Mortgage Rates Fall Lower

Mortgage Rates Fall Further

RISMEDIA, Friday, January 15, 2016— Mortgage rates moved lower with the 30-year fixed-rate declining for the second straight week, according to Freddie Mac's recently released Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®).

"Long-term Treasury yields continue to drop, dragging mortgage rates down with them,” says Sean Becketti, chief economist, Freddie Mac. “Turbulence in overseas financial markets is generating a flight-to-quality which benefits U.S. Treasury securities. In addition, sagging oil prices are capping inflation expectations. The net effect on the 30-year mortgage rate was a 5 basis point drop to 3.92 percent."

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.92 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending January 14, 2016, down from last week when it averaged 3.97 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.66 percent.

Results show that the 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.19 percent with an average 0.5 point, down from 3.26 percent last week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.98 percent.

Additionally, the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.01 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.09 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 2.90 percent.

For more information, visit FreddieMac.com.

This is an indication of mortgage rates at the time this document is published. Specific rates are quoted based on a borrower’s qualifying criteria, credit score, equity, property type, and any applicable state-specific requirements. I would like the opportunity to provide specific rate quotes to your clients based on their specific needs.

REFERRAL PARTNER RATE SHEET January 15, 2016   Rate APR Points 30 Year Fixed 3.875% 4.012% 0.125 15 Year Fixed 3.125% 3.355% 0.125 5 Year ARM 3.125% 3.086% 0.125 5/5 ARM (>$417K) 3.500% 3.375% 0.000 5 Year FHA ARM 3.250% 3.716% 0.000 30 Year FHA 3.500% 4.616% 0.000 30 Year VA  3.625% 4.036% 0.250 5 Year VA ARM 3.250% 2.961% 0.000 30 Year USDA 3.625% 4.495% 0.000 Two Step 15/15 ARM 4.000% 3.818% 0.000 30 Year Jumbo 4.000% 4.042% 0.000

Prosperity Home Mortgage, LLC and I look forward to working with you to develop client relationships that last a lifetime. Please contact me at 410-937-1520 or lisa.diesel@phmloans.com if I can assist you or any of your clients.

Inside/Outside Design with Rugs to Redefine Your Space

Redefine your space with rugs

Exciting design options can sometimes become daunting when you actually begin to place furniture in an open-concept home. Without walls to define spaces, where do you begin?

Area rugs are a key organizational tool for designing rooms within large spaces. With a beautiful rug, you may outline a foyer where none existed, create a dining room or define a conversation area. Thoughtful placement of an area rug gives identity to a space and creates traffic flow that makes sense.

1. Create an Inviting Foyer

When your front door opens straight into the room without a designated foyer, you can build the illusion of one with an area rug. This chevron wool rug is a good example of creating a welcoming entrance and makes a nice contrast to the hardwood. Build on the foyer feel by adding a small piece of furniture and some art.

2. Anchor Your Living Room

While big rooms and tall spaces are the inviting aspect of an open-concept home, they also bring a challenge for organizing a cozy space for hanging out. This beautiful living space was undefined until this patterned rug crafted an inviting and cozier conversation area. With high ceilings and big windows, the rug provides an anchor to the room and draws the eye down from the big spaces, making the room feel friendly.

3. Define the Dining Area

Just because your home lacks a traditional dining room doesn’t mean you can’t have one. In this contemporary living space, a large rug creates a dining area. Without walls to create tangible zones, a rug is needed to organize the space into useful areas. When choosing an area rug for under your table and chairs, make sure the rug is large enough for the chairs to scoot back from the table without falling off the edge of the rug.

4. Outline High Traffic Areas

Larger spaces often mean there are multiple entrances and exits to both the outdoors and other rooms. This indoor-outdoor rug not only is visually appealing, but it can handle the traffic from the French doors. More importantly, it creates a traffic pattern.

5. Go Outside

Large patios can also be transformed into defined, open-air living spaces. A durable outdoor rug can carve out a great outdoor living room from a space without definite borders. This brown rug centers the seating area in front of a fireplace, creating an inviting, cozy space.

With walls coming down in remodels and new homes reflecting open-concept design trends, as a professional organizer, I’ve found that rugs provide comfort and beauty while organizing and maximizing space.

