Atlanta Housing Source

For many people looking to buy a home, the financial part of the process is intimidating and confusing. Naturally, you’ve been reading up on home loans. There’s a lot of information to take in, but here are a few fundamental concepts to keep in mind when preparing your finances for buying a home:

Keep your finances stable

When looking for a home it’s smart to avoid making any major moves that alter your finances, such as buying a car or changing jobs. Banks appreciate a sense of stability in would-be homeowners.

Pay off debt

The amount of debt you have now affects your ability to take on additional debt of a home loan. Know your current debt level and work to lower it as much as possible between now and when you purchase a home.

Assess your credit score

For credit cards and other debt, be sure to make your payments on time to get good credit. Payment history is the most important factor in your credit score, accounting for about 35% of the total. Check with major credit bureaus to verify your score and fix any errors.

Know the loan types

The basic mortgage types are fixed-rate, adjustable-rate and hybrid. However, there are many types of loans available that suit a variety of financial situations. Ask about loan options that are right for you.

Get pre-approved

After you’re pre-approved for a home loan, you can narrow your search and target homes you can truly afford. Many home sellers select pre-approved buyers over those who are not pre-approved because they may feel more confident that the purchase will go through.

Your financial picture is a crucial part of the home purchase process. If you’d like to know more about home loans, please call or email any time.

Enough with the doom and gloom about homeownership. Brett Arends explains why owning a home is a good thing.
· By BRETT ARENDS

Enough with the doom and gloom about homeownership.

Sure, maybe there’s more pain to come in the housing market. But when Time magazine starts running covers that declare “Owning a home may no longer make economic sense,” it’s time to say: Enough is enough. This is what “capitulation” looks like. Everyone has given up.

After all, at the peak of the bubble five years ago, Time had a different take. “Home Sweet Home,” declared its cover then, as it celebrated the boom and asked: “Will your house make you rich?”

But it’s not enough just to be contrarian. So here are 10 reasons why it’s good to buy a home.

1. You can get a good deal. Especially if you play hardball. This is a buyer’s market. Most of the other buyers have now vanished, as the tax credits on purchases have just expired. We’re four to five years into the biggest housing bust in modern history. And prices have come down a long way– about 30% from their peak, according to Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Index, which tracks home prices in 20 big cities. Yes, it’s mixed. New York is only down 20%. Arizona has halved. Will prices fall further? Sure, they could. You’ll never catch the bottom. It doesn’t really matter so much in the long haul.

Where is fair value? Fund manager Jeremy Grantham at GMO, who predicted the bust with remarkable accuracy, said two years ago that home prices needed to fall another 17% to reach fair value in relation to household incomes. Case-Shiller since then: Down 18%.

2. Mortgages are cheap. You can get a 30-year loan for around 4.3%. What’s not to like? These are the lowest rates on record. As recently as two years ago they were about 6.3%. That drop slashes your monthly repayment by a fifth. If inflation picks up, you won’t see these mortgage rates again in your lifetime. And if we get deflation, and rates fall further, you can refi.

3. You’ll save on taxes. You can deduct the mortgage interest from your income taxes. You can deduct your real estate taxes. And you’ll get a tax break on capital gains–if any–when you sell. Sure, you’ll need to do your math. You’ll only get the income tax break if you itemize your deductions, and many people may be better off taking the standard deduction instead. The breaks are more valuable the more you earn, and the bigger your mortgage. But many people will find that these tax breaks mean owning costs them less, often a lot less, than renting.

4. It’ll be yours. You can have the kitchen and bathrooms you want. You can move the walls, build an extension–zoning permitted–or paint everything bright orange. Few landlords are so indulgent; for renters, these types of changes are often impossible. You’ll feel better about your own place if you own it than if you rent. Many years ago, when I was working for a political campaign in England, I toured a working-class northern town. Mrs. Thatcher had just begun selling off public housing to the tenants. “You can tell the ones that have been bought,” said my local guide. “They’ve painted the front door. It’s the first thing people do when they buy.” It was a small sign that said something big.

5. You’ll get a better home. In many parts of the country it can be really hard to find a good rental. All the best places are sold as condos. Money talks. Once again, this is a case by case issue: In Miami right now there are so many vacant luxury condos that owners will rent them out for a fraction of the cost of owning. But few places are so favored. Generally speaking, if you want the best home in the best neighborhood, you’re better off buying.

