Buying a Home? Understand what lenders are looking for. The 4Cs...

What Lenders Are Looking for: The 4 C's

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

Low mortgage rates are helping to bring home ownership within reach for some borrowers. But qualifying for a mortgage remains a big challenge for many, as tight underwriting standards persist in the wake of the financial crisis.

Know the 4C's

Capacity: “Your current and future ability to pay back the loan,” Boyle explains. “Lenders look at your income, employment history, savings, and monthly debt payments, such as credit card charges and other financial obligations, to make sure that you have the means to take on a mortgage comfortably.”Christina Boyle, a senior vice president of single-family sales and relationship management for Freddie Mac, explains how your clients can be better prepared to qualify. Boyle writes at the mortgage giant’s website about the four C’s that lenders are evaluating when deciding whether to grant a borrower a loan. They are:

• Collateral: The value of the home that you intend to purchase.
• Capital: “The money and savings that you have on hand plus investments, properties, and other assets that could be sold fairly quickly for cash,” Boyle says. “Having these reserves proves that you can manage your money and have funds, in addition to your income, to help pay the debt.”
• Credit: How well you’ve done paying your bills and other debts on time.

Source: “The 4 C’s of Qualifying for a Mortgage,” Freddie Mac (April 6, 2015)The down payment is also an important piece that lenders consider, Boyle adds. In 2014, buyers put down an average of 14 percent on their home purchase, according to a report by RealtyTrac. Freddie Mac’s new Home Possible Advantages mortgage allows qualified borrowers to put down as little as 3 percent. But those who put down less than 20 percent should expect to pay a higher interest rate as well as pay mortgage insurance, Boyle says.

The Spa-Like Bathroom: 10 Top Trends for 2015

Posted: 13 Apr 2015 12:00 AM PDT

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine

Photo Credit: National Kitchen & Bath Association

Just like the kitchen, contemporary designs are growing in popularity in bathroom remodels. These contemporary touches in the bathroom equate to clean and open designs, with floating vanities and freestanding tubs.
Last week, at Styled Staged & Sold, we highlighted the top 10 trends for the kitchen this year. This week, we focus on the National Kitchen & Bath Association’s latest trend report on what’s driving bathroom design in 2015.
Here are the top 10 overall bathroom design trends NKBA designers expect to be hot this year:

1. Clean, white, contemporary designs
2. Floating vanities
3. Open-shelving
4. Electric heated floors
5. Purple color schemes
6. Trough sinks
7. User experience (ease of use and low maintenance) and accessibility features
8. Extra amenities (like steam showers, anti-fog mirrors, lighted showers, and shower seats)
9. Innovative storage (such as drawer pullouts and rollouts to hold hair styling equipment)
10. Showers and freestanding tubs

Most popular colors: White and gray are the dominant colors for bathrooms. Half of designers expect to see gray growing in 2015, and several designers also mentioned the growing popularity of purple, lavender, and lilac tones gaining steam in bathroom designs. For fixtures, white continues its dominance.

Traditional Bathroom by Saratoga Springs Design-Build Firms Witt Construction

Out of style: Jetted tubs, whether whirlpool or air, are decreasing in popularity, according to NKBA’s report. “People are moving away from jetted tubs to more classic soaking tubs,” says Bill Donohoe with Donohoe Design Works in the Los Angeles area. Also, beige fixture colors are increasingly dropping in popularity.

Spring Forward and Feel Refreshed with these Cleaning & Organizing ideas

It's the Perfect Season for a Deep Clean

31 Ways to Seriously Deep Clean Your Home

It's that time of year again -- time to go beyond the weekly cleaning and tidying and do a thorough deep clean and organize! Here's a checklist to get your home in tip-top shape.

Dust Ceilings and Wash Walls -- Clear those cobwebs out of hard-to-reach places and clean all the dirt and grime off of walls.

Shampoo Carpets and Spot Treat Stains -- Hire professionals to steam clean your carpets, or rent a steam cleaning machine. Make sure to check for stains you may have missed when they happened.

Clean Window Treatments -- Dust blinds and wash window coverings.

Degrease Cooking Appliances -- Remove any built-up grease from cooking appliances.

Wipe Out Cupboards and Drawers -- Use a soapy solution to clean the insides of cupboards and drawers.

