If the near record low mortgage rates being advertised everywhere has you wondering whether now might be the time to consider refinancing your mortgage, here are some things to keep in mind:
First, use a good mortgage calculator to see how much you might save by refinancing to a lower rate. If you can save a significant amount each month, then consider how much you'll have to pay in closing costs to refinance. If you find that you'll save a considerable amount on the monthly payment in addition to factoring in your closing costs, then proceed with the type of mortgage you might want to consider.
Keep in mind if you currently have an FHA loan, FHA Streamline guidelines have changed, so you may have to do an FHA inspection whereas previously it was not required.
The next thing you have to consider is how long you’ve been in your current home. Lenders review your record of payment and the length of stay before approving your mortgage refinance. Also, keep in mind that the more you owe, the higher your refinance cost may be, due to fees, interest, and possible penalties.
Finally, don't forget about the appraisal process. Many property values have dropped recently, so make sure this won’t affect your refinance amount.
If you still have quite some time left before your home is paid off, refinancing now and locking in a lower rate can easily save you thousands in the long run.
Best Buyer’s Broker Realty is an Exclusive Buyer Agent specializing in Long Island real estate (Nassau and Suffolk properties) and neighboring Queens County properties.
We don’t take any seller listings (yet we have more homes for you to see than most agents) and never have any potential conflict of interest like other agents who also represent sellers. We represent buyers only, 100% of the time. We can show you more homes for sale because we have access to MLS, FSBOs, Exclusives (homes that agents try to keep secret), foreclosures and homes not on the market that may be of interest to you.
We are not your traditional real estate agent. Our goal is to advise and protect home buyers and help them obtain the lowest price and best terms on their dream home. Call us at 516-887-6901 to see how we can help you save time and money. Or visit our sites at http://bestbuyersbroker.com or http://bestbuyerbroker.com.
Depending on which news channel you turn to these days, you'll hear good news, and bad news, about the real estate outlook.
Probably the most upbeat forecast of all the real estate news circulating these days comes from the country's top group of forecasters, the National Association of Business Economists, which has a great track record in predicting trends and market turns. After its latest survey of members released recently, the association said the following: "The good news is that the deep and long recession appears to be over, and with improving credit markets, the U.S. economy can return to solid growth next year without worrying about inflation."
The consensus forecast from the business economists is for the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, that's the main measure of the economy's output and activity — to grow by 2.9 percent, and for new housing starts to jump by an impressive 38 percent.
That is good news because home resales tend to be closely tied in with GDP: If the overall economy is flush and growing, that supports higher home purchases and sales.
The big negative everywhere is jobs. The recession may be ending in some areas, but not in job losses, with unemployment currently hovering right at the 10 percent level, which is a big factor holding back the real estate housing recovery.
The biggest plus for housing right now is the continued low interest rates, and the first time buyer tax credit still in existence for a few more weeks, unless it is extended by Congress, which is what many in the real estate sector are crying for to keep the uptrend from stalling out.
Best Buyer’s Broker Realty is an Exclusive Buyer Agent specializing in Long Island real estate (Nassau and Suffolk properties) and neighboring Queens County properties.
We don’t take any seller listings (yet we have more homes for you to see than most agents) and never have any potential conflict of interest like other agents who also represent sellers. We represent buyers only, 100% of the time. We can show you more homes for sale because we have access to MLS, FSBOs, Exclusives (homes that agents try to keep secret), foreclosures and homes not on the market that may be of interest to you.
We are not your traditional real estate agent. Our goal is to advise and protect home buyers and help them obtain the lowest price and best terms on their dream home. Call us at 516-887-6901 to see how we can help you save time and money. Or visit our sites at http://bestbuyersbroker.com or http://bestbuyerbroker.com.
Just as federal officials seek to wind down many bailout programs, the Obama administration has announced yet another initiative to prop up the housing market.
Administration officials unveiled a plan to aid state and local housing finance agencies, which provide mortgages to first-time and lower-income homebuyers and enable the development or rehabilitation of rental properties. Officials declined to put a pricetag on the program, but said there would be no cost to taxpayers.
The measure will enable housing agencies to lend to hundreds of thousands of families and enable the development or rehabilitation of tens of thousands of rental units. The agencies operate in all 50 states and in many cities.
Congress is considering extending the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, which ends November 30th.
The credit will have been used by 1.8 million homebuyers, at least 355,000 of whom would not have bought a house without the tax break, by the end of November, according to estimates by the National Association of Realtors.
Best Buyer’s Broker Realty is an Exclusive Buyer Agent specializing in Long Island real estate (Nassau and Suffolk properties) and neighboring Queens County properties.
