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

The article by Reuters reports on the National Association of Realtors Survey. The South is the only region where pending sales are up. I am doing my part to help.  We  sold 4 homes in June to help the cause.

Pending Home Sales Sink 2.6 Percent in June
Published: Tuesday, 3 Aug 2010 | 11:05 AM ET

By: Reuters
Contracts for pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell to a record low in June as buyers sat on the sidelines, a survey from the National Association of Realtors showed on Tuesday.

The Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in June, fell to a record low 75.7 from a revised 77.7 in May. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a rise of 0.6 percent.
“We really need to see stronger job creation to have a meaningful recovery in the housing markets,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun, adding “there could be a couple of additional months of slow home-sales activity before picking up later in the year” if the job market improves.
The June decline followed a 30 percent drop in May after a popular tax credit expired at the end of April.
The index was 18.6 percent lower than in June 2009 and fell in three of four regions compared to the prior month.
Contracts rose 3.7 percent in the South, the country’s largest region, but dropped by 0.2 percent in the West, by 12.2 percent in the Northeast and by 9.5 percent in the Midwest.
Copyright 2010 Reuters.

Haynes Crossing subdivision, located in the eastern area of Gwinnett County, Ga. This is a swim / tennis / lake community

Haynes Crossing subdivision, Grayson, Ga. is conveniently located in Gwinnett County near Hwy. 78 and Hwy.124. The neighborhood is minutes away from fine shopping and dining at The Avenue at Webb  Ginn.

Haynes Crossing is very close to outstanding amenities like the Mall of Ga., Gwinnett Mall, Discover Mills Mall, Gwinnett Civic Center and Gwinnett Arena. It is very close to the Hwy. 78/Hwy. 124 corridor with all the fine restaurants and all types of shopping. Great location for commute to work being 20 minutes from I-285, I-85 and 30 minutes from I-20. Haynes Crossing is one of Grayson’s most established and desirable neighborhoods.

The outstanding local schools that serve are Grayson Elementary, Bay Creek Middle and Grayson High School. The school buses make stops throughout the neighborhood.

Homes in Haynes Crossing are typically priced from the $ 140,000 range to $ 235,000, so there really are homes in a choice of price ranges for any Gwinnett home buyer.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL AVAILABLE HOMES IN HAYNES CROSSING

I have seen far more activity as the credit come to an end as I did when the last credit came to an end in November 2009.  At that point last November we had 5 pending closing and as of today we have 10 pending closings.

Has the credit made a difference?  Yes.  Would those individuals have purchased anyway, most likely.  What the credit has done was created a since of urgency and lowered the inventory levels quickly.

I have had a few buyers that have not gotten under contract to qualify for the credit and the clock is ticking.  Most of them early on made the choice to find a home that they love no matter how long it takes to find it rather than rush just to get the $8,000 credit.  These are the wise buyers.

The buyers trying to get under contract have been involved in multiple offer deals where there has been intense competition.  Banks and individuals have been holding firm on their offer price.  The ones that have won the bids have offered full list price or more.

Think about it, just months ago you could get a bank or individual to negotiate, and now they are holding strong.  I think this will continue until April 30, when demand will drop off.  At that point, then they will be more agreeable to negotiate.

Is the $8,000 credit held prices artificially high? I believe that sellers felt that could get $8,000 more for their home with the credit. Those who didn’t sell will see the reduced demand equate into price reductions.

I am glad that the credit was not considered for another extension so the market can get around to self correcting.  Selfishly I want a normal market, not artificially stimulated.   Myself and many of my colleagues agree that letting the free market find its balance will be the quickest way to get back to normal.

New buyers after April 30 will be in short supply, but we will be busy getting all the homes to closing by June 30.  During this time we will have to work hard since any issues found during inspections that could kill the deal may cost the buyer $8,000. Expect sellers to be tough about making repairs or concessions since they know every issue after April 30 is a $8,000 issue.

Keep focused on keeping the relationship of protecting your clients during the next two challenging months.  Remember, our partners are getting ready to get real busy. Our inspectors, lender, appraisers and closing attorneys all need our support and patience.

Spring Arbor in Lawrenceville, Georgia is conveniently located in Gwinnett County near Webb Ginn Road & Hwy 20. The neighborhood is only minutes from The Avenues at Webb Ginn, Fine Dining and Gwinnett Parks and Recreation.

Spring Arbor is home to outstanding amenities like Swimming Pool, Tennis Courts and Clubhouse Facility.

The outstanding local schools that serve Spring Arbor are Sterling Elementary, Couch Middle, & Grayson High school. Gwinnett County schools are among some of the finest in the state.

Home in Spring Arbor are typically priced from the mid $ 200’s to the high $ 300’s, so there are homes in a choice of price ranges for any Lawrenceville or Gwinnett home buyer.

Click here to see homes for sale in Spring Arbor.

Vanderbilt subdivision, Sugar Hill, Georgia is conveniently located in Gwinnett County off Level Creek Road north of West Price Road and close to E. E. Robinson Park. The neighborhood is only minutes from downtown Suwanee.

Vanderbilt is very close to outstanding amenities like shopping, fine restaurants, and Old Town Suwanee.

The outstanding local schools that server Vanderbilt are Level Creek Elementary, Lanier Middle, & North Gwinnett High School.

Home in Vanderbilt are typically priced from$225K to $330K, so there are homes in a choice of price ranges for any Sugar Hill or Gwinnett county home buyer.

SEE AVAILABLE HOMES IN VANDERBILT

Markim Forest, Sugar Hill, Georgia is conveniently located in Gwinnett County off Level Creek Road north of West Price Road and close to E. E. Robinson Park. The neighborhood is only minutes from downtown Suwanee.

Markim Forest is very close to outstanding amenities like shopping, fine restaurants, and Old Town Suwanee.

The outstanding local schools that server Markim Forest Are Level Creek Elementary, Lanier Middle, & North Gwinnett High School.

Home in Markim Forest are typically priced from$155K to $180K, so there are homes in a choice of price ranges for any Sugar Hill or Gwinnett county home buyer.

You can see all of the available homes in this subdivision by visiting our site.