Well, it's finally happened!!! Rates below 6%. Now let's hope it stays there for some amount of time......if so we could see what was needed...a gradual increase again in the real estate market. We talked about the basic numbers on this at www.InvestSmarter.com where we know based on figures, we are looking for the minimum monthly payment people can pay, so this helps. The Panama City Condo market will continue to remain strong and the article below does help us some on what we are needing in this ever changing real estate market:
Daily Real Estate News September 12, 2008Mortgage Rates Drop Below 6% For the first time since early spring, mortgage rates have fallen below the 6-percent threshold. Freddie Mac reports that 30-year fixed loans came in at an average of 5.93 percent this week, down from 6.35 percent a week ago and 6.31 percent at the same time last year. A borrower taking out a $200,000 mortgage at 5.93 percent would pay $1,190 for monthly principal and interest payments, which is $54 less than the payments on last week's rate. "Consumers see a five in front of mortgages, and they get excited," says Keith Gumbinger, a vice president at research firm HSH Associates. Source: The Washington Post, Dina ElBoghdady (09/12/08)
There is help out there. The key is taking what you can pay, subtracting the association fees, the taxes, and content insurance and seeing what's remaining. From that you know what you can afford to borrow. The Panama City Condo market is like any other business transaction....the only difference is there is the occasional benefit of renting the unit out to offset that income. Just make sure that you can handle the down turn in the market if there is one and no renters coming in. Try to base it on what you can afford and then the rest is just extra!!
For more real estate in the Panama City Condo market or even the Destin Condo market, please visit www.RandBCoastalRealEstate.com today!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Is Financing Going to Get any Easier?
It seems like we have more and more obstacles these days. The Panama City Condo market is showing some great potential and when you really look at the bottom line the issue is now turning to lenders not wanting to loan money. We had a unit on Panama City Beach go under contract, the buyer was putting down 30% and guess what......3 lenders before we got approval!
It's not just here though. It's all across the country!!! Read more below:
Getting a Mortgage Tougher for Buyers
Difficulty in landing a mortgage is keeping many buyers out of the market.At the peak of the housing boom, about 20 percent of the mortgage market was subprime, and nearly 20 percent was "Alt-A loans” or "A-minus" loans, typically offered those with good credit but with high debt-to-loan ratios or little or no proof of income. Both categories are now nearly extinct. That means about 40 percent of the residential mortgage market has all but disappeared, according to David Olson of Wholesale Access Mortgage Research and Consulting."The underwriting has really tightened up," Olson says, "Before, if you could fog a mirror, you got a loan. Now, that's not the case."Nationwide, practitioners say they are encountering more potential buyers who can’t get financing. "Buyers come in with confidence, and once they have talked with a lending practitioner, it's like they've been hit over the head with a ton of bricks," says Dean Moss, an agent at Keller Williams Fox and Associates Realty in Chicago.A study conducted using data from a Reno, Nev., multiple listing service, found that about 30 percent of sales haven’t closed after 90 days. Practitioner Guy Johnson, who analyzed the data, suggests that buyers stay on top of their loans, checking in with their lender frequently to make sure the loan for which they’ve been approved is still the same. "A loan commitment letter," he adds, "isn't really as solid as it once was."Source: USA Today, Anna Bahney (08/05/2008)
Tune in today to www.RandBCoastalRealEstate.com and www.InvestSmarter.com to watch trends and provide feedback on these and other wonderful areas include Destin, Fort Walton Beach, and Pensacola.
It's not just here though. It's all across the country!!! Read more below:
Getting a Mortgage Tougher for Buyers
Difficulty in landing a mortgage is keeping many buyers out of the market.At the peak of the housing boom, about 20 percent of the mortgage market was subprime, and nearly 20 percent was "Alt-A loans” or "A-minus" loans, typically offered those with good credit but with high debt-to-loan ratios or little or no proof of income. Both categories are now nearly extinct. That means about 40 percent of the residential mortgage market has all but disappeared, according to David Olson of Wholesale Access Mortgage Research and Consulting."The underwriting has really tightened up," Olson says, "Before, if you could fog a mirror, you got a loan. Now, that's not the case."Nationwide, practitioners say they are encountering more potential buyers who can’t get financing. "Buyers come in with confidence, and once they have talked with a lending practitioner, it's like they've been hit over the head with a ton of bricks," says Dean Moss, an agent at Keller Williams Fox and Associates Realty in Chicago.A study conducted using data from a Reno, Nev., multiple listing service, found that about 30 percent of sales haven’t closed after 90 days. Practitioner Guy Johnson, who analyzed the data, suggests that buyers stay on top of their loans, checking in with their lender frequently to make sure the loan for which they’ve been approved is still the same. "A loan commitment letter," he adds, "isn't really as solid as it once was."Source: USA Today, Anna Bahney (08/05/2008)
Tune in today to www.RandBCoastalRealEstate.com and www.InvestSmarter.com to watch trends and provide feedback on these and other wonderful areas include Destin, Fort Walton Beach, and Pensacola.
