Posts Tagged ‘Iowa Real Estate Market’
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011
Our markets continue to be shielded from the rest of the country’s harsh decline in home prices, with our markets seeing a distinct increase, especially in the Quad Cities and Dubuque.
Nationally home prices have fallen 17.50% in the last five years, but all of our markets’ home prices are up: 8.51% in Dubuque; 6.35% in the Quad Cities; 3.68% in Iowa City; and 2.73% in Cedar Rapids.
According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, of the 309 MSA’s (Metropolitan Statistical Areas) ranked by home price appreciation, all of our markets in eastern Iowa ranked in the top 30% in the nation – Dubuque at 11th; Quad Cities at 30th; Cedar Rapids at 79th; and Iowa City at 92nd.
Analysts attribute national declines to the many foreclosures and short sales, as our markets have not been badly impacted as compared to the rest of the country. Local markets continue to provide a much more stable environment for purchasing homes and investing in real estate.
A family-owned company since 1862, Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS annually sells nearly 3,800 homes in eastern Iowa, western Illinois and southwestern Wisconsin. Caroline Ruhl is the President and owner of Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS, and is the fourth generation of the Ruhl family to lead the residential brokerage and home services company. Headquartered in Davenport, Iowa, the company has 285 sales associates and 50 employees based in sales offices located in Bellevue, Bettendorf, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Coralville, Davenport, DeWitt, Dubuque, Maquoketa, and Muscatine, in Iowa, and in Moline, Illinois. In addition to residential sales, Ruhl&Ruhl offers services in relocation, new home sales, farm and land sales, senior services, real estate investment, property management and mortgage services through 1862 Mortgage and insurance services through the Nelson Ruhl Agency. For more information on Ruhl&Ruhl, visit their website at www.RuhlHomes.com.
Tags: agents, buying, Buying a Home, caroline ruhl, first time buyers, home, home buyer programs, home search, housing market, Illinois Real Estate Market, iowa real estate, Iowa Real Estate Market, quad cities, Quad Cities Real Estate, Quad Cities Real Estate Market, Real Estate, Real Estate Sales Volume, realtors, regional markets, ruhl, Ruhl and Ruhl, ruhl&ruhl, Ruhl&Ruhl Market Share, Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, RuhlHomes, sales volume, selling, selling your home
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Friday, August 5th, 2011
“Housing is more affordable than it’s been in a generation. I think it is a good time to become a home owner because it’s so affordable today compared to where it’s been for generations,” stated HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. This is a great time to buy in our region – and here is why:
1. Our Region’s Real Estate Market is healthier than the rest of the country. Take a look at how our 4 MSA’s (Metropolitan Statistical Areas) compare to the 309 MSA’s that HUD tracks on page 7. Based on appreciation over the past 5 years – we rock!
Percent Change in House Prices in 5 Years:
Cedar Rapids + 2.73 %
Quad Cities + 6.35 %
(Davenport, Moline, Rock Island)
Dubuque + 8.51 %
Iowa City + 3.68 %
USA 17.5 %
2. Inventory is up, including many foreclosure properties (REOs). As shown in our Real Estate Activity Chart on page 2, the number of properties available for sale is up in most of our markets. Foreclosure properties have been especially attractive to investors, as they sell on average at a 35.1% discount from market value according to Realty Trac who tracks foreclosure sales. This is problematic to property values in the neighborhoods of foreclosure sales, as it pulls down their values. Hence we urge sellers to attempt to work out a short sale with their lenders instead, as these typically sell for 9.5% below market value, and do less damage to the seller’s credit and less damage to the neighboring property values. Typically, homes sell for 94% – 97% of their list price. This varies by market, Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS currently has 62 foreclosure properties listed for sale. They can be seen on our website at RuhlHomes.com/Foreclosures.
Additionally, we are managing 59 more properties in the process of foreclosure, and have 41 foreclosure properties under contract but not yet closed. Interestingly, about 22% of Ruhl’s buyers this year have paid cash, many of whom are investors. Out of town investors have identified our markets as a great investment opportunity – due to strong rental demand, stable and increasing property values and low prices of properties.