We don’t take any seller listings (yet we have more homes for you to see than most agents) and never have any potential conflict of interest like other agents who also represent sellers. We represent buyers only, 100% of the time. We can show you more homes for sale because we have access to MLS, FSBOs, Exclusives (homes that agents try to keep secret), foreclosures and homes not on the market that may be of interest to you.
We are not your traditional real estate agent. Our goal is to advise and protect home buyers and help them obtain the lowest price and best terms on their dream home. Call us at 516-887-6901 to see how we can help you save time and money. Or visit our sites at http://bestbuyersbroker.com or http://bestbuyerbroker.com.
In today's crazy Long Island area real estate housing market, making rational decisions based on sound information is a must! In reality, emotions often take over, and sometimes, it's all you can do not to lose all conscientiousness when you think you have found that dream home. But if you'll follow these buying strategies, you should find yourself in complete control of the home purchase.
1 - Work out your finances first. Paying cash? Getting a mortgage? Find out what you can afford and check out all your various options.
Meet with whatever experts you need to in order to have all your facts - a lender, your tax advisor, etc. Knowing exactly what you want to and can spend will eliminate time spent looking at properties you can't have (or have no business trying to obtain).
When you find the right property you can make a "clean" offer without a financing contingency. Sellers are more likely to respond favorably to clean offers without a bunch of financing contingencies.
2 - Unless you really want to own two properties, sell first, then buy. The property you want may or may not take a contingency offer. So unless you are prepared to own both (and you have to plan for a worst case scenario) you are wasting your time with the offer if you still have a home to sell.
Second, if you are emotionally attached to what you want to buy you won't be as objective on selling your home. You may take less than it's worth just so you don't lose the other home. There's nothing wrong with that as long as you understand the financial implications.
3 - Use a real estate professional who knows the market. That may sound simple in this age of the internet, when buyers have access to the same data the agent has. The difference is the ability to interpret that data.
Full-time real estate professionals do more than just show homes and write contracts. They study market trends and observe area fluctuations. You are thinking about your needs now. But your agent is thinking about both now and in the future when you are ready to sell again and looking for your future resale opportunities.
In addition, the internet is an increasingly non-objective source of information. Many websites do not display all the properties for sale in a given area because of contractual conflicts. And most new communities are not listed at all in any search vehicle. A real estate professional should be able to show you all the homes that fit your needs.
4 - Don't get pressured into making a decision. When you find the right home you will know it.
That doesn't mean look at 100 homes before you make a decision. Sometimes it's the first home you see. But don't let an agent, a seller, or a spouse, push you into something you don't feel good about.
5 - You can't have it all. Decide what is most important in your next home and put it into perspective. If it's location, or price, or view, or square footage, or school districts, or amenities, or whatever.
Remember — some things can be changed. Floors, kitchens, landscaping, etc. are all changeable. So if they are not perfect, they can be worked out. But location, view, amenities, etc. are there forever. Not muching changing that part of the purchase.
No matter what your budget, everyone has to make compromises. So decide what truly matters to you and put that at the top of your list. Give in on what doesn't matter as much.
If you have other questions or comments about this list of Home Buying Strategies, just use the 'comment' link below and we'll get back to you with answers.
Best Buyer’s Broker Realty is an Exclusive Buyer Agent specializing in Long Island real estate (Nassau and Suffolk properties) and neighboring Queens County properties.
We don’t take any seller listings (yet we have more homes for you to see than most agents) and never have any potential conflict of interest like other agents who also represent sellers. We represent buyers only, 100% of the time. We can show you more homes for sale because we have access to MLS, FSBOs, Exclusives (homes that agents try to keep secret), foreclosures and homes not on the market that may be of interest to you.
We are not your traditional real estate agent. Our goal is to advise and protect home buyers and help them obtain the lowest price and best terms on their dream home. Call us at 516-887-6901 to see how we can help you save time and money. Or visit our sites at http://bestbuyersbroker.com or http://bestbuyerbroker.com.
Many people are finding themselves in a situation of, pay the neighbor's bills or else lose their home.
Know anyone in this situation of having to pitch in more than their fair share on the utility bills? We'd love to hear about it. Just click the comment link below and sound off.
Best Buyer’s Broker Realty is an Exclusive Buyer Agent specializing in Long Island real estate (Nassau and Suffolk properties) and neighboring Queens County properties.
We don’t take any seller listings (yet we have more homes for you to see than most agents) and never have any potential conflict of interest like other agents who also represent sellers. We represent buyers only, 100% of the time. We can show you more homes for sale because we have access to MLS, FSBOs, Exclusives (homes that agents try to keep secret), foreclosures and homes not on the market that may be of interest to you.
We are not your traditional real estate agent. Our goal is to advise and protect home buyers and help them obtain the lowest price and best terms on their dream home. Call us at 516-887-6901 to see how we can help you save time and money. Or visit our sites at http://bestbuyersbroker.com or http://bestbuyerbroker.com.
