The 30-year fixed mortgage rate on Zillow(R) Mortgages is currently 3.81 percent, down fifteen basis points from this time last week. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropped

Wednesday, then hovered around 3.88 percent for most of the week before falling to the current rate.

“Rates dropped to the lowest level since June 2013 on news that the Federal Reserve has more reservations about the health of the U.S. and global economy than expected, which in turn, may delay rate hikes,” says Erin Lantz, vice president of mortgages at Zillow. “With little economic news planned to overshadow the Fed’s latest comments, this week we expect rates to fairly remain stable, hovering just shy of 4 percent.”

Zillow’s real-time mortgage rates are based on thousands of custom mortgage quotes submitted daily to anonymous borrowers on the Zillow Mortgages site, and reflect the most recent changes in the market. These are not marketing rates, or a weekly survey.

The rate for a 15-year fixed home loan is currently 2.96 percent, while the rate for a 5-1 adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) is 2.70 percent.

For more information go to: www.zillow.com

Home loans are about to go on the discount rack for first-time buyers willing to spend a few hours learning the ropes of homeownership, from applying for a mortgage to choosing a contractor for a kitchen remodel.

The Homeowners Armed with Knowledge program, or HAWK, was announced by the Federal Housing Administration last month as a way for homebuyers to cut their mortgage insurance premium costs by attending housing counseling classes. The idea is that the more borrowers understand about homeownership, the less likely they are to default on their loans, reducing the risk for FHA.

After two years with no delinquent payments, the homeowner qualifies for another discount.

Borrowers who take the classes, which include several courses before and after closing, can save an average of $325 a year, or nearly $10,000 over the life of the loan.

“It may not seem like it, but $10,000 is a lot of savings for a $30,000-a-year household,” said Kimber White, state government affairs chairman for the Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals. “It can make the difference between qualifying or not qualifying to buy a home.”

A public comment period on the program will end in mid-August, and White believes borrowers will be able to begin applying by year’s end.

FHA doesn’t write loans, it insures them, and typically targets underserved populations. Borrowers can get an FHA-backed loan with as little as a 3.5 percent down payment and a credit score of 560. Conventional loans can require 20 percent down and a minimum credit score of 620, White said.

Credit scores from the Fair Isaac Corporation, or FICO, range from 300 to 850. The average FICO credit score in Florida is about 635, according to a survey by CreditKarma.com of its customers.

“Most people who are buying a home don’t know anything,” White said. “They have a little bit of money in the bank and a decent credit score and want a house.”

Under the program, borrowers who take the housing counseling class before signing a contract to buy a home, and who complete additional counseling before finalizing the sale, can earn a 50 basis-point reduction in upfront mortgage insurance and a 10 basis-point reduction in the annual premium cost. Upfront mortgage insurance premiums are 1.75 percent of the total loan amount, while annual monthly premium costs are 1.35 percent.

An additional 15 basis-point reduction will be awarded after two years with no delinquencies.
“If you talk about the long-term impact and how much it will save homeowners, this will absolutely help,” said Kevin Maher, who teaches first-time homebuyer classes and is the community outreach director for West Palm Beach, Fla.-based DebtHelper.com. “I think this will bring more people to the homebuyer classes, which will help them make better decisions.”

The classes will be taught by agencies approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. To find housing counseling agencies in your area, go to HUD.gov.

©2014 The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
Distributed by MCT Information Services

You’ve crunched the mortgage calculators, estimated your tax payments, and taken a realistic look at how much house you can afford. You’ve stuck within your range when scouring the realtor.com® listings, being careful not to bust your budget.

But there are more expenses involved in home buying than just the property costs. And those additional payments, if you don’t factor them in, can be high enough to derail your conscientious planning.

Here’s what to keep in mind:

Buying Costs

You’ve got your mortgage pre-approved, but that’s not all you will need to fork over to get the keys to your new place. Services that need paying:

• Your buyer’s agent fee
• An appraisal to confirm a reasonable market price for the property
• Inspections of structural, mechanical, pest or other potential issues
• A real estate attorney to review all contracts (depending on the state)

Property taxes vary widely, up to 4.2% of a home’s value in some states, according to a CNN map published in 2013. Depending on when you buy, you may owe the previous owners for property taxes they have already paid. You may also need to pay fees to a local association, such as a condo homeowner’s association.

Moving Costs

Moving into a home can involve major expenses for packing, storing and transporting your possessions and yourself. If you are moving across the country, the costs could be significant. Even moving across town can cost more than you planned for truck rental, movers and equipment.

Utilities

Setting up your telephone, electricity, gas and water—did you budget for these expenses? They could cost more at your new place, especially if you’re moving to a larger home or from a rental.

New Stuff

You may need to purchase appliances or furniture for your new home. Some items, like your old particle board bookshelves, may not be worth the cost of moving. Again, if you are sizing up, you face the potentially fun, but possibly financially draining, challenge of filling the new place.

Maintenance and Renovations

Trees fall on roofs. Gutters need cleaning. Driveways need repair…. A standard rule of thumb is to budget at least 1% of your home’s purchase price each year for home maintenance costs.

