Speed Realty

Second video in! Would love yalls unfiltered feedback? My goal is to educate clients why the details matter to them, to their comfort, their safety, their finances, and their investment. It’s hard to properly start up and make an air conditioner preform; yet It’s even harder to stop a Trane when it’s performing right! Good night yall.

Modern Agent Hot Takes: The 5 Year Rule

Let's say you only stay in your home for 5 years...can it can STILL be worth the investment?

I think so!! Let me explain...

💰 For starters, your house can appreciate and you'll likely make money when you sell it later, even after paying agent commissions.

💸 While the initial down payment can be significant, you have opportunities to save money in the future! Special tax breaks and not being at risk for a sudden increase in rent means more money in your pocket!

🎨 You can make upgrades to your home while you live there, which could make your house sell for even more in 5 years. And in the meantime you can enjoy living in a home full of upgrades!

💰 When you are ready to sell, you may be able to keep your current home and turn it into a rental. This way, someone else can continue paying making your payments and you can hold onto that home and let it appreciate even more over time while also moving into a home that better suits your needs!

☀️ Let's face it, nothing is hotter than creating wealth through homeownership! So even if your next house is not your "forever house," your opportunities for savings AND making a profit in the future are always possible!

Be honest: which one do you need most right now?

I'm hands down taking take-out for dinner!

That's it. That's the whole post.

Of all the things I’ve lost, I miss 3% interest rates the most 🥹

But here are 3 things I'm LOVING about today's market and how you can make it work for YOU!

1. Selling your house when inventory remains low is the BEST time to sell! Less competition with sellers= better offers from buyers!

2. Renting is still typically higher than making a mortgage payment. And while it's not always fun making a payment each month with a higher interest rate, if it's still costing less than renting AND you're able to make that money back and then some when you sell one day, it's a win!

3. Experts think mortgage rates will trend down this year as inflation begins to trend down, too. So does this mean you should wait to buy a house? No!

Because the lower the rates are, the more likely home prices are to be higher. So, as long as you can afford your monthly payment, you're better off buying something while the rates are currently a little higher (and prices aren't quite so high) and refinancing when rates drop to a rate you're more comfortable with!

Still have questions? I get it! Let’s grab coffee and I can answer your questions 1 on 1 so you are confident with your next steps!

Tan lines may fade, but a monthly home maintenance checklist makes your home outshine all the others ✨

Here is your July checklist, comin' in hot! ☀️

💡 CLEAN EXTERIOR LIGHTS

🧺 LIGHTEN UP LINENS - OPT FOR CRISP WHITE

⛱️ ADD SHADE TO THE YARD - PERGOLA / UMBRELLA

🚨 UPGRADE HOME SECURITY FOR SUMMER TRAVEL

🪟 CHECK WINDOW SCREENS FOR HOLES

🌶️ GRILL HOMEGROWN VEGETABLES

🛋️ BUY SLIPCOVERS FOR PATIO FURNITURE

🪑 REFURBISH A PIECE OF FURNITURE

💦 STAY ON TOP OF POOL MAINTENANCE

PS: Do you want to get your hands on the full 12 MONTH HOMEOWNER CHECKLIST? You can print it out, laminate it, hang it on your fridge and check things off every single month. DM me the word HOMEOWNER and your email address and I'll send you a copy!

My clients were set, so they thought, on a specific neighborhood that they wanted to find their next home. So, we set out on a Saturday morning to see all of the homes on the market in that neighborhood in their price range.

We should have known when we saw the homeowners' cars in the driveway when we pulled up for the showing that this would not be the house for them. I double checked I scheduled the showing for the correct time, and then decided to knock on the front door. The homeowner came to the door and let me know her daughter was showering and asked if we could come back in ten minutes. When we returned, their cars were gone.

As soon as we stepped inside, the smell of smoke took over. There was dog hair caked on the baseboards, and it was just dirty. We didn't even make it past the living room before my clients wanted to leave because they were so turned off. We basically walked right in and right out. (And this was not an underpriced home due to what it looked like inside--they actually had it priced competitively with other similar sized homes.)

You read about me reminding you often how important first impressions are when selling your home--they really are! If you want top dollar for your home, it's a must to prep it for sale by following steps I've mentioned before. If you'd like my free home selling guide that has many tips in it for what to do to prep your home for sale, let me know in the comments or DM me.

DAY 5: AUTOMATE IT 💰

As we wrap up our savings challenge, it's important to remember WHY you made this savings goal...especially if your goal is to buy your first house.

