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Phoenix Real Estate Market Recap–Mortgage Rates Drop To Lowest On Record

Joe Martin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 05:05:37 +0000

Mortgage rates dropped to the lowest level on record for the fifth time in six weeks, making home-buying and refinancing the most attractive in decades for those who can get loans.

Freddie Mac says the average rate for 30-year fixed loans this week was 4.54 percent, down from 4.56 last week. That’s the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971. The last time home loan rates were lower was during the 1950s, when most mortgages lasted just 20 or 25 years.

The rate on the 15-year fixed loan dropped to 4 percent, down from 4.03 percent last week and the lowest on record.

$0 Down Payment Required–Queen Creek and San Tan Valley Foreclosure Homes Qualify!

Joe Martin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 01:35:06 +0000

San Tan Valley and Queen Creek homes are eligible for the USDA Single Family Home Loan Program.

San Tan Valley and Queen Creek are great areas for First Time Home Buyers for several reasons, mainly because buyers can easily buy a home for under 85K and the homes are new and primarily in great condition. Add that with the USDA $0 down loan program (compared to the 3.5% required as a minimum down payment for FHA loans) and you have a win-win for any First Time Home Buyer.

There are income and property eligibility requirements that have to be met in order to qualify to buy a home with this loan program and YES foreclosure homes do qualify!

Income Eligibility: Applicants for loans may have an income of up to 115% of the median income for the area and families must be be able to afford the mortgage payments, including taxes and insurance.

Property Eligibility: The home to be purchased must be located in an eligible rural area as defined by USDA.

For additional foreclosure homes that qualify for $0 down payment USDA Loan Program follow these links:

San Tan Valley foreclosures or Queen Creek foreclosures

If you want to find out if you qualify just fill out the form below and we will contact you right away.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Determining The Right Mortgage Loan For Your Situation

Tara Millar — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:40:46 +0000

Factors to keep in mind as the end of your mortgage contract is nearing.

If you are a homeowner and conjointly you turn out to be satisfied with not browsing your lender’s agreement come renewal time, you’re in fact shunning on the opportunity to obtain better rates. Remember that the movements in the real estate industry changes every so often in keeping with the status of the market, thus you’ll in fact look for higher rates or maybe change from 1 mortgage type to a new one.

One more gain that you can get as you turn from 1 mortgage type to a different one is the loan term will be reduced. Overall flexibility is your ultimate target when switching from 1 mortgage sort to another, so it positively pays to see on the edges and disadvantages of every kind prior to selecting which 1 to choose.

Kinds of Mortgage Loans that You Can Choose

Now, listed below are the forms of mortgage loans that you’ll be able to switch over to:

1. Discounted Loan As the term implies, a discounted mortgage presents a discounted rate. The competition among lenders is tough enough for you personally to be able to generate a assessment on the rates offered by a single mortgage company from another – so it positively pays to do your homework.

2. Fixed Loan Once you currently have a variable-interest mortgage, you will need to think about changing over to a fixed rate loan. For this, the interest rate will remain the identical for a earlier approved period, that typically lasts from 1 to 5 years.

3. Variable-Interest Loan The opposite of a fixed rate mortgage is 1 that incorporates a variable interest rate. If you are taking into account switching over to this kind of a loan, remember that the proportion will depend on current market developments.

4. Tracker As a variable-interest loan relies on the trends of the real estate market, a tracker mortgage is going to be dependent on a feature referred to as benchmark rate.

A Concluding Remark regarding Switching to Mortgage Rate

It is important to consider the advantages and con’s of every type of mortgage loan to ensure that you would have an concept which 1 will offer you the most excellent collection of benefits. Formulate a arrangement together with your existing lender to measure whether or not they’ll offer you a higher arrangement – particularly as you have stuck to your mortgage loan and not delayed on each settlement for the past years.

Look at the payments that you completed over the years, the interest rate, the outstanding balance of your mortgage, the quantity of time left on the loan duration and the cost of fully having to pay off the mortgage.

There actually is no need for you to undergo any more than necessary while deciding if you must change mortgages or not. As a homeowner, nothing beats the emotion of knowing that you actually did your research – so find out about the variations between discounted, fixed, variable rate and tracker mortgage and put together an educated call about the path that you ought to take.

Another great article by Edmonton Homes Free reprint avaialable from: Determining The Right Mortgage Loan For Your Situation.

Debt Relief – What Should You Do If You’re A Victim Of Fraud

Robby Thomas — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:11:43 +0000

If you’re a victim of fraud or misrepresentation, you won’t be responsible for the debt. However, it’s important to know what your options are once it occurs. General consumer protection laws (UDAP) may let you cancel the contract, stop paying, or request a refund. If you never paid money towards the debt or are being sued by a creditor or collection agency, you can use the UDAP laws as your defense.

