Yes indeed - "Thank God" for those buyers who have good credit so they can keep our real estate market plugging along this summer selling season!
You see, without good credit now (typically a 600+ mid-fico score to qualify for a FHA 30-Year fixed rate) our Littleton & Highlands Ranch real estate market would not be doing very well at all...nor would the rest of the Denver real estate market - or the whole national real estate market for that matter! Statistics show that around 24%-27% of all potential homebuyers in Denver now (and nationally) have lower credit scores and CANNOT qualify to buy a home with the stricter mortgage lending regulations now in place since last fall. Here's why...
What that means is that 24%-27% of the existing Littleton, Highlands Ranch and metro Denver real estate CANNOT be bought now...causing a continuance in the real estate selling problems plaguing the USA now. Yes - that means that about one in four homes for sale will NEVER sell during the 4-9 month listing period - because 1/4 of all potential buyers CANNOT qualify for a mortgage loan now. This is not "doom & gloom" - it's just stating a stastistical fact. To take advantage of this problem, most Sellers ABSOLUTELY need to make sure that their home is in 'fine' selling condition - and priced accordingly!
Selling condition means: 1) Clean and in "model home" showing condition, 2) freshly painted walls in NEUTRAL colors!, 3) remodeled and updated kitchens, bathrooms, new or newer carpet and NOT looking like anything that has "Brady Bunch" era decor, 4) Nicely landscaped exterior & yard - with flower pots on the entry or porch areas, 5) NO CLUTTER and no old wallpaper/old messes/pet odors! Sellers absolutely need to spend more time and MONEY to get your home sold this summer!
Buyers DO NOT want to make you a full price offer if they have to fix-up or remodel your dang house! Worse yet, they will probably find a nicer home in your subdivision that DOESN'T need new carpet, paint and major remodeling - because THOSE other Sellers were given advice that having a nearly perfect house will actually help them sell their house FASTER and for MORE MONEY!!! Buyers are now required to put 3-10% Down Payment to qualify for almost every single mortgage loan offered currently (...there are NO MORE $0 Down loans folks!) which means they will NOT have extra money to do your remodeling, painting and carpet that your home needs!!! REALTOR TIP: You spend the money upfront for all this fix-up stuff and your home will sell faster.
If you'll make your home look pleasant for incoming buyers at your showings, you'll increase your 'probability' of getting a good or reasonably good purchase price offer! Pretty simple - huh?
Unfortunately, I showed homes last weekend in the Littleton area at $250,000 to $280,000 - and 6 out of 10 homes looked terrible when the Buyers walked inside of them! No one wants to buy your crappy looking house - and my Buyers didn't want to spend the time or money to remodel your "mess"!
Read my next blog on: "The Top 3 Reasons Your House WON'T Sell This Summer - and The Top 5 Reasons Why Buyers Will NOT Buy Your House."
Showing posts with label denver housing market news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label denver housing market news. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
A Home Buyers Worst Nightmare - (Your Car!)
Why in the world do homebuyers in the Denver, Highlands Ranch and Littleton real estate market actually worry about if the house they "might buy" is going to go up in value or down in value over the next two years?
After all, no one really seems to care that when you drive off the auto dealers parking lot the car you just bought over the next five years will depreciate down to about $8,000-$10,000 in value!
And, worse yet - you probably don't even have a 401(k), but if you did - you probably lost 25% of the value over the last two years!
So why is everyone crying about trying to get the world's best deal on a house if you are renting right now?If you're a renter right now, you'll most likely spend four to five hours over the next month trying to get the world's best mortgage loan if you do decide to buy Littleton homes for sale or a home somewhere else in the Denver real estate market. You might even get an extra 1/8 or .25 point lower by shopping different lenders - and playing one lender off the other to get the world's best mortgage deal and lowest closing costs (if you have good or excellent credit.) But at the same time, your cars are depreciating at 15% a year, and you're NOT saving a minimum of 10% of your paycheck every month in a 401k! Am I missing something here? A $30,000 car loan at 7% financed over 5 years, cost you $595 every month, which means you're paying $7,140 a year for that car to lose $4,000 every year in depreciated value! Yes - you're LOSING $11,140!!! What part of "LOSING" don't you understand...?
