Mewborn Team Real Estate Consultants: CoastalLuxurySanDiego.com

January 16th, 2012

Buying Your First California Home – Homebuyer’s Seminar

Categories: Buyers, Home Loans

Posted by Mike and Amy Mewborn// Please leave a comment.

January 10th, 2012

New potential to refi your “Fannie or Freddie” home

Categories: Foreclosure Prevention, Home Loans

If you happen to have a Fannie Mae loan, and have been unable to get a loan modification, or refinance the home, you may be eligible for a new program.  Fannie Mae is looking to help current home owners refinance to take advantage of all time low rates, and increase the likelihood that the home owner will be able to continue to pay.

Fannie Mae has rescinded a requirement that the lender determines the ability to pay before they will allow the home to be refinanced.  It’s about time that someone realized that many borrowers are genuinely trying to keep their homes, and that they have been trying to make the payments and refinance.  If they already “own” the home, doesn’t it make sense to try to keep that person in the home, rather than have it be another property in the inventory, selling at a discount, just to get it off the market quickly?  The owner is less likely to default on the loan at a lower rate and payment – so doesn’t this just make sense?

The other significant change is that Freddie Mac is waiving the credit score requirement to refinance.  This one made a little less sense to me at first, but as I thought about it, I think about the fact that lenders have been telling people that they wouldn’t modify their mortgages without them first missing at least three payments.  What has that done to the US credit score?  Probably pulled it down quite a bit.  I have heard countless stories of San Diego home owners contacting their lenders for  loan modification, being told to miss payments, and THEN still not getting their modification.  Talk about a bait and switch!

This certainly won’t solve all the problems, but it’s a step in the right direction.  If you think the new changes may apply to you, please contact your lender.  We are always happy to answer questions as well!

Posted by Mike and Amy Mewborn// Please leave a comment.

January 9th, 2012

Tax Time Is Approaching – Three Deductions Not To Miss!

Categories: Home Loans

As we enter 2012, we all start getting all of our tax documents, and the preparation begins. As you are compiling all your documents, here’s a couple of things to make sure you don’t forget.

1. Mortgage Interest Deductions – This is often your largest single tax deduction, making the difference for most people whether they itemize deductions or take the standard deduction. If your loan is your personal residence, and your mortgage is less than $100,000, you are allowed to deduct 100% of any mortgage interest paid in a calendar year.

2. Property Tax Deductions – Another big deduction. In California, most property taxes are between 1.1% to 2% of the value of the property. This may be as high at $20,000/year on a $1 million home.

These first two items are normally reported to you directly by your mortgage company on a tax statement they will send you in January. Please review your statement and make sure it is correct.

3. Your other large potential deduction is closing cost or refinancing cost deductions! If you have purchased or refinanced a home in 2011, you are able to deduct any discount points, or loan origination fees.

These are the three most common deductions due to owning a home. However, your personal tax representative will be able to review your documents and make recommendations of other deductions, energy efficiency, or other tax credits that are may be available to you! We strongly recommend working with a tax professional to make sure you don’t miss anything!

If you need a recommendation for a Carlsbad accountant or a Carlsbad real estate professional, please feel free to contact The Mewborn Team. We are always happy to help!

3. Closing Cost or Refinance Cost Deductions

Posted by Mike and Amy Mewborn// Please leave a comment.

January 8th, 2012

Historically Low Interest Rates – Is now the time to buy?

Categories: Buyers, Home Loans, Interest Rates, Market Trends

Who ever would have guessed that we would actually see interest rates in the 2% to 3% range – especially for a prolonged period of time?  It AMAZES me that these rates have continued.  When I bought my first house in 1997, my interest rate was 8.5%, and everyone told me what a great rate that was.  REALLY????

