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What funding opportunities are available for homebuyers in Mass?

April 25, 2011 By VangileMakwakwa Leave a Comment

sold_out_smWherever you look in the real estate market we are told that this is the worst market and there are no opportunities; it does not make for a great bed time story. Last week on WATD, we spoke to Beth Murphy, from Eastern Bank, about the opportunities that are available to homebuyers in the South Shore. Beth’s take on this economy is that there are many opportunities but a lot of the opportunities on this market are with public agencies that cannot advertise. The house prices and rates are low and there are no more bad loans so consumers can feel protected but beyond that are the various loans and grant opportunities that homebuyers can take advantage of.

Loans and grants available for homebuyers in Massachusetts

Mass Housing: They allow you to put 3% down as a down payment and there are also local housing grants that will give you a grant to use as a down payment so you don’t have to put anything down. They help you with closing costs. Mass housing also works with homeowners so they can help you refinance if you need to.

Mass Housing has PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance which protects the lender any time someone puts less than 20% down on a house) which is less than FHA and the PMI has an insurance component to it that will cover a borrower if they become unemployed; they will pay the mortgage for 6 months. They also have a rehab program in place.

Mass Housing Partnership (MHP): this is for low income borrowers who make 80% or less of the area’s median income, they have a low down payment (3%), a low interest rate which is usually 0.25% or 0.5% below market rate and have no points or PMI and even have a subsidy available for qualified homebuyers.

FHA: The FHA is not particular to Massachusetts but it is still a great loan and worth considering because it is a little flexible about credit scores (anywhere from a 620 to a 640) and the amount of debt that you are carrying. It does require a 3% down payment but that can be a gift from a relative so it’s not that bad. If you are worried about your ability to make payments the FHA will allow you to have a co-signor, a characteristic that is unique to the FHA. They also have a 203k program which is a rehab loan for homeowners that are looking to fix their homes or for homebuyers that are looking to buy a home that needs some fixing up. There are guidelines in place but if you there are certain things that you need done to the house like painting a wall or replacing a septic system it can be very useful and you can get half the money upfront and half the money afterwards.

Housing  Grants: In addition to loans for homebuyers, there are grant opportunities available to homebuyers; for more information you can go to Chapa.org. For homebuyers in the South Shore there are various services such as Marshfield Housing, South Shore Housing and Quincy Neighborhood Housing Services that work with homebuyers looking for grant opportunities in the South Shore and they also help homeowners that are looking to refinance.

We would love to hear of any other great financing and funding opportunities that we may have forgotten or missed are available for homebuyers in the South Shore or Massachusetts. Please share your insights in the comment section below.

Image by Flickr user:  jspatchwork

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When should a homeseller and homebuyer be talking to an attorney?

April 20, 2011 By VangileMakwakwa Leave a Comment

Tapping a Pencil
So you are getting ready to buy a house or sell a house and you are wondering if you need an attorney? The simple answer is yes you need an attorney, but we decided to ask interview Mike Cook, on our radio show and ask him about short sales and when exactly homebuyers and homesellers should be talking to a real estate attorney.

When selling a home

The homeseller wants the contract to be as binding as possible because you want predictability. A seller should talk to an attorney very early in the process to discuss listing agreements; good real estate brokerage offices will encourage homesellers to talk lawyers about the timing of the listing and obligations to be fulfilled.

When buying a home

For a buyer the most important time to talk to an attorney is when you make an offer because you want that contract to be flexible in case you make an offer and something comes up. There was a time when buyers could make an offer and withdraw it or enforce it in a different way but in recent years the courts have ruled that an offer is a binding contract. So even if you have not executed the purchase and sales agreement, what you submit in writing is still valid in court; so unfortunately you cannot withdraw the offer unless there is a valid reason like the home inspector found that the basement get water every time it rains. A good lawyer will make sure that your acceptance offer takes into account the unpredictability of life such as home inspections.

The interview focused on short sales and REOs, you can listen to the rest of the interview below: http://www.podbean.com/home/podcast-directory-play.php?eid=3885102

Image by Flickr user Rennett Stowe

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What type of home improvements increase your home value?

