Tax Relief for First Time Homebuyers
August 11, 2008
ATTENTION FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS!!!!
If you bought a home on April 9th or after, or are considering a new home purchase, the Federal Government has authorized a tax credit of up to $7,500 for you! This credit is meant to help you during your first year of homeownership by allowing you to take a dollar-for-dollar reduction in what you might owe in income taxes. For some, this will mean an actual refund increase. For those of you who end up paying taxes at the end of the year, the credit can reduce that amount significantly. There are, of course, some restrictions on this program and you eventually do repay the money, but you have up to 15 years to do it and its interest free! This program is only in effect until June 30th, 2009 so if you haven’t bought your first home yet, now is the time to take the plunge. You will not only take advantage of this tax credit, you are also shopping for a home at the best time in years. Prices are remarkably low and sellers are motivated to work with you.
For more information on this new home ownership incentive, contact one of our professional loan originators today. It’s always better at the BEACH!
Posted by: Pam Woodall
Put More Money in Your Pocket
July 30, 2008
Florida homeowners have experienced a tremendous rise in property taxes over the past six years. Think of a debt of more than $30 billion and you might need to take a deep breath! What does the future hold for homeowners that just can’t afford the rise in not only taxes but homeowner’s insurance costs as well?
There is an Amendment coming on our ballots in November that will help us control the rising cost of property taxes. This is known as Amendment 5 and specifically addresses the funding of public schools through taxing only property OWNERS. The fact is that only if you are a homeowner in Florida do you pay taxes that fund the school systems. Renters and tourist dollars do not fund our public schools. In Okaloosa County, the cost of this is about 38% of your tax bill! If this Amendment passes, the savings to the homeowners in Florida is estimated at $10 billion dollars and would put some spending money back in our pockets. So where will the funds come from to support our schools? There are several proposals in the works, but spreading the cost of our schools to all those that enjoy living here and even those vacationing in Florida, makes a lot more sense. For more information on this Amendment, go to www.giveme5florida.com.
If you haven’t obtained the MY SAFE FLORIDA HOME inspection, consider doing that right now. The reports were free until just recently, but even paying for this has proven to be a small price to pay for the savings you might receive in your homeowner’s insurance bill. Check out www.mysafefloridahome.com and see what you can do to reduce the cost of your premiums before your next renewal. In addition, we are seeing small reductions in quotes across the board with those agencies writing coverage in Florida. It might be a good time for an insurance check- up to see if there are savings in your own coverage.
Please call one of our experienced Loan Originators for information on these and other homeownership ideas. It’s always better at the BEACH!
Posted by: Pam Woodall
Down Payment "Gifts" Available
July 23, 2008
Want to buy a home, but just can’t come up with down payment money? Don’t be discouraged – help is available!
The guidelines for mortgages have become very strict and all those 100% sub prime loan programs no longer exist. This is good news for our industry as so many of those programs helped create the current foreclosure crisis. But what about the buyer with the ability to make the payments, who has kept their credit in good standing and just doesn’t have the savings it might take to get into a home? Down Payment Assistance (DPA) programs are currently available through approved lenders (Beach Community Mortgage) that provide a way for the minimum down payment to be “gifted” to the home buyer. This means you never have to pay this back! The funds are actually provided on behalf of the borrower at the time the loan is closed. Qualification is simple and is part of the normal process of a loan approval.
If you are selling your home and not getting the traffic you want, consider these programs. They are an excellent tool to make your home stand out above the other listings in your price range. You might even realize more money in your pocket by offering to participate in a DPA program for your buyers instead of lowering your sales price!
Call one of our experience Loan Originators today to see how these programs can help you!
Posted by: Pam Woodall
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae Over Exposure
July 14, 2008
You know that the media has a great impact on what we do for a living and how we plan for our future. We’ve all been exposed to the doom and gloom our local publications have put on our real estate market (as well as the national media outlets as well). It has been more and more evident in the news as of late. The failure of IndyMac Bank and its mortgage services has been high on the list of media gossip. Bad news sure travels fast.
Now, the media has jumped on this Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac situation. If you’ve been watching lately, stocks for these companies went on a race down faster than the morale of the Green Bay Packers fans when Brett Favre retired (sorry non sports fans – if you don’t follow sports this was bad). All of this came about when some doubt was cast about the companies’ “financial condition and whether their balance sheets are strong enough to continue their business of buying and guaranteeing home mortgages.” The media again, sensationalizes the story and it results in a potential issue to two entities that play a very crucial role in the US economy.
