Check out these articles for more information about the improved housing market we are seeing:
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Several sources predicting a continued rise in home prices!
The past 6 months have seen a real surge in the housing market. I know I personally have been swamped, which is fantastic! Inventory is incredibly low and homes are selling faster and for more money than I have seen in years. Recently several national sources have come out with studies supporting what I have personally been seeing and predictions that this great market will continue. Great news! If you have been considering selling your home, now is the time! Most of my listings since November have sold in less than a week and for at least 98% of the list price (if not OVER list price). I would love to help yours do the same!
Check out these articles for more information about the improved housing market we are seeing:
Read more!
Check out these articles for more information about the improved housing market we are seeing:
Monday, April 29, 2013
How to pick the right mortgage
Great flow chart to help you figure out what your best loan option is!
Compliments of one of my favorite lenders, Kim Jones with Fidelity. If you have any questions, please contact her: kim.jones@lionbank.com
Thursday, March 7, 2013
New changes to FHA loans
There are some changes coming up in
FHA that you should know about. As you may or may not be aware, FHA has
implemented numerous increases to their monthly MI and the Up Front MIP since
2009. They are doing it again and so FHA continues to be the "loan
of last resort". Since the increases started, my lenders have been
consistently avoiding FHA for borrowers who have other options, since it is
more expensive. FHA is notorious for changing this stuff at the last
minute, but for now here is what we expect...
(There are some slight variations to
the bullet points below for 15 year FHA loans or if clients put more than 5%
down, but that is a VERY small percentage of FHA borrowers, so these are the
changes most borrowers will experience)
- The monthly MI will increase to 1.35% of the loan amount (divided by 12) for most FHA loans. So a $200,000 30 year fixed FHA loan will have monthly MI of $225.00 (about double conventional) - This will be effective with all FHA case numbers pulled after April 1, 2013
- The Monthly MI will not be able to be dropped under any circumstances for the life of the loan. It doesn't matter if they pay the loan down or if the home doubles in value, borrowers will still have to pay monthly MI until they sell, refinance, or pay the loan off. This will be effective for all FHA case numbers pulled after June 3rd, 2013.
The Up Front MIP will remain the same at 1.75% of the loan amount and is still non refundable for any reason.
Information compliments of one of my favorite lenders, Mark Moore. Thanks, Mark!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Georgia Housing Starts 2013 on a High Note!!!
Housing Indicators for January show a good start for Georgia in 2013. GAR just released the January report. Some key findings include:
- New Listings decreased 9 percent
- Pending Sales were up 21 percent
- Inventory Levels shrank 32 percent
- Median Prices rose 28 percent
- Average Prices rose 18 percent
- Months Supply of Homes for Sale decreased 37 percent
- Days on Market decreased 13 percent to 89 days
I know this jives with my personal experience as well: inventory is down, prices are up, and houses are flying off the market! All of my listings from the past 90 days have sold in under a week, most for list price (or higher!). So if you have been on the fence about selling your house, now is the time and I would love to help!
Thursday, February 21, 2013
It's that time of year again: Homestead Exemption
If you purchased a home in 2012 as your primary residence, it is time to file for your Homestead Exemption!
A homestead exemption is a reduction in homeowners' property taxes. Once granted, this exemption is automatically renewed each year as long as you continually occupy the home under the same ownership. The home must be your legal residence for all purposes including the registration of your vehicles and the filing of your income tax. You cannot file for homestead exemption on rental property, vacant land, or on more than one property.
*If you previously had Homestead Exemption on another property, you must also contact that county to remove it before you can apply for Homestead on your new property, even if you no longer own the other property*
*If you previously had Homestead Exemption on another property, you must also contact that county to remove it before you can apply for Homestead on your new property, even if you no longer own the other property*
Different counties have different deadlines for filing, but most are April 1st. CHECK YOUR COUNTY TAX ASSESSOR WEBSITE TO VERIFY YOUR DEADLINE AND FILING REQUIREMENTS.
Here are some links to counties in the Metro Atlanta area for your convenience:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
