aurora 1st time home buyers: Why It's a Smart Move to Buy a Home in the Current Market
- 12/10/23 01:20 PM
If you're in a financially stable position, now might be the perfect time to embark on your homeownership journey. Buying a home today offers several advantages, including the opportunity to build equity and stabilize your housing costs in the face of rising expenses. Explore the reasons why purchasing a home now can be a wise decision in the current market.
By purchasing a home today, you can start building equity, which is an investment in your future. Additionally, opting for a fixed-rate mortgage allows you to stabilize your monthly housing costs for the long term, even as other expenses continue … (3 comments)
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aurora 1st time home buyers: Negotiate a Buydown to Get into a Home Now
- 02/02/23 11:25 AM
If you are a prospective homebuyer, things have changed in the past year. Most notably, mortgage rates have more than doubled which has created an affordability gap that has taken approximately 15 million buyers out of the market.
Inventories are growing but it isn't because more people are deciding to sell their homes; it is because it is taking longer to sell properties because less people are qualified. Current housing inventory is a little more than a quarter of what it was in 2008.
Buyers are wondering when the market will return to normal, as if mortgage rates at three and four percent … (4 comments)
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aurora 1st time home buyers: Waiting for the Mortgage Rates to Come Down?
- 11/05/22 04:25 PM
Waiting for the mortgage rates to come down before you buy a home may not be a good decision.
If you are correct, and the rates do come down by two percent, the savings you benefit from a lower rate will most likely be devoured by the appreciated price increase.
As of 10/27/22, the 30-year fixed-rate was at 7.08% which is the highest level since April 2002. If the rate drops to 5% in three years but the price increases by 5% a year, a $400,000 home today, will cost $463,050 three years from now.
An increasingly popular option that more … (2 comments)
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aurora 1st time home buyers: Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya?"
- 10/17/22 07:40 PM
You may remember the famous line in the Dirty Harry movie when Clint Eastwood has just had a shootout with bank robbers and is standing in front of the lone surviving thief who is considering going for his gun. Harry with his gun pointed at the bad guy says to him ""Did he fire six shots or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I kinda lost track myself. But being this is a 44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and would blow your head clean off, you've gotta ask yourself one question: Do I feel … (1 comments)
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aurora 1st time home buyers: Remodeling as it Relates to Value
- 04/11/22 09:09 PM
While updating and remodeling certainly makes a home more enjoyable and livable, and increases the value, homeowners should not expect to recover 100% of the cost of the remodeling. Certainly, remodeling and updating makes a home sell faster, some of the expenditures will not return their full cost, although, some do return more than others.
Exterior home improvement projects rank 11 out of the top 12 for the highest return on investment for homeowners according to Remodeling magazine's 34th annual report.
The top two places included a garage door replacement and manufactured stone veneer which estimated a 94% and 92% cost recovery. The choice … (5 comments)
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aurora 1st time home buyers: Equity Give Homeowners Options
- 04/05/22 07:43 PM
Americans have seen the equity in their homes increase by 29.3% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2021 according to the CoreLogic Homeowner Equity Insights. The average home equity gained $55,000 during the same period.
CoreLogic's Home Price Index reported a 19.1% increase in appreciation for the previous twelve months ending in January 2022. This increase in value is fueling the increased equity that homeowners are experiencing.
Some homeowners are doing cash-out refinancing and using the funds for a variety of purposes like home improvements, investing, saving for retirement, college or rainy-day funds.
Other homeowners are seeing the … (0 comments)
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aurora 1st time home buyers: The Dynamics of Home Equity
- 03/16/22 09:07 AM
Appreciation and amortization are key factors in building equity for homeowners with mortgages. As the home goes up in value due to appreciation and the unpaid balance goes down due to amortization, the equity increases.
Appreciation is the increase in value of a home and is usually measured year over year. In recent years, appreciation has been robust (19% nationwide in 2021) due to high demand and low inventory. Many times, the news will quote annual appreciation rates from a national or regional level.
Occasionally, you may see a chart that tracks the annual appreciation over a period, but it is more interesting … (0 comments)
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aurora 1st time home buyers: Your Home is a Hedge Against Inflation
- 01/17/22 07:57 PM
The concern about inflation is the sustained upward movement in the overall price of goods and services while the purchasing value of money decreases. Tangible assets like your home consistently become more valuable over time. In inflationary periods, your home is a good investment and a hedge against inflation.
Money in the bank loses purchasing power due to inflation and the interest you may be earning is almost always less than inflation.
Home prices are going up but so is rent. With mortgage rates near historic lows, the interest is, generally, less than the appreciation the property is enjoying. Combine this with the leverage … (0 comments)
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aurora 1st time home buyers: Larger Payment, Shorter Term, Bigger Savings
- 12/01/21 11:10 AM
Some people consider a house payment as basic as monthly utilities but with a plan and some discipline, you can be mortgage free.
Consider a person borrowed $300,000 at 3% for 30 years, the principal and interest payment would be $1,264.81 and at the end of 12 years, the unpaid balance on the mortgage would be $210,900.
If that same person had financed the home on a 15-year term at 2.5%, the payments would have been $2,000 but the unpaid balance at the end of 12 years would be $69,310. The homeowner will have a larger equity … (1 comments)
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aurora 1st time home buyers: Is a Home Inventory Necessary?
- 06/01/21 03:04 PM
Most homeowners have insurance on their home that additionally, gives them coverage on their personal property. That is the first level of peace of mind to know that it is available to you if there is an unfortunate need for it from a burglary, fire, or some other insured circumstance.
Personal property is handled slightly different than real property. The claims adjustor could start by asking you for a list of the things lost. You are allowed to reconstruct it but there is a distinct possibility that you'll forget things, sometimes for months or years after the claim was settled.
