Buying a home can be a mixture of feelings — excitement, fear, confusion, anxiety, the list goes on and on. In addition to these many emotions, the home buying process is also about DISCOVERY! This is the perfect time to review your financial portfolio. Making the decision to finance your home should be based on the results of your entire budget analysis, not just the mortgage payment.

Too often people decide what financing option is best for them even before they even find “the house.” They are so driven to the predesignated plan that they forget to reassess based on the home they’ve chosen. Instead of pursuing knowledge from a mortgage professional, they listen to their friends and colleagues for advice. Unfortunately, the advice that is given may have been best for those individuals, but not necessarily for those being advised. As time changes, so do the mortgage products that are available.

Let me give you some examples:

John and Mary purchased a new home that needs a new kitchen and bath. In order to avoid mortgage insurance, they put 20% down and now have minimum savings left. They will close on their new home and incur the costs of the remodeling on charge cards. The result is a high monthly payment and non deductible interest. The better option would have been to put 10% down with lender paid mortgage insurance (which still accomplishes the goal of eliminating paying for the mortgage insurance). This leaves money left over for the improvements. Result: no charge card debt.

Susan qualifies for a home mortgage based on her income to debt ratio. Based on what she qualifies for, the home would not meet her family’s long-term needs. She accepts this as “the way it has to be” and purchases a home that she knows she will outgrow in three years. After that time, she will have to sell and find a larger home. Had she met with a mortgage professional, she would have been given the option of using sellers concessions to help pay for the costs of purchasing. With the cash saved, she could have paid off a monthly debt thereby qualifying for more home. Not only would she have been happier with her purchase, but it is a much more financially sound plan. At current rates, financing an extra $10,000 for closing costs only changes the monthly payment by $47.02 — just a little over a dollar a day. Having that extra $10,000 freed up allows her to pay off debt, which is not tax deductible, has a higher monthly payment obligation, and restricts her from qualifying for a larger home. In addition, being able to buy the home she needs now saves her the costs of buying and selling again three years.

I could give many examples of how shifting of funds can help your financial picture. I encourage you to think outside the box and DISCOVER the many options available to you — Syracuse housing prices and current interest rates make it the perfect time.

If you are looking for an excellent loan officer who will help determine what you are most qualified for, look no further.  Contact Debb at parkerd@commonfundmtg.com or 315-422-2325 Ext 1052.

In addition to being a Depression-era child, Babe witnessed the tragic death of her eldest granddaughter at age 16 and lost her husband of over 40 years after his third heart attack.

Years later when Parkinson’s Disease insidiously debilitated her muscles, my husband asked her how she was doing. She said, “Well, I can’t walk anymore, but that’s OK. I have a good wheelchair!” Always possessing a positive outlook, she never seemed to have any trouble counting her blessings.

The media, I feel, can take a lesson from Babe (as she was affectionately known by family and close friends, so named by her future husband because he thought she was such a good-looking babe!) .

As a graduate of the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, I know the news has to be reported. But interpretation, I think, can instill confidence and hope or just as easily send a depressing message.

I am not unrealistic about the economy or the hardships of those unfortunate to lose their jobs. However, there is good news and opportunity that I  do not think is being properly reported, which is an injustice to the consumer.

Over the last 10 years, rates have consistently come down and now are at an almost all-time low. The chart here from Stefan Swanepol’s RealTrends 2012 clearly shows the downward trend of mortgage rates. The affordability index has never been better. For the same payment of 10 years ago, buyers can now buy more house.  Alternately, the same house now costs much less monthly.

That is the first piece of good news. The second opportunity is that prices are good — and affordable. That, coupled with lower interest rates, makes housing even more affordable. Homeownership is within the hands of many who formerly were priced out of the market — if they only knew!

And the last piece of good news is that there is a good inventory of choices. All of these items should align for unparalleled opportunity. Yet the media, in my opinion, has not done a good job of informing the public.

This is not an original notice on my part. New York State Realtor of the Year Don Radke, and outgoing President of the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors, highlighted these facts in his speech earlier this month at the GSAR Installation Dinner. As he said, the stars and the moon are aligning for opportunity never before seen.

Real estate is local. And locally, opportunity knocks. Yes there are REO’s and short sales, but not in the unparalleled numbers seen in other areas of the country.

They exist, just as my mother-in-law’s disease was a reality. But, like her, I choose to look at the positives and grab opportunity while it is here in the present, rather than wait for interest rates or prices to rise. I think the opportunities offered today is a cup running over, not just one half full — if you choose to find it, for both homeowners and investors alike.

Current homeowners looking for a new home could also qualify for a $6,500 credit if they have lived in their existing primary residence for at least five years. However they must have purchased the new home after Nov. 6th 2009 to qualify for this tax credit.

Two publications from the National Association of Realtors provide detailed information:
Homebuyer Tax Credit Changes
Homebuyer Tax Credit Changes: Most Frequently Asked Questions

• Only single and two family houses are eligible. Multi-family and commercial buildings are not eligible.
• Full-time and regular part-time faculty and staff are eligible. Temporary faculty and staff, grad assistants and students are not eligible.
• Buyer agrees to live in the home as principal residence. If buyer decides to sell, rent, or move out, the mortgage must be refinanced through another mortgage program.
• Buyer meets all customary lending criteria established by the lending institution. The decision to grant a loan rests solely with the lending institution.
• Buyer must fill out an application and eligibility form. This form is reviewed by the Syracuse University Real Estate Services Office, the Office of Human Resources, and the Senior Vice President for Business and Finance. If the application is approved, the buyer then submits the form to the lending institution, which processes the mortgage application under the East Neighborhood Guaranteed Mortgage Program.