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Lenders require mortgage insurance for conventional loans when buyers don't bring 20% or more of the purchase price as equity to their closing.  Mortgage insurance only protects the lender in case you default on the loan. It doesn't provide any benefit to you! The sooner you can get rid of it, the better off you are.

So, it is essential to make sure you calculate your percentage equity in your home regularly, so you can eliminate paying mortage insurance as soon as possible! 

First, you have to know what TYPE of loan do you have: Is it a CONVENTIONAL, VA, or FHA loan?

VA

VA loans are designed so that veterans can borrow up to 100% of the value of the home WITHOUT mortga...

 
So, you noticed that three years ago, your next door neighbors put their house on the market one morning, and by that afternoon they had multiple offers to choose from. Now you have been trying to sell your home for eight months and there's just no action...!

The real estate market is unpredictable in the short term, since many factors (like interest rates, the amount of new homes being built and the economic health of the area) come into play. In the long term, the real estate market behaves just like other economic markets. It is a cyclical market (and in many places also seasonal). And it is driven by underlying supply and demand.

In a strong seller's market (defined as one with l...

The $8,000 Federal Tax Credit has proven to be extremely popular. According to Realtor.com, the most visited real estate website in the U.S., 10.8% of buyers say that this and other state incentives are the most important reason motivating them to buy.  The IRS reports that about 1.14 million buyers have filed for the $8,000 first-time tax credit, and expect many more buyers to file paperwork to qualify for the credit when they submit their 2009 tax return.

However, tax credits don't deserve all the attention. More importantly, the key driver for first-time home buyers today is the improved affordability throughout the country. In July of 2009, the National Association of REALTOR®'s (NAR's...

... There's a buzz going around about the real estate market in Mount Pleasant having "bottomed out" and on its way to recovery...

... Is this Fall/Winter the best time to buy...?

... What do you think...?

... Share your opinion with us!

Fill out our ONLINE SURVEY (it takes only a minute) - we'll publish the results in the near future...

I found this website to check out homes anywhere in the U.S.

By Alan Donald, BuyHomesInCharleston.com

Here is a situation that unfortunately is becoming very common: Appraisals that are coming substantially BELOW THE CONTRACT PRICE!

Why is this happening?

The main reasons for this new trend are:

1. Recent CHANGES IN GOVERNMENT REGULATION (namely the Home Valuation Code of Conduct - HVCC) that dictated that lenders cannot choose an appraiser directly any more (lenders normally would choose an appraiser they know is familiar with the neighborhood). Instead, they have to order the appraisal through a third party company, who in turn has a "pool" of registered appraisers to whom they farm out the jobs. This has caused some appraisals to be conducted...

I think this listing is priced very well, Longpoint neighborhood is very nice, great schools, convenient location. Should sell very soon!

CALL ME TODAY TO ARRANGE A SHOWING!!

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Great new listing in Bedford Chase, a nice section in Crowfield Plantation, the premier subdivision in Goose Creek. Very close to the Naval Weapons Station and close proximity to Google, Charleston AFB and great shopping at Northwoods Mall.

Click for Details

One of the difficulties of executing a Forward 1031 Exchange is that there is limited time to identify suitable properties and an investor may miss the window to qualify for the 1031 "tax-free" exchange. Many of the current buying opportunities are either short sales or lender-owned properties. The timing uncertainties these generate make a Forward 1031 Exchange risky to execute well.

A Reverse 1031 Exchange allows investors to take advantage of current market opportunities by purchasing the replacement property FIRST, and then identifying the relinquished property within a designated time frame (most times investors KNOW which property they want to get rid of in advance).

As an investo...

Only 9 Weeks Left!

If you are a first time home buyer and want to be eligible for the $8,000 Federal Tax Credit when you purchase a primary home, there are just 8 weeks left to CLOSE the transaction!! (unless Congress extends the deadline, this tax credit expires on December 1st, 2009). This means you better get cracking! You will need to find a home, negotiate a contract, do your buyer's due diligence and get your loan approved before you can close!!

If you are in this situation and need to buy a home urgently - please contact me ASAP! We can still do it....

TO "LOCK" OR TO "FLOAT"?

It is very important for home buyers or for those who want to re-finance to be aware that in these volatile financial markets we are living in, interest rates on mortgages can fluctuate substantially in a matter of hours! I have heard many stories from mortgage lenders about how they were able to lock a fantastic interest rate for a loan using a 2-3 hour "window of opportunity" that disappeared afterward, or others that missed out because they floated the loan (to "float" means to let the interest rate fluctuate with the market). Understanding how "locking-in" a rate works may help you evaluate your options and could result in thousands of dollars in savings!

