Is Refinancing in Your Future?

There are a variety of opportunities in the Central Pennsylvania real estate market for both buyers and sellers. If you're a prospective buyer click here for a full home search, or if you're considering placing your home on the market, get a free home value report, right here. Is it time to refinance? Click here! 

Does your mortgage rate start with the number 5, or higher? If so, you may be throwing away money on a monthly basis. Right now, mortgage rates continue to be in the low 4%'s, but won't be that low for too much longer. Refinancing at a lower rate is very common among homeowners and  a great way to reduce your monthly payments.

Deciding to refinance is an important decision, and you don't want to make a rash decision. 

Here are 4 things to consider before refinancing:

1. What are your goals?

  Determining your goals is one of the first things you should do. Refinancing your home won't pay off any debt you have, but will restructure it in a way that will help you save money, shorten your mortgage, or both. 

2. Can you lock in a lower interest rate?

 Rates are still very close to all-time lows. Getting a lower rate now can end up saving you thousands of dollars a year in interest. 

3. Is it financially possible?

 Refinancing your home comes with associated costs. It is similar to a home purchase loan, so there will be fees incurred. Having a lender walk you through the process should give you an idea of whether refinancing is a good option for you. 

4. When is a good time to refinance?

 Determining when to refinance often depends on how long you plan on staying in your home and what your personal and financial goals are. Typically, the fewer number of years you plan on staying, the larger the reduction of an interest rate you would need to be able to consider refinancing. 

Refinancing your home can be very beneficial, but it may not be the best financial decision for you. Every home is different, so do your research before making a decision.

If you have any questions about refinancing, or if you have any other questions. Feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We'd love to help out!

Is it time to refinance? Click Here!

How we helped Ed buy a home by working around his family’s schedule

"When we were looking for a real estate agent, we wanted to work with someone who was willing to work around our schedule. Joy and her team quickly exceeded our expectations in helping us find a home. They were there for us, they walked us through many homes, and were even chipper and brought us coffee when we’d go look at homes at an unholy hour on a Saturday morning. I never had to wait longer than 30 minutes for them to return a phone call and they were also involved in the community, which shows a commitment to the community at large. Joy has sold over 3 homes for my family and when she sells my current home in the spring, we look forward to working with the best team in Harrisburg and Central Pennsylvania!"

How we helped Mitzi sell her home by being helpful through every step of the process

"They helped me sell my home even through some of the wrinkles that my ex-husband caused. They had peak traffic through my house and they did a very good job with the marketing aspect. I just always felt comfortable with her. They really helped me through the closing and even after the sale when I had breast cancer and couldn’t mow my grass, my Realtor Nick came out a couple times to help me with that which was above and beyond! It was just a really good experience and I recommend Joy all the time!"

How we helped Gary with his real estate needs with our great team effort

"We’ve worked with Joy for several years now. She aided us in buying the current house we’re living in and also the house that we just sold. Joy and her whole team just have their act together. I was in the business for myself and I know how hard it is to get a team to click and she just seems to be able to do that."

The Key to Having a Safe AND Spooky Halloween!

There are a variety of opportunities in the Central Pennsylvania real estate market for both buyers and sellers. If you're a prospective buyer click here for a full home search, or if you're considering placing your home on the market, get a free home value report, right here.

When night falls, a cast of creepy characters can help turn your home into a landscape that is equally frightening and enchanting! To welcome trick-or-treaters in hair-raising style, turn your porch into a bat cave or use other spooky props to celebrate the season!
We've put together this short list of tips so you can celebrate this spooky season in style, while ensuring the safety of those who come to your door:

• Don't use live flames: When decorating your porch, avoid using live flames. Instead, use LED and battery operated candles to get the same effect!

• Make sure electric cables are safely out of the way: You don't want children tripping over wires and cables when they come to the door, so make sure they're tucked away.

• Optimize your lighting: Make sure your walkways are lit well and free of obstruction. The last thing you want is someone taking a tumble on your property.

• Remove obstacles: Leave enough room for children to walk up to your door without tripping on decorations. 

• Buy a ton of candy: Make sure you buy the big bags of candy so you don't have any disappointed trick-or-treaters. 

• Check your kids' candy: Before letting your children eat their hard-earned candy, make sure the wrappers have not been opened and all the treats are safe to eat.

• Wear a costume: If you're going to be answering the door for trick-or-treaters, you might as well join in the fun! Dress up to show you're welcoming and like to have a bit of fun as well. Halloween is a holiday for kids and adults, so don't be afraid to pretend a little!

