Securing a loan is critical step in the home-buying process. For those who are engaged and considering the VA’s home loan as an option, considering when to buy is just as important as choosing the home itself. The VA has strict rules that consider spouses and only spouses to be equal partners to veterans in the home-buying process. This means that fiancee’s will only be able to secure a 50% guarantee on their loan from a lender. In order to avoid this, home buyers can either ensure they are married before actually closing on the loan, or consider other loan options.

Key Takeaways:

• If you buy a home with a fiance, you will not get the full guaranty where you don’t have to put money down because you aren’t yet married, so you would need 25% of the down payment.
• TO get around the rules, you can apply for the loan on your house when engaged, but closing on the house must wait until you are married for the full guaranty.
• If you aren’t interested in getting married, you may want to look into another type of loan such as and FHA, which will allow for a smaller down payment.

“The best way to go about buying a home with your fiancé and VA financing is to wait until you are about to get married.”

Read more: https://www.blownmortgage.com/can-buy-home-fiance-using-va-loan/

Make sure you have the very latest advice about buy a home because things change fast! Now, there’s no need to wait for spring because of weather. Buy and sell a home, whenever the time is right for your situation. Don’t wait for it to become a buyers market. While you wait, you will be paying higher rent prices too. Just try to find the best deal on a home that will be a good investment in the long run. Find the neighborhood you want to live in first. Then find a house in that neighborhood. With the new home construction slowing down, an older home, that just needs a little work may be a better choice. Make your offer quick and base the price on comparable deals. And finally be ready to think outside the box for what type of house is best for you.

Key Takeaways:

• The advice, oft-given, to wait for spring and its higher inventory can now be ignored.
• Spring house-buying options may be more, but competition is up as well, so waiting is out.
• Waiting for seller prices to deflate is also passe advice, because rents are rising too.

“The problem is that when you’re talking about something as fluid as the housing market, the rules change quickly.”

Read more: https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/outdated-home-buying-advice-to-ignore/

At the start of 2019 mortgage rates are on average pretty low. Mortgage rates had climbed to an average of 5.0% near the end of 2018, but in the last month had fallen to 4.5%. The difference in half a percentage could save different borrowers different amounts of money depending on the size of the loan. For a the average borrower it would save them about 72 dollars per month according to a study conducted by Nationwide.

Key Takeaways:

• Within the past month, mortgage rates have dropped from 5 percent to 4.5 percent.
• Lower interest rates allow people to buy more expensive homes, because they are spending less money paying off interest.
• Homebuyers are more likely to benefit from lower interest rates in high-end parts of the country.

“Stock market volatility, global trade worries and the government shutdown are pushing rates down to their lowest levels since August.”

Read more: http://economistsoutlook.blogs.realtor.org/2019/01/09/planning-to-buy-a-home-in-2019/

The Property Brothers love renovating a fixer upper as a way to get more house for your dollar. They recommend, however, to always get a home inspection before purchasing an older home. A home inspection will reveal additional problems that will need to be fixed. You can then negotiate for the seller to either make the repairs or lower the sale price to account for the additional fixes. This worked for a recent client in the renovation of her old home.

Key Takeaways:

• Older homes have a lot of charm but they can cost more than new homes because of needed repairs. These can be very costly.
• always get an inspection when buying a home. Things can look good on the surface but an inspector can find hidden problems like damaged foundations or furnaces.
• Save money on an old home buy negotiating at a salvage store for furnishings, maximizing space already in the home and re-purposing items already in the home.

“See how these words of warning play out in our recap of the show below, plus the lessons learned that might apply to your own experiences buying a home—old or new.”

Read more: https://www.realtor.com/advice/home-improvement/property-brothers-one-thing-to-never-buy-an-old-home-without/

There are many renovations that you can invest in before putting your house on the market for a higher return. Retractable glass doors are one of the most sought-after features in homes right now due to how much natural light they allow into the premises. Traditional butler’s pantries are also becoming more in demand with how they can hide additional messes that occur during prep work. For those who are willing to spend over one million on a new home, a spa bathroom is something that almost every buyer expects.

Key Takeaways:

• Currently, the market for luxury homes is slowing down, as the supply is outstripping the demand.
• Buyers are willing to pay more for vaulted ceilings, cathedral ceilings, and ceilings over ten feet high.
• Homes with a butler’s pantry are selling faster, especially if the butler’s pantry is equipped with a wine refrigerator or dishwasher.

““Sales have been slow over the last six months—you really have to stand out. Their place showed like a model unit,” said Lauren Schuh-Dayton, the couple’s real-estate agent and vice president of sales for Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty.”

