5 New Rules For Buyers In Michigan
Buyer Tips, Critical Real Estate Tips
A recent article in Money magazine lists 5 new rules for today’s home buyers. After reading the article I found that I agree with all 5 of them.
New rule 1: DO NOT try to time the bottom of this market. We may be there or close already. The only way the experts know that we hit rock bottom is after the market has already started going up. A lot of good that will do you.
New rule 2: Mortgage rates are very attractive right now. Here’s what the mortgage experts say; “The 30-year, now at 6.1%, will likely reach mid-6% by December and 7% in 2009, says Celia Chen of Moody’s Economy.com.” If you’re in the market for a new home in the metro Detroit market soon, now is the time to get looking a buy. On a $200,000 house a 1% difference in the mortgage rate you can get today versus what you could be paying next year is at least $130.00. A $130 a month savings over the life of a 30 year mortgage is close to $50,000!
New rule 3: Rates on jumbo mortgages. Jumbo loans, those over $417,000 now average 7.2% and the experts say they’re unlikely to drop much this year. However, a new law lets Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae buy loans as large as $729,750 in 71 high priced area. Unless Congress extends this law it expires at the end of this year.
New rule 4: Don’t buy cheap, buy quality. Quality neighborhoods, quality school districts, and quality homes. You’re not just buying a house, you’re buying a home where you and your family will be living 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A lot of new neighborhoods that have popped up recently are likely to have lots of owners with risky loans and little equity; a dangerous combination. Buy in a quality Northville, Commerce Township, Novi, West Bloomfield, Livonia, or Canton neighborhood with quality schools even if you don’t have school aged children. Like any other investments, quality tends to hold or increase it’s value when other investments fall. In addition to the investment factor you also get to live in your home and everyone needs a place to live. Southeastern Michigan has lots of quality neighborhoods with quality homes for sale.
New rule 5: Make sure your Realtor has your best interests at heart. The real estate game often has a built in conflict of interest since the seller typically pays a commission to his listing agent which is shared by the buyer’s agent. These days sellers are offering cash bonuses and other incentives to buyer’s agent to entice them to steer buyers their way. Make sure your agent isn’t steering you to a house that is better for him than you.
I hope this helps. I know when I read the article I thought of all the buyers me and my buyers specialist Sandy are working with. Good Luck with your home search.
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Dwell Atlanta
Great post Mark. These rules can only benefit buyers in today's market.