3. Interest Rates are So Low! As of this writing, July 20, here are available rates and programs:
• 30-year fixed 4.5% no points rate mortgage
• 15-year fixed 3.75% no points rate mortgage
We advise anyone contemplating refinancing to look at this product. Borrowers can save 60% of their interest payments on a 30-year mortgage over the life of the loan.
• 5/1 ARM 3.25% no points conventional
• 10/1 ARM 3.5% no points conventional
• VA Loan 4.5% no points
• 100% financing available
• $5,000 grant available for eligible veterans from the state of Iowa
Rates vary daily and are impacted by credit scores. Buyers and refinancers are encouraged to seize this opportunity before rates and closing costs go up!
4. Regional Real Estate Market is Active – Don’t Miss Out! At Ruhl&Ruhl sales pending in June 2011 were up 54% in sales volume and up 48% in units over June 2010. As we anticipated, sales closed in the first 6 months of 2011 were down from 2010 because most buyers wanted to close before the tax credits ended June 30, 2010. But this year is back to normal and the summer and fall sales will be much stronger than last year.
5. What is Holding Back Buyers? The big sticking point inhibiting a rebound in home prices and home sales is the availability of mortgages. Lenders currently are offering attractive terms only to extremely qualified buyers with credit scores of 640 and higher. The reason isn’t the lenders – it’s the government! They have swung the pendulum too far to the point of discouraging lenders to lend to qualified buyers.
Hopefully, the government will revise their policies to encourage rather than discourage, offering mortgage loans. Since next year is an election year, we think there is a good chance. The president is no doubt aware that his odds of re-election improve dramatically if unemployment falls significantly. One way to reduce unemployment is to increase home sales and home construction, which in normal times provides huge numbers of jobs… and the most effective way to boost home sales and home construction is to make it easier for would be buyers to obtain mortgages.
Keep checking RuhlHomes.com for more information on the housing market.
Tags: agents, buying, Buying a Home, caroline ruhl, home, home search, housing market, illinois real estate, Illinois Real Estate Market, iowa real estate, Iowa Real Estate Market, quad cities, Quad Cities Real Estate, Quad Cities Real Estate Market, quad city, Real Estate, realtors, ruhl, Ruhl and Ruhl, ruhl&ruhl, Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, RuhlHomes
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Thursday, August 4th, 2011
In their never ending quest to “simplify” the confusion surrounding the borrowing of money, the Fed has released their Final Rule for Risk Based Pricing Notices, as well as Adverse Action Notices. More paper work filled with CYA, legal terminology that winds up baffling people more than giving them any clarity. Let’s take a peek….
Risk Based Pricing Notices are required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and now, because of provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act, they must include language that relates to credit scores IF those scores were used to determine the interest rate (and resultant APR) given the customer. Also, the language can’t simply be “the lower your credit score, the higher rate you will pay”. That would be too easy. You see…lower credit scores have statistically proven to have higher defaults (more risk), so charging those clients more makes sense. But in the world we live in, the government wants to inundate the customer with mumbo jumbo, and insists on a form that gives the following information:
- The credit score used in making the credit decision;
- The range of possible credit scores under the model used to generate the credit score;
- All of the key factors that adversely affected the credit score. Note that the risk-based pricing notice generally may not list more than four key factors. However, if one of the key factors is the number of inquiries made with respect to the consumer report, up to five key factors may be used.
- The date on which the credit score was created; and
- The name of the consumer reporting agency or other person that provided the credit score.
Further, if there is more than one borrower, each receives their own, personalized disclosure.
Adverse Action Notices are basically Rejection Letters. They used to say things like “your file was turned down because your credit/income/assets/appraisal does not fit the guidelines under which we approve borrowers”. Now, when credit scores are a reason for denial the language is slightly more confusing but essentially the same 5 things stated above for Risk Based Pricing. But, the really good news is that they added up to 5 different, new forms to tell the consumer where they can inquire about the score in their “consumer report” (the new term that replaces the old “credit report”).
