Author: super_admin

If you are ready to purchase a house – you are probably going to be excite and maybe a little nervous. Here are 5 important things to do on a walkthrough to help lower any anxiety or future surprises. 1. Look For Wet Spots Check the ceilings for wet spots (rings or circles) and discoloration around windows. They can cause issues down the road and be hard to fix! 2. Check The Wiring Turn on the switches, dimmers, check the doorbell, garage door, basically check it all. If things are not working right, there could be an overall wiring issue. 3. Inspect the Bathroom Again look for water damage around toilets, showers and tubs. Also make sure everything is working properly, flush the toilets, check the showers and faucets to…

This week we saw mortgage rates fall again according to data provided by Freddie Mac. This continues a streak now stretching four weeks, as homebuyers benefit from lower borrowing costs. The average rate on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage fell to 6.28% down from 6.32% a week earlier. Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater stated, “mortgage rates continue to trend down entering the traditional spring home buying season.” While rates have fallen there are still challenges for home buyers including low inventory of available for sale in many markets. If you are thinking about buying a new home this spring check with us to see how much you can get pre-qualified for. You can fill out our 30 second analyzer on our website to get started.

With housing prices rising in recent years, one quarter of home buyers 23-31 received financial help from friends or family for their down payment and 17 percent of those aged 32-41 also received help according to the National association of realtors. Down payment gifts still need to be documented accurately in a gift letter. If you're in the process of buying a home and receiving financial help from a family member or friend, you maybe asked to provide a gift letter. This document is an essential part of the loan application process and helps ensure that the down payment funds you're using come from legitimate sources. A gift letter is a written statement from the person providing the gift (the giver) stating that they've given you money for the down…

We saw more activity in the market as rates dropped in a volatile business environment. Applications were up 7% and Freddie Mac reported the average rate on the average 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.60% this fell to 6.60% this week down from last weeks rate of 6.73%. In statement by Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist Sam Khater, he said “turbulence in the financial markets is putting significant downward pressure on rates, which should benefit borrowers in the short-term.” And he continued, “our research concludes that homebuyers can potentially save $600 to $1,200 annually by taking the time to shop among multiple lenders.” Check with us about your options as the market is in a period of volatility. You can use our quick analysis our website and we will auto-schedule a review…

With increased borrowing costs, many buyers are seeing their options limited, and you might be considering buying a fixer-upper. We’ve all seen the home make-over shows with amazing before and afters, but is it right for you? Here are a few things to consider: 1. Know Your Limits How much of the work can you do. How much time do you have to put into renovations. Are you prepared to live in a work zone for a while 2. Work Out Costs In Advance Have a contractor walk through the inspection with you and get a written estimate for work he would do. If you are doing the work yourself price the costs of supplies, either way add 15% to the costs because surprises are likely. 3. Check Permitting Costs…

With recent market volatility we have good news for some new home buyers. Starting in March, those who are receiving FHA financing and paying mortgage insurance will see the monthly fee reduced from 0.85% to 0.55%. This is expected to affect 850,000 borrowers this year and result in an average savings of $800 annually. The savings will vary based on the loan amount, for example a person with a $500,000 FHA loan would save $1,500 annually. If you are in the market for a new home, fill out our quick home qualifier on our website and we can help determine what loan best fits your needs and let you know how much you can pre-qualify for.

We don’t have to tell you that interest rates have gone up in the past year, so refinancing now may seem unusual but if you have a lot of debt, like credit card debt, those rates have gone up even more.The average American has nearly $40,000 in debt not including home loans so today we ask if you consider a cash-out refinance to pay off other debts like credit card debt. Credit card interest rates are normally much higher than mortgage interest rates and if you are carrying high credit card debt while making minimum payments, there is an opportunity to save a lot in monthly credit card payments that are primarily going to pay high interest rates on the debt. First you will need enough equity in your home…

We are often asked about jumbo loans and when they are used, so here’s an explainer (or refresher). For conventional mortgages there are two general types conforming and nonconforming. Conventional conforming loans for most areas are $726,200 or $1,089,300 for select areas with high housing prices for 2023 as set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. A jumbo loan would be a nonconforming loan that exceeds those limits. If you are looking to buy a home that is high priced and don’t have a huge down payment you will likely need a jumbo loan. A jumbo loan with its higher loan amount is often going to have higher qualifying requirements than a conventional loan - including higher down payments and credit scores as well as lower debt to income (DTI)…

Is it cheaper to build a new home or buy an existing house? According to census data the median cost of a newly built house was $534,600 in November 2022 versus $454,900 for an existing home in October 2022.
Of course, there are pros and cons to both buying and building. If you are building a new home some the biggest pros will be you have a custom-built home, that is brand new and move in ready. You may also have lower bills with newer efficient appliances and systems. Some of larger cons are time - this means more of your time; you’ll likely have to be more involved and review construction decisions and options which can be a challenge if you have your hands full with work and family. Building…

A good credit score is part of getting approved for a mortgage, it will also help you get a lower interest rate. Here are some quick things to do to check and possibly improve your score. Before we get started though, the first thing you should do is get your credit report! You can order it free here - https://www.annualcreditreport.com Now that you have your report lets get to those tips! 🤓 1. Check for Errors! You want the report to be clean and mistake free. Check if there are misspellings of your name or addresses. Other things might be duplicate accounts, incorrect account information, closed accounts that are still listed as open, fraud etc! 2. Clean up the Errors! If you found something wrong the next step is to…