Financing Solutions with David Reed

The Best time to Lock in Your Mortgage Rate

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"What do you think about rates ... should I lock in now or wait to see if they fall further?" Think I've been asked that a time or two over the past 18 years? You better believe it.  It's a good question-one that goes through every single buyer's head at some stage. 

A quoted interest rate is no good unless you've confirmed, in writing, that your loan is indeed "locked," or guaranteed for a designated period of time. You need to be proactive with your locked rate as well and don't assume that your loan officer already locked you in. In fact, your loan officer shouldn't lock in your rate without your specific instructions. If it was locked in and rates went down you'd be pretty mad, wouldn't you?

While neither real estate agents nor loan officers are in the business of predicting the future, it's still possible to make a prudent choice in the face of uncertainty. Would you rather lock in your rate and watch rates fall or not lock in your rate and see rates go up?

If you decided to lock and rates go down, you've secured the market rate that you were happy with. But if rates went up and you didn't lock, you'd be paying for that mistake for the rest of the loan.

There is an even worse possible scenario: After not locking in your rate, rates shoot up and you no longer qualify for the loan. So it's important to ask yourself:  "Which way would I rather be wrong?"

If you are comfortable with the rate you've been quoted, talk to your real estate agent about the possible consequences of waiting to lock it in.

Looking to buy or sell, please visit my website at: http://www.ClickThisHome.com. Search for Michigan homes without the hassle. Save your searches for easy use and save your favorite homes for future reference.

Lisa Bender, Keller Williams Realty - www.ClickThisHome.com - Direct: 810-534-2058 - Email: lisabender@kw.com

Bruce Hardie is an excellent trainer and hugely successful, active agent out of Spokane, WA. This is sure to help agents at any stage in this buyers market. It's going to be held in Livonia, MI at Laurel Manor and agents from any company are welcome. If anyone is interested in attending, please let me know and I will get you on the list. I've been told he shares a lot of his marketing pieces as well. Give me a call or send me an email. He's also training in 4 other locations around the US for those out side of the Detroit Metro area. I'd be happy to get you other location information as well.

Many people are having difficulty with their mortgages for one reason or another. We all have heard about Michigan's forecloures rates as well as the rest of the US. Many of us are banging our heads against the wall trying to talk to someone at their mortgage company. It can be mind numbing! I can empathize with what you're going through as I help a lot of people with short sales. So, I talk to these banks on a daily basis. Some mortgage companies are better than others. Here's a few tips to hopefully help you when dealing with your lender:

• Document all phone calls, who you talked to, date and time and the nature of the conversation and the result.
• Don't be afraid to ask for their Manager if you feel you are not getting the answers you need.
• ALWAYS be polite ... kill them will kindness!
• Ask questions to understand their process.
• Create a dialogue sooner than later. DO NOT wait until you are facing the sheriff sale or worse when your redemption period has expired.

Additional things you must be doing:

• Talk to a mortgage broker, they can help assist you in possibly working out a loan modification to help make your payments more managable.
• Don't bury your head in the sand, this problem will NOT go away.
• Always communicate with the lender and start the dialogue early. (I said this one already ... YES, it's that imoprtant!!!!!)
• If you have to sell your home, but owe more than it's worth, consult with a few different Realtors who have had experiene in dealing with short sales. Get it on the market NOW.

If you are still not getting anywhere with your lender, you can always call the Attorney General. I have been successful several times in getting the names of contacts who can HELP me. Who are decision makers who can make things happen. If it's Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac there is always the Office of Federal Housing Oversight (www.ofheo.gov). I just recently was sucuessful in negotiating a buy back for a previous owner who lost her home and the redemption period had expired.

Don't give up and don't hesitate to seek professional assistance from a mortgage professional or real estate professional.

Feel free to visit my website at www.ClickThisHome.com and email if you need any assistance or more information.

First quarter of 2008 is officially over and the stats are in:

 - HOWELL -

* 690 Homes For Sale * 197 Average Days On Market * $249,106 Average List Price *

* 116 Sold Homes * 151 Average Days On Market * $171,692 Average Sales Price * $179262 Average List Price of Homes Sold *

- BRIGHTON -

* 518 Homes For Sale * 256 Average Days On Market * $368,075 Average List Price *

* 78 Sold Homes * 134 Average Days On Market * $205,433 Average Sales Price * $218,137 Average List Price of Homes Sold *

- HARTLAND -

* 312 Homes For Sale * 196 Average Days on Market * $291,998 Average List Price *

* 51 Homes Sold * 124 Average Days on Market * $181,380 Average Sales Price * $195,998 Average List Price of Homes Sold *

Visit my website at www.ClickThisHomee.com for more local real estate information.

Believe it or not, my 9 year old just told me there are only 47 days until summer break. No ... that is not a typo. How are we going to keep our kids busy this summer? Well, here's a few ideas to help us keep our sanity:

 - The Howell Carnegie Library has many programs for kids of ALL ages to keep their minds sharp and busy over the summer. Here's a link http://www.howelllibrary.org/. Just use the index tab on the left to navigate your way through the site.  *** Visit my website at http://www.clickthishome.com/ and send me an email to sign the kids up for my summer reading contest ***

- Howell Aquatic Center: Swimming lessons available for all levels for those still in swim diapers to Level 5. Spring registration is still going on. Summer Lessons will begin in the brand new facilities at the new Parker High School in Howell. http://www.howellaquatics.com/Howell/Default.aspx

- Howell Nature Center: Summer Resident and Day Camps. See Flyer http://www.howellnaturecenter.org/2008%20One%20sheet%20brochure%20One%20side.pdf or visit their website at http://www.howellnaturecenter.org/.

- Howell Parks & Recreation: Spring activities still available and the summer brochure will be coming out soon. www.cityofhowell.org/parksandrecreation.

Hopefully, this will give us all a good start on planning the kids' summer activities this year.

Best wishes for a wonderful, fun-filled summer!

Lisa Bender

Keller Williams Realty

www.ClickThisHome.com

I'm trying to pull together a newsletter for my sphere and not sure what approach to take. On one hand, can I really do a newsletter for my sphere since they live all over the place? Or should I only do newsletters to the neighborhoods I want to work in? What does everybody send as far as newsletters and how often?

Do you make them yourself or use a company???

Just curious ...

I took this picture on November 5th of this year. It's a picture of an Iris blooming in my front flower bed. Yes ... it's really blooming in November! I guess with all the warm days we've had in October, my plants must be a bit confused! I hope it actually opens up that would be really cool to see. I'm afraid the frosts we've been having out here in Livingston County might do it in before it has a chance to bloom.

Want your own November blooming Iris? Visit my website at www.clickthishome.com for your next home in this crazy, special place we call Michigan! :-)

This should be an excellent opportunity for new investors and seasoned investors to get in on some of the foreclosure investments in Oakland, Macomb and Livingston Counties. They'll talk about the foreclosure market, what to look for when doing inspections on these homes and the mortgage products available to investors.

Please feel free to call me with any questions or if you'd like to register. You can email me as well at LISABENDER@REALESTATEONE.COM 

I've now heard this phrase 3 times in the last couple of weeks ... "Drinking the Kool-Aid".

It's been used in reference to Keller Williams and being the Real Estate One agent that I am, I'm clueless as to what this means. It appears to be a Keller Williams thing ...

Come On Keller Williams folks, give me the 411 on the "Drinking the Kool-Aid"!!!!! :-)