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Is it difficult to get a mortgage right now?

Lending standards have tightened and some types of loans may be difficult to get.
It is true that credit availability dramatically tightened since the coronavirus crisis hit hard in February 2020. Credit supply was down 30 percent. With millions out of work, some could no longer afford to pay their mortgages. That meant lenders had less money to lend at a time when they were also not receiving payments on existing loans.
Since February, the situation has somewhat improved. While credit supply for conventional loans dropped 6.9 percent in May, it rebounded in June to just a one percent drop.
With renewed talk of coronavirus increases, lenders of all types have tightened limits and availability in anticipation of possible job losses.
One good sign of an improving economy is that mortgage applications rose 2.2 percent for the week ending July 3 over the previous week. Forbearance rates (the number of mortgage holders who can’t pay and have to make an arrangement with the lender) dropped 8 basis points to 8.39 percent in the first week of July. That means more mortgage holders were able to make their payments.
The news for buyers with cash for down payments and high credit scores, is the incredible 3.26 percent mortgage interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate loan.
People with a credit score of at least 700, with a 20 percent down payment, should be able to get financing. Lenders have cut back on jumbo loans, which are generally loans of more than $510,400.

Deed theft is real

You have probably heard the ads, and they may seem bizarre. People steal a deed to a house and suddenly the owner is not the owner.
House stealing is actually a thing and has been since at least 2008, according to the FBI. It tends to pop up in major cities and targets properties that are empty or used infrequently, like vacation homes.
Here is how it works:
Bad guys pick out a house — usually a rental, vacation home, or vacant home — then they research the owner. After obtaining fake IDs and forged signatures, they file a transfer of ownership with the county’s registrar of deeds. They quickly sell the home, or borrow against it, taking out all the equity. Then, poof. They are gone.
Many counties these days are offering free community notifications. When you register, you will receive an email or text when a document is recorded for your property.
You can also sign up for a title lock service that will monitor your home’s deed to prevent fraud. The cost is usually minimal, about $150 per year.

When is home insurance a requirement?

Anyone that lives in the Cypress, TX area should consider purchasing their own home. When you are a property owner in this area, you can benefit a range of different ways. While there are a lot of advantages that come with buying a home, you need to understand your insurance requirements. There are several situations when you will need coverage. 

When Taking out a Mortgage

One situation when you will need to get home insurance is when you pledge your loan as collateral to another party. If you take out a mortgage, a home equity line of credit, or another type of loan, the lender will want to make sure that their collateral is secure. The best way that they can do this is by ensuring you have home insurance at all times. It is important to work with your lender to fully understand their home insurance requirements.

When Moving into an Association

Another situation when you will be required to take get a home insurance policy is when you are going to move into an area that has a home association. If you move into an area with an association, the local document and regulations will require that you carry insurance at all times. This will provide assurances to the association that you can handle any liability claims and repair your home when necessary.

Ultimately, picking a new home insurance policy is always going to be a big decision. For those that are in the Cypress, TX area, and are looking for insurance, InsureUS is a great company to contact. The team at InsureUS excels at helping property owners understand all of their needs and options. This will help ensure you have a guide that can allow you to pick a policy that provides you with the right coverage. 

Millennial buyers want the “goods” delivered!

Millennials are buying homes, and it’s probably fair to say, they would like that deal delivered.
Those people born between 1980 and 1999, made up the largest share of home buyers last year (37 percent), according to data from the National Association of Realtors. Of those, 86 percent of younger millennials and 52 percent of older millennials were first-time homebuyers.
Millennials want different things from previous generations. While previous generations might have wanted to get away from the city, millennials are just as likely to want to be in it. So, if the city has spread out toward your once-suburban home, don’t be afraid to emphasize the location. Millennials want short commutes. They don’t like lines. They want everything delivered and that includes all the services of the city from groceries to fine dining or even fast food. They want lots of choices in restaurants and bars, and nearby entertainment.
According to the National Retail Federation, millennials are in a hurry. Millennial buyers don’t house shop casually. They are internet savvy and accustomed to doing research online. More than 80 percent of millennials look for a home on a mobile device.
Millennials are less likely to care about square footage than other generations. They prefer home features: Garages that double as recreation rooms, designer laundry rooms, and walk-in pantries that hold food, wine, and appliances.