Defrost and Clean Fridge and Freezer -- Empty out the fridge and freezer to give them both a good wipe down and defrost (if needed).

Vacuum and Steam Clean Upholstery -- Get rid of the dust (and dust mites) that are hiding in your furniture by vacuuming and steam cleaning them.

Dust Electronics -- Wipe down electronics and clean the screens, remembering to use a microfiber cloth.

Polish Metal Hardware -- Make all of the metal handles, knobs and pulls look like new by polishing them with a soft cloth and liquid polish.

Dust and Wax Wood Furniture -- Clean and protect wood furniture.

Wash Windows and Screens -- Remove and wash window screens, and wash windows.

Check Home Safety Equipment -- Change the batteries in your smoke detector and check fire extinguishers.

Purge What You Don't Need -- Take a look in your closets, storage room and kitchen cupboards for extra stuff you no longer use and get rid of it!

Dreaming of a Summer Retreat? So are a lot of other folks!

Desire to Own a Vacation Home Growing

by The KCM Crew on April 14, 2015 

See what is available at:  Home Search

The National Association of Realtors just released their 2015 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey which revealed that vacation home sales boomed in 2014 to above their most recent peak level in 2006.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said favorable conditions are driving second-home sales:

“Affluent households have greatly benefited from strong growth in the stock market in recent years, and the steady rise in home prices has likely given them reassurance that real estate remains an attractive long-term investment. Furthermore, last year’s impressive increase also reflects long-term growth in the numbers of baby boomers moving closer to retirement and buying second homes to convert into their primary home in a few years.”

The report shows:

• Vacation-home sales catapulted to an estimated 1.13 million last year
• This was the highest amount since NAR began the survey in 2003
• Vacation sales were up 57.4% from 717,000 in 2013
• Vacation-home sales accounted for 21 percent of all transactions in 2014, their highest market share since the survey was first conducted

Bottom Line

If you have been considering that waterfront condo in Florida, that ranch in Wyoming or that special getaway you someday will retire to, maybe now is the time to act. Prices are good and mortgage rates are at historic lows. Contact a local real estate professional to help you put your dreams to a plan.

Reasons to Maintain a High Credit Score after Buying a Home

Source: Jeff Baxter Mortgage Team

I’m positive that you know how important it is to have a high credit score when buying a home. But keeping that credit score high is just as important, because it can impact the price you pay for things that you may not be aware of.

Refinancing Your Home: If interest rates suddenly drop, you may not be able to take advantage of the payment savings if your credit score has dropped significantly.

If you have an FHA loan, the government has lowered the mortgage insurance premiums (MIP) and you could possible save some money by refinancing your loan now.

Credit Cards: If your credit card company provides you with a credit score posted on your monthly statement, there is a twofold reason for that. First, they want you to know what it is to help you maintain a higher credit score. Secondly, it helps THEM keep track of decreasing credit scores too. When you read the fine print, you’ll discover that they have the right to increase your interest rate if your credit score decreases to a certain level —or if you’ve missed a few payments.

Auto Loans: The rates and payments you see on TV are reserved for those who have the highest credit scores. The auto industry says that less than 20% of car buyers qualify for the lowest payment and terms.

Auto and Life Insurance Policies: You guessed it. The premium you pay is also based on your credit score. They may use a different credit scoring system than the one used when you purchased your home. But they usually get their information from the major credit bureaus too.

Cell Phone Companies: Every time you sign up for a new contract, cell phone companies will run a credit report. They want to make sure that you will pay your bill. You may not qualify for some of the promotions they run due to a lower credit score.

Utility Companies: They will check your credit, and while the rates you pay will be the same as everyone else, you may have to pay a higher deposit.

If you’d like to learn about different ways to increase your credit score, please comment on this post or email me to set up a time to talk, or call me with your questions.

Color Affects Mood and the Re-Sale Value of Your Home - Choose Wisely

6 Questions To Help You Choose The Right Paint

 Choosing a Color Scheme

Most paint retailers sell a dizzying array of coatings, and that can make it difficult for anyone to pick the right paint.

Even so, there is a way to streamline your paint selection. Answer these six questions from the Paint Quality Institute. They’ll help guide you through the maze and make clear which interior paint is best for you.

