Should you Change Jobs Now?

You’ve got a shot at a new job and you want to buy a home. How will a brief work history impact your mortgage loan?

Lenders are most concerned with your ability to repay your mortgage loan, including the likelihood you’ll keep your income and whether you’ll be making enough in salary to pay your debt, such as student loans, and your mortgage.

Without much work history, lenders look for other ways to gauge your ability to repay your loan, like whether you’re on track with your career. What do the last two years of your life say about you – are you job -hopping with no clear direction or are you focusing on your career of choice? That improves your chances of promotion and your ability to repay your loan.

Student debt makes it harder to afford a home, so lenders like to cap total household debt at 41 - 43%. That includes your mortgage payment, revolving debt, child support, and student debt.

If that leaves little left over, you can still buy a home. Choose a smaller or less expensive home, a home that needs work, or a home further from your ideal location. You can also pursue a low-down payment loan like FHA at 3.5% or zero-down VA.

If you want to change jobs, make sure to show progress, such as a higher salary, better benefits, a better title, or some other positive. Talk to your lender about the pros and cons of making a job change now.

Whether you’re a buyer or seller, your agent will give you a market snapshot known as the comparative market analysis (CMA). Comparisons are based on similar homes within a given search area, using size, age, features, condition, location, whether the homes have sold recently and which are currently on the market.

Buyers use CMAs to help them make offers while sellers use CMAs to help them price their homes for sale or to adjust the price. As soon as a home sells or a new home comes on the market, the previous CMA is no longer relevant and your agent can generate a new one for you.

Prices may vary widely, even between identical homes. One property may simply offer better drive-up appeal or more extensive updates. CMAs differ widely by search perimeters like number of bedrooms, views, swimming pools, or a broader search area.

There’s always going to be a home that sold for an astronomical figure, or the one that sold for pennies on the dollar, so you might throw out the highest and lowest priced homes because there’s no knowing why a seller undersells or a buyer overpays. Family pressures, corporate relocations, and other reasons won’t be in the CMA.

Consider how quickly homes are selling, whether they sold for list price or above, or if homes are experiencing price reductions. Your agent will explain how home sales are trending and what strategies may work best for you to get the home you want.

Before you buy a home, you should learn the age of the roof, the typical lifespan of the roofing material, and whether there’s any deterioration.

1. Granular roofs- 10 to 25 years: Asphalt or fiberglass-based shingles have a granular mineral top coating that should be consistent in color and texture. Deterioration wears out the mineral layer, so shingles appear spotty, mottled, bumpy and uneven.
2. Wood roofs- 20-30 years: Finer wood roofs are made of redwood or cedar. Shingles are machine made and shakes are hand-split for a more rough-hewn look. Worn wood roofs have visible cracks or curled edges.
3. Tile roofs- 75 years: Tiles can be made of clay, concrete or slate. The harder the material, the more durable the roof; broken tiles can easily be replaced.
4. Metal roofs- 75 years: Metal roofs have interlocking seams making them attractive, durable, fire-resistant and modern-looking, but dents due to hail are often not covered by homeowner’s insurance.

To judge a roof’s quality, look for the following:

• straight even seams
• consistent color and texture
• no sagging in between support beams
• no corroded flashing around chimneys and valleys
• good soffit vents to circulate air into the attic
• straight gutters free of debris

A professional home inspection should reveal the condition of the roof. If it needs replacement, ask your Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network professional for advice in renegotiating your purchase contract.

Those flawless kitchens you’ve seen in home décor magazines don’t come from home improvement stores. They’re precisely designed by top professionals like award-winning interior designer Charlotte Comer, ASID, RID and Helene Terry, founder of Helene’s Luxury Kitchens and 2017 Dallas ASID Industry Partner of the Year.

“I listen to the client and ask many questions,” said Comer. “The priorities are the client, the space and the finished look and feel.”

Comer sometimes brings Terry into a project to give her suggestions on the latest cabinetry, appliances and fixtures. “Clients want a clean, long-lined look,” said Terry, “Part of the design process is to use cabinet and appliance fronts to lengthen lines and avoid interruptions and disjointed seams.”

So how should you remodel your kitchen? Open it to the living area, with a large island with bar or banquette seating. Gone are cathedral cabinet fronts in favor of smooth surfaces that open with a touch instead of hardware. Modern appliances are matte and should include steam, convection and induction cooking, hands-free faucets and appliance drawers to reduce the institutional look and provide minimal reveals. Natural and engineered stone still rule, but put a waterfall side on the island and use large-scale tiles or planks on floors.

For your kitchen to wow buyers, hire an experienced team. Check references and ask to see pictures of previous installations. Tell your design team if you have time constraints. You should receive renderings and CAD drawings to eliminate surprises and to facilitate a smooth installation.