How long after a Bankruptcy/Short-sale/Foreclosure can you buy a home?

The J Team Fort Lauderdale gets asked a lot by clients how soon they can buy a home after a Bankruptcy, Short-Sale, or Foreclosure?

Many people have had to do one of the three reasons in the past and seems a lot of people feel they must wait for these legal items to fall off their credit report before they can buy a home again.

Our in house Lender VanDyk Mortgage shared with us some very interesting facts regarding this question.

This is great news for clients who had financial issues in the past to qualify again to buy a home in as little as 2-3years for FHA/VA and 4-7years for Conventional.

No need to wait 10+ years for the legal matter to fall off your credit report.

Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale today to schedule your Home Buyers Consultation where we can help you understand the market and buying process as well as connect you with a lender to begin the Mortgage process again.

The J Team Fort Lauderdale is committed to homeownership for all with education and solutions. 

Search Fort Lauderdale Homes now at http://JTeamFL.com

Home prices have been up the last few quarters and a lot of this has been due to low inventory and lots of buyers out there.  Simple Supply and Demand.  Some markets have stabilized, some markets are still slow and some are taking off!

The only way to know for sure is to contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale to review the activity in your neighborhood or a neighborhood you want to move to!  No two neighborhoods sales activity are the same!

Visit www.JTeamFL.com or call us today at 954-235-3589 

Search Fort Lauderdale Homes on our site!

Check out this article we think you will find helpful!

Are House Prices Beginning to Accelerate Again?

In a recent post, we explained that the supply of homes for sale in December was at its lowest level in over a year. The January National Housing Trend Report from realtor.com now reveals that inventory in January has decreased another 6.7% month over month and 8.7% year over year. This is occurring at the same time that buyer activity (demand) remains strong.

This prompted realtor.com’s Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke to report:

“January’s inventory data suggest a continuation of the tightening trend we identified last month in the December data, and with a shortage of inventory typically comes increased home prices. Half of the 200 markets realtor.com tracks experienced year-over-year price increases of at least 6% in January.”

This after the National Association of Realtors (NAR) had already reported in their latest quarterly report:

“The majority of metropolitan areas experienced steady but slightly stronger price growth in the fourth quarter of 2014, behind a decline in housing supply and an uptick in demand fueled by lower interest rates and a stronger job market.” 

Bottom Line

Whether you are a first time buyer or a move-up buyer, now may be time to purchase a home – before prices increase any further.

Home Sales are NOT Collapsing!

The J Team Fort Lauderdale keeps current on what is happening to the Real Estate market both nationally and locally.  Most news media look at Real Estate as a whole looking at all states and markets.  It's important to remember that the only way to truly find out what your home is worth is by having a local real estate consultant such as The J Team Fort Lauderdale pull up comparable homes to yours that sold within the last 3-6months.  Because at the end of the day that is what your current home value is worth...what a current buyer is willing to pay for your home.

No matter what he national media tells you. The J Team Fort Lauderdale has studied the Real Estate market since 2010 and watched the constant ups and downs and have reviewed so many market stats over the years it would make anyone's head spin.  One of the best ways we stay up to date is with Keeping Current Matters, a brilliant content driven resource for Real Estate Agent that helps us understand the market on a national level.  The J Team Fort Lauderdale hires a statistician to help review the sales data in Broward County each quarter to help keep track of current trends in a Micro Market.

Check out he amazing article below from the KCM Crew about Home Sales are NOT collapsing as the national media may be saying.

If you want to find out the current value of your home visit http://Sell.JTeamFL.com and The J Team Fort Lauderdale will provide you with the recent sales in your neighborhood with homes like your own!

If you want to search Fort Lauderdale homes now visit http://JTeamFL.com

 



Home Sales are NOT Collapsing!
By the kcm crew



The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) just released their Existing Home Sales report and some have taken the results and ran with headlines like:

“Existing home sales collapse in January despite low mortgage rates”.

Let’s take a closer look at what the report really shows. There is a seasonality to home sales that happens every year, with a decline in January, (as shown in the graph below.) But in reality 200,000 more homes (3.2%) sold this January over last January.

The demand for housing hasn’t been a challenge.

Current buyer demand, as shown in the graph below, is actually 3x greater than that of January 2014.

NAR’s Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun points to the real issue at hand:

“Realtors® are reporting that low rates are attracting potential buyers, but the lack of new and affordable listings is leading some to delay decisions.”

Even though buyers are out looking for their dream home, they cannot find it! Inventory levels increased slightly since December, but are still below historic norms and unable to keep up with the elevated demand.

