The TV and radio ads make it all seem so easy. Walk into a lender's office, refinance your home loan at a rock-bottom rate, and walk out with a lower monthly payment.
Here's a little tip: It's not so easy.
If you know the pitfalls, you can at least prepare for them - and perhaps chart a wiser course. A few issues that could have your application earmarked for the ‘Rejected' pile:
1. Heightened credit score demands
If you're refinancing, that means you've successfully secured a home loan already. But since then, lenders have started to demand near-pristine credit scores. "Now to get access to the lowest rates, you need a FICO score above 740," says Keith Gumbinger, VP of mortgage information site HSH.com.
Not quite the perfect score of 850, but still quite challenging to achieve. Credit scorer FICO does not break out the average number for refi applicants, but the national average is 690 -- well below what will get you prime lending rates.
2. Low appraisal
While interest rates have gone down, so have U.S. home values. The average home value dropped a third from the start of 2007 to the start of 2012, according to housing analytics firm Fiserv. For refinancing, that's a problem.
Chicago's Jesse Raub and his wife have owned a home for about three years, and recently started the refi process. But then the appraisal came in low.
"Beware that the appraised value of your home may not be what you think it should be," says Raub, 27, who's a trainer and educator for Intelligentsia Coffee. "Our new mortgage amount was close to the total value of the home - which required us to get mortgage insurance as well."
3. A home equity line of credit
You may have forgotten that you once took out a home equity line of credit. You may have not even touched a penny of it. But it could still derail a refi, because it means another lender has a claim on the value of the home.
"If you're refinancing your first mortgage, the lender of the home-equity line has to agree to that," says Mike Fratantoni, vice president of research for the Washington, D.C.-based Mortgage Bankers Association.
Essentially, that lender needs to sign off on being second in line, and agree that the primary mortgage will always be paid off first (in the event of a foreclosure, for instance). "There may be fees associated with that, and so a home-equity line of credit is one more thing that could make a refi more difficult."
4. Condo or co-op troubles
If lenders are going to fork over hundreds of thousands of dollars, they don't want any issues to make them nervous. And when the property is subject to decisions of an unpredictable board of directors, that can make them nervous.
"Any number of issues might trip you up," says Gumbinger. "If the building finances aren't in good shape, or if the insurance isn't paid up, or if there are any units in foreclosure, or if there are any lawsuits against the condo association, or if the building is comprised largely of renters. All kinds of fun stuff can arise."
5. Timeliness requirements
Banks want to see the most up-to-date financial information possible before they sign off on a mortgage. But they also have a tendency to ask for document after document after document regarding your financial situation. If the refi process has ballooned to 60 or even 90 days, but they require documents from the last 30 days, that could put you on a carousel of paperwork straight from the ninth circle of hell.
So get out your yoga mat, breathe deeply, and have a mantra ready. You're going to need lots of patience. "Expect the worst," advises Erin Lantz, director of the mortgage marketplace for real estate site Zillow.com. "If you come to terms with that at the beginning, it will remove the stress later on."
(Follow us @ReutersMoney or finance/personal-finance">here Editing by Beth Pinsker Gladstone)
By Chris Taylor; NEW YORK; Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:00am EDT
Yes, at MIG have these issues too. But we know what we are doing and routinely get our clients closed in 20 - 40 days. Call or reply to this email if we can help.
Showing posts with label Brentwood TN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brentwood TN. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Chill Out with Ceiling Fans
In 24 hours, a standard central air conditioning unit can burn through a great deal of electricity. In the same amount of time a ceiling fan’s electric expense is less than a dime. Running a ceiling fan at medium speed for three hours costs just a penny! In fact, most ceiling fans only use about as much power as a 100W light bulb.
Air conditioning accounts for more than 15 percent of the energy use of the average home. Using ceiling fans—especially during hot summer months—can conserve energy and save money.