At what point in time in your life does your car AND your car payment mean more to you than owning a house after 30 years. Instead of waiting until you are 50 years old to start saving your first dime for retirement - why not start now by buying a house instead? The US Government will write you a check for 28-33% of all your home mortgage interest & property taxes if you'll just buy a house instead of renting - which means your $1500 principle & interest payment at 6% on a $250,000 house ACTUALLY ONLY costs you $1005 - since the IRS will let you change your W4's at work and give yourself this $495 tax break every month!
Does your auto loan send you any money every month?
If you stay in this house for 30 years - you'll own a $250,000 free and clear - if it doesn't appreciate one damn dime!
How else are you going to save $250,000 - with your 401k you're going to open (finally) in 10 years?
If you lived in your house for 5 years - and it DID NOT appreciate 1 penny - you'd only owe $232,300 on the loan, after paying down the principle $17,000. But, you would have received $495 in monthly tax write-off benefits too...or $495 x 60 months = $29,700. So in reality, using REAL numbers, you'd make $29,700 + $17,700 ($250,000 - $232,300) = $47,400 as a "real estate investor" - instead of renting!!!
Is home buying such a bad thing to do now?
The only real nightmare is your dumb car payment!!!
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Will "Fence-Sitting" Dominate the 2008 US Housing Market?
Is it smart to be a "fence-sitter" in 2008 if you are confused about whether you should buy a home - or to rent a house instead? This Realtor thinks that it's actually a pretty simple choice...
The issue facing so many American now, is if they'll get 'burned' financially buying now - as opposed to renting instead. But, in order to break down that decision to see if it's a sound decision - we must examine 2 key components. The first one is how much does rent cost you per month for the same equivalent lifestyle and home size? In certain parts of the country, renting is a very expensive way to live - and monthly rent costs a lot.
The biggest factor on this decision too, is that paying rent gives you NO tax write-off, where as 86-88% of a house payment & property taxes are tax deductable (86%-88% represents the interest portion of a 30 year fixed loan plus the property tax deduction during the first few years of amortizing). So your monthly interest deduction would be $1243 + 100% of your monthly tax bill; lets use $225 a month, which equals $1468. The rough way to figure this is to multiply $1468 by your .28 or .33 tax bracket (normally done on a Schedule A) which is $411 at 28% and $484 at a 33% tax bracket. These are the 'real' cost comparisons the US Government allows you every month to buy a house - and multiply them by 12 months to get $4,938 and $5,808 respectfully.
Another way to think of this - is like this: buying a house for the same or similar rent payment means that your house could "depreciate" $4,938 to $5,808 a year and you'd still break even!
The second comparison to fence-sitting and renting; to home buying, is that factor on "how long" you think you'll be living in the house or area, until you'll need a bigger or smaller house - or a job change might require you to sell?
This is actually the 'hardest' factor to consider...as no one can predict the future! If you are going to live in a house or rent for just a few years, I can tell you that the real estate commissions to sell a $250,000 house will be about $12,500 at 5% and $15,000 at 6%. If you home will NOT appreciate at these amounts, then you must factor in this expense into your rent vs home buying decision. Plus, the home might take 3-8 months (or longer!) to sell. But conversely, you'd be locked into a rental lease, and depending on when you needed to move, you might still owe 3, 6 or 9 months MORE on the lease you'd need to break!
This is the "X factor" that makes this renting vs home buying decision so hard! And - it's why fence sitting is so popular, as most people relate to making "no decision" as their typical process 9 out of 10 times, typically.
Then, look at buying a home which gives you the extra freedom & "peace of mind" knowing you control your destiny and have the joy of home ownership. You can paint, decorate and design the home anyway you want it! You lose all that freedom by renting. You can also pick the neighborhoods that you feel that 'matches' your socio-economic status - or feeds into a certain school(s) for your kids, or is closer to work or recreation opportunities. Finding a rental apartment or house in the same area might be tough or impossible...and most people 'clearly' state that they feel much worse about themselves when they are renting. The personal pride factor goes down significantly when you rent. Homeownership is a very 'powerful feeling' once you've been a homeowner before!
In conclusion, it appears that the real decision to fence-sit or to buy a home will still be dominated by "indecision" in 2008 - as most buyers will NOT commit to a decision - because no one can clearly see the real estate market booming and growing again, anytime soon. My guess is that the home rental business will be very strong for at least another year - or longer...
