Is Buying a Home Still a Smart Plan

  With the burst of the housing bubble, credit crisis, and millions of foreclosures across the country, you may wonder if buying a home is such a good idea after all. However, it’s important to consider all of the facts. The important message to take away from these events is not that buying a home is a bad idea, but that you must be smart about buying your home.   The housing market, like every type of market, unavoidably has its ups and downs. That doesn’t mean buying a home is a bad investment. As a long-term investment, homeownership is still one of the best investments for individual households. Historically, real estate has consistently increased in value, despite shorter periods of depreciation due to local markets and/or national economic conditions. The data shows that homes generally appreciate about 5% per year. Savings & Investment Five percent may not seem like a great return on investment, but you have to think about it in the context of the situation. For example, let’s say you put 10% down on a $200,000 house. That’s a $20,000 down payment, or initial investment. At a 5% annual appreciation rate, your $200,000 home would gain $10,000 in value during the first year. Earning $10,000 on an investment of $20,000 is a whopping 50% return. For further perspective, let’s say instead of spending that $20,000 on a down payment, you invested it in the stock market. With a 5% return, you would gain only $1,000 in profit. Tax Benefits So now you’re saying that a home may have a higher return, but that’s before you consider all of the costs of home ownership, such as taxes, etc. Well, think of it this way: your property taxes as well as the interest on your mortgage are both tax deductible. You can deduct those costs from your income, thus reducing your overall taxable income. In other words, the government is subsidizing your home. Other Benefits It’s easy to get carried away with all of the economic reasons for home ownership, but it’s important to remember that not every reason is financial. Have you ever wanted to paint the walls of your apartment? Well when you’re renting, you can’t. Has anything in your apartment ever needed updating, but the landlord refused to do it? When you own a home, you can make the space yours in almost any way you want. And you benefit when you do home improvements, both financially and psychologically. Homes generally have more space, for storage, living, etc. than other living arrangements. Not to mention that you have space outdoors for barbecuing, pets, and kids. Owning your home carries with it a sense of pride, accomplishment, and even an elevated social status. So when you’re considering buying a home, consider the broad range of benefits that owning a home can have. And always make sure you have an experienced real estate agent and loan officer to help make sure you’re getting a home that is right for you, both financially and psychologically.  

Unlocking Solar Potential: A Guide to Remote Quotes for Home Installation

Embarking on a solar journey for your home involves careful consideration and research. Discovering the right solar solution becomes more accessible when you opt for remote quotes, allowing you to explore various options without the presence of a salesperson in your home. Here are nine compelling reasons why remote quoting can be advantageous:   Objective Comparison:   Obtain quotes from multiple sources to make an unbiased assessment of different offerings, understanding variations in prices, equipment, and services provided by various solar companies.   Cost Savings:   Increase your chances of finding a competitive and cost-effective solution by obtaining multiple quotes, potentially leading to overall savings on the installation of solar panels.   Diverse Perspectives:   Benefit from diverse opinions and recommendations as different solar providers may have varying perspectives on the best system for your home.   Customization Options:   Explore different system configurations and customization options offered by each provider, allowing you to choose the solution that best fits your specific energy needs and preferences.   Avoid High-Pressure Sales Tactics:   Review information at your own pace without the pressure of in-home visits, steering clear of high-pressure sales tactics that may accompany face-to-face meetings. Time Efficiency:   Save time by acquiring quotes remotely, communicating with different solar providers, sharing details, and receiving quotes without the need for multiple in-person appointments.   Increased Confidence in Decision-Making:   Gain a better understanding of the market and increase your confidence in making an informed decision by having multiple quotes at your disposal.   Access to a Wider Pool of Providers:   Consider solar providers beyond your local area, widening your options and providing access to a broader range of expertise and technology.   Transparent and Informed Decision-Making:   Promote transparency in the decision-making process by carefully reviewing and comparing quotes, terms, and conditions, ensuring you have all the information needed for a confident decision.    Conclusion: Thoroughly research each solar provider, read customer reviews, and consider factors beyond price to ensure a holistic evaluation. If you prefer the convenience of remote quotes without in-person visits, fill out our contact form for three comprehensive quotes tailored to your solar needs.

