Skip to main content

Someday is Today (Posted December 26, 2016)





I’m not exactly sure why the new year is what prompts so many of us to draw up a list of “resolutions” that might include losing 15 lbs., being nicer to the dog, and beating out Brad Pitt and George Clooney on the “Sexiest Man Alive” list, but this time of year seems to be when we look at our lives and think, “We need to make some changes.”  On the plus side, such an exercise sort of forces us to take those things we want to do “someday” and give them a timeline.  Well, ladies and gentlemen, someday is TODAY.  Take a look at this:

If you’ve been waiting for things to “settle down” before you purchase a house, the graphic above should settle things for you.  Interest rates aren’t going to skyrocket tomorrow, and they don’t need to in order to keep you from being able to afford the house you want they just need to creep up by a half or full point, and you could be out of the game.  When they increase by half a point, your ability to pay a mortgage drops by $25,000 another half point, and you’re down almost $50,000.  The Fed has signaled that they’re going to raise rates probably three times in the coming year.

When you have your eye on that perfect house and so do three other people are you going to have that extra $25,000 wiggle room to knock out the competition?  Don’t let someday sideline you.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Definition of Insanity (in Real Estate)

More than a couple of years ago, I witnessed something that makes me laugh and cringe at the same time.  Having lunch at a local restaurant, I spied a real estate agent and a loan originator having what I would characterize as a “first date”. I couldn’t help but overhear little snippets of their conversation, and as far as I could tell, things were going relatively well . . . at least until the agent asked the LO this question: “So, do you like to sit at open houses with agents?”  I immediately looked to the LO’s face awaiting the response.  I didn’t need to hear another single word coming out of the LO’s mouth because his face said everything:  you would have thought the agent had asked him if he enjoyed bobbing for apples in a pool of acid judging by the look on his face.  While his face was communicating complete revulsion, his lips said, “Yes, of course.”  And that’s when I looked over at the agent’s face to see, ...

Time for a New York-Style Housing Fix

Previously, I’ve written about a man who works in our office who lived in New York City back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s – let me assure you that while that does seem like a very long time ago, it’s not nearly as far bac k as when the wheel was invented and humankind learned to harness the power of fire. If you’ve been to New York City recently and blissfully walked around Harlem to get chicken and waffles at Sylvia’s on Malcolm X Boulevard between 126 th and 127 th Streets or stopped in at Keybar on 13 th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A to wedge yourself into a cozy corner next to their notable fireplace, you wouldn’t get a sense that these areas were once . . . not as welcoming and glitzy as you now see them. Our office mate has told some fairly interesting stories of living in those and other areas of New York City that give a much different sense.   In the late ‘80s/early ‘90s, no matter how many great things you heard about Sylvia’s food, 127 th Str...

Change: the Only Sure Thing

Which headline is better for grabbing your attention and prompting you to read the article to which it’s attached: “Credit Reports to Exclude Certain Negative Information, But Read on to See if This Even Applies to You” or “ Credit Reports to Exclude Certain Negative Information, Boosting FICO Scores”?   Obviously, the former is less than tantalizing while the latter makes you say, “Tell me more!”   I was in the “tell me more” camp, and the folks at The Wall Street Journal sucked me into their vortex. The development, set to go into practice on July 1 st , is certainly a departure from how the Big Three (Experian, TransUnion , and Equifax) have done things in the past, but it’s not going to wave a magic wand and make bankruptcies, foreclosures, short sales, etc., go away.   It’s sort of a bittersweet development.   Let me explain: Many tax liens and civil judgments will be removed from people’s credit reports if they don’t include a complete list of a...