April 14, 2011 By VangileMakwakwa Leave a Comment

Row HousesOn April 3rd 2011 Remax Connection started its Real Estate radio show and our first guest was Ardi Dana, a real estate appraiser. Compared to the rest of the USA Massachusetts home prices and home values are not doing that badly. The average home prices in Norfolk County was $511,756 (from April 3, 2010 – April 3, 2011) compared to $490,225 (from April 3, 2009 to april 3, 2010). Here are some of the important points we discussed on the show:

Ardi’s recommendations to home owners:

1) Focus on the space above grade – anything above the basement is what you want to focus on. Making upgrades and improvements to the basement does not add value to the house. Improving the attic is a better investment than improving the basement because the attic is above grade. A heated attic will be considered a part of the house a living space; the basement is not.

2) Improvements to the kitchens (stainless steel appliances) and the bathrooms are always a good investment.

3) Expansions are also a good idea because the increase the size of the home; appraisers always reward you for increasing the gross living area.

4) Site improvements: adding amenities such as porches, garages and pools etc will increase the value of the home as long as they are legally permitted (this is something that lenders require). So as  a home owner please make sure that you pull plumbing and other building permits.

Should people be making any home improvement projects in this economy?

This depends on the market – when the market is good then there are high returns when making improvements but when the market is bad the returns are not quite as high for improvements. You will have to take into account the usage value when making improvements: if you are looking to stay in your home for a while then the improvements will be beneficial to you and if you are an investor the improvements will lead to many options such as resale and rentals. Avoid going all out on the house. Make the necessary repairs to make the house functional and make improvements that add value to your home in the short and long term.

With REOs (bank owned properties), shortsales and foreclosures most of them are sold as is and have clauses stating that no repairs will be done and sometimes sellers don’t even want home inspections to be done, which means that as a homebuyer you should be prepared to make mandatory improvements after buying the house.

What are the disadvantages and advantages of home improvements in 2011?

In this economy home improvement tools and materials are very affordable at various DIY shops. There are many sales so it works out cheaper.

The disadvantage is that you do not see capitalization of value right away.

Image by Flckr user: woodleywonderworks

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Should your Realtor be targeting international buyers?

March 10, 2011 By VangileMakwakwa Leave a Comment
International homebuyers

Are you having a hard time selling your home?

Maybe it is time to expand your horizons and find international buyers. According to the 2010 NAR profile of International Home Buying Activity international homebuyers make up 4.5% of the residential home buyers market and even though this does not sound like much it amounted to $40 billion dollars in 2010 for international buyers.

Should you consider international homebuyers when selling your home?

As the dollar depreciates against most major world currencies, houses in the USA become relatively cheaper for foreign homebuyers. But whether your plan to sell your home should incorporate international homebuyers depends on many factors such as where you are based. The NAR profile states that most international homebuyers tend to move to warmer places such as California, Arizona and Texas but most international homebuyers also mentioned desirable location (45%) and profitable investment (29%) as the main reason for purchasing. Boston is still an attractive area for many international students and employees in the Bio tech industries which make it a desirable location and most places in Massachusetts are perfect vacation places in the summer.

What price range are international buyers looking at?

When selling your property pricing is a large part of marketing, more so in the last few years. So what price range are international buyers looking at?

Source: http://realtorbenefitsprogram.org/research/research/reportsintl

From the above graph we can conclude that in 2010 45% of international homebuyers prefer properties priced below US$200,000 and 18% preferred property priced between $200,000 and $500,000. Most of the homebuyers in this price range are buying their primary residence.

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Cohasset Housing Market sees improvement

March 2, 2011 By VangileMakwakwa 1 Comment
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The Big HouseTotal home sales up 18.75% in Cohasset, MA

According to statistics from the MLS PIN total property sales (single family, condominiums and multi family homes) in Cohasset increased from 80 homes sold in 2009 to 95 homes in 2010; representing an 18.75% year on year increase. Despite a slight drop in total properties listed on the market, total market volume increased by 15.66% to $77,424,425. Average days on the market have decreased significantly by 23.58% to 162 days, reflecting that homes are sold faster, whilst median price increased 9.92% to $720,000, suggesting that buyers are starting to feel comfortable purchasing higher priced properties. Although Cohasset’s real estate market did better last year; Hingham sold 280 homes with lower days on the market (115 days).

Learn more about the Cohasset market

Join us for our Spring Homesellers Seminar to learn more about how the market is doing and to speak to our panel of attorneys, appraisers and mortgage brokers

Date and Time: March 6, 2011 at 11 am – 12.30 pm

Location: Minot Lightkeepers’ Residence, 15 Lighthouse Lane, Cohasset, MA 02025

Image by Flickr user pdbreen

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