The reality of price reduction is that when a seller lowers their price, the buyer may not know that the price has been reduced, and they likely don’t really care, because they will begin their negotiation from the new, lower price. When this happens, the seller gets no credit for reducing the price, and that is a shame. Also, after a seller or builder has done a price reduction, they are much less likely to entertain the thought of another one. So, reducing price is not always the best option if that leaves no further room for negotiations, which is understandable.

 When the buyer looks for financing, they are seeking the lowest interest rate available on the mortgage, with 0 points. As you know, a buyer can pay a point or two and get a lower interest…

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21 Things You Never Knew About 'Jerry Maguire' | Moviefone

Do More.

Do Better.

No Excuses.

I saw this somewhere today, while working, either online or on tv. I don’t recall where I saw it, only that I did not forget it. These 6 words seem to express the desire of every individual at the start of a New Year. They point to our dissatisfaction with the status quo and our desire to achieve no matter what the cost. The unrelenting desire to have, do, and be more is what is at work here. But in reality, having it all and doing it all doesn’t mean you will be it all. Not by a long shot.

“With all thy getting, get understanding.”

In the business world, the goal is constant growth and improvement. 

  • Grow the business. 

  • Reduce expenses. 

  • Increase revenue. 

  • Beat last…

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Volatility Appears to Be the ‘New’ New Normal  

Over the past few weeks, we have been witnessing a significant change in the financial landscape in the United States. During this time, we have seen the stock market come down from its recently achieved historic highs. As the price of stocks has decreased, the value of investors' portfolios, and 401K accounts, have been impacted.  

  • Whether this is a short-term or a long-term phenomenon remains to be seen.

  • The reality is that the rapid run-up in market valuations since the election in 2016 occurred much faster than is normal, and therefore the likelihood of a correction has been anticipated for some time.  

  • What had not been anticipated, or widely understood is the swiftness…

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What’s the Difference Between a Seller’s Market and a Buyer’s Market? As we begin 2019, if you are about to start looking for a home, you may come upon these terms. Beyond a simple definition for each of these, it is very important to know the different factors that define each, and how the different markets can impact a buyer.  This article will examine these areas.

Seller’s Market Defined

A seller’s market exists when there are many more buyers seeking to purchase than there are homes available on the market. Stated differently, there are less houses available to satisfy a larger pool of buyers in the marketplace. This lack of listing inventory leads to rapid (at times excessive) price appreciation, very quick closings, many cash buyers,…

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 Chances are good your buyers are not approved at all…they’ve only been pre-qualified

Shocking headline, isn’t it?  Hard to hear the truth sometimes, but I am going to tell you that in my experience, the bulk of Pre-Approval letters being given to Real Estate agents by Loan Originators are just plain worthless.  They are being written to get the buyers a house, but the protection/reassurance the seller is looking for that tells them the buyers really are qualified does not exist.  Welcome to Fantasy Island.

My intention in writing this is two-fold: first, to let you know about this situation, and second, to give you some suggestions for getting a comfort letter that is worth the paper it is printed on.

Frequently a Realtor will refer me one of…

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Written by Robert H. Ruth

 

Second home season is officially here!  While buying a primary residence is a substantial commitment financially, with long ranging impacts, purchasing a second / vacation home is an even larger commitment, so careful deliberate planning is paramount if you are in the market to purchase a second home this year.   Here are five important issues to consider when contemplating a second home purchase:

 

How familiar are you with the area?

  • Buying a home as an annual vacation destination or to use on weekends or Holidays is a very serious commitment. You better make sure you like the area you are purchasing in because you’ll be spending a huge amount of your free time there. Many buyers I work with have…

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Written by Robert H. Ruth

Every year since 2013 the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has published a report looking at trends among buyers and sellers in the Real Estate Industry from the previous year. I’ve always eagerly anticipated this report because it provides excellent insights into the composition of the Real Estate marketplace. This year I thought I’d share some of the more significant findings that are pertinent to home buyers since that is the focus of my blog posts here. If you want to see the report for yourself, I have provided a link for you to download a pdf version here: CLICK HERE

The introduction of the report has much useful information about the composition of buyers in the Real Estate marketplace .  Here are what I…

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Written by Robert H. Ruth

This is a topic I discuss with borrowers most every day, so I thought you’d like to know the components of your credit score.  According to Fair Issac Corporation (FICO), “the score is calculated from many different pieces of data in your credit report, and the data is grouped into the 5 categories below.” Here they are with the approximate weighting assigned to each category:

 

  • Payment History : 35%
  • Amounts Owed :  30%
  • Length of Credit History:15%
  • New accounts Opened :10%
  • Mix of Credit :10%
  • Total: 100%

Let’s see what each category represents:

Payment history: 35%

This tells whether you have paid your credit card accounts on time in the past.  If you make all your payments on time each…

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Written by Robert H. Ruth

What is a concession?

A concession is some benefit usually offered from the seller to the buyer that helps in the negotiation to buy a home.  The concession is typically financial in nature, and is in essence, a type of deal sweetener for the buyer. In the real estate finance industry, concessions are also known as Interested Party Contributions (IPC’s).  For this article, I wanted to explain the 2 most common types of IPC’s: financing concessions, and sales concessions.

 Financing Concessions

These IPC’s are paid on the borrower’s behalf by the seller to help facilitate the transaction. Financing Concessions typically cover closing costs for the buyer who is financing the purchase with a mortgage. They are…

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Written by Robert H. Ruth

According to two recent studies, one published by the National Association of Realtors, the other by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing, single women represent 17% of homebuyers throughout the US. That is a very significant number… it shows that single women are the second biggest demographic segment of the purchase market after married couples. By comparison, single men only account for 7% of homebuyers.

Here are a few significant findings from the studies:

  • More than one in five home buyers is a single woman
  • There are twice as many unmarried women buying homes than single men
  • Single women buyers equal more than 33% of the growth in home ownership since 1994

These statistics are even more…

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