Mortgage rules for condo buyers

No, for the buyer, the same rules that apply to any mortgage apply to a condo buyer. Keep in mind that in calculating your debt-to-income ratio for the loan, lenders will count your condominium fees as part of your total monthly expenses.
A condo mortgage is different because the building itself has to qualify for the loan.
Generally, lenders won’t make a loan on a condominium that is in poor financial shape or poorly maintained. It has to be a properly run residential building.
The lender looks at the condo association records to make sure it is sufficiently insured, isn’t being sued, and residents are paying their dues (no more than a 15% delinquency).
Lenders also want to make sure the building is residential, with at least 50% owner-occupancy. They don’t want to see stores or hotel rooms. They don’t want to see condo units sold as time shares.
Finally, at least 90% of the units have to be occupied.
If the condominium project is established and known to meet guidelines, and you are a credit worthy borrower, you will probably have little difficulty getting a conventional loan.
You might want to do a little extra research, however. Remember that when you buy a condo, you are buying into the Homeowners Association and you are sacrificing some privacy for convenience. It’s a good idea to take a look at the minutes from the HOA meetings to see the sorts of issues being discussed.
When the building qualifies and you find the property suitable, financing a condo should be much the same as a conventional home.

What is a lease-to-own, and is it a good idea?

A lease-to-own, also commonly referred to as a rent-to-own or a lease option, is an arrangement between a buyer and a seller in which the seller leases a property for a set period of time, at which point the buyer typically has the option to purchase the property outright (sometimes a contract legally obligates the buyer to purchase).
Nearly everything in this type of contract is negotiable. Often, the seller agrees to set aside a portion of the monthly payments toward a down payment or equity in the home.
It’s also important to note that this is commonly used as a short-term agreement — a few months to a few years — and that, at the end of the lease period, the buyer needs to obtain a traditional loan.
So why would either side consider a rent-to-own scenario?
A buyer may need time to put away money for a down payment and/or to build up their credit. Perhaps they’re self-employed, for example, and need a few years’ worth of tax returns to demonstrate income stability to a traditional bank. Or they have less than stellar credit and simply need time to repair it.
A seller might like the idea of locking in a purchase price and collecting monthly payments along the way. Say the two sides agree to a three-year term with a purchase price of $170,000. If the buyer pays $1,000 a month, the seller collects $36,000 and still sells for $170,000 at the end — which, even after expenses, can net the seller a nice profit.
A lawyer who’s well-versed in real estate law is usually the best person to review, if not draw up, the contract. And buyers should keep an eye on building their reserves and credit so they can qualify for a mortgage that will allow them to take ownership at the end of the term.

Tips for managing contractors

As much as we love our home renovations, there’s no denying that the process can nevertheless be a stressful one. Some of that is due to the myriad of details, ranging from large choices like siding color and style to the smallest, like door stops or light covers.
And a good chunk of the stress can come from working with contractors. From personality styles to deadline stress, the homeowner-contractor relationship can be a tricky one.
To keep a project running smoothly and to reduce stress, consider these tips for working with a contractor:

  • Communicate clearly and in detail. From the first walk-through to the final check, make sure you are clear in your expectations and goals. Put it all in writing, from the paint finish and number of coats to the projects a contractor needs to complete before getting that next check.
  • Speaking of milestones — never get ahead on the money. In other words, pay the contractor enough to cover materials and some of the early work, and then draw up milestones that serve as a carrot. This is fair to both sides: the contractor isn’t working for free, and you aren’t in a position to lose money should a worst-case scenario happen, and the contractor stops showing up.
  • Get referrals and visit construction sites. Any reputable contractor will gladly hand over referrals and welcome you to their job site. This gives you a look at finished projects as well as their style with in-progress work.
  • Get multiple estimates. This may not be necessary with a small project — you probably don’t need three estimates for someone to install a toilet — but you should always get estimates from multiple contractors for mid-sized to large projects. Not only do you get a better idea of the price, but you could be surprised at how differently contractors may visualize the same job.