So...

...Renting...?

...Credit score above 660...?

...Wish to BUY now to take advantage of market conditions, low interest rates and the $8,000 TAX CREDIT...?

If we believe everything the media throws at us we would be 100% sure that there are no more 100% loans available for buyers! However, that's not the case...A few banks still have a 100% loan programs for buyers with good credit scores (660 and up).

Interested? Contact me today! I'll help you buy your dream home with no money down...

Our oldest son Kai goes to college tomorrow. On the one hand, I am glad he's making his own future now. On the other hand, I know that I am not going to enjoy any more high school soccer games, and will have fewer Apples-to-Apples and ping-pong challenges with him gone...in any case, we know that there is now a spare bedroom in our home (until he comes home during the holidays!)

This got me thinking about life, and the cycle for real estate ownership. Normally people don't start thinking about investing in real estate until they get married or kids come along.  Only the smart ones see that real estate is a great long-term investment and start early, as soon as they graduate from colleg...

With all the hype about short sales and REOs (lender-owned) homes, I thought that it was useful to put things in perspective (at least for Mt. Pleasant). Here are the numbers (as of 8/13/09) taken from the MLS:

• Total No. of Single Family, Detached listings (Active, Contingent and Pending) in Mt. Pleasant: 1,165
• Number of these listed as "Possible Short Sale": 120 (10.3%)
• Number of these listed as "Lender-Owned": 12 (1%)
• Number of these under Contract (Contingent and Pending): 167 (14.3%)

• Total No. of Condo & Townhome listings (Active, Contingent and Pending) in Mt. Pleasant: 525
• Number of these listed as "Possible Short Sale": 58 (11.04%)
• Number of these listed as "Lender-Own...

Buying Opportunities with Foreclosures

In Part 1 we discussed the different stages of a foreclosure which could result in buying opportunities. Here we explore the different opportunities and risks involved in each stage.

Today's buyers seem to be more focused on the short-term goal of "getting a deal" rather than on the long-term lifestyle improvement and savings goal of home ownership. However, in the "frenzy" created by the media about buying foreclosure homes, there are some serious pitfalls that should be considered that may result in unforeseen challenges for the average buyer.

1. Pre-foreclosure (Short Sales). In my opinion, one of the best avenues to find well-priced properties...

I read this article in the Daily Real Estate News today which I agree with!

"Daily Real Estate News | August 3, 2009 

There's no ultimate answer to this question, but Tribune Media Services columnist Ilyce Glink has a theory. Here are her six top reasons properties linger on the market:

1. Lousy pictures on the Web. 
2. Priced too high for the neighborhood. 
3. Blah interior; ho-hum landscaping. 
4. Little online marketing and hard-to-find MLS listings. 
5. Low commissions. Practitioners make sure their customers see properties that offer a payoff. 
6. Miserable maintenance, including ceiling stains, leaky faucets, and ancient furnaces.

Source: Tribune Media Se...

Keli McClarty from Atlantic Bank sent me a copy of this article, that I believe synthezises the new changes effected recently on the mortgage industry, and which are essential to keep in mind when buying or selling real estate:

The bottom line is that the new rules are all about giving the borrower time to decide if they want the loan they applied for at the time of application.

RULE:  Borrowers have 7 days from the "official" application (meaning they must have a property address) before they can close the loan.

TRANSLATION: Rush closings are a thing of the past - even if a file is transferred to you from another mortgage company.

RULE: A Good Faith Estimate must be sent within 3 day...

I found this 2006 article from writer Tom Austin in Travel & Leisure Magazine that contains a very interesting and vivid description of the juxtaposition of the old and the new in Charleston, SC.

Click here to read the article....

The popular Travel and Leisure Magazine World's Best Award has just ranked Charleston (SC) their No. 4 city in the U.S. and Canada (behind New York, San Francisco and Chicago). This is not the first time our Holy City receives such an award, in 2007, Charleston had already ranked #6 and in 2006 it had also ranked #4.

This is a great honor for such a small city to be compared against some of the biggest and most cosmopolitan cities in the continent!

Travel & Leisure comes up with the ranking after an online survey is posted for three months, where respondents rate services like hotels, spas, cruise lines and restaurants on value, ambience and customer service. A minimum number of entries...