The Biweekly Mortgage - Who Needs It?

Have you received an advertisement offering to save you thousands of dollars on your thirty-year mortgage and cut years off your payments? With email spam becoming more pervasive as everyone tries to get rich quick on the Internet, these ads are popping up with troublesome regularity. The ads promote a Biweekly Mortgage and for the most part, do not come from a mortgage lender. Exclamation points punctuate practically every claim: No closing costs! No refinancing! No points! No credit check! No appraisal! Save thousands! Cut years off your mortgage! To achieve these wonderful savings all you have to do is allow half of your mortgage payment to be deducted from your checking account every two weeks. It’s easy. Of course, there is a small set-up fee and usually a transaction fee with every automatic deduction. Essentially, the ads are truthful in almost every respect. They just want to charge you money for something you can do on your own for free. The Basics: Normally, you make twelve mortgage payments a year. Since there are fifty-two weeks in a year, a biweekly mortgage equals 26 half-payments a year. The equivalent would be making thirteen mortgage payments a year instead of twelve. By applying that extra payment directly to the loan balance as a principal reduction, your loan amortizes more quickly, requiring fewer payments. You save money. The ads are true. How it Actually Works: You cannot simply mail in half a payment every two weeks to your mortgage lender. Since they do not accept partial payments for legal and accounting reasons, the mortgage company would just mail your half-payment back to you. Instead, the biweekly mortgage company is an intermediary between you and your mortgage lender. They automatically debit your checking account every two weeks for half of your mortgage payment then place your funds into a trust account. Basically, this is just a holding account for your money. In another two weeks, there is another automatic deduction from your checking account, and so on. When your mortgage payment is due, your funds are withdrawn from the trust account and forwarded to your mortgage lender. Since you are placing funds into the trust account faster than your mortgage payments are due, you eventually accumulate enough money to make an extra payment. The way the cycle works, this occurs once a year. he extra payment is applied directly to your principal balance, which causes your loan to amortize faster, pay off more quickly and save you thousands of dollars. Potential Problems with the Trust Account Because your funds are held in the trust account until your mortgage payment is due, there are potential dangers. Not only are your funds held in this account, but so are the funds of everyone else enrolled in the biweekly program. That is a lot of money. Most likely, there will be no problems. However, if there are accounting errors, mismanagement, or even fraud, your mortgage payment might not get made. The first hint of a problem will probably be a phone call or letter from your mortgage lender, but not until after your payment is already late. Since responsibility for making the payment rests with you and not the biweekly payment company, you may find yourself digging into your personal savings to make the payment directly -- even though the biweekly payment company has already collected your funds. Later you can work out the trust account problem with your biweekly payment company. The Cost of the Biweekly Mortgage There is usually a set-up fee that runs between $195 and $350, depending on how much sales commission is paid to the individual or company setting up the account for you. You also pay a transaction fee each time there is an automatic deduction from your checking account and sometimes also when the payment is made to your mortgage lender. There may also be a periodic maintenance fee. Meanwhile, whoever controls the trust account is earning interest on your money. Savings of the Biweekly Mortgage By making principal reductions using the biweekly mortgage program, your mortgage will amortize more quickly, saving you money. How quickly your loan pays off depends on your interest rate and when you begin making the biweekly payments. On a $100,000 loan at an interest rate of eight percent, your first principal reduction would probably be a year from now. Assuming the principal reduction is equal to one monthly payment ($733.76), you would save $43,852 over the life of the loan and pay it off almost seven years early. However, you have to deduct from those savings any amounts you paid in set-up, transaction, and maintenance fees. No-Cost Alternatives to the Biweekly Mortgage Instead of hiring a company to manage your biweekly payment, you could accomplish essentially the same thing on your own for free. Just take your monthly payment, divide it by twelve, and add that amount to your monthly mortgage payment. Be sure to earmark it as a principal reduction. The first way you save is that you do not have to pay any fees to anyone. It’s free. In addition to not paying fees -- using the same example as above -- your total savings on the mortgage would be $45,904. Plus the loan would be paid off three months quicker than with the biweekly mortgage. The reason you save more is because you are making a principal reduction each month, instead of waiting for funds to accumulate so that you can make one principal reduction a year. Self-Discipline? The biweekly mortgage companies claim that homeowners are not disciplined enough to follow through with principal reduction plans on their own. They suggest the reason for setting up the biweekly mortgage enforces discipline upon you, and by doing so, they save you money. However, in this technologically advanced age, banking online and automatic deductions are readily available. You can set up your own automatic deductions including the additional principal reduction and have it go directly to your mortgage lender. Since the deduction occurs automatically, just like with the biweekly mortgages, self-discipline is not a problem. Once again, you don’t have to pay anyone to do it for you and you save even more money. Conclusion The biweekly mortgage plans do not really do anything except move your money around and charge you for it. Plus, even though the danger is negligible, you must trust someone else to hold your money for you. If you can do the very same thing for free, plus save yourself even more money by doing it on your own, why pay someone else? The biweekly mortgage plan - who needs it? If your goal is principal reduction and saving money, then it is a good plan. If you do it on your own instead of paying someone else to do it for you, then it is a great plan.