The spin on savings. Fans work like wind chill: they help your body stay more comfortable in higher temperatures. Using fans to stay cool in the summer allows you to set your home thermostat higher without sacrificing comfort, allowing you to save up to 40% on cooling costs.
Installing and maintaining. Ceiling fans are relatively inexpensive (some models sell for less than $50). Many homeowners find fan installation an easy DIY project, especially if an electric ceiling box is already present. For maximum energy savings, be sure to keep your fans in good working order by cleaning the blades regularly. You can also eliminate wobbling and squeaking by keeping your fan well oiled and balanced. Then, sit back and enjoy the breeze!
Fan smarts.
• Ceiling fans will only cool you, not the room, so don’t leave fans running in empty rooms.
• In the summer, make sure fan blades are turning counterclockwise, which will circulate cool air downward.
• Fans will only save you money if you set your thermostat higher as a result of fan use. Running ceiling fans and the air conditioner at full blast will only increase your energy bills.
Want even more information on how your ceiling fan can save you money? ENERGY STAR has great advice that can help you with just that.
From American Home Shield. If you would like to get more information about buying a home, please contact me at 615-777-4663 or contact me via email at george.margrave@migonline.com
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM....IN GOD DO WE TRUST!
Uness you know all four stanzas of the Star Spangled Banner you may find this most interesting. Bet most of you didn't realize what Francis Scott Key's profession was or what he was doing on a ship. This is a good brush-up on your history.
NO REFUGE COULD SAVE
BY DR. ISAAC ASIMOV
Editor's Note- Near the end of his life the great science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote a short story about the four stanzas of our national anthem. However brief, this well-circulated piece is an eye opener from the dearly departed doctor.....
I have a weakness -- I am crazy… absolutely nuts, about our national anthem. The words are difficult and the tune is almost impossible, but frequently when I'm taking a shower I sing it with as much power and emotion as I can. It shakes me up every time.
I was once asked to speak at a luncheon. Taking my life in my hands, I announced I was going to sing our national anthem -- all four stanzas. This was greeted with loud groans. One man closed the door to the kitchen, where the noise of dishes and cutlery was loud and distracting. "Thanks, Herb," I said.
"That's all right," he said. "It was at the request of the kitchen staff."
I explained the background of the anthem and then sang all four stanzas. Let me tell you, those people had never heard it before -- or had never really listened. I got a standing ovation. But it was not me; it was the anthem.
More recently, while conducting a seminar, I told my students the story of the anthem and sang all four stanzas. Again there was a wild ovation and prolonged applause. And again, it was the anthem and not me.
So now let me tell you how it came to be written.
In 1812, the United States went to war with Great Britain, primarily over freedom of the seas. We were in the right. For two years, we held off the British, even though we were still a rather weak country. Great Britain was in a life and death struggle with Napoleon. In fact, just as the United States declared war, Napoleon marched off to invade Russia. If he won, as everyone expected, he would control Europe, and Great Britain would be isolated. It was no time for her to be involved in an American war.
At first, our seamen proved better than the British. After we won a battle on Lake Erie in 1813, the American commander, Oliver Hazard Perry, sent the message, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." However, the weight of the British navy beat down our ships eventually. New England, hard-hit by a tightening blockade, threatened secession.
Meanwhile, Napoleon was beaten in Russia and in 1814 was forced to abdicate. Great Britain now turned its attention to the United States, launching a three-pronged attack.
The northern prong was to come down Lake Champlain toward New York and seize parts of New England.
The southern prong was to go up the Mississippi, take New Orleans and paralyze the west.
The central prong was to head for the mid-Atlantic states and then attack Baltimore, the greatest port south of New York If Baltimore was taken, the nation, which still hugged the Atlantic coast, could be split in two. The fate of the United States, then, rested to a large extent on the success or failure of the central prong.
The British reached the American coast, and on August 24, 1814, took Washington, D.C. Then they moved up the Chesapeake Bay toward Baltimore. On September 12, they arrived and found 1,000 men in Fort McHenry, whose guns controlled the harbor. If the British wished to take Baltimore, they would have to take the fort.
