The months it would take to sell off all homes under distress or 90 days or more delinquent based on the current sales pace.
[INFOGRAPHIC]
6 Don’ts After You Apply For A Mortgage
I learned a long time ago that “common sense is NOT common practice“. This is especially the case during the emotional time that surrounds buying a home, when people tend to do some non-commonsensical things. Here are a few that I’ve seen over the years that have delayed (and even killed) deals:
- Don’t deposit cash into your bank accounts. Lenders need to source your money and cash is not really traceable. Small, explainable deposits are fine, but getting $ 10,000 from your parents as a gift in cash is not. Discuss the proper way to track your assets with your loan officer.
- Don’t make any large purchases like a new car or a bunch of new furniture. New debt comes with it, including new monthly obligations. New obligations create new qualifications. People with new debt have higher ratios…higher ratios make for riskier loans…and sometimes qualified borrowers are no longer qualifying.
- Don’t co-sign other loans for anyone. When you co-sign, you are obligated. With that obligation comes higher ratios, as well. Even if you swear you won’t be making the payments, the lender will be counting the payment against you.
- Don’t change bank accounts. Remember, lenders need to source and track assets. That task is significantly easier when there is a consistency of accounts. Frankly, before you even transfer money between accounts, talk to your loan officer.
- Don’t apply for new credit. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a new credit card or a new car, when you have your credit report run by organizations in multiple financial channels (mortgage, credit card, auto, etc.), your FICO score will be affected. Lower credit scores can determine your interest rate and maybe even your eligibility for approval.
- Don’t close any credit accounts. Many clients have erroneously believed that having less available credit makes them less risky and more approvable. Wrong. A major component of your score is your length and depth credit history (as opposed to just your payment history) and your total usage of credit as a percentage of available credit. Closing accounts has a negative impact on both those determinants of your score.
The best advice is to fully disclose and discuss your plans with your loan officer before you do anything financial in nature. Any blip in income, assets, or credit should be reviewed and executed in a way to keep your application in the most positive light.
National Housing Survey 2012
Each quarter, Fannie Mae releases their National Housing Survey. They survey the American public on a multitude of questions concerning today’s housing market. We like to pull out some of the findings we deem most interesting each time it is released. Here they are for the most recent report:
84% of the general population believes that owning a home makes more sense than renting.
The Most Important Reasons to Buy a Home
When we talk about homeownership today, it seems that the financial aspects always jump to the front of the discussion. However, the study shows that the four major reasons a person buys a home have nothing to do with money. The top four reasons, in order, are:
- It means having a good place to raise children and provide them with a good education
- You have a physical structure where you and your family feel safe
- It allows you to have more space for your family
- It gives you control of what you do with your living space (renovations and updates)
The Home as an Investment
Though most people purchase a home for non-financial reasons, everyone realizes there is a money component to homeownership. Here is what they said on this issue:
- 63% of the general population believes that homeownership is a ‘safe’ investment.
- 53% believe that homeownership has more potential as an investment than any other traditional asset class.
Rent vs. Buy
We are always interested in the difference people see in renting vs. owning.
- 64% of renters have aspirations to someday own their own home
- 70% of renters think that owning is superior to renting
Bottom Line
Our belief in the value of homeownership grows each time this survey is released.
Spring Market Looks VERY Promising
The Spring market is upon us. Professionals across the country are reporting that buyer activity is very strong. Purchasers are beginning to realize that this is one of the greatest times in American real estate to buy a home. There are basically four reasons for this:
- They realize that it is the COST of the home that matters most, not the PRICE.
- They realize that it is actually LESS EXPENSIVE to own than to rent in 98% of the country.
- They realize that SHORT SALES are a real bargain.
- EVERYONE is now saying it is time to buy.
The market is turning for the better. It may be time for you and your family to jump in.
Attention Real Estate Professionals
If you would like a further explanation of the four points above, join us on our webinar today at 2PM EST.
Rents Rising as Rental Availability Shrinks
Because of the challenges in the current economy, many families have either decided to rent or been forced to rent. How has this impacted rental options and the cost of the available options?
HousingWire recently quoted Paul Dales, senior economist with Capital Economics:
“As a consequence of Americans being less willing and less able to buy a home, the number of households in rented accommodation is set to rise by at least 850,000 a year over the next few years.”
The price of anything is determined by supply and demand. As demand increases, the price of an item will increase unless there is an equal increase in supply. The article mentioned above said:
“Dales said in his research that rental vacancy rates will fall again in the future, pushing prices up. The median rent is already up to $ 712 per month—well above the average monthly mortgage cost of $ 647, Dales reported.
He estimates vacancies in the home-rental market will push average rental rates up as much as 5% by early 2013.”
How many markets will be impacted? A new rent index offered by Zillow:
“…showed year-over-year gains for 69.2 percent of metropolitan areas covered.”
Bottom Line
Rents are increasing and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. In many parts of the country, buying a home might make more sense as you can lock in your housing expense for the next thirty years.
Attention All Industry Professionals:
If you want more information on RENT vs BUY or any of the other three major points that a purchaser should consider before buying, register for our free webinar.
- The Market Is Beginning To Turn
- Sales Are Up. Prices Still Have a Way To Go.
- Finding a Short Sale Expert
- Short Sales Will Increase Dramatically in 2012
- Prices: 1Q 2012 vs. 4Q 2011
- Prices: 1Q 2012 vs. 4Q 2011
- Further Proof the Real Estate Market Is Coming Back
- Proper Planning for Your Mortgage Application
- Everybody Calm Down – The Market IS Recovering
- Mortgages and Veterans
2011
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