Survey Results: Downpayment and Closing Costs are the Biggest Obstacles
July 24th, 2009
Categories:Real Estate News
National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their 2009 National Housing Pulse Survey last week. Here are some of the highlights.
82% of home buyers looking to take advantage of this market feel saving for a down payment and closing costs is still too great of an obstacle.
On a positive note, 83% of Americans surveyed believe buying a home is a good financial decision.
75% of those surveyed believe now is a good time to buy a home, a number that continues to increase.
80% of homeowners feel it is harder to sell a home in today’s market than it was a year ago.
Only 18% of Americans expect prices to Read the rest of this entry »
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The Basics of Owning a Green Home in Arizona
July 23rd, 2009
Categories:Home Ownership
Green home ownership is quickly becoming a high priority for home buyers. Especially in Arizona where many of us wonder why we can’t harvest more of the never ending heat that beats down on our homes every day. Not to mention, water conservation is always a big concern us desert dwellers.
The number of ways to turn a home green are constantly growing. At the same time the countless choices can become overwhelming. Lets take a step back and look at the basics of being green. Starting with the infamous recycle logo and moving on to water, electricity and natural gas.
We will cover:
- The 3 R’s of Being Green
- Water Conservation in Arizona
- Electricity Cutting
- Natural Gas Reduction
The 3 R’s of Being Green
Reduce – It’s important but the hardest to do
So much of our culture and economy has been built on the idea of Read the rest of this entry »
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So Many Types of Loans, How Does One Choose?
July 22nd, 2009
Categories:Home Buyer Education
When talking to a loan officer, you will normally hear about the traditional types of loans. In this market you might only hear about FHA loans because they are becoming so popular and universal.
However, a good loan officer should be able to give you additional financing options to help you make the best decision for your specific needs, wants and goals.
Here is a list of the most common financing techniques:
- Straight Loan
- Interest Only Mortgage
- Balloon Payment Loan
- Amortized Loan
- Adjustable Rate Mortgage
- Growing Equity Mortgage
- Reverse Annuity Mortgage
Straight Loan (aka Term Loan)
With a straight loan, the borrower makes periodic payments on the interest until the end of the term. At the end of the term, the borrow then pays the principal (loan) amount in full.
A straight loan used to be the only type of loan available. However nowadays this type of loan is most commonly seen in Read the rest of this entry »
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What Closing Costs Do You Have to Pay for at the Closing Table?
July 21st, 2009
Categories:Home Buyer Education
This question was sent to me twice last week, so I thought I would post the answer in blog for anyone else looking for this answer.
Below you’ll find a laundry list of the fees you will most likely see in a real estate transaction. When deciding who pays for what fees, that will depend on what you negotiate when you agree to buy or sell the home. In this market, its a common misconception the seller pays for all the closing costs. While it happens a good deal of the time, it is still very common to see a buyer willing to pay their own costs.
When it comes to negotiating a purchase offer you’ll find one of two scenarios typically play out with the closing costs. Scenario One: The seller pays the closing costs and the sale price of the home remains the same or increases (to justify the amount of the closing costs). Scenario Two: The seller doesn’t pay any closing costs, but they decide to lower the purchase price of the home. Its normally a matter of how much cash the buyer wants to bring to the closing table.
Closing costs will vary from transaction to transaction based on 4 main factors:
- The state you are buying or selling a home in
- The fees charged by the title company
- The fees charged by the lender
- The terms agreed upon in the contract
I’ll break down some of the more common fees into sections. These fees are commonly broken down in a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and in the HUD-1. The GFE will be given to you by your loan officer before you write a contract (ideally). The numbers on the GFE will only be estimates, hence the “E” in GFE. =) The HUD-1 will come about three to five days before closing and will contain Read the rest of this entry »
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Time's Quickly Ticking for the $8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit
July 20th, 2009
Categories:Real Estate News
Are you looking to purchase a home and take advantage of the lucrative $8,000 First-Time Home buyer tax credit?
Well the clock is a ticking!
In order to receive the $8,000 gift from the IRS, the house must close by December 1st.
Keep in mind, the IRS is handing out the dough for this one. I don’t think they will be too keen on the idea of making exceptions.
Give yourself a good 45-60 days for your deal to close. Which means plan on having the home under contract and in escrow by Read the rest of this entry »
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Got SRP? Expect to Pay More in November
July 17th, 2009
Categories:Real Estate News
SRP’s increased cost is estimated at an average of 8.8% or $12.22 per month for customers using the Basic Price Plan and 1,208 kilowatt-hours per month.
While the talks started on Monday to discuss the proposed increase, the changes won’t take affect until November 1st, 2009. Which will give consumers a chance to adjust their energy spending and possibly make long-term improvements towards more energy efficient programs.
SRP makes it very clear they have already dramatically reduced their operating budget by over $40 million and decreased capital expenditures by $90 million this year. However, they still face the challenges involved with stricter environmental requirements as the country shifts to cleaner way of generating energy. Which they note as also being a more expensive way of generating energy. Read the rest of this entry »
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Draining Dollars from Water Heating Bills
July 16th, 2009
Categories:Home Ownership
When it comes to buying an energy efficient home, windows, insulation, appliances and lighting tend to get the most attention. What’s commonly overlook is the amount of energy used by the water heater.
According to the Department of Energy, between 10 and 20% of a household’s total energy consumption goes to the water heater. There used to only be one type of water heater with two options: electric or gas. Today the types of water heaters available are growing and so are the incentives and regulations to start converting to a more energy efficient model.
Here are the topics we’ll cover:
- 4 Types of Water Heaters
- How to Select a New Water Heater
- Resources for Finding State and Federal Incentives on Water Heaters
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