Thursday, September 20, 2007

This is the time to Buy!

Over the last three months the Real Estate Market has changed. Mortgages have become increasingly harder to qualify for and home prices have cooled due to the vast inventory of homes for sale. This fluctuation has caused the supply and demand curves to become unbalanced. This unbalance along with foreclosure rates have made America fear the worst. Days ago the Fed lower the discount rate making interest on new loans more affordable. The idea is to boost sales by offering loans more cheaply.

The last four years interest rates have been at historic lows and continue to stay that way. I feel there are three undeniable reasons why today is the day to buy Real Estate. First, Interest Rates are low. If you understand how our world economy works then your are smarter than most everyone. Logical Wisdom says that rates will some day rise to match inflation. Secondly, Loans may be harder to qualify for but today, yes today sellers are wising up and saying, I will carry a contract - loan that the seller gives to the borrower at set interest for say a minimum of 5 years. So even if you do not have 5% or 10% to put down the seller's see this need and are ready to help. First time home buyers will benefit most from this because they may not have the money to put down. Lastly, with the increased amount of inventory on the market sellers are wising up to the fact that they have to be different than their neighbor. How do they do this? They sell at a better price or they make concessions for the buyer.

Buyer's have a lot of leverage in this market. They can set the price they want. They can get concessions from the seller and if they can't qualify for a traditional loan with money down, then they can walk down the street to the other seller and see if he takes it.

In my past two deals with buyers I have seen these advantage. Chip offered 5% less and asked for closing cost and the seller jumped at the deal. Raul offered $8,000 less and the seller jumped at that deal too. A year ago if an offer was made to the seller the seller would have laughed at us.

Beg, Borrow, or Steal a good deal because today is the day to buy a home.

I have devised an action plan if you do not know where to start.

1. Call me, Trevor Elliott 503 602-1039 and just simply tell me you are wanting to start the process.

2. Call one of my three lenders. In no particular order. Get Approved for what you can.

Dolly Davis, National City Mortgage 503 566-3035 - 26 years experience. Banker with programs that can meet or beat banks and mortgage brokers

Greg Bolton, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage 503 881-3323 - 10+ year experience. Big Bank with many programs and lot of backing.

Nathan Knottingham, Professional Mortgage Corp. 503 581-8100 - new to business. Access to many programs - Mortgage Broker

3. Call me up again and tell me what you found out and schedule out first meeting.

4. Meet with me. Based on your needs in home I will create a list of homes to look at.

5. Negotiate for the house you want. I will present the offer to the seller and we will negotiate a way for you to own the home.

6. Close on the home and move in, tell your friends why they need to buy too.

If you would like to get started with my action plan email me. telliott@equitygroup.com

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Understanding the Liquidity Mortgage Crisis

Another day another dollar, right? No so much. Take a look at this link. It gives a very good summation for what is happening here in the U.S. as well as the world.

http://www.blownmortgage.com/videos/meltdown2/meltdown2.html

It was created for Real Estate Agents, but it is applicaple to anyone wanting to understand loan programs. The days of 100% no documentation loans are over!

September 16, 2007 2-4pm. Come by and see this house!

http://www.equitygroup.com/getagent/show.php?ecard_id=15943&aid=004601261