Showing posts with label AblazeAboutAlaska. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AblazeAboutAlaska. Show all posts

Monday, May 5, 2014

14058 W Kelli Jo St - Land For Sale In Big Lake, Alaska 99652



14058 W Kelli Jo St,
Big Lake, AK 99652
5 Acre - Mountain Views
NO LONGER FOR SALE, BUT WE HAVE OTHERS!  :-)





 

BRING ON THE BBQ!

Moderately flat 5 acre parcel within a very short distance from Big Lake in a great BIG LAKE commute area. Lot has predominately cottonwood and birch trees. Excellent view of the mountains from the rear of the lot. Might be just what you've been looking for. . .

DIRECTIONS:
Parks Hwy North
L Big Lake Rd 
L Hollywood Rd 
R Halston 
R Mills Ct 
Access is on the right-hand side of the last driveway on the left of culdesac. Easement access is called Kelli Jo St. 

Be sure to check out the Virtual Tour below:


VIRTUAL TOURS:
(Click or tap the triangle in the picture to operate the virtual tour)


VIEW 1


VIEW 2

VIEW 3

VIEW 4



(See below for GOODIES ABOUT BIG LAKE.)
 





SEARCH HOMES FOR SALE 
VIA MAP:






  
MOBILE SEARCH LIKE A PRO!
Get FREE instant access to local homes from any cell or tablet. 
Keller Williams Real Estate Search available on Android, iPhone, or iPad gives you access to more than 4 million homes nation-wide as well as with the local focus of Alaska! Download our Mobile App HERE And Search Homes For Sale In Alaska today!  - or - Click the pic below:

 






ABOUT THE REAL ESTATE MARKET: 
Real estate market conditions change like the wind. Be informed about the current status of Alaska's Real Estate Market HERE or by clicking the picture below:







ABOUT US & WHAT WE OFFER: 
We are a husband and wife team who have been married to each other for over 16 years. We have 9 amazing children (yes, all ours). We have become successful business owners for more than 16 years and have found what we love in life - PEOPLE! People, to us, are what define success.

We are absolutely pleased to work in the realm of real estate! Throughout our years of experience, we have attained people skills: Communication, Communication, Communication - And if we missed it, it's because of communication. 

Managing, directing, instructing, teaching, and assisting, are all individual actions that sum up a lot of mini tasks/jobs that produce and accomplish becoming successful in the line of work we are in.

Why we are worthy of hire: We’re honest, energetic, fun, outgoing, serious, motivated, and disciplined. Aside of this, we know how to get the job done and are honored with the opportunity to serve. You know, all of these seem like buzz words, except for the fact that we really put our heart into what we do and it shows. Play the short video below to learn a little more about us. 

Try us and you’ll love us!




  
Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group Of Wasilla
1981 E Palmer-Wasilla Hwy, #202, Wasilla, AK 99654
COPYRIGHT 2014 MALCUIT DUO, LLC

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Location: 14058 West Kelli Jo Street, Wasilla, AK 99654, USA

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Budgeting to Buy a House


Budgeting to Buy a House
No matter how good the credit rating, today's homebuyer no longer has the luxury of buying with little or zero down. Unless you are low-income with good credit, or a veteran, no-down loans are also a thing of the past.
Most lenders today want at least 20 percent of the loan amount as a down payment on a house. For a home priced between $168,300 and $287,500, a homebuyer would need to come up with between $33,660 and $57,500 just for a down payment. Then, there are closing costs to consider. These vary by state, but figure you'll pay over $2,000 on a $200,000 loan.
Saving up this money takes time and careful planning. The best way to start is by coming up with a budget that is realistic enough for you to stick with and by using other tips to help you get ahead financially.

The Budget

The only thing more challenging than setting up the budget is sticking with it over the long run. Using personal finance software will help you set it up, but only self-discipline and the desire for a new house will motivate you to stick with it.
First, you need to determine your total income from all sources. The second step is to list all the money that goes out every month, beginning with your fixed expenses. These include anything that has a fixed payment due every month, including:
Rent or mortgage (if you have a fixed rate).
Car payment.
Insurance.
Child support and alimony.
Installment loan payments.
Next, list your variable expenses. These may be a little more difficult to track, so you may want to document them over the course of a week or two on a chart such as the spreadsheet offered for free by a Canadian credit counseling service. Common variable expenses include:
Utilities.
Telephone.
Cable or satellite TV.
Anything you purchase on a daily basis (morning coffee, etc.).
Amy Fontinelle, writing at Investopedia, suggests that you track and update your budget daily so that nothing falls through the cracks.

