Primary market
I began writing about the attractiveness of adjustable rate mortgages tied to the LIBOR index in January of 2002. To recap, LIBOR stands for London Interbank Offering Rate, which is basically the rate that European banks charge each other for overnight funds. Specifically, I touted the monthly LIBOR ARM, which has the ability to move every month.
Question: Is it permissible for an HOA to invest in real estate by buying a unit in the complex and renting it out for income? The return would be much higher than any CD or money market account.
Home equity credit line lenders have been doing it for two years, and now the concept is migrating to the primary home purchase market: Super-streamlined loans that require applicants to pay none of the usual lender fees -- appraisals, credit reports, document preparation, tax service, underwriting or processing. Yet the mortgages carry interest rates identical to those the lender quotes on loans in the regular market that come with full fees.
Real estate tax fraud has been sharply increasing, but so are criminal prosecutions and prison terms for real estate wrongdoers, according to a new report from the Internal Revenue Service.
Don"t be surprised if you see a lot more VA loans in 2005. The long-running government program, a key benefit for military personnel and other federal workers with qualifying service, has now been improved with higher loan limits and other benefits.
Have you ever analyzed the difference in monthly payments between mortgages with different interest rates?
Do people who live in financially fit communities have a better shot at owning a home?
We all feel challenges in our lives. These challenges can manifest themselves at work, at home, with our health, in our spiritual life. These challenges are often accompanied by discouragement. Discouragement can often happen when we survey the difficulties that lay before us. We can de-motivate ourselves because of the gap between the reality of where we are and the vision of where we want to be.
Consumers who spend some time shopping around for home loans are more satisfied with the mortgage origination experience than those who don"t bother to shop around.
Hot on the heels of Fair, Isaac"s new "Expansion" credit score, personal data compiler First American Corporation recently announced a new array of services to help hone the credit histories of non-traditional credit consumers.
Question: We recently paid off our mortgage. The mortgage company sent us a release from the county in which our property is located. However, they claim that they do not have the original promissory note or deed of trust which we signed when we first obtained this loan. The lender has agreed to send us a copy of these legal documents.
It"s crazy that I still get these calls, but it actually seems as if I"m getting more of them as time goes on. The question? "What credit score do I need to qualify for a mortgage loan?" Or its sister statement, "I can"t qualify for a loan because my credit score is too low."
Realtors, home builders and first-time home buyers got a potentially important new financial tool last week: An alternative credit score designed for consumers with minimal traditional banking and credit histories.
For many years the lending process has become less and less rigid. In the general case this is a trend to be welcomed, but the question to be asked is this: Have we gone too far?
Question: We applied for a mortgage loan about a month ago, and were told that our rate was locked in at 5.875 plus one point. We are going to settlement a week from now, and our settlement attorney has been advised that the rate will be 6.125 percent, plus 1.25 points. Needless to say, we are very upset. Is there anything we can do, and can the lender be held to its loan commitment?
One of the most under utilized home financing groups I"ve seen are the nationwide offices of State Housing Finance Agencies. These are state-chartered authorities that help meet the housing needs of each state"s residents. Not all HFAs are created equal in regards to their relationship to state government, however, most are independent entities operating under the direction of a governor-appointed board of directors.
Question: I am considering refinancing my $300,000 mortgage and cannot decide whether or not I should buy the rate down with points or take a higher rate and pay zero closing costs. My loan officer gave me two options. He said I could refinance to a 30-year fixed rate of 5.25 percent with total fees of $13,000 or I could refinance to a 30-year fixed rate at 5.875 percent with zero fees. The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) on the 5.25 percent loan is 5.624 percent. The APR on the 5.875 percent is 5.892 percent. My father says I should take the expensive program with the lower APR but I"m really not that keen on increasing my loan balance by $13,000 to gain .625 percent in my rate. Should I suck it up and pay $13,000 to get the program with the lower APR?
As any loan officer will tell you, almost every borrower is shopping around for the best interest rate. And why not? Borrowers are supposed to do that, right? But some of these loan officers have been around the block a few times and know how to structure a rate quote that looks a lot better than it actually is.
Lesser known lenders may have a better shot at customer loyalty than many larger lenders, but only if customers rate them a "10".
"Yikes! Where are all these fees coming from? Those weren"t on my Good Faith Estimate!" No they weren"t. But they should have been. And it"s your loan officer"s fault.
