No More Downpayment Help from Sellers

The new housing rescue  bill President Bush is expected to sign this week will really change things for buyers needing help with their down-payment.  Currently, there are FHA loan programs out there that allow the seller to contribute to the buyers down-payment (providing instant equity for buyers, and less out of pocket costs for buyers).  That ends October 1st, 2008.  All loans approved after that date CANNOT have the seller pay for the down-payment that is required for an FHA loan (currently 3% of a sales price).  This bill will also adjust the minimum FHA down-payment requirement from 3% to 3.5% which means you’ll need to have more money saved up if you are interested in buying a home.  There are many other details to this bill but these two features will effect many potential homebuyers.  Personally, three of my recent clients have used programs such as Ameridream, Genesis, Nehemiah that allow for the seller to pay the buyers down-payment. If you are considering buying property, and were interested in some type of zero down loan program where the seller would help with your down-payment then you must hurry and get pre-qualified for a mortgage loan NOW and start shopping for property.  Please feel welcome to post comments or questions. – Becky Wyatt

Mortgage Interest Rates Up

By Holden Lewis at www.bankrate.com

Mortgage rates took a big jump this week, to their highest point in a year. There’s no single explanation for the rise.

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 35 basis points, to 6.77 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. The mortgages in this week’s survey had an average total of 0.45 discount and origination points. One year ago, the mortgage index was almost the same, at 6.75 percent. Four weeks ago, it was 6.62 percent.

The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 37 basis points, to 6.32 percent. The benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage rose 43 basis points, to 6.48 percent. The 30-year fixed jumbo, for big mortgages, rose 4 basis points, to 7.68 percent.

The last time the 30-year fixed was higher was the week of July 18, 2007, when it was 6.82 percent. Six weeks after that, the 30-year fixed was below 6.5 percent. Circumstances are different now, and there’s no guarantee that we’ll see a repeat of an August rate swoon.

Just Sold in 16 days!

JUST SOLD IN SCOTTSDALE 6/27/2008.

After only 16 days on the market, I brought my selling clients TWO offers, and got their house sold for 96% of their asking price! I want to earn your business too! Ask me what I do differently than most real estate agents! Becky@BeckyWyattOnline.com 480-383-9209.

More Tips for the Frustrated Seller

4. HIRE A TOP REAL-ESTATE AGENT.

Get the best, most aggressive selling (listing) agent you can find.

When everything was selling before it even hit the market, of course, you didn’t need the best. You just needed the cheapest. But not these days.Fortunately, in this market, real-estate brokers are even more anxious than you. They’re eager to get whatever work they can, so don’t rely on your cousin with the real-estate license or your best friend’s wife.

Ask, instead, for the local real-estate office’s top salesperson. All offices have one or two sellers who greatly outperform their colleagues. That’s who you want.

Interview various agents and insist that they present you with a well-conceived marketing plan that goes way beyond the usual Internet page, one or two open houses and a yard sign. (Think about using a professional photographer for multiple shots on the primary Web listing, your house as the featured “home of the week” in the local newspaper, a decorating segment on a morning chat show, a stop on the local garden club’s spring tour.)

Sellers of higher-end properties should be able to negotiate a lower commission percentage, but this is no time to quibble over a couple of percentage points. Also, offer the agent a big bonus if he or she sells the house in 30 days or at your asking price. Offer other agents bonuses if they bring in the ultimate buyer.

5. PROMOTE. PROMOTE. PROMOTE.

Don’t rely on the agent to do all the work. The agent should pay the usual marketing costs, but you should be prepared to pony up for extras, especially if you insist on more expensive or untraditional promotions.

Dear Frustrated Seller,

So what’s a home seller to do? What does it take to sell a house today?

If your job or life circumstances leave you no alternative other than to sell in this market, you must be prepared to go well beyond the usual feints and gimmicks if you want to get potential buyers in the front door and, ultimately, to the closing table. By all means, feng shui the living room, bury a statue of St. Joseph in the front yard and bake brownies before the open house.

But if you really want to sell the place, you need to think and act like a salesperson. Most important, you must separate your emotional attachment to your family home from your financial interest in your family’s largest asset. Selling a house is business, and you must approach the sale in a businesslike manner.

Here are seven points to keep in mind:

1. DON’T WAIT AROUND.

Even in the better housing areas, it’s taking a long time to sell houses; and in the hardest-hit metro areas, inventories of unsold homes are stretching well past 180 days.

So, don’t try to sit out the market. That’s what hundreds of other timid sellers are doing, each of them hoping — somehow, some way — that hanging on the sidelines will improve prices and, ultimately improve his or her chances for selling success. It won’t. Not if you expect to sell anytime soon. If you want your place sold, the best way to make sure that happens is to put it up for sale.

Obviously, you should take advantage of your local market cycles — early spring is usually better for selling in much of the country — but otherwise don’t try timing the market. You won’t have any better luck than a stock trader who’s always holding out for the market highs or lows.

2. FIX IT UP AND CLEAN IT UP.

Buyers are taking your house out on a date. It has to make a good impression.

Don’t spend a lot of money — absolutely no big-ticket renovations — but do see that everything is in good repair. And give the place a new paint job and a general sprucing up. (Caution: This won’t necessarily give you any pricing advantage over less fixed-up places, but it will attract buyers and keep them interested.)

East Valley 4th of July Events

From www.azcentral.com

East Valley

CBS5 July Fourth Tempe Town Lake Festival: 4-11 p.m. July 4. Seven hours of live music, inflatable village for all ages, and fireworks. Tempe Town Lake, Rio Salado Parkway and Mill Avenue, Tempe. $6; age 12 and younger are free. 480-350-8625. www.tempe4th.com. |

Hot Dog Theme Day: 1-3 p.m. July 4. Get a free hot dog to celebrate Independence Day. Kiwanis Park Wave Pool, 6111 S. All-America Way, Tempe. $6; $3 for age 2-12. 480-350-5740. www.tempe.gov/kiwanis. |

Mesa’s Fourth of July Celebration: 6 p.m. July 4. Entertainment and kiddie rides ending with fireworks at 9 p.m. Also offers food and drink for purchase. No bags, backpacks, coolers, fanny-packs or alcoholic beverages. Mesa Community College, 1833 W. Southern Ave., Mesa. $5 for parking and admission; $1 for admission if not parking on campus. 480-461-7000. www.mc.maricopa.edu. |

Independence Day Celebration and Fireworks Spectacular: 4 p.m. July 4. In addition to fireworks at 9:30 p.m., the event features live music, a kids carnival and a bike parade. Activities include a 35-foot waterslide, 24-foot rock-climbing wall, a dunk tank and water games. Tumbleweed Park, 2250 S. McQueen Road, Chandler. Free. 480-782-2735. www.chandleraz.gov. |