What to consider when getting out of a rental and taking a mortgage

You have many factors to consider in your journey to home ownership.
Here are some basic considerations:

  • If you can make a down payment of 20 percent, whatever mortgage you choose, you won’t have the cost of mortgage insurance added to your monthly payment. Many buyers can’t come up with the large down payment, but mortgage insurance is only charged by mortgage companies until equity reaches 20 percent.
  • Many conventional mortgage lenders ask for 5 percent to 10 percent down.
  • What is your credit score? To qualify for a conventional mortgage, you need a score of 620 to 640 or higher. But if your score is at least 580, you can still quality for an FHA mortgage.
  • The big advantage of an FHA mortgage is its low down payment requirement, just 3.5 percent. They account for 30 percent of all mortgages today. But if you have to move in very soon, beware, it takes a longer time to get one.
  • If you have a credit score lower than 580, you still might be able to get an FHA loan with 10 percent down.
  • How long will you stay in the house? If that might be for just a few years, an adjustable rate mortgage might be a good choice. Consider it if you are in the military, your job requires you to move every few years, or if this is just a “starter house” for you.
    If you plan to live in the home for a lifetime, a 30-year fixed rate, or a 20-year fixed rate, would be better. Or, if you can afford the higher payments on a 15-year fixed rate mortgage, you’ll get the best interest rates of all.
  • The VA loan is for service members or (this is important), for former service members.

How did the rate cut affect mortgages?

Technically, The Fed’s decision in July to lower interest rates by a quarter-point doesn’t directly affect mortgages. In reality, there are usually some things to keep in mind with any rate decrease or increase.
The Federal Funds rate is a measure of short-term borrowing, or the rate that banks use to lend money to each other. Mortgages are long-term notes.
If you have an adjustable-rate mortgage, you’ll probably see your interest rate go down when there’s a cut. To put that in perspective, a Bankrate article said that a HELOC (home equity line of credit) of $100,000 rises or falls about $250 a year with every change of 0.25 percent in interest rate, up or down. That works out to about $21 a month.
Additionally, variable-rate mortgages usually adjust annually, on their anniversary dates, and some don’t adjust at all for the first two to seven years.
However, this could be a good time to refinance into a fixed-rate mortgage and lock in the historically low rates. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell to 3.75 percent, down from a high of almost 5 percent in 2018.
Do a little math to figure out your savings over time, as well as closing costs, to determine whether this is a good move for you.

Hot trend: Build to rent

An interesting real estate trend has cropped up in recent years: while demand for rents has stayed strong, consumers have also turned their attention to single-family homes.
Renting is like having a home without the commitment. Or living in a home but retaining the agility to up and move quickly.
As prices of single-family homes have risen and lending remains strict, down payments and loans have become harder to come by. Add in Millennials, a generation of buyers with sometimes staggering student loan debt but growing families, or Baby Boomers, who don’t want the headaches involved with homeownership.
Flexibility and mobility have become the driving force.
Now, builders and investors are building single-family homes with the intent to rent instead of sell. In one of the bigger moves nationwide, Toll Brothers announced earlier this year that it had committed to invest $60 million in a $400 million venture that would build homes for rent in seven major U.S. cities.
An article in CNBC this summer called the built-to-rent (or B2R), the fastest-growing trend in real estate. Last year, about 43,000 single-family homes were built for rent, it said. And the built-for-rent share of housing starts is also rising, to nearly double its recent historical average from 1992-2012.
In Pradera, a gated community of three- and four-bedroom homes in San Antonio, Texas, the rents are $1,800 to $2,300 a month and the community includes a pool, fitness center, community kitchen and party space, plus dog park and dog-washing station. Interestingly, the average annual household income in Pradera is more than $100,000 — meaning many of the tenants can afford to buy but have chosen not to.

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