My first home :)

On September 11th, my sweet fiancé Kyle & I closed on our very first house. As a realtor, I work with people & houses everyday, so buying a house of my own, with my future hubby, was SO exciting. :)

 

 

After Kyle proposed in June we decided we would start keeping our eye open for the perfect house, even though we both wouldn't be moving in together until we get married next summer. Kyle and I looked at just a couple houses together before finding our dream house--- the cutest house ever in Eagle Glen.

 

 

For the past year, I would always text Kyle about a new house I had fallen in love with after showing it--It was starting to get pretty tempting walking through a million houses and not wanting to buy them all, so putting an offer on one was pretty surreal. After we closed we immediately started moving things in, decorating, & turning it into our future home. :) Let me tell you, I know full well that the process of purchasing a house can be stressful at times, we had several delays for closing and a few speed bumps along the way, but the end result is SO worth it & SO fun!!

 

The first night my brother in law Scott & sister Bridget came over to help us with some things. This is how men hang curtains ;) The perks of having a 6'7 fiancé. He's my favorite!

 

 

The next day my other sister, Brittany & brother in law Pat came over to help & brought the best house warming gift. An "F" for Fillman (my new last name in 8.5 months) & some Starbucks, doesn't get much better than that.

 

We started making it as cozy as possible, and I have to say, that once I lay down on our couch, I never want to get up, haha! :)

If you've never bought a house, you should, because it is SO darn fun. ;) Weekly house shopping trips have become my favorite thing & building a future home with my sweetheart is a dream come true.

What to Expect: Buyers Edition

I am a little overdue for a new blog post, so today I am devoting some of my time to write a post that will hopefully be very helpful to some of you! :) As I sat at my desk this morning I tried to brainstorm something that would be helpful to those of you who read my blog. 'What to Expect' is what came to mind. Until I got into Real Estate, I honestly would have had no idea the first thing about buying or selling a house, and I'm sure there are many of you who feel the same way. So Today I am going to focus on What to Expect when Buying a house-- my next post I will focus on What to Expect when Selling a house :) 

#1 What to Expect With Expenses:

When buying a home, there are 3 primary "up front" expenses you will want to save for--

• Earnest Money
• A home inspection
• Your appraisal

At the time you write an offer you will be writing a check for Earnest Money-- which is a deposit made to a seller showing your good faith in a transaction. Earnest Money can be any amount you choose, but $500 is a good amount to estimate on.
** Earnest money is credited back to you at closing. :)

A home inspection is also an expense you will want to have set aside. Home inspections are optional, however most people choose to have them. Most home inspectors require for inspections to be paid at the time of the inspection, they vary in price but a good estimate to set aside is about $300. 

The third "up front cost" is the cost of your appraisal. This can sometimes be paid at closing however plan on setting aside $300-$400.

Some additional expenses that are paid at closing are your down-payment if your loan requires one (there are zero down loans available in most areas if you do not have the funds for a down-payment) & closing costs associated with getting your loan (if you do not have the funds for closing costs we can negotiate that in with your offer asking them to be paid).

#2: What to Expect for the timeline:

 Last year I did a post on the home buying process. To see the steps in the process, click HERE.

Typically, once you get an accepted offer on a home, you can expect to close on it within 30-45 days. :) If you are hoping to get into a new home by Spring, now would be a good time to start house hunting. 

#3 What to Expect with Negotiating:

This year we have seen a shift in the housing market. Inventory is LOW. With less houses on the market, houses are in higher demand, meaning that sellers are getting closer to their asking price. Negotiating isn't going to be as easy as it has been in years past. You may even find yourself competing against another buyer for the same house, make sure to offer your best and talk to your Realtor about making your offer as strong as possible :)

Hopefully this post answered some questions you have been wondering about. As always, if you have any additional questions, never hesitate to call, text, or email! :)

260.609.8348
staciebellam@orizonrealestate.com

January Recap :)

It’s amazing to me that January is almost over, it has absolutely flown by! January is usually my least favorite month. Christmas is over, it’s cold, and there’s usually not a lot of excitement going on. With that being said—this January has kept me quite busy and been SO enjoyable :) A day in the life of a Realtor isn’t always exactly what house hunters & HGTV depict, but this month sometimes it felt like it ;)

January kicked off with New Years of course. I had a great night with my man and with my family playing games and eating snacks.

