Mortgage Rates Fall To Historic Lows After Brexit By David V. McLaughlin Sarasota/Bradenton Home Prices Continue To Rise When the United Kingdom voted to leave its place in the European Union, mortgage rates hit historic lows. Mortgage rates dropped about one-eighth of a point after the financial commotion overseas. With interest rates already at three-year lows, this affords buyers a significant opportunity to refinance or purchase a home. This is great news to those on the Suncoast searching for their perfect dream home. As prices continue to rise, and inventory drops, the market will continue to heat up. These low […]
What’s Your Dollar Worth? By Patricia Tan Currency Considerations for International Investors In addition to looking at the real estate investment itself, an overseas investor must also consider the relative strength of the U.S. dollar against their home currency. Consideration has to be given to this at the time of purchase, and also at the projected time of sale. This adds a whole layer of complexity to the purchase and sale of U.S.A. real estate. Currency exchange rates, the relative value of one currency versus another, are constantly changing. A major shift in an exchange rate during a real estate […]
Cash Can Make You The King, Queen Or Jester By Anne L. Weintraub, Esquire Anne Weintraub P.A. The sales professionals in the movie “Pretty Woman” were not the only ones who made a big mistake when they ignored Julia Roberts, cash buyers make big mistakes too. For example, a cash buyer will insist a survey is not necessary to close on real property. For cash buyers, this concept rings true. However, buyers who close without a survey take a big risk. Some buyers learn the hard way. It is not fun to know your home intrudes onto your neighbor’s property and […]
The Clock Is Ticking -Check Your Watch,Your Customers Are By Anne L. Weintraub, Esquire Anne Weintraub P.A. In the age of “technology mania”, time matters more than ever. Your clients now expect to hear from you yesterday and you must be prepared. If you do not respond to phone calls or emails immediately, there is a good chance your prospect will move on to another Realtor. It happens to me from time-to-time. A potential client will call-I will be out to lunch-and by the time I get back-sometimes even one hour later-they have already located another attorney. And, there is […]
Luxury On The Rebound By Michael Saunders It’s no coincidence that our region’s highest residential sale in two years occurred at the same time that the Dow was closing-in on an all-time high, restoring virtually all of the $16 trillion dollars in personal wealth that was wiped out during the Great Recession. Also restored is buyer confidence in the real estate market at precisely the moment when home prices have tilted upward after shedding as much as 50% of the artificially-induced appreciation that occurred during the boom years. This confirmation that our market has bottomed is exactly what buyers were […]
Leave Emotions For The Movies – They Have No Place In A Home Closing By Anne L. Weintraub, Esquire Anne Weintraub P.A. Since the beginning of time, a man believed his home was his castle. Not much has changed in 2013-almost every Seller believes his home is his castle and almost ever Buyer questions whether that castle is even good enough to purchase. The Buyer may want to know everything about the Seller’s background. The Seller may want to know where the Buyer is from and what the Buyer does for a living. The Seller’s wife may dislike the Buyer’s […]
When Is The Time To Refinance Your House? By Jessica Bennet Only you can decide if you are having problems in making payments on the mortgage that is financing your home. If you are having problems in making the payments, refinancing is an option. Other than that another item to consider in order to find your answer to “should I refinance my house?” is whether you want to save money on mortgage payments. Refinancing can help you in saving money on the payments.
Was It Something I Said? By Anne L. Weintraub, Esquire Anne Weintraub P.A. Let’s face it: deals die. We all go into the purchase and sale contract of a home with a goal of closing, not just to push paper and let it fall apart. Some deals rightfully die because they should. The cause may be property damage, undisclosed problems, death, divorce, bad inspections, a poor title that cannot be corrected, survey issues that are too expensive to correct, the discovery of an Indian burial ground or eagle’s nest, or simply, the closing date has come and gone and someone […]
New Laws Governing Mortgage Originators By Budd Moore New lending laws regulate originator compensation and help protect the borrower’s “best interest.” April brings Tax Day and this year it also brings new laws to govern mortgage originators. The new lending laws, effective April 1st, have leveled the playing field for all originators, including banks, mortgage companies, and mortgage brokers. While most of the larger banks adopted these new rules over a year ago smaller lenders and brokers have waited until April 1, 2011 to adjust their practices and adopt the new laws. Under the new regulations, a loan originator “may […]
If You Are Waiting To Buy – Think Again! By C.J. Coury Most prognosticators agree that home prices have somewhat stabilized from the days of annual double-digit deflation – others predict continued downward movement in home prices. No matter which group you chose to believe there is one absolute certainty – interest rates have increased substantially and are likely to continue their upward trend as inflationary pressure continues. The impact of rising interest rates on your monthly payment is even more impactful than a decrease in the purchase price of the home, even if they should continue to fall a […]
Have H.A.F.A.? By Anne L. Weintraub, Esquire Anne Weintraub P.A. It was billed as an exciting new government program to assist homeowners who did not qualify for loan modifications under the Obama administration’s HAMP program. Under the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program, or HAFA, a borrower could qualify for a short sale by submitting a HAFA application to their lender to receive a pre-approved listing price within 10 days. With the pre-approved price, the borrower would receive total forgiveness of the note on the first mortgage AND the second mortgage, with an additional $3,000 in relocation expenses as an incentive. […]
Increase Sales With Underused Loan Products By C.J. Coury With the tightening of mortgage loan underwriting criteria we have experienced a much higher percentage of cash buyers than at any time since the creation of Fannie Mae. This phenomenon will continue to forestall the housing recovery for months to come unless we work harder to find ways to provide financing to those buyers who do not have the ability to pay cash. One way to help combat the effects of the increased difficulty in obtaining financing is to look beyond the standard mortgage loan products to some of the less […]
Mortgage Shopping 101 – Making Sense of the Mortgage Market By Jim Soda Shopping for a mortgage can be time-consuming and difficult for homebuyers, especially in today’s market where many buyers don’t know where to begin. The Federal Reserve Board has put together the following tips so that you can make sense of the mortgage market and be sure you are getting the mortgage that is right for you. 1. Know what you can afford. Review your monthly spending plan to estimate what you can afford to pay for a home, including the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, and monthly maintenance […]
Will The New FHA Short Refinance Program Help Stem The Foreclosure Tide? By C. J. Coury Many of you have asked me what I expect the market impact to be of the newly released government program that calls for some principal reduction on the part of the lender. This is the FHA Short Refinance Program and here are the highlights of it: Program dates are 9/7/2010 to 12/31/2012 Borrower must owe more on their first mortgage than the property is worth Program is for primary residence occupancy only Mortgage being refinanced must be current Borrower’s […]
Communication Is Key By C. J. Coury Now more than ever it is critical to communicate with your buyers who are purchasing with the assistance of mortgage financing. Mortgage lenders have developed many new processes with the intent of eliminating as much fraud as possible. This increased scrutiny includes the utilization of electronic resources to help verify much of the information contained in the loan application. It is therefore paramount that the mortgage applicant is as honest, open and thorough as possible with the lenders Loan Officer. It is also imperative that the Loan Officer take the time to conduct […]
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Tuesday, September 20, 2016
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