Real Estate Information

by Jo-Anne LaBuda

I just returned from a Keller Williams International real estate seminar in Austin, TX which focused a great deal of time on how to help buyers and sellers understand the current national and local real estate and economic market conditions.

It is widely believed that we have hit the “bottom” as far as the real estate market.  We are fortunate in Columbus, Ohio that “bottom” of the Columbus, Ohio real estate market is not as large a percentage drop in value, as the sellers have experienced in California, Arizona, Florida and Nevada where prices have dropped as much as 40%.*

Two key points for Columbus, Ohio area Sellers are:  Put your home on the market now only if it is in pristine sales condition and if you are willing to price it according to what the buyers will pay today not 2 years ago.  As always, PRICE and CONDITION.  Buyers today are looking for and expect to get the best house at the best price.  Make that your home!

It is hard to know if the market will improve in the Spring.  I believe it will but only slightly compared to this year.  We also need to keep in mind that there is a “shadow” market in Columbus, Ohio.  Those homes that are waiting to go on the market rather than selling right now.

Remember to look at the sale and purchase of a home as ONE transaction – you can expect to not receive as high a price as a couple of years ago on your current property but you can EXPECT to receive a very favorable price on the property you purchase.

I am available to discuss current market conditions and give you sound and honest advice.  Call me at 614-264-890, email me at jlabuda@kw.com. 

To see every available home in your neighborhood or area, visit www.columbusnorth.com.   This site is the ultimate site for Columbus, Ohio real estate!

If you are considering a second home or are a relocation candidate to another state, now is an EXCELLENT TIME to purchase.  Call me and I will connect you with an excellent Realtor who can help you get the best deal on a property.

by Lynn Nadler

According to William Wheaton, Professor of Economics at MIT,  "The market is probably going to zig and zag a little for the next 6 months, but it's not going to drop further".  This is reason #3 that NOW is a great time to buy a home.

If you have been waiting for the bottom to hit, indications are that we are there.  After almost 30 months of declining values, home prices appear to be stabilizing in most markets and appreciating in some.  One index reports that during the first week of September, home prices were up in 15 of the top metro areas in the country.

What does that mean for you?  It means that if you have been sitting and waiting for the housing market to reach the bottom--it's here.  Contact a Realtor today so that you can take advantage of great home prices before they go up!

by Lynn Nadler

Rates are Awesome!!!!  That's the 2nd reason why NOW is a great time to buy a home. 

The national average on a 30-year mortgage dropped to 4.36% in August, lower than it has been in over 50 years!  If you calculate the savings from August of last year, it represents a drop of $90 per month on a $200,000 home with 10% down.  If you calculate the savings over the life of the loan--30 years--it's a savings of $175,424! 

If you would like to get "pre-approved" for a mortgage and find out what you would qualify for, call us for some referrals for lenders.

This is a compelling reason why NOW is a great time to buy a home. Contact a Realtor today!!!!

by Lynn Nadler

In case you haven't heard----the housing market has slowed down again!! So what does that mean for the savvy buyer?  It means that now is an even more favorable time to buy a home!

For buyers, one of the most important housing statistics today is that homes have never been more affordable!  At the height of the real estate market the median mortgage payment as a percentage of median household income was as high as 25% and now with home prices falling as much as they have, that percentage has fallen to less than 15% of income!  It can't get much better than that!

Many buyer think they "missed out" when they didn't take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit but Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae's chief economist states that "At today's rock bottom rates, buyers stand to save $8,000 many times over during the course of a 30-year mortgage".

So, the bottom line is--rates are great, prices are down, don't wait--call a Realtor today!

by Nicki Campbell

I like to walk around my neighborhood four or five days out of every week.  I have been doing it for years and I know every house in the neighborhood -- or at least the front of every house! 

It is interesting to see how different people value the exterior appearance of their home.  On the one extreme will be the beautifully landscaped home with stone-edged planters, a meticulously manicured lawn and gorgeous flowers.  On the other side will be the house with un-mowed grass plus crabgrass, beds full of weeds and overgrown shrubs and trees.  Perhaps the trim needs painting and the driveway is full of cars.