On one of the British ships was an aged physician, William Beanes, who had been arrested in Maryland and brought along as a prisoner. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer and friend of the physician, had come to the ship to negotiate his release.
The British captain was willing, but the two Americans would have to wait. It was now the night of September 13, and the bombardment of Fort McHenry was about to start.
As twilight deepened, Key and Beanes saw the American flag flying over Fort McHenry. Through the night, they heard bombs bursting and saw the red glare of rockets. They knew the fort was resisting and the American flag was still flying. But toward morning the bombardment ceased, and a dread silence fell. Either Fort McHenry had surrendered and the British flag flew above it, or the bombardment had failed and the American flag still flew.
As dawn began to brighten the eastern sky, Key and Beanes stared out at the fort, trying to see which flag flew over it. He and the physician must have asked each other over and over, "Can you see the flag?"
After it was all finished, Key wrote a four stanza poem telling the events of the night. Called "The Defense of Fort McHenry," it was published in newspapers and swept the nation. Someone noted that the words fit an old English tune called, "To Anacreon in Heaven" -- a difficult melody with an uncomfortably large vocal range. For obvious reasons, Key's work became known as "The Star Spangled Banner," and in 1931 Congress declared it the official anthem of the United States.
Now that you know the story, here are the words. Presumably, the old doctor is speaking. This is what he asks Key:
Oh! say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
Oh! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
"Ramparts," in case you don't know, are the protective walls or other elevations that surround a fort. The first stanza asks a question. The second gives an answer:
On the shore, dimly seen thro' the mist of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep.
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream
'Tis the star-spangled banner. Oh! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
"The towering steep" is again, the ramparts. The bombardment has failed, and the British can do nothing more but sail away, their mission a failure. In the third stanza, I feel Key allows himself to gloat over the American triumph. In the aftermath of the bombardment, Key probably was in no mood to act otherwise.
During World War II, when the British were our staunchest allies, this third stanza was not sung. However, I know it, so here it is:
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
The fourth stanza, a pious hope for the future, should be sung more slowly than the other three and with even deeper feeling:
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation,
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven - rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause is just,
And this be our motto --"In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
I hope you will look at the national anthem with new eyes. Listen to it, the next time you have a chance, with new ears. Pay attention to the words. And don't let them ever take it away .. not even one word of it.
AND IT'S SUNG IN ENGLISH!!!
NO REFUGE COULD SAVE
BY DR. ISAAC ASIMOV
Editor's Note- Near the end of his life the great science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote a short story about the four stanzas of our national anthem. However brief, this well-circulated piece is an eye opener from the dearly departed doctor.....
I have a weakness -- I am crazy… absolutely nuts, about our national anthem. The words are difficult and the tune is almost impossible, but frequently when I'm taking a shower I sing it with as much power and emotion as I can. It shakes me up every time.
I was once asked to speak at a luncheon. Taking my life in my hands, I announced I was going to sing our national anthem -- all four stanzas. This was greeted with loud groans. One man closed the door to the kitchen, where the noise of dishes and cutlery was loud and distracting. "Thanks, Herb," I said.
"That's all right," he said. "It was at the request of the kitchen staff."
I explained the background of the anthem and then sang all four stanzas. Let me tell you, those people had never heard it before -- or had never really listened. I got a standing ovation. But it was not me; it was the anthem.
More recently, while conducting a seminar, I told my students the story of the anthem and sang all four stanzas. Again there was a wild ovation and prolonged applause. And again, it was the anthem and not me.
So now let me tell you how it came to be written.
In 1812, the United States went to war with Great Britain, primarily over freedom of the seas. We were in the right. For two years, we held off the British, even though we were still a rather weak country. Great Britain was in a life and death struggle with Napoleon. In fact, just as the United States declared war, Napoleon marched off to invade Russia. If he won, as everyone expected, he would control Europe, and Great Britain would be isolated. It was no time for her to be involved in an American war.