Another option would be to consult with an attorney about suing the seller. But before you initiate legal proceedings, send the seller a demand letter explaining the problem and ask for your money back. Make copies of all original letters and be sure not to forward originals of any supporting documentation like the contract, receipts, or canceled checks. If you don’t receive a response from the seller or get what you want, your letter along with the supporting paperwork should be used as evidence in your lawsuit. If the amount is low, you may be able to do it yourself in small claims court. For larger amounts, you’ll probably wants the assistance of an attorney. Check with your state’s laws for specific requirements.

If you don’t get results with your initial letter, you can also file a complaint with the appropriate government agency. Check with your local or state prosecutor’s office for a referral to the appropriate agency. Most businesses devote more attention and care to complaints generated from a higher governing authority. The employee assigned to handle your complaint will most likely have the power to negotiate a resolution or refund.

Regardless if you decide to follow through with litigation, it’s always a good idea to report the issue to the appropriate government agency. As more complaints filter in overtime, the government agency will most likely take action against the business. This would save other future consumers from being ripped off.

The best method to get a government agency to take action is by completing the agency’s standard complaint form. If you only submitted a copy of the demand letter you mailed to the merchant, the agency will not take action without allowing the merchant an opportunity to correct the problem. When you submit a formal complaint with an agency, they’ll issue a formal investigation requesting the business respond to the allegations.

Make sure you include copies of originals of all receipts, agreements, warranties, service contracts, ads, and other supporting evidence. If you have a log of your phone calls showing your efforts to work out the problem, be sure to include these. Be sure to make copies of all paperwork submitted to the agency. You should also send the business a copy of your agency complaint.

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ATTN: FHA Phoenix Home Buyers–House Passes FHA Reform Bill

Joe Martin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 02:38:06 +0000

Phoenix Arizona Area Homes

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) reform legislation that was just passed allows FHA to raise monthly premiums on mortgage insurance so less up-front premiums will be due at the closing table.

This legislation helps qualified buyers that have less cash on hand purchase and take advantage of the current low rates with less out of pocket expenses.

This can be viewed as excellent news for Phoenix first time home buyers who can now apply the extra cash for some finishing touches, landscaping or fresh appliances on their new home after closing.

It’s important to note that after the House passed this bill, they went on to defeat an amendment that would raise the required down payment minimum from 3.5% to 5% of the sales price helping again to make ownership that much more affordable for qualified buyers.

[FHA down payment requirements were raised effective January 1, 2009 from 3% to 3.5% of the sales price or appraised value, whichever is less, of the home being purchased.]

Many are considering this as great news to prospective Phoenix home buyers. With rates and prices being low synonymously for the first time in years, coupled with the ability to choose from a plethora of foreclosure properties, it is the perfect time for buyers to find out if they qualify to purchase a home. Especially because of the extra money now available and particularly if they are renting!

Mortgage rates are up, but are they too high?

Joe Martin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:58:06 +0000

Anyone who has been home shopping over the last month knows that mortgage rates have been going up. A month ago the national average for a 30 year fixed conventional loan was close to 4.8% while today it is closer to 5.65%. So mortgage rates have jumped up, but is that to high to consider purchasing now?

While we may have been spoiled by those sub 5% rates over the last month, in no way is that indicative of what we should be expecting for interest rates. We won’t even go back to 1979 and 1980 when interest rates were close to 20%, we will just look at the rates from 1987.

From 1987-1990 each year the average 30-year mortgage run above 10%
From 1991-2000 the average 30-year fixed mortgage ran 7.9%, and only once was it below 7.3%, that was in 1998 when it was 6.94%.
From 2001-2007 the lowest average rate for a year was in 2003 when the average rage was 5.83%.

So as you can see from recent history if a lender tells you they can lock you in at 5.7% it may seem high compared to what you saw on the news over the last few months, but historically we are still talking about low interest rates.

Are closing costs good or bad?

Joe Martin — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:15:25 +0000

Are closing costs good or bad?

It depends.

Due to some very slick marketing by the mortgage industry, many people know that “closing costs are bad” and that they don’t want to pay them. They aren’t exactly who is going to pay them, but they know that they don’t want to.

Here is an ad that I came across from Countrywide.

Does this add say “no closing costs”?

No.

It says “No Cash Required For Closing Costs.” – or in other words – there are closing costs and you are going to pay them, but they can be rolled in to your loan.

Hence the term “no out of pocket closing costs”.

The interchangeability of the two terms can be confusing, I realize this. But I just thought I would go on record as saying:

You can pay your closing costs or the seller can pay your closing costs. If you want the lender to pay your closing costs, be ready for a higher than market rate – because in exchange for paying your closing costs, the lender will require a higher interest rate.

Oh, and I rarely if ever see people bringing money for closing costs on a refinance – they are almost always rolled into the loan.

Is it better to pay your closing costs and have the rolled into your loan or is it better to get the bank to pay your closing costs for you in exchange for a higher interest rate?

It depends.

Make sure that when you speak with a loan officer about your situation, you ask them that question.

Justin McHood is a nationally published mortgage expert who lives and works right here in Arizona. You will normally find him wearing a blue starched shirt (he says that it goes well with is orange hair) and you can learn more about him at ArizonaMortgageTeam.com