Happy Holiday Week, where we spend some time each day trying to remember if it is Tuesday or Thursday, and then miss putting out the trash cans for pick up. As we end the year here is a quick look back at the year in rates. The biggest influencer on mortgage rates the past two […]
Question of the week: Is Christmas-New Year holiday period a good time to buy a home? Answer: Yes! The old-saw in the real estate business is that December and January are slow months—for many agents this is a self-fulfilling prophecy as they slow down the work, or take the time off because, “it’s slow.” There […]
Question of the week: Is the drop in rates a blip or a trend? Answer: I think it is more of the latter than the former; but that does not mean that there will not be some spikes with higher rates during the trend. Before we look at what has happened this week that has […]
Question of the week: Can my parents benefit from helping us buy our new home? Answer: Yes. This came up in a conversation this morning with second-generation real estate agent Paige this morning in discussions regarding a couple of her clients who were in need of more funds to purchase the homes. Both couples have […]
Question of the week: If buyer has to pay agent commission, will mortgage regulations change? Answer: Good question, my thought is that there will be no change, my reasoning further down. This week’s question is a follow up to the WR&MU from before Thanksgiving asking if recent court cases regarding real estate commissions. In re-reading […]
Question of the week: Will court ruling on real estate agent commissions impact home prices? Answer: This is a question being asked across the country, and a main topic of discussions in real estate offices nationwide. A big Halloween scare shook the real estate industry when the jury in a federal court case awarded plaintiffs […]
Question of the week: Are we losing money on our home? Answer: Maybe, but probably not. With this very open question there are plenty of answers, but the main answer to the question is the question when did you buy your home? Ignoring specific locations and looking at regional locations, let’s looks at home prices […]
Question of the week: Should we enroll in auto-pay? Answer: Yes. Too often we see credit reports for clients who have excellent credit, except….one credit account that has a late payment or two, thus turning excellent credit into fair credit and resulting in a higher interest rate on their mortgage. The lates could have been […]
Question of the week: Should we get an adjustable rate? Answer: Maybe For decades we’ve steered clients away from adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) because of the uncertainty in the future compared to a fixed rate mortgage. However, with the primary uncertainty in the market being when rates will go down, now is a very good […]
Question of the week: Should we write a backup offer? Answer: Yes, especially in this market. With inventory scarce, multiple offers on properties, and most importantly, a market that has seen an above normal escrow fallout rate. The last phrase is a primary reason you should write a backup offer on a home you would […]
