Debunking the 20 Percent Down Payment

September 20, 2016 by Thom Abbott

You’ve been on the fence about buying a home, right?

Maybe I should rent a bit longer?

My biggest challenge is saving that money for that HUGE 20% down payment I have to have…..

Wrong!!

Debunking the 20% Down Payment

According to a recent survey, 67% of home buyers plan on putting at least 20% down on their mortgage. But did you know, you more than likely don’t need a 20% down payment?? You may get a loan with as low as 3% (based on numerous factors)***

There ARE low down payment options available TODAY for you to purchase a home! And remember, these great interest rates will not be here forever, and when they start to tick up, they can quickly change your buying power and what the cost of your monthly payment will be.

If you have been thinking about buying, but afraid you don’t have the down payment….STOP!

The first thing to do is contact a member of our Lender Team!!! They can do a pre-approval for you and discuss your financing options. Of course, the type of home you are buying (condominium or single family) as well as your credit and your current debt will all play a factor in what type of loan you qualify for.

But why not find out your options FIRST? Then you will know if you are on the right track to buy your home, and there is a pretty good chance you won’t need 20% for a down payment.

***TD Bank conducted a survey focused on potential first time home buyers. Survey topics include how soon respondents are looking to purchase, where they would like to purchase, amenities they’re looking for, and how they will finance their home when the time comes. .

How Long Does It Take to Close on A House In Atlanta?

September 8, 2016 by Thom Abbott

How Long Does It Take to Close on a House in Atlanta?

When I’m working with both Buyers and Sellers, this is a Frequently Asked Question that comes up! And it’s a simple and complicated question to answer.

First off, the date you close on your home purchase (or sale if the Seller) is certainly negotiable as you present your offer. Maybe you need to move quickly because of a job transfer. Maybe the Seller has not found their new home yet and needs some extra time? See how either of those could impact how quickly you close?

One major factor in the closing process is if you are obtaining a mortgage to purchase the property. THEN, your lender can have much to say about the process. From the time you go “Under Contract” to closing, can happen in 30 days, but things need to fall in place at just the right time. A key part of this is having your loan pre-approved. Now, you will hear many descriptions of what a pre-approval really is, from both the real estate agent side, as well as the lender side. But ideally, what we are looking for is your loan officer has reviewed all the required documents (tax returns, bank statements, pay stubs, W-2’s, employment letter (if applicable) and has identified anything they feel could be a problem with your loan going through the underwriting process. This is not to say something still could not come up that an underwriter wants more information about.

Appraisal and Condominium Review (If Applicable)

Having this process mostly complete, then leaves the appraisal and potentially a condominium review. The appraisal is the process of the lender having the value of the property determined to make sure the value meets (or exceeds) the contract price. Issues can arise here, and we will talk about those in another post! A condominium review is when the lender submits a questionnaire to the home owners association to learn more about the community. Things like number of rentals, or delinquent hoa fees are looked at to make sure the association is a healthy one.

If you are a cash buyer, these two steps may be by-passed, at your discretion, or guidance from your real estate agent.

Another factor with a mortgage is the new required disclosures and timelines from the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure. (Warning, that link may be more information that you want to read…but it tells you all the rules!!) These new rules require that the Buyer have the Closing Disclosure 3 days before the closing date. Any delays in the closing process mentioned above, and the closing date is going to get moved.

Based on these factors, it’s still not unreasonable to do a 30-day closing, but we are finding that our lender partners are much happier with 45 days to get the process completed.

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Thomas Ramon Realty can assist buyers in all forms of Atlanta relocation needs including new construction houses, condos, townhouses, for sale by owner homes, residential lots, townhomes, lofts, and new homes in various subdivisions across the Atlanta Metro region. If you are interested in foreclosure homes including, short sales (not found to often anymore), REO properties, bank owned properties and other types of foreclosure properties, then we can assist you. If you’re searching for an Atlanta home, then we invite you to search any community and view the listings on our site. And if you’re searching for condos or townhomes for sale in the Atlanta area, feel free to browse our updated listings of Atlanta condos, townhouses, townhomes, lofts on our site.

Are You an Unconventional Borrower?

August 29, 2016 by Thom Abbott

Are You An Unconventional Borrower?

East West Bank Vinings — Now YOU Can Own a Home!

WHAT is an Unconventional Borrower you ask? Well, believe it or not, there are many of us out there!

Some of the home buyers that fall in this description might be:

Self- employed or independent contractors (such as real estate agents of if you are a 1099 employee.
Small business owners
Individuals with irregular income (contract consultant)
Immigrants with limited credit and job history

If you might fit in one of these categories, and thought you could NEVER buy, then we have found a lender that can help you!!

Now, I’ll first off say, that you need to have some serious “skin in the game” in the form of 40% for a down payment. Yeah, that’s alot. But, it’s better than 100% of the purchase price, right?

The Bridge to Home Loan Program with East West Bank is an opportunity to help those that might not otherwise be able to get a loan to purchase a home or condominium. Imagine if you were a couple, and one of you was not a U.S. Citizen, but you wanted to purchase a home. And your significant other (from the other country) has good income or assets in this other country. Well, a traditional mortgage will not consider anything from the other country….so your ability to purchase would be based solely on YOUR income and debt!

So now, not only can we help you FIND the home you are looking for, we have a lender to help you with the financing! Keep in mind, this program will take longer to clear the underwriting process, and if a condominium, the community will have to be approved by the lender. (A traditional lender will have most likely done a loan in that condo building and already be familiar with it.) What this means, is we will have to work with the Seller and Seller’s agent to get a longer escrow (Under Contract) period as well as a longer financing contingency. All because of the unique nature of you, the Buyer, we need to have more time to finish the process.

