Are you watching HGTV or Property Brothers more often or maybe you are combing Redfin, Zilliow looking at all the homes for sale?
You may have caught the Moving Bug!
Once the Moving Bug grabs hold it is hard to shake it.
You may be feeling confused on how to make it happen.
A few tips to help you create a plan
It is now more important than ever to sit down with a lender in advance of house hunting or listing your home if you want to move in 2015.
Lender Guidelines are changing just ask any loan officer they seem to change almost weekly. The news is not all doom and gloom in fact over the past year we have seen some softening of the guildelines and more are on the way.
This coming year we will see the VA Home Loans drop back to $625,000 max loan for zero down starting January 1st , 2015. .Of course you can buy a home for higher you will just need to put down 25% of the difference. If you are a second time user you may find a conventional loan product more benificial for you especially with the 3% down option.
The Maximium FHA loan remain at $625,500. In Prince William County, Virginia you will find plenty of homes that will qualify for FHA in Fairfax County not so much. These loans require a 3.5% down payment and do have mortgage insurance premium for the life of the loan whichmakes the payment higher and many buyers prefer to avoid. The FHA program is a great option for some buyers only you and your loan officer will kow which program is right for you.
Another big change is Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will now bring back the 3% down home loan as of the last week in December 2014. This is a great move on their part. It still will require Mortgage Insurance but not for the life of the loan. Once you built up 20% equity you can remove the Private Mortgage Insurance Premium and reduce our payment a real plus for buyers! Credit scores guidelines have also sofetened back to 620 so this will help many first time and move up buyers move forward in the market place in 2015.
Needless to say if you already have a pre-appoval in hand check with your loan officer NOW to see any of new guidelines will affect you and if their is now a better program for you.
December has been one of the busiest we have seen in several years and we already have buyers looking for homes before the Spring market hits. Our mild weather and near record low interest rates along with the loosening of lending guidelines is helping buyers to enter the market.
I expect we will have a very healthy Spring market that will start early this year.
If you are a seller get your home on the market by the end of January to catch the early birds and before you have alot more competition. This will help you home to stand out inthe market place.We are still seeing some under water sellers in Prince William County but it is getting better daily. You will need to speak with us to determine if you have enough equity to sell. The good news are rents are high and most can rent their home for their mortgage payment or higher if they are underwater. This has been a plus for many home owners. A word of caution gone are the days when you can count the rent income for qualifing. If you do not have 30% equity in your home you must qualify with both the new and old house payment with out the benifit of the extra income being counted. That is one area that the Federal Government has not adjusted. If this is your situation reach out to me I have a lender who with a 20% down payment will waive that rule.
If I you are a buyer the Winter Advanatage could bring you the best possible price of the year in January while others wait till Spring. It also could snag you one of the lowest rates of the year as we are hearing rumblings from economists that rates will be at near 5% by later in 2015. Right now as I write this at the end of December 2014 out rates are under 4% for most loan programs.
Don't let procrastination eat away at your buying power. Get started early.
*Need a Good Local Loan Officer just give me a call and Let's Talk and I can refer you to somoene in your area to talk with.
* Need to formulate a plan of action thatis where I can help just give me a call and Let's Talk.
I am a Buyer Agent specialing in helping buyers find the home of their dreams. My identical twin and partner Peggy James specializes in working with sellers and helping themplan an Exit Stratagey. Together we are a powerful team and if you happen to be a seller and a move up buyer you get both of us workign on your behalf.
Give Patty a call at 703-801-9367 or Peggy a call at 703-851-3085 we look forward to talking with you about your goals and dreams for 2015!
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