The first-time home buyer tax credit ends November 30th, 2009. Sounds like you still have some time right? Not really. In fact, you need to start looking for a house NOW just to ensure you won’t miss the deadline and pay $8,000 more, and even starting to look right now doesn't mean you will absolutely beat the deadline, and here's why:
In the days you have left between today and November 30th, take out Veteran’s Day and Columbus Day, because many businesses are closed (or at the very least, the government is).
In the days you have left, take out 3 more days for Thanksgiving. People take half a day off before and usually that Friday after is taken off too for shopping, either way, many people take off these days and doing business during this time is nearly impossible.
So in the days you have left, you need to find a realtor, find homes, go to showings, begin bidding on the home you've chosen, get inspections, get pre-approved, get financing, begin the paperwork, and close the loan all before November 30th. This is assuming all parties are working all of the days between now and November 30th, and that your realtor never has a time conflict.
So don’t make the mistake by not starting now. Also, if you’re looking at foreclosures or short sales, the process may take even longer so you really have to find a house by next week at the latest. Keep in mind, setting up showings usually takes 24 hours, so if you find a house you’d like to see, it’s a 24-48 hour delay. Also, bidding on HUD homes take 3-5 days to find out if you got it or not.
Moral of the story, when you need to work with multiple parties on a deal, it takes time. Relying on your realtor, the selling party, and the bank becomes a lot more stressful if you don’t have enough time, because there are many aspects you don’t have time control over in buying a home.
So stop procrastinating and hesitating, and start the process today!
Best Buyer’s Broker Realty is an Exclusive Buyer Agent specializing in Long Island real estate (Nassau and Suffolk properties) and neighboring Queens County properties.
We don’t take any seller listings (yet we have more homes for you to see than most agents) and never have any potential conflict of interest like other agents who also represent sellers. We represent buyers only, 100% of the time. We can show you more homes for sale because we have access to MLS, FSBOs, Exclusives (homes that agents try to keep secret), foreclosures and homes not on the market that may be of interest to you.
We are not your traditional real estate agent. Our goal is to advise and protect home buyers and help them obtain the lowest price and best terms on their dream home. Call us at 516-887-6901 to see how we can help you save time and money. Or visit our sites at http://bestbuyersbroker.com or http://bestbuyerbroker.com.
Presently, there are around 6,000,000 home owners who have an interest only mortgage. This kind of mortgage implies that the standard payments you make are just taking off the amount of interest the mortgage amasses.
The capitol you borrowed must be paid back when the mortgage has run its term. The interest only mortgage looks to be really hip with those buying a house for the first time. Latest research proved the quantity of first time buyers taking out an interest-only mortgage rose to 18%.
The mortgage could be preferred as the rates are sometimes much lower than a normal repayment mortgage. However while low interest rates are a great thing, the down side is - when the term of the mortgage comes to a close you can still owe the same sum of money you started out owing. If you do not have a method of paying this then naturally you would need to take out another loan. Banks have become tighter with this type of loan because years back you’d need to be in a position to prove to them you had way of re-paying the capitol at the end of the mortgage. Today you can take out an interest-only mortgage and having to find the capitol is only discussed on the base of the mortgage agreement.
With people living longer, funding retirement can become a difficult situation. That's where a reverse mortgage can help homeowners avoid fears about cash flow.
The mortgage will have a term of a certain period of years. Rather than making payments on the loan, the bank will become the owner of the proportion of your equity requested by the loan at the end of the term. Reverse mortgages are only available to older homeowners. You can also use the home as your first residence. The choice to follow a reverse mortgage could be a troubling one. We are all mentally trained to get a home and try and build equity over the years. With a reverse mortgage, we are making the psychological jump to actually scale back the equity in our homes. While this could sound like a reasonable strategy for using the savings pool equity, it makes many homeowners scared. To control the potential for problems and cons, banks are needed to have senior candidates meet with equitable third parties to pinpoint the benefits and disadvantage of using reverse mortgages.
Best Buyer’s Broker Realty is an Exclusive Buyer Agent specializing in Long Island real estate (Nassau and Suffolk properties) and neighboring Queens County properties.
We don’t take any seller listings (yet we have more homes for you to see than most agents) and never have any potential conflict of interest like other agents who also represent sellers. We represent buyers only, 100% of the time. We can show you more homes for sale because we have access to MLS, FSBOs, Exclusives (homes that agents try to keep secret), foreclosures and homes not on the market that may be of interest to you.
We are not your traditional real estate agent. Our goal is to advise and protect home buyers and help them obtain the lowest price and best terms on their dream home. Call us at 516-887-6901 to see how we can help you save time and money. Or visit our sites at http://bestbuyersbroker.com or http://bestbuyerbroker.com.