Question: We will be refinancing our mortgage in the next few weeks. We purchased our home six years ago, and at that time purchased both owner’s and lender’s title insurance. Our new lender is also requiring title insurance. We have made very little by way of improvements, and do not believe there have been any events which would impact our title. Why do we need to purchase title insurance again? This seems to be just another hidden expense involved in the settlement process.
The chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association has urged the group"s 2,600-member firms to take whatever steps necessary to avoid reniging on their loan commitments.
“What"s worse, a higher price on a property that may take a sudden downturn when interest rates return to a higher rate, or paying a lower price for the property when the market is down but paying a higher interest rate?”
How does a 2 percent loan sound? Great, doesn’t it? Well, there’s always a catch and here’s just the minimal information consumers should understand about these three ARMs that plenty of buyers and investors use to provide lower monthly payments. The interest rates on these three programs are super low. The index as of July 1, 2003 was 2.130 percent for the COFI, 1.419 percent for the CODI, and 2.140 percent for the COSI.
Q: We have just come into some money, and want to pay off our mortgage. We want the house to be “free and clear.” What is the process? How do you pay off a mortgage and how does it get released from the land records.
A couple of weeks ago, I took a stab at explaining to a borrower why he was paying more than $900 per month for private mortgage insurance. I suggested I would get a few letters from loan officers and that indeed happened.
Q. At long last, our house is free and clear. We have a home equity line of credit of $75,000, and the interest rate is somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 percent. We itemize tax deductions and our federal tax rate is 39%.
The sluggish economy and low mortgage rates have combined to spawn a trend of mortgage borrowers who are turning in 15-year mortgages for longer 30-year mortgages.
I can recall back in the stone ages, say the last 1980"s, when consumers spent most of their time choosing a lender or mortgage broker. But once the chosen lender was so anointed that was pretty much it. No more applications to fill out, no more documentation to mail or fax. It was done. But not anymore. It"s not uncommon for a borrower to complete an application with more than one lender at a time to see who can ultimately offer the better deal. After all, a little head to head competition is good for everyone, right?
Is the day coming when discount loans are announced as Blue Light Specials over a loudspeaker at K-mart?
"Are we there yet?" The child"s question that annoys parents on a long trip is currently the main preoccupation of media and general conversation regarding the recession.
If you have an interest in financing or refinancing an unusual window of opportunity may now be closing. Mortgage rates at this time are as low as they"ve been in decades, but whether such interest levels can continue is less certain each day.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has officially increased the limits on single-family mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration.
You have been investing in real estate for the last 15 years. During this period we have seen interest rates range from 12% to 5% for the purchase of investment property. Many of us have been coached to believe in the concept of high leverage, so we tend to put the least amount down. By so doing we have fallen into the compound interest trap and paid the banks a lot of interest. With today’s low interest rates, we have an opportunity to adjust our strategy and look at another approach to financing that can save us a significant amount of money.
Here we go again, folks. The LIBOR ARM is on a roll. I first wrote about this mortgage product in January 2002 and again in April. Everyone knows that fixed rate mortgages are at historical lows and millions of homeowners are saving money by refinancing. But as short-term rates continue to fall, the temptation of taking out an adjustable rate mortgage increases.
Did mortgage interest rates hit bottom in October?
Although the public has most certainly been made aware of the massive amounts of residential properties being foreclosed upon, most are not aware of the amount of commercial properties that are either delinquent or soon to be so. Towards the end of the residential real estate boom, the commercial real estate market also saw a boom itself. Fueled by easy credit and new investors entering the market the commercial real estate market exploded.
A new, nationwide form of mortgage payment insurance--covering up to nine months worth of mortgage payments for unemployed homeowners--is scheduled for launch early this week.
Is it too late to refinance?
Would Professor Holmes please call? Sherlock Holmes? We might need a little detective work here. Lots of clues, lots of answers, trying to make a connection. Call as soon as able.
There"s no question that computerized scoring models which almost instantaneously judge a would-be borrower"s creditworthiness have enabled more people to obtain mortgages, possibly even at lower rates than if their applications had been underwritten the old-fashioned way.