Make Changes

Once you've used the budget for a month or two you'll be able to see where your money goes every week. This snapshot shows you where it's being wasted and, thus, where to make cuts. Any items cut from the budget mean more money to set aside for your house.
Some of these cutbacks might include bringing a lunch from home rather than hitting the café every day, riding your bike to work instead of driving or taking a cab, and using coupons to save money.

Make More Money

Cutting your budget expenditures and paying down debt aren't the only ways to move more quickly down the road toward homeownership. Finding ways to bring in more money gives your plan a turbo boost.
If you can take on overtime hours at work, do it. Consider holding a garage sale or selling unused items online. Sock away that extra cash for your down payment.

Savings

If you're like a lot of us, you may be tempted to use the money you're saving for something else that comes along. To avoid the temptation, put it in an online savings account that makes it difficult to withdraw. If you have to wait a few days for the money, you may think twice about withdrawing it.
As you build your savings, avoid the urge to add to your debt. There will be plenty of time after you buy the house to buy furniture, a car or whatever else you might be thinking of purchasing. Keep that house you want top-of-mind to motivate yourself to stay out of debt and continue saving.
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4 Common Roofing Choices for Your Home


4 Common Roofing Choices for Your Home
Although often overlooked, a roof is one of the most critical elements of your home. If you're in the market to replace an old roof, or planning to build a new one, you have several common roofing types to choose from. Here's what you need to consider when comparing four popular roofing choices.

Asphalt Shingles

Easy to work with, modern asphalt shingles come in a wide variety of colors and styles. The traditional three-tab asphalt shingle – a form of strip asphalt shingles – still outsells newer architectural asphalt shingles, a thicker, heavier shingling that provides a rich, sculptured look to your roof. Premium asphalt shingles, sometimes referred to as laminated shingles, are distinctive in appearance. These shingles may look like "old world" shingles such as shake or slate. Premium shingles are generally more energy efficient and offer longer warranties (typically anywhere from 5 to 50 years depending on the asphalt shingle style).
Benefits: The advantages of asphalt shingles as a group include low initial cost, ease of installation and repair, fire resistance and the fact that they are DIY friendly. Additionally, if only one shingle is damaged or missing, you can generally perform a spot repair rather than replacing the entire roof. Some asphalt shingles offer mold, moss and algae resistance, and you can coat asphalt with treatments to seal and protect it.
Drawbacks: Asphalt is generally a short-lived roofing material. It also requires a lot of maintenance and is environmentally unfriendly, with premium asphalt shingles more efficient than the others.
Conclusion: While a good value, if you don't want to repair or replace shingles torn in storms or replace the roofing in the coming years, asphalt may not be the choice for you.

Metal Roofing

Benefits: With a typical life expectancy of at least 50 to 100 years, chances are good your metal roof will outlive most any other roof around. Metal is also fire retardant, so you'll never have to worry about any fire spreading to your home via the roof. Lightweight, with a variety of colors and styles, metal roofing is also environmentally friendly since it's energy efficient and recyclable. You can also install metal roofing over existing roofs, eliminating the need to tear off the existing material.
Drawbacks: Metal roofing is expensive. A low-end metal roofing product is at least twice as expensive as asphalt and most other roofing choices, and at the top end it may be four times as much – generally more expensive than any other selection but slate stone. Metal is also more difficult to install, which may discourage DIY homeowners. Some metal roofs may require periodic painting.
Conclusion: Because it is wind, storm and damage resistant, metal roofing is superior to most roofing products in terms of protection and energy savings. While more expensive initially, it will save money over time.