The next morning I had my first closing of 2015! (Yay!) 

It felt really good to start the year off on a good note. I listed this house in October, and got an offer on it within a week—on my birthday to be exact. It was a little sad to see this house close—the second I looked at it I fell in love with it—so much so that I contemplated snatching it up myself. ;) (Me falling in love with every other house I walk into is starting to become a trend)

About a week later on January 9^th Orizon had their annual awards banquet. It was a fun night--  I got to dress up with my man, eat yummy food, and I got a plaque recognizing selling 2 million dollars in Real Estate. I really am blessed to work for such a wonderful company, Orizon is such a great place to work! 
 

The next morning I listed an adorable house in Westgate. I showed it a couple times during that week & after a week on the market, I wrote an offer on it. 

BUT, the offer was contingent on this beauty selling.

So I listed this adorable home last Monday and got an offer on it the next night. --- it's blowing me away how quick houses are selling for this time of year!
(By the way, this house was also on my list of houses that I wanted to snatch up myself). ;)

To top off my recap….I'll finish with two closings I had last Friday.

John & Kathy Jordan are 2 of the sweetest clients I’ve had the privilege of working with. Some people are just such a blessing to you-- and these two were so wonderful to work with.

I started working with them back in November. I showed them a gorgeous home that they had been eyeing. After looking at it once they fell in love with it (And so did I—it was beautiful!). In order for them to purchase it however, we needed to get theirs sold. So we listed their home and waited patiently and trusted the Lord. After a couple months filled with showings, inspections, appraisals, and everything in between, we closed on both properties.

Here is the home they sold :)

 And here is the home they purchased, absolutely gorgeous. 

My month was also filled with many other great moments aside from my job-- and i'm so so thankful! :)

I hope everyone's 2015 is off to a great start!

Buying vs Renting

Over the past 2 years selling Real Estate I have worked with a lot of first time home buyers. Which I LOVE :) 1st time home buyers are pretty high on my list of favorites. Working with 1st time home buyers brings about frequent questions about buying vs renting-- so today I decided to devote a post to this very topic. 

First off-- probably the most frequent question is "What's cheaper?" It all depends on the price of the house & where you are planning on living. However, I have sold numerous homes that were absolutely adorable to 1st time home buyers and they ended up having a cheaper monthly payment than if they were going to rent. 

I found a great tool on Realtor.com that may be helpful to you. It's a buying vs. renting calculator. Click here to go to the site. It's pretty neat, it will give you the option to type in a zip code, type in a desired rent price, and compare the area's buying vs renting costs.

If you are still struggling with your decision on what to do-- here is a helpful list to help you examine your current situation and decide what is best for you.

Popular Reasons to rent

(I pulled my top 4 from an article I found on Zillow)

1. Flexibility- Renting allows you to explore an area before making the longer-term commitment to homeownership. 

2. Bad credit- Creating a history of on-time rental payments can help you build the sort of credit you'll need to qualify for a mortgage.

3. No maintenance expenses. When a pipe leaks, you don't head to the store; you head for the telephone and call the landlord. 

4. Utilities (sometimes) included. In some instances, the landlord may pay for many utilities such as water, sewer, garbage, and, in some cases, even heat and hot water.

But there is a downside, too: You may have no control over the fluctuation of your rent, a big-budget item that can change often. Long-term budgeting becomes more difficult.

Reasons to buy

(I pulled my top 4 from an article I found on Zillow)
 

1. Equity- (*** this one is HUGE!) When you pay rent, you are paying your landlord's mortgage or adding equity to his or her bank account. However, when you have a home mortgage, you increase YOUR degree of ownership in your home with every payment. A general rule is that if you intend to stay in your property for at least five to seven years, the costs of purchasing the home are more likely to be offset by accrued equity and increased housing value. 

2. Tax deductions- You can deduct mortgage interest as well as your property taxes. Uncle Sam doesn't give renters this bonus.

3. Creative control- You like dozens of pictures on the wall? Well, hammer away -- they are your walls now. Go ahead and paint them mango! Wish you had another room? Go ahead and add one.

4. Maintenance choices- If you live in a house, you can decide how to approach maintenance, either doing it yourself or picking your own contractor. 