We hope these tips have been helpful to you. Thanks for checking out our blog, and we hope to hear from you soon!
Have a safe and fun Halloween!

Where is the Best Coffee on the East Shore?

There are a variety of opportunities in the Central Pennsylvania real estate market for both buyers and sellers. If you're a prospective buyer click here for a full home search, or if you're considering placing your home on the market, get a free home value report, right here.

  Today we want to take time to answer a great question we received recently from a client. The question is: "Where is the best place to get a cup of coffee in Central PA?" We are going to go on a tour of our favorite stops on the East Shore, starting with Dunkin' Donuts.

Although there are a lot of great local shops out there, sometimes the chain drive-thrus are the way to go. The Dunkin' Donuts on Linglestown Rd. is our favorite location because of Devon, the store manager. We love their great service, and the skinny lattes. 

Little Amps is an independent shop in Harrisburg that serves intense, flavorful, fresh coffee that is naturally sweet. They source their beans from all around the world, but roast them locally. Our favorite beverage is their French Pressed Coffee. 

The Perking Point is a great coffee shop. It's a big space, with room for students to study, small businesses to meet, and friends to hang out. Their coffee is all Fair Trade and the shop is a non-profit outreach of Cross Point Methodist Church.

St. Thomas is a great place to take in a lot of great coffee scents. Coffee at St. Thomas is roasted daily and the aromas fill the air. With so many flavors, it's hard to pick a favorite. We would probably have to go with the Cinnamon Sticky Bun flavor as our favorite. 

These are just a few of the many great shops here in Central PA. If you have any questions, or have suggestions for our next video, give us a call. We'd love to hear from you!

Know the Pros and Cons of Open Houses

There are a variety of opportunities in the Central Pennsylvania real estate market for both buyers and sellers. If you're a prospective buyer click here for a full home search, or if you're considering placing your home on the market, get a free home value report, right here.

In today's constantly changing marketplace, many homeowners are unsure whether an open house is still an effective way to market their home. To help you decide for yourself, we've compiled a list of the pros and cons of the process.

Pros

• Buyers feel less pressure when visiting an open house; they bring in potential buyers who would otherwise be too casual or unmotivated to book a showing.
• You can set the scene. When prospective buyers come by your home for a traditional showing, they often give you little notice beforehand - making it difficult to keep your home ready to show for the entire duration it's on the market. 
• You choose the timing. You can schedule an open house so it fits with your schedule. It makes your lifestyle a whole lot easier when you choose the time - you never have to struggle to make appointments with a few buyers at a time, at times that are inconvenient for you. 
• Lock in interested buyers. If a potential buyer has already spotted your home, they may stop by to see what your home is really like. Pictures are great, but physically experiencing a home tells a bigger story. It's an added bonus that buyers can bring family and friends along.
• Your home gets more exposure. Your home will be advertised with extra signs in local newspapers, Facebook, Trulia, TourFactory, Realtor.com, and the MLS, among others. 

Cons

• Open Houses are outdated. In today's marketplace, there are online open houses. High-definition photographs by professional photographers, and virtual tours make your home viewable 24/7. 
• You may attract the wrong visitors. Nosy neighbors, dreamers who can't afford your home, and burglars are just a few of the undesirable individuals who may stop by. There are also professional viewers, who may only be looking for ideas for their own home. You may attract more aloof people than the serious, ready, and willing buyers you are looking for. 

When it comes down to it, everyone has a different set of circumstances surrounding the sale of their home. If you would like guidance with the process and are unsure of whether an open house is right for you, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would like to help you sell your home in the most beneficial way possible!

Tune in to ABC’s Shark Tank Friday Sept. 26 at 8/7c to see Joy Daniels, with Barbara Corcoran.

Tune in to ABC’s Shark Tank premiering on Friday Sept. 26 at 8/7c to see Joy Daniels of Joy Daniels Real Estate Group, side-by-side with real estate magnate Barbara Corcoran.

Corcoran is Shark Tank’s resident real estate mogul and a prominent self-made multi-millionaire. She is now endorsing a select few of the best real estate minds in the country, Daniels included. Joy Daniels will appear in a commercial airing during the Shark Tank season premier and in several additional episodes throughout the season.

Daniels’ company, Joy Daniels Real Estate Group, is a dominant leader in the real estate industry, providing phenomenal service and expertise to a wide base of clientele in Central Pennsylvania. A full time Realtor for nearly 25 years, Daniels started her own company in 2010 and is one of only a small number of agents with independent real estate companies to be endorsed by Barbara Corcoran.