Sometimes there is a good reason an owner lets his property go;  a serious illness or death in the family or severe financial problems come to mind.  But often, the curb appeal of their home is just not a priority -- until they go to sell their house. 

Unfortunately, their lack of attention to the outside of their property is affecting everyone else's real estate values.  One or more of their neighbors are trying to sell their own homes right now and the impression made by the entire neighborhood has a huge effect on the length of time these homes are on the market and the prices they will bring.

If you are one of those people who procrastinate on your front yard and home exterior, here is what you should do.  Stand across the street (maybe with a friend or neighbor) and take a critical look at your home.  Make a list of everything that needs to be done and decide who can do it.  If it seems to be too much for you or your children, consider hiring a local gardener or even a teenager in the neighborhood.  Keeping the lawn mowed and watered, the beds weeded and edged and the bushes and trees trimmed will go a long way to improving the overall appearance of your home.  If you can, hire a landscaper to design a plan that you can work on each year.  And don't forget to paint the woodwork -- maybe even update the color of the trim or the front door.

If you don't want to do it for yourself, do it for your neighbors!

If you need advice on what to do with the outside of your home, or suggestions of local landscapers or gardeners, please call us at 614-431-9111!

I saw this on the Trulia website today and thought it might be of interest to our readers.  It comes from Tara-Nicholle Nelson's blog.

Q:  What do you advise a financially fit homebuyer to do to increase their credit score or make themselves more attractive buyers, to qualify for the lowest mortgage rates?

A:  A FICO score of 700 (FHA)/740 (Conventional) or better qualifies you for the lowest rates. In fact, it qualifies you just as well as a higher score, so if you’re at or over 700/740, there’s no loan qualification rationale for investing effort into boosting it.  But these are firm breaking points. The difference between a score of 698 and a score of 700 (in an FHA loan scenario) can cost you a quarter of a point in interest, or thousands of dollars over the life of your mortgage.

I’ve found that people asking about how to boost their credit to qualify for the best interest rates is similar to people asking me how to lose weight: I tell them the truth, then their eyes glaze over when I give them the straight dope, no magic bullets.  No one wants to hear: eat vegetables, cut the sugar, and exercise; similarly, they don’t want to hear pay your bills on time, every time.

But I’ve been asked this question a lot recently, so here goes, anyway!
    
1.    Pull your reports online – get them for free, no strings attached, at the government authorized website AnnualCreditReport.com.  This doesn’t get you your actual FICO scores, but it does get you the content of your report. Look for errors that could be depressing your score, like accounts that don’t belong to you, balances that are actually lower than reported, old debts that are paid off that should have been removed entirely (7 years for credit cards, 10 for bankruptcies).

2.      Consider reopening accounts you thought were open but have been closed because you haven’t used them in so long - it will help boost your utilization ratio, one element of your credit score that is dependent on how much available credit you have.

3.      Pay down some debt.  This both decreases your debt-to-income ratio (36% is the goal, including the proposed mortgage payment) and increases your credit score, if you do it right (see the next tip).

4.     Don’t close any accounts.  Instead, spread your debt out. The ideal utilization ratio is about 20-30% of your available credit overall, and on any given account.  Closing accounts reduces the amount of credit that is available to you, so it makes it look like you’re closer to being maxed out.

So if you have one card that’s near its max and several others that have zero balances and you’re trying boost your score a bit, quickly, consider balance transfers to spread our your debt more evenly, aiming for 20-30% of the available credit on each card.

5.     Use your credit regularly – and pay it on time, every time:  Having a good FICO score doesn't happen because you have sound personal finances, including no debt. FICO scores are a measure that shows that you have a history of responsibly using and managing and repaying your debt on an ongoing basis.

6.      Finally, check in with your mortgage broker.  Have them pull your report and score, as the report they pull is the one they’ll have to go by in the final analysis.  If you’re really close to a score level higher, that would empower you to qualify for a lower rate, they can actually run a credit diagnostic on your score and generate some recommendations for which actions you could take to raise your score by the needed few points. Then many of them can do what’s called a ‘Rapid Rescore’ – once you’ve paid that bill off, they can actually submit a request directly to the credit bureaus to update that information and your score in just a few days.

None of these tips will get someone with a 500 credit score to a 700 (other than a massive debt reduction program).  But if you’re trying to get a little boost to get you over a credit score hump, these can be potent, and save you beaucoup bucks in interest.

Sitting at the North Carolina beach listening to the surf...

It occurs to me that with today's low interest rates, reasonable prices and the large inventory of vacation homes, it is a great time for Baby Boomers to
purchase their retirement home in a sunny environment. It will be years before
these three positive items for the purchase of a vacation or retirement property
will again be in perfect alignment.

This is also true for single family homes in Columbus whether it be a "move up" or first home. Interest rates are so low right now that the monetary benefits are far better than the incentive credits that were available at the beginning of the year.

If you are thinking about purchasing or selling a home, please call us to
discuss the pluses and minuses and a strategy for the present or future. We can help you here in Ohio or advise you about other states.  We can also find a good agent in any part of the country so that you can be assured of the best real estate advice if you want to buy property in an area you are not familiar with.

We promise, straight talk, sound and honest advice and superior marketing every time we consult with you.

One of our favorite loan specialists, David Arocho from Bank of America Home Loans, just sent over the unbelievable specials the BOA is offering right now.   

For a new purchase, closing within 30-45 days, the 30-year fixed rate ($100-$417K) is 4.125%.  The 20-year fixed rate is 4.00% and the 15-year fixed rate is $3.75!

The Jumbo 30-year fixed rate is 5.125%

These rates have no points or origination fees!

The minimum score on all conforming loans with less than 20% down or 20% equity is not 680.  Scores between 700 and 739 may be slightly higher than those of the special rates being offered.

Of course, all rates are subject to change at any time without notice and are for borrowers who qualify via credit, ratios and standard program guidelines.

The important thing to note is that these are historic rates -- even more beneficial to buyers than the first-time-buyer tax credit of $8,000 from earlier this year!  Between these fabulous rates and the rock bottom real estate prices in the Columbus area, you won't find a better time to buy a home!

To contact David Arocho about this -- or refinancing your current mortgage -- call him at 614-781-3434 ext. 275 or email him at david.arocho@bankofamerica.com.

by Jo-Anne LaBuda

 I recently returned from the Keller Williams Family Reunion in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Family Reunion is the name that Keller Williams gives its yearly international convention. 

Approximately 7000 agents attended this event.  The highlights were Gary Keller's "vision speech" for the future, a rousing and enthusiastic general session, informative financial forecasts and over 100 classes and breakout sessions to further agents' experience and improve their service to and for their clients.   

On top of the exceptional education opportunities, we found time to enjoy the French Quarter and have coffee and binets at the Cafe Du Monde which is a very popular outdoor cafe.  A brass quartet played some jazz as we enjoyed our coffee and sweets.  We also had an excellent view of the famous St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Park. 

Later we took the Katrina tour. Viewing the re-building of this great city seemed particularly appropriate since the overall theme of the Family Reunion was "Overcoming Adversity".

by Lynn Nadler

Mark your calendars for the annual Pancake Day on Saturday, March 6, 2010 from 8-3 pm.  The event will be held this year at Worthington Kilbourne High School.  Tickets are $5 presale and $6 at the door.  This is the 9th year for Pancake Day which is a joint fund-raiser for both Worthington Kilbourne and Thomas Worthington High School athletic teams.

The money raised from this event helps the athletic teams purchase equipment that is not funded by the school district.  Wolves Inc. and Cards Inc, the umbrella organizations for the high schools, also use the money to fund large projects such as the moving sign outside Worthington Kilbourne.

Plan to attend this event which includes breakfast (or lunch), entertainment, a silent auction and a chance to visit with old friends and neighbors!