Who gets paid for this stuff? More paper work, more muddied explanations, all to protect the consumer? Or to protect the jobs of the bureaucrats and law makers? Am I alone in thinking that often the efforts to protect wind up frustrating instead? Simply stated, if your credit is bad because you made late payments, you can be turned down or your may be approved and be forced to pay a higher rate. Now, if your credit score is bad because of errors in the credit report, you should be directed on how to fix it. But that’s a topic for a different day.
Sometimes through all the confusion things can seem blurry and out of site but the end result is always worth the while, and Ruhl&Ruhl wants to help get you there! Keep checking RuhlHomes.com for the most up to date information on the housing market and to start your home search.
Provided by: KCM Blog
Tags: agents, buying, Buying a Home, caroline ruhl, disclosures, home, home buyer programs, home disclosures, housing market, ia, illinois real estate, iowa real estate, Iowa Real Estate Market, quad cities, Quad Cities Real Estate, Real Estate, Real Estate News, realtors, ruhl, Ruhl and Ruhl, ruhl&ruhl, Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, RuhlHomes
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Thursday, July 14th, 2011
Making predictions can be the ‘kiss-of-death’ for a blog. Even if we get four out of five correct (80%), there are those in the industry who will kill us on the one we got wrong. We believe strongly that when making a real estate decision for you and your family you must look forward and take into consideration how the housing market may change.
For this reason, we are willing to take on the possible wrath of our counterparts by sticking out our necks and predicting these will be the major real estate news stories from now until the end of the year.
Interest Rates Rise
Many, including us, have been surprised that rates have not risen already. However, the next several months are going to see three distinct changes that will propel rates upward.
- As the government starts to leave the mortgage market, private industry will step in. Private industry demands a higher rate of return on their investments. Mortgages will be no different. Studies have shown that 30 year mortgage rates could increase by 1 to 3% over the current rate.
- In many higher priced markets, rolling back Conforming Loan Limits means that rates for the mortgages on these properties will resort back to the rates on private jumbo loans. The FHFA informed us that last year, the difference between mortgage rates for jumbo loans and jumbo-conforming mortgages has varied between about ½ and ¾ of a percentage point.
- As the economy gets better (and we believe it will), the pressure to keep rates low to stimulate growth will abate.
Some Loan Requirements Tighten but More Can Now Get a Loan
Lending institutions have already started to introduce stricter mortgage guidelines. Whether the Quality Residential Mortgage (QRM) requirements are instituted as originally proposed or eased somewhat, there is no doubt that guidelines will continue to tighten as we work through the year. However, we believe the private sector will again start introducing alternative mortgage financing but at a greater expense to the consumer. You WILL be able to get a mortgage. It will just cost you more.
Housing Sales Increase
Contracted sales have shown consistent improvement over the last six months and we feel this will continue and actually begin gaining even greater momentum. We believe there is a ‘pent-up’ buying demand caused by the volatility of the market over the last several years. When interest rates start to move upward and alternative financing becomes more available, these buyers will start to jump off the fence. We believe there will be a major upswing in sales over the next six months.
Distressed Properties Increase Markedly
More people are paying their mortgage on time and that is great news for housing in the long term. However, the numbers of distressed properties currently in the foreclosure process is still very swollen. These properties will begin coming to the market in the second half of the year as short sales and foreclosures. The numbers will be staggering in some areas.
Prices Continue to Soften in Most Markets
The current housing inventory for sale and the distressed properties about to come on the market will vastly outnumber the increased supply of purchasers we will see over the next six months. There will be more houses for sale then there will be buyers purchasing them. That oversupply will continue to put downward pressure on prices through the rest of this year and into 2012.
Ruhl&Ruhl has now stepped out and spoke up on what we think consumers will see in the housing market in the next six months. What headlines do you predict?
For more information on the housing market please visit RuhlHomes.com.