The issue facing so many American now, is if they'll get 'burned' financially buying now - as opposed to renting instead. But, in order to break down that decision to see if it's a sound decision - we must examine 2 key components. The first one is how much does rent cost you per month for the same equivalent lifestyle and home size? In certain parts of the country, renting is a very expensive way to live - and monthly rent costs a lot.
The biggest factor on this decision too, is that paying rent gives you NO tax write-off, where as 86-88% of a house payment & property taxes are tax deductable (86%-88% represents the interest portion of a 30 year fixed loan plus the property tax deduction during the first few years of amortizing). So your monthly interest deduction would be $1243 + 100% of your monthly tax bill; lets use $225 a month, which equals $1468. The rough way to figure this is to multiply $1468 by your .28 or .33 tax bracket (normally done on a Schedule A) which is $411 at 28% and $484 at a 33% tax bracket. These are the 'real' cost comparisons the US Government allows you every month to buy a house - and multiply them by 12 months to get $4,938 and $5,808 respectfully.
Another way to think of this - is like this: buying a house for the same or similar rent payment means that your house could "depreciate" $4,938 to $5,808 a year and you'd still break even!
The second comparison to fence-sitting and renting; to home buying, is that factor on "how long" you think you'll be living in the house or area, until you'll need a bigger or smaller house - or a job change might require you to sell?
This is actually the 'hardest' factor to consider...as no one can predict the future! If you are going to live in a house or rent for just a few years, I can tell you that the real estate commissions to sell a $250,000 house will be about $12,500 at 5% and $15,000 at 6%. If you home will NOT appreciate at these amounts, then you must factor in this expense into your rent vs home buying decision. Plus, the home might take 3-8 months (or longer!) to sell. But conversely, you'd be locked into a rental lease, and depending on when you needed to move, you might still owe 3, 6 or 9 months MORE on the lease you'd need to break!
This is the "X factor" that makes this renting vs home buying decision so hard! And - it's why fence sitting is so popular, as most people relate to making "no decision" as their typical process 9 out of 10 times, typically.
Then, look at buying a home which gives you the extra freedom & "peace of mind" knowing you control your destiny and have the joy of home ownership. You can paint, decorate and design the home anyway you want it! You lose all that freedom by renting. You can also pick the neighborhoods that you feel that 'matches' your socio-economic status - or feeds into a certain school(s) for your kids, or is closer to work or recreation opportunities. Finding a rental apartment or house in the same area might be tough or impossible...and most people 'clearly' state that they feel much worse about themselves when they are renting. The personal pride factor goes down significantly when you rent. Homeownership is a very 'powerful feeling' once you've been a homeowner before!
In conclusion, it appears that the real decision to fence-sit or to buy a home will still be dominated by "indecision" in 2008 - as most buyers will NOT commit to a decision - because no one can clearly see the real estate market booming and growing again, anytime soon. My guess is that the home rental business will be very strong for at least another year - or longer...
Friday, May 2, 2008
What is the HOME OWNERSHIP ACCELERATOR Loan?
Is the HOME OWNERSHIP ACCELERATOR Loan the best loan in the United States today - and should you consider using it - to buy or refinance your home?
There is a new mortgage loan available in Denver Colorado (and 41 other states) that combines the effectiveness of a 15 year mortgage loan - combines it with a home equity line of credit on your home - and then combines it with your checking account...so that you can PAY OFF YOUR HOME IN 6-12 YEARS on average!!!
The HOME OWNERSHIP ACCELERATOR Loan compounds interest DAILY, and can permit you to buy or refi a home - yet pay the home off in 5-12 years, without you having to pay extra monthly payments, or have HIGHER monthly payments, or having to do Bi-Weekly or other strict payment rules!!! You can use the existing equity in your home (at any time) to pay bills and borrow money against - anytime YOU want to...with NO strict rules and NO pre-pay penalties!
The loan is perfect for financially savvy home buyers, Jumbo buyers AND older borrowers who want to pay off their home much faster - yet without all the extra payments and double or triple monthly payments.