Read more: https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/top-10-upgrades-sell-home-top-dollar/

The percentage of first time home buyers who are seeking down payment assistance from their parents is on the rise. The percentage of people who used an FHA loan and got assistance from their parents is up to 26% as compared to the previous rate of 21% in 2011. A FHA loan only requires a down payment of 3.5%. Even with the lower down payment amount, first time home buyers are struggling to stockpile the cash on their own.

Key Takeaways:

• The number of those who turned to a relative to help with making the down payment for a Federal Housing Administration-insured loan increased from 22% to 26%.
• People who take out FHA loans often find it difficult to access loans from other sources because FHA loans do not require strong credit profiles.
• The acceleration of home-price growth has seen a slowing down, but higher mortgage rates and consistently rising prices year after year make buying a home more expensive.

“While conventional mortgages can require buyers to put down as much as 20% of the purchase price upfront, FHA buyers can pay as little as 3.5%. Such loans make up about a 10th of all U.S. home-loan originations, a share that has declined in recent years.”

Read more: https://www.realtor.com/news/real-estate-news/first-time-home-buyers-turning-bank-mom-dad/

Aryanna Hering did not have pay stubs or tax documents to prove income to a bank to purchase her home. She still was able to acquire a mortgage. Unconventional mortgages are making a comeback. She was able to prove income via a long chain of bank statements and by interviews with the clients she works for. These loans are different then the “liar loans” of past years. Her income was still verified, just not through traditional means.

Key Takeaways:

• It is asserted that a certain flavor of mortgage that was associated with the housing meltdown a decade ago is now on the horizon.
• Inside Mortgage Finance reports that these unconventional loans were issued by about $34 billion in the first three quarters of last year.
• During the financial crisis, loans called “liar loans” soared and these loans were so named because borrowers misstate their incomes while lenders didn’t request documentation.

“Aryanna Hering didn’t have pay stubs or tax forms to document her income when she shopped around for a mortgage last year—a problem that made it tough for her to get a loan.”

Read more: https://www.realtor.com/news/real-estate-news/no-pay-stub-no-problem-unconventional-mortgages-make-comeback/

It is a myth that self employed buyers cannot secure a mortgage. In order for a self employed person to secure a loan, the most important things are consistency and resiliency of income. To prove this the main tool someone has is their tax returns. A lender will be looking for two years of tax returns. Therefore, a borrower should have two years of experience as self employed person. This shows that their income is a sustainable dependable source.

Key Takeaways:

• While many assume that those that are self-employed are not good mortgage candidates, such is not necessarily true.
• As with any employed mortgage candidate, the trick is to show that one’s revenue stream is reliably steady and consistent.
• With no W2s to rely on, lenders must review the tax returns of self-employed mortgage candidates.

“Lenders don’t want to qualify you on the high or the low income – they want an average so that you can always comfortably afford your mortgage.”

Read more: https://www.blownmortgage.com/lenders-look-self-employed-income/

Knowing the market value of your home starts with knowing the factors that effect the market value of your home. The first factor that affects your market value is the recent sales in the area. The neighborhood of your home is one of the most important factors of its value. Size and condition of your home also go into your home value. Larger homes are worth more than smaller homes located in equivalent neighborhoods built to equivalent standards.

Key Takeaways:

• Before one wants to buy a home and to make sure he or she is getting a good price, the market value of the home should be researched.
• While many appraisers use the value of homes that are of the same size and with same features, in assessing market value the time duration of sales is better.
• The recent sales in an area will not give one good specifics about the market value of a home, but helps one to have a ballpark figure.

“If you want to know the fair market value of a home, you can look up the recent sales in the area.”

Read more: https://www.blownmortgage.com/affects-market-value-home/

The year of 2018 has definitely served as a seller’s market, but real estate experts are predicting that 2019 is going to be a much slower year. Even with this prediction, LendingTree claims that there really is no reason to think that this decrease in productivity will be extremely harmful. In fact, the professionals at LendingTree claim that the slow down that the market has been experiencing will be a brief one, and mortgage rates will end up climbing by 5.5%.

Key Takeaways:

• According to Lending Tree predictions, mortgages should rise 5.5% in 2019.
• Lending Tree analysts predict that the overall, short and longterm prospects for housing are good.
• “Demographics are going to continue to support demand;”so says a key spokesperson for Lending Tree.

“In its 2019 forecast, LendingTree predicts slower sales will give rise to an increase of inventory, which could benefit lenders and homeowners.”

Read more: https://www.housingwire.com/articles/47868-lendingtree-this-is-whats-in-store-for-the-housing-market-in-2019