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Don’t Wait! Move Up To The House You Always Wanted

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Don’t Wait! Move Up To The House You Always Wanted | Simplifying The Market Now that the housing market has stabilized, more and more homeowners are considering moving up to the home they have always dreamed of. In most areas, prices are still below those of a few years ago. Also, interest rates are still near 4%. However, sellers should realize that waiting to make the move while mortgage rates are increasing probably doesn’t make sense. As rates increase, the price of the house you can buy will decrease. Here is a chart detailing this point: Buyers Purchasing Power | Simplifying The Market
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Buying A House? Everyone Seems To Think This Is The Time

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Buying A House? Everyone Seems To Think This Is The Time | Simplifying The Market There are many people deciding on whether to sign a new lease on a rental property or take the dive into homeownership. Every situation is different. However, with rents, home values and mortgage interest rates projected to rise, buying now might make a lot more sense than waiting until next year. Here are others who seem to agree: An article at NPR:
“Economists see several reasons why 2015 might be a banner year for homebuying — and not just in San Francisco and Miami.”
An article on Consumer Affairs:
“If you have been thinking about purchasing a home, the first half of 2015 might be a good time.”
An article on Fox Business News:
“As rent increases, it simply makes more sense to buy a home.”

Bottom Line

Buying earlier in the year probably makes more sense than putting off the decision.
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New Fannie Mae Appraisal Program: Helping or Hurting?

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New Fannie Mae Appraisal Program: Helping or Hurting? | Simplifying The Market Every home must be sold TWICE! Once to the buyer, and once to the bank appraiser if a mortgage is involved.

The second sale may have just become more difficult.

A new program announced by Fannie Mae may slow down the home-sale closing process by causing more disputes over prices between sellers and buyers. In a recent Washington Post article they explained the basics of the program:
“Starting Jan. 26, Fannie plans to offer mortgage lenders access to proprietary home valuation databases that they can use to assess the accuracy and risks posed by the reports submitted by appraisers.”  “The Fannie data will flag possible errors in the appraiser’s work before the lender commits to fund the loan, will score the appraisal for overall risk of inaccuracy and may provide as many as 20 alternative “comps” — properties in the area that have sold recently and are roughly comparable to the house the lender is considering for financing but were not used by the appraiser.”
Using the additional information provided by Fannie Mae, the lender can then ask for an explanation from the appraisal company for any discrepancies and request an amended appraisal. This added step in the process of determining the price of the home to be bought/sold, could add time to the closing process and cost to the appraisal for the additional work.

Why is this happening?

Fannie Mae wants lenders to make informed decisions when agreeing to the amount of a loan that a buyer will be approved for.
“Excessive valuations create the risk of future losses to lenders and investors if the borrower defaults and the house goes to foreclosure.”

What is the process now?

As a seller:

You’ve put your house on the market, picked an agent who has helped you determine that the best price to list your home for is $250,000, and found a buyer willing to pay that price. The appraiser comes to the home and agrees your home is worth the asking price and writes their report. Everything is working perfectly!

As a buyer:

You’ve found your dream home, in the right neighborhood, in the right school district, with the perfect yard, at the high end of your budget, but all the pluses are worth it. You agree on a price and start daydreaming about living in your new home.

What happens after January 26th?

The lender submits the appraisal report to the new Fannie Mae program and they come back with “lower-risk comps” that value the home at $230,000. The lender then turns to the appraisal company to justify the $20,000 difference, adding time and frustration to the process. If the lender does not agree with the reasons for the price difference they will not lend the buyer the amount they need to purchase their dream home and the amicable, agreeable sale turns into a heated justification of the higher price. The buyer may even have to give up on the home if the funding isn’t there. An article by Housing Wire shares the appraiser’s point of view:
“The bottom line, appraisers say, is this could lead to delays to closings and higher costs, as well as a depression of prices in markets where prices are rising. Appraisers complain that if they have to justify every step of their comps for their valuation, rather than those coming from the one-size-fits-all evaluation from Fannie, it will delay closing, throw off buyer and seller timetables, and delay real estate broker commissions.”

Bottom Line

The fear of some real estate practitioners is that if appraisers feel as though they are constantly being second-guessed, they may become more conservative in their assessments, impacting home values and slowing growth in the market.
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