1. How sensitive are you to paint smell?

If you dislike the smell of paint, you should focus on water-based latex paints, which have little or no odor compared to oil-based coatings.

Latex paints also make cleanup easy and they perform well on all interior surfaces. These advantages help explain why latex paints are overwhelmingly favored by do-it-yourselfers and professional painters alike.

2. Will there be much activity in the space you are painting?

Walls and woodwork can easily become soiled if there is a lot of activity in a room. In that case, it’s best to use a high gloss or semi-gloss paint, which will resist stains and be much easier to clean.

However, if your room will see little activity, you should feel free to use any level of sheen – from flat paint to a high gloss finish.

3. What atmosphere do you want to create in the room?

If your hope is to make the space cozy, then consider using a “warm” hue, like yellow, orange or red; if you want the room to have a cool feel, then choose a blue or green paint.

4. Do you wish the dimensions of the room were bigger or smaller?

If you think the space seems cramped, you can alter the perception by selecting the right color of paint. Light paint colors make a room seem larger; darker colors make it feel more intimate.

5. How often do you typically repaint?

If you paint only infrequently, you’ll want to be sure to apply a very durable paint that will continue to look good over time. In that respect, the best option is to use a top quality 100% acrylic latex interior paint.

6. How much time do you want to spend on this project?

If you have limited time, or simply want to complete the painting quickly, then consider using a “paint and primer” product that works like two coatings in one. You’ll very likely need to apply fewer coats, which will greatly speed up the job.

Want to repaint your home but have no time to do it yourself? Contact me and I’ll refer you to some great home improvement folks who will do it for you.

Coastal Association of Realtors

Scrub-A-Dubba - clean those decks but be careful of power washer damage

Careful With That Power Washer!

A power washer, also called a pressure washer, is a powerful tool. So powerful, in fact, that it can cause damage quickly before you even realize what you’re doing isn't washing at all. How can you make sure that you’re not causing unnecessary damage to your home, drive or deck?

Here are some ways a power washer can damage your property and what you can do to avoid it.

• Concrete erosion. According to the experts it doesn't take much pressure to begin the concrete eroding process. Concrete isn't entirely solid. The porous surface allows water to seep into the minute structure and expand it, causing cracks and worse.
• Extreme damage to decking. Similarly, high pressure water can also damage the wood on decks causing it to expand, splinter and crack. It's recommended to wash and seal the deck with the right product for your climate to prevent any unnecessary damage.
• Damage to siding. Whether or not pressure washing your house will damage your siding will largely depend on what kind of material is used on the exterior of you home. Pressure washing can damage vinyl siding, wood siding and stone for many of the same reasons listed above.

To avoid any issues you should use the right power washer. Many have attachments that are designed for different materials. If you’re concerned about your ability to use the pressure washer correctly contact a local professional pressure washing business to help you out

Image source: jariceiii via Flickr

Coastal Association of Realtors

A Summer Place - Join a Healthy Housing Market by purchasing your family vacation home in OCMD

Housing Market is Healthiest in Years!

Posted: 08 Apr 2015 04:00 AM PDT

 According to Nationwide’s recently unveiled, Health of Housing Market (HoHM) Report, the US housing market is at it’s healthiest levels since the index’s creation in 2001. The index analyzes the health of the housing market across the country and in 373 metro areas every quarter. Using the data that they have collected over the past 15 years, Nationwide will look to give a “data-driven view of the near-term performance of housing markets based upon current health indicators.” The fourth quarter of 2014 ended with the highest indicator score in over 15 years of data analyzed by the study at 109.8. The report explains:

“An index value over 100 suggests that the national housing market is healthy, with lower chances of a housing downturn over the next year as the index moves increasingly above the 100 breakeven value.”

Employment, demographics, the mortgage market, and housing prices are all used to evaluate the health of each market. The top 10 healthiest housing markets according to the index are:

1. Pittsburgh, PA
2. Cleveland-Elyria, OH
3. Philadelphia, PA
4. Rockford, Ill.
5. Burlington, NC
6. Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA
7. Fayetteville-Springdale, AK-MO
8. Idaho Falls, ID
9. Tulsa, OK
10. Kennewick-Richland, WA

The two ‘least healthy’ markets were Bismark, ND and Atlantic City, NJ who received “just slightly negative performance rankings”. David Berson, Nationwide’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, says “the quarterly report should serve as a resource to gauge how healthy housing markets are today but, perhaps more important, what to expect in the future and why.”

