How Homeownership Serves as a Hedge Against Inflation – Beth Little
On this episode of The Closing Table, we sat down with Beth Little!
To watch the full episode, check it out on YouTube below. In the meantime, here’s a summary of the conversation…
Here’s what you missed from Beth Little…
The conversation began with a fill-in-the-blank icebreaker on what makes clients feel more comfortable, what would make the industry better, and more. Beth then discussed how she got into real estate seven years ago. She worked in the spa industry for 18 years before getting into real estate. She worked with a lot of clients, but she couldn’t do it for long because of her carpel tunnel syndrome. She gained knowledge from several of her clients who were realtors, which eased the transition.
When asked about her designation as a Certified Residential Specialist, Beth talks about how she strove to obtain whatever designation she could in order to broaden her real estate knowledge and stand out as an agent. The Certified Residential Specialist is the most difficult credential to obtain, and she had to learn a lot of new points, network more, and remain sharp.
On being a Seniors Real Estate Specialist, Beth discusses how working with seniors and understanding their individual requirements differs from dealing with customers from other generations. It’s about recognizing the distinctions between trust and will, dealing with family members, senior care facilities, and a variety of other issues. She also explained why she earned this title, stating that she has witnessed many elderly being taken advantage of over the years. Beth then discussed how she identifies whether a smaller home is the best option for a client. When they have been living in the home for many years without the ability to maintain the house, make costly repairs, they isolate themselves within the home.
Following that, Beth addresses how homeownership can be used to protect against inflation. Beth explains how inflation will constantly rise, therefore perhaps your home worth will rise as well. When you have a mortgage, your payment is fixed. In the long run, you’ll be paying less while your home’s value rises and you develop equity. She also described how bridge loans work by having the bank buy your currently owned property and then financing up to 75% of the equity in your current home to purchase your next home. Also, the offer you can make on your future property is not dependent on the sale of your existing house.
Kevin then asked Beth whether she believes it is more useful to a seller to use physical furniture for staging or a virtual staging tool. Beth reveals that she always relies on physical furniture and has a basement full of staging supplies. Unless significant staging is required, they would then engage a professional staging team. People buy homes based on their emotions, which is what they aim for. She also mentioned how the properties she staged earned her additional revenue.
The conversation wraps up with Beth talking about the adverse effects of neglecting to regularly check your gutters. She emphasized the necessity of gutter maintenance, noting that gutter maintenance prevents 95% of basement problems.
Check out Beth Little:
https://www.facebook.com/BLittle78
https://www.facebook.com/bethlittlehomes
https://www.instagram.com/beth_little_homes/
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