Can Lenders Request More Information?

 

Can Creditors Collect Information Beyond The 6 Required Pieces? In addition to the required pieces – Name Income Social Security Number Property Address Estimated Property Value and Mortgage Amount sought – a creditor may collect whatever additional information they deem necessary. However, as soon as you have provided the 6 required pieces, the creditor has 3 business days to provide a Loan Estimate for approved loans.

Advertisement

6 Required Pieces of Information

 

What 6 Pieces of Information Make A TRID Loan Application? Submitting these 6 pieces of information – Name Income Social Security Number Property Address Estimated Value of Property and Mortgage Loan Amount sought – constitutes a valid loan application under the TRID rule. You may apply and submit these in writing OR in oral form; a live conversation, or a phone call, backed by a written record of the conversation is a legitimate application. Once these 6 pieces of information are submitted a creditor MUST supply a Loan Estimate for approved loans within 3 business days.

Purchasing Vs Renting A Home

Like the guy in the video says, the two do not really compare at all. The one advantage of renting is being generally free of most maintenance responsibilities. But by renting, you lose the chance to build equity take advantage of tax benefits and protect yourself against rent increases.Also, you may be at the mercy of the landlord for housing. Owning a home has many benefits. When you make a mortgage payment, you are building equity increasing YOUR net worth. Owning a home also qualifies you for tax breaks that assist you in dealing with your new financial responsibilities like insurance, real estate taxes, and upkeep which can be substantial. But given the freedom, stability, and security of owning your own home they are worth it.

Calculating Your Asking Price

 

The best answer is get help from a real estate professional. But, if you only have a few minutes for a video, here are five points to consider.

1. Start With Measurement Learn the average per-square-foot price for recent sales in your neighborhood. That will not set your final price, but it is a baseline buyers will use.

2. Get Comparisons Ask for Comparative Market Analysis – comps – from several agents. Go through each comp with each agent to understand both competitive homes on the market AND each agents potential approach to yours.

3. Market Research. Do your own! – not just online, but in person. That will help you understand your market conditions and the buyers perspective realistically. Markets get hot and cold, up and down, and yours defines the sales envelope for your home.

4. Consider All Terms Price isnt all there is to a sale. Can you close faster? Finance or lease-option the sale yourself? Cover some closing costs? Your flexibility can make sales leverage.

5. It is Not Personal. The hardest tip of all. Most people are emotional about their home. Pricing, in the long run, is going to logical. Theyre buying your house,not your home & memories. Find a real estate professional you like and trustand let them help you through the process.

Things to consider when …

Things to consider when buying a home.

  • 4 REASONS TO BUY A HOME NOW!
  • YOU NEED A PROFESSIONAL WHEN BUYING A HOME
  •  HOME PRICES OVER THE LAST YEAR
  • BUYING A HOME? CONSIDER COST NOT JUST PRICE
  • WHERE ARE MORTGAGE INTEREST RATES HEADED?
  •  SHOULD I PAY A MORTGAGE INTEREST RATE OVER 4%?
  •   WHAT DO YOU REALLY NEED TO QUALIFY FOR A MORTGAGE?
  •  WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE MORTGAGE PROCESS
  •  GETTING A MORTGAGE: WHY SO MUCH PAPERWORK?
  • 217,726 REASONS TO BUY A HOME NOW
  • THE REAL REASONS AMERICANS BUY A HOME
  •  RISING HOME PRICES & FAMILY WEALTH
  • 5 REASONS TO HIRE A REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL
  • REAL ESTATE AGAIN SEEN AS BEST INVESTMENT
  • 4 DEMANDS TO MAKE ON YOUR REAL ESTATE AGENT
  •  WHEN IS IT A GOOD TIME TO RENT? DEFINITELY NOT NOW!
  • THE COST OF RENTING VS. BUYING [INFO-GRAPHIC]
  •  HARVARD: 5 FINANCIAL REASONS TO BUY A HOME

Read full Buyer(s) guide here

Call us 786.554.8063 or email us George@GeorgeAssal.com, WE are here to facilitate and help you during the process of buying, selling, or renting any real estate needs, which will result in reaching your financial goals quickly and with ease, visit our page www.GeorgeAssal.com

 

The Impact of Higher Interest Rates

Interest-Rate

Last week, an article in the Washington Post discussed a new ‘threat’ homebuyers will soon be facing: higher mortgage rates. The article revealed:

“The Mortgage Bankers Association expects that rates on 30-year loans could reach 4.8 percent by the end of next year, topping 5 percent in 2017. Rates haven’t been that high since the recession.”