Wood Roofing

Typically made of cedar, wood roofing includes both wood shakes and wood shingles. What's the difference? A shake is rougher, thicker, and generally lasts longer. A shingle, on the other hand, is smoother, thinner, and more vulnerable to damage.
Benefits: In addition to a fairly good life expectancy, wood roofing is generally considered easy to maintain and repair. Wood roofing also allows you to choose nontraditional patterns such as V-cut and fish-scale patterns.
Drawbacks: Wood roofing costs more than asphalt, although less than some other choices. Wood shakes and shingles can also be time-consuming. Plan to inspect your roof at least once a year and to apply a preservative every few years to maintain your roof in the best condition. Wood is not fire resistant and it's vulnerable to storm damage.
Conclusion: Nothing beats wood in appearance, and a wood roof will age beautifully. If you live in a very humid area where mold is likely to grow on the wood or in an area vulnerable to fires, wood may not be the best choice. Some areas even ban wood roofs.

Concrete Tile

You may have seen a concrete tile roof and never even realized it. With a variety of colors and styles, a concrete tile roof (sometimes called cement tile) may even look like it was made from slate or clay, without the weight those choices entail.
Benefits: No doubt about it, concrete roofs are tough. Hail won't dent it, and winds won't blow the concrete away. Concrete tile also helps insulate the roof and may last longer than 30 years. During its life you can expect little to no maintenance.
Drawbacks: Concrete tiles are expensive – at least three times greater than the cost of asphalt and comparable to the more expensive metal choices – and difficult to install. Professional installation is recommended.
Conclusion: If the cost isn't prohibitive, a concrete tile roof may be the best choice for you.
When comparing roofing options, balance the cost, vulnerabilities and desirable features of each in order to select the roofing material that best suits your situation.

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Understanding FHA-Insured Loans


Understanding FHA-Insured Loans
One of the few blessings to come out of the Great Depression was the FHA-insured loan. Although, contrary to what many think, it wasn't created to help low-income buyers get into homeownership. Just as during our recent Great Recession, during the Depression foreclosure rates skyrocketed, leaving lenders in the lurch. The FHA-insured loan was created to protect lenders from losses should the economy once again tank.
That said, the borrower does receive benefits from the loan. First, she benefits from the meticulous appraisal of the home, and second, from the low down payment requirements and attractive interest rates offered by lenders.

Eligibility Requirements

Although the Federal Housing Administration won't be loaning the money to you directly (you'll see a conventional lender for that), they'll take a look at your credit profile to determine whether they want to offer insurance on your loan.
Recent FHA changes call for a manual review of applicants with credit scores below 620 and debt-to-income ratios of 42 percent or higher. While these conditions don't automatically disqualify a borrower, it does decrease the number of applicants who qualify.
Statistics show that successful FHA applicants in August of 2013 had an average FICO score of 691, according to FoxBusiness.com. Unsuccessful applicants had an average FICO score of 667.
Remember, the lender may have stricter requirements, so it's always a good idea to take a look at your credit reports, fix any errors, and pay down some of your debt before applying for a mortgage.

The Down Payment

American homebuyers love the low down payment aspect of the FHA loan. Although lending criteria has tightened since the economic downturn, down payment requirements are still low – as low as 3.5 percent of the purchase price of the home.
An applicant with a FICO score lower than 579 may have to pay a 10 percent down payment, while those with higher scores – assuming they have adequate income and meet other loan requirements – typically qualify for the lower down payment.

Mortgage Insurance

Most homeowners know what PMI is – Private Mortgage Insurance. It's that policy they pay for but derive no benefit from. PMI protects the lender in case the borrower defaults.
FHA-insured loans also mandate mortgage insurance, but it's known as the Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) instead of PMI. As with PMI, FHA at one time allowed borrowers with a 78 percent loan balance to cancel their mortgage insurance premium. As of June of this year, however, that changed.
New FHA borrowers (since June 3, 2013) with low down payments (a starting loan balance of more than 90 percent of the value of the home) must pay for MIP as long as they have the loan. Borrowers with balances lower than 90 percent can choose to stop paying for MIP after 11 years.
To top it off, in April of this year FHA announced that they would be raising MIP premiums by 10 basis points, making the FHA-insured loan far less attractive than it once was.
Before settling on an FHA-backed loan, ask your mortgage broker to run scenarios comparing it with conventional loans as well as Fannie Mae's "My Community" loan program and Freddie Mac's "Home Possible" mortgage. You may find a better deal than FHA.

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