Stuart Rubin’s real estate development guides? Fixating on the house over the neighborhood. Sure, you want a home that checks off the items on your wish list and meets your needs. Being nitpicky about a home’s cosmetics, however, can be short-sighted if you wind up in a neighborhood you hate, says Alison Bernstein, president and founder of Suburban Jungle, a real estate strategy firm. “Selecting the right town is critical to your life and family development,” Bernstein says. “The goal is to find you and your brood a place where the culture and values of the (area) match yours. You can always trade up or down for a new home; add a third bathroom or renovate a basement.” How this affects you: You could wind up loving your home but hating your neighborhood. What to do instead: Ask your real estate agent to help you track down neighborhood crime stats and school ratings. Measure the drive from the neighborhood to your job to gauge commuting time and proximity to public transportation. Visit the neighborhood at different times to get a sense of traffic, neighbor interactions and the overall vibe to see if it’s an area that appeals to you.
Create A List Of Amenities – When shopping for a home, list the Top 10 features (fireplace, fenced-in yard, new appliances, etc.) that are most important to you. Establishing this criteria early will save time shopping for inappropriate homes and keep you from buying a home on a whim. Your top reason for buying a home should be the value you are getting. That being said, some of your top 10 amenities could be sacrificed if an incredible value becomes available.
Are you wondering: How much mortgage can I afford? In some markets, you better be able to pay for a big one, or you’ll be shut out. Fortunately, there are tricks you can use to increase the size of your answer when you ask yourself how much mortgage you can afford. Those are often overlooked but totally legit steps. Here’s what you’re up against. In the fourth quarter, monthly base payments for single-family existing homes ranged from $1,430 to $5,946. That was based on median purchase prices in the 25 most expensive U.S. metropolitan markets, according to HSH.com. Monthly base payments consist of the principal, interest, taxes and insurance (PITI) that comprise typical mortgage payments.
Stuart Rubin data: Prior to joining Deloitte, he was a co-founder of a leading cyber services consultancy where he launched a managed services platform for providing ongoing monitoring of network devices and assessing and reporting on the impact of cyber-related events. Stuart is a graduate of Florida State University and holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Studies. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP-ISSMP) and a member of ISACA and InfraGard.
Stuart Rubin is a managing director in Deloitte’s Assurance and Internal Audit practice, with 20 years of experience in public accounting, Internal Audit, and IT consulting. He focuses on assisting organizations in the Consumer, Fintech, and Services industries in implementing, assessing, monitoring, and enhancing their systems of control. Stuart Rubin regularly presents at the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), and accounting industry conferences on emerging trends in the assurance, internal audit, and security/privacy spaces.
Mr. Rubin had also been one of the founding shareholders of the Private Bank of California. At the time, the Private Bank of California had been the largest Denovo raise for a new bank when founded. Mr. Rubin served on the executive loan committee from founding through the sale and was also an active member of the board through the sale holding various board seats. The company had primarily specialized in added value acquisitions and had created a vertically integrated platform with both management, development, and disposition. See even more information on Stuart Rubin.
