The Mortgage Corner with Greenstate Credit Union - The Importance of Being Pre-Qualified When Buying a Home
Whether this is your first or tenth home purchase, the process can be overwhelming. One of the smartest steps you can take is getting pre-qualified for a mortgage. Here's why this crucial move can make all the difference:
1. Understand Your Buying Power
Pre-qualification provides a ballpark estimate of how much you might be able to borrow. This insight helps you focus your home search within a realistic price range and avoid the frustration of falling in love with a home that's out of reach.
2. Stand Out in a Competitive Market
In today's fast-paced real estate market, sellers want reassurance that offers are credible. A
The Mortgage Corner with GreenState Credit Union: Understanding Mortgage Rates—Key Factors and Influences
Mortgage rates, in simple terms, are the interest rates applied to home loans, and they play a critical role in determining how affordable a home is. Understanding what influences mortgage rates can help you make more informed decisions.
Factors You Can’t Control
1. Economic Conditions Mortgage rates are deeply tied to the overall economy. In a strong economy, mortgage rates tend to rise, while weaker economic conditions often cause rates to fall. Economic events worldwide have a significant impact on these rates, so it's crucial to stay updated on global financial trends. Bloomberg Markets offers insights on these global shifts.
A home is more than just four walls; it’s a sanctuary, an investment, and a place where memories are made. That's why working with a knowledgeable realtor is invaluable! From navigating the tricky market to negotiating the best deal, a realtor's expertise turns the complex home-buying process into a seamless journey. Today we are sharing the value a Realtor provides when buying a home.
Expert Knowledge: Your Oakridge Realtor® possess in-depth knowledge of the housing market, including current trends, pricing, and neighborhood insights. Our expertise can guide you to make informed decisions.
Access to Listings: With a team of over 65 Realtors® and access to the Multiple Listing
The Mortgage Corner with GreenState Credit Union: October is Financial Planning Month!
Did you know that October is Financial Planning Month? If you haven’t taken stock of your finances lately — specifically your household budget — it’s the perfect time to do so. A good household budget can help you better manage spending and save for your financial goals, like buying a home, paying off debts, or even just taking a much-needed vacation.
Are you ready to update your household budget this month? Take these steps:
Know your after-tax income. Before you can create a smart budget, you need to know how much money you’re bringing in each month after taxes. This will, of course, include your salary, but any extra income should be considered as
Today’s higher mortgage rates, inflationary pressures, and concerns about a potential recession have some people questioning: should I still buy a home this year? While it’s true this year has unique challenges for homebuyers, it’s important to think about the long-term benefits of homeownership when making your decision.
Consider this: if you know people who bought a home 5, 10, or even 30 years ago, you’re probably going to have a hard time finding someone who regrets their decision. Why is that? The reason is tied to how home values grow with time and how, by extension, that grows your own wealth. That may be why, in a recent Fannie Mae survey, 70% of respondents say they believe
Market value and appraised value are both important factors to consider when buying or selling a home. The market value is the estimated price that a buyer would be willing to pay for the property, based on current market conditions. The appraised value is the estimated value of the property as determined by a licensed appraiser. Lenders use the appraised value to determine how much they are willing to lend for the purchase of the home. Both values can impact the price negotiations during a home sale, and it's important to take both into consideration when making a decision.
Market Value: The price a buyer is will to pay for a property.
Appraised Value: The professional opinion of an appraiser on
The process of buying a home can feel a bit intimidating, even under normal circumstances. But today’s market is still anything but normal. There continues to be a very limited number of homes for sale, and that’s creating bidding wars and driving home prices back up as buyers compete over the available homes.
Navigating all of this can be daunting if you’re trying to do it alone. That’s why having a skilled expert to guide you through the homebuying process is essential, especially today. Bankrate shares this perspective:
“Advice and guidance from a professional real estate agent can be invaluable, particularly amid a hot or unpredictable housing
Why You Should be Timing Your Life & Not the Housing Marketing
When it comes to buying or selling a home, it's easy to get caught up in the fluctuations of the housing market. But it's important to remember that the most valuable commodity in life is time. Time spent with loved ones, pursuing passions, and making memories is priceless.
When making decisions about buying or selling a home, it's important to consider how the transaction will impact your time and overall quality of life. For example, if you're selling a home, consider whether the process will be stressful and time-consuming, taking away from other important aspects of your life. On the other hand, if you're buying a home, think about whether the location and size of
The Power of Being Pre-Approved as a Buyer in Today's Market
Article from Keeping Current Matters
If you’re buying a home this spring, today’s housing market can feel like a challenge. With so few homes on the market right now it is essential to have a firm grasp on your homebuying budget. You’ll also need a sense of determination to find the right house and act quickly when you go to put in an offer. One thing you can do to help you prepare is to get pre-approved.
To understand why it’s such an important step, you need to know what pre-approval is. As part of the process, a lender looks at your finances to determine what they’d be willing to loan you. From there, your lender will give you a pre-approval letter to help you understand how
Preparing for Homeownership - 6 Things You Should Consider
If your goal is to become a homeowner this year the process to finding "the" home can be overwhelming. In today's blog post we are sharing six helpful tips when it comes to buying a home. Before you begin your home search, we recommend crossing these tasks off your to-do list:
Contact an Oakridge REALTOR®.A Realtor will do more than show you a home. As a buyer in today's market a Realtor is essential to writing a strong offer, and getting connected with local lender. You Realtor will also assist in walking you through negotiations, inspection, getting connected with local vendors and walking you through the home buying process!
The Power of Being Pre-Approved as a Buyer in Today's Market
