Don’t Be Spooked By the Mortgage Market

“Don’t wait to buy real estate. Buy real estate and wait.”

– Robert G. Allen

The interest rates available today, although slowly increasing, are still lower than the average interest rate for a home loan over the last 40 years. According to Freddie Mac’s Historical Data for 30-Yr Fixed Rate Mortgages, in January 1982, right after Christmas, most Americans were paying 2.2 points for a 30-yr fixed home loan around 17.48%.

Below is a comparison of what it looked like for most Americans to purchase a home in January 1982 versus today with a similar monthly payment.

Loan Amount	1982 $100,000	2018 $280,000
Interest Rate	17.48%	4.75%
Points (cost of the rate)	2.2% ($2,200)	0.50% ($1,400)
Monthly Payment	$1,465	$1,461
Minimum Wage	$3.30/hr	$11.00/hr

If you’re ready to find out what you qualify for so you can start making offers, I can help you. You can apply on my website to get started. If you’re not in California, send me an email and I can refer you to a reputable loan officer in the state you’re looking to purchase in.

  

Source: Photo – LeadCrossing

Understanding the Home Loan Process

There are 6 milestones each loan application must achieve in order to be successfully completed.

1. Prequalification
2. Application Disclosures
3. Prepare for Underwriting Submission
4. Underwriting
5. Loan Doc Signing (aka Closing)
6. Funding and Recording

Each milestone provides the opportunity to have mini-celebrations, or breathing sighs of relief, along the journey as they’re completed.

You can read the detailed processes of each milestone on my website. While each milestone is extremely important and cannot be skipped or waived, they each take a certain amount of time to complete. Understanding the process and time frame from the onset of the loan application helps set proper expectations from the very beginning.

As you hear of people talking about wanting to buy a home or thinking about refinancing, please forward this information to them, so they can be prepared and know what to expect when the time comes for them to apply for a home loan.