Blog - Stovall Team, Fountain Valley, CA, Real Estate

Renovation Realities

By Tarah Stovall | Published: February 24, 2016

eal Estate, Coastal Orange County, Costa Mesa, Costa Mesa Real Estate, Cypress, Cypress Real Estate, Fountain Valley, fountain valley real estate, Garden Grove, Garden Grove Real

Posted in Real Estate News | Comments closed

Ask The Experts: The Stovall Team

By Micah Stovall | Published: January 15, 2016

Saving money ranks high on most of our lists of New Year’s Resolutions. Create a family budget immediately. A snapshot of what you make and spend is critical. Who wants to be bothered with a budget? It takes time to ex-amine what you spend, where you spend it, and how much (or how little) you bring in relative to your expenses. Plus, you could be in for some unpleasant surprises. However, if you have dreams of buying a home, paying down debt, taking an exotic Hawaiian vacation, or having a comfortable retirement, planning is vital. And the first step to securing your future is to be aware of how you spend your money today.
It is the simple idea that the small trivial things we spend on everyday adds up to an extremely large amount over time. It isn’t all about skipping the store-bought fancy coffee as the “latte factor” is actually somewhat of misno-mer, it covers a lot more than lattes. It can be the candy we buy to snack on out of sheer boredom. Or the ciga-rettes we buy because we just can’t shake the nasty habit. Or the subscriptions to the magazines we don’t read but are too lazy to cancel. Heck it can even be the miles that we drive to work everyday.
The latte factor is the unconscious spending on the little everyday things that do not add any value to our lives.
Taking control of your latte factor means the willingness to give up on the little things for the sake of big wins (those that bring long term happiness and value). It calls for discipline of your spending habits. New Year’s resolutions can be a great way to spark change in your life. And wouldn’t freeing up money be a great way to start out 2016?

Sources: Stovall Team, Realty Times, CNN Money

Posted in Real Estate News | Comments closed

Money Saving Tip for 2016: Pay Attention to the Little Things

By Micah Stovall | Published: January 13, 2016

In 2015 we saw the U.S. women win the World Cup, Letterman retire, and the Force awaken. Oh, and we spent too much on some things. Some of the ways it happened were small—others, not so much. However it occurs, it’s important to know where we collectively spend so we can make the tweaks to fix it. Here are a few big ways Americans spent money this year.

Student loans. The college graduates of 2015 will pay back more than $35,000 each, according to The Wall Street Journal. Consider attending a university you can afford, apply for scholarships, and work throughout the year.
Ziosk tablet activities. Ziosk tablets are the devices on restaurant tables that allow you to see the menu or pay your check. That’s good. You can also use them to shop or pay for games the kids can play. Not good!
Gym memberships. Tons of people buy health club memberships in time for January 1—but by that month’s end, the treadmills are empty.
Daily coffee trips. Back before coffee shops started popping up on every street corner, people brewed it themselves.
Car wash upgrades. With all those “upgrades,” it’s like getting one wash for the price of three.
Name-brand paper products. You only use paper towels, napkins and paper plates once before they hit the trash. So why would you pay name-brand prices for them?
Timeshares. The average cost of a timeshare is around $16,000, according to Marketwatch. Between that price, the maintenance fees, and the fact that timeshares are dang near impossible to sell, the stress will suck the joy out of your getaway.
There’s nothing wrong with buying stuff you can afford. The trouble comes when you spend too much because you aren’t paying attention. Keep an eye on your spending now and you’ll keep more of your money later.

Source: Realty Times, and The Stovall Team

Posted in Buyers, Sellers | Tagged California, Coastal Orange County, Costa Mesa, Costa Mesa Real Estate, Cypress, Cypress Real Estate, Fountain Valley, Glen Mar Huntington Beach, Huntington Beach Real Estate | Comments closed

Real Estate Investing

By Micah Stovall | Published: January 10, 2016

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute categorizes real estate as an alternative investment that includes residential and commercial properties as well as mortgage-based securities and real estate investment trusts. For most real estate investors, these investments are characterized as income-generating properties that see revenue from rent earned and capital appreciation from the increase in market value. Since this investment vehicle depends on the net operating income (NOI), maximizing cash flow is key to a successful real estate investment.
To fully understand the importance of cash flow to real estate investment, it is necessary to know that the value of the property is directly linked to the NOI. Unlike residential homes that get their value from comparable sales, income-generating real estate value is calculated as the annual NOI multiplied by an industry standard rate of return, called the capitalization rate. For instance, if the property has an annual NOI of $100,000 and a 10 percent capitalization rate, then the property would be valued at one million dollars. Since NOI is calculated after expenses and both property value and return on investment are depended on NOI, it is important to maximize income and minimize expense. The Stovall Team is a knowledgeable Real Estate Team with expertise in this form of alternative investment. We are happy to makes it easier to identify opportunities for high returns.
As an alternative investment, real estate is historically poorly correlated to the stock market, making it a good investment to diversify a portfolio. During times of stock market loss, real estate continues to offer returns. Real estate is positively correlated to inflation, meaning that it generally increases in value as inflation increases. This makes real estate a good inflation hedge.