Lea Schneider is a home organization expert who seeks to invigorate home design planning with strong organization techniques. Lea writes for homeowners on these topics for The Home Depot. For an overview of Home Depot’s collection of outdoor-indoor rugs, including styles discussed by Lea, you can visit Home Depot’s website.

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Winter Home Maintenance Tips: BeachHomes4Sale water and heat adjustments

Winter Home Maintenance Tips

      

Preparing your home for winter is an important annual ritual for homeowners. For instance, did you know that adding insulation in your attic before winter arrives can help prevent ice dams this winter? And do not forget that tuning up your heating system now can help prevent more costly emergency repairs at the height of a storm, when it can be difficult to find supplies and licensed contractors. The following winter maintenance tips can help you prepare your home to withstand another cold season.

Download the Winter Home Maintenance Checklist >

Your Heating System

Before you give your heating system a workout this winter, take the time for preventive maintenance. It may help extend the life of your system and identify potential problems.

Before winter:

• Have your furnace or boiler checked and serviced by a licensed contractor at least once a year, preferably before the heating season begins.
• Clean or replace the furnace filter on forced hot air systems.
• Have your chimney checked and serviced by a licensed contractor at least once a year. Pay particular attention to having creosote buildup removed from chimneys servicing woodstoves and fireplaces.

During winter:

• Have your fuel tanks filled and keep an eye on levels throughout the winter.
• Set your heat no lower than 55 degrees as the temperature inside the walls where water piping is located is colder than the living spaces; open doors to unoccupied rooms to keep an even temperature throughout the house.
• Maintain your wood-burning or pellet stoves according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Your Insulation

Is your insulation prepared to protect you from the cold? As an important line of defense from winter’s gusty winds and freezing temperatures, it is worth taking time to inspect and upgrade insulation and weather stripping before the season starts.

• Add extra insulation in the attic to help guard against ice dams. If too much heat escapes into the attic, it can warm the ice and snow on the roof. When it refreezes, it can cause an ice dam, which can lead to water damage inside your home or possibly even a roof collapse.
• Add weather stripping around doors and caulk windows to guard against drafts and heat loss.
• Remove screens from windows and install storm windows, if appropriate.

Your Utilities

Freezing temperatures can be especially damaging to your home’s water piping. Make sure your pipes are adequately prepared to withstand a cold snap and remember to take extra precautions if you are going to be leaving your home, including shutting off your water.

• Check for water leaks and fix problems immediately; wrap water piping in UL-Listed heat tape and insulate if it is exposed in unheated areas such as garages, crawl spaces or attics. Use only thermostatically-controlled heat tape if your water piping is plastic, and follow the manufacturer's installation instructions.
• Learn how to shut off your water and know where your pipes are located in case they do freeze; you may be able to prevent water damage.

Your Winter Safety Measures

As you prepare for winter, following are some further safety measures that are especially important during the cold season.

• Trim trees and remove dead branches so they do not damage your home or injure someone if they fall because of ice, snow or wind.
• Keep gutters clear of leaves, sticks and other debris to help ensure melting snow can drain properly. Make sure downspouts direct water away from the foundation.
• Repair steps and handrails to make them safer in the ice and snow.
• Check smoke detectors, fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, and replace batteries to ensure they are operating properly.

Your Key Supplies and Equipment

The first storm of the year can come sooner than you think. Stock up early and get key equipment, like snow blowers and generators, in good working condition long before you need them, so you can be prepared to enjoy what the season has to offer.

• Make sure you have snow shovels and a roof rake on hand. Stock your ice melting compound to melt ice on walkways.
• Have your snow blower and generator serviced and any necessary repairs made.
• Keep fuel for snow blowers and generators in approved safety containers and away from heat or flame-producing devices. Do not store fuel in your basement

How to organize your closet without going crazy

Jan. 6, 2016 at 3:34 PM

Lisa Flam

TODAY Contributo

Ready, set, purge!

If you're trying to get organized in the new year, your closet is a great place to start.

"It's the perfect time to try and get your closet under control," Stephanie Sisco, home editor for Real Simple magazine, told the Fourth-Hour ladies on TODAY Wednesday.