Anymore questions? Give me a call or send me a text and we can explore which option is best for you! I would love to help you find a home:)
260.609.8348

 

2014 Recap

It's hard to believe that 2014 is almost over! It was an amazing year both personally & business wise and I couldn't be more grateful :)

  I started out the year unsure of what it would hold. Real Estate is very unpredictable -- in fact, any commission based job is a little unpredictable! My first year selling Real Estate (2013) was better than I could have imagined. The Lord was so faithful :)

 (2013 Awards Banquet)

It made me a little nervous though on how I was going to top it my 2nd year. About midway through 2014 it seemed like the year was going to fall way short of the previous. And then, out of no where, things took off. The last half of the year was a whirlwind & turned out to be amazing-- better than the previous.

All thanks to the amazing people I had the opportunity to work with. I am so so thankful for you! I have never looked at Real Estate as a "sales" job. To me, my job is to help people. This year was filled with some special transactions. :)

My best friend Addie & her husband purchased their very first home. (Addie's brother & sister in law also purchased their first home from me this year-- Thanks Alex & Ashley!)

My sister Brittany & her fiance Pat purchased their first home also. :) They are getting married in May of 2015 & then Brittany will move in. She's graduating with a degree in Interior Design so of course their house is absolutely adorable.

Along with them there were so many other wonderful people who embarked on buying their first house, purchasing an investment home, upgrading to their dream house, or relocating to a different town/state for a new job. I am so thankful I got to help you in this journey!

So here is a big thank you to everyone who made 2014 an amazing year! & here's to making 2015 hopefully even better. :)

Featured Listing Part 2

Hi Everyone! I hope you've all had a fabulous weekend :) My wonderful man is a college basketball player and is in Florida for the week for some games so I've got a little extra time on my hands to do another featured listing post this evening. The home I'm about to post has a pretty neat story behind it, I'm excited to share!

Last year I met a really great couple, sweet as can be and so fun to talk to. We started out looking at homes in Auburn, Columbia City, South Whitley, pretty much all over. One day they noticed that the home pictured above had come on the market as a repo.
(For those of you who aren't sure what a repo is-- it is a home that has been foreclosed on and taken over by the bank).

 

Anyways, the home struck interest with them as it had been a family home many years ago. So we looked at it, it needed some work as most repos do, not to mention that when we looked at it, it was pitch dark in the house due to having no electricity turned on at the time. However my clients decided to purchase the home and restore it to its former glory. They closed on the home October 15th, 2013-- and now we fast forward to where we are at today!

 

 

A couple months ago I got a call from my clients letting me know the home was complete and they were ready to sell it. They had done some updating, given the home a little tlc, and restored it to its former glory. :) We listed the home-- and now here I am ready to walk you through it and point out a few of my favorite parts! Plus show off some before & afters.

 

Before:

 

After:

 

The picture above is a fantastic space off to the right as you enter the home. One of my favorite things about this room is the gorgeous picture window + window seat. As mentioned in my previous post, there are a lot of people who are fans of multiple living areas. Well-- luckily for you, this home has multiple!
(On a side note: the sellers went through and redid all the flooring in the home, looks great!)

Before:

 

After:

 

 

 

 

As you move through the house you will find the 2nd living area pictured above :) I absolutely love how cozy this room feels. I'm a huge fan of fireplaces and this one adds so much character to the home. I think the sellers did a great job of making the home feel homey and inviting. Not to mention its quite large! Over 2100 sq ft.

Before:

 

After:

 

 

 

 Now we will move on to the three seasons room, I'm pretty sure that whenever I show houses, the three seasons room is always my favorite. I love them! This one is right off the kitchen and walks out to a large back yard. Perfect for summer parties and relaxing. They did a great job restoring it.

 

Before:

 

 

After:

 

 

Here are the last before & after pictures for the evening :) This is the master bedroom. It's got a gorgeous master bathroom along with a nice sized closet. The transformation a house can make with new flooring, paint, & tlc is extraordinary! :) I will finish off the post with just a couple more pictures below.

Master Bath

 

Bathroom located near bedrooms

 

 

Bedroom #2 :)

 

I hope you've enjoyed reading!

This beautiful home is located at 410 E Sunset in South Whitley, IN.

If anyone is interested in seeing this home in person feel free to email me @ staciebellam@orizonrealestate.com

Or call/text: 260.609.8348