Either Way, You’re Still Paying a Mortgage

There are some people that have not purchased a home because they are uncomfortable taking on the obligation of a mortgage. Everyone should realize that, unless you are living with our parents rent free, you are paying a mortgage – either your mortgage or your landlord’s.
As a recent paper from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University explains:
“Households must consume housing whether they own or rent. Not even accounting for more favorable tax treatment of owning, homeowners pay debt service to pay down their own principal while households that rent pay down the principal of a landlord plus a rate of return. That’s yet another reason owning often does—as Americans intuit—end up making more financial sense than renting.”
Also, if you purchase with a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, your ‘housing expense’ is locked in over the thirty years for the most part. If you rent, the one guarantee you will have is that your rent will increase over that same thirty year time period.
Whether you are looking for a primary residence for the first time or are considering a vacation home on the shore, owning might make more sense than renting since prices and interest rates are still at bargain prices.

4 reasons hiring a professional real estate videographer is worth the cost

“Why hire a professional videographer to shoot listings?” I’ve seen that question a lot lately, along with articles about the hows or whys of creating your own listing videos. I’ll admit that hiring a professional videographer costs money. And with high-resolution video cameras and editing software widely available, you may think that nothing could be simpler than throwing together a listing video. But there are several reasons to think again.
1. Return on investment. Making your own listing videos is like changing your own oil. It sounds like an easy money-saver, until you get halfway into it and realize just how complicated and time-consuming it really is. Making a quality listing video takes several hours from start to finish, counting travel and shooting time, as well as editing and uploading. Add unexpected glitches with equipment or software, and the payoff dwindles even more. It makes far more sense to spend the time doing what you do best: selling houses. Listing presentations, an open house (or two) and showings are all a better return on your time.
2. The “wow” factor. It’s relatively easy to capture video footage, but it’s much harder to get the lighting right, edit the footage, and incorporate music or a voice-over. It’s a skillset most people just don’t have. But those touches are important — they create an immersive, “sticky” experience that keeps buyers engaged and focused on the home from start to finish. Pay a pro to get that “wow” factor, and you’re more likely to impress buyers and sell the home quickly, possibly even for a higher price.

3. Flexibility. Using a pro opens the door to options that would be too complicated to manage on your own. You can be on camera for a guided tour of the home or neighborhood. You can bring in multiple cameras to give the video more visual interest. Or you can set up movie-style scenes that draw buyers in as only storytelling can. Extra features like these can be especially helpful for premium listings, where prospective buyers are harder to impress.

4. Competitiveness. There is generally a noticeable difference between professional and amateur video. As a result, professionally produced videos tend to get more attention and make a more favorable impression, whether you’re using them to sell houses or recruit new clients. – See more at:

http://www.inman.com/next/4-reasons-hiring-a-professional-real-estate-videographer-is-worth-the-cost/#sthash.e1yFXkXQ.dpuf