Great post - as an exclusive buyer's agent, my #1 goal is to get the home my client wants, #2 is to reduce the price. Many times the home is located in a particular place where the home becomes more valuable to the buyer, and buyer was willing to invest the extra bucks for it.
Should you over pay for a home? Should you ever pay more than the house appraises for? Should you ever pay more than the house is listed for?
Should you over pay for a home, possibly! Should you ever pay more than the house is listed for, a house No! A home possibly. There is a difference between a house and a home. A home, a place for your family, a place of your own is often worth more than the sum of it's parts! A house, one that's not intended to be your home is rarely worth more than it's list price and almost never more than it's appraisal.
It's an interesting contradiction, isn't it?
You can never get into trouble with classic conservative advice is never pay more than appraisal, but some times it's hard to successfully excel with such constraints.
With out questioning the validity of the appraisal there are few reasons to you over pay for a home. We are in the people business and homes should be bought from the heart when the buyers can afford the luxury of choice.
Should you over pay for a home? One very experience agent Renee Burrows says: "As a buyer's agent I would work on a price reduction first... If that doesn't go through, the buyer would then have to consider whether to pay the difference between the sales price and contract price in addition to their down payment and closing costs."
Should you over pay for a home?Don't over pay, remains good advice in all markets. If this is an investment it should be absolutely don't! If this is a HOME and the buy can afford it we have to consider the people factor and consider the emotional factor and Renee did say"Consider!"every thing is relative. There is always more than one way!
Should you over pay for a home? The question is two fold should you over pay based on the appraisal or should you over pay the list price? The list price is the amount the seller is willing to settler for, not necessarily even relevant to the value!
Should you over pay for a home? People say don't for many reasons, the most common are:
It's the right advice!
They don't want you taking any risk.
They don't want you succeeding where they don't.
There is no down side, to saying don't! (If they say "Do" and you fail they feel libel, but if you succeed they can simply add "you got lucky!")
Don't is always safe advice, what we forget is man has never had great success with out risking great failure!
Nearly a quarter of all homeowners are sinking under a mortgage that is bigger than the value of their home.
Even Worse, that figure could rise to as much as 30% by the middle of next year as job losses and foreclosures climb.
In the city, those who owe more on mortgages than their homes are worth climbed to 12.5% in the second quarter from 10.3% in the first three months of the year.
Homeowners are being hurt by price declines. The estimated median value for single-family homes slid 12% from a year earlier in the 10th consecutive quarterly decrease.
About 25 million homes, or 48% of mortgaged properties, will be underwater as prices drop through the first quarter of 2011, analysts at Deutsche Bank wrote in a report released recently.
Best Buyer’s Broker Realty is an Exclusive Buyer Agent specializing in Long Island real estate (Nassau and Suffolk properties) and neighboring Queens County properties.
We don’t take any seller listings (yet we have more homes for you to see than most agents) and never have any potential conflict of interest like other agents who also represent sellers. We represent buyers only, 100% of the time. We can show you more homes for sale because we have access to MLS, FSBOs, Exclusives (homes that agents try to keep secret), foreclosures and homes not on the market that may be of interest to you.
We are not your traditional real estate agent. Our goal is to advise and protect home buyers and help them obtain the lowest price and best terms on their dream home. Call us at 516-887-6901 to see how we can help you save time and money. Or visit our sites at http://bestbuyersbroker.com or http://bestbuyerbroker.com.
Approximately 1/3 of your FICO score is based on how much of your available credit you are using. This is called your "credit utilization".
The higher the utilization rate you have… the lower your credit score. The credit scoring models view this as you getting closer to maxing out your credit lines and becoming a higher risk.
Example.. If you have a $10,000 credit line and carry a balance of only $2,500 you have a credit utilization measure of 25%. If your credit limit is then cut by your credit card issuer to $5,000 then you jump to a credit utilization measure of 50%… lowering your credit score without you doing anything on your part.
If, however, your credit card company reduces your credit line on a credit card that you do not carry a balance on… then no impact to your score.
Welcome to the aftershock of the credit card reform act!
Best Buyer’s Broker Realty is an Exclusive Buyer Agent specializing in Long Island real estate (Nassau and Suffolk properties) and neighboring Queens County properties.
We don’t take any seller listings (yet we have more homes for you to see than most agents) and never have any potential conflict of interest like other agents who also represent sellers. We represent buyers only, 100% of the time. We can show you more homes for sale because we have access to MLS, FSBOs, Exclusives (homes that agents try to keep secret), foreclosures and homes not on the market that may be of interest to you.
We are not your traditional real estate agent. Our goal is to advise and protect home buyers and help them obtain the lowest price and best terms on their dream home. Call us at 516-887-6901 to see how we can help you save time and money. Or visit our sites at http://bestbuyersbroker.com or http://bestbuyerbroker.com.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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