Monday, March 1, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Selling in the winter
The cooler months can sometimes be hard months to sell a home in. The weather plays a big factor. If it's cold and rainy, there won't be many people out looking to buy. Luckily we've only got a few months of it here in Texas.
So what do you need to do if you're selling November through March? I'll start with the biggest, and it's always the biggest, Price. You have to list a home at a competetive price to drive buyers to it. Without that competetive price buyers won't see it and you'll have to drop the price down the road losing you're initial "Just on the Market" enthusiasm. Some times your competetive price can drive enough buyers that they'll not only give you full price, but may offer higher.
The second thing is clutter. Many times in winter stuff just piles up or gets brought inside. It's best to get these out of the house and into the garage or attic. When trying to decide if something should stay or go, be on the safe side and take it out.
Yards can also be a problem in the winter. Ususally the grass has turned brown and some shrubs have lost their leaves. You obviously can't do anything about this. You can keep the leaves off the lawn to make it look as neat as possible though. You can also use mulch to freshen up the beds and put in some cold resistent flowers.
If you know of items that need to be fixed and that a potential buyer would object to, it's a good idea to take care of these items before putting the home on the market. You don't want a potential buyer to not present an offer because of a problem that you'll have to fix anyway.
Hopefully this will help you get your home sold quickly during these months.
So what do you need to do if you're selling November through March? I'll start with the biggest, and it's always the biggest, Price. You have to list a home at a competetive price to drive buyers to it. Without that competetive price buyers won't see it and you'll have to drop the price down the road losing you're initial "Just on the Market" enthusiasm. Some times your competetive price can drive enough buyers that they'll not only give you full price, but may offer higher.
The second thing is clutter. Many times in winter stuff just piles up or gets brought inside. It's best to get these out of the house and into the garage or attic. When trying to decide if something should stay or go, be on the safe side and take it out.
Yards can also be a problem in the winter. Ususally the grass has turned brown and some shrubs have lost their leaves. You obviously can't do anything about this. You can keep the leaves off the lawn to make it look as neat as possible though. You can also use mulch to freshen up the beds and put in some cold resistent flowers.
If you know of items that need to be fixed and that a potential buyer would object to, it's a good idea to take care of these items before putting the home on the market. You don't want a potential buyer to not present an offer because of a problem that you'll have to fix anyway.
Hopefully this will help you get your home sold quickly during these months.
December Market Stats
Click on the image for a larger version. Most areas improved in median price which is great news.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Monday, November 30, 2009
The four parts of loan approval
When getting approved for a mortgage loan, there are four main items that an underwriter will use to approve or deny your loan. They are: Income and Liabilities, Credit, Assets, and the Property. All are important and I'll describe how they are used below.
Income and Liablities: An underwriter will look at your monthly income and monthly debt (including the new house payment) to determine if you can afford the home. Typically your monthly debts can't exceed 41% of your monthly income. There are some exceptions to this, but by and large 41% is the max.
Credit: Credit needs to be above a 620 to get approved. However for the best rates credit should be over 740. Depending on your down payment, there are also higher score requirements too.
Assets: You'll need to have the down payment in a liquid account such as checking or savings. The seller can pay for your closing costs if you want/need them to. You'll also need 2 months worth of your monthly house payment as reserves. You won't use this money at closing, but the lender wants to see that you have some fall back money.
Property: The property has to appraise at or above the sales price. It also has to have a clean title and survey. For condos there are other requirements dealing with the HOA. These can be quite in depth so I'll leave that for another posting.
If you're thinking about buying it's good to have these things in mind so that you're fully approvable when it comes time to put a contract on a home. I'd be happy to help you find your next home or answer any questions.
Bill
billconover@america-lending.com
Income and Liablities: An underwriter will look at your monthly income and monthly debt (including the new house payment) to determine if you can afford the home. Typically your monthly debts can't exceed 41% of your monthly income. There are some exceptions to this, but by and large 41% is the max.
Credit: Credit needs to be above a 620 to get approved. However for the best rates credit should be over 740. Depending on your down payment, there are also higher score requirements too.
Assets: You'll need to have the down payment in a liquid account such as checking or savings. The seller can pay for your closing costs if you want/need them to. You'll also need 2 months worth of your monthly house payment as reserves. You won't use this money at closing, but the lender wants to see that you have some fall back money.
Property: The property has to appraise at or above the sales price. It also has to have a clean title and survey. For condos there are other requirements dealing with the HOA. These can be quite in depth so I'll leave that for another posting.
If you're thinking about buying it's good to have these things in mind so that you're fully approvable when it comes time to put a contract on a home. I'd be happy to help you find your next home or answer any questions.
Bill
billconover@america-lending.com
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Get the best interest rate
Everyone wants to get the best interest rate on their loan. But what is the "best rate"? Is the "best rate" the same for everyone? And what factors affect what rate you get?
These are great questions to ask when getting pre-approved for a loan.
There isn't a "best rate" that is the same for everyone on a particular day. Rates depend on many factors, some which a buyer can control and others that are fixed. One of the biggest factors is your credit score. While you can control this before you buy a house, it is going to be set once your lender pulls your credit report. So always check your credit far in advance of buying to make sure that it looks good. If it doesn't you'll have time to fix some things before you're ready to buy.
For most loans, if you have a credit score of a 740 or above will get you the quoted rates. If you have a score lower then your rate would increase. If the score is really low the rate may increase by as much as 1%. Those with lower credit scores are also affected more by the amount of downpayment they put down. The best way to minimize this is to put down 5%, 10% or 25%. You'd think 20% would also give you a better rate, but lenders don't require mortgage insurance at that downpayment level (which means more risk for them) so they charge a higher rate to you.
Now for some of the items that are set no matter what your score. Loans on condos are at higher rates, again because the lenders view them as higher risk. And duplexes and fourplexes are higher for the same reasons. For investors buying property the rates are very high, almost 1.5% higher than a primary residence.
So the optimal rate option is to be buying a house you'll be living in, with a 740+ credit and putting down 5,10 or 25%. And worst goes to an investor buying a duplex or condo.
These are great questions to ask when getting pre-approved for a loan.
There isn't a "best rate" that is the same for everyone on a particular day. Rates depend on many factors, some which a buyer can control and others that are fixed. One of the biggest factors is your credit score. While you can control this before you buy a house, it is going to be set once your lender pulls your credit report. So always check your credit far in advance of buying to make sure that it looks good. If it doesn't you'll have time to fix some things before you're ready to buy.
For most loans, if you have a credit score of a 740 or above will get you the quoted rates. If you have a score lower then your rate would increase. If the score is really low the rate may increase by as much as 1%. Those with lower credit scores are also affected more by the amount of downpayment they put down. The best way to minimize this is to put down 5%, 10% or 25%. You'd think 20% would also give you a better rate, but lenders don't require mortgage insurance at that downpayment level (which means more risk for them) so they charge a higher rate to you.
Now for some of the items that are set no matter what your score. Loans on condos are at higher rates, again because the lenders view them as higher risk. And duplexes and fourplexes are higher for the same reasons. For investors buying property the rates are very high, almost 1.5% higher than a primary residence.
So the optimal rate option is to be buying a house you'll be living in, with a 740+ credit and putting down 5,10 or 25%. And worst goes to an investor buying a duplex or condo.
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