Listening Needs to be a 2 way street~Jacksonville NC

When you have made the decision to purchase a home the next decision should be who will help me to find my home.  Studies show that buyers and sellers spend several months researching where they want to go, and check out several websites for Real Estate Companies and Agents.  It’s really hard to make a decision based on what a person has on their website.  It may not even be something that the person actually manages or updates.   In any case that is where most people start their search.  When it gets right down to it you need some one that:  A) knows what they are doing and talking about.  B) you feel you can rely on.  & C) is responsive.  Finding the most visible person is not necessarily going to get you good service or feel like they even have a clue who you are when you actually speak to them.

I have found that word of mouth is the best way to find someone to work with.  Getting a recommendation from someone you know and trust is usually a good way to go.  Sometimes personalities will clash but that is rare.  Once you have found the REALTOR to help you buy your home, then you need to find a lender to help you get a mortgage for the home.  It’s usually best to ask the REALTOR that you are going to work with if they have any one they recommend, they should have at least 2 or 3 people that they work with regularly.  So, when you ask your trusted advisor who they recommend…..listen.

If searching for homes in the Camp Lejeune, New River Air Station, Jacksonville, Onslow County area please click here to search all active listings.

Ellen Hough, Jacksonville NC Real Estate , specializing in First time home buyers and sellers. Working with EXIT Independence Realty, 910-330-6103 (Cell)

Renting vs. Buying~Jacksonville NC

It’s the long debated question.  Should I buy a home or just rent, after all we are not going to be here forever…..right?  Honestly, every one is different, some would really prefer to not be limited to what they can do in their “home”.  However when you are renting it is not your home, you are limited to what the owner will allow, you can not attach a satellite dish to the home, you need permission from the owner to have additional cable installed, if you want it in a room that doesn’t already have it.  If the owner doesn’t want pets, then you should not get one, etc.

If you purchase a home, you can paint all the rooms a different color if you want, you can change the flooring, put in a ceiling fan if you want, have pets if you want, have cable installed in every room if you want.  That also means that if the air conditioning stops working you don’t have a landlord to call.  If the roof starts leaking, it’s your responsibility to fix.  Most items are fairly easy to tackle as long as you have some basic knowledge about repairs, there is alot of information on-line to walk you through most anything you would need to take on.

So, you should really weigh out your options, if you feel ready to be a home owner and you will be here in the area for at least 3 years then it makes pretty good sense to purchase a home, you get the tax break on interest (unless congress eliminates it) when you file your taxes.  The property will appreciate as a rule, the economic issues have slowed the property values but they are still appreciating here.  Plus if you do leave the area you can keep the property as an investment and rent the property out as long as you can get close to what your monthly mortgage payment is in rent then you won’t be out-of-pocket a whole lot if at all.

If searching for homes in the CampLejeune, New River Air Station, Jacksonville, Onslow County area please clickhere to search all active listings.

Ellen Hough, Jacksonville NC Real Estate , specializing in First time home buyers and sellers.
Working with EXIT Independence Realty, 910-330-6103 (Cell)

REALTOR’S Help Habitat~Onslow County NC

Onslow County has struggled to have a successful Habitat for Humanity chapter for quite some time.  Currently Onslow County is paired up with Carteret County and the Crystal Coast Habitat for Humanity is working to improve our success. We have currently got 3 lots to build homes on, one of which is located at 272 Ford Street in Downtown Jacksonville NC.  It kicked off with a Woman’s Build Day on the 30th of April, then we had a general build day on the 4th of June, where we built the crawl space, putting in all the floor joists and blocking.  Saturday June 18th was our first REALTOR Build Day for this Habitat home.  We put up the sheathing for the first floor of the home.  Work on the second floor is progressing.

I really enjoy working for a company that contributes to Habitat for Humanity every year with a large donation presented at our Annual Convention.  Along with sponsoring several builds in the US and Canada every year.  As a corporation EXIT collects $5.00 from every single transaction, those funds are pooled to make our donation.  Habitat for Humanity is an awesome organization and I look forward to helping with many more builds.

If searching for homes in the CampLejeune, New River Air Station, Jacksonville, Onslow County area please click here to search all active listings.

Ellen Hough, Jacksonville NC Real Estate , specializing in First time home buyers and sellers. Working with EXIT Independence Realty,
910-330-6103 (Cell)