While many larger private investors out there (IndyMac, Wachovia, Countrywide, etc) have gotten themselves in substantial trouble with their loan portfolios and some of the questionable loans that they had, the GSE’s (government sponsored entities, i.e. Fannie and Freddie) keep very vanilla paper. The loans as a whole are very conservative. Their Mortgage Backed Securities are a safe vehicle in which investors park their funds. Somehow that does not make it into the media ramblings.
So, the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve outlined a plan to prop up the two mortgage entities by giving them access to (temporarily) the same funds as commercial banks and Wall Street firms. What that means is that Fannie and Freddie have access to more capital if they need it. If they were to come close to running out of funds they have a big savings account to tap into. Liquidity is what it is all about in the secondary mortgage market.
What does it all mean? To quote Shakespeare’s Macbeth (Act 5, scene 5), “[life] is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” That is probably what this will all boil down to – a whole lot of noise that will equate to nothing. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac provide a crucial source of funding for banks and other mortgage lenders and they are the only major players left for pooling loans into securities. Their demise would create a catastrophic wave that would be felt globally, not just here in the good ole USA. Our government has taken steps this week to make sure these entities remain sound and have the backing they need to help repair our national housing crisis. A little good news never hurts.
The Beach Just Got Better
July 1, 2008
In October 2007, we combined the financial strength and geographic presence of Beach Community Bank with the lending expertise of ABWIN Mortgage to form Beach Community Mortgage. This set the stage to build one of the strongest mortgage companies on the Emerald Coast for today and the future!
With that quest in mind, it is with great pride that we announce the appointment of Pam Woodall as President of Beach Community Mortgage. Pam will also serve as a Senior Vice President of Beach Community Bank. For those of you who already know Pam, you know the depth of her talent and experience in the mortgage industry. She was an integral part of Access Mortgage Corporation, working under the leadership of Bob Brown, Jr. That team of talented mortgage professionals quickly became the #1 Mortgage Lender in Northwest Florida and celebrated that success for almost ten years until its sale in 2003.
If you have not had the pleasure of meeting or working with Pam, you are in for a treat! She is a welcome addition to our existing team of knowledgeable lenders which include Michael Tano who will continue to handle daily operations, Balenda Hetzel who oversees sales, and Bob Brown, Jr. who serves in a consultatory role and conducts speaking engagements on behalf of Beach Community Mortgage. Getting Pam in place with the other great members of our mortgage company gives us an unbeatable team, dedicated to delivering the best mortgage products out there with the best customer service possible!
If you are already our customer, then you have experienced our unique approach to banking, and we are most appreciative of your business. If you are not yet our customer, we invite you to check out our relaxed, friendly way of doing business. Come see what “Banking (and Lending) at the Beach” is all about!
POSTED BY: tony hughes
Fed Cuts Rates Again
Have you ever wondered how the interest rate set by the Federal Reserve affects
mortgage rates? When the Fed makes a move, they are changing a rate called
the “Fed Funds Rate”. This is a very short-term rate that impacts
credit cards, credit lines, auto loans and the like. Mortgage rates most often
will actually move in the opposite direction as the Fed change, due to the dynamics
within the financial markets.
It is kind of like asking where babies come from. So, let’s examine
where interest rates come from so we may be able to get a better understanding of
how rates are impacted on a day-to-day basis.
Mortgage interest rates are based on Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) or Mortgage
Bonds. One of the biggest misconceptions I hear is that mortgage
rates are based on the 10 year Treasury note. If you are speaking with a lender
who tells you that rates are tied to the 10 year Treasury note, run away fast because
they have their eyes on the wrong indicators and it could cost you money when there
is a shift in the market. While the 10-year Treasury note sometimes trends
in the same direction as Mortgage Bonds, it is not unusual to see them move in completely
opposite directions.
So how does the process work? How is it that Mortgage Backed Securities impact
mortgage rates?
In order to not get into a full blown economics lesson, I am going to oversimplify
the process. When the stock market is producing higher yields than Mortgage
Backed Securities (MBS’), money flows into the stock market and MBS lose value
and mortgage interest rates increase. Conversely, when stocks lose their luster
- funds flow back into Mortgage Backed Securities, their value increases and mortgage
rates get better.
There are a variety of economic indicators that you can watch (or hopefully your
lender is watching) that cause the ebb and tide of rates every day. If you
are so inclined, you can check them at this calendar - Economic Calendar.
Rates DO change every day in some fashion (sometimes multiple times throughout the
day). Some days the increase or decrease is larger than other days, but they
are not static by any means. Rates are fluid. In periods of high volatility
(like recently), it is more important than ever that your lender understand the
dynamics of the mortgage market and how it impacts your home loan.
When you are shopping for a lender (whether it is Beach Community Mortgage or not),
please keep that in mind.
