Of real estate interest

It's time for real estate post! 

Well, a mortgage lending post perhaps. 

Dunkin' Donuts, if you're wondering.

Gesela Brown from Fifth Third Bank stopped in this morning for our bi-weekly office meeting.  It's always nice to have office meetings and it's always nice to have a guest speaker.  Especially when your guest speaker brings a Valentine treat that included a Starbucks gift card -- can you say "Venti skinny cinnamon dolce latte for Fat Tuesday?"  Who needs pancakes?  We're also having these beautiful doughnuts, courtesy of Riley our fearless whatever-he-is.  Funny thing, about real estate as we're all technically independent contractors so we don't really have a boss -- just a broker. 

In addition to how incredibly low interest rates are and the MPI (mortgage insurance premium, in case you didn't know) rates are going up, here's some of what I learned today from Gesela which was totally worth sharing:  If you own a home, it's totally worth opening up an equity line if you haven't done so already.  If you are thinking of buying a new home in the relative near future, having an equity line already in place will allow you to borrow against your current equity if you find the home of your dreams.  I'm typically pretty conservative when it comes to buying a new home without selling your current home, but sometimes you don't have the luxury of doing that.  It could be that you've found the home of your dreams and if you make the purchase contingent on the sale of your current home, that perfect house may slip through your fingers.   An equity line will allow you to take cash out of your current home to use as a the down payment on the new home thereby alleviating the need to do a very expensive bridge loan.  The value in having that equity line already in place means that you are ready to spring into action both in making an offer on a new home and being able to get your current home listed and on the market.  Lending rules typically don't allow you to establish an equity line if your home is already for sale and establishing a line of credit generally takes about thirty days.  No one wants two mortgages so the quicker you can get your house on the market the better. 

Part Two of today's mortgage lesson is the importance of being pre-approved.  Realtors say that over and over again.  In fact, I know agents who won't show a home unless a buyer can verify for them that they are pre-approved.  I can't say that I've gone that far personally, but as a Realtor, it makes my job immensely easier.  There are a number of great reasons to be pre-approved.  Obviously, a pre-approval lets a buyer know just how much home they can afford to buy.  Secondly, a pre-approval from a quality, preferably local, lender makes a buyer's offer stronger.  Finally, and this is especially important particularly for first-time home buyers, a pre-approval may help you structure the offer you make on your home.  What, you say?  What does that mean?  If you are a first-time buyer who may have a limited amount of available cash for a down payment, knowing what kind of mortgage you need can help your agent write the best possible offer for a home.  For example, f you need to preserve all of your cash for a down payment, you may need to ask the seller to pay for your closing costs as part of the terms of your offer.  Knowing how much you need is really important.  A reputable lender can also help you determine the best kind of mortgage product to consider -- conventional, FHA, an ARM, or perhaps there's a special bank or community-based mortgage available that would fit your needs.  It's also totally okay to shop around a bit for the best mortgage and lender -- a good lender is responsive, professional, experienced and personal, and in a perfect world, they are local, too!

There ends today's lesson.  Have a fabulous Fat Tuesday and go eat some delicious and decadent carbs!