Bottom Line

The housing market continues to recover and surpass recent history. Meet with an agent in your local market to determine if you are able to take advantage of the opportunities available in real estate today.

Summer Vacation and Ocean City MD Beach Homes are Ready to Purchase

Why Waiting To Buy Might Not Make Sense

by The KCM Crew on March 31, 2015 in First Time Homebuyers, For Buyers, Interest Rates, Move-Up Buyers, Pricing

Whether you are a first time or a move-up buyer, there are two factors that will impact the amount of house you can afford in your price range: home prices & mortgage rates.

Let’s look at what the experts are predicting over the next twelve months for these two areas:

PRICES

Over 100 economists, real estate experts and investment & market strategists were recentlypolled as a part of the Home Price Expectation Survey. They were asked to project where home prices are headed. The average value appreciation projected over the next twelve-month period is approximately 4.4%.

MORTGAGE INTEREST RATES

In the latest Economic & Housing Market Outlook from Freddie Mac, they predict that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate will be 4.7% by this time next year. As of last week, the Freddie Mac rate was 3.69%.

What does this mean to you?

If you are a first-time buyer currently looking at a home priced at $250,000, this is what it could cost you on a monthly basis if you wait until next year to buy:

If you are a move-up buyer currently looking at a home priced at $500,000, this is what it could cost you on a monthly basis if you wait a year to buy:

Bottom Line

With both home prices & interest rates projected to increase, waiting to buy could put a serious dent in your family’s wealth.

The Price is Right ... if you want to sell your home quickly !

Selling Your House? Price it Right Up Front

by The KCM Crew on April 2, 2015 in    

In today’s market, where demand is outpacing supply in many regions of the country, pricing a house is one of the biggest challenges real estate professionals face. Sellers often want to price their home higher than recommended, and many agents go along with the idea to keep their clients happy. However, the best agents realize that telling the homeowner the truth is more important than getting the seller to like them.

There is no “later.”

Sellers sometimes think, “If the home doesn’t sell for this price, I can always lower it later.” However, research proves that homes that experience a listing price reduction sit on the market longer, ultimately selling for less than similar homes.

John Knight, recipient of the University Distinguished Faculty Award from the Eberhardt School of Business at the University of the Pacific, actually did research on the cost (in both time and money) to a seller who priced high at the beginning and then lowered the their price. In his article, Listing Price, Time on Market and Ultimate Selling Price published in Real Estate Economics revealed:

“Homes that underwent a price revision sold for less, and the greater the revision, the lower the selling price. Also, the longer the home remains on the market, the lower its ultimate selling price.”

Additionally, the “I’ll lower the price later” approach can paint a negative image in buyers’ minds. Each time a price reduction occurs, buyers can naturally think, “Something must be wrong with that house.” Then when a buyer does make an offer, they low-ball the price because they see the seller as “highly motivated.” Pricing it right from the start eliminates these challenges.

Don’t build “negotiation room” into the price.

Many sellers say that they want to price their home high in order to have “negotiation room.” But, what this actually does is lower the number of potential buyers that see the house. And we know that limiting demand like this will negatively impact the sales price of the house.

Not sure about this? Think of it this way: when a buyer is looking for a home online (as they are doing more and more often), they put in their desired price range. If your seller is looking to sell their house for $400,000, but lists it at $425,000 to build in “negotiation room,” any potential buyers that search in the $350k-$400k range won’t even know your listing is available, let alone come see it!

A better strategy would be to price it properly from the beginning and bring in multiple offers. This forces these buyers to compete against each other for the “right” to purchase your house.

Look at it this way: if you only receive one offer, you are set up in an adversarial position against the prospective buyer. If, however, you have multiple offers, you have two or more buyers fighting to please you. Which will result in a better selling situation?

The Price is Right

Great pricing comes down to truly understanding the real estate dynamics in your neighborhood. Look for an agent that will take the time to simply and effectively explain what is happening in the housing market and how it applies to your home. You need an agent that will tell you what you need to know rather than what you want to hear. This will put you in the best possible position.