You’re probably expecting the punchline to a joke … sorry! The people in the photos above come from these diverse backgrounds and have all closed on new homes in the past couple of weeks. What they have in common is their love for research.
They researched a little deeper
There are so many real estate web sites on the internet it is overwhelming at times. The majority of them offer the same things like market reports, the ability to search the MLS for homes, etc. What made these people arrive at the same conclusion and choose a little company like Finding Homes for You?
Exclusive Buyer Agent Approach
Isn’t if fun when you discover something that most people don’t know anything about?
New Rule from Fannie Mae Could End Up Ruining or Delaying Closing on Your Future Home
If you’re not very careful, a new rule just enacted June 1st by Fannie Mae, could put an end to your dreams of owning a home.
Fannie Mae has implemented what’s called “The Loan QualityInitiative (LQI). (Don’t you just love the names they come up with?)
The LQI is designed to make sure that the mortgage loans bought by Fannie Mae comply with its underwriting requirements.
What’s important to you is that this will require mortgage companies to double-check your financial information right before your closing. What they are going to do is “refresh” your credit report to look for any new debt or a lower credit score.
Some banks are checking this out just 2 days before closing!
Translation? Even though you may have been approved for the loan a month or two earlier, changes in your finances could cause the mortgage company to delay or deny your loan just as you are about to close on the home.
Read On for 4 Things You Want to Avoid Before Closing:
Congratulations to Parkway West High School in St. Louis for being selected by Newsweek Magazine’s annual ranking of High Schools.
There were only 13 high schools in Missouri selected for the list.
Less than 6% of the country’s public high schools qualify for this prestigious group.
Find out how these schools qualified and the other local High Schools that were included in this report along with what’s happening in the St. Louis Real Estate Market.
Special Provisions Allow Military Home Buyers to Capture Tax Credits
Extension of Homebuyer Tax Credit and Excemption from Tax Credit Recapture Rules Ease the Home Buying Purchase for Members of the Military
Military families seeking to buy a home can count on a little tax help. The Homebuyers Tax Credit which provided eligible buyers with a tax credit fo up to $8000 for first time buyers and $6500 for repeat home buyers ended on April 30, 2010 for civilians.
However, active duty military or those on extended overseas duty now have until on or before April 30, 2011 to take advantage of this great benefit! Get the details here …
Here’s some news that is surprising a lot of people-mortgage rates have dropped below the 5% level.
The housing industry had been bracing for a season of rising interest rates brought on by the end of the Federal Reserve $1.25 trillion (yes, trillion) mortgage-securities purchase program.
Instead, many in our industry now say rates could drift as low as 4.5% this summer from 4.86% now, instead of climbing up to 6% as economists projected.
Translation? Lower payments for buying homes or refinancing.
Find out how the financial problems going on in Greece and all of Europe is actually helping you the buyer …
We have been through one of the worst housing recessions in modern history. Have we reached the bottom? Some say yes while others say no. Some new statistics offer some hope to …
Spring is in the air, you can hear the lawn mowers revving up and people thinking about remodeling. So what’s your situation? Considering adding on a deck or tackling a bathroom addition? What project will give you the biggest return on your investment when you go to sell your home? Check out the data that just came out covering the St. Louis area … you might be surprised!
Agents at Finding Homes for You win St. Louis Magazine’s “Five Star Agent Award in Customer Service” Chosen by Homebuyers
Congratulations to:
Alexis Haglin Richert (5 year consecutive winner)
Sebastian Richert (4 year consecutive winner)
Mark Richert (3 year consecutive winner)
With over 15,000 real estate agents in the St. Louis area how do you know which one to choose? For the last five years St. Louis Magazine has tried to help potential home buyers out by conducting a survey of people who recently purchased a home. See how buyers selected this top group of agents … and why it’s important to you and your home search …
April 30th is the deadline for the Federal Tax Credit
You are probably aware that in order to take advantage of the tax credit you will have to have your home under contract by April 30th and you must successfully close by June 30th.
3 Reasons You Do Not Want to Wait Until the End of April to Enter Into a Contract
The competition will be even stiffer for the best homes that are still available.
Things might go wrong in the contract negotiations, building inspection, etc. and your contract might not go through leaving you little time to regroup and move on to the next potential home.
Don’t kid yourself. The Seller knows that you are under the gun and need the house under contract to get the $8000. You could be losing some of your negotiating leverage with the Seller!
There are a lot of moving parts in play when your purchase a home including, inspections, disclosures, mortgages and more. So … you need to act now while there are plenty of homes to choose from, interest rates are still low, and you can avoid making a hasty decision under pressure.
It’s not too late! Give us a call today at 636-386-0659 and we can share with you how to streamline the whole process protecting you all of the way through to the closing on your new home!