6. It offers some inflation protection. No, it’s not perfect. But studies by Professor Karl “Chip” Case (of Case-Shiller), and others, suggest that over the long-term housing has tended to beat inflation by a couple of percentage points a year. That’s valuable inflation insurance, especially if you’re young and raising a family and thinking about the next 30 or 40 years. In the recent past, inflation-protected government bonds, or TIPS, offered an easier form of inflation insurance. But yields there have plummeted of late. That also makes homeownership look a little better by contrast.

7. It’s risk capital. No, your home isn’t the stock market and you shouldn’t view it as the way to get rich. But if the economy does surprise us all and start booming, sooner or later real estate prices will head up again, too. One lesson from the last few years is that stocks are incredibly hard for most normal people to own in large quantities–for practical as well as psychological reasons. Equity in a home is another way of linking part of your portfolio to the long-term growth of the economy–if it happens–and still managing to sleep at night.

8. It’s forced savings. If you can rent an apartment for $2,000 month instead of buying one for $2,400 a month, renting may make sense. But will you save that $400 for your future? A lot of people won’t. Most, I dare say. Once again, you have to do your math, but the part of your mortgage payment that goes to principal repayment isn’t a cost. You’re just paying yourself by building equity. As a forced monthly saving, it’s a good discipline.

9. There is a lot to choose from. There is a glut of homes in most of the country. The National Association of Realtors puts the current inventory at around 4 million homes. That’s below last year’s peak, but well above typical levels, and enough for about a year’s worth of sales. More keeping coming onto the market, too, as the banks slowly unload their inventory of unsold properties. That means great choice, as well as great prices.

10. Sooner or later, the market will clear. Demand and supply will meet. The population is forecast to grow by more than 100 million people over the next 40 years. That means maybe 40 million new households looking for homes. Meanwhile, this housing glut will work itself out. Many of the homes will be bought. But many more will simply be destroyed–either deliberately, or by inaction. This is already happening. Even two years ago, when I toured the housing slump in western Florida, I saw bankrupt condo developments that were fast becoming derelict. And, finally, a lot of the “glut” simply won’t matter: It’s concentrated in a few areas, like Florida and Nevada. Unless you live there, the glut won’t have any long-term impact on housing supply in your town.

Write to Brett Arends at brett.arends@wsj.com

From my mortgage lender,  Amy Wilemon with America Home Key.

Today, I am stressing to you the importance of recommending Owner’s Title to all of your buyers. This is an optional fee, but it is so important for the homeowner in the long run. There are numerous reasons to have this type of coverage, especially since land ownership is not always done properly, and records may not be accurate on all fronts. Having this type of title insurance when purchasing real estate can help ensure the best interests of the individual are maintained.

How Owner’s Title Insurance Works

The property owner purchases owner’s title insurance at the time of the real estate transaction. This type of insurance protects the buyer from any claims against the title at a later time. Title searches are part of the process of purchasing a home. These title searches examine the past transactions on the property, looking for any indication that the property has changed hands without proper documentation. For example, if an original owner of the property passed away, there may be heirs with a right to that property. A cleared property records search means that no evidence of title problems has occurred.

Nevertheless, errors can happen. Years after the property changes hands, errors or other title problems can occur. However, when title insurance is in place, the risks to the property owner are minimized. Title insurance can protect the property buyer in numerous situations, such as:

· Ensuring the title is clear on the property

· Forgery and fraud protection

· Incorrect signatures on documents

· Encumbrances or judgments against the property

· Restrictive covenants

· Defective recordation

The goal of title insurance is to protect the property owner from claims on the property. In many cases, it is critical to have this type of protection whenever purchasing a home. There is no guarantee that property records will provide all of the necessary details but insurance can help.

As a Certified Loan Originator, I quote Owner’s Title on EVERY good faith that I send out. Make sure you are aware of what could happen if you don’t get Owner’s Tile.

See Mark Lackey to buy a home in Alpharetta, Roswell, Milton or Johns Creek, see Amy Wilemon to secure financing and see to it you get owners title insurance.

Considering buying a home in Norcross, Buford, Suwanee, Sugar Hill, Dacula, Snellville, Grayson, Dukuth or anywhere in Georgia, then consider this:

Interest Rates Effective 5:00 PM Thursday September 9, 2010

4.375 % 30 Yr. Fixed

Georgia Dream First Mortgage & Georgia Dream First Mortgage combined with Georgia Dream Standard,

PEN or CHOICE Down Payment Assistance Loans

620 minimum credit score

New Higher Income Limits were Recently Announced:

1 Person Family: $ 40,250

2 Person Family: $ 46,000

3 Person Family: $ 51,750

4 Person Family: $ 57,450

5 Person Family: $ 62,050

Basic Program: $ 5,000 Down Payment provided as 2nd Mortgage with No payments, No Interest and No payback if borrower does not Sell or Refinance * (Call me for Restrictions)

Requires Borrower to provide a Min. of $ 500 for Down payment

REWARDS PROGRAM:

660 +, Provides HIGHER Income Limits than above, $ 1,000 Min. Down Payment, $ 5,000 Basic Program to $ 7,500

Brough to you by: Stuart Landman, Envoy Mortgage

Timely information from RISMedia. Make plans to buy sooner than later and save money.