Title Insurance When Refinancing Your Loan

Lower interest rates have motivated you to refinance your home loan. The lower rate may save you a tremendous amount of money over the life of the loan, but you should also expect to pay the lender the typical closing costs associated with any new loan, including service fees, points, title insurance protection and other expenses. Why do I need to purchase a new title insurance policy on a refinanced loan? To the lender, a refinance loan is no different than any other home loan. So, your lender will want to insure that their new loan is protected by title insurance, just as the original lender required. Therefore, when you refinance you are buying a title policy to protect your lender. Why does a Lender need title insurance? Most lenders generate loans and then immediately sell those loans to secondary market investors, such as FannieMae. FannieMae, in order to protect its security interest in the loan, requires title insurance coverage. Even those lenders who keep original loans in their portfolio are wise to get a lenders policy to protect their investment against title related defects. When I purchased my home, didn’t I also buy a lender’s policy? Perhaps. Who pays for the lender’s policy on a purchase loan varies regionally and by the terms of individual contracts. However, even if you did buy a lender’s policy when you purchased your home, the lender’s policy remains in force only during the life of the loan that was insured. If you refinance, the old loan is paid off (the “life” of the loan expires) and a new loan is issued for which the lender will require a new title insurance policy. What about my original title insurance policy? When you bought your home, you purchased a Homeowners title policy. The Homeowners’ policy stays in force as long as you or your heirs own the home. When you refinance, your lender will often require that you purchase a new lender’s policy to protect their new security interest in the property. Thus, you are buying a policy to protect your lender, not a new Homeowner’s policy. What could possibly have happened since I purchased my home which warrants a new lender’s policy? Since the time that the original loan was made, you may have taken out a second trust deed on the house or had mechanic’s liens, child support liens or legal judgments recorded against you - events that could result in serious financial losses to an unprotected lender. Regardless if it has been only 6 months or less since you purchased or refinanced your home, a myriad of title defects could have occurred. While you may not have any title defects, many Homeowners do. The only way for a lender to adequately protect itself is to get a new lender’s policy each time you purchase or refinance your home. Are there any discounts available for title insurance on a refinance transaction? Yes. Title companies offer a refinance transaction discount or a short-term rate. Discounts may also be available if you use the same lender for your refinance loan and your original loan. Be sure to ask your title company how they can save you money. Article by CLTA