Real Estate Information

"Once Upon a Playhouse: Happening Feb 10-12

Family Service Rochester's key fundraiser to support its domestic violence programs is about to have its 5th annual Once Upon A Playhouse event. Once Upon A Playhouse has been a main attraction at the Rochester Area Builder's Home Show since it began in 2008. Children and families alike flock to the Once Upon A Playhouse event to see the innovative, playful, and fun playhouses each to be given away to one lucky raffle ticket holder.

Dollars raised from the Once Upon A Playhouse event last year were over $40,000. This money goes toward the programs around domestic violence at Family Service Rochester. Family Service Rochester offers rehabilitation for abusers and has seen an increase of abusers electing to get help; they offer assistance to the family and children, and help families who want to remain together in a new, non-abuse environment.

Expense for the Once Upon A Playhouse event are kept to a minimum which affords Family Service Rochester the opportunity to use maximum dollars earned toward programming. The builders all donate their talent, time, labor, and materials toward the playhouses and each has a retail value of over $2500.

Once Upon A Playhouse will be held at the Rochester Area Builders Home Show from February 10th-12th. There are 4 playhouses and sketches can be found at www.onceuponaplayhouse.org. Raffle tickets are $10 each or 3 for $25. You can buy your tickets online at: http://onceuponaplayhouse.org/raffle.html and you can also get tickets at Family Service Rochester, The Rochester Area Builders, or The Home Show."

 

I'm often asked if this is a good time to buy a home. Some clients are concerned that home prices may fall further than they have already. They are assuming that the best course of action is to wait for the bottom in the market and then buy. The problem with this approach is that you don't know where the bottom is until you see it in the rear view mirror, meaning until you've missed it!

Home prices are one factor in determining your cost of ownership, but so are interest rates and financing availability. Even though interest rates have gone up in the last six months, they are still near historic lows. Since your monthly mortgage payment is a combination of paying down your principal and paying the interest owed, if home prices come down a little further but interest rates go up, it could cost you even more to service a mortgage on an identical home!

While a home is a major investment, it is also the center of your personal life. It's important to live in a home that reflects your taste and values, yet is within your financial "comfort zone." To that end, it may be more important to lock in today's relatively low interest rates and low home prices, rather than to hope for a further break in prices in the future.

Please give me a call if I can be of any assistance in determining how much home you can afford in today's market.