If you are thinking of buying a home soon, there are plenty of things that you will have on your plate. Who will be your agent that represents you? What part of town do you want to live in? Will you need to sell your home at the same time? It’s a lot to take on. Another thing, unless you are paying cash, will be the mortgage process. This may be all new to you. There are some tips that can help you during this process and I will share them here.
Find out what your credit score is. You may still qualify for a loan even if you do not think that your credit is good enough. There are several websites that can show you what your credit score is, or you can have a lender do it for you. Which leads me to my next point: choose the right lender.
Everyone knows somebody. Sometimes, people choose to work with their friends who are lenders, and it does not always work out. Our agents work with the best local lenders that can get you the best deals that are available to you. You will definitely need a lender that you can trust. After all, this is a pretty big life decision, right?
The lender will need to pre-approve you. This will be a letter that states an estimate of what you will be able to borrow. A pre-approval letter is a necessity in today’s market where there are so many multiple-offers out there. Think of it from the seller’s side. If you have two offers on your home, and one of the potential buyers has a pre-approval letter and one does not, whose offer are you more comfortable taking? The one that shows the buyer has funds to spend? Or the one...
In today’s real estate market, inventory is low for the number of buyers out there. In simpler terms: there just are not enough houses for sale to match up with all of those people looking to buy. Because of this, if you are even considering selling your home, now could be the perfect time. But you want to be smart about it. Sure, you may be able to sell it on your own, or what is called going the “For Sale By Owner” route, but it could be more trouble than it is worth. You can take a lot of stress off of your plate by having an agent list your house and do that work for you.
If you sell your home on your own, you are taking on a lot of responsibility. First, you have to negotiate the contract, and more than likely, you will be negotiating with a buyer’s agent who knows what each section and page mean. Do you? Do you know about inspection deadlines and response time?
Speaking of inspections, you are then going to deal with what buyer’s agent on repair negotiations. But there is not much wrong with your house, right? The home inspectors will find plenty of things that you are not aware of or that you consider to be a big deal. If the buyer’s ask for things to be fixed, it’s on you to deal with the agent on what will and will not get done.
How are you going to market your house? Will you just put a sign in the front yard? Post a link on your personal Facebook page? Good luck. When Facebook thinks you are trying to sell something, your post gets bumped down and less people will see it. Your listing agent more than likely has their own website where your home would be listed. If you are looking...
It seems like everyday we are celebrating something now. It’s always “National fill in the blank day” whether that is best friend day, ice cream day, puppy day, or anything else we have seen. I am not sure if these are actual traditional days, or if they are being made up lately just to have a reason to post several pictures to celebrate said days.
Either way, the city of Louisville is making sure to have a full week to celebrate something: burgers! That’s right. It is Burger Week here in town, and that is a real thing. It runs from July 23-29 and you can get $5 burgers from some of Louisville’s best restaurants.
What you want to do is grab your Burger Passport at Louisvilleburgerweek.com and get yourself eligible for a grand prize drawing featuring a grill and ultimate grill out! How does that work? You print your passport and take it with you and get it stamped at your location of choice. You are eligible for the grand prize when you have collected at least three stamps. You can eat a burger at three different places, right?
Here is a list of the participating restaurants and what their $5 burger will be…
*Bluegrass Burgers - PB&J Burger
*Brooke and Billy’s - B&B Signature Burger
*Bubba’s 33 - Any burger on the menu
...
In today’s blog, we will highlight a local treasure that you may or may not know about or have visited yet. If you like outdoor activities, then you must visit The Parklands of Floyds Fork. What is it? Where is it? What all can you do? Does it cost money to get in? What are the hours? Let’s dive in and answer all of those questions as we talk about one of the most beautiful parks in the Louisville area.
What is it?
The Parklands is a public park system, made up of four parks, that covers nearly 4,000 acres of land. It is donor-supported and the parks are connected by 19 miles of the Louisville loop.
Where is it?
The parks are located east of the Gene Snyder Freeway, between Shelbyville Road and Bardstown Road. Those roads cover a lot of ground. Essentially, it’s the Middletown area of Shelbyville Road and the Fern Creek area of Bardstown Road. It follows Floyds Fork, a tributary of the Ohio River.
What can you do?
Where to begin. I won’t go into full detail on every single activity that you can do at The Parklands. You would be here all day reading about it. But here is a quick list of what you can do at the parks:
-Walking, running, and hiking.
-Fishing year-round.
-Sports fields with room for soccer, football, frisbee, and more.
-Bark park for the dog in your life.
-Canoeing and paddling.
-Playgrounds...
Heading into every weekend, I’d like to do a little post about some things that are happening locally that may be of interest. This could be concerts, festivals, races, and just any activity. There is so much happening in Louisville that this will just be a glimpse of some things you can do this weekend. Enjoy!
Friday, July 20
*Shania Twain concert at the KFC Yum! Center. Concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
*Lebowski Fest - Celebrate 20 years of The Big Lebowski at Executive Strike & Spare. This event is also on Saturday. The time is from 6:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
*The Little Mermaid - Broadway musical will be at Derby Dinner Playhouse all weekend.
*Concerts in the Village featuring The Newbees - Westport Village and 106.9 are putting on a free summer concert series. This one will be with The Newbees, a 12-piece rock n’ roll band. Food and drinks available for purchase, and it begins at 6:00 p.m.
*Sand Dodgeball Tournament benefiting breast cancer at The Goat. Each team receives four free drink tickets. Starts at 6:30 p.m..
Saturday, July 21
*Smashing Pumpkins concert at the KFC Yum! Center. Concert begins at 7:00 p.m.
*NULU Luau from 1:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Live music, pig roast with pulled pork sandwiches, limbo contest, fire dancers, and more.
*OVATION! A West Louisville Performing Arts Bash - Celebrating the launch of the West Louisville ecoHub Arts Community. There will be food, a silent auction, craft cocktails, performances,...
Every summer in the Louisville area, people are able to take tours of custom-built new homes for about two weeks. This is called Homearama, a tradition that dates back to 1968. During this two week time period, people are able to take tours of these fully-furnished homes that feature modern and updated interior design, building trends, and technology.
This year, Homearama will run from July 14-29 and will be at Catalpa Farms, which is a new sustainable development with over 200 acres of land. It is a conservation community with abundant preserved open green space. There are trails, lakes, and community gardens. And soon, the neighborhood will also feature a dog park, trails, clubhouse, community center, a playground, and more. Catalpa Farms is technically located in Fisherville, Kentucky.
When you are at Homearama, you really are seeing the best of the best in today’s trends. The in-home theatre rooms, fitness areas, outdoor living spaces, it’s all top notch. While it all may seem overwhelming to some, you can at least gather some ideas for your current home or your future home you are planning in your head. I encourage you to take notes while you are there. What do you like? Are there certain designs in the kitchen that stand out to you? Do you want to decorate your outdoor patio like house number three? Make note of these things and make a return trip if you want to.
As far as getting tickets goes, you can purchase them when you arrive. The cost is $10 per person, and children 12 and under are free with an adult. Keep in mind that you can only pay by using cash or check. How does a buy one get one free coupon sound? Head on over to Facebook.com/HomearamaLouisville and find your coupon that...