Maintenance can include things such as painting, replacing roof shingles, fixing or upgrading plumbing and wiring. The amount you will need to pay for maintenance can depend on the age of the home, the previous owners’ upkeep and the climate.

Homeowner’s Insurance

You won’t be able to obtain a mortgage without homeowner’s insurance covering both the property and its contents. However, the standard insurance may not cover natural disasters such as floods, tornadoes and earthquakes. Depending on where you live, you may want to consider taking out additional insurance to cover such risks.

Private Mortgage Insurance and Title Insurance

If the down payment on your home was less than 20% of the purchase price, you will have to pay for Private Mortgage Insurance. PMI protects your lender in case you default. It’s standard, and fees vary. The rules are complicated, but usually once you have paid down the mortgage so you owe less than 78% of the purchase price, you can drop the PMI payments.

Title insurance offers protection for you (and your lender) if you later discover that someone else could lay claim to the title, and therefore ownership, of the house.

Even if you are lucky enough to avoid paying for PMI, you find a low-cost attorney you can trust, and you have a modern, energy-efficient house, these expenses can still add up to thousands of dollars. That prospect should not scare you away from homeownership, but it always helps to be prepared.

REALTOR.COM, May 13, 2014 by Anne Miller

The success of the open house remains part of the “great debate” among real estate professionals, but do they work? From my perspective, with more than 10 years of real estate experience as an agent and now a director of learning for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC, the answer is absolutely! While open houses can sometimes test the faith of real estate sales associates, these events can help market a property, market an agents’ experience in a neighborhood and provide a chance to establish relationships with potential buyers—even future sellers.

Open houses go beyond a basic “meet and greet” with potential clients. They provide an opportunity to expand your network by having the ability to create a virtual office on any street, in any neighborhood, in any town. Posting signage and hanging balloons can also help complement your overall branding and develop a rapport with the neighbors. Tap into neighbors’ networks and discover if they know anyone who might be interested in the home.

As an agent, creating the ultimate open house experience for potential homebuyers is critical. Before your guests even step into the home, it’s important to try to create the most welcoming and enjoyable experience for them. One way is to greet guests at the front door and invite them inside. When a home is filled with people, those who pass by are more inclined to stop and see what all the buzz is about.

When speaking with potential homebuyers, try to avoid stating the obvious. As agents, we tend to go into sales mode and start pitching customers immediately. If you break yourself from this habit, you will see a huge change in your business. Potential homebuyers can see the wood floors or crown molding upon entering a room. Instead, provide insight on the neighborhood, schools and even anecdotes from neighbors. Also, try posing relevant questions that foster conversation. Here are a few recommendations:

1. What was it about this home that caught your eye? This gives the potential homebuyer an opportunity to share his/her wants and needs.

2. Do you have a home to sell? This will help guide your conversations during the course of the open house and perhaps open another door for business.

3. What are the top qualities you’re looking for in a home? You can help them identify these characteristics within the house or show how the house can be adapted to meet their needs.

4. Would you consider buying this home? You can gauge their response in order to evaluate their true wants and needs.

While it can be difficult to see the big picture, it’s important to take a step back and evaluate the true value of open houses. If coordinated and presented properly, open houses can provide tremendous opportunities to meet potential homebuyers, speak with neighbors and learn more about the needs of buyers and sellers in a community. As a proud supporter of open houses, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate recently hosted a national Open House Weekend, offering national educational programs, marketing assets and social media support for its affiliated sales associates to help maximize open house opportunities.

Karlton Utter is director of Learning Technologies and Solutions for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. For more information, visit www.bhgrealestate.com.

From RISMEDIA:

As prices continue to rise, more sellers are putting their homes on the market than this time last year, according to Realtor.com®’s recently released National Housing Trend Report for February 2014. This movement is a sign of confidence in the gains sustained through the winter and an indication of a strong early beginning to the spring home buying season.

Data from realtor.com® reveals the number of properties for sale in February rose 10.1 percent above February 2013 levels, to 1,744,032 units. The median list price at $199,000 increased 7.6 percent compared to the same month last year, and the median age of inventory increased 6.5 percent above year-ago figures, to 114 days.

“Overall these figures indicate a continued reinforcement of steady gains and market stabilization that we’ve been watching since late last summer,” says Steve Berkowitz, CEO of Move. “Seller confidence is the factor to watch as we head into the spring home buying season, and these are very encouraging indicators – not only are more homes coming onto the market, but typically we don’t see a rise in asking prices this early into the year. This is the market these sellers have been waiting for.”

 Despite an increase in inventory, the median list price jumped by more than 2 percent in February to $199,000, 7.6 percent higher than it was one year ago. These list price increases are another sign of seller confidence going into the selling season, as sellers price their homes in anticipation of market conditions in the coming months. While annual gains in list price were widespread, they also were fairly modest throughout much of the country; of the 121 markets that posted year-on-year gains in median list price in February, 84 markets rose less than 10 percent. These modest increases are positive signs of a more balanced market overall heading into the spring season.

