New Laws To Reign In Your Home Owners Association
b'With\\xa0Terry Story, 26-year Veteran Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker in Boca Raton, FL
This week, Terry begins by addressing the rise in state laws and ombudsmen offices to monitor and regulate Home Owners Associations. With a rising number of legal challenges and disputes between condominium and home owners and their Home Owners Associations (HOAs), many states are setting up offices to monitor, mediate and manage HOA \\u2013 Resident relations. States recognize that fault often can lie with both parties \\u2013 rule-flouting home owners or overly onerous HOA administrators who can sometimes be overly strict towards residents in the HOA.
Next, she talks about rising interest in older, less expensive homes as investors shy away from expensive new properties and look for higher yields in attractive older neighborhoods where rental rates are rising and homes are still reasonably affordable. Terry advises such investors to focus on location, location, location and look for qualities such as a high-performing school district, but warns investors to expect above-average prices in more desirable neighborhoods.
She also addresses the rising trend of home flipping as home prices rise across the U.S., with the most homes flipped for a profit in sunny Florida, according to Realty Trac. But, Terry warns, home flipping isn\\u2019t for everyone \\u2013 you really need to know what you\\u2019re doing, have full grasp of remodeling expenses and hidden costs, and know how to contain costs by perhaps having your own team of trusted contractors. While the gross profit on flips averaged $66,000 in 2014, Terry warns that to make that profit, you need to be very efficient.
Finally, she discusses the pros and cons of renting versus buying. While some may argue that renters don\\u2019t have to pay for expensive ongoing maintenance and repairs, Terry points out that the landlord is ultimately an investor and he factors-in ongoing expenses into the rent you\\u2019re paying. So while you won\\u2019t have to pay to replace a broken appliance or a leaky roof in your rental property, these one-off expenses are factored into the rent you pay. Moreover, she believes that the financials of home ownership almost always outperform rentals, and home ownership is a great way to generate long term wealth.'