An interesting exercise … (0 comments)
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aurora 1st time home buyers: Writing a Successful Offer in a Low Inventory Market
- 05/09/21 06:16 PM
With at least 40% less homes on the market currently than there were a year ago, serious buyers have probably experienced the disappointment of losing a home they wanted to buy from increased competition. Today's buyers are looking for ways to improve their odds of being the best contract without having to use the purchase price as their only tool.
Buyers should reconsider, rethink, and re-evaluate their "must have" features and amenities. It is probably unrealistic in a normal market to think you can have the perfect home at the price you want but in today's market … (0 comments)
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aurora 1st time home buyers: Say "NO" to FSBO
- 03/30/21 03:14 PM
To understand the reasoning behind why a homeowner should not sell their home by themselves, we need to identify the motivation. Probably, more times than not, the homeowner wants to "save" the cost of the commission. It certainly represents a significant amount of money.
In 1981, homes sold For Sale by Owner represented 15% of the homes closed while 85% were agent-assisted. The percentage of sellers handling their own homes alone has declined over the decades to only 8% of homes sales in 2020. Interestingly, half of the sellers knew the buyers and the other half did not.
The FSBO sellers who knew the buyers, … (1 comments)
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aurora 1st time home buyers: Where Did the Assumptions Go?
- 12/16/20 10:08 AM
Mortgage assumptions have not been a practical matter for the last 30 years because mortgage rates have been on a steady decline. Even if the seller had a rate lower than the current rate, the new purchaser must qualify to assume the loan.
In the case of conventional loans, the lender has the right to increase the rate to the current rate which neutralizes the reason for assuming the loan. This change took place in the early 1980's when lenders added due on sale provisions so lower rates could not be assumed.
FHA and VA loans can be assumed at the existing … (1 comments)
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aurora 1st time home buyers: What Every Homeowner Should Know About their Property Insurance
- 09/23/19 01:52 PM
Insurance is required on a home by the mortgage company, but homeowners rely on it for peace of mind also. Unfortunately, people may not take the time to investigate their policy and what it covers until they need to file a claim, which could be too late.
While it may not seem like the best use of your time, an in-depth visit with your property insurance agent once a year could be valuable to you if you have losses and could increase your peace of mind.
The following are some questions you can ask your insurance agent:
What is the insured … (0 comments)
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aurora 1st time home buyers: Waiting To Buy if The Price and Mortgage Rates Goes Up?
- 08/13/18 12:48 PM
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aurora 1st time home buyers: What Can You Expect?
- 07/03/17 07:22 PM
Businesses must treat customers fairly if they expect to do business with them again or get recommendations to their friends. Customers of stores like Nordstrom’s understand that a salesperson is an employee and represents the company.
The line becomes less clear in some industries, especially ones that involve real estate. Agency is a legal relationship authorizing a person to act for or in the place of another. It involves responsibilities that exceed treating a person fairly.
The duties a buyer or seller can expect to receive from a real estate salesperson or broker include but are not limited to honesty, accountability, full disclosure, … (0 comments)
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aurora 1st time home buyers: Good Info - Good Decisions
- 05/22/17 05:53 PM
While low inventory is certainly challenging buyers, not having a clear understanding of mortgage financing is also causing issues. By having good information, they are able to make better decisions as well as compete favorably.
Most buyers don’t realize how the mortgage rate is determined for a borrower. While annual income is important, a good credit score, low debt-to-income ratio, loan-to-value ratio and ability to repay the loan are vital concerns.
A variety of myths seem to permeate the market such as rates are set and released once a day; FHA loans are for first-time buyers only; pre-qualification commits the lender; lender fees … (5 comments)
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aurora 1st time home buyers: Tax Benefits of Home Ownership
- 03/15/17 02:59 PM
U.S. taxpayers have enjoyed specific tax benefits for home ownership since personal income tax was introduced by the 16th amendment in 1913. While these benefits may not be the primary reason that motivates a person to buy a home, they are still tangible and not available to tenants.
The exclusion of capital gains tax on the profit made from a home is unique from other investments and provides homeowners significant savings. Single taxpayers can exclude up to $250,000 gain and married taxpayers up to $500,000 gain. During the five-year period ending on the date of sale, a taxpayer must have: owned the … (1 comments)
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aurora 1st time home buyers: When the Rate Goes Up Calculator
- 09/30/16 09:19 AM
It’s not “if” the rate goes up but “when” the rate goes up; it could make a big difference for some buyers. Freddie Mac predicts that mortgage rates will be at 4.5% a year from now.
If buyers can afford a home with higher interest rates, it means higher payments. Higher payments might mean they won’t have the money to spend on other things like furniture or improvements to the home or an unrelated purchase like a new car.
When the rate moves 0.50% on a $250,000 mortgage, the payment goes up by $70.66 a month. If it moves 1.00%, the payment goes up … (2 comments)
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aurora 1st time home buyers: Getting to Value
- 09/05/16 08:05 AM
Fair market value is the price that real estate would sell for on the open market without any unusual forces being involved. The definition is relatively simple but there certainly different methods of determining what it is.
A homeowner could order an appraisal before they put their home on the market but would incur the expense of an appraisal and more likely than not, it won’t or can’t be used by the buyer or their lender. The advantage is that an appraisal is a professional approach by a disinterested party to establish value.
Licensed appraisers use three approaches to value: the … (2 comments)
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If you're in a financially stable position, now might be the perfect time to embark on your homeownership journey. Buying a home today offers several advantages, including the opportunity to build equity and stabilize your housing costs in the face of rising expenses. Explore the reasons why purchasing a home now can be a wise decision in the current market.
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