Home Buying Made Easier with Low Interest Rates

Today’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS) compiled by Freddie Mac showed a slight decrease or stay in mortgage rates. If you are in the market to buy a home, now is an excellent time to lock in a great rate for purchasing a home.

Continued low interest rates create more opportunities for home buyers who can qualify.

• A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage currently averages 3.55% (with an average 0.7 point) in comparison to last week’s 3.59% and the 4.12% fixed rate mortgage offered at this time last year.
• The 15-year fixed rate mortgage remained the same, at an average 2.86% (with 0.6 point), versus the 2011 15-year fixed rate of 3.33%.
• The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage was down slightly, as well, averaging 2.75% (with 0.7 point) instead of last week’s 2.78% and last year’s 2.96%.
• The 1-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage dropped a bit, too, coming in at 2.61% (including an average 0.4 point), rather than 2.63% one week ago and the 2.84% seen in 2011.

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac Vice President and Chief Economist explained, “Mortgage rates were little changed over the holiday week amid mixed economic data releases. Although consumer spending rose 0.4% in July, representing the largest gain in five months, the core price index was unchanged suggesting little threat of inflation. Consumer confidence picked up slightly in August according to the University of Michigan, but remained below this year’s peak in May. And the manufacturing industry contracted for the third consecutive month in August.”

So, taking all that into consideration, now may be the perfect time for you to sell or buy a home. Call or email me to find out the latest news, get pre-approved, or find out about available homes for sale in our community. I’d love to help you with your real estate needs!

Is Condo Life Right For You?

Perhaps you’ve looked over the housing market and have sticker shock. Maybe the idea of maintaining a backyard has you running for cover or you just want to keep things simple.

Whatever the reason, if you have decided that you are interested in a owning a smaller, more easily maintained property, you may be investigating condominiums.

Buying a condominium is a bit different from buying any other types of property, and has both advantages and disadvantages. To start the process of determining if condominium life is right for you, there are some important questions to ask.

Namely, for starters, what is a condominium?
A condominium, commonly referred to as a condo is a single unit on a multi-unit property where individual units, including the land beneath them, can be purchased with the overall maintenance expense of the entire property shared.

How are the shared expenses handled?
Typically decisions affecting the entire “condo complex” are made by a Condo Association which holds regular meetings for board members and owners. As such each unit owner is subject to rulings established by that association. A Declaration or the Bylaws often referred to as CC&Rs dictate and help to determine how maintenance issues are addressed. As a prospective condo owner, associated maintenance fees and projected increases, assessments for the reserve fund, and insurance fees are items that you should learn about prior to your purchase.

Do I pay homeowner’s insurance?
In terms of insurance, typically condo owners are responsible for the contents inside their individual dwelling – from walls and floors to cabinets and doors. Each condo association has an individual declaration which is a legal document that will spell out the details so that you can have a clear understanding . Typically condo owners can remodel and change interior surfaces at their discretion. Exterior modifications, however, generally need to be approved (or denied) by the Condo Association Board.

Anything else I need to know?
It is also helpful to consider homeowner statistics in the “condo complex” before finalizing your purchase. Knowing the percentage of properties that are “owner-occupied” and the amount of owners that are current on their dues can have impact on your future home and financial security. You may also want to ask questions regarding timeframes of major upgrades, like pool or clubhouse renovations or roofing needs and the ramifications of those on association members, before making your purchase. Speaking with other residents that live near the condo you are considering, can help you find out the inside scope about that particular property and help you to read the “fine print” in the association agreement, too.

As you make your condo purchase, there is a lot to consider, aside from the points listed above. Give me a call to discuss what other “need to know” items you should add to your list or to see some properties that are available now. I’d love to help you find a home you will love!

Why Your Real Estate Business Needs Online Reviews

by Brandon Barker on Jul 17, 2012

The business of real estate is staying ahead of the competition — for clients, for inventory, for marketing space. And traditionally real estate agent marketing has involved print material (brochures, fliers, yard signs) and more recently social media marketing (blogs and Facebook) to promote your real estate business and reputation. But Realtors need to quickly embrace one of the most powerful real estate agent marketing tools in the web 2.0 era: The client review. You see them everywhere — products, restaurants, businesses and services — and you can read a ton of them on ReachFactor.

Real estate agent reviews create an excellent after-sale line of communication with your clients in addition to being excellent real estate agent marketing tools. Giving clients the opportunity to comment on your skills, service and experience shows them that you appreciated their business, care about their opinion and want to improve the way you do business. Overall, it’s a good first step in solidifying your long-term client relationships.

In a recent article on AGBeat called 5 Reasons Realtors Should Embrace Online Ratings, reviews, author Marti Trewe writes,

“In a recent survey… home buyers revealed that the number one reason that they would choose to work with a Realtor is if that agent had authentic online reviews from past clients. And consumer studies back that up, showing that when a service or brand is reviewed by consumers, it gives them a definite edge over their competition – for services with online reviews the ‘look to book’ ratio is 4 times better, and they boast a 12.5% higher conversion rate than those without.”

As Mr. Trewe points out, clients trust the opinion of other clients more than traditional marketing, making the embrace of online reviews a pretty important move for any real estate agent. The truth of the matter is, you’re getting Googled and so is your competition. Grabbing your share of the client review market, and using a service like ReachFactor that will make those reviews searchable, is a great way to stand out and give your business some online pulse.

But what about negative reviews? No matter. According to the article, “According to a recent study, 68% of consumers trust reviews more when they see both good and bad scores – and building trust with the consumer is what online reviews are all about.”

For more insight in how to respond to negative reviews, click here: The Right Way to Respond to Negative Feedback.