How can this impact the housing market?

The article reported that recent analysis from Realtor.com found that –

“…as many as 7% of people who applied for a mortgage during the first half of the year would have had trouble qualifying if rates rose by half a percentage point.”

This doesn’t necessarily mean that those buyers negatively impacted by a rate increase would not purchase a home. However, it would mean that they would either need to come up with substantially more cash for a down payment or settle for a lesser priced home.

Below is a table showing how a jump in mortgage interest rates would impact the purchasing power of a prospective buyer on a $300,000 home.

BuyersPurchasingPower3

In Conclusion

If you are considering a home purchase (either as a first time buyer or move-up buyer), purchasing sooner rather than later may make more sense from a pure financial outlook.

Tired of being a tenant? thinking of selling your home?, looking to upgrade? 1st time buyer(s)? buying your dream home? Call us 786.554.8063 or email us George@GeorgeAssal.com, WE are here to facilitate and help you during the process of buying, selling, or renting any real estate needs, which will result in reaching your financial goals quickly and with ease, visit our page www.GeorgeAssal.com

Applying For A Mortgage: Why So Much Paperwork?

Mortgage-Paperwork

We are often asked why there is so much paperwork mandated by the bank for a mortgage loan application when buying a home today. It seems that the bank needs to know everything about us and requires three separate sources to validate each and every entry on the application form.

Many buyers are being told by friends and family that the process was a hundred times easier when they bought their home ten to twenty years ago.

There are two very good reasons that the loan process is much more onerous on today’s buyer than perhaps any time in history.

The government has set new guidelines that now demand that the bank prove beyond any doubt that you are indeed capable of affording the mortgage. During the run-up in the housing market, many people ‘qualified’ for mortgages that they could never pay back. This led to millions of families losing their home. The government wants to make sure this can’t happen again
The banks don’t want to be in the real estate business. Over the last seven years, banks were forced to take on the responsibility of liquidating millions of foreclosures and also negotiating another million plus short sales. Just like the government, they don’t want more foreclosures. For that reason, they need to double (maybe even triple) check everything on the application.
However, there is some good news in the situation. The housing crash that mandated that banks be extremely strict on paperwork requirements also allowed you to get a mortgage interest rate probably at or below 4%.

The friends and family who bought homes ten or twenty ago experienced a simpler mortgage application process but also paid a higher interest rate (the average 30 year fixed rate mortgage was 8.12% in the 1990’s and 6.29% in the 2000’s). If you went to the bank and offered to pay 7% instead of <4%, they would probably bend over backwards to make the process much easier.

Bottom Line

Instead of concentrating on the additional paperwork required, let’s be thankful that we are able to buy a home at historically low rates.

Tired of renting and/or being a Tenant(s)? Thinking of selling your home?, looking to upgrade?, First Time buyer(s)? Buying your dream home this year? Call us, you know you can count on our help every step of the way while reaching your goal faster, easier and with a smile on your face. 📞786.554.8063 📧George@GeorgeAssal.com 💻 www.GeorgeAssal.com

Is now a good time to Rent? Definitely NOT!

No-Rent

People often ask us whether or not now is a good time to buy a home. No one ever asks when a good time to rent is. However, we want to make certain that everyone understands that today is NOT a good time to rent.

The Census Bureau just released their second quarter median rent numbers.

Here is a graph showing rent increases from 1988 until today:

Increase-in-rents

At the same time, a report by Axiometrics revealed:

“The national apartment market’s annual effective rent growth rate of 5.1% in June 2015 represented a 47-month high, and continued a streak of 5.0%-plus rent growth that is now the longest in at least six years, according to apartment market research. The effective rent growth in June 2014 was 3.7%, putting June 2015’s exceptional performance into perspective. 

