Statistics show that more than 27 million veterans and service personnel are eligible for VA financing, yet many aren't aware it may be possible. 

The VA does not actually lend the money to you directly.  They offer a guaranty to a lender that should you default on the loan, they will pay the lender a percentage of the loan balance.  The word "guaranty" does not actually guarantee the veteran will qualify for a VA home loan.

The primary benefits of a VA Mortgage are:

• 100% Financing
• No monthly private mortgage insurance is required
• There is a limitation on buyers' closing costs
• The loan is assumable, subject to VA approval of the assumer's credit
• 30 Year fixed loan
• Seller can pay up to 4% of the veterans closing costs and even pay down the buyers debt to help lower debt-to-income ratio
• Interest rates are similar to FHA rates
• You don't need perfect credit

Other things to know about VA loans:

• VA loan benefit does not extend to a veteran's children
• A surviving spouse is eligible for the deceased spouse's benefit if the surviving spouse has not remarried and if the eligible veteran died during active duty service or as a result of a service-related disability
• Approval for VA loans is typically the same as conventional mortgages, depending the the workload of the lender

The measure also allows the Legislature to prohibit assessment increases when property values fall.

This legislation was a tough sell in a tight budget year, but lawmakers agreed that tax incentives for first-time buyers, investors and businesses/employers could speed Florida's economic recovery. 

• More Jobs
• Rising Stock Market Wealth
• Rising Apartment Rents
• Continuing high affordability conditions
• Home value at historically justifiable levels
• Investors looking to hedge against infaltion
• Foreigner buying U.S. homes on the cheap

Other potential contributing factors, although they are not happening yet, are huge bank profits which will translate into more desire to lend.  This may well result in a reduction to market friction as lenders' short sale aproval processes improve and appraisals become less of an issue.

If existing home sales either  hold at the 5.1 million first quarter rate or improve on that, then the annual sales tally will easily exceed the 4.9 million home sales we saw last year.

The current market value of your property, the balance on your mortgage(s), your current income, and your credit rating are all factors that come into play when you are considering a short sale. Perhaps the most pivotal factors are the current value and marketability of your home.

Here are some of the documents that will be needed from the seller to begin the short sale process:

• Contract
• HUD-1/Settlement Statement
• Letter of Authorization
• Hardship Letter
• Two Years of Tax Returns or IRS Form 4506
• Financial Statement
• Two Months of pay stubs
• Bank Statements
• Listing Agreement

The Great Homes Group prides itself in being on the cutting edge in our success rate in closing short sales.  If you are considering a short sale of your property, give us a call.  We would love to speak with you.

Why is pricing so important?  First of all, the amount of traffic you typically receive during the first week on the market is about five times what you will receive in the following weeks. The interest and traffic usually decreases as time on the market increases. If you are one of those buyers that thinks you can always lower the price later, think again.  Lowering the price after being on the market a while tends to say that your property was overpriced and still may be. 

On the other hand, setting the price too low to begin with can also decrease the number of potential buyers.  Some buyers tend to look in specific price ranges.  Set your price too low and some buyers will not even take a look at your property as they assume the property will not meet their needs.

How do you set the asking price?

1.  Neighborhood sale prices:  Recently closed sales in your immediate neighborhood will predict the sale price of your property.  Also take into consideration the price of properties in your area that are still on the market.  These homes will be your competition. 

2.  Condition of your property:  If your property is more well maintained than others, is more up to date and/or shows better, it will sell faster and for a higher price.  An upate as simple as a paint job with current paint colors can effect the saleability. Updated kitchens and baths are another item that is especially attractive to potential buyers. 

3.  Appraisal:  Consider obtaining an appraisal before listing your property for sale.

Ready to sell?  Call us today for a free market analysis of your property!

So you've had a few problems getting the bills paid lately, and you're wondering what you can do to repair the damage to your credit.  You've got plenty of company. There are more than 43 million people in the United States with credit blemishes severe enough to make obtaining loans and credit cards with reasonable terms difficult.  Or maybe your credit is OK, but you'd like to make it better. After all, the better your credit, the less you pay in interest and, typically, for insurance.

To improve your credit scores, it's important to know where you stand now. You can get free credit reports once a year, but you typically have to pay to see your FICO scores. (You can get other credit scores for free at sites but these aren't typically the scores lenders use.)

If your scores are above 760, you're probably already getting the best rates. If they're anywhere below that mark, though, they could stand some improvement.

