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It is time to shop!
An important first step is selecting a buyer’s agent to help you find your dream home. He or she can represent the buyer’s interest in a real estate transaction. Before making a decision, however, have a realtor explain the pros and cons of using a buyer’s agent versus a sales or dual agent. A CENTURY 21® agent can guide you through every step of buying your next home. When you’re ready to visit houses, ask your CENTURY 21 professional champion to arrange showings, and be sure to keep track of the properties you’ve seen. Each time you view more properties, refer to your “what’s right for you” notes to immediately eliminate any that clearly do not meet your standards. And bring a digital camera to record what you see – you’ll be happy to have the record afterwards. After touring each home, write down what you liked and didn’t like. Develop a rating system that will help narrow the field. For example, pick the house you like best on day one and compare all other houses to it. When you find a better one, use the new favorite as the standard.
Thankfully, Rates Drop
The first decline in five weeks drove mortgage interest to near historically low levels once again as the 30-year fixed rate averaged 5.07 percent for the week ended April 15, down from 5.21 percent a week earlier. Freddie Mac also reports that the 15-year fixed rate averaged 4.40 percent, down from 4.52 percent; one-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.13 percent, down from 4.14 percent; and interest on the five-year ARM came in at an average of 4.08 percent compared to 4.25 percent.
[SOURCES: Information, Inc.; Freddie Mac]
:end
Thankfully, Rates Drop
The first decline in five weeks drove mortgage interest to near historically low levels once again as the 30-year fixed rate averaged 5.07 percent for the week ended April 15, down from 5.21 percent a week earlier. Freddie Mac also reports that the 15-year fixed rate averaged 4.40 percent, down from 4.52 percent; one-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.13 percent, down from 4.14 percent; and interest on the five-year ARM came in at an average of 4.08 percent compared to 4.25 percent.
[SOURCES: Information, Inc.; Freddie Mac]
:end
Mortgage rates rose to 5.08 percent last week from 4.99 percent a week earlier, pushing the average interest rate offered on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages to its highest level since the first week of 2010, according to Freddie Mac. The increase in mortgage rates occurred as long-term interest rates rose higher due to concerns about inflation as the economy improves, and as the Federal Reserve ended its program to buy $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed bonds issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other government-sponsored agencies. Also, the 15-year fixed mortgage rose to 4.39 percent from 4.34 percent, while 5-year hybrid mortgages fell to 4.10 percent from 4.14 percent.
[SOURCES: Information, Inc.; Freddie Mac]
> LOVE this!!! Have a great Laugh!!!
> Observations on Growing Older
>
> ~Your kids are becoming like you…
> …but your grandchildren are perfect!
> ~Going out is good.
> Coming home is better!
> ~When people say you look “Great”…
> they add “for your age!”
> ~When you needed the discount, you paid full price.
> Now you get discounts on everything…
> movies, hotels, flights, but you’re too tired to use them.
> ~You forget names … but it’s OK
> because other people forgot
> they even knew you!!!
> ~The 5 pounds you wanted to lose
> is now 15 and you have a better chance
> of losing your keys than the 15 pounds.
> ~You realize you’re never going
> to be really good at anything …. especially golf.
> ~Your spouse is counting on you
> to remember things you don’t remember.
> ~The things you used to care to do,
> you no longer care to do,
> but you really do care that you
> don’t care to do them anymore.
> ~Your husband sleeps better on a lounge chair
> with the TV blaring than he does in bed.
> It’s called his “pre-sleep”.
> ~Remember when your mother said,
> “Wear clean underwear in case you GET in an accident”?
> Now you bring clean underwear in case you HAVE an accident!
> ~You used to say,
> “I hope my kids GET married…
> Now, “I hope they STAY married!”
> ~You miss the days when everything worked
> with just an “ON” and “OFF” switch..
> ~When GOOGLE, ipod, email, modem ….
> were unheard of, and a mouse was something
> that made you climb on a table.
> ~You used to use more 4 letter words ….
> “what?”…”when?”… ???
> ~Now that you can afford
> expensive jewelry, it’s not safe to wear it anywhere.
> ~Your husband has a night out with the guys,
> but he’s home by 9:00 P.M. Next week it will be 8:30 P.M.
> ~You read 100 pages into a book before you realize you’ve read it.
> ~Notice everything they sell in stores is “sleeveless”?!!!
> ~What used to be freckles are now liver spots.
> ~Everybody whispers.
> ~Now that your husband has retired …
> you’d give anything if he’d find a job!
> ~You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet …
> 2 of which you will never wear.
> ~~~~But old is good in some things:
> old songs,
> old movies,
> And best of all, OLD FRIENDS!!
>
> Love you, “OLD FRIEND!”
> Send this on to other “Old Friends!” and
> let them laugh in AGREEMENT
Freddie Mac reported slightly higher mortgage rates last week, with the average interest on a 30-year fixed loan topping off at 4.99 percent from the previous week’s 4.96 percent and from 4.85 percent a year ago. Rates on 15-year fixed loans, meanwhile, bumped up to 4.34 percent from 4.33 percent a week earlier but remained down from 4.58 percent a year ago. Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.14 percent, climbing from 4.09 percent a week earlier but declining from 4.98 percent a year earlier. One-year ARMs were 4.2 percent versus 4.12 percent and 4.85 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, existing-home sales declined slightly in February, with modest gains in the Northeast and Midwest offset by softer sales in the South and West, according to the National Association of REALTORS.
[SOURCES: Information, Inc.; Freddie Mac; NAR]
Lease Options
A lease option is an arrangement between you and a seller to exercise the option to buy a house after you have rented it for a specific period. A portion of your rent would be applied toward the purchase if the option is applied. This is referred to as rent credit, which most institutional lenders will accept as part of the down payment if rental payments exceed the market rent and if a valid lease-purchase agreement is in effect, a copy of which must be attached to the loan application. Read any lease option arrangement carefully for details on transferring the option and other important concerns. For information on lease options, contact your real estate agent (some even specialize in such transactions) or read up on lease options at the public library or on the internet. If you have a real estate attorney, ask if he or she has any prepared information you can review.
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