Bottom Line

If your plan for 2015 includes selling your house, waiting till the Spring may not be in your best interest. Meet with a local real estate professional in your market who can explain the opportunities available now.  Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale now to schedule your Real Estate Consultation at 954.235.3589

Thinking of Buying? What are you waiting for?

by The KCM Crew

If you are planning on becoming a homeowner, or moving up to the home of your dreams in 2015, here are four great reasons to consider buying a home now, instead of waiting until spring.

1. Prices Will Continue to Rise

The Home Price Expectation Survey polls a distinguished panel of over 100 economists, investment strategists, and housing market analysts. Their most recent report projects appreciation in home values over the next five years to be between 11.7% (most pessimistic) and 27.5% (most optimistic).

The bottom in home prices has come and gone. Home values will continue to appreciate for years. Waiting no longer makes sense.

2. Mortgage Interest Rates Are Projected to Increase

Although Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows that interest rates for a 30-year mortgage have softened recently, most experts predict that they will begin to rise over the next 12 months. The Mortgage Bankers Association, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac & the National Association of Realtors are in unison projecting that rates will be up almost a full percentage point by the end of 2015.

An increase in rates will impact YOUR monthly mortgage payment. Your housing expense will be more a year from now if a mortgage is necessary to purchase your next home.

3. Either Way You are Paying a Mortgage

As a paper from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University explains:

“Households must consume housing whether they own or rent. Not even accounting for more favorable tax treatment of owning, homeowners pay debt service to pay down their own principal while households that rent pay down the principal of a landlord plus a rate of return. That’s yet another reason owning often does—as Americans intuit—end up making more financial sense than renting.”

4. It’s Time to Move On with Your Life

The ‘cost’ of a home is determined by two major components: the price of the home and the current mortgage rate. It appears that both are on the rise.

But, what if they weren’t? Would you wait?

Look at the actual reason you are buying and decide whether it is worth waiting. Whether you want to have a great place for your children to grow up, you want your family to be safer or you just want to have control over renovations, maybe it is time to buy.

If the right thing for you and your family is to purchase a home this year, buying sooner rather than later could lead to substantial savings.

Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale at 954-235-3589 or search for Fort Lauderdale Homes for sale now at www.JTeamFL.com

Homeownership Rates: Are they Crashing?

By The KCM Crew

The Census recently released their 2014 Homeownership Statistics, and many began to worry that Americans have taken a step back from the notion of homeownership.

Easy… Chicken Little

The national homeownership rate peaked in 2004, representing a 69.2% of Americans who bought vs. rented their primary residence. Many have noticed a decline in rate since then and taken that as a bad sign.

However, if you look at the national rate over the last 30 years (1984-2014), you can see that the current homeownership rate has returned closer to the historic norm. 2014 ended the year with a rate of 64% just under the rate in 1985 and 1995.

Bottom Line 

With interest rates and prices still below where experts predict, evaluate your ability to purchase a home with a local real estate professional.

Learn about the Home Buying process, find tips to qualify for a mortgage and solutions to financial issues holding you back!  Buy a home with as little as 3% down!  Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale today at 954-235-3589  or visit http://JTeamFL.com and search Fort Lauderdale Homes now!

Either Way, You’re Paying a Mortgage

Either Way, You’re Paying a Mortgage

This is an article we found through Keeping Current matters.  If you are renting or are a home owner you are paying a mortgage.  However if you are the renter than you are paying someone else's mortgage and investment.  Most of us have had to rent at one point or another.  A good exercise to do is add up your rent paid for the last 5 years...and 10 years.  That Number is the money you will never get back. 

Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale today and schedule a home buyers consultation.  We will educate you about the buying process, provide tips to qualifying for a mortgage and solutions to most financial issues holding you back such as School Loans or Credit issues.  The J Team Fort Lauderdale believes in home ownership and is committed to help everyone find a solution to purchase a home!  954.235.3589 or vist www.JTeamFL.com

Please enjoy the article below!









Either Way, You’re Paying a Mortgage
By the KCM Crew

There are some people that have not purchased a home because they are uncomfortable taking on the obligation of a mortgage. Everyone should realize that, unless you are living with your parents rent free, you are paying a mortgage - either your mortgage or your landlord’s.
As a paper from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University explains:

“Households must consume housing whether they own or rent. Not even accounting for more favorable tax treatment of owning, homeowners pay debt service to pay down their own principal while households that rent pay down the principal of a landlord plus a rate of return. That’s yet another reason owning often does—as Americans intuit—end up making more financial sense than renting.”

