Home mortgage rates are currently near historic lows and have remained at these low levels for several months.  If you have a loan at 6% or higher, you should definitely consider refinancing.  If you have an adjustable rate mortgage, it’s a great time to refinance into a more conservative and consistent 15- or even 30-year mortgage loan.

If you do decide to refinance, be sure you understand the associated costs and then try to limit them as much as possible. The author of ConsumerLoansDirectory.com offers these tips:

• Try to refinance with your existing lender. They will want to keep your business and if they know you want to refinance, they will be motivated to offer the lowest rates possible and to reduce your fees.
• Take a look at your credit report. Be sure there are no issues you are unaware of that might detract from your score. A high score will help you secure the lowest possible interest rate.
• Do not hesitate to negotiate your fees.  Many mortgage-related fees are controlled by the mortgage company so they have the ability to lower them.
• Avoid having your closing costs included in your loan balance. This is a way to avoid them, but you will be paying for them each month during the length of your loan.

Keep these simple tips in mind, and you should be on the way to a smooth refinancing process.

In a tough real estate market, sellers should think about “sweetening the pot” to get the deal done. Here are five creative ideas:

• Offer Decorating Allowance: There may be a buyer who likes your home but just has different decorating tastes. To seal the deal, offer a decorating allowance (for painting, new carpets, or wallpaper). You can offer cash at closing, or put money in escrow to reimburse decorating and remodeling expenses made within 90 days of closing, up to a maximum amountj.
• Do a Pre-Sale Inspection: This actually works for both the seller and the buyer. By having a whole house inspection done before listing the house, you get a chance to address any issues before prospects see the home. You can display the report during open houses and highlight the repairs that have already been addressed. By having the home inspected before listing it, buyers don’t have to guess what kind of condition it is in; they can see it in writing.
• Offer a Home Warranty: A home warranty reassures the buyer that the propertyis in top condition and gives them comfort knowing that certain future repairs will be covered by the warranty.
• Cover Closing Costs: As a seller, you could offer to pay the buyer’s half of escrow fees, or pre-paid interest charges. Paying the points on the loan may also be a tax deduction for you.
• Offer Seller Financing: There are many ways to offer seller financing. Options include putting funds in escrow to cover several months of mortgage payments, buying down the mortgage rate, or carrying a second mortgage to cover the down payment. It is wise not to offer seller financing unless you have consulted a real estate attorney and your real estate agent.

If any of these ideas appeal to you, and if you are interested in selling your home in Encinitas,Cardiff,Carlsbad, Vista, or San Marcos, please call Sea Coast Exclusive Properties and ask for Marilyn Dashe.

The Senate passed the financial regulation bill, which will impace home buyers and lending guidelines.  Chief among the changes impacting consumers is the creation of a consumer bureau at the Fereral Reserve and the requirement that lenders ensure a borrower is able to repay a home loan by verifying income, employment, and credit history.

• Under the financial regulation bill, at least two categories of mortgages likely will see a dramatic decrease in their availability: interest-only loans and stated-income loans. Both loan types likely would fall short of the government’s definition of “qualified” mortgages and therefore be avoided bymany in the lending community.
• Many real estate analysts credit interest-only loans and stated-income loans as contributing factors to the decline of the housing market.  With interest-only loans, borrowers pay none of the loan principal for a fixed period, typically 10 years, after which time they must make higher payments for the remaining 20 years of the loan. Unlike other loan products, stated-income loans do not require borrowers to verify their actual income.  Only a few lenders continue to offer these loans, and typically only to borrowers with deep cash reserves and large down payments.
• The bill also severely limits the industry practice known as “yield spread premiums,” which in many cases incentivized mortgage brokers and loan officers to sell higher-interest loans to borrowers. The reform bill will no longer allow commissions earned by mortgage brokers and loan officers to be linked to the interest rate, but rather to the loan amount. Once the bill takes effect, the total commission and additional fees charged by lenders and others in the mortgage process will be limited to a maximum of 3 percent of the loan mount, not including the real estate commission.

Lenders have plenty of money to loan to qualified buyers. And interest rates are at an all-time low.  What is your purchasing power limit? Where do you want to own real estate? Call Sea Coast Exclusive Properties in Encinitas, California and get started today.

The Southern California Coastal residential market seems to be decoupling from the rest of the nation with a recovering housing market. Although the recovery is slow, it is an important move in the right direction. Both the L.A. Times and the San Diego Union Tribune on Wed., July 14th had articles addressing the heightened activity that we are seeing. It is not uncommon at all to see the Encinitas, Carlsbad, Cardiff, Oceanside, Solana Beach,Del Mar, and Oceanside markets lead the way because they have some of the strongest appeal of all national real estate markets.

For most families, the area they chooses reflects the quality of life they are looking for. If they can make the coastal areas work, that is where they settle. If you are interested in Southern California Coastal real estate, come and see for yourself what makes this area so special. Spend a beach vacation here and you will be happy you added this area to your “things to do” list.

Many home buyers today not only take into consideration the neighborhood and school in which a house is located, but also which amenities, such as stores and public transportation, are within walking distance.

• According to urban planners, changing demographics are driviing this growing trend. The baby boomer generation is approaching empty-nest retirement age, while their children are buying their first homes; neither group wants large lots in remote areas with little access to big-box stores, public transportation, and entertainment. Concerns about future oil prices also are increasing the attractiveness of walkable communities, according to planners.
• Home buyers interested in finding homes in walkable communities can use myriad web sites; one commonly used site if WalkScore.com. The site enable users to enter an address and receive a score ranging from zero to 100 (”car dependent” to “walkers paradise” indicating the walkiability of the community.
• House prices also are reflecting the new interest in walking distances. A study published by the non-profit group CEO’s for Cities found having more amenities in walking distance can boost home values.  As measured on Walk Score, alking-distance amenities raised values by as much as $3000 for each one-point increase in rankings.

