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Market Update- May 2012
The real estate market in Grand Rapids has exploded over the last few months. New listings are down by 7% year-to-date, while closed sales are up by 17%. The future looks even brighter if you look at the statistics for May. May 2012 sales were up by 34.7% compared to May 2011. With less homes for sale and more people buying, we are sitting at a measly ...
How to be a Successful Home Buyer:
It’s only May and 2012 is looking like the rebound year for the real estate market. Many homebuyers sitting on the sidelines are diving into the market, often with fistfuls of cash from 3-5 years of hard saving. Pockets of strong demand are showing up, with buyers seeing intense competition and fighting over the current tight inventory with ...
Grand Rapids Real Estate Market 2012- This Year's Winner and Instigator of "March Madness"
Originally posted on March 15, 2012 by Kevin Polakovich of Treadstone Mortgage
If you live in or around the Grand Rapids or West Michigan area (or in any state that is unseasonably warm) you may have noticed that something feels different. Some would say its the unseasonably beautiful 80 degree ...
MCC Tax Credit (Mortgage Credit Certificates) Helping to Make Mortgages More Affordable
Mortgage Credit Certificates allow you an itemized tax deduction of 20% of your mortgage interest for that year. This program is only available for a new mortgage on a home that will be a person's primary residence. It is designed to relieve the mortgage burden on lower to moderate income households. ...
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What Exactly is an Escrow Payment?
Have you ever studied your house payment? Does it ever seem like a math problem that simply doesn’t add up? Here is a little lesson to explain those unexplained variables.
Your mortgage payment can allocate payment to several areas. Of course your payment’s primary function is to pay the principal and interest on your mortgage. However, ...
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Here are some interesting statistics I found at realtor.org:
50% of people who went through foreclosure did NOT talk to their lender, and they did NOT know that they had options.
The 30 year fixed mortgage rate went from 4.5% in Nov 2010 to 5.15% in Feb 2011.
Lately, cash buyers have accounted for about 29% of transactions.
2004- 90% of home loans were conventional, while 7% were FHA. 2009- ...
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Can You Save Money by Appealing Your Property Taxes?
Your annual property tax is based on your taxable value. First, figure out the market value of your home. Zillow.com and trulia.com are great resources, or you can contact me and I can send you info on recently sold properties in your neighborhood. Take the approximate market value and divide that by half. If this number is less than your taxable ...
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Fixed Rate- A loan with a fixed rate simply means the interest rate does not change over the life of the loan. Most people prefer this loan type because the payment amount will not change much, making this loan the most predictable.
Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM)- This type of loan usually start with a really low rate. After a certain amount of time, the interest ...