While the pace may be slow, new industry findings show that the real estate market is indeed moving forward. The Advanced March NAHB/First American Leading Markets (LMI) Index remained unchanged in March at .87 from February but the number of markets considered at or above their last normal period increased from 58 to 59 markets from February to March and from 47 to 59 year-over-year. In addition, the number of markets doing better than the national market rose from 147 markets to 152 markets month-over-month. The index is calculated for 351 markets or metropolitan statistical areas as defined by the federal government.

Based on a Zillow Home Price Expectations survey, panelists say they expect nationwide home value appreciation of 4.5 percent through the end of this year, a pace that exceeds historically normal annual appreciation rates of around 3 percent. This appreciation is expected to slow to roughly 3.8 percent in 2015 and 3.3 percent by 2018, rates much more in line with historic norms.

Based on current expectations for home value appreciation during the next five years, panelists predicted that overall U.S. home values could exceed their April 2007 peak by the first quarter of 2018, and may cross the $200,000 threshold by the third quarter of 2018.

The most optimistic group of panelists predicted a 5.6 percent annual increase in home values this year, on average, while the most pessimisticiii predicted an average increase of 3.4 percent. The most optimistic panelists predicted home values would rise roughly 10.6 percent above their 2007 peaks by the end of 2018, on average, while the most pessimistic says they expected home values to remain about 4.5 percent below 2007 peaks.

Why are credit scores so important when buying a home?

Your credit score helps determine the rate and conditions you receive on a loan. If your credit score is high, meaning that your credit history indicates that you've paid your credit card bills on time, haven't "maxed out" your credit cards, etc., then lenders believe it's a fairly good bet that you won't have difficulty paying off your loan. They will see you as a low-risk investment and offer you a low rate on your loan with good conditions.

If your score is lower, lenders will think you're a riskier investment, and charge you (by loaning you money at a higher interest rate, often including hidden charges) to take on the perceived risk. 

How do credit scores affect you when applying for a loan?

Most lenders have a baseline credit score by which they largely make their decision to approve or deny mortgage applicants. The maximum credit score is 850 (though a score of 850 is rare, indeed. Only about 10% of applicants have a score over 800). Any score in the 700s or above is excellent and will get you a loan with the lowest interest rate. When you get into the 600s it starts getting dicey. A score of 680, for example, is still considered good, but when you get below 660, some lenders start saying, "No."

For others, 640 or 620 is the line at which you won't be considered for their better programs. Once you get into the 500s, you are a candidate only for what the industry calls subprime loans, those with interest rates that are a couple of percentage points higher than those offered to prime borrowers. Subprime loans also often come with a lot of hidden charges.

So you can see the importance of keeping a good score. It used to be okay to miss a credit card payment deadline. You might pay a $15 late fee. Big deal! But if you do this on a regular basis, it can savage your score and cost you many, many times that amount when you want to buy or refinance a home. That's the bad news.

The good news: your credit score isn't fixed in stone. If you have bad credit scores, there are ways to improve your credit health. If you find your scores are lower than you expected, you'll need to engage in credit rehab. This is different from credit repair, defined as going to an outside company that promises to cure your problems and raise your scores. There may be some good ones out there (along with some disreputable ones) but they can't do anything you can't do yourself and you shouldn't waste your time or money going to them for help.

From a financial standpoint, it is almost always better to take the time to improve your credit health, and make yourself eligible for a better interest rate, than it is to apply for a loan with a credit score that will only make you eligible for a subprime loan.

Excerpt from the Virginian-Pilot

November marked the fourth consecutive month the median price of existing homes sold in South Hampton Roads hasn't increased year-over-year. During the preceding 17 months, the price slowly and steadily inched upward, but it has either decreased or been flat since August.

Last month, the median price fell 5.5% to $188,000 from $199,000 a year earlier, according to data released by the Virginia Beach-based Real Estate Information Network, the regions multiple listing service.

One of the prime drivers of this downward trend is the number of distressed homes (Bank & Gov't owned Homes and Short Sales) on the market. Until this number decreases, the price of homes will either continue to decrease or remain stagnant.

For buyers this is great news for sellers this trend will be troublsome especially if you must sell your home and you have very little equity in it.

I was just notified that I have been designated an ABR® by the National Associationi of Realtors

Just recieved my National Association of Realtors designation as a Military Relocation Professional (MRP®)

June home prices were up 12.1% from a year earlier and all 20 cities in the index posted gains on a monthly basis, shows the S&P Case-Shiller 20-city index.

Interest rates on a VA 30 year fixed rate mortgage has risen to 4.25%....If you are considering buying a home now is the time to get rolling. Chances are good that interest rates will continue to rise over the next year.

The housing market for sellers is starting to improve as property values start to rise. For buyers it's time to buy as housing prices and interest rates continue to remain low, but higher interest rates and housing prices are going to rise. Right now if you will be stationed in the area for at least 3 years, it will be cheaper for you to buy a home than rent.