Louise Criswell
Principal Broker
503.913.3500
Licensed in Oregon
Kimberly Criswell
Principal Broker
503.349.9339
Licensed in Oregon
Keller Williams Realty
Portland Central
700 NE Multnomah Street, Ste 950
Portland, OR 97232
503-548-4848
|
“Buy Now or Later?”
Savvy homebuyers who want to save the most money are jumping into the market now. That’s because home prices are at or near bottom, and mortgage rates have dropped FURTHER due to continued economic turmoil. Mortgage analysts can’t agree on how long these rates will stick around.
With a mortgage loan, your interest expenses can really add up. This is because your monthly mortgage payment includes much more interest than principal during the initial years of your loan term. So for the first several years, most of your money is going to the lender to pay them for the interest rate, not toward the principal balance to pay off the loan. Having a low interest rate saves you a larger amount of money than you might expect. Today’s rate was actually 4.375%, so even lower than the 4.500% example in exhibit A.
A.
$200,000 Loan Balance
4.500% Interest
30 year fixed loan
Monthly Principle & Interest Payment: $1013
Interest paid over the first 5 years: $43,801
Interest paid over life of loan: $164,813
B.
$200,000 Loan Balance
5.500% Interest
30 year fixed loan
Monthly Principle & Interest Payment: $1135
Interest paid over first 5 years of loan: $53,903
Interest paid over life of loan: $208,808
C.
$200,000 Loan Balance
6.500% Interest
30 year fixed loan
Monthly Principle & Interest payment: $1264
Interest paid over first 5 years of loan: $64,084
Interest paid over life of loan: $255,088
So, if you’re ready to buy a house but you find yourself waiting for something you can’t quite explain – jump in now. A smart buy at low costs now is much like giving yourself a raise…a $90,275 raise for moving forward now versus later.
Courtesy of Jen Bell & JJ Lee Kwai @Rose City Mortgage
Bringing the Dream of Homeownership Within Reach
As part of its plan to stimulate the U.S. housing market and address the economic challenges facing our nation, Congress has passed new legislation that:
Extends the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers until April 30, 2010.
Expands the credit to grant up to [...]
Most every home can be made more energy efficient—it’s all about knowing where to begin and determining what fits within your budget. Energy Trust offers three easy ways to evaluate and improve your home’s energy performance, and provides cash incentives to help complete your improvement projects.
Home Performance with ENERGY STAR®
This comprehensive 3–4 hour home [...]
Breaking News: Homebuyer Tax Credit Set to be Extended and Expanded!
Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed an extension and expansion of the homebuyer tax credit. This morning, the House of Representatives approved the agreement reached in the Senate by a vote of 403-12. The bill has now passed both chambers and is awaiting [...]
Washington, October 23, 2009
Existing-home sales bounced back strongly in September with first-time buyers driving much of the activity, marking five gains in the past six months, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – jumped 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 5.57 million units [...]
Reporting from Washington -
Will Congress extend the wildly popular $8,000 home buyer tax credit beyond its Dec. 1 expiration date?
That’s a question generating huge pressure on Capitol Hill from would-be buyers who haven’t found the right house as well as from realty agents, builders, lenders and squads of lobbyists working on their behalf.
But here’s the [...]
Bills to extend the maximum $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, which expires Nov. 30, are pending in both the U.S. House and the Senate. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat and chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, is co-sponsor of a bill with Georgia Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson [...]
Now is the time to buy, but that opportunity may be slipping away. For people who have a job and money, a dream house is within reach, writes Marc Roth, founder of Home Warranty of America and a columnist for BusinessWeek. He points out that mortgage rates remain low, prices are still at historic lows, [...]
Downpayment, Closing Costs Biggest Obstacles
Most Americans still consider having enough money for downpayment and closing costs to be the biggest obstacles to buying a home, according to the 2009 National Housing Pulse Survey, an annual survey released Thursday by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
The survey, which measures how affordable housing issues affect consumers, also found [...]
Pam Kabati, VP and Editorial Director at NAR, Twittered that Realtor Magazine Online has a update on the HUD Bridge Loan Credit. Here is what Realtor Magazine Online, has to say:
Buyer Tax Credit Loan Guidance Coming Soon
Detailed guidance on the federal government’s plan to provide short-term loans to borrowers using the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit [...]
|
|