Call Marilyn Dashe at Sea Coast Exclusive Properties, and she will be happy to locate the Walk Score for you for a specific property in San Diego County!

President Barack Obama recently signed into law a three-month extension on the deadline for home buyers to obtain a federal home buyer tax credit of up to $8000.

Eligible taxpayers who contracted to buy a home, qualifying for the first-time home buyer tax credit before the end of April 2010, now have until September 30, 2010 to close the deal. To be eligible, buyers need to be in a binding contract that was in place by April 30th.

The new law addresses concerns that many home buyers might be unable to meet the original June 30th closing deadline.

The National Association of Realtors has estimated that about 180,000 otherwise eligible buyers were likely to miss out on the credit if the original deadline were upheld.  It’s been difficult for some buyers to get their mortgages approved on time, as lenders work through a clogged pipeline of applications.

FHA Pros, LLC, a national FHA condo approval service, has developed a list of facts speaking to the top misconceptions associated with FHA loans.

“We have seen home buyer interest in FHA loans go from practially zero three years ago to upwards of 87% today….Despite this rapid rise in popularity, many buyers still do not fully understand the benefits of these loans.”

1.FHA Loans Are Not Only For Lower-Income Borrowers. FHA loans are available to everyone. There is no maximum income restriction associated with FHA loans. Borrowers do need to substantiate income and assets by submitting proper documentation

2.FHA Loans Are Not Only For First-Time Buyers. Whether borrowers are making their first home purchase or their fifth, they can look to an FHA loan as a financing option.

3.FHA Loans Are Not Just Small Loans.Loan amounts can be as high as almost $800,000. The government recently raised the maximum loan amount from its original cap or $362,790 to $793,750.

4.FHA Loans Are Not Affiliated With The Section 8 Housing Program. While both programs are administered by HUD, FHA loans have nothing to do with low-income subsidized housing. FHA loans are simply mortgages insured by FHA.

5.FHA Loans Are Often More Affordable Than Conventional Loans. While FHA loans typically offer the same interest rates as other loans, borrowers benefit from a much lower down payment of as low as 3.5%.

6.FHA-Approved Condo Developments Are More Desirable To Buyers. With 87% of home buyers indicating that they plan to use FHA loans, condo associations that are not FHA approved are missing out on a significant pool of prospective buyers.

7.FHA Loans Are Assumable. In addition to lower down-payment and credit-qualifying requirements as sompared to conventional loans, FHA loans are assumable.

According to an article in the San Diego Union Tribune on June 25th, mortgage rates have dropped to record lows. Freddie Mac confirmed this with lenders offering 4.69% on a 30-year fixed-rate loan.

The average rate on the 30-year loan fell from 4.75$ last week, dropping below the previous record of 4.71% set in December. As recently as early April, the average was at 5.21%.

The latest move down had been expected after Treasury yields — which usually influence the direction of home-loan rates — fell this week to their lowest levels in more than a year.

Freddie Mac’s survey, which the mortgage giant has been conducting since 1971, asks lenders what rates they are offering — and the upfront fees required to obtain those rates — for well-qualified borrowers who have at least a 20% down payment for a home purchases or that much equity in a property being refinanced. Actual rates negotiated by solid borrowers are often slightly lower.

Upfront fees on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages this week averaged 0.7% of the amount borrowed.

Rates also hit record lows on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages and so-called 5-1 hybrids, which have a fixed rate for five years before turning adjustable for the remaining 25 years.

With these amazingly low interest rates, isn’t it time for you to consider buying a home? Contact Marilyn Dashe (marilyndashe@cox.net) at Sea Coast Exclusive Properties in Encinitas for some ideas.

Can it be possible? In spite of the housing crisis and high rates of foreclosure, in some areas real estate agents are complaining that they don’t have enough homes to sell.

There is currently an eight-month supply of homes on the market — meaning that at the current sales pace, it would take eight months to sell all of the houses.

That’s still high compared to the six-month supply expected in a normal market, but it’s much better than it has been.

In California, almost all cities have a short supply of single-family homes. That’s especially true in the lower-priced categories, according to Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors.

The supply of homes that sell for less than $300,000 is at 3.2 months statewide, down from an already low 3.3 month supply 12 months ago.

Inventory of moderately priced homes, those between $300,000 and $500,000, fell to 4.2 months in March, down from 4.5 months in March 2009.

If you want to purchase a home in Carlsbad, Vista, Encinitas, Rancho SAnta Fe, and other coastal communites, please call Sea Coast Exclusive Properties and we’ll help yo find a property.

As reported in the San Diego Union Tribune on Tuesday, May 18th, San Diego County home prices slipped from March to April but remained within the same zone they have occupied since last summer. These statistics were reported on Monday by MDA DataQuick.

DataQuick said theApril median price was $325,250, down $4750, or 1.4 per cent, from March, but up 12.2 per cent from a year ago. The overall median has remained within the $320,000 – $330,000 band since July.

“I think that the main thing it reflects is a widening stability of the market over the last nine months” a DataQuick analyst said.

However, analysts caution against hoping that prices will start rising rapidly. The quantity of foreclosures and other distressed properties will not dissipate anytime soon. But the median’s stability masks a change in marketmix that has seen low-cost starter home sales taper off and sales of higher-priced homes pickup steam, but not enough to pull the median price up much.