phoenix: Jim's Soap Box June 2010 - 06/04/10 06:00 PM
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phoenix: Jim's Soap Box (June 09) - 06/18/09 07:11 PM
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phoenix: Jim's Soap Box April 2009 - 06/17/09 12:51 PM
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phoenix: Jim's Soapbox (September 2008) - 10/28/08 07:05 PM
Jim's Soapbox
(Arizona Real Estate Newsletter - September 08)
GOOD NEWS - It looks like the real estate market has taken another big step in the right direction. The rates on conforming loans have dropped significantly since last week, and many people will be able to take advantage. This rate drop should continue to increase Purchase volume and begin a potential Refinance mini-boom.
The goal of my newsletter is to provide educational material mixed with Jim's unsolicited yet fascinating opinion on the Arizona housing market and real estate ownership in general. If you would like me to address a specific … (0 comments)
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phoenix: Jim's Soapbox (October 08) - 10/27/08 06:14 PM
Jim's Soapbox
(Arizona Real Estate Newsletter - October 08)
THE GOOD NEWS - New home sales rose 2.7% Nationwide in September - according to the Associated Press. This came as a surprise to many who thought it was going to drop again after an awful August where new home sales dropped 12%. This bounce-back of volume did not really shock me but the reason I mention this to you is that the West was the driving force in September sales. Here is the breakdown of that National average by region.
West +22.7%
South +0.7%
Midwest - … (0 comments)
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phoenix: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac & Government: What it means to you in the short term - 09/09/08 01:19 PM
In case you haven't heard yet, the Federal Government took control of Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac over this last weekend. This means (among other things) that all changes to their loan programs will have to go through congress now. The potential long term effects of this Government intervention are still uncertain, however, the short term effects have been amazing. RATES ARE LOWER.
30 year rates have fallen about .5% in the last 24 Hours. Good borrowers can get a 30 year rate at 5.875% (without a buy down) as of 6:00 this morning. This is good news for people currently … (1 comments)
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phoenix: Jim's Soapbox (July 08 Newsletter) - 08/20/08 05:45 PM
The goal of my newsletter is to provide educational material mixed with Jim's unsolicited yet fascinating opinion on the Arizona housing market and real estate ownership in general. If you would like me to address a specific topic in the future, please email it to me and I will respond in the following newsletter.
Bank Owned Property & Short Sale Property
The majority of purchases I have seen in the last 9 months are primarily buyers who are looking at either Bank Owned properties or homes that are being sold "short" to avoid foreclosure. There are simply not that … (0 comments)
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phoenix: What is a LSR? - 07/23/08 01:27 PM
I have had several inquiries as to the function of a LSR - so here goes...
LSR is an acronym for Loan Status Report. After an application is taken by a lender, and they perform their due diligence to approve you in good faith, you get a Loan Status Report. This document states that you have consulted with a lender and you are pre-approved to purchase a house. The letter will have a maximum dollar value on it indicating how much money you have been approved for. It will also indicate what kind of financing you are approved for and the … (7 comments)
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phoenix: Jim's Soapbox (June 08 Newsletter) - 06/25/08 06:25 PM
Jim's Soapbox
(Arizona Real Estate Newsletter - June 08)
You may have heard recently that this is a great time to purchase investment property. One reason for this is because you can now "cash flow" them again. That sounds like a pretty good idea, but what does that really translate into? What really makes this a better time to buy and hold investment property rather than 18 months ago?
I would like to give you a brief overview on the two major concepts of making money on investment property, and why it is a perfect time to acquire and hold an … (1 comments)
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phoenix: Rural Housing Update on Pools - 05/14/08 05:47 PM
The RHS Rural Housing Program has provided a fantastic product for people purchasing a new primary residence for years. One of the few regulations of the program I have found disappointing, has been the inability for the property to have an in-ground pool and be still be considered Rural. Knowing that this is a National loan program, I am confident that they did not consider the number of rural properties on the outskirts of Metro Phoenix and Metro Tucson that have pools, when they wrote that rule.
Recently, I heard that you can ask for an exception from the RHS to … (0 comments)
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phoenix: Jim's Soapbox (May 08 Newsletter) - 05/12/08 08:09 PM
Jim's Soapbox
(Arizona Real Estate Newsletter - May 08)
My wife Madalyn often says "...when one doors closes, another door is opened". That is a great way to describe today's Real Estate market here in Phoenix.