Provided by: KCM Blog
Tags: agents, buying, Buying a Home, caroline ruhl, first time buyers, home, home buyer programs, home search, housing market, housing market headlines, illinois real estate, Illinois Real Estate Market, interest rates, iowa real estate, Iowa Real Estate Market, mortgage rates, quad cities, Quad Cities Real Estate, Quad Cities Real Estate Market, Real Estate, Real Estate News, Real Estate Sales Volume, realtors, regional housing market, regional markets, ruhl, Ruhl and Ruhl, ruhl&ruhl, Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, RuhlHomes, sales volume, selling, selling your home
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Thursday, July 7th, 2011
We have reached the midway point of the year. Today, we want to look back over the first six months and give you what we believe were the five items which have had the biggest impact on the real estate industry so far this year.
The Government Wants Out of the Mortgage Business
From the original outline of the Dodd-Frank regulations to the talk of closing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the proposed Quality Residential Mortgage (QRM) guidelines, the government has made it very clear that they want to dramatically limit their involvement in the mortgage industry. What will come of this? Will private industry step up and fill the void created? What will be the increased cost to the consumer? Only time will tell.
Despite Early Headlines, Sales are Increasing
Headlines earlier in the year announced the total collapse of the housing market. To those in the know, it was obvious that comparing sales numbers in the first four months of this year to the same period last year made absolutely no sense. The largest tax credit ever given to home buyers expired on April 30, 2010. Large numbers of transactions were dragged forward last year so buyers could take advantage of the credit. Pending home sales (transactions going into contract) on the other hand have done quite nicely and many institutions (ex. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, NAR and Moody’s Analytics) are projecting good sales numbers throughout the rest of the year.
Amid Warnings of a ‘Double-Dip’, Prices Began to Stabilize
Prices continued to retreat for the first few months of the year and brought the bears out. Some called for another major fall in prices (15-20%) and almost all recalculated their projections to show continued depreciation. Just as these new projections were made available, some pricing indices announced that values actually increased (though by a rather minimal percentage). Again, those with the best understanding of the market were quick to explain…
Foreclosures Were Delayed Longer Than Originally Projected
Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) have a major impact on the values of all properties in an area. Because of paperwork challenges, the flow of these properties to the market was virtually shut off. At the beginning of the year, most experts believed the banks would correct these challenges by the end of the first quarter. That didn’t happen and therefore many of these properties were delayed coming to the market. This is a major reason why prices seemed to recover: there were fewer discounted properties available for sale. Most now believe that the banks are within 60-90 days of releasing this inventory and those prices will again begin to soften.
Main Stream Media Begins to Announce “Now Is the Time to Buy!”
With prices and interest rates at historic lows and the chance that mortgages will become more costly as the private sector steps in, many in the main stream media are announcing that buying a home now makes sense. In the last 45 days, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine, National Public Radio (NPR) and CBS Money Watch have all ran articles calling for the readership to consider buying now!
Next week, we will share what we believe will be the top 5 stories in the second half of 2011.
Keep checking RuhlHomes.com for the most up to date and interesting information on the housing market.
Tags: agents, buying, Buying a Home, caroline ruhl, home, home search, housing market, illinois real estate, Illinois Real Estate Market, iowa real estate, Iowa Real Estate Market, quad cities, Quad Cities Real Estate, Quad Cities Real Estate Market, Real Estate, realtors, ruhl, Ruhl and Ruhl, ruhl&ruhl, Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, RuhlHomes, sales volume, selling your home
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Friday, June 24th, 2011
There has been much confusion as to where housing prices are headed. We have actually blogged on the issue recently. Today, we want to give our opinion on this subject for the short term. We believe sellers have a window of opportunity for the next 90-120 days in which to sell their homes for maximum price. We believe there will be increased downward pressure on home prices later this year and the first half of 2012.
Why renewed downward pressure?
Any item’s price is determined by ‘supply and demand’. In many parts of the country existing housing inventory is already high and actually increasing. In addition, an inventory of distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) will be coming to market later this year. This inventory has been delayed for the last several months because of faulty paperwork by the banks when they originally attempted foreclosure proceedings on these homes.
Celia Chen, of Moody’s Analytics explains:
“Foreclosures are weighing on the outlook for U.S. house prices, and the slow resolution of issues surrounding the so-called robo-signing scandal is keeping distressed homes off the market”.