Friday, July 4, 2008
REO Properties...Where is the Bottom?
Time and time again we have focused InvestSmarter around discussing what Real Estate is supposed to be about!!! And now people are beginning to listen. If it doesn't cover the note, don't buy it!!! The point of real estate is building a positive cash flow and yes it can be done!! Well some in the REO market are getting back into the swing of things. Only problem is now many people can't afford to even rent these homes. We recently discussed a property on www.InvestSmarter.com and even at a purchase price, the numbers don't make sense. We have to get way down in the dirt and get these things cashflowing. The article below is talking about the bottom...again what is the bottom? Everyone's bottom is different right?
Right! The banks have a bottomless bottom! Just depends on what they want to loose on the deal. That being said, we can make the math work on the deal, it's just a matter of getting to that point. We discuss this at www.Panama-City-Beach-Florida-Real-Estate.com and the information and potential market is incredible!
Bargain Hunters Have Field Day With REOs Banks that are flooded with foreclosures are dumping them onto the market and bargain hunters are having a field day, and some observers are saying prices won’t go any lower.Mark Partipilo, a Las Vegas real estate investor, isn’t alone in concluding: "In this market, there are so many REOs that the banks are getting their clocks cleaned. This might not be the bottom, but waiting six months might be too late."Banks might be reluctant to sell cheap, but most are agreeing. "Banks that are not in Disneyland recognize that these sales are the reality today," says Denny Grimes, a practitioner and owner of Danny Grimes Co. in Ft. Myers, Florida."Markets where a large share of homes are heavily discounted because of REO sales, they may be seeing a bottom," says Cynthia Kroll, an economist and real estate market scholar at the University of California, Berkeley.Source: Reuters News, Patrick Rucker (07/02/2008)
So we must look at every deal as a different one. The condo market is no different. This isn't a get rich quick deal folks. One of the major factors that ruined the Real Estate market was flipping property. Everyone passed on their "profit" to the next buyer and rolled their "profit" into the next piece of property....artificially inflating the market. The condos didn't help much. Put 10k down and make 400k! Sounds to good to be true...it wasn't at first, but if you got left holding the hot potato....guess what!
Look today at www.Panama-City-Beach-Florida-Condominiums.com and you can see what is available. These are now getting a little bit better. Problem is the management!!! Yeap, you guessed it! The fees will kill you. That is why we have started our own rental arrangement. For more information contact us directly at the site above for more information.
Right! The banks have a bottomless bottom! Just depends on what they want to loose on the deal. That being said, we can make the math work on the deal, it's just a matter of getting to that point. We discuss this at www.Panama-City-Beach-Florida-Real-Estate.com and the information and potential market is incredible!
Bargain Hunters Have Field Day With REOs Banks that are flooded with foreclosures are dumping them onto the market and bargain hunters are having a field day, and some observers are saying prices won’t go any lower.Mark Partipilo, a Las Vegas real estate investor, isn’t alone in concluding: "In this market, there are so many REOs that the banks are getting their clocks cleaned. This might not be the bottom, but waiting six months might be too late."Banks might be reluctant to sell cheap, but most are agreeing. "Banks that are not in Disneyland recognize that these sales are the reality today," says Denny Grimes, a practitioner and owner of Danny Grimes Co. in Ft. Myers, Florida."Markets where a large share of homes are heavily discounted because of REO sales, they may be seeing a bottom," says Cynthia Kroll, an economist and real estate market scholar at the University of California, Berkeley.Source: Reuters News, Patrick Rucker (07/02/2008)
So we must look at every deal as a different one. The condo market is no different. This isn't a get rich quick deal folks. One of the major factors that ruined the Real Estate market was flipping property. Everyone passed on their "profit" to the next buyer and rolled their "profit" into the next piece of property....artificially inflating the market. The condos didn't help much. Put 10k down and make 400k! Sounds to good to be true...it wasn't at first, but if you got left holding the hot potato....guess what!
