All Blog Entries by Richard Newman

Down Payment Resource, 11/29/18

Among life goals, homeownership is second only to retirement – ranking higher than getting married, having children and traveling the world, according to Bank of America’s Homebuyer Insights report. Where do you rank homeownership? If you’re here, you might agree that owning a home is a top priority.  

Yet, you may be overlooking the wide range of resources available to help you achieve your homeownership dream — from homebuyer education to down payment help. Recent data shows just how many buyers may be leaving money on the table.

Are you missing out?

The Urban Institute’s Barriers to Homeownership Report looked at how many 2017 purchase mortgages would have been eligible for down payment help. Across 31 of

Down Payment Resource, 1/11/17

You’ve heard the news—interest rates are at historic lows. That’s great news, but when other expenses like rent and utilities are increasing, it makes it hard to save for a down payment. You’re not alone in this challenge—access to a down payment still remains the number one obstacle for homebuyers.

Down payment programs largely untapped

Down payment assistance can make a significant impact to your home buying bottom line, and it’s never been truer than in today’s market. According to our latest Homeownership Program Index, there are nearly 2,500 homeownership programs available across the country (find out what’s in your backyard here). Yet, many homebuyers are unaware of the programs that are available to

Keeping Current Matters, 12/27/16

Put Your Housing Cost to Work for You

As we've said before, simply put, homeownership is a form of 'forced savings.' Every time you pay your mortgage, you are contributing to your net worth. Every time you pay your rent, you are contributing to your landlord's net worth.

The latest National Housing Pulse Survey from NAR reveals that 85% of consumers believe that purchasing a home is a good financial decision. Yun comments:

"Though there will always be discussion about whether to buy or rent, or whether the stock market offers a bigger return than real estate, the reality is that homeowners steadily build wealth. The simplest math shouldn't be overlooked."

Bottom Line

If you are interested in finding

Down Payment Resource, 12/19/2016

Along with year-end parties, comes New Year goal setting, right? It’s time to look forward and envision where you see yourself this time next year. Is owning a home on your list of goals?

Before you stumble upon that dream home while out looking at holiday lights, take these three simple year-end steps that will jump start your journey to homeownership.  You’ll be well on your way to a new home before that New Year’s Eve countdown begins. 

1. Simple budget review

How much are you currently spending each month on rent and other housing related expenses, like utilities? What is that amount annually? Do you anticipate any rent increases?

Take a look at your other expenses too. You want to have a solid

Keeping Current Matters, 12/20/16

There are some renters who have not yet purchased a home because they are uncomfortable taking on the obligation of a mortgage. Everyone should realize that, unless you are living with your parents rent free, you are paying a mortgage - either yours or your landlord's.

As an owner, your mortgage payment is a form of 'forced savings' that allows you to build equity in your home that you can tap into later in life. As a renter, you guarantee your landlord is the person with that equity.

Are you ready to put your housing cost to work for you?

Christina Boyle, Senior Vice President and Head of Single-Family Sales & Relationship Management at Freddie Mac, explains another benefit of securing a mortgage vs.

Keeping Current Matters, 10/18/16

According to Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, interest rates for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage are currently at 3.47%. Rates have remained at or below 3.5% each of the last 16 weeks, marking a historic low.

The interest rate you secure when buying a home not only greatly impacts your monthly housing costs, but also impacts your purchasing power.

Purchasing power, simply put, is the amount of home you can afford buy for the budget you have available to spend. As rates increase, the price of the house you can afford will decrease if you plan to stay within a certain monthly housing budget.

The chart below shows what impact rising interest rates would have if you planned to purchase a home

Keeping Current Matters, 10/18/16

According to Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, interest rates for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage are currently at 3.47%. Rates have remained at or below 3.5% each of the last 16 weeks, marking a historic low.

The interest rate you secure when buying a home not only greatly impacts your monthly housing costs, but also impacts your purchasing power.

Purchasing power, simply put, is the amount of home you can afford buy for the budget you have available to spend. As rates increase, the price of the house you can afford will decrease if you plan to stay within a certain monthly housing budget.

The chart below shows what impact rising interest rates would have if you planned to purchase a home

Keeping Current Matters, 10/7/16

Some Highlights:

• The interest rate you secure for your mortgage greatly influences your monthly housing costs.
• In the 1980s, 30-year fixed mortgage rates averaged in the high 12s making the monthly principal and interest payment over $2,000.

Interest rates are still at historic lows; this is a great time lock in your housing cost and protect yourself from increasing rents, or refinance your current mortgage. 

So you’ve been searching for that perfect house to call a ‘home’ and you finally found one! The price is right, and in such a competitive market you want to make sure you make a good offer so that you can guarantee your dream of making this house yours comes true!

Freddie Mac covered “4 Tips for Making an Offer” in their latest Executive Perspective. Here are the 4 Tips they covered along with some additional information for your consideration:

1. Understand How Much You Can Afford

“While it's not nearly as fun as house hunting, fully understanding your finances is critical in making an offer.”

This ‘tip’ or ‘step’ really should take place before you start your home search process.

As we’ve mentioned before, getting

Keeping Current Matters, 8/9/16

In the latest Rent vs. Buy Report from Trulia, they explained that homeownership remains cheaper than renting with a traditional 30-year fixed rate mortgage in the 100 largest metro areas in the United States.

The updated numbers actually show that the range is an average of 5% less expensive in Orange County (CA) all the way up to 46% in Houston (TX), and 36% Nationwide! 

A recent study by GoBankingRates looked at the cost of renting vs. owing a home at the state level and concluded that in 36 states it is actually ‘a little’ or ‘a lot’ cheaper to own, represented by the two shades of blue in the map below.

One of the main reasons that owning a home has remained significantly cheaper than renting is the