At first, our seamen proved better than the British. After we won a battle on Lake Erie in 1813, the American commander, Oliver Hazard Perry, sent the message, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." However, the weight of the British navy beat down our ships eventually. New England, hard-hit by a tightening blockade, threatened secession.
Meanwhile, Napoleon was beaten in Russia and in 1814 was forced to abdicate. Great Britain now turned its attention to the United States, launching a three-pronged attack.
The northern prong was to come down Lake Champlain toward New York and seize parts of New England.
The southern prong was to go up the Mississippi, take New Orleans and paralyze the west.
The central prong was to head for the mid-Atlantic states and then attack Baltimore, the greatest port south of New York If Baltimore was taken, the nation, which still hugged the Atlantic coast, could be split in two. The fate of the United States, then, rested to a large extent on the success or failure of the central prong.
The British reached the American coast, and on August 24, 1814, took Washington, D.C. Then they moved up the Chesapeake Bay toward Baltimore. On September 12, they arrived and found 1,000 men in Fort McHenry, whose guns controlled the harbor. If the British wished to take Baltimore, they would have to take the fort.
On one of the British ships was an aged physician, William Beanes, who had been arrested in Maryland and brought along as a prisoner. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer and friend of the physician, had come to the ship to negotiate his release.
The British captain was willing, but the two Americans would have to wait. It was now the night of September 13, and the bombardment of Fort McHenry was about to start.
As twilight deepened, Key and Beanes saw the American flag flying over Fort McHenry. Through the night, they heard bombs bursting and saw the red glare of rockets. They knew the fort was resisting and the American flag was still flying. But toward morning the bombardment ceased, and a dread silence fell. Either Fort McHenry had surrendered and the British flag flew above it, or the bombardment had failed and the American flag still flew.
As dawn began to brighten the eastern sky, Key and Beanes stared out at the fort, trying to see which flag flew over it. He and the physician must have asked each other over and over, "Can you see the flag?"
After it was all finished, Key wrote a four stanza poem telling the events of the night. Called "The Defense of Fort McHenry," it was published in newspapers and swept the nation. Someone noted that the words fit an old English tune called, "To Anacreon in Heaven" -- a difficult melody with an uncomfortably large vocal range. For obvious reasons, Key's work became known as "The Star Spangled Banner," and in 1931 Congress declared it the official anthem of the United States.
Now that you know the story, here are the words. Presumably, the old doctor is speaking. This is what he asks Key:
Oh! say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
Oh! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
"Ramparts," in case you don't know, are the protective walls or other elevations that surround a fort. The first stanza asks a question. The second gives an answer:
On the shore, dimly seen thro' the mist of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep.
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream
'Tis the star-spangled banner. Oh! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
"The towering steep" is again, the ramparts. The bombardment has failed, and the British can do nothing more but sail away, their mission a failure. In the third stanza, I feel Key allows himself to gloat over the American triumph. In the aftermath of the bombardment, Key probably was in no mood to act otherwise.
During World War II, when the British were our staunchest allies, this third stanza was not sung. However, I know it, so here it is:
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
The fourth stanza, a pious hope for the future, should be sung more slowly than the other three and with even deeper feeling:
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation,
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven - rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause is just,
And this be our motto --"In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
I hope you will look at the national anthem with new eyes. Listen to it, the next time you have a chance, with new ears. Pay attention to the words. And don't let them ever take it away .. not even one word of it.
AND IT'S SUNG IN ENGLISH!!!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Outlook for a Housing Market Recovery
Home prices may well find a bottom this year, and stronger sales should pave the way for a pickup in single-family construction over the course of 2012.
That’s the assessment made by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) in its recently released “State of the Nation’s Housing” report. The report - which has been released since 1988 - is an essential resource for both public policy makers and private decision makers in the housing industry.
