea of living in a neighborhood with an HOA, but they aren’t all bad. It’s important to do your due diligence in understand the rules and regulations of the HOA before you buy a home.
Here are 3 pros and cons of having a home in an HOA: Pros: Improved Curb Appeal The main idea of an HOA is to prevent “that neighbor” from driving down home values by decreasing the curb appeal of the neighborhood. Depending on the neighborhood this can be as simple as planting flowers at the entrances to regulating paint colors for the houses in the neighborhood. Overall, these regulations will keep the neighborhood looking nice and prevent houses and lawns from looking dilapidated. Before you buy, review the bylaws of the HOA and decide if you are willing to living within the guidelines. Our daughter, Audrey, and her husband, Clayton, are getting ready to put their house on the market. She wrote this piece and I thought it was worth sharing on the blog. I look forward to your comments. My dad has been a real estate agent my whole life. I have watched him analyze the ups and downs of the market, follow real estate trends and help countless clients buy and sell real estate. Being around real estate for my whole life, I speak Realtorese fluently and thought when it came time to sell our house, it would be a piece of cake.
I have wondered over the years what my dad did to earn his commissions. What value did he bring to his clients? What benefits did they actually receive? So you’ve heard great things about flipping properties and you’re ready to get started! Congrats, real estate investing is an intense world that can carry big profits. The challenge is setting yourself up for a successful flip and buying the right property.
Here are our 5 tips for buying a house to flip: Home renovation TV shows have begun to skew reality for many home buyers and owners. It’s easy to get wrapped in the fantasy of a dream home, but is it actually worth the cost? Before you write the check for a new home amenity, reflect on how often you will actually use them. Here are 7 home amenities you won’t use: Home Gym The logic makes sense, if you have a gym in your home you’ll surely use it because you won’t have to drive to the gym. Only a very few people actually use their home gym. Outside of upfront costs, you’ll also face the cost of keeping your gym updated. After about a year most of your equipment will feel outdated. If you routinely do at home workouts a home gym may be a good fit for you but it’s not worth it for most homeowners. Basement Bar
A bar in the basement may make some sense if you regularly host game day parties, but more times than not, the bar down there will end up collecting dust and be just one more thing you need to clean. Sit down and think about the parties you’ve hosted, how many of them have been in your basement? It sounds like a fun idea but with a hefty price tag and low resale value your basement bar dreams aren’t a practical reality. Kitchen Desk A kitchen desk offers visions of meal planning, easy access to recipes and a place for the kids to do their homework. However, most kitchen desks end of becoming a place to stash clutter. It’s an easy place to drop mail and notes from school. Before you know it you won’t be able to find your recipe books let alone have space to sit down for meal planning. With laptops and tablets as the norm you can set up shop to work at your kitchen island or dining room table with no problem. Save the kitchen real estate and say no to a kitchen desk. Outdoor Kitchen An outdoor kitchen may sound like a summertime haven, but as with many things it will likely end up collecting dust -- and in this case leaves. Most families find it a challenge it simply eat any meal together, let alone make a big fuss out of one. And with a huge price tag to build an outdoor kitchen, it’s better to invest in a quality gas grill instead of going for the whole shebang. Form Over Function Bathrooms Bathroom features such as pedestal sinks and open shelves may look nice, but where are you going to keep the toilet paper or other toiletries. In real life bathrooms are home to a lot of items you don’t want others seeing. Install a sleek vanity with drawers or cabinets. Instead of shelves above the toilet consider a shallow shelf or forgo hanging something there altogether if you are able to install a medicine cabinet. Storage is key when it comes to your bathroom. Style plays second fiddle. Whirlpool Tub Only the most committed bath takers will shake their head here. If you can’t remember the last time you took a bath then you won’t change your tune after installing a whirlpool tub. It sounds nice in theory to come home from a workout or a long day at the office and relax in a swirl of jets, but they reality is they are not used. Jet tubs are often noisy, don’t accommodate bubbles and will drive up your water bill -- not to mention they are expensive. If you are looking for luxury in the bathroom consider investing your shower. Oversized Stove Do you cook elaborate meals often enough to warrant the need for 6 or 8 burners? An oversized stove top may come in handy during the holidays, but in your day to day life most of your burners will sit unused, taking up valuable kitchen real estate. Invest in a high quality, standard sized stovetop instead. Making the decision to install luxury amenities in your home today affects your resale value tomorrow or 5 years from now. Schedule a consultation today to get advice on how to get the most bang for your buck on home renovations. QuinnCorp strives to offer the best real estate service possible. We often say, Ed doesn’t just have clients, he makes friends for for life. This month Ed is taking over the blog to share one of his most exciting stories of a long time friend and client. Mike and I have been friends for many years. During our friendship each of us have had our share of highs and lows. Yet because we can say, “We’ve been friends”, it’s our friendship that makes the lows not so low and the highs even higher. 2017 is the year we will share a wonderful high together as I help Mike find his mountain home. Over the years I’ve helped Mike buy and sell homes down here in the flatlands. A few years ago I got to help his kids buy their first home. Helping my client’s grown kids buy their first homes is one of my greatest honors as a real estate agent. Mike loves the mountains and has climbed about every fourteener in Colorado. Many of his climbs are runs, not just climbs. He has incredible stamina and drive, two qualities that will flatten any fourteener he approaches.
Over the past few years, Mike has been battered with financial and health challenges and has not owned a home for quite a while. He recently learned from another great friend and trusted mortgage lender, Seth, about when he will be able to qualify to purchase a home. Over the past few years Seth has guided Mike to prepare him to be able to buy a home later this year. Both Mike and I say, “Thank you Seth.” You stuck with Mike over the years and helped his kids buy their first homes too. Seth suggests Mike and I get on the physical hunt for his mountain house in November with the goal of Mike owning his home around Christmas. In the meantime, I put Mike on my Virtual Recon system to see listings as they come online in Conifer, Evergreen, Pine, Bailey, Jefferson and surrounding areas based on Mike’s wants and needs and Seth’s financial parameters. Over the next 10+ months Mike will see listings that are active, under contract, and recently sold. By the time we put our hiking boots on the ground in November, Mike and I will be “loaded for bear.” Virtual Recon is the best tool available for all buyers to confirm a home’s values before confidently writing an offer. Call/text/email me if you are interested in your personal Virtual Recon system. Mike, my friend, I look forward to helping you find your mountain dream home. Now, promise me you won’t run up those steep driveways leaving me in the dust. If you're on the hunt for a real estate agent who cares, look no farther. Contact us today to get started.
This spectacular home is located at the end of a cul-de-sac in a private setting. It backs to open space and the Dutch Creek, which flows year round and the neighborhood is laced with hiking trails.
Bedrooms: 4 | Bathrooms: 4 | Total Sq Ft: 3,717
List Price: $649,000
Interested in seeing the inside of the house? You can view the full listing here or schedule a showing!
Living in South Denver may seem far from some of the area's best restaurants, but we think differently. We love exploring the neighborhood to find new local spots. As a local business ourselves, we do our best to support other local businesses.
Here are a few of QuinnCorp’s favorite restaurants (and a brewery, for good measure): |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
November 2019
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