What Are Your Real Estate Goals?
By Maureen Griffin, Tara Stark Real Estate Group - Keller Williams Realty
Happy New Year!
While many of us have already made our list of
resolutions, from getting healthy, to trying a new
sport, perhaps even planning a vacation of a lifetime,
we know there’s several out there planning to turn
some real estate dreams into goals to achieve this
year. Tara Stark, founder and owner of Tara Stark
Real Estate Group – Keller Williams, shares why
January is an opportune time to put your real estate
goals into action.
“Most of us start our new year out by declaring
resolutions or dreams. By May, we’re nearly halfway
through the year and nowhere near our goals. The
reason why that happens is we fail to set a strategic,
actionable plan.” Stark notes she sees this happen
in the real estate world all the time. “In January, we
decide this is the year we’re finally getting into a
new home. We think we have plenty of time ahead,
after all, we’re not moving until the kids are out of
school in the Summer. The reality is if you want to
be moved by mid-Summer, now is the time to get
started! Our team helps you walk backward from
your end-goal, creating an actionable plan with a
detailed timeline.”
First-Time-Buyer Goal
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Congratulations! You’ve made the decision to
buy your first home in 2019 and are wondering now,
“Where do I start?” It’s ok to be checking your real
estate agent’s app throughout the day for updates,
but the first tangible step you should take is a mort-
gage loan pre-approval. Afterall, you’ll want to
make sure your search criteria is in alignment with
what your income and credit score approves. Be-
fore you jump online to fill out multiple mortgage
applications, ask your real estate agent who they
recommend. “Our lending partners offer a variety of
mortgage options, depending on the borrower and
property. When a client is a first-time buyer, we
have several lenders that specialize in FHA, VA and
conventional mortgages. Those lenders are experts
in walking a new buyer through the process and are
able to answer all of their questions along the way,”
says Stark. Once you have a pre-approval letter from
a reputable lender (meaning all documents have
been verified including income, employment, etc.)
you’re ready to start the search with a local market
real estate expert.
Investment Property Goal
“Real estate cannot be lost or stolen, nor can it
be carried away. Purchased with common sense,
paid for in full, and managed with reasonable care,
it is about the safest investment in the world.” –
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Robert Kiyosaki, author of “Rich Dad, Poor
Dad”, tells everyone who will listen, the value of in-
vesting in real estate; “Real estate investing, even on
a very small scale, remains a tried and true means
of building an individual’s cash flow and wealth.”
Whether it’s a rental house, a retail opportunity, or
development land, investment properties are a wise
long-term wealth building plan. The key to a strong
return on investment (ROI) is to partner with a real
estate professional who is an expert in the market
you want to invest in.
If it’s monthly rental income you want to add to
your investing portfolio, your agent can provide mar-
ket updates on the number of residential leases and
vacancies along with current monthly rent trends.
“We have several investor clients who give us a list
of criteria for their rental properties. They know
we prospect daily for buyers for our listings, one of
those buyers just might have the perfect property for
a rental, it ends up being win-win-win,” says Lau-
ren Glass, Director of Operations and Marketing for
Tara Stark Real Estate Group. “A great real estate
investment tool can be a 1031-Exchange purchase;
it’s popular with investors looking to sell and buy
simultaneously. Sometimes it’s the purchase of a
working ranch, other times a client is adding multi-
family units to their rental portfolio, there’s many
instances an investor can utilize the tax benefits of
a 1031-Exchange. The key is working with a team