The New York Times also recently reported on this issue. They looked at the delays in certain states. As an example, this is what they found in New York:
“Last September, before the documentation crisis, nearly 1,500 New Yorkers lost their houses as a result of foreclosure, according to LPS. The average over the last six months: 286. That is far lower than at any point since the recession began.”
Banks are now correcting these errors.
There is evidence that the banks are getting their documentation in order and about to again increase their foreclosure repossessions. Housing Wire reported:
“Since major lenders delayed foreclosures to fix a broken process late last year, the amount of filings declined, but in May signs emerged the effect might be wearing off.”
They went on to quote RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio:
“…lenders are somewhat unevenly pushing batches of bad loans through foreclosure as they overhaul their paperwork and documentation procedures and as they determine that some local markets are able to absorb more foreclosure inventory… Foreclosure processing delays continue to mask the true face of the foreclosure situation, although there were some clues in the May numbers of what lies behind that mask.”
What will this mean to home prices?
As this inventory comes to market, it will impact prices in two ways:
- It will provide discounted competition for buyers
- It will impact the appraisal values of all homes in the area
Again, we quote Celia Chen:
“It is quite possible that house prices will pick up slightly in the second or third quarter of this year, as foreclosure sales remain depressed while nondistress sales pick up…By the fourth quarter of this year, however, the distress share will rise, sending the house price index back down…
House prices will founder until early next year and start rising in earnest at the end of 2012.”
Bottom Line
There is a window of opportunity currently which sellers should take advantage of. Waiting until later this year or until next year will not guarantee a higher sales price. If anything, it probably guarantees the exact opposite.
Keep checking RuhlHomes.com for the most up to date information on the housing market.
Provided By: KCM Blog
Tags: agents, buying, Buying a Home, caroline ruhl, first time buyers, foreclosure, foreclosure proces, home, home buyer programs, housing market, illinois real estate, Illinois Real Estate Market, iowa real estate, Iowa Real Estate Market, quad cities, Quad Cities Real Estate, Quad Cities Real Estate Market, Real Estate, Real Estate Sales Volume, realtors, regional markets, ruhl, Ruhl and Ruhl, ruhl&ruhl, Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, RuhlHomes, sales volume, selling, selling your home, short sale, short sale process
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Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
As prices continue to soften, more and more homeowners will fall into a position of negative equity on their homes. This means that the balance on their mortgage is greater than the value of their home. The reason this is important is that people are more prone to strategically default on their mortgage when ‘underwater’.
What is a strategic default?
Let’s first define strategic default in simple terms. According to Wikipedia:
A strategic default is the decision by a borrower to stop making payments (i.e. default) on a debt despite having the financial ability to make the payments.
This is particularly associated with residential and commercial mortgages, in which case it usually occurs after a substantial drop in the house’s price such that the debt owed is (considerably) greater than the value of the property – the property negative equity or “underwater” – and is expected to remain so for the foreseeable future, such as following the bursting of a real estate bubble. Such borrowers are called “walkaways.”
This definition itself serves as the explanation as to why people will default.
How do Americans view strategic default?
In Fannie Mae‘s recent National Housing Survey, they shed some light on American’s thoughts on strategic default.
- The number of underwater homeowners who believe it is okay to default on your mortgage if you are under financial distress has almost doubled in the last twelve months (14% to 27%).
- 47% of people that are underwater and behind on their mortgage have considered strategic default.
- Those who know a strategic defaulter are more likely to have considered defaulting.
- 1 in 5 Americans knows a strategic defaulter
Bottom Line
As more people enter into negative equity, more will be tempted to ‘walk away’ from their mortgage obligations. If they do walk, that will increase the number of homes entering foreclosure.
Keep checking RuhlHomes.com for more information on the housing market.