I recall a few years ago when a certain national lender offered a mortgage loan that let the borrower make a choice of whether or not to pay any principal. Just interest. It hit the markets with a resounding splat. No one was interested. “You’re wasting your time” they said. “You’ll never have any equity” they said. “It’s only good for the lenders, why do you think they’re pushing it?” they said. Well they’re not saying it now.
Builders and real estate agents never again would have to disappoint unqualified home buyers, thanks to a new referral network formed by a leading provider of downpayment assistance and a national non-profit credit counseling organization.
Over the past several months, I have been answering various questions from readers asking me about adjustable rate and fixed rate mortgages. Here"s a
The burgeoning credit and debt counseling industry is evidence of the growing level of indebtedness and delinquencies, but it"s not always clear which type of counseling you could need if you get in over your head.
Developer/Owner Mark Tolley just sold his fifty- two units in Phase 1 for The Lone Star Brewery condominiums in San Antonio, Texas in 5 months. He will be announcing Phase 2 within weeks.
It"s the niche that provides a steady flow of buyers who are almost guaranteed to re-sell their homes within 3 to 4 years -- and who have a massive pool of friends who will also be moving soon. Listings are abundant.
If doing business in the 21st Century has taught us anything, it’s that the Internet has become crucial to the way we do business. Since the 1960’s, technology has steadily changed the world of real estate. Yet, no matter how sophisticated the Internet and our computer systems get, our ultimate goals stay the same – build a solid customer base, service the customers, grow the business, and retire rich.
"They" say 15 to 30 percent of your gross income should be spent on advertising. That"s way too much money to be spent haphazardly. I want to devote time to helping you determine the best method to deliver your message to your target market.
There is a sense that converting rentals to condominiums, better known as the rental conversion market, is around the corner. The reason: growing demand for lower price housing and increasing rents.
Agents work hard for listings, but it is the broker who pays for the display ads that generate extra advertorials -- those feature stories that show up in the Sunday Homes section of the local paper. That makes the advertorials an extension of the ad that the broker has already paid for. When establishing an advertorial policy, keep in mind that the one with the gold makes the rules.
Here"s a great marketing idea for new agents that doesn’t cost a lot of money. I thought long and hard about this idea before I decided to share it. After all, good ideas are worth money. Ok, I’m going to sum it up in one word, then prove my point.
A buyer"s agent and a transactional agent say they are taking Internet marketing into their own hands from gambling most of their marketing money on Internet solutions to designing and search-engine-placing their own Web sites. The agents have multiple strategies for getting found, and say that their efforts have taught them that there are some myths about Internet marketing that they would like to explode.
Does the Web make farming obsolete? Not when you combine traditional postcard farming with an effective Web site.
It’s been two months since you first met Mr. & Mrs. Smith. You spent countless hours working with them to find them their next dream home. Many things had to be done: inspections, appraisals, financing, but all of it went on without a hitch and now it’s closing day. Today is the day your clients will officially take title to their new home and your job is now over.
If you agree that the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) was a major development
Our business is selling houses and our listings are the products on the shelves. Building a strong listing inventory has long been hailed as the top technique to becoming a top producer. Other models are emerging but most agents still find business success is easier when they have a good listing inventory.
Two signs are positive that the housing slump may be coming to an end. First, the National Association of Realtors says it"s going to get worse, but not by much, and the Mortgage Bankers Association says mortgage applications are up for the week. When NAR says there"s pent-up buyer demand, the quickly rising mortgage apps tend to support that idea. And where there"s pent-up demand, the housing market can turn on a dime.
The Obama administration"s latest plans to bring relief to the financial markets have been dominating the news from Washington, but it"s far from clear whether they"ll actually produce more money for people to buy houses.
The Special Recognition Award for career-long service honored well-known educator Howard Brinton, CRS. The President"s Awards are for individuals who have demonstrated exceptional support in 2002 to the Council. The recipients were Chuck Bode, CRS, Deb Greene, CRS, Colleen McMahon and Rachel Tristano. Two CRS Chapters received awards for their achievements during 2002: Oklahoma for the small chapters and Florida for the large chapters.
NAR made the announcement of the new REALTOR VIPSM partner today at the annual REALTORS Conference & Expo being held November 8-11.
New Orleans.
According to statistics gleaned from the NAR"s "2002 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers," online marketing could yield greater results than it has in the past. Not only do more homebuyers use the Internet, more choose to work with a Realtor after having visited the Internet. The trick is being the Realtor they find.