Here's her plan of attack:

Prep for the purge by gathering your supplies: A full-length mirror so you can see how last year's purchases look now, bags, sticky notes and Sharpie markers. Label the bags: "Donate," "Tailor," "Sell" and Recycle."

TODAY

Label bags so you know which items of clothing should be tailored, sold, recycled or donated.

Devote a (gasp) four-hour block of time to the project. If you don't have it, break it up into one-hour chunks or invite a friend over and pop open a bottle of wine and dig in.

TODAY

Purging supplies: Bags, sticky notes and markers. Wine is optional!

Dump everything onto your bed and start your "power purge." Pull out the clothes you know you wear and want to keep, and spend the rest of your time focusing on more questionable items in your closet.

There are several questions you can ask yourself as you consider whether you want to keep an item and hang it back up in the closet, or lose it and say goodbye forever.

To prove the system works, some brave TODAY producers were put to the test.

As they considered a navy top with some pilling, Sisco asked its owner, "Do you have three other pieces of clothing that still go with it? Is it still in style?"

Other questions to consider: Does an item require the high maintenance of dry cleaning, or have you been photographed in a memorable piece too often?

Another TODAY producer brought a casual sweater she purchased to wear with jeans as part of a "supermodel chic" look. It's a staple, but it's also old.

TODAY

How would you feel if you ran into an ex wearing this casual sweater?

Sisco asked her how she would feel if she was wearing it when she walked down the street and happened to run into an ex-boyfriend. "I would definitely be very upset about that," she said.

That might be the perfect test for everything we own.

Here's to a happy new year and an organized closet, neatly filled with all things that we would love to be caught in, no matter who we encounter on the street.

TODAY.com contributor Lisa A. Flam is a news and lifestyles reporter in New York. Follow her on Twitter: @lisaflam

Homesharing: Golden Girls-stye housing for Retirement Living. Ocean City Md BeachHomes4Sale - ShoreFun4U!

Most like the Golden Girls-style housing, under this arrangement, two or more retirees move into a single house or apartment in order to share the household costs and enjoy the company of one another.

Golden Girl-stye type of retirement living

Homesharing: Now is the Golden Age of Golden Girl Style Retirement Living

January 6, 2016 | by Editorial Team 

It has been nearly 25 years since the hit TV sitcom starred in living rooms across the nation, but we may be just reaching the golden age of the Golden Girls.

More the merrier with senior home sharing!

While their arrangement may have seemed unusual at the time, four adult women sharing an apartment may not be that far fetched. In fact, many people, widows and widowers in particular, who are approaching retirement age or who have retired already are seeking the benefits of home-sharing for their later years.

The trend is becoming increasingly popular, especially among women, recent national news outlets have reported, citing data from UCLA indicating one in three baby boomers are unmarried.

It makes sense: studies show loneliness can be a major detriment to health and well being, and many people are not able to physically maintain their homes on their own when they are older, thus they face steep costs for household tasks such as cleaning, exterior maintenance and transportation (if needed). Why not share the costs and benefit from all else that a live-in roommate has to offer?

But it’s not all Golden Girls when it comes to homesharing. There are several different arrangements for which the terminology is being used in the U.S. today.

Older singles cohabitate.

How does it work? Most like the Golden Girls-style housing, under this arrangement, two or more retirees move into a single house or apartment in order to share the household costs and enjoy the company of one another.

When does it work best? This arrangement works when one party owns an existing home, and another happily pays rent in addition to agreed-upon household terms. Or, both parties rent. In one recent instance cited by NPR, a Florida woman had a five-bedroom house that was too big for her needs. She was able to cohabitate with several other single women facing similar circumstances.

How to find a match: Some states, and many jurisdictions have homesharing programs that will help interested parties draw up contracts, pair with prospective matches, and navigate the home sharing process. The National Shared Housing Resource Center offers more information.

Older singles and younger singles cohabitate

How does it work? In this type of arrangement, an older homeowner rents space to a younger person who can provide help with household chores, maintenance, transportation and more. In some cases, the space is not rented, but bartered in exchange for the housework and other services the younger tenant provides.