Look today at www.Panama-City-Beach-Florida-Condominiums.com and you can see what is available. These are now getting a little bit better. Problem is the management!!! Yeap, you guessed it! The fees will kill you. That is why we have started our own rental arrangement. For more information contact us directly at the site above for more information.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Risk vs Benefit in Lending
Well FICO score used to tell it all to us...we knew where we were, knew what our payment history had been and now even credit cards are getting harder and harder to get! What to do now? Who really knows when it comes right down to it? Here is an interesting article talking more about what else is to play when it comes to credit. You can read more online at www.InvestSmarter.com also:
Daily Real Estate News June 23, 2008
Going Beyond the Credit Score
Fair Isaac Corp. and the credit bureaus have rolled out numerous products to provide lenders and investors with alternatives to the FICO score in assessing borrowers' default risk. The Credit Capacity Index from Fair Isaac gauges how well borrowers manage incremental debt, while Trend Data from TransUnion gauges the performance of loan portfolios when specific variables and regional economic indicators are factored in. Steps also are being taken to improve the tools available to mortgage lenders to assess default risk, with industry experts pointing out that FICO scores were inadequate on their own because credit bureaus receive mortgage data without knowing the type of loan and are not given access to copious amounts of data on the performance of loans held in lenders' portfolios. National Bank of Kansas, for instance, is going beyond the FICO score, also using a fraud score, risk profile, appraisal review and an expanded team of risk managers and underwriters to reduce default risk. Source: American Banker, Kate Berry (06/18/08)
So what do we really have to look for? WHat is the new standard if you will? For more information on what's available for sale in the Panama City Beach and Panama City Condo market please visit us online at www.panama-city-beach-florida-condominiums.com and see what awaits you in this little piece of luxury!
Daily Real Estate News June 23, 2008
Going Beyond the Credit Score
Fair Isaac Corp. and the credit bureaus have rolled out numerous products to provide lenders and investors with alternatives to the FICO score in assessing borrowers' default risk. The Credit Capacity Index from Fair Isaac gauges how well borrowers manage incremental debt, while Trend Data from TransUnion gauges the performance of loan portfolios when specific variables and regional economic indicators are factored in. Steps also are being taken to improve the tools available to mortgage lenders to assess default risk, with industry experts pointing out that FICO scores were inadequate on their own because credit bureaus receive mortgage data without knowing the type of loan and are not given access to copious amounts of data on the performance of loans held in lenders' portfolios. National Bank of Kansas, for instance, is going beyond the FICO score, also using a fraud score, risk profile, appraisal review and an expanded team of risk managers and underwriters to reduce default risk. Source: American Banker, Kate Berry (06/18/08)
So what do we really have to look for? WHat is the new standard if you will? For more information on what's available for sale in the Panama City Beach and Panama City Condo market please visit us online at www.panama-city-beach-florida-condominiums.com and see what awaits you in this little piece of luxury!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Panama City Condo Blog Launch and Developer Remorse Info
The Panama City Condo market like many others is in a very interesting position right now. Occupancy on units closing in the last 6 monthes is probably close to 50% or less. Some buildings are all but vacant. This poses an interesting plan for a buyer and a very negative position for a seller if that is occuring in your building. A few developers here in the Panama City Condo market are seeing problems. Shores of Panama is one example, followed closely but more severly by Lake Town Wharf. Both of these projects were taken back and now bank owned. Shores of Panama Sold the majority of their units while it is rumored that Lake Town did not fair quite so well. The Baltimore Sun just recently published the article below and it is rather interesting and provides some national input into this market:
Daily Real Estate News May 30, 2008
Condo Developers Battle Buyer Remorse
Buyers who renege on a contract to buy a condominium are a growing concern to developers."There's a fine line a developer has to walk to get these unsold units off the market," says William Rich, a vice president of Delta Associates and director of the firm's condominium practice.Rich says builders in the Baltimore-Washington region have taken steps ranging from converting for-sale projects into rentals to offering buyer incentives. But they avoid lowering prices because it upsets buyers under contract at higher prices, he says.
Some builders are forgoing preconstruction sales altogether. Instead, they wait until the project is complete to set prices. Rich says that might make sense. "If a building is already up, it doesn't give buyers months to think about canceling a contract," he says. "These contracts are more likely to go to closing.”The Ritz Carlton, which is building its first-ever all-condo complex in Baltimore, says its potential customers are too well-heeled to worry about the economy, but "If we have certain situations that are challenges, we would work with individuals on a case by case" basis,” says Gabe Pasquale, director of sales for RexCorp Realty, which has joined Ritz developer Midtown Equities LLC to form RexMidtown LLC.Source: The Baltimore Sun, Lorraine Mirabella (05/29/08)
Now the interesting point of building then selling is the fact that you better have a big bank roll! Most of the developers in this Panama City area have needed the presales to get financing from the bank. However, from a long term capital standpoint they have a great idea here. It will be interesting to see what happens in the future for Panama City Condo projects. But until then, the major benefit is that as developers take back units you can prepare yourself to make a plunge and save at least 10% off the ORIGINAL contract position. But have cash or be in good standing with a lender. Even with Panama City Condo purchases, banks are tight these days also but the right combination of a mortage lender and Real Estate Broker put you in the best postion when negiotiating a Panama City Condo.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)