Bobby’s Blog

Thanksgiving Has Past.

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 06:38:54 -0500

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. I did. It was truly lovely. My mom is still visiting with us. Good times. I am an early riser and I do a great deal of thinking and contemplating in the quiet of the early morning.

At dinner on Thursday one of our guests asked me about refinancing his home. Two years ago (that was 12/8/2008) I wrote about refinancing. Then rates were hovering around 4.5%. Well here we are almost two years later and rates can be found in the high 3% range. But what does that mean?

I am not a mortgage expert. I am a Realtor. But I have thought about this. First, what does it take to get a 3.99% or lower rate? My clients who have been speaking about these rates are looking at 5 or 7 adjustable rate or 15 year fixed rate programs or interest only loans. They are not the conventional 30 year loans that we often think of when we hear the word “mortgage”.

Next, we have to acknowledge in many cases our home values have decreased in the past few years. Our assessments (the values that are assigned to our properties by our cities or towns) are down, even though our taxes may be up. Sometime the mortgage company or bank will take this as the value of the property, and thus the amount they will lend us on, truly taking it straight from the municipal assessment. Thus, we may not be able to borrow all that we may want.

Independent appraisals are still used, but we have to acknowledge that our homes may not be worth what our neighbor sold for 5 years ago.

Also, what other factors are involved? Do you currently have an equity line of credit on your home? That will influence how much you can borrow. In some cases the holder of the equity line will be willing to subordinate (place their loan in second position to the new loan) their loan. Others will reduce or freeze the amount of that credit line. Still others will ask that the loan be paid off, in full, at the time of the refinance.

There is still a lot going on in the world of banking and finance. It is not that easy to navigate. Call your financial advisors or Laura or myself if you have any questions. We can lead you in the right direction to get honest answers that are appropriate to your situation.

Happy Holidays!
Bobby

Blogging, it’s easy, who said?

Sun, 6 Jun 2010 06:43:53 -0400

Everywhere you go people are talking about blogs. They read them, they write them, they were quoted in them or they were blogged about. It isn’t easy to keep up a blog. I have tried, but what is it that people want to read about? Certainly you aren’t interested in what I had for dinner or where I am headed next!

The real estate market tends to interest everyone. So, what is happening out there. Well, believe it or not, there are homes selling. People move locations for jobs, they create new families, they have to make room for elderly parents to join them in their homes. What is your story?

Laura are working with buyers who have lots of reasons for their pending move. We work with them to make it happen. We can do the same for you. Tell us your needs, wants and desires. That combined with your ability (the DNA of a buyer Desire, Need and Ability) will assist us in making your dream come true.

Amazing Mortgage Rates?

Sun, 7 Dec 2008 09:15:07 -0500

We keep hearing on the news that mortgage rates are going to come down to 4.5%. Wouldn’t that be nice!

If you dig deeper you will see that this number came from an MSNBC story earlier this week stating a total of $50 Billion could be going to this mortgage program. That would be perhaps 200,000 loans for the entire country. This sounds impressive, until you realize that Fannie Mae is projecting a total of $1,595 Billion in new loans for 2009. This proposal would be just about 3% of new mortgages.

Who knows what will happen. For the time being, interest rates for conventional mortgages are quite attractive. Let us know if we can help.

Today’s Boston Globe says:

Sun, 2 Nov 2008 16:43:01 -0500

I find that the MBA in me leads me prove all the numbers that are quoted in the paper. Today the Boston Globe headlined the HOMES section “Marked down to move.”

It said that 35% of homes in Wellesley have been marked down before they sold. Believe it or not, they are right. But that does not mean that prices have come down 35%!

Of sales through the Multiple Listing Service 35.8% of the closed sales in the past 6 months had price reductions. An average of 7% off the original list price. Not a huge discount. It should also be noted that 3 homes sold having raised their list price (all new construction). These same homes then sold, at a 4%, on average, discount from the new list price.

The total discount off the original list price was about 10.5%. That is not a huge number considering everything we are hearing.

This is not a good time to “test the waters.” But if you are ready to sell your house, Laura and I are here to help you price your home right, right off the bat.

Don’t forget to vote. There are important issues to consider, make your voice heard, VOTE.

Is there money out there to be had?

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:38:44 -0400

The answer is yes! That is the good news. We are told that the mortgage companies are being a bit more selective, as they should be. So when you are ready, venture into your local bank or call us for names of local lenders who are ready to work with our clients.