Consumer groups joined the National Association of Realtors today in calling on Congress to act in the best interests of consumers, local communities and small business by enacting legislation that would keep banking conglomerates out of real estate.
I"ve been attending the NAR Mid-year Governance meetings for years, and this year I can tell some big differences.
The purchase of a home is one of the most complex, high-risk, and expensive transactions most people will ever go through, yet approximately half of home buyers go to the closing table without an advocate by their side. This startling research performed in separate studies by the National Association of REALTORS® and the National Association of Exclusive Buyer"s Agents, shows that many buyers do not understand the importance of having an advocate. Without someone representing their interests, how will these buyers ever know if they found the right home at the right price?
One of the best ways for real estate professionals can keep abreast of the latest trends in the marketplace and issues surrounding our industry is to attend conventions, seminars and educational events whenever possible. One of the best such events is taking place next month and expects to draw some of the top leading minds in commercial real estate.
Without question, the vast majority of new leads come from the Internet. And given today"s challenging market conditions, you want to treat these inquiries like they were precious new-born babes. Here are the online communication "Best Practices" you can easily implement to make sure each has the highest possibility of turning into a full-grown transaction.
Trick #1: People Detective Extradordinaire - On the Deep Web!
So you"re fresh out of school, attached to your iPod, and looking for a great job? Urban Land Institute"s (ULI) series of
Some people "pooh-pooh" agents trying to get their site to come up high on organic (non-paid) search engine results. They suggest agents rely instead on pay-per-click advertising.
Ever scratch your head and say, "I wonder how to do that?" Every month over 4 million folks visit learn how to do something from the clear and concise, step-by-step instructions provided at Ehow.com. Whether you want to learn how to build a deck, train your dog to heel, lose weight, negotiate a raise, or fix a clothes dryer you"ll find it all.
In order to have a very orderly, logical, geometrically simple-to-follow home page, you do not have to have been around on the web forever.
Many brokers require their agents to do virtual tours on all their listings. Some agents do them because they believe they should, although they may not really understand how to use them.
Arizona Realtor Kent Gagon says he"s made over $200,000 in commissions from consumers he met through Realty Times" Market Conditions Reports. Colorado Realtor Judith Clausen has made over $35,000, and California Realtor Anthony Marguleas has lost count of how much he"s made.
How many monthly hours do you spend on the web typing in usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, etc? Or wrangling with printers, or mailers about postal pieces? Here is some software that will definitely save you time, if not your sanity.
You are a successful real estate broker. You are in the business of buying and selling homes, managing agents and closing transactions. You read about information security problems of other industries everyday, but what are the risks to your business and what should you do about it?
I"ve been tracking the home network and automation market for about four years now. During this time, I have urged those in the real estate industry, both practitioners and REALTOR association staffs, to consider the potential impact this billion-dollar industry is having on housing and the quality of life of real estate consumers -- to get involved with key industry players, to learn how to evaluate a home"s technological capabilities and to keep abreast of networking products that are making it easier to access and enjoy a full range of content throughout the home.
A wise Realtor® friend recently sent me this note after reading something I wrote about writing warning letters to agents who steal intellectual property from another agent"s website:
The best kind of mailing to your past clients is basically free to you - clip and sent them little articles or email them Web pages that you think they"d find interesting.
When times are bad, it seems there’s no shortage of scam artists around who try to make things worse.
If you think everyone is searching on some variation of "cityname homes" and "cityname real estate," you are in for a surprise. When I"ve shown people the following list of real search phrases, used by real web surfers, which led them to an agent"s Website, their jaws dropped open.
With constant advances in technology, the most difficult question facing the average real estate agent today is exactly which technologies they should take advantage first, which come last, and which ones might be a waste of time altogether.
Dear Mr. Internet,
Just before the Thanksgiving holidays, one of the Internet"s top three search engines changed its algorithms, the search criteria by which its engine "spiders" peruse websites and select them for results pages. Results are based on websites" relevancy to search keywords.
According to Clareity Consulting, the typical agent spends 3 1/2 hours using a combination of telecommunications devices - cellphones, office/home phones, e-mail and FAX machines, making them among the largest consumers of telecommunications services. Can costs be minimized?
As the junk e-mail (SPAM) problem continues to grow, a new problem that presents itself is the blocking of legitimate email messages. When such an e-mail is labeled as SPAM and blocked, this is known as a false-positive.
