A New Opportunity for Homebuyers
You may not have heard of anyone assuming an existing mortgage for over thirty years and didn’t know they were even possible any longer. The reason is simple, it didn’t make financial sense but now that interest rates are increasing, it may be an opportunity for some homebuyers. Conventional loans added clauses to mortgages back in the early 80’s that gave the noteholder the right to raise the interest rate if a loan was assumed, as well as require the new buyer to qualify for the loan. This essentially ended the practice of assuming conventional mortgages. Then, in the...
Read MoreCost of Waiting to Buy in Both Price and Interest Rates
Have you ever been shopping on a website where you were looking at something that was on sale? You were interested in it but there wasn’t a sense of urgency and maybe, you had a lot going on and didn’t get back to it for a few days. When you did go back to the website, the price on the item had returned to its regular price. How did you feel? Did you go ahead and purchase it for the current price? How did that make you feel knowing that if you had acted more decisively, you would have saved money and had the product by now? In 2021, homes across the United State went up 19.1% on...
Read MoreWhy a Home Should Be Your First Investment
Real estate has been described as the basis of all wealth. Without considering income or investment property, buying a home to live in is an incredibly powerful way to build wealth or financial net worth. A home is an asset measured by the size of the equity. Equity is simply the difference between the value of the home and the amount owed. There are two powerful dynamics at work to increase the equity which include appreciation and amortization. Appreciation occurs when the fair market of the home increases. The shortage of available inventory coupled with high demand has contributed to an...
Read MorePaying Points to Lower the Rate
Two commonly known ways to lower your mortgage payments are to make a larger down payment especially if it eliminates private mortgage insurance and improve your credit score before applying for a mortgage. Another way to lower your payment would be to buy down the interest rate for the life of the mortgage with discount points. A discount point is one percent of the mortgage borrowed. Lenders collect this fee up-front to increase the yield on the note in exchange for a lower interest rate. A permanent buy down on a fixed-rate mortgage is available to borrowers who are willing to pay...
Read MoreI wish I knew then…
We have all heard this expression that implies that had a person known earlier in life what they know now, they would have done things differently. The subject possibilities are endless While no one has a crystal ball to see into the future, it may be possible to learn from people who have experienced similar situations. In the late sixties, mortgage rates hit 8.5% but before the decade had finished, the rates had come down to 7% where they stayed for some time. Homeowners who purchased at the higher rate, could buy a larger, more expensive home for the same payment if they could get out...
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