The loan requires a 15% down payment on purchase loans in Colorado, a 680+ mid-fico score, and 'decent' reserve accounts like your 401k, investments/stocks and IRA's. The loan is actually a Home Equity Line of Credit at 85% LTV, allowing you the freedom to use your equity at any time, but combining it with your checking/saving accounts - so that all your paychecks can be used to REDUCE your average daily mortgage principle & other debts. You deposit your entire paychecks into this innovative loan, and dramatically reduce your mortgage principle balance. If you are a buyer or borrower with a very good monthly cash flow (you 'bank' a large portion of your paychecks without spending most of the money) you'll be able to rapidly reduce your mortgage loan balance...and I can show you how to pay off your home loan in 6-12 years on average - WITHOUT you changing your current spending habits.
Sound too good to be true? It's not...
The loan is very popular overseas in England, Australia and South Africa - as it makes your checking account work for you - instead of the banks keeping all your checking/savings account interest!
Watch the HOME OWNERSHIP ACCELERATOR Loan video - or call me for a better explanation on how you can pay off your Denver or other home in 5-8 years! This loan is amazing, because it compounds interest daily - NOT monthly like traditional loans. It also let's you use your checking account and savings account balances to pay down your mortgage loan - without you actually prepaying on your loan! For example, if you paid your $600,000 home down to $300,000 after a few years - you have the freedom to take out the $210,000 equity (up to 85%) to invest in a stock or mutual fund, buy a car for cash, pay for your kids college expenses - or start a new business. It's YOUR MONEY that you can access whenever you want to...you just write yourself a check!
It's more cost effective than a Reverse Mortgage for seniors (you never have to give the bank 60-90% of your house!) and it's also perfect for Baby Boomers with good incomes trying to pay off their homes faster...but who don't like being "locked into" 15 year notes and no capability to get the equity out fast - if you have an emergency and can't wait to refinance. This loan IS ALREADY a home equity loan...so you can get any of your money out at anytime by writing a check or by using your VISA debit card.
Decide for yourself - would you like to buy a home next month and have it paid off in 5-10 years WITHOUT having to double or triple your monthly house payments?
This is the MOST AMAZING loan this mortgage lender and Realtor has ever seen - email me what you think of it!!!
There is a new mortgage loan available in Denver Colorado (and 41 other states) that combines the effectiveness of a 15 year mortgage loan - combines it with a home equity line of credit on your home - and then combines it with your checking account...so that you can PAY OFF YOUR HOME IN 6-12 YEARS on average!!!
The HOME OWNERSHIP ACCELERATOR Loan compounds interest DAILY, and can permit you to buy or refi a home - yet pay the home off in 5-12 years, without you having to pay extra monthly payments, or have HIGHER monthly payments, or having to do Bi-Weekly or other strict payment rules!!! You can use the existing equity in your home (at any time) to pay bills and borrow money against - anytime YOU want to...with NO strict rules and NO pre-pay penalties!
The loan is perfect for financially savvy home buyers, Jumbo buyers AND older borrowers who want to pay off their home much faster - yet without all the extra payments and double or triple monthly payments.
The loan requires a 15% down payment on purchase loans in Colorado, a 680+ mid-fico score, and 'decent' reserve accounts like your 401k, investments/stocks and IRA's. The loan is actually a Home Equity Line of Credit at 85% LTV, allowing you the freedom to use your equity at any time, but combining it with your checking/saving accounts - so that all your paychecks can be used to REDUCE your average daily mortgage principle & other debts. You deposit your entire paychecks into this innovative loan, and dramatically reduce your mortgage principle balance. If you are a buyer or borrower with a very good monthly cash flow (you 'bank' a large portion of your paychecks without spending most of the money) you'll be able to rapidly reduce your mortgage loan balance...and I can show you how to pay off your home loan in 6-12 years on average - WITHOUT you changing your current spending habits.
Sound too good to be true? It's not...
The loan is very popular overseas in England, Australia and South Africa - as it makes your checking account work for you - instead of the banks keeping all your checking/savings account interest!
