Having the Nicest Home on the Block a Challenge

by | Dec 15, 2015 | FHA Mortgage, Mortgage Information, Other Information, Real Estate, VA Mortgage

Home buyers are wise to take careful note of the houses around them before they make an offer on that picture-perfect home. Buying the most expensive house in the neighborhood isn’t always the best strategy. Sure, they’ll have bragging rights, but your buyers may need to be informed about some challenges during resale. After all, unloading the priciest home on the block and seeing an increase in equity isn’t easy. “A lot of buyers forget a home is an investment,” says Brendon DeSimone, a real estate expert and author of “Next Generation Real Estate.” “The world changes. Things happen fast. People transfer, people lose their jobs. Now imagine yourself as the seller of that home.” With the nicest home on the block, home owners who do any upgrades – even minor – may be doing a larger mismatch between their home and the surrounding homes. By considering the home as an investment, buyers will look at homes that leave some room for improvement and that will allow them to build equity and hopefully even pay it off when they do sell. DeSimone actually recommends to his clients buying the worst house in the best neighborhood. “You can add value on your own,” he says. “If you’re choosing between an awesome house in a crappy location and an awful house in a great location, I would choose the latter.” Improvement doesn’t need to entail a total renovation either. DeSimone says just regular maintenance, refreshing the paint, and making minor repairs that the previous owner ignored could add to the home’s value. Source:...

Fannie Mae Survey Reveals Consumers Unaware of Requirements to Qualify for Mortgage

by | Dec 14, 2015 | FHA Mortgage, Mortgage Information, Other Information, Real Estate, VA Mortgage

A recent survey performed by Fannie Mae on a significant number of consumers revealed there is large gap in consumer knowledge when it comes to qualifying for a mortgage loan. Of the consumers interviewed, 40% did not know the minimum down payment required to qualify for a loan, 54% did not know the minimum credit score required and 59% didn’t know the maximum back-end debt to income ratio. “There is a significant lack of understanding about minimum mortgage qualification criteria not only among consumers in general but, more importantly, among renters who plan to purchase a home within the next five years” according to Fannie Mae. It is extremely important to know the guidelines and requirements when looking to get financing, or are working towards improving your situation for financing in the future. If you don’t know the correct guidelines today, how can you know how to prepare for the future? Call us today so we can answer any questions you may have about the mortgage loan process and help you get on the right...

Market Recovery Double-Edged Sword

by | Dec 8, 2015 | FHA Mortgage, Mortgage Information, Other Information, Real Estate, VA Mortgage

Most real estate and mortgage professionals realize that the housing recovery has been extremely good since the low in 2012. In November the Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index indicated that consumers aren’t as optimistic about housing prospects for the future. Fannie Mae concludes that the decrease in the sentiment index was mainly due to two things; Expected decrease in supply and  affordability. With current interest rates near an all-time low affordability is still high, but higher interest rates could derail consumer...

NAR 2013 Existing Home Sales Report

by | Feb 1, 2014 | Real Estate

      The National Association of Realtors recently came out with the 2013 existing home sales report and the statistics are promising. Total sales are up 9.1% in 2013 compared to 2012 and the 5.09 million sales of existing homes were the most since 2006. Even better news for sellers is that prices were up 11.5% from last year. This is the largest price increase since 2005. The real estate market is definitely getting healthier and this trend should continue throughout...