Sources: Realty Times, Stovall Team

Posted in Real Estate News | Tagged Investment Opportunities, Real Estate Investing, Stovall Team, Stovall Team Real Estate | Comments closed

HOW THE FED’S MOVE WILL AFFECT THE REAL ESTATE MARKET

By Micah Stovall | Published: January 5, 2016

Interest rates are affected by the following three factors: the bond market, the Federal Reserve, and the health of the economy. On December 16, 2015 the Federal Reserve announced that it would be raising the federal funds rate by .25 percent. Here’s how this announcement will affect the real estate market.
What does this mean for the real estate market? Mortgage rates are determined by many factors, but the driving force is the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. Increased interest rates do not necessarily mean an increased yield for the note. Therefore, we should not expect a significant increase in mortgage rates. However even if the interest rate did positively affect the yield of the note, mortgage rates are still at historic lows. The average mortgage interest rate for the last 45 years has been 8%, raising as high as 18% in 1981. Buyers can expect to cash in on these benefit for at least another year. Besides, economist and lenders have predicted that the feds would raise the interest rates sometime this year. The economy saw it coming and has spent the last six months adjusting accordingly.
An Example So let’s run some numbers and see just how much the .25 percent increase will cost a buyer. The monthly payment on a loan of $300,000 at a fixed 30-year rate of 4.375 would be $1497.86. A 25 basis point increase would move your monthly cost up $45.46 to $1,543.32. Would $45 a month keep you from purchasing a home?
Conclusion: winners and losers The fed’s actions will produce both winners and losers. In general rising interest rates help savers and hurt borrowers, so those with money in interest bearing accounts can expect to benefit from higher yields in the future. Debtors and new borrowers will find it more expensive to carry loan balances. However, none of this will happen overnight. Rates will continue to rise over the next couple of years, so everyone will have time to adjust to these changes. The fed’s announcement shows that the decade of historically low interest rates is coming to an end, if you are on the fence about purchasing a new home, I advise you to take action now!

Source: Realty Times

Posted in Real Estate News | Tagged HOW THE FED'S MOVE WILL AFFECT THE REAL ESTATE MARKET, Stovall Team, Stovall Team Real Estate | Comments closed

Ask the Experts: Best Return on Remodeling Investment

By Micah Stovall | Published: December 28, 2015

With home prices up in Orange County, especially in Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Fountain Valley, Westminster, Garden Grove and immediate surrounding areas, the return on remodeling investments at resale is wonderful. Making little changes can have big impacts when it comes to remodeling your home to sell.

Do you want to enjoy your updates for a few years? Or do you want to make your home more immediately appealing to homebuyers? If you’re remodeling for your own household, updating a home has a legitimate purpose that is unquantifiable. When you add square footage, update systems and fixtures, or rearrange traffic flow, you improve the functionality of your home. Refreshing wall colors, window coverings, and flooring adds to the beauty and enjoyment of your home. Many would consider that money better spent, and if you decide to sell in 2-3 years, you’ll be ahead of the game in terms of updates that will appeal to homebuyers.

Working with the Stovall Team ensures the plan is set long before you put your home on the market, if you are considering a move. Start with what absolutely has to be done, whether you plan to stay in your home or not. Otherwise, stick to smaller updates that can yield big impacts in terms of curb appeal, safety and building integrity.

The top five cost-to-value projects that netted the most return in 2015 were:

Replacing the front door with a 20-guage steel door – 102%
Manufactured stone veneer — 92. 2 %
Fiber-cement siding — 84.3 %
Garage door replacement — 82.5 %
Wood window replacement — 78 %

As you can see, the most lucrative projects for resale were all about curb appeal. Seal the deal with a new welcome mat, new sconces to complement the new steel door, and potted plants for color. Wow your buyers on the outside and they’ll be more likely to choose your home over the competition.