This month, we will start your twelve-month program for basic technology and Internet skills with a focus on the very basics. These are things everyone who uses technology is expected to know. There are lots of terms and basic concepts to understand, all of which will add greatly to your overall understanding and proficiency (not to mention reduced frustration) of today’s technology.
Do you have a friend who sends you truly fascinating-to-read e-mail messages, replete with imbedded hyperlinks? Now, you can do it, too!
In real estate we all too often hit a glass ceiling or brick wall, and feel it’s impossible to take our careers to the next level of achievement. All too often, we sit back and wonder how someone becomes a success, but we don’t have a clue on how they attained it. We look at other successful agents around us in our office, and would kill to know what techniques they use to be successful. Perhaps you even approached them and asked, but the answer you received was evasive and lacking. Why? It’s because you are in direct competition with them. If they share real knowledge, their fear is that you’ll take business away from them. So unless that successful agent is your broker, it doesn’t make any sense for an agent in your office to give you any real details.
It"s going to be huge deal for home owners and it"s definitely the number one real estate topic in Washington at the moment: The Obama administration"s ambitious new programs to either refinance or modify up to nine million mortgages nationwide, including many that are either "underwater" - worth less than the loan balance -- or in serious risk of going to foreclosure.
If you"re good at what you do, you"ll soon reach a productivity ceiling:
Following the success of the Real Estate CyberSpace Society"s 2002 National Real Estate On-Line Convention and Exposition in April 2002, the Society is hosting a special
The latest buzz around IDX has been the several hundreds of implementation options when it comes to providing IDX data on a Web site. The possibilities and choices are endless, but they are all built around two very distinctly different implementations. If you are to have a successful IDX web site that generates qualified leads and makes you money, you must be sure you try to avoid one of the most common of them if at all possible- "Visible Frames".
Many web users are becoming a bit more sophisticated when it comes
With constant advances in technology, the most difficult question facing the average real estate agent today is exactly which technologies they should take advantage first, which come last, and which ones might be a waste of time altogether.
Dear Mr. Internet:
Talk about tax shelters.
When dieters want to lose weight, they put pictures of their skinnier selves on the refrigerator. When Internet homebuyers start shopping for a home, they look at homes on the Internet.
It seems that the "hot technology" item for this year might just be
As mobile professionals, Realtors are particularly reliant upon data that can be obtained quickly and easily while in the field, making hand-held computing devices a natural fit. That"s why Interealty, a leading MLS information management vendor, is working with wireless networks and cutting edge PDA manufacturers, particularly, the thin, light, always-on BlackBerry(tm), a next-generation PDA, to bring true mobile connectivity and productivity to Realtors.
According to Advertising Age with the recent launch of BarbieLatina.com, Mattel is not only expanding the
For the last four years, real estate trainer Stephen Canale has loaded one financial program after another
MLS information management market leaders FNIS and Interealty are aggressively launching cutting edge MLS-based lead generation products at the MLS and broker levels. How strongly will their solutions impact the growing trend toward local marketing solutions for brokers and agents?
Green homes are becoming increasingly more popular. Finding ways to advertise a home as being energy-efficient can spark a level of interest in prospective buyers. And as the seasons start to change and spring pollen floats into the air, having a solution to keep the pollen out of a home and save on a home"s electricity bill is a plus.
Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF) and VISTAinfo (formerly Nasdaq: VINF) have completed their merger, and are forming a new company called Fidelity National Information Solutions (Nasdaq: FNIS). What does the merger mean to MLS organizations, brokers and agents?
When it comes to Section 1031 (ten thirty one) tax-deferred real estate exchanges, investors are getting some decidedly mixed signals.
Dear Mr. Internet:I have a growing e-mail list of subscribers to my online newsletter which has been a great source of new business for me. The problem is, as the list size increases, it becomes more difficult and time consuming to manage. Is there some easier way to grow and manage large lists like mine?
Dear Mr. Internet:I have all kinds of new marketing ideas for my business, but never seem to have the time (or skills) to implement them —help!
Several prominent e-brokerages have gone out of business, but does that herald a significant trend? Many traditional brokerages would like to think so, but there"s just as much evidence that e-brokerages are here to stay, especially when they start adopting traditional practices like building a local market and hiring lots of Realtors.