Americans looking to buy, sell or refinance a home are confronting a very different market from the one that existed just a few months ago. And it continues to change!
What does this mean for you and your current mortgage?
Home Buyers
Get pre-approved by your mortgage professional. While there are a lot of great deals out there, getting credit is becoming more difficult, and it’s taking longer and longer to complete a transaction. Remember, what you qualify for today could change tomorrow in a volatile market. Communicate with your lender on a regular basis. Also, do not do anything that could negatively affect your credit, and make sure you get all your documentation in on time.
By Taum Hemmingsen, owner/broker of Marketline Mortgage, LLC. For a free consultation or to speak with him directly, he can be reached at 480-967-8286.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Joy Webster 12.09.08 at 4:05 pm
Thanks for the useful article.
Roberto 12.11.08 at 12:36 am
“there are a lot of great deals out there…” how do you KNOW for sure they are great deals? didn’t people who bought six months ago think they were getting great deals too, only to watch value plunge another 20%???
If prices keep dropping this fast, today’s great deal is tomorrows terrible deal…
ks 12.11.08 at 8:50 pm
There is a bunch of risk out there!
Everyone wants to buy at the bottom. The problem is in guessing where the bottom is. You can find many people that think that the bottom is going to happen somewhere between 2010 to 2012. These predictions are based, at least in part, by the reset schedule and recast predictions of option ARMS.
The big wild card is the government. No body knows what these clowns have in store for us.
One thing that is sure: buying a house now is much better than buying in 2005-2006. In some areas the price drops have been stunning.
For an investor with a short time horizon this is a very difficult market to be in. For someone that just want to buy a house for a more than a few years, the market is not that bad. You can find very nice houses for about the same monthly cost as renting. The big risk for these people is job stability in a crazy economy.
Risk!
Karen 12.14.08 at 11:04 am
Now is a great time to buy real estate, Roberto. Although one cannot “KNOW” if they are getting the greatest “deal” on earth, one does know they will be getting a fair deal. For most of us, Real Estate is not a commodity to trade on a monthly or even yearly basis. It is a long-term hold that gives us a roof over our head and generally an increase in value over time. Stock traders know that it is nearly impossible to time the market, so you do your research, buy & hold until you can sell on your terms.
MPS 12.15.08 at 6:29 pm
It’s really quite simple. If you can buy a house with 10 to 15% down and you know that if you take 80% of the annual rent you could get and still break even or be cash flow postive it’s a good deal. It’s not that difficult to find houses priced like this right now. Too bad I’m broke as a joke from a bout of unemployment. I’d be shopping otherwise. Those of you who are looking for your first home are truely lucky. I wouldn’t worry about another 20% drop, if it does happen, which I doubt it will be temporary. I would expect to see a bounce later next year as we come out of the recession we’re in. Now is the time to shop and be picky and bargain hunt.