Also, if you purchase with a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, your ‘housing expense’ is locked in over the thirty years for the most part. If you rent, the one guarantee you will have is that your rent will increase over that same thirty year time period.
As an owner, the mortgage payment is a ‘forced savings’ which will allow you to have equity in your home you can tap into later in your life. As a renter, you guarantee the landlord is the person with that equity.

Bottom Line

Whether you are looking for a primary residence for the first time or are considering a vacation home on the shore, owning might make more sense than renting since home values and interest rates are still lower than projected.

Foreclosure Inventory Down 34.3% from Last Year

Commentary by Jay Cermak - The J Team Fort Lauderdale

What does this mean for you?  Many Americans and Markets home values have reached a point not as many people are under water on their mortgages.  This is great news there are programs to help refinance mortgages at historic low rates, many home owners are trapped in their home and are not aware of the equity in their home!

Check out this great article from Keeping Current Matters about Foreclosure Inventory Down 34.3% from Last Year.

According to the latest CoreLogic National Foreclosure Report, “approximately 552,000 homes in the US were in some state of foreclosure as of December 2014”. This figure is down 34.3% from the 840,000 homes in December of 2013. December marked the 38^thconsecutive month in which there were year-over-year declines.

Anand Nallathambl, the President and CEO of CoreLogic, is hopeful for the future, saying:

“At current foreclosure rates, we expect to see the foreclosure inventory in the U.S. drop below 500,000 homes sometime in the first quarter of 2015 which would be another milestone in the healing of the housing market.”

The map below shows the percentage of foreclosure inventory in each of the 50 states and Washington, D.C. Thirty-six states have inventory below the national rate of 1.4% and can be seen in two shades of green.

Bottom Line

Even though some states have not recovered completely from the foreclosure crisis, the nation as a whole is on the right track as inventory decreases.

The J Team Fort Lauderdale at Keller Williams Realty would be happy to talk to you about your home values to help advise you on your next plans!  Your home may be worth WAY more than you think!

Find it now visiting http://www.Sell.JTeamFL.com

Net Worth: A Homeowner’s is 36x Greater Than A Renter!

By The KCM Crew

Over the last six years, homeownership has lost some of its allure as a financial investment. As homeowners suffered through the housing bust, more and more began to question whether owning a home was truly a good way to build wealth.

Every three years the Federal Reserve conducts a Survey of Consumer Finances in which they collect data across all economic and social groups.

Some of the findings revealed in their report:

• The average American family has a net worth of $81,200
• Of that net worth, 61.4% ($49,856) of it is in home equity
• A homeowner’s net worth is over 36 times greater than that of a renter
• The average homeowner has a net worth of $194,500 while the average net worth of a renter is $5,400

Bottom Line

There are many reasons why owning a home makes sense, the Fed study shows that owning is still a great way for families to build wealth in America.

Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale af Keller Williams Today for your Home Buyers Consultation.  The J Team Fort Lauderdale believes in Homeownership for all!  We educate about the home buying process, provide tips on qualifying for a mortgage and solutions to any of your Fincial issues holding you back.  Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale today at 954.235.3589 or visit www.JTeamFL.com

Real Estate Heading in the “Right Direction”

By The KCM Crew

The housing market has taken a great turn toward recovery over the last few years. The opinions of the American public toward real estate took longer to recover, until recently.

For the first time since 2006, Americans have an overall positive view of real estate, giving the industry a 12% positive ranking in a Gallup poll.

Americans were asked to rate 24 different business sectors and industries on a five-point scale ranging from "very positive" to "very negative." The poll was first conducted in 2001, and has been used as an indicator of “Americans’ overall attitudes toward each industry”.

Americans’ view of the real estate industry worsened from 2003 to the -40% plummet of 2008.  Gallup offers some insight into the reason for decline:

Prices Dropped

“In late 2006, real estate prices in the U.S. began falling rapidly, and continued to drop. Many homeowners saw their home values plummet, likely contributing to real estate's image taking a hard hit.”

Housing Bubble

“The large drops in the positive images of banking and real estate in 2008 and 2009 reflect both industries' close ties to the recession, which was precipitated in large part because of the mortgage-related housing bubble.”

Bottom Line

“Although the image of real estate remains below the average of 24 industries Gallup has tracked, the sharp recovery from previous extreme low points suggests it is heading in the right direction.”

If the news of recovery has you considering homeownership, meet with a local real estate professional to discuss the opportunities that exist in today’s market.

