Written By: Karen Deis
We haved written several articles about the Home Equity niche market!
To really nail the message home (no pun intended) on how big of a market this is, Dan Fritschen, author of the book Remodel or Move: Make the Right Decision surveyed 5,000 homeowners in the fall of 2006.
The overall conclusion is...over 50% of the people who plan to remodel will spend at least 30% of the value of their home's current value on the project. For example, if the home's value were $250,000, the dollar amount would be around $75,000!
Are you passing up large HELOC's or refinance opportunities? Believe me, there are loan officers, home improvement stores and websites willing to take your past clients away from you.
At the end of this article, I share with you a remodel-or-move calculator website but it comes with a warning...you (the loan officer) must complete FOR your customer. The calculator is excellent - but it's also a site where they can request a mortgage quote!
One thing that each survey participant had in common was they were trying to make a decision as to whether to sell their current home (and move) or remodel their existing home.
Is home improvement big in your area? Ask yourself these questions.
When you drive to and from work each day, are you seeing more "remodeling signs" as opposed to "for sale signs"?
Are your local home improvement stores packed with people on the weekend?
Have you heard real estate agents lament that homes are taken off the market because the seller decided to stay and remodel?
Have you noticed more calls from your past clients asking about home equity/home improvement loans?
Fritschen also says "coincidently, the home improvement industry is helping homeowners in their quest to get more for less by continuing to drop the cost of materials and there is an increase in the construction workforce available. With the slow down in new home construction, it has left the trades people (who were building new homes), looking to do remodeling projects instead.
The results of the survey and website link...
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