This is the highest rate since the 5.3% of July 2011. The metric has reached at least 5.0% for five straight months, the longest such streak since Axiometrics started monthly reporting of annual apartment data in April 2009.”

Where will rents be headed in the future?

Stephanie McCleskey, Axiometrics vice president of research, commented on the above report in an article by Real Estate Economy Watch:

“Rent growth is just shy of the post-recession peak, and the June metrics reflect the continued strength of the apartment market. The demand for apartments is still strong, despite the record number of new units being delivered this year. Tight occupancy is why landlords can push rents higher.”

Bottom Line

Tired of paying rent? Are you ready, willing and able to start a new life? if you answered YES, now may make sense, it might not be a good time to rent however is a good time to buy,  We (the ASSAL team) are not for rent nor for sale but YES to help you reach your goal faster, easier and with a smile on your face! Call us today at 786.554.8063 or send us an email at george@georgeassal.com– you can count on our help every step of the way.

Where Are Mortgage Rates Headed? This Fall? Next Year?

The interest rate you pay on your home mortgage has a direct impact on your monthly payment. The higher the rate the greater the payment will be.

Mortgage Rates

That is why it is important to look at where rates are headed when deciding to buy now or wait until next year.

Below is a chart created using Freddie Mac’s July 2015 U.S. Economic & Housing Marketing Outlook. As you can see interest rates are projected to increase steadily over the course of the next 12 months.

Mortgage Rate

How Will This Impact Your Mortgage Payment?

Depending on the amount of the loan that you secure, a half of a percent (.5%) increase in interest rate can increase your monthly mortgage payment significantly.

Dr. Frank Nothaft, the SVP & Chief Economist for CoreLogic, had this to say in their latest Market Pulse:

“If you are thinking of buying a home and have the financial means to do so, this could be a good time to take a look at the neighborhoods you are interested in. We expect home prices in our national index to be up about 4.3% in the next 12 months, and mortgage rates are also likely to increase over the next year.”

If both the predictions of home price and interest rate increases become reality, families would wind up paying considerably more for their next home.

Bottom Line

Even a small increase in interest rate can impact your family’s wealth. Meet with us to evaluate your ability to purchase your dream home. Remember We at the ASSAL team want to make sure you get the lowest mortgage rate possible, while reaching your goal faster, easier and with a smile on your face! Give us a call today at 786.554.8063 or send us an email at george@georgeassal.com– you can count on our help every step of the way.

What is a Housing Bubble? Is One Forming?

Bubble

The recent talk of Greece and its financial challenges has some questioning whether the U.S. could also return to the crisis we experienced in 2008. Some are looking at the rise in real estate values and wondering whether we are in the middle of another housing price bubble.

What actually is a price bubble?

Here is the definition according to Jack M. Guttentag, Professor of Finance Emeritus at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania:

“A price bubble is a rise in price based on the expectation that the price will rise. Sooner or later something happens to erode confidence in continued price increases, at which point the bubble bursts and prices drop. What makes it a price bubble is that the cause of the price increase is an expectation that the price will increase, which sooner or later must reverse itself.”

Does Professor Guttentag believe we are in another housing bubble?

In a recent article, he explained:

“My view is that we are a long way from another house price bubble. Home buyers, lenders, investors and regulators now understand that a nationwide decline in house prices is possible — because we recently lived through one.”

What are home prices doing?

Though home values are continuing to appreciate, the acceleration of the increases has slowed to year-over-year numbers which reflect a healthy housing market. Here is a chart showing year-over-year appreciation since January of last year:

Case-Shiller

We can see that appreciation rates have dropped from double digit numbers to more normal rates of 5% or lower.

Bottom Line

We think Nick Timiraos of the Wall Street Journal put it best in a recent tweet:

“Predictions of a new national home price bubble look unfounded for now, according to data.”

Interested in selling your home or looking to buy one, give us a call today at 786.554.8063 or send us an email at george@georgeassal.com. We will look forward to hearing from you!