If you are looking for a $500,000 home today, this is what it would look like at different rates (assuming a $500,000 purchase, 1% in property taxes and $500/year in hazard insurance)

As you can see, just a 3% change in interest rates can make as much of a difference as $1,000/mo in your payment.  As most of us are looking at buying a home, we normally buy at the absolute top of our price range.  We always want the nicest home we can get at the best payment possible.

So, if you are seriously looking for a home, this might be the time to jump into the market!  It seems to be the “perfect storm” for potential buyers – historically low home prices AND historically low interest rates.

If you have any questions, always feel free to contact The Mewborn Team.  We’re always happy to answer any questions or find you a resource that will be able to meet your needs!

Tags: Carlsbad Interest Rates, San Diego Interest Rates

Posted by Mike and Amy Mewborn// Please leave a comment.

January 5th, 2012

What IS Debt to Income Ratio?

Categories: Buyers, Home Loans, Real Estate FAQ

As a San Diego home buyer, you will make your life much easier if you get pre-approved BEFORE you ever go looking seriously at the first home!  I know that sounds counter intuitive – but there’s nothing like finding your dream home, getting your hopes up, only to find that the home is outside of your reach.

By being pre-approved, you know what you qualify for, as well as what the bank will actually lend you -so there aren’t big, disappointing surprises at the “end” of your transaction!

As a lender is looking at whether or not they will lend you money, one of the first, and biggest things they will do, is to look at your debt to income ratio.  What is that?  How is it calculated?

To make it simple – your debt to income is the percentage of your income that is spent on loans (car loans, home loans, credit card debt, etc).  Your other expenses – utilities, insurance, etc are not included in this calculation.

In order to get a loan in today’s environment, your debt to income (DTI) often has to be below 40-45% of your gross income.  So in order to get a better idea of what you can afford, add up all your monthly loan payments and divide it into your total monthly income.  This simple calculation will give you your current debt to income ratio.  It will also tell you how much more monthly debt you can take on to remain below that 40-45% of your gross income.

If you have any questions about calculating what you may be pre-approved for, please contact The Mewborn Team.  We would be happy to work with you and a lender to get you pre-approved for a loan for your future home!

Tags: San Diego Home Loans

Posted by Mike and Amy Mewborn// Please leave a comment.

November 30th, 2009

Carlsbad Real Estate News – Credit Score Damage Points

Categories: Buyers, Foreclosure Prevention, Home Loans, Interest Rates, Sellers

Carlsbad, CA - You may know your credit score – but do you have any idea how it is calculated?  In a formula that is so secretive that they could tell you – but then they’d have to kill you, we never know how our actions will affect that score. 

How will your credit score change if you close a credit card?  Should you go through the hassle of a short sale, or just allow your house to go into foreclosure?  What if things are tight, and you go over your credit card limit?

Your credit score is a three digit number normally between 300 and 850.  It is the number used to determine the risk of giving you a loan.Scores over about 715 are considered good scores, and typically will get you the best interest rates.  Scores over 600 and under 715 are moderate scores. 

And although you may get a loan, you may pay a premium interest rate to get it.  Scores under 600 are typically considered to be a high risk borrower.  These borrowers either may not get a loan, or may pay much higher interest rates on their loan.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Carlsbad Foreclosures, Credit Scores, Interest Rates, Short Sales

Posted by Mike and Amy Mewborn// Please leave a comment.

October 20th, 2009

Carlsbad, CA Mortgage Modifications Not as Simple as Originally Hoped

Categories: Foreclosure Prevention, Home Loans, Interest Rates, Market Trends, Sellers

Carlsbad, CA - According to CNN Money, Half a million people are now in trial modifications under the Obama administration’s mortgage rescue plan, but getting them permanent help is proving to be much more difficult.

The foreclosure prevention plan, is meant to reduce eligible borrowers’ monthly payments to no more than 31% of their pre-tax income.  In order to qualify, a homeowner must make three on-time monthly payments before they can receive a permanent modification. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Mortgage Modifications

Posted by Mike and Amy Mewborn// Please leave a comment.