When does it work best? Multi-generational homesharing is most obviously found in family situations. Outside of families, there are some organizations affiliated with colleges and universities that match students with older homeowners in the area.

How to find a match: Inquire with local home sharing organizations, or universities in your area. University of Michigan, for example, operates a HomeShare programthrough the Michigan Health System’s Housing Bureau for Seniors. It pairs 55+ individuals with matches of all ages.

Multi-unit co-housing

Co-housing is a little different, in that it often applies to a planned community where people live separately, but share resources such as transportation, social gatherings, outdoor amenities, and a common spaces.

The Villages model is perhaps the most well known form of co-housing for seniors, with Villages neighborhoods operating in various states and cities nationwide.

How does it work? This type of “shared” community housing is the most independent, and it does not offer the same cost cutting benefits that the other types do. Retirees, single or not, live in proximity to one another under this model, as they would in any other neighborhood. This one just happens to cater more to their needs.

How to find a match: The Cohousing Association of the United States offers a directory of resources for those seeking cohousing opportunities.

Pros and Cons of HomeSharing Arrangements

Homesharing is a solution, but it’s not for everyone. Like all living arrangements, it comes with pros and cons.

Pros:

• All parties can cut down on costs
• Companionship can improve well being among the aging population
• Homesharing arrangements can take the stress out of ongoing household tasks

Cons:

• There are financial implications that can impact your taxes and overall financial outlook

• A homesharing agreement should include a contract to ensure all parties are protected and are in agreement. There are risks inherent in renting or sharing a space with anyone, at any time.
• If you’ve lived alone for many years, suddenly living with a roommate is an adjustment that may take time to get used to. Those who cohabitate, but who hold different hours may not be the best fit, for example.

If you’re interested in a homesharing solution and would like to know more about the financial implications including costs and benefits, talk with an experienced financial professional for more information.

Or, use the NewRetirement Retirement Calculator to help you assess whether home sharing is a good financial option for you.  The system will help you assess your current situation and give you the tools to discover if cutting costs with house sharing and other options will give you a more viable financial future.

Happy Healthy New Year - Maybe this year is the year to look into that beach vacation home :)

Air out your winter-tight home! Tips for Better Air Quality

Tips for Better Air Quality in a Winter-Tight House

Tips for Better Air Quality in a Winter-Tight House

RISMEDIA, Wednesday, December 23, 2015— (TNS)—I just replaced the furnace filter—every six months, as directed by the professional who visits to fine-tune it periodically.

Looking at the accumulated dirt made me glad it was the filter, not my lungs, that looked so sooty, but it made me wonder about indoor air quality.

We have central air-conditioning, so our windows stay closed in the summer. When I do open the windows in the spring and mid-fall, there is a lot of sneezing because of pollen and leaf mold.

Winter is when much of the world locks down, however, and the experts tell me that indoor air quality can suffer as a result.

Space heaters, ranges, ovens, furnaces, fireplaces, water heaters and building materials in the home can seriously affect air quality, as can dust mites, pet dander and smoking.

Keeping fumes, dander, mites and other pollutants and allergens to a minimum helps prevent respiratory problems and allergic reactions, including coughing, headaches, itchy and watery eyes, shortness of breath, even asthma attacks.

Here are three suggestions from air-filter manufacturer Permatron Corp., based in Elk Village, Ill.:

Clean it up. While most people ascribe to spring cleaning, getting your home ready for winter is equally important. Use a damp cloth to dust tops of doors, window frames, cabinets, artwork and ceiling fans. Dust and vacuum air vents, under furniture and behind the refrigerator.

Don’t track outside dirt, sidewalk and road chemicals, and other pollutants into your home. Simply add grass or rubber mats outside, so people can wipe their feet before entering. Ask your family as well as guests to remove their shoes and store them on a rubber mat next to the front door to keep from tracking dirt and pollutants throughout the house.

Keep mites away. Combat them by keeping the humidity about 35 percent; drier air discourages mites. Clean drapes and bedding frequently in hot water.

Turn your recirculating fan to “on” instead of “auto.” The “auto” setting causes the fan to shut off with the rest of the system as soon as the desired temperature is reached.

©2015 The Philadelphia Inquirer
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC