Sonoma County Mortgage Rates Update-12/11/2009
December 11th, 2009 categories: Buyer Resource, Mortgage Rates
This week in the Mortgage World!
Will you be buying in 2010?
Are you planning to buy a home in 2010? If so you need to know some important facts. The following are simple tools to insure you get the best deal available.
This advice comes from my 21 years of experience watching people go through the process of buying a home. I have seen people who got amazing deals and others who did not. What are the keys to buying and getting an amazing deal on a home?
Financing – “Buyer’s Cred”
The first thing you need to do in order to get a good deal on a home purchase is get your financing in order. Did you notice I didn’t say go look at homes! If you want a good deal on the house you buy, you have to have “Buyer’s Cred”. If you don’t have your financing in order, you have no credibility as a buyer. No one will accept your offer if it is not accompanied by a letter from a lender that says you are pre-approved for the purchase.
Imagine going out and buying a car without knowing what you can afford in a monthly payment? Oh, you did that? Then you know the pain of building your budget around a payment instead of fitting a payment into your budget. Big difference!
So how do you know what you can afford per month? Let’s say you are paying $1,200 per month in rent. Let’s also say you found out that if you bought a home your monthly cost would be $2,000. Then start putting aside $2,000 a month now.
Pay your rent and then put $800 in your savings account and don’t touch it.
If you can do that for 6 months without going back and needing the $800, then chances are buying a home with a monthly payment $2,000 will be affordable and buying a home will be a successful experience for you.
Shopping for a home – “Keep it Q”
When you go out to look at homes available, don’t get swept up in the excitement and look at homes you can’t afford. “Keep it Q” or keep it realistic. Why? The simple answer is the homes; you can afford will never look good enough to you again.
Higher priced homes usually have features and qualities that are not available at lower prices. People start to feel they have to settle for the less attractive homes and get discouraged. I don’t care who you are, there is always a nicer home out there.
By keeping it real you will be looking at the appropriate homes and not wasting time. Plus, buyers are often tempted to buy a home of more value and end up with homes they really cannot afford. This can be devastating for people who then build up debt, find themselves making late payments, ruin their credit and eventually lose their home.
So, in the vernacular of our time, today’s tips are develop street cred by getting preapproved and keep it q by keeping it real, so that you have a successful buying experience.
Mortgage Rate Update…
Rates moving up!
Rates moved higher this week! Don’t assume they will stay low forever. Frankly they are going to go up dramatically at some point. The day they go up, some “expert” will put out an article that says they are going down. Why? No one knows when mortgage rates will go up and stay there, especially the experts.
If ever there was a time to make your move it is right now.
Rates for the week ending 12/11/09
- 30 Year Fixed Rate 5% w/5.24 APR
This quote below is based on a FHA loan with a minimum of 3.5% down, for a person buying a personal residence with a FICO score of 620 or better who would be locking for 30 days. -
30 Year Fixed Rate 4.875% w/5.19% APR
The quote below is based on a Conventional Loan with a minimum of 10% down, for a person buying a personal residence with a FICO score of 740 or better who is locking for 30 days.
Call team “WineCountryMoves.com” today and get started on your piece of the American dream!
Happy buying!
This article was contributed by Dave Raffi, 707-303-2933, Regional Manager, Mission Hills Mortgage.
