The Lending Coach

Coaching and teaching - many through the mortgage process and others on the field

Category: Mortgage (Page 58 of 60)

Refinancing – are you one of 7+ million?

March 28, 2016 /

calculator-pen-spreadsheetMortgage rates are near historic lows, which has put millions of U.S. homeowners in the money to look at refinancing their current mortgage.

And yet, many homeowners have chosen to do nothing.  Are you one of them?

Source: The Mortgage Reports

According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the parent of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, mortgage refinance volume dropped ten percent last quarter despite sub-4 percent mortgage rates and the loosest mortgage guidelines in more than 10 years.

Homeowners that have elected to refinance, though, are saving big money.

The majority of refinancing homeowners, according to the report, have reduced monthly payments by $150 or more; and, many are using zero-closing cost mortgages to keep the benefits of refinancing high.

Homeowners doing debt consolidations are saving even more — especially with the recent changes in how lenders treat credit card debt.piggybank-house

Despite a drop in mortgage rates (and a loosening of mortgage lending standards), refinance volume remains off its peak. Too many homeowners feel it would be difficult to get a mortgage; or, don’t feel that a refinance is worth the time required.

Give me a call to find out if refinancing might be a good fit for you!

New paradigm in home sales – Virtual Reality

March 24, 2016 /

Here’s a really interesting piece from the New York Times regarding virtual reality technology in the real estate world.  I’d highly recommend checking this one out if you are a Real Estate Agent…..

Source: New York Times

This technology is expected to transform the real estate industry and, some say, make house-hunting more efficient. It can help to reduce the stress of relocating to a new city or buying from abroad and also allow buyers to visualize properties in development.

In some cases, the excitement of providing virtual-reality technology to clients has created an outsize sense of the technology’s importance. One company was keeping its VR prototype secret, lest a competitor try to steal it. But whether the technology is ready for widespread use — and whether consumers really want it — remains an open question.

What is now available to consumers and growing more popular is the 3D walk-through. This is an updated version of the panoramic camera shots that were all the rage a decade ago. There’s no headset. Users move their mouse or arrow keys from their computer keyboards and devices to navigate through rooms and zoom in on apartment features.

How Millennial Newlyweds Paid Off $100K Debt – Forbes

March 23, 2016 /

This is a fantastic story of how one couple, with some great perseverance, paid off their debt and got rolling.  Absolutely worth the read!

Source: How Millennial Newlyweds Paid Off $100K Debt

Financial professionals might balk at their methods, but this is how one Millennial couple dealt with their debt.

Debt payoff couple

“They’d racked up student loans. And then some credit card debt from professional licensing exams, plus a celebratory post-doctorate cruise. And one day, newlyweds Andrew and Veronica Kaslewicz of Pittsburgh, now both 28, found themselves saddled with more than $100,000 in debt and no good way to pay it off.”

They got mad, and then they got smart and started saving

One day Andrew’s uncle, an antiques dealer, explained to him that gold and silver were also money. “That was the spark that ignited Andrew’s money passion, a simple realization that money could be obtained by other means than working for someone else ,” Veronica said, “It sounds simple, but working for someone else was all we knew at the time.”

Andrew read everything he could about money and how it works. “He began getting angry at how the financial system worked against us, encouraging lending and spending to keep people in debt, and decided that he wanted out. He wanted freedom. I was kind of just along for the ride at first, then I became just as passionate as him,” Veronica said.

Understanding Earnest Money

March 8, 2016 /

earnest_money_depositThe earnest money deposit is an important part of the home buying process. It tells the seller you’re a committed buyer, and it helps fund your down payment.

How Much Should You Put Down in the Earnest Money Deposit?

The amount you’ll pay for the earnest money deposit will depend on a few factors, such as policies and limitations in your state, the current real estate market, and what the seller requires. On average, however, you can expect to hand over 1-2% of the total purchase price as earnest money.

When Do You Pay the Earnest Money, and Who Holds It?

In most cases, after your offer is accepted and you sign the purchase agreement, you give your earnest money deposit to the title company. In some states, the real estate broker holds the deposit.

Always check the credentials of the firm or broker taking the deposit and verify that the funds will be held in escrow. Never give the earnest money to the seller; it could be difficult or impossible to get it back if something goes wrong.

After turning over the deposit, the funds are held in an escrow account until the home sale is in the final stages. Once everything is ready, the funds are released from escrow and applied to your down payment.

If the deal falls through, a small cancellation fee is usually taken out of the deposit, but the remainder remains in escrow. Whoever holds the deposit determines whether you should get the money back under the terms of the purchase agreement. Make sure that the purchase agreement covers how a refund is handled.

Link to Realtor.com: Understanding Earnest Money

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