September 1, 2010–The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is giving homeowners and buyers until October 4 to lock in a low monthly insurance premium, according to Gibran Nicholas, chairman of the CMPS Institute, an organization that trains and certifies mortgage bankers and brokers. “After October 4, the monthly insurance premiums on FHA loans will increase by over 63%.”

What does this mean for home buyers?
A home buyer purchasing a $200,000 home using a $193,000 FHA mortgage before October 4 would pay an insurance premium of $88.46 per month. If the same home buyer waits until after October 4, the insurance premium would jump to $148.01.

“In this example, the home buyer would lose $59.55 per month, or $7,146 over a 10-year timeframe,” Nicholas said. “Although the upfront mortgage insurance premium is going down after October 4, the real impact to the home buyer is actually a net increase in their out of pocket costs because the monthly premium is going up by 63%. Remember, sellers can pay the upfront premium or it can be financed into the loan amount, so homebuyers rarely pay the upfront premium out of pocket. On the other hand, the increase in the monthly premiums will be paid right out of the home buyer’s pocket with their mortgage payment each month.”

Ironically, home buyers who plan to be in the mortgage for less than three years and decide to pay the upfront fee themselves (instead of having the seller pay it for them), may actually save money by waiting until after October 4 to apply for an FHA loan.

“Home buyers with a short term time horizon may actually benefit from this change because the upfront premium will be reduced to 1% from 2.25%,” Nicholas said. This change will impact over 30% of the home buyers in today’s market who use FHA-insured financing. Home buyers considering an FHA loan should find and contact a CMPS professional in their area to discuss their options and what this means for their situation.

Also, you can follow CMPS Institute on Twitter to stay updated on these and other mortgage and housing industry developments.

This article written by Jennifer Karel, Sr. Managing Attorney with Morris|Hardwick|Schneider is a great reminder of why buyers should purchase an Enhanced Title Policy when they purchase their home.

How pound wise may be penny foolish!

The current economy has everyone looking for ways to cut cost.  This means that your buyers may be looking for ways to save money at closing.  One of the few “optional” items on the settlement statement is the owner’s title insurance premium.

Most buyers understand that title insurance protects them from a loss caused by a title defect.  Buyers may not always realize the shortcomings of the title examination.  Title exams are performed by human beings who are capable of error.  The title exam is a review of documents filed and indexed by human beings, also capable of inaccuracy.

Even in the absence of a mistake, a title examination cannot insure that title is clear as of the time of closing.  It is a look back in time of 4 – 6 weeks, depending upon the county involved.  The time period between the effective date of the records and the time that it is examined is called “the gap.”

No one knows what may come up in that period of time.  The following are some examples: (1) equity lines taken out by the seller who needs cash, (2) materialman liens for recent work for which the payment was not made, (3) a lien resulting from a lawsuit by credit card companies or other companies for unpaid debts, (4) federal tax liens, (5) Georgia Department of Revenue liens, (6) lis pendens filed by disgruntled spouses/ex-spouses.

Buyers are cost sensitive but that has to be balanced against the risks of loss.  Owner’s title insurance is always important.  In a time when sellers are under financial stress, it is absolutely vital.  Make sure your buyers protect themselves.

Mark Lackey with Atlanta Housing Source at Solid Source Realty, Inc. explains about closing costs and prepaids. A lot of buyers don’t know what closing costs are or how much they can be. So in this short video, he shares everything you need to know.

If you are interested in a free buyers guide or searching for your dream home – visit our website at http://www.AtlantaHousingSource.com.

Mark Lackey with Atlanta Housing Source shares more about the home buying process. In this video, he discusses how long it takes to purchase a home.

Mark Lackey with Atlanta Housing Source shares insight on how you can narrow down your home search.  With thousands of homes to choose from, this advice will help you determine how to select the best property for you.

To search for homes, visit – www.AtlantaHousingSource.com. You can search for free and even get the newest listings that match your criteria via e-mail.

In this video, Mark Lackey shares with you about down payment assistance and how you may be able to qualify.