Provided By: KCM Blog
Tags: 1862 Mortgage, agents, buying, Buying a Home, caroline ruhl, defaulting on a loan, first time buyers, foreclosure, foreclosure market, home, home buyer programs, home loan, home underwater, housing market, illinois real estate, Illinois Real Estate Market, iowa real estate, Iowa Real Estate Market, mortgage default, quad cities, Quad Cities Real Estate, Quad Cities Real Estate Market, Real Estate, realtors, regional markets, ruhl, Ruhl and Ruhl, ruhl&ruhl, Ruhl&Ruhl Market Share, Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, RuhlHomes, sales volume, strategic default
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Friday, June 10th, 2011
When it comes to private mortgage insurance (MI), there are several myths that exist that make buyers reluctant to consider a conventional loan with MI as an option when purchasing a home. One of the more common misconceptions is that cancelling MI is a difficult—not to mention time-consuming—process.
The irony is that the majority of buyers don’t harbor those same beliefs or reservations about an FHA insured loan when, in reality, FHA coverage may be less easily cancelled, or take longer to cancel, than MI.
HPA Makes Cancellation Clearer
When it went into effect as a new federal law, the Homeowners Protection Act (HPA) of 1998—which applies to both FHA and MI insured loans—required lenders and servicers to provide disclosures regarding MI for residential loans obtained on or after July 29, 1999. Prior to this, consumers were responsible for requesting MI cancellation if they met two factors: one, their loan balance was paid down to 80 percent of the property; and two, they had a good payment history.
While many lenders obliged consumer requests to drop MI coverage, consumers had sole responsibility for keeping track of their loan balance.
The HPA established three different times when a lender or servicer must notify consumers of their rights.
At loan closing, lenders must disclose:
• The right to request MI cancellation and the date on which the request can be made
• The requirement that MI be automatically terminated and the date on which this will occur
• Any exemptions to the right to cancellation or automatic termination
• A written initial amortization schedule for fixed-rate loans only
Each year, loan servicers must send borrowers a written statement that discloses:
• The right to cancel or terminate MI
• An address and telephone number to contact the loan servicer for determining when MI may be cancelled
When MI coverage is cancelled or terminated, lenders must send a notification to borrowers stating:
• MI has been terminated, and the borrower no longer has MI coverage
• No further MI premiums are due
Termination of Coverage
Under the terms of the HPA, mortgage lenders or servicers must automatically cancel borrower-paid MI coverage when the mortgage has amortized to 78 percent of the original property value, with all unearned premiums returned to the borrower within 45 days of the cancellation or termination date. This provision also requires that the borrower be current on mortgage payments required by the terms of the loan, and if the loan is delinquent on the date of automatic termination, a lender must terminate the coverage as soon as the loan becomes current.
Cancellation of Coverage
Also under the HPA, a homeowner has the right to request MI cancellation when the mortgage balance reaches 80 percent of the original property value. All payments must be current, meaning a homeowner must not be 30 days late on a mortgage payment within one year of their request, or 60 days late within two years.
However, a borrower can only initiate a cancellation request for FHA based on their prepayment of the loan, and even then, it can only be requested beginning five years after the loan origination date.
With MI, homeowners can request cancellation based on prepayment of the loan, as well as an appraisal. Despite falling property values, it’s possible for homeowners to gain enough equity in their home to request cancellation in less than five years based on a home appraisal.
Keep checking RuhlHomes.com for more information on the housing market.
Provided by: RisMedia
Tags: 1862, 1862 Mortgage, agents, buying, Buying a Home, caroline ruhl, FHA loan, home, home buyer programs, Home protection act, home search, housing market, HPA, Illinois Real Estate Market, Iowa Real Estate Market, Mortgage Insurance, private mortgage insurance, quad cities, Quad Cities Real Estate, Quad Cities Real Estate Market, quad city, Real Estate, realtors, ruhl, Ruhl and Ruhl, ruhl&ruhl, Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, RuhlHomes
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Monday, June 6th, 2011
You have finally found the house of your dreams. It is priced right and is receiving a lot of attention from other buyers. You don’t want to miss this opportunity so you are ready to put in an offer with the real estate agent immediately. What can you do to guarantee your offer is the one accepted? Financially, offers can be broken down into three categories:
1.) An All-Cash Offer
Obviously, a cash purchase is always favored by any seller. In today’s real estate market, an all-cash offer is even more enticing. Last month, one in four real estate transactions were impacted by a low appraisal. An all-cash buyer eliminates the need for the bank appraisal.
