Whether applying for a purchase loan or refinancing your existing mortgage, there are dozens of different things that can impact your ability to qualify for a loan to varying degrees. Some of the most significant are: Credit Score – One of the “Big Three” pillars of qualifying for a loan. Higher scores make multiple loan …
How we help those who have served our country… We salute those who have served our country in war or peace, and we thank them for their sacrifice. 2019 marked the 75th anniversary of VA Home Loan Benefit offerings through the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, also known as the GI Bill. Since 1944, this law has created opportunities for …
Where Are Mortgage Interest Rates? In case you haven’t heard, mortgage rates are at the lowest point in history. For the best qualified borrower rates and firmly below 3%. If your interest rate is in the mid 3’s or higher, it is worth reaching out to us to see if refinancing might make sense. Remember …
Mortgage Rate Changes & Moving During A Pandemic Read More »
Purchasing a home can be the most major financial event in your life. Given that, you want to ensure you are doing everything you can to avoid overpaying for your dream home. It’s not that difficult, but unfortunately you do not have a long time to decide. What is the best price to offer that …
With the housing market staggered to some degree by the health crisis the country is currently facing, some potential purchasers are questioning whether home values will be impacted. The price of any item is determined by supply as well as the market’s demand for that item. Each month the National Association of Realtors (NAR) surveys “over 50,000 real …
Will Home Values Appreciate or Depreciate in 2020? Read More »
By now, If you are a homeowner and have a mortgage, you most likely have heard about the option for mortgage forbearance. The government, in their infinite wisdom, came up with this plan to allow homeowners to skip monthly mortgage payments for up to six months assuming that you have had a hardship related to …
Is Refinancing A Better Alternative Than A Mortgage Forbearance? Read More »
Our job is to help you navigate through one of the most important financial decisions you’ll ever make—purchasing or refinancing a home. Your trust in us is something we take very seriously as a mortgage professionals and because of this, we wanted to reach out and address a topic that we’ve seen a lot of …
3 Things To Consider Before Requesting A Mortgage Forbearance Read More »
While we are all getting a little freaked out looking at our 401K’s, this past month has provided opportunities to refinance and purchase new homes that have not been seen since 2012 and prior to that you had to go back to the 1940s to see interest rates as low. These rates are being driven …
The housing market has started off much stronger this year than it did last year. Lower mortgage interest rates have been a driving factor in that change. The average 30-year rate in 2019, according to Freddie Mac, was 3.94%. Today that rate is closer to 3.5%. The Census Bureau also just reported the highest homeownership rate since 2014 for people under 35. This is evidence …
The Family Mortgage Team is proud to be able to offer an exciting new loan program that is launching in only six major Metro Areas, including Atlanta, and it is limited to only 12 lenders across the country. It is a Fannie Mae Conventional loan program that gives eligible first-time homebuyers a Grant of $5,250 …
$5,000 First Time Homebuyer Grants Now Available!! Read More »
As we journey into 2023, I decided to look back at the housing and mortgage predictions from our 2022 January newsletter. These prognosticators were clearly off the mark last year. Much of this was driven by the Federal Reserve’s poor communication. It really wasn’t until the spring that they even admitted that they were behind …
As we close out a very crazy year in the real estate industry, we wanted to give you a quick overview of what has transpired and some of the reasons behind it. From there, we will transition to some insights into what we see in our crystal ball for the next 6 to 12 months. …
Selling your home over the past two years didn’t require much thought or effort. The minute you listed your home, you would typically have 10-20 offers, many of them above your list price. Things have finally started slowing down. With prices skyrocketing over the past two years and interest rates finally making a move higher, …
3 Critical Tips If You Plan On Selling Your Home Soon Read More »
Credit Score Improvements The CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) shared a concern to the credit industry regarding medical debt and consumers. The director of the CFPB stated that 58% of the debt and collections on people’s credit reports is medical debt. As a result, the credit bureaus have agreed to alter the data reported on …
New Credit Score Improvements & Home Renovations Read More »
You can’t pick up any article or watch anything on TV related to the economy today, without hearing the word recession. The National Bureau of Economic Research determines when a recession starts and ends. Typically, they define this as two consecutive quarters of negative gross domestic product (GDP). But there are other factors involved including …
Recession Coming? What Does It All Mean For Housing…? Read More »
With property values in much of the country up over 20% year-over-year and more and more catastrophic weather-related situations, real estate property taxes and homeowner’s insurance are likely to be significantly higher this year. If you are a homeowner and you escrow as part of your monthly payment for taxes and insurance, you receive an …
Property Taxes and Homeowners’ Insurance Increasing Read More »
According to recent data from Redfin, Atlanta Metro’s median monthly rent is currently $2,095. That’s $392 higher than the current median mortgage payment in Atlanta, which is $1,703 (*includes 5% down payment). Redfin’s Chief Economist, Daryl Fairweather, states, “Those who choose to rent may save money in expensive housing markets in the near term, but …
Buying A Home Is Still Cheaper Than Renting In Metro Atlanta Read More »
Scott’s Perspective The current real estate market of high demand/low supply has some speculating that history will repeat itself in the form of another Financial Crises like what occurred in 2008. I’ve read headlines lately mentioning a “Housing Bubble”, and warning of the “Imminent Housing Crash!” However, nothing could be further from the truth. Leading …
With home inventory at record lows and property values increasing significantly over the past few years, you might be wondering if it makes sense to wait until things calm down to buy a home. The media would have you believe that we are in another 2008/2009 scenario where the market might crash. The reality is …
Should I Wait to Buy a Home Until the Market Slows Down? Read More »
