Finding And Financing The Perfect Home For You

Buying a home is something that requires a lot of time, effort and is simplified when a plan is in place to help manage the process. Below you will find steps that will make your home buying process easier to handle.

Begin Researching Early On: It is never too early to start looking into what is available within the real estate industry.  When you find a home that interests you take notes on how long the home stays on the market, how many times the asking price changes.  This information will give you an idea on what trends are currently happening within the local housing industry.

Establish What You Can Afford To Spend: Most mortgage brokers recommend that homeowners look for homes that are no more than three to five times what their annual household income is. A down payment of twenty percent os recommended as is decreasing the amount of debt you are carrying.  These determinations should be based on your personal financial status and what you feel comfortable with.  It is not as important to focus on the three time your annual income and twenty percent down payment rules but more your personal comfort.

Obtain Prequalification On A Mortgage: Meet with a mortgage broker to determine exactly how much you can qualify for.  As a preapproved or prequalified buyer, sellers are more likely to consider your offer.  The mortgage officer will obtain a credit report, information on your income and debt ratio and other crucial financial information. 

Locate A Local Real Estate Agent: Partnering with the right real estate agent whether looking to buy or sell a home is crucial.  Local realtors are the best source of information on the area and can be extremely valuable in helping you find the home of your dreams. 

Shop For And Make An Offer On A Home: Your real estate agent will get a list of homes available that meet your wants and needs while being within your budget and locations of interest.  When look at a lot of houses all within a short period of time you can become quiet overwhelmed.  Be sure to take pictures and videos as you go; make notes on as you go as it will help you remember each home and what features you like and don’t like about certain homes. 

Home Inspections Are Important:  Any home that you are serious in should be inspected by a professional home inspector.  Before you spend money on hiring an inspector there are a few items that can you can inspect on your own:

• Turn all of the plumbing on throughout the home to test for water pressure. Identify how long it takes for the water to get warm and how long the hot water lasts.
• Test the electrical systems on within the home. Turn the lights on and off in each room while also testing ceiling fans and more.
• The windows need to be tested as well. Open and close them to see if they work properly while checking out the seal and caulking around the windows.

Evaluate the Neighborhood:

• How are other homes within the neighborhood maintained? Are they well landscaped; does it look like people take care of the exteriors of their home?
• Is there a lot of traffic on the streets outside of and around the home?
• What is the parking like around the home?
• Is the home located near places of interest to you? Are you able to get to and from places you need and want to go without trouble.

Work With A Mortgage Loan Officer To Get The Right Mortgage: Mortgage lenders have a wide variety of loan options that they can offer to perspective home buyers.  Depending on the type of home, your military background, home buying status, your credit rating and more will influence the type of mortgages that you qualify for.

Coordinate Paperwork and Closing:  Last but not least get ready to close on your home loan and move into the home of your dreams. 

The home buying process is something that can be managed with the right people and steps in place.  Be sure to surround yourself with people that have the same goals and objectives in your home buying process in order to ensure successful transactions throughout the process. 

Mortgage Rate Expectations In 2016

No one, not psychics or clairvoyants, economists or analysts know for sure what is going to happen to mortgage rates in 2016.  After the surprising twists and turns within the housing market over the past decade and the credit crunch of 2007 into 2008 the only thing for sure is that economic forecasting is no more reliable than astrology as the late professor of economics at Harvard, John Kenneth Galbraith stated.  This does not mean however that speculation about the 2016 mortgage rates is futile.

It is unwise to go through the year without a forecast.  Some thought at what our credit market will possibly look like based on the current economic situations, historical data and trends are necessary.  It may not prove to be one hundred percent spot on but time and time again it has been proven that the more we know the better off we can prepare for the future.

It is unwise of homeowners to expect the crazy low rates that are currently “normal” to remain.  If you look into the archives of Freddie Mac you will see that it has been more than five years since the rates on a thirty year fixed rate mortgage were over five percent.  In fact, this decade has reached an all time low point.  Near the end of 2012 the rates were at three point thirty five percent.   Currently, the thirty year fixed rate mortgage rates are a little over four percent.

Consumers will look at this as a new normal when in fact this is far from normal and is in fact exceptional.  Although it is not expected that mortgage rates continue to rise at any significant levels it should not be forgotten that there was a time in our not so distant past where normal thirty year fixed rate mortgage rates were above ten percent reaching a high around eighteen point forty five percent.  This wasn’t that long ago, in fact these rates were found in October of 1981, only thirty five years ago.  This was in fact when many of us were in middle school.  Think about it; that really isn’t too long ago.  Consider what the rates will look like when your middle school aged children are middle aged; can our economy continue to grow with rates under five percent.

It is probably unlikely that any economists would bet that we will see mortgage ratesreach those all time high’s again in our lifetime but to stay at the low we are currently experiencing is unlikely over time as well.  What you will find mortgage analysts saying is that the “normal” we are experiencing at the moment are unlikely to be permanent just as the high’s of the early eighties were unlikely to become continue for years to come.

There are many variables when it comes to our economy and mortgage rates.  The timing of when mortgage rates will increase and decrease is anyone’s guess.  The inevitability of the situation however remains the same; mortgage rates will continue to increase and decrease throughout time depending on a number of variable situations within our own economy and that of the economies we rely on outside if the United States.

Continue to look for the increase in the current economy with low inflation and low unemployment to increase mortgage rates slightly.  As we continue to see peeks in incomes, spending, consumer confidence, manufacturing and the gross domestic product we can expect strong mortgage rates with increasing.  The faster the economy grows the more the mortgage rates will spike and at a greater pace.  What we look for going forward is consistent growth that paces itself in order to prevent a major spike in mortgage interest rates for 2016.

Cross Country Mortgage in Brighton, Michigan provide mortgage services for clients including new home loans, refinancing, reversed mortgages, new purchase home mortgages and home equity loans to the entire Livingston County area including Brighton, Howell and Livingston County. Cross Country Mortgage Brighton, MI at http://brightoncrosscountry.com/.