Watch Out for Property Taxes when Buying a New Home

A few days ago, I was reviewing a homeowner’s Closing Disclosure from their purchase that closed with another lender. This couple had come to me when they were purchasing the home, however the builder was offering extra incentives for buyers for working with the builder’s lender. I was surprised to see that property taxes were very under-estimated.

When someone is buying a home that has recently been built, it’s very likely that the home has not yet been valued by the county’s tax accessor. The only value that has been determined is for the lot. However, once you purchase the home, even though the home has not yet been assessed, you will owe taxes on both the land and the home. The “missing taxes” are called “omit taxes”. [Read more…]

Understanding the Numbers Behind an Offer: Bidding Wars, Low Appraisals and Commissions

Recently I wrote a post “How to Improve Your Odds of Getting YOUR Offer Accepted” which included this bit of advice:

“Understand the numbers: Bidding wars, low appraisals and commissions. Your mortgage professional should review strategies regarding how your offer may look like, including how long it will take to “break even” on bidding above the list price. What do your payments look like if you need to bid up $5K, $20K or more in order to “win” the bid. What happens if the appraisal comes in lower than expected? What if the seller is not offering to pay your real estate brokers commission? Understanding the numbers helps to reduce the stress involved with the “what ifs. You may be surprised that bidding up on a home doesn’t impact the payment as much as one would think as cost is amortized over 30 years with a typical mortgage.” [Read more…]

How to Improve Your Odds of Getting YOUR Offer Accepted

The housing market in the Pacific Northwest remains competitive with the continued lack of inventory. Home buyers need to be patient and prepared for the process to possibly take a while. There are some actions that you can implement to help improve your odds of having your offer accepted over other offers. [Read more…]

Are you considering an ADU?

Have you been considering a “mother-in-law” apartment or backyard cottage? This type of dwelling is technically referred to an accessory dwelling unit aka “attached dwelling unit” (ADU) or detached dwelling unit (DADU). [Read more…]

What’s the Difference Between being Pre-Qualified or Pre-Approved for a Mortgage?

Do you know the difference between being prequalified or preapproved for a mortgage? This short video reviews the importance of being preapproved.

If you are currently preapproved with a lender, I recommend making sure that your preapproval has been underwritten by a “human underwriter” and not just “AUS” (automatic underwriting i.e. a computer).  One way to make sure you have been fully underwritten is to ask your mortgage professional for the underwriter’s name…if they say “Fannie Mae” or “Freddie Mac” – that’s actually the automated underwriting system that lenders use. 😉

Being fully pre-underwritten not only helps to provide you with peace of mind with your loan approval, it also helps to expedite your closing AND may also help your offer be accepted over other offers with a weaker approval status.

If you have any questions or if I can be of any assistance, please reach out to me!

Does Zillow’s Gloomy Article on Buying Now Pencil Out?

Zillow’s recent gloomy attention grabbing headline stating “If you buy now, it can take 13.5 years to make a profit on your home sale” has been creating quite a buzz with various media outlets. I thought I’d run some scenarios to compare. [Read more…]

True Horror Story: Trapped by the 3% Mortgage Rate

If you’re a homeowner wanting to buy your next home, you might be feeling reluctance to trade your existing interest rate for a current mortgage rate. It’s easy to understand when mortgage rates are double from what they were a few years ago. Historically speaking, mortgage rates are actually closer to what would be considered more of an average range than the Fed manipulated rates of years past.

I may have some good news for you. No, it’s not a trick…this can actually be a treat! [Read more…]

Why It Makes Sense to Buy Before Mortgage Rates Move Lower

Seattle area Real Estate Broker, Kim Mulligan, posted this on Facebook a couple of days ago regarding a recent listing:

“For those of you that were clamoring to be my neighbor, I have bad news. A pricing war ensued and an offer was chosen last night. Ends up we had well over 80 parties tour the home in two days, several offers came forth, and a lucky buyer will get to share a fenceline with me. Why do I mention this? Many people think that there isn’t a market right now because of interest rates. Yes, buyers are careful and shy. The truth is some people have to move in any market. Sellers don’t need to be afraid to list their homes. Yes, buyers are choosey, but priced and presented well, and with the right lender where you can change your interest rate when it drops down again, your home could sell within 3 days as well![Read more…]