Watch the HOME OWNERSHIP ACCELERATOR Loan video - or call me for a better explanation on how you can pay off your Denver or other home in 5-8 years! This loan is amazing, because it compounds interest daily - NOT monthly like traditional loans. It also let's you use your checking account and savings account balances to pay down your mortgage loan - without you actually prepaying on your loan! For example, if you paid your $600,000 home down to $300,000 after a few years - you have the freedom to take out the $210,000 equity (up to 85%) to invest in a stock or mutual fund, buy a car for cash, pay for your kids college expenses - or start a new business. It's YOUR MONEY that you can access whenever you want to...you just write yourself a check!
It's more cost effective than a Reverse Mortgage for seniors (you never have to give the bank 60-90% of your house!) and it's also perfect for Baby Boomers with good incomes trying to pay off their homes faster...but who don't like being "locked into" 15 year notes and no capability to get the equity out fast - if you have an emergency and can't wait to refinance. This loan IS ALREADY a home equity loan...so you can get any of your money out at anytime by writing a check or by using your VISA debit card.
Decide for yourself - would you like to buy a home next month and have it paid off in 5-10 years WITHOUT having to double or triple your monthly house payments?
This is the MOST AMAZING loan this mortgage lender and Realtor has ever seen - email me what you think of it!!!
Monday, March 31, 2008
GENIUS Idea To Fix Denver and US Housing Problems!
What’s the #1 Problem stopping Denver real estate and the other national real estate markets from booming again?
The answer is - there are no more good Investor Loans!
Currently there are not enough buyers in the United States or in the Denver real estate market specifically, to purchase the entire outstanding extra inventory of homes. Typically, one in 10 to one in 15 homes are purchased by real estate Investors nationally. With the current mortgage mess and credit crunch, Investor Loans have nearly dried up or been wiped out completely. If you want to STOP the oversupply of homes for sale - you simply need to be generous and grateful to Investors with loans! Currently, the only loans available for Investors right now require a minimum of 10% down payment, debt to income ratios at 45% or BELOW, 6 months of documented reserves (401k/savings/mutual fund portfolios) and great credit scores above 680. Unfortunately, these requirements ELIMINATE 8 out of 10 potential Investors from getting a loan!
If you slash 80 percent of the potential Investor home buyers and then combine that with the 24 percent of regular homebuyers who have lower credit and can’t get financing now - you have a BIG DENVER REAL ESTATE PROBLEM!!! Worse yet, is that it’s even more disastrous nationally – as most other US cities aren’t as strong as the Denver real estate market (many Denver Metro are flat or still appreciating in value…despite what you might have read or heard on TV or the radio!). There will be NO RECOVERY until the US Government and Mortgage Banks decide to help the Investors get good (and easier to qualify loans.) Although the “super easy” $0 Down stated-income/stated-asset Investor loans of the past few years added to the real estate mess we have now, those same loans also enabled Investors to purchase much of the outstanding inventory in most major US cities, and helped Denver specifically with our high foreclosure home inventory. In my professional opinion, after closing nearly $100 million in real estate and mortgage transactions, is that we simply need a 95% fully documented Investor loan - even allowing real estate equity as reserves and modifying the 45% debt ratios. If not, we’ll NEVER recover from this housing over-supply mess …not unless they start offering 4% 30-Year Fixed FHA Loans next week!
If you’re a Denver home seller right now, or are planning on selling in the next few months - one of the biggest tricks we recommend now is to make sure your home is remodeled and as nice-looking as possible - so it’ll appraise for the highest dollar amount. Not only will it help you get a higher Purchase Offer, but the REAL REASON is so that the buyers can “roll-in” their loan closing costs into the purchase price of your house, in order to qualify to purchase it. This is because there are virtually no more zero down loans available - just the VA loans now. However, sharp Denver Realtor’s (like yours truly) can use a 3% down FHA loan for many buyers and “roll-in” the 3% down payment plus the approximate 2-3% closing costs into the purchase price of your house – thus converting a 3% down loan into a good $0 Down FHA loan. Don’t forget, FHA loan regulations allow parents & home sellers to contribute the down payment and closing costs, when documented properly by a real estate professional who knows how to write a FHA Purchase Contract.
If your Denver home will appraise for more than your list price or purchase price (that’s why we recommend remodeling) – many of us smart listing agents will advertise & market your home’s competitive advantage, thus typically slashing your listing and SOLD time frame by half the current time of 6-8 months in many “over-stocked” Denver neighborhoods! Why not remodel inexpensively now (ask me what you REALLY need to do!) and add value to your home now - so you “capitalize” on the Investor loan mess and appeal to more regular FHA homebuyers – who’ll be able to purchase YOUR home, despite the fact they have a big decrease in loan qualifying power now.
