Posted September 7, 2015

We’re from the Government, We’re Here to Help You : )

Fannie Mae, later this year, will be rolling out a new program called HomeReady to help lower- and moderate-income borrowers purchase homes. This will be integrated into their Desktop Underwriting program and will automatically flag potential borrowers for inclusion in the program by utilizing the DU findings. Here are some details:

• HomeReady will eliminate or cap certain loan level pricing adjustments (LLPAs) such as those associated with credit score, LTV, etc. – possibly translating to a low mortgage rate

• A non-borrower household member’s income can be considered when determining the borrower’s DTI ratio

• Will also allow income for non-occupant borrowers, such as parents of a borrower, to be used to supplement qualifying income

More details will be released soon – we’ll keep you updated. Stay tuned . . .

Gas: Unleaded, Diesel, or 3-Bedroom Colonial

According to a recent study from Florida Atlantic University and Longwood University, a strong indicator of home prices is what you pay at the pump. The study encompasses a 10-year span and reveals the following:

• For every $1 decrease in gas prices, the average selling price of a home CLIMBED by 2.4% (that’s about $4,000 more per sold property included in the study)

• Also, for that $1 per gallon decrease in gasoline price, the average time to sell a property falls by 25 days

• AND, that same $1 decrease was also shown to increase a seller’s chances of closing the sale by about 20 percent

The analysis of the results explained: When prices at the pump are lower, consumers have more disposable income, which equates to a larger pool of prospective home buyers. Food for thought: on the other side of the same coin, one might be able to pick up a relative bargain when gas prices are high.

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Posted August 31, 2015

Fast . . . So They’re Not Furious InSellerate , a lead-generation company, conducted a study that yielded some very interesting insights: • 32% of consumers expect a company to respond to an online inquiry within 30 minutes • 42% of consumers expect contact within one hour • M ore than half of the companies studied (56.34%) did not respond to the online or email inquiry at all Of those companies that did respond, the average response time exceeded 24 hours, and the primary response vehicle was email, which is a passive, relatively non-effective method of contact . The take-away thought from all of this is “no kidding”, of course, but it underscores the wisdom that a lead is only as good as the work you put into it. Safety Over Sales According to a USA Today article, realtors in Iowa are taking steps to ensure the safety of all agents. The initiative includes an optional seller contract that prohibits any agent from ...

Perspective Produces Progress

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An Indelible Lesson

This is a reprint from about nine months ago, but I thought the timing is right to revisit this subject. Recently, I saw this gentleman at the gym whose upper body was almost entirely covered in tattoos. I struck up a conversation with him and learned that it took well over 100 hours, and it cost $85/hour. As we continued to chat, I was doing the math in my head: $85 X 100 hours = $8,500 ! Being the mortgage geek that I am, my next thought was, “I’m staring at a walking, talking down payment on a house!” There’s a huge misconception floating out there that 20% is required as a down payment. There are those products that do require such an amount, but there are so many others that don’t. A very popular loan option only requires 3.5%. In the case of my new gym acquaintance, $8,500 represents a 3.5% down payment on a $242,000 mortgage – that’s not a palace, but that amount of money could buy a modest home in a nice neighborho...

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