Mortgage Rates Begin to Climb

After staying fairly consistent around 4.75% through late April and most of May, mortgage rates began a climb last week. Today they are a full percentage point higher than they were this time last month. This is not entirely unexpected, since noone believed we could maintain historic low interest rates forever.

So how does this affect the average home buyer?

Let's assume you are borrowing $100,000, at a fixed rate, for 30 years.

If your rate were 4.75%, your monthly payment (principal & interest only) would be $521.65.

If your rate were 5.75%, your monthly payment (principal & interest only) would be $583.57.

With an interest rate difference of just 1%, you would pay an additional $61.92 per month.I don't know about you, but I could use an extra 60 bucks a month. It might buy me a tank or two of gas at today's prices.

But let's look at the bigger picture: How much interest you will pay over the course of the 30 years.

At 4.75%, you will pay $87,794 in interest on your loan after 30 years. At 5.75%, you will pay $110,085 in interest. That's a difference of $22,291!

I'm writing this with the hope of visually demonstrating to you how critical it is that you buy a home at the lowest interest rate possible. I know many people are holding out on buying a home, waiting for the best time to get the best deal. If interest rates continue to climb, you may have already missed the peak opportunity.

If you wait, and interest rates climb another percentage point to 6.75%, you stand to pay an additional $23,411 more in interest than if you bought today at 5.75%.

In addition to still being able to get a good interest rate, the first time home buyer tax credit is only available for 5 more months. Combine the $8000 from the tax credit with what you would save in interest, and you are looking at over $31,000 in savings.Do you have $31,000 to waste?

I'm not even going to start in on how low the home prices are today. I think you can see already that now is truly a great time to buy. If you would like more information on the benefits of buying a home today, please visit my website and contact me today for a personalize home buying plan that fits your individual needs.

Bank Owned Properties Mean Opportunity for First Time Home Buyers

First time home buyer activity is on the rise in Oceana County. A significant reason for this is the number of bank owned properties currently for sale in the Hart, Shelby, New Era, and Pentwater areas. Bank owned properties, often referred to as foreclosures, are often sold well below market value, and create unique opportunities for first time home buyers.

I recently had the pleasure of writing an accepted offer for a young engaged couple from Hart, MI. They are getting married this summer, and wanted to start looking for a home now. They have decent credit, but relatively low income, and the majority of what they could afford consisted of manufactured housing, which they hoped to avoid if at all possible.

I sent them to one of my preferred lenders, and had them prequalified. Prequalification is vital when attempting to purchase a bank owned home. Once the lender had them preapproved and through underwriting, and we had established a monthly payment that was affordable and comfortable for them, I began my search in earnest.

I was looking for a home that would meet their needs, and their budget of about $60,000. I ran searches daily, as I knew that when the right one came up, it wouldn't last wrong. I searched for about three weeks, in which time we looked at a handful of bank owned properties. The majority of these properties were going to require too much work to make them livable, so I continued to search.

Last week, I found a listing that was just unbelievable. It was a bank owned property in New Era, listed for $60,000. I was familiar with the home, and the location was perfect for what my buyers were looking for. I made a phone call, and told my clients that we needed to act fast, and see the home that night.

My buyers rearranged their schedules, and we went to see the home. The curb appeal was great. The home was less than ten years old, and was in great shape. The yard was just over an acre, and even had privacy fence built along the neighbor’s property line. This was a three bedroom home with a two car attached garage, and 1300 square feet of clean, well kept living space.

My buyers were instantly excited, and quite frankly, so was I. This was exactly what we had been praying to find, and we immediately submitted a full price offer. Since I already had them preapproved and through underwriting, our offer was solid and attractive. As it turned out, there was another offer made the same day, so we submitted an addendum offering to bump our price by $1100.

Earlier this week, I found out that that little bump sealed the deal. Our offer was accepted, and this previously bank owned home will soon be owned by two wonderful people. When they return from their honeymoon, they'll be coming home to a home that they own. I couldn't be happier for them.