In 2013 and again this year, the Joy Daniels Real Estate Group was named one of Central Penn Business Journal’s Top 50 Fastest Growing Companies. The company was also ranked in the top 100 real estate teams in the Real Trends/Wall Street Journal annual ranking. More details about the group, including its Guaranteed Sale Program, can be found at www.joydaniels.com or by connecting with the team on Facebook.

Daniels is also part of the exclusive Radio & Television Experts (RATE) group, an elite network of real estate rainmakers. The RATE group has worked with numerous celebrities in addition to Corcoran, including Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and John Tesh, to spread awareness of the group’s real estate endeavours.

Corcoran is an iconic figure in the New York real estate scene and nationally known as the real estate contributor to the NBC TODAY show. She has invested in more than two dozen businesses to date on Shark Tank, and has written several well-received books including Shark Tales: How I turned $1,000 into a Billion Dollar Business.

How can you know if a short sale is right for you?

There are a variety of opportunities in the Central Pennsylvania real estate market for both buyers and sellers. If you're a prospective buyer click here for a full home search, or if you're considering placing your home on the market, get a free home value report, right here.

Many people are unsure what a short sale really is - it does not mean it only takes a short time to sell your home. According to Wikipedia, a short sale is a sale of property in which the proceeds will fall short of the balance of the debts secured by leans against it. When the owner cannot afford to pay the full amount, the lean holders agree to release the lean on the real estate and accept less than the amount owed them. The amount that goes unpaid to the creditor is know as a deficiency.

That sure is a mouthful, but it's not hard to understand when put another way. Essentially, a short sale is when a bank agrees to sell a property for less than what is owed on the property. It is a legal process used by lenders to enforce payment of a mortgage debt. This is often used by homeowners as a means to avoid foreclosure. While both shorts sales and foreclosures will damage your credit score, shorts sales can have a less negative impact if reported to the bureau properly. 

The homeowner can ask for a clause in the short sale contract that stipulates that the lender will not report the short sale as a charged off account to the credit bureaus. The homeowner must list their home and find a buyer to do the short sale and some lenders will even require that a real estate agent be used in the sale. The short sale application involves the seller providing the lender with solid documentation, such as the borrower's pay stubs and proof of hardship. If the seller has a high paying job or assets, they may have a harder time doing a short sale with the lender. 

How do you know if you meet the qualifications for short sale help? If the following apply to your situation, you may be eligible:

• Financial hardship: Relocation, divorce, loss of income, major repairs needed without resources to make them, increased bills and living expenses, etc.
• Behind on mortgage payments.
• Facing default or foreclosure.
• Mortgage balance is greater than the value of your home.
• Depleted savings.

If you are experiencing any of the above difficulties, we can help. We have a knowledgeable short sale specialist on staff that is experienced at negotiating with lenders. If you have more questions about the process or need help getting the most of your short sale, don't hesitate to give us a call. We would like to make the experience as stress-free and smooth as possible!

How we helped Jessica sell her home by resolving issues quickly

"Both my husband and I are very happy with the results. We actually sold 2 homes through the Joy Daniels Real Estate Group and both of them went off without a hitch! We had some issues with the well at our home and when we were on vacation it needed to be run for an extended time over and few days and Joy made sure that it was taken care of by the time we got back so we were ready to go for settlement."

Central Pennsylvania Market Update

There are a variety of opportunities in the Central Pennsylvania real estate market for both buyers and sellers. If you're a prospective buyer click here for a full home search, or if you're considering placing your home on the market, get a free home value report, right here.

One of the most common questions we get about the Central Pennsylvania market is, "Where are prices heading?" The truth is it's not a very easy question to answer - prices are completely dependent on where you live. One neighborhood may be doing quite well, while another one nearby may be struggling. Because of this, it's important to not pay too close attention to media reports on local markets. 

We don't have the ability to know how many buyers are in a given market. However, real estate professionals have information on listings and the average days on market for homes in a given area. These are important indicators that need to be studied closely by a professional who is familiar with the area of interest. 

The number of units sold increased by 13.2% over June of 2013. Additionally, the median home price has decreased 3% since June of last year, while the average days on market has dropped to 93 days from 102 days since this time last year. What does all this mean for you?

We think these numbers indicate the market is poised to improve. The number of homes under contract is the highest it's been in 4 quarters and mortgage loans are still cheap - the national average on a 30-year fixed-rate loan is currently 4.3%, which is a 2014 low!

If you're still on the fence about buying or selling real estate, you can rest assured knowing our specialists, with their knowledge and experience, will study the market for you and advise you accordingly. Satisfying your best interests is in our best interest, so give us a call or shoot us an email. We want to work hard for you!