Write and call your Congressman and tell them to help the Investors Loan problem, and you’ll see most real estate markets recover in 6-12 months. If not, you’ll have 2 years or more years to absorb all the inventory of homes currently in Denver and the United States. This ‘genius’ solution is simply all about “supply and demand” - and the ability of American capitalism to easily fix this gigantic housing problem!
The answer is - there are no more good Investor Loans!
Currently there are not enough buyers in the United States or in the Denver real estate market specifically, to purchase the entire outstanding extra inventory of homes. Typically, one in 10 to one in 15 homes are purchased by real estate Investors nationally. With the current mortgage mess and credit crunch, Investor Loans have nearly dried up or been wiped out completely. If you want to STOP the oversupply of homes for sale - you simply need to be generous and grateful to Investors with loans! Currently, the only loans available for Investors right now require a minimum of 10% down payment, debt to income ratios at 45% or BELOW, 6 months of documented reserves (401k/savings/mutual fund portfolios) and great credit scores above 680. Unfortunately, these requirements ELIMINATE 8 out of 10 potential Investors from getting a loan!
If you slash 80 percent of the potential Investor home buyers and then combine that with the 24 percent of regular homebuyers who have lower credit and can’t get financing now - you have a BIG DENVER REAL ESTATE PROBLEM!!! Worse yet, is that it’s even more disastrous nationally – as most other US cities aren’t as strong as the Denver real estate market (many Denver Metro are flat or still appreciating in value…despite what you might have read or heard on TV or the radio!). There will be NO RECOVERY until the US Government and Mortgage Banks decide to help the Investors get good (and easier to qualify loans.) Although the “super easy” $0 Down stated-income/stated-asset Investor loans of the past few years added to the real estate mess we have now, those same loans also enabled Investors to purchase much of the outstanding inventory in most major US cities, and helped Denver specifically with our high foreclosure home inventory. In my professional opinion, after closing nearly $100 million in real estate and mortgage transactions, is that we simply need a 95% fully documented Investor loan - even allowing real estate equity as reserves and modifying the 45% debt ratios. If not, we’ll NEVER recover from this housing over-supply mess …not unless they start offering 4% 30-Year Fixed FHA Loans next week!
If you’re a Denver home seller right now, or are planning on selling in the next few months - one of the biggest tricks we recommend now is to make sure your home is remodeled and as nice-looking as possible - so it’ll appraise for the highest dollar amount. Not only will it help you get a higher Purchase Offer, but the REAL REASON is so that the buyers can “roll-in” their loan closing costs into the purchase price of your house, in order to qualify to purchase it. This is because there are virtually no more zero down loans available - just the VA loans now. However, sharp Denver Realtor’s (like yours truly) can use a 3% down FHA loan for many buyers and “roll-in” the 3% down payment plus the approximate 2-3% closing costs into the purchase price of your house – thus converting a 3% down loan into a good $0 Down FHA loan. Don’t forget, FHA loan regulations allow parents & home sellers to contribute the down payment and closing costs, when documented properly by a real estate professional who knows how to write a FHA Purchase Contract.
If your Denver home will appraise for more than your list price or purchase price (that’s why we recommend remodeling) – many of us smart listing agents will advertise & market your home’s competitive advantage, thus typically slashing your listing and SOLD time frame by half the current time of 6-8 months in many “over-stocked” Denver neighborhoods! Why not remodel inexpensively now (ask me what you REALLY need to do!) and add value to your home now - so you “capitalize” on the Investor loan mess and appeal to more regular FHA homebuyers – who’ll be able to purchase YOUR home, despite the fact they have a big decrease in loan qualifying power now.
Write and call your Congressman and tell them to help the Investors Loan problem, and you’ll see most real estate markets recover in 6-12 months. If not, you’ll have 2 years or more years to absorb all the inventory of homes currently in Denver and the United States. This ‘genius’ solution is simply all about “supply and demand” - and the ability of American capitalism to easily fix this gigantic housing problem!
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