The J Team Fort Lauderdale at Keller Williams Realty studies the market constantly.  We know what is happening in our micro market and each neighborhood is different.  Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale today and we can provide you with up to date information regarding Fort Lauderdale Home sales and consult you on your real estate decisions.  Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale at 954.235.3589 or visit www.JTeamFL.com

The Difference Between A Home’s Cost vs. Price

by The KCM Crew

As a seller, you will be most concerned about ‘short term price’ – where home values are headed over the next six months. As either a first time or repeat buyer, you must not be concerned only about price but also about the ‘long term cost’ of the home.

Let us explain.

There are many factors that influence the ‘cost’ of a home. Two of the major ones are the home’s appreciation over time, and the interest rate at which a buyer can borrow the funds necessary to purchase their home. The rate at which these two factors can change is often referred to as “The Cost of Waiting”.

What will happen in 2015?

A nationwide panel of over one hundred economists, real estate experts and investment & market strategists project that home values will appreciate by almost 4% by the end of 2015.

Additionally, Freddie Mac’s most recent Economic Commentary & Projections Table predicts that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate will appreciate to 4.5% by the end of 2015.

What Does This Mean to a Buyer?

Here is a simple demonstration of what impact these projected changes would have on the mortgage payment of a home selling for approximately $250,000 today:

Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale at Keller Williams Realty today and schedule your free Home Buyers Consultation.  We will educate you about the home buying process, help you get qualified with a mortgage and conduct a needs analysis to help you find the right home for you!  Call The J Team Fort Lauderdale today at 954.235.3589 or to search Fort Lauderdale Homes now visit www.JTeamFL.com

No Matter What the Groundhog Says… You Should Sell Before Spring!

By The KCM Crew

Is spring closer than we think? Depending on which Groundhog you witnessed today, you may have less time than you think to get your home on the market before the busy spring season.

Many sellers feel that the spring is the best time to place their home on the market as buyer demand traditionally increases at that time of year. However, the next six weeks before spring hits also have their own advantages.

Here are five reasons to sell now.

1. Demand is Strong

Foot traffic refers to the number of people out actually physically looking at homes right now. The latest foot traffic numbers show that there are currently more prospective purchasers looking at homes than at any other time in the last 12 months, which includes last spring’s buyers’ market. These buyers are ready, willing and able to purchase… and are in the market right now!

Take advantage of the buyer activity currently in the market.

2. There Is Less Competition Now

Housing supply just dropped to 4.4 months, which is under the 6 months’ supply that is needed for a normal housing market. This means, in many areas, there are not enough homes for sale to satisfy the number of buyers in that market. This is good news for home prices. However, additional inventory is about to come to market.

There is a pent-up desire for many homeowners to move, as they were unable to sell over the last few years because of a negative equity situation. Homeowners are now seeing a return to positive equity as real estate values have increased over the last two years. Many of these homes will be coming to the market in the near future.

Also, new construction of single-family homes is again beginning to increase. A recent study by Harris Poll revealed that 41% of buyers would prefer to buy a new home while only 21% prefer an existing home (38% had no preference).

The choices buyers have will increase in the spring. Don’t wait until all this other inventory of homes comes to market before you sell.

3. The Process Will Be Quicker

One of the biggest challenges of the housing market has been the length of time it takes from contract to closing. Banks are requiring more and more paperwork before approving a mortgage. There is less overall business done in the winter. Therefore, the process will be less onerous than it will be in the spring. Getting your house sold and closed before the spring delays begin will lend itself to a smoother transaction.

4. There Will Never Be a Better Time to Move-Up

If you are moving up to a larger, more expensive home, consider doing it now. Prices are projected to appreciate by over 23.5% from now to 2019. If you are moving to a higher priced home, it will wind-up costing you more in raw dollars (both in down payment and mortgage payment) if you wait. You can also lock-in your 30-year housing expense with an interest rate below 4% right now. Rates are projected to be a full point higher by the end of 2015.

5. It’s Time to Move On with Your Life

Look at the reason you decided to sell in the first place and determine whether it is worth waiting. Is money more important than being with family? Is money more important than your health? Is money more important than having the freedom to go on with your life the way you think you should?

Only you know the answers to the questions above. You have the power to take back control of the situation by putting your home on the market. Perhaps, the time has come for you and your family to move on and start living the life you desire.

That is what is truly important.

Contact The J Team Fort Lauderdale today to discuss your Real Estate Needs 954-235-3589.  Want to know the current market value of your home?  Visit www.JTeamFL.com and click Sell

Interested in searching Fort Lauderdale Homes for sale? Visit www.JteamFL.com