2.) A Non-Contingency Offer
If you don’t have the cash reserves for an all-cash purchase, the next best thing would be to make a non-contingency offer. To do this you should be already pre-approved for a mortgage and have your current house already in contract. This gives the seller the confidence that you are already a qualified buyer who will be able to complete the purchase.
3.) A Contingency Offer
Some buyers start the process of looking for a new home before their current home is sold. This could be a big mistake. If you find the home you were hoping for (perfect for your family AND priced right), it will be very difficult to get your offer accepted because you are not actually qualified to buy.
Asking a seller to wait for your home to sell is somewhat unreasonable in today’s environment. One of the reasons you would want the home is because the seller priced the home at a value to sell it NOW. They want to know it is sold when they accept an offer. They normally will not even entertain a contingency offer.
Bottom Line
Unless you have the ability to purchase with cash, the best thing to do is to be pre-approved for a mortgage and have your current house already in contract before looking for the home of your dreams. That guarantees you will get the home you love at a price that makes sense.
1862 Mortgage can you help you with a free mortgage pre-approval, visit RuhlHomes.com/1862Mortgage and click on the Online Pre Approval application, your information will be sent to a trusted loan officer that will get in touch with you right away. You are also always able to get a free pre approval via phone by calling 866-441-1776.
Keep checking RuhlHomes.com for more information on the housing market.
Provided by: KCM Blog
Tags: accepting an offer, agents, buying, Buying a Home, caroline ruhl, cash offer, contingency, first time buyers, home, home buyer programs, home search, housing market, Illinois Real Estate Market, iowa real estate, Iowa Real Estate Market, pending, putting in an offer, quad cities, Quad Cities Real Estate, Quad Cities Real Estate Market, Real Estate, realtors, ruhl, Ruhl and Ruhl, ruhl&ruhl, Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, RuhlHomes, sales volume, selling, selling your home
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Thursday, May 26th, 2011
Banks have become very conservative when lending mortgage money today. With the current foreclosure challenges in the country, we can’t really blame them. The requirements now necessary to qualify for mortgages have gotten much more stringent and it seems will get even more stringent as we move forward. The banks want to make sure the prospective buyer has the ability to repay the loan. However, this does not just involve the borrower buying the property.
The second way a bank can protect their investment in the mortgage is to make sure that the collateral backing that mortgage is secure. That is where the appraisal comes in. The bank wants to make sure that, should the buyer not be able to make their payments, the house they will be forced to take back will sell for an amount at least equal to the balance left on the mortgage. For that reason, the banks seem to be getting more conservative with appraisals also.
This past week, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their Existing Homes Sales Report. In that report, they said:
“11 percent of Realtors® report a contract was cancelled in April from an appraisal coming in below the price negotiated between a buyer and seller, 10 percent had a contract delayed, and 14 percent said a contract was renegotiated to a lower sales price as a result of a low appraisal.”
One out of four real estate transactions was either cancelled (11%) or renegotiated to a lower sales price (14%) because of a low appraisal!!
Bottom Line
Every house now has to be sold twice: first, to a potential purchaser and then to the bank appraiser. And, it seems that the second sale may be the more difficult of the two. Sit with a local real estate professional and make sure you put together a plan for both sales.
Keep checking Ruhlhomes.com for the most up to date information on the housing market.
Provided By: KCMBlog
Tags: agents, Appraise, appraising a home, Building, buying, Buying a Home, caroline ruhl, first time buyers, home, home appraisals, home buyer programs, home search, housing market, illinois real estate, Illinois Real Estate Market, iowa real estate, iowa real estate communities, Iowa Real Estate Market, quad cities, Quad Cities Real Estate, Quad Cities Real Estate Market, quad city, ruhl, Ruhl and Ruhl, ruhl&ruhl, Ruhl&Ruhl Market Share, Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, RuhlHomes, sales volume, selling, selling your home
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Our markets continue to be shielded from the rest of the country’s harsh decline in home prices, with our markets seeing a distinct increase, especially in the Quad Cities and Dubuque. 
