Hi,
It’s a beautiful winter day today. Highs around 50 and crisp blue skies. We just came off the mid 70’s last week…. Lol.  If you don’t like the cold, don’t worry it’s sure to change again soon. It’s like a yo-yo. I love the variety but it does require some planning in the wardrobe department.

We’re at the first part of the new year and people are working on carrying out their plans for change and improvement in the new year.

This is true in the health areas of our lives but it’s also true for the financial health of our life. I see a lot of folks making plans to buy or sell investment and rental properties.  Probably depending on advice from their financial planners, CPAs, Realtors and just their own good judgement.

This next year would be a great time to buy real estate. The market is strong. A well-priced home doesn’t last long. Correctly priced homes are gone in just a few weeks. The interest rates are low right now and construction prices are slowly edging up. Home prices will start edging up as construction and trades people are becoming more in demand.

Some people are rolling their 401k’s into real estate. A good way to do this is through a self directed IRA – using the funds in your retirement account and buying real estate.

This a a good time to evaluate your own property’s needs. Is the value where you need it to be so you can sell and downsize or move up? Is your rental income performing the way you want? Do you need to make some improvements to increase your rent and improve the quality of tenants you can attract and/or property cash flow? Do you want to add another rental or two? You could be tired of the ups and downs of your rental property and want to get out altogether. Whatever your goals for real estate, now is a good time to be taking action. We are always happy to talk with you and help advise you when the time comes.

One of the things I love about Gainesville is their promotion of various cultural events. One of my favorites is the Hoggetowne Medieval Faire. It’s always a fun place to people watch and I love to browse the jewelry booths. This year my granddaughter is 3 and it was an eyeopener to watch her amazement of all the costumes and various shows. I didn’t think about the fact that to her all of that craziness looks real and was probably very confusing. There were people dressed as animals wearing horns, knights jousting on horses, maids with their low-cut blouses, fairies, kings and queens and all kinds of crazy looking characters. True to form it rained. I’m pretty sure it’s been a muddy environment every year I’ve attended. This year it was a beautiful sunny day until about 15 minutes after our arrival. Then it turned cold and started raining. But we did make a good round through the grounds and snuggled under a dry pavilion in the kids zone watching magic tricks and petting bunnies. A good way to end the kids’ visit by leaving thoughts of cute furry bunnies in their minds instead of all the crazy costumes and the like.

Click here to see more of Tanya’s pictures and video

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Read similar blog posts from “Words From Our Broker”:

• Words From our Broker – January 2016
• Words From our Broker – November 2015