Contact us and we can arrange a meeting with the lender in person, if you are here in the Metro Atlanta area. They can make arrangements if you are not here, but most likely they will need to meet with you in person at some point. This might even be possible through a Skype call!

You can also contact St. Lawrence Campbell at East West Bank. His information is below!

Let’s get ready to find you a home in Atlanta!

Smile You’re on a Nanny Cam!

June 2, 2016 by Thom Abbott

Smile You’re on a Nanny Cam!

When showing a home or condo to a prospective Buyer, I never want the Seller to be in the home. I too, understand if you have expensive art work and such, that you may want your listing agent there during a showing. (That too, can be a challenge) If that is the case, I always caution my Buyers not to get excited, or show much emotion about the home, as it truly CAN affect our negotiation position later if we make an offer on the home.

But, do you really know if you are all alone in the home? Hmmm….with the technology at hand and available today, that one book on the bookshelf could infact be recording our conversation. And most likely, perfectly legal. Afterall, you are in THEIR home!

So, if you are inclined to trash someone’s choice of decor, or express “this is it…we HAVE to have this house” while touring a home or condo, it just might all be on a recording!

Here’s a great article from Realtor.com that talks about this very possibility!

Buyers Beware: You May be Under Surveillance!

Real Estate FAQ’s | How Many Parking Spaces Will I Have?

May 18, 2016 by Thom Abbott

A question I’m often asked by condominium buyers is How Many Parking Spaces Will I Have?

It has been a “standard” and a building code in the Atlanta Condo Market to have one parking space per bedroom. In other words, buy a 1-bedroom condo, get 1 parking space. Buy a 2-bedroom, get TWO parking spaces. Needless to say, for a couple, this could be a problem.

If you purchase a 1-bedroom and you BOTH have cars, you will need to look for an additional parking space. Where? Here are some options:

Other Condo Owners — There may be an owner of a 2-bedroom that only has one car. They might be willing to rent out their other parking space on a monthly basis. Check with the HOA Property Manager, or if the building has a website, or bulletin board where such information can be found.
Purchase an Additional Space — Some new construction condominiums will offer extra parking spaces For Sale during the early sales period. This may, or may not be a wise investment. You should not expect to ever get back what you pay for an extra parking space. I purchased one for $15,000 in 2007 when I bought my condo. I sold it in 2010 for $5,000. OUCH! But, if there is someone in the building that purchased like I did, and then wants to sell, this can be a great (and as my experience will tell you, cheap) way to get another parking space.
Lease a space off-site — Depending on where your condo building is located, there may be surface parking lots, or even parking garages where spaces could be leased. There is some serious lost revenue opportunities in Midtown Atlanta for the renting of parking spaces. Here is a photo that includes the top floor of the AT&T Parking garage on 5th and West Peachtree Streets. I’ve only ONCE ever seen a car on that top floor. There has to be a few thousand dollars in lost revenue there!

When purchasing an Intown Atlanta Real Estate condominium, always be sure to ask How Many Parking Spaces Will I Have?

What Are These “Energy Ratings” on Real Estate Listings?

April 22, 2016 by Thom Abbott

Tomorrow is Earth Day! (Click HERE to learn about Earth Day!)

What Are These “Energy Ratings” on Real Estate Listings?

And there is no better time then when we talk about our planet, to also talk about energy, and efficiency when buying a home or condo. You often hear these terms, “LEED Certified” or on a listing you see a “HERS rating.” And then there is “Energy Star.”

What do they all mean?

HERS Index

The Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index is the industry standard by which a home’s energy efficiency is measured. It’s also the nationally recognized system for inspecting and calculating a home’s energy performance.

The HERS Index measures how efficient a home’s energy usage is. There are a lot of great reasons to have a home energy rating performed on your house.

It can tell you so much about the home you are going to purchase, like how efficiently it’s operating and where you can make modifications for greater energy savings. When you’re selling your home, a low HERS Index Score can command a higher resale price. And when you’re buying a home you can anticipate the costs of energy bills and efficiency upgrades.

How does the HERS Index work?

A certified Home Energy Rater assesses the energy efficiency of a home, assigning it a relative performance score. The lower the number, the more energy efficient the home.

The U.S. Department of Energy has determined that a typical resale home scores 130 on the HERS Index while a standard new home is awarded a rating of 100.

A home with a HERS Index Score of 70 is 30% more energy efficient than a standard new home
A home with a HERS Index Score of 130 is 30% less energy efficient than a standard new home

For more information, visit the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) website.

LEED

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a program managed by the US Green Building Council. It is more frequently used in the commercial office environment, but it can also be applicable to residential real estate.

LEED works for all buildings—from homes to corporate headquarters—at all phases of development. Projects pursuing LEED certification earn points across several areas that address sustainability issues. Based on the number of points achieved, a project then receives one of four LEED rating levels: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.

To learn more about LEED for residential construction, visit the LEED for HOMES page of U.S. Green Building Council.

ENERGY STAR

Created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), ENERGY STAR is a voluntary program that helps businesses and individuals save money and protect our climate through superior energy efficiency.

Energy Star covers items like sealing and insulating, heating and cooling, as well as products like home appliances, electronics and lighting.

For more information about Energy Star ratings or your home, visit the Energy Star website.

Many of the above ratings may have been accomplished when the home, or condominium building was built. Others, you can change later, such as HVAC or home appliances.

If any of these certifications are important to you in your home search, we encourage you to look at these websites and learn more information about the areas you have a focus on!

Happy Earth Day!

Wrong!!

Debunking the 20% Down Payment

Appraisal and Condominium Review (If Applicable)

Are You An Unconventional Borrower?

Smile You’re on a Nanny Cam!

What Are These “Energy Ratings” on Real Estate Listings?

HERS Index

LEED

ENERGY STAR

HomeSmart