Part of the mortgage qualification process includes what is called your debt to income ratio (DTI). This your gross monthly income divided by the lump sum total of your proposed housing payment and any other monthly obligations that show up on your credit report. This would include car payments, student loan payments (this links to our other post on these payments), and minimum payments on any revolving charge cards. These are typically a very small percentage of the ...
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There are a flurry of new services out there attempting to upend the traditional real estate agent model. Offer Pad, Open Door and Zillow Offer, just to name a few. They are exploding our mail boxes and TV advertising with compelling offers. We will buy your house for cash, eliminate the Realtor and make a seamless move to your next house. Sounds fantastic on the surface. Problem is that they will never offer you close to what the true market ...
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When I celebrated my 40th birthday in 1999, I became a little restless…Mid-Life Crisis? Maybe…
…but I just viewed it as a case of “not enough adventure in my life.” Having lived across the street from a ski slope as a kid…and then attending college in the outdoors-man dream town of Boulder Colorado, I began to realize that settling down in the “burbs” of Atlanta just wasn’t feeding the outdoor adventure side of me. I spent plenty of time outdoors running, ...
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In this installment of Scott’s Perspective we take a trip down memory lane with an article that was written a few years ago. The message rings true even today. Read on!
It is no big secret that the mortgage process has become more challenging…But as with anything that occurs over a long period of time, the absorption of the information is so gradual that the magnitude of what you’ve experienced is not evident until you stop a minute and look at ...
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I recently read a fantastic book called Atomic Habits by James Clear. The subject matter centers around easy and proven ways to build good habits and break bad ones. From my experience, I’ve found that it’s easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making small improvements on a daily basis. Too often we convince ourselves that massive success requires massive action. Whether it is losing weight, building a business, writing a book, winning ...
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If you are contemplating a move this year, you have picked the perfect time. Interest rates are very low again, and there is more inventory coming on the market than in years past. In the latest statistics from January, inventory levels are up 17% year-over-year. That is a good sign given that most buyers have not had a lot of choices over the past couple of years, relative to historical inventory levels. That said, demand is high and we ...
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And you know what that means: It’s time for my annual Real Estate & Mortgage Predictions! After researching my mortgage knowledge base for 2019, the following is my take:
–Interest Rates are not moving a whole lot – Between the trade wards, fears of an impending recession, and continued low inflation, we have a formula for rates staying steady.
-ARM’s will garner more market share – With fixed rates up around a percentage point higher, home ...
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Explore These Options to Finance.
Whether you are looking to freshen up or expand your existing home or a new home you are considering purchasing, the question always comes up about how to pay for this. The answer to this question depends somewhat on how much you are talking about financing and how long you believe it will take you to repay. Let’s take them one at a time. If you are trying to renovate the home you ...
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If you are thinking about purchasing a home in the next year, the sooner you start looking, the better. Why start so soon? There are a lot of moving parts to buying a home. Getting a plan in place is the key to success.
Let’s look at all the moving parts:
– Make the decision to purchase and set an ideal time to close on a home. For example, when does your lease expire?
– Look into a mortgage pre-approval. ...
Continue Reading →In this second video entry, Scott discusses the advantages of consolidating your debt when you refinance your home.
Until Next Time!
The FMT
1.15.2019
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