The first step to accumulating the down payment is to ASSESS your current financial situation (i.e. income and expenses) and create a budget. This will help determine how much house you can afford. The next obvious step is to SAVE.  It is important not only to save for the down payment but also for a cash reserve to provide financial stability. The purpose of a cash reserve is to function as a safety net that protects you in times of emergencies you cannot cover out of your cash flow. It could be something as big as losing your job or something as minor as the brakes went out on your car. The last step is to PROTECT.  For most of us, our most valuable asset is our ability to earn an income. Our income is what drives our expenses and our goals. You want to make sure that you have adequate protection in the form of life and disability insurance.  Once you have assessed your financial situation, saved the funds and protected yourself you can ENJOY! Sarin Majarian – LPL Financial – Lexington, MA

Overall, the trend right now is replacement over remodeling–swapping out the old for the new rather than doing a total gut job, which can be much more costly.

This year’s Cost vs. Value report found that exterior replacement projects–such as new garage doors and a new entry door–offer some of the best returns at resale, allowing home owners to recoup close to 70 percent or more of the costs of the project at times of resale.

Read more to find the top mid range project list

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine

Read full story

One of the rarely touted advantages of people taking FHA mortgages today is the fact that they are assumable. What that means is, when the FHA homebuyer of today is looking to sell his home, a qualified purchaser can “take over” their loan.

Most people believe that interest rates will return to a “normal” range (between 6.5% and 7%) in a couple of years. When you assume a mortgage, the terms remain the same. This means that a buyer five years from now can enjoy a 4 – 4.5% mortgage by assumption rather than the 6.5% – 7% mortgage they would get without it. Since most people buy homes based on how the monthly payment fits into their personal monthly budget, this is extremely impactful.

As an example, a $300,000 loan at 4% today carries with it a $1,432.25 principal and interest payment on a 30 year fixed mortgage. If offered for sale in five years, the purchaser could assume the $271,858.56 balance with the same $1,432.25 payment and remaining term of 25 years. The total payments over the 25 years would be $429,675.

Compare that to a new $272,000 loan at 6.5% for 25 years, which would carry a monthly payment of $1,836.56 (over $400 more a month than the assumption and more than $120,000 more over the 25 year term).

At 6.5% for 25 years, to wind up with the same payment as the assumed mortgage, our borrowers would only be getting $212,000…$60,000 LESS!

The point here is that, when rates go up, homes with assumable mortgages will have more value and will sell at higher prices because they are more affordable. As an additional bonus, the closing costs on assumable mortgages are significantly less (especially here in New York where NYS Mortgage Tax is such a large component of closing costs).

Besides the multiple other reasons to obtain an FHA mortgage (low down payment requirements, extended income ratios, lower credit scores, and easier sourcing of funds), there is another perk. In the future, there is a good chance that you may be able to sell your home for more money because of the FHA loan’s assumability. Read full article by Dean Hartman on January 12, 2012

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun is upbeat about 2012 because in a number of areas indicators are pointing upward. Not only are home sales up but housing starts are up and home prices are stabilizing in many markets and heading up in some. In areas where they’re still down, the declines aren’t that great. More fundamentally, broader U.S. economic signs are looking positive, including the all-important jobs picture. About 100,000 job are being created a month, and that could rise to 150,000—still not a quick enough pace to get us back to where we were before the downturn but the headwinds are in the right direction Read more

Effective 1/1/2012, Congress restored the higher FHA loan limits in an effort to stimulate housing sales.
Under FHA guidlines, a buyer can have a down payment for as little as 3.5% of the purchase price.

For Middlesex County, the FHA loan limits are: Single Family $523,750, 2-Family $670,500, 3-Family $810,450, 4-Family $1,007,200.

We all know that dogs are man’s best friend. However, did you know that certain breeds of dogs may prevent you from obtaining home owners insurance?   Being a dog owner, I understand how attached we are to our pets and in any move, we are a package deal. However, insurance companies may not provide a home owners insurance policy if your dog falls on the high risk list below.  There are exceptions so its important to speak with your insurance provider or contact me and I will connect you with my insurance specialist.

High Risk Dog List

·Akita

·Alaskan Malamute

·Chow

·German Shepherd

·Doberman Pinscher

·Pit Bull

·Presa Canario

·Rottweiler

·Siberian Husky

·Any Wolf Breed or cross breed

·Any mix of any of the above

He see’s home prices dropping another 1 percent across the country in 2012, followed by a 2 percent jump in 2013.

Mortgage rates will stay low through at least the middle of next year, Nothaft contends  Read More about housing market in 2012

MassSave offers a FREE Home energy assessment which can help save you money by improving your home’s energy performance.  You may also be able to qualify for fuel assistance, reduced utility rates or other energy efficiency incentives.

I interviewed a homeowner, Christy, who recently took advantage of this free home energy assessment.  “I would highly recommend everyone take advantage of this home energy assessment” said Christy  “As a result of the assessment, I was able to get some free energy-saving items including a programmable thermostat, CFL light bulbs, water saving faucet attachment.” Christy also pointed out to me that MassSave also does home sealing and provides some reimbursement for insulation.   Every home owner should take advantage of this program from MassSave!