Category: News

If you thought you missed the opportunity to refinance and lock in low rates, you didn’t! We’ve seen a wave of refinance activity in the last week as rates dropped to an average of 2.78% for 30 year fixed mortgages according to a survey from Freddie Mac, which is not far from the all-time record low of 2.65%. Fannie Mae estimates that there are millions of home owners that can benefit from refinancing in today’s rates, with either lower monthly, cash-out or both. Getting the best rates, will depend on a number of factors, including credit scores, debt to income and how much is currently owed on your house. Call us or fill out a quick refi analysis on our website and we can see how much savings you are…

If you’re in the market for a new house, you’ve probably heard that you want to get pre… qualified or pre-approved? What’s the difference anyways? There’s actually a big difference. Pre-qualified is more of a preliminary step. It gives you a general idea of much home you can afford. We will examine your credit, income, assets, and debts and you’ll have a general idea of the price range you’re looking for. You may also see that you need to increase your savings or lower debts before you buy. While pre-qualifying is an initial step, pre-approval is a deeper dive and being pre-approved carries more weight with sellers. To get pre-approved we will verify you income, assets, etc. and you will be more official (of course you still have to apply…

In the last year many people worked remotely and interest in second homes has skyrocketed. Here is a primer for those considering a second home. The first step is where – do you want a vacation home by the beach or mountains, do you want to be near relatives. Do your research and use a local real estate for help with choosing the right area or neighborhood. Second is why – do you want a vacation house, a second residence if you spend a lot of time in an area for work or family or do you want an investment property? You can actually combine these and use a second home for vacations and AirBNB it while you’re not there (of course check local rules regarding this). Third and perhaps…

As the housing market remains hot with low inventory, many home owners are adding ADUs (which stands for Accessory Dwelling Units). ADUs often called granny flats, are guest houses or rooms added to garages to create rental income for home owners. Home owners typically add ADUs to increase cash flow, as well as looking for their property value to appreciate. Whether ADUs are right for you, depends on a number of factors. ADUs often costs at least $100,000 to build so being in a high rent market helps to offset the initial investment. You’ll also need to make sure local ordinances allow them and what the regulations are. The old real estate adage about location stays true for ADUs as well. If you are in an area where rents are…

We wish you and your family a happy 4th of July. We hope you enjoy celebrating and have a safe fun time with your friends and family. Here’s a few tips to make the most of it! If you’re travelling double check your reservations and even call to confirm to avoid unwelcome surprises. Also get an early start as we are just getting back to the swing of things there can be more delays than usual. Be careful with the fireworks especially around children. If you are using them always do so safely remember to make sure people aren’t too close or in the path of them. Check the grill! If you’re using propane make sure you have enough fuel and always light the match before turning on the gas.…

In today’s hot real estate market, you may ask if you should make renovations to help the house sell for more? The answer is it depends. Major renovations usually don’t recoup their cost in terms of higher sales price, however if the house is in excellent shape except a kitchen or bathroom, you may consider doing it for a higher sales price. Minor updates are a good approach to help the house look better without a major investment. Some examples are painting the house, new cabinets, flooring (if in bad shape), even minor things like updating the faucets can make a big difference. If you have potential turn-offs like water damage, it’s something to consider fixing. A water stain on a ceiling can scare off buyers, so replastering or sheetrock…

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 to get a cash-out refinance. With real estate values rising many people have seen their home value rise so they may qualify for cash-out. You’ll still need to maintain equity in the home at 80-90% to avoid paying mortgage insurance…

Today we are going to discuss two common mortgage loan products, and the pros and cons of both: FHA versus Conventional Loans. Many people are familiar with the 20% down, good credit 30 year fixed conventional loan scenario. FHA loans are designed for people who have difficulty qualifying for a conventional loan to buy a house. FHA Loans offer down payments as low as 3.5% and are more lenient on credit scores and past financial issues. Borrowers can qualify for FHA loans with as low as 580 credit scores. One of the downsides of FHA loans are mortgage insurance requirements, if you put down less than 10% you will be required to pay monthly insurance for the duration of the loan, as well paying Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium. The best…

This week we saw the benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage fall below 3% again according to Freddie Mac. While 15-year fixed-rate are down to 2.27%. This opens opportunities for refinancing and rate locks for many borrowers. Sam Khater the chief economist at Freddie Mac noted that this creates a lot of opportunity for borrowers to refinance and increase monthly cash flow, with nearly $2 trillion in conforming mortgages able to refinance and reduce their interest rate by at least half a percent. He said last year homeowners who refinanced their 30-year fixed-rate mortgages saved more than $2800 annually.