The bottom line of the report is that - after several false starts - there is reason to believe that 2012 will mark the beginning of a true housing market recovery.
However, employment growth remains a key factor, providing the stimulus for stronger household growth and bringing relief to some distressed homeowners. And, if the broader economy weakens in the short-term, the housing rebound could again stall.
Here are just some of the findings in the report:
The complete report provides a current assessment of:
You can download the full report from the JCHS’s website. You can also download a convenient handout of Key Housing Industry Facts from the website.
~~Mortgage Market Guide
That’s the assessment made by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) in its recently released “State of the Nation’s Housing” report. The report - which has been released since 1988 - is an essential resource for both public policy makers and private decision makers in the housing industry.
The bottom line of the report is that - after several false starts - there is reason to believe that 2012 will mark the beginning of a true housing market recovery.
- The monthly mortgage payment for the typical home currently compares more favorably to rents than at any time since the early 1970s.
- By the first quarter of 2012, existing home sales were 5.2 percent above year-earlier levels, with single-family sales up 6.3 percent.
- Sales of newly constructed homes in the first quarter of 2012 stood 16.7 percent above year-earlier levels.
- The inventory of existing homes for sale shrank by some 23 percent in 2011, reducing the supply in the first quarter of 2012 to its lowest level since 2006.
- Single-family permitting, a leading indicator of starts, was also up 16.9 percent in the first quarter of 2012.
The complete report provides a current assessment of:
- The state of the housing market and the foreclosure crisis
- The economic and demographic trends driving housing demand
- The state of mortgage finance
- Ongoing housing affordability challenges
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Whew! Tax Day Was Yesterday!
Since tax day has passed, I feel compelled to advise those of you who are getting a tax refund and do not own a home a piece of free advice. That refund (on average $3000) can help you get into a new home of your own. The payment will likely be less than your present rent if you get a home of comparable size. You may not even have to use your refund, but even so you will probably need new drapes a new grill and will have moving expense. You may not have to use it because in spite of what you have heard on the media, you might get into a home for little to no cash. I am reading everywhere that the housing recovery is here. That will most certainly drive interest rates up.
Here is a surprising statistic. The P and I on $150,000 at 3.75% (today’s FHA rate) is $696. If rates go up 1% which is a good probability that same payment will only finance $133,300.
So it doesn’t pay to wait to see if prices might drop some.
These payments are Principal and Interest only, not the total payment. Call me at 777-4663 for details or email me at george.margrave@migonline.com .
Here is a surprising statistic. The P and I on $150,000 at 3.75% (today’s FHA rate) is $696. If rates go up 1% which is a good probability that same payment will only finance $133,300.
So it doesn’t pay to wait to see if prices might drop some.
These payments are Principal and Interest only, not the total payment. Call me at 777-4663 for details or email me at george.margrave@migonline.com .
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Good news and bad news
I have told you about how HUD is raising the MIP for their borrowers after April 1. Actually the final letter says April 9th now, so we got a few more days. So If you are thinking of buying, you would save money by getting the transaction far enough along to order the FHA case number and appraisal by then. The countdown is T minus 26 days
Now the good news. People that currently have an FHA loan that was closed prior to the first part of 2009 (date to be determined) will be able to get a considerably lower MIP for their refinance. This will mean a big savings. So if I ran the numbers for you and it didn’t look very good, it is about to get a lot better. But we have to wait until June 11.
You can reach me at 615-777-4663 (HOME) or email me at George.Margrave@migonline.com .
Now the good news. People that currently have an FHA loan that was closed prior to the first part of 2009 (date to be determined) will be able to get a considerably lower MIP for their refinance. This will mean a big savings. So if I ran the numbers for you and it didn’t look very good, it is about to get a lot better. But we have to wait until June 11.
You can reach me at 615-777-4663 (HOME) or email me at George.Margrave@migonline.com .
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