Washington State Mortgages, Made Clear. Buying or Refinancing? Let's find the right loan together.
One of the benefits of a Correspondent Lender is that we work with many mortgage investors and lenders. Some of them are big banks you’ve probably heard of and perhaps others are less commonly known. It’s a great feature that we can not only work with the pricing our investors offer, so we’re able to shop rates for our clients, but we can also use the various mortgage programs. [Read more…]
Last night on Facebook, I saw an ad for a builder’s lender promoting “limited time opportunity special interest rate” when you purchase one of their new homes. This was being shared by a Realtor whom I’m “Facebook Friends” with. I decided to price out this “special rate” and proved that the rate, while very low, is actually not so special.
Probably one of the toughest decisions we had to make, next to the counter-tops, was what to do with our flooring. We had a wood floor with a beautiful painted surface. Unfortunately, it was a real challenge to keep it clean and the paint was wearing off. Plus the lighter blond finish didn’t really go with our cabinets.
It used to be that people would say that you can qualify to buy a home three times your annual salary…this is actually not really the case. When qualifying to buy a home (i.e. get a mortgage) lenders consider your income, monthly debts and the amount of funds you have for down payment and closing cost. [Read more…]
The Washington State Senate has passed revisions to excise tax that is paid when real estate is sold or transferred. Instead of having a flat rate, the new tax once signed into law by Governor Inslee, will be graduated. Some will enjoy a lower tax rate while others will pay a significantly higher tax rate. Real estate excise tax is typically a cost paid for by the seller. In San Juan County, the excise tax has been split by both the seller and buyer of real estate. Many would argue that excise tax (as with other cost of selling, such as real estate commission) is often passed onto the buyer as it is factored into the sales price. [Read more…]
