Chances are a buyer knows nothing about the potential flood risk on the home the buyer fell in love with and the one on which an offer has been made. Some real estate agents’ websites may provide a note as to the flood zone for listed properties, but is it accurate? What does the letter for the flood zone mean? […]
Many stories in the news recently credit a spike in home sales and home sale prices to the pandemic. The theme consistently refers to Work From Home job moves from high cost locations to suburban or remote locations. Clearly, moving from high cost, high density housing or rentals to a larger home provides more space. A more relaxed location with […]
2008 created a significant crisis in housing, bond markets, employment, and interest rates. Unemployment presents a significant problem. Interest rates are rising, but only for longer term loans such as mortgages. In a replay of 2008, short term interest rates (US treasuries with a term of 3 months, 6 months or 1 year) are actually at historic lows! March 22, […]
Are you a first time home buyer? Are you representing a first time home buyer? Do you have friends who are first time home buyers? Many states offer assistance, but the money availability can be limited. The assistance isn’t always free, but it can be very close to it. Let’s look at the Texas program – My First Texas Home. […]
Would you like to know when an advantageous mortgage window opens? Did you miss the historic low rates at the end of 2020 and into early 2021? It benefited well those who were re-financing. But many new buyers paid premium prices or bid up prices to buy a home. Get prepared for the upcoming advantageous window! Now may be the […]
Since the beginning of 2020, building material costs have skyrocketed and driven up the cost to build new homes and apartments. The increase caused builders to increase new home sale prices. As a result, new home prices were bid higher and this spilled over to higher price bidding on existing homes. What happens when the market stabilizes? For example, lumber […]
What’s in the title? Title insurance that is. For most buyers, not a clue. Schedule A? Schedule B? Perhaps Schedule C? Schedule D? Any mention of these likely draws blank stares. And yet, a borrower risks losing the house and potentially a lot of money by not knowing what’s in the title. Title insurance plays a different role than casualty […]
FNMA and FHLMC limited the amount of loans for second homes and investment properties. Announced on March 10, these limits kick in quickly.
For many borrowers, there is a lack of knowledge when to use FHA or conventional loans. Often the lender decides for the borrower at the time of application. The lender might decide to put a borrower in the program generating the highest commission. It may or may not go well; the borrower may be in the wrong loan program. Or […]
Perhaps you have found that it is possible to waive some or all escrows for your loan. Should you? Escrowing money each money for property taxes, property insurance and other items (PMI, flood insurance) is designed to make sure that the taxes and insurance is paid timely and there is sufficient money available to do that when each payment comes […]
Like everything, it depends. You can waive escrows with approval. In follow-up posts, we’ll examine whether you should waive escrows, possible problems and other factors to consider. A number of scenarios cover whether you can waive escrows. Scenario 1. You take out a mortgage and it is less than 80% LTV when you take it out. If it’s a conventional […]
It’s automatic, take out a mortgage loan and the lender sets it up with an escrow account holding your money to pay property taxes, property insurance, private mortgage insurance and perhaps other charges. We’ll examine this from different perspectives in multiple posts. Can you waive escrows? Which ones? What’s the cost? Should you waive escrows? Pros and Cons; Risks and […]
As a first time home buyer, you may have educational requirements of mandatory counseling prior to qualifying for a mortgage. This is an additional step which may take time. Do you have this step in your plan and in your preparation? Do you need to borrow 95% of the purchase price? Are you a Realtor helping first time home buyers? […]
It’s possible for home buyers to get a conventional mortgage with a down payment as low as 3%. However, the down payment requirement will vary based on your personal situation and the type of loan or property you’re getting. FHA mortgage requirements differ. VA mortgages can come with as little as no down payment. The down payment basics can be […]