What's your why? Is it to host family gatherings and sit around the table playing dominoes? Or is it to finally get a blue eyed Aussie and play fetch in your own backyard? Maybe it's to start a family and raise your babies in a place of your own and track their height at the end of the upstairs hallway.

Keep that WHY close. Write it on a sticky note and stick it on your desk or bathroom mirror - wherever you'll see it daily. This will keep what matters most in clear focus so that on the days it's hard to keep going with your goals, you'll be filled with clarity and press on towards your savings goals!

The most simple way to make sure your money saving goal sticks: make it automatic!

Setting up automatic savings is like built in accountability because it forces you to save a specific amount of money without having to think about it.

Treat it like a monthly expense or bill and you'll be able to start seeing traction quickly! 📈 Ask your bank about their high interest savings account options and see if they offer some kind of automated tool or dashboard that shows your spending and saving in real time!

Putting your savings on autopilot will help keep your goals on track even on the days you don't feel like sticking with your plan!

DAY 4: MONEY MINDFULNESS (Our Savings Challenge is *almost* over...can you believe it? Go back to Days 1-3 if you're just now joining us!)

Now that we've analyzed our previous spending habits and checked our credit scores (and debt amounts), it's time to track future spending.

Set up a Google Doc or start a note in your notes app and start tracking your spending. Do this for 30 days so you can become hyper aware of what you're spending money on as you're on the go.

Pro tip: When you *have* to write down your expenses in the moment, it will become a lot more evident as to what is adding up fast that is preventing you from saving for what it is you really want!

In business they always say an untracked number never grows, so it's important to keep a close eye on your savings and doing what you can to actively make it grow! Doing this for a period of time will really open your eyes and help you reach your goals.

One more challenge left...any guesses what it could be?

DAY 3: CHECK YOUR CREDIT SCORE (Don't forget to go back to days one and two if you're behind!)

Today is especially important if you're saving for a home. Your credit score will impact what type of loan you can get approved for, how much you have to put down, the interest rate you'll lock in your mortgage at and how much house you can afford to purchase based on your debt to income ratio.

Not saving for a home? No sweat! It's still a good idea to keep tabs on your current credit score...there may be things you can do now to improve your score for when you're ready to purchase something big like a car or a home in the future!

Anyway, after learning your current credit score, you can make a plan to increase that number and / or pay down debt that is contributing to that score.

Bonus Tip: Set yourself up with an account like EXPERIAN to protect your credit score and keep close tabs on where it's at!

How are you doing with the challenge so far? You're more than half way through and several steps closer to your goal!! Keep it up!

DAY 2: ANALYZE YOUR SPENDING HABITS (Look back at Day 1 in case you missed it)

It's time to take a look at your last 30 days of spending and analyze your expenses! Highlight unnecessary expenses and determine what you can eliminate.

(Remember, this isn't for forever, this is just until you meet your goal...so don't hesitate making your goal "no unnecessary Target trips" because it's only temporary...you'll be back to shopping Hearth and Hand with Starbucks in tow in no time!)

You can print off your bank & credit card statements & go through them with an actual highlighter when you see something you didn't need to buy or an "extra" expense. Or you can do it digitally and create a Google Sheet list of those specific items and what they added up to.

This will give you a good glimpse into where your money is going that wasn't necessarily planned and can help you eliminate similar expenses now so you can instead funnel that money into savings for whatever your Day 1 goal was!

Your Savings Account Era is about to begin...are you ready for it?

DAY 01 // "Saving for Homeownership" Challenge

*If you're not saving for homeownership, you can still join the challenge and swap the word "homeownership" to whatever you ARE saving for (kitchen remodel, new car, Taylor Swift tickets...)

Or maybe you just want to be more mindful with your money right now. In that case, you're in the right place!

So for Day 1, we're going to start by picking our savings goal!

1. SAVE FOR HOMEOWNERSHIP 🏡

2. SAVE FOR A HOMEOWNER EMERGENCY FUND 💰

3. SAVE FOR A DOWN PAYMENT 💵

4. SAVE FOR RENOVATIONS 🛠

5. OTHER 🌟

Here's what to expect the next few weeks:

I'll be sharing a tip or "to do" to get your savings on track and eliminate unnecessary expenses so you can tackle your savings goals!

Comment *SAVE* if you're following along! And if you're really serious about saving, comment with the emoji that matches your goal to hold yourself accountable!