SUMP PUMP MAINTENANCE PROTECTS LAS VEGAS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS

If your piece of Las Vegas real estate is nobly situated atop a commanding hilltop, you probably won’t run into the issues discussed here because gravity works on your behalf when it comes to plumbing. On the flatter elevations, many of us must deal with sumps and sump pumps. For the uninitiated, sump pumps are those unseen submerged plumbing devices that hum along dependably for years, quietly defying the force of gravity by sending waste liquids upward enough that they are able to drain back down into either sewers or leach fields, never to be seen again. Sump pumps are a kind of the Secret Service for your real estate investment, protecting your home in an unobtrusive manner. No sunglasses, perhaps, but just as reliable. No muss, no fuss…that is if all goes well. When it doesn’t, you’ll know. Believe me—you’ll know! Sump pump malfunctions can result in flooded rooms and costly repairs. And it’s also true that sometimes you don’t learn about a sump pump misfire until it’s too late. A sump failure can be an irritating real estate problem whether you’ve just bought or are selling your Las Vegas home. As a rule, sump pumps are incredibly dependable…until they aren’t. The good news is that just following a few simple precautions will help ensure that you never open the door to discover any of your valuable belongings afloat. First and most important: if the sump pump is part of a system that isn’t used very often, test it once a month by running enough water through the system to activate the pump. The pumps use float activators that can become stuck in place if not triggered for long periods. If the pump does not activate (you’ll hear a faint humming sound when it goes into action), check for leakage at the sump pit where it is housed. If moisture is starting to seep up around the seal, it could be for one of several reasons: •    Electrical issues •    Debris in the impeller, switch or discharge line •    A stuck float •    Frozen discharge line •    Complete mechanical failure You can handle some of these problems yourself, such as carefully checking to make sure the electrical outlet is working. More ambitious DIYers can choose to open the seal to free a stuck float or remove debris—though more serious problems will require a call to a plumber. If power outages are a regular occurrence, a backup pump can help you prevent sump pump disasters. A backup pump activates if the primary pump fails to clear the sump as usual. Taking steps to avoid sump pump problems will help you avoid an indoor flood—something that’s a real estate plus when it comes to selling your Las Vegas home (particularly for buyers focused on the possibility of water damage). In any case, if you are preparing your home for sale this fall or winter, I hope you’ll give me a call!

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TODAYS HOME BUYER AIDED BY NEW MOBILE DEVICE APPS

In earlier eras, a would-be Las Vegas home buyer had few tools to aid in the task of finding a home that was ‘just right.’ Today, the situation has gotten a good deal easier thanks to a wealth of real estate apps that home buyers simply download onto their mobile devices. There are apps that can help you with everything from finding your dream home (and determining how much you can afford) to learning more about the neighborhood. Home Buyer Terminology Every home buyer is inevitably exposed to a welter of technical terms—and some of them have meanings that differ from what you would guess. Trying to decipher the jargon is a challenge you can shortcut with a good app dedicated to the task. Android users can download Remarks’s Glossary Real Estate Terms; iPhone and other Apple devices use Barron’s Dictionary of Real Estate Terms (although, like so many parts of the Apple universe, it’s a bit pricey). Neighborhood Info When a home buyer wants truly in-depth information about the area, SiteWise can provide some data that’s not, usually, provided. This app was actually developed for commercial purposes, but since it gives a complete overview of the demographics of the area around the home, it can provide useful info. Typical data shows the average age of the population, their educational level, the average number of children, and how many renters and owners live in the neighborhood. Space measurements Before you buy, you want to make sure that the property will accommodate all of your furnishings. Big Blue Pixel’s Photo Measures app makes quick work of memorializing what you find on any walk-through. You to take a picture of each of the rooms, and then save the relevant measurements on the photo for later analysis after you get home. Bottom line Choosing the right property involves more than just finding the right home. You also need to be sure that you can comfortably afford it when all costs are considered. The highly-rated Home Buying Power app is used by both professionals and consumers to estimate how much a property is likely to cost—now and in the future. You can set the financial calculator to reference the percentage of your income that you want to spend…or target the monthly payment you are looking for. This is just a handful of the innovative apps which are streamlining the process today’s home buyer in Las Vegas experiences. New apps are being introduced almost weekly, so when you find one you like, look for the ‘users also bought’ icons that link to other useful tools. Of course, the most useful of all is your Las Vegas real estate expert—so don’t hesitate to give me a call!

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CONTINUING LOW MORTGAGE RATES MAY TEMPT LAS VEGAS HOMEBUYERS

Local homeowners are among the keenest observers of Las Vegas mortgage rates because they are such a large factor in the long-term investment that is their house. It’s the factor that determines if and when refinancing makes sense; the factor that plays a large part in heating (or cooling) the overall Las Vegas real estate market. For the most part, home buyers simply accept the mortgage rate in Las Vegas that happens to be currently offered when they decide buy a Las Vegas home. The timing of their purchase is generally triggered by their own financial fortunes, or when the right home comes along, or when some outside circumstance forces them to find new digs—or any of a dozen reasons other than the current Las Vegas mortgage rates. If they even consider how Las Vegas mortgage rates come into play, they may look to financial experts—but only for guidance in how to land the lowest available rates (and that answer is always the same: “protect your credit score”). Few consider whether a mortgage rate dip should in itself be the determining factor for triggering their home purchase—but it wouldn’t be such a crazy idea. So, why do I bring this up now? Let me quote the way Tim Logan, the housing and residential real estate columnist for the L.A. Times, led off his article at the end of last month: “If you’re borrowing to buy a house, there’s almost never been a better time to do it.” He and other residential market observers are not just pointing to the surprisingly low national interest rates reported by Freddie Mac—although that’s certainly the case. Per the Times: “Interest rates on an average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit 4.1% this week, a low for the year.” Only last year, the basement-level interest rate phenomenon was widely predicted to come to an end (and rates did begin to rise). But as Logan described it, rates have “been bouncing in the low 4% range for months, not quite record territory, but not far from it.” (I’ll echo that: at this point, they’re close to as low as they ever get.) But perhaps the most compelling reason for the urgency in that “never been a better time” statement is this prediction (also from the L.A. Times): “…fairly soon, forecasters say—interest rates will rise, posing housing-market hurdles.” The “hurdles” would be a natural consequence of any upward spike in mortgage rates. In that scenario, homeowners will become reluctant to part with their home since a new mortgage would carry higher interest rates. Not just that: if that causes the supply of homes on the market to tighten, prices will do what supply shortages always cause—higher prices. Such a scenario is far from certain. But what isn’t in doubt is today’s decidedly low Las Vegas interest rates. If all this has you thinking of buying or selling this fall, as the Times says, your timing couldn’t be better…an excellent reason to give me a call me today!

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