The common media-driven perception today is that the Phoenix housing market is far more risky today than it has ever been before. Now I find that to be a funny thing for the media to promote, because in reality the risky time to buy real estate in Phoenix was shortly after the unnatural value boom started, and before the eventual drop off. Phoenix had … (1 comments)
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phoenix: HELOC update - 03/04/08 04:00 PM
I posted an article in January suggesting that you take a cash advance on your Home Equity Line of Credit before they lower your limit. (This is only suggested if you have been planning on using the money in the near future and would miss it). In case you are still doubting this will happen, I can assure you it is. I have seen USAA, CHASE, Countrywide, and National City all lower available HELOC limits to people I know - so it is definitely happening.
If you think that the bank holding your Equity Line will pass you over because you have … (4 comments)
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phoenix: 30 year rates & the Prime rate - 03/04/08 03:26 PM
In case you missed it, there was big news that that the Feds dropped the Prime rate (2 times) in late January. This was portrayed in the news as a powerful force to lower all mortgage rates. The truth is that the rates had improved greatly in the three weeks before the drop in Prime in anticipation of it. After the event of the Prime rate reduction, rates quickly rose back to where they were in December (6.25%). If you find this a bit confusing, you are not alone. The connection between the Prime rate and 30 year mortgage rates is … (0 comments)
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phoenix: Return of the ARM - 03/04/08 02:33 PM
Return of the ARMs
Here is a silver lining to the lending industry; Adjustable Rate Mortgages are very attractive again. For the better part of the last three years, the difference in Interest Rates between 30 year fixed and 5 year ARMs was usually only a .125% lower on the ARM (basically not much). The idea of the ARM is to give you a significantly better rate than the 30 year fixed during the fixed period.
Well, in the last 6 weeks we have seen a significant discount for ARMs again. Today the rate on a 7 yr ARM was 5.75%. That is … (5 comments)
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phoenix: What did today's rate cut mean?? - 01/22/08 01:12 PM
Today's prime rate cut of .75% means that mortgage rates are going to continue to drop even lower,.. Right? Not Necessarily!!!
As much as I hope that rates continue to drop for homeowners, this rate cut does not mean that the 30 year rates will go down immediately. Rates have actually dropped significantly over the last 3 weeks on the assumption that the Feds were going to drop the Prime rate at least .50% (and some speculated that it might be as high as 1%). Had the Feds only dropped the rate .25% today, rates would actually have gone up today … (1 comments)
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phoenix: A MUST READ FOR ALL HELOC OWNERS - 01/18/08 04:38 PM
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phoenix: The Next Refinance Boom is Here - 01/18/08 04:33 PM
There is so much more to lending then the rate - but I feel this is important so people can see how far rates have dropped in the last 3 weeks!
THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT RATES!!
Despite all of the recent well reported real estate related woes, I have great news for everybody. RATES ARE DOWN! And truth be told, rates are actually way down. Rates are currently better than anything we have seen in the last 3 years, and by the time you read this, they could be at an all time low for the last 10+ years!
The reason they are … (0 comments)
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phoenix: Bush's subprime rate freeze problem... - 12/28/07 01:20 PM
President Bush recently signed legislation to freeze the introductory 2 year "teaser rate" on all subprime loans for an additional 5 years. The rate freeze will apply to loans taken out between January 1, 2005, and July 30, 2007, and scheduled to rise in 2008 and 2009. This is designed so that on the 25th month of a 2/28 subprime ARM your interest rate does not adjust (up) and increase your monthly payment by $100s of dollars.
Truth be told that this is nothing more than a political move. It looks like Bush is doing something substantial, but it really has no … (0 comments)
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phoenix: What is a rate Lock? - 12/27/07 07:48 PM
What does it mean when a lender "Locks your Loan".
A common misconception people have of the locking process goes something like this,... The lender/broker asks you if you want to lock in the rate at 6% for 30 days. You agree, and then the broker calls the bank and tells them to set aside X dollars at 6% for the next 30 days. And now that you are locked, you do not have any options to "change" you loan scenario. Be aware my friends, this is not true.
To lock a loan is basically an agreement to a specific "point in … (0 comments)
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