So here are nine steps you can take to speedy credit repair:

1. Get a credit card if you don't have one

Don't fall for the myth that you have to carry a balance to have good scores. You don't, and you shouldn't. But having and using a credit card or two can really build your scores. If you can't qualify for a regular credit card, consider a secured credit card, where the issuing bank gives you a credit line equal to the deposit you make. Look for a card that reports to all three credit bureaus. 

2. Add an installment loan to the mix

You'll get the fastest improvement in your scores if you show you're responsible with both major kinds of credit: revolving (credit cards) and installment (personal loans, auto, mortgages and student loans).

If you don't already have an installment loan on your credit reports, consider adding a small personal loan that you can pay back over time. Again, you'll want the loan to be reported to all three bureaus, and you'll probably get the best deal from a community bank or credit union.

3. Pay down your credit cards

Paying off your installment loans (mortgage, auto, student, etc.) can help your scores but typically not as dramatically as paying down -- or paying off -- revolving accounts such as credit cards. Lenders like to see a big gap between the amount of credit you're using and your available credit limits. Getting your balances below 30% of the credit limit on each card can really help; getting balances below 10% is even better.

Though most debt gurus recommend paying off the highest-rate card first, a better strategy here is to pay down the cards that are closest to their limits.

4. Use your cards lightly

Racking up big balances can hurt your scores, regardless of whether you pay your bills in full each month. What's typically reported to the credit bureaus, and thus calculated into your scores, are the balances reported on your last statements. You often can increase your scores by limiting your charges to 30% or less of a card's limit; 10% is even better. If you're having trouble keeping track, you can set up e-mail or text alerts with your credit card companies to let you know when you're approaching a limit you've set. If you regularly use more than half your limit on a card, consider using other cards to ease the load or try making a payment before the statement closing date to reduce the balance that's reported to the bureaus. Just make sure to make a second payment between the closing date and the due date, so you don't get reported as late.

Your scores might be artificially depressed if your lender is showing a lower limit than you've actually got. Most credit card issuers will quickly update this information if you ask.

If your issuer makes it a policy not to report consumers' limits, however -- as is sometimes the case with "no preset spending limit" cards -- the bureaus may use your highest balance as a proxy for your credit limit.

If, however, the card is categorized on your credit reports not as a charge card but as a revolving credit card, and either a credit limit or high balance is reported to the bureaus, your balances on the card could be a problem.

You could go on a wild spending spree to raise the high balance reported to the credit bureaus, but a more sober solution would simply be to pay your balance down or off before your statement period closes.

6. Dust off an old card

The older your credit history, the better. But if you stop using your oldest cards, the issuers may decide to close the accounts or stop updating them to the credit bureaus. The accounts may still appear, but they won't be given as much weight in the credit-scoring formula as your active accounts.  So you might want to charge a recurring bill to one of those little-used accounts or take them out for dinner and a movie occasionally -- always, of course, paying off the balance in full.

7. Get some goodwill

If you've been a good customer, a lender might agree to simply erase that one late payment from your credit history. You usually have to make the request in writing, and your chances for a "goodwill adjustment" improve the better your record with the company (and the better your credit in general). But it can't hurt to ask.

A longer-term solution for more-troubled accounts is to ask that they be "re-aged." If the account is still open, the lender might erase previous delinquencies if you make a series of 12 or so on-time payments.

8. Dispute old negatives

Say that fight with your phone company over an unfair bill a few years ago resulted in a collections account. You can continue protesting that the charge was unjust, or you can try disputing the account with the credit bureaus as "not mine." The older and smaller a collection account, the more likely the collection agency won't bother to verify it when the credit bureau investigates your dispute. Some consumers also have had luck disputing old items with a lender that has merged with another company, which can leave lender records a real mess.

9. Blitz significant errors

Your credit scores are calculated based on the information in your credit reports, so certain errors there can really cost you. But not everything that's reported in your files matters to your scores.

Here's the stuff that's usually worth the effort of correcting with the bureaus:

• Late payments, charge-offs, collections or other negative items that aren't yours.
• Credit limits reported as lower than they actually are.
• Accounts listed as "settled," "paid derogatory," "paid charge-off" or anything other than "current" or "paid as agreed" if you paid on time and in full.
• Accounts that are still listed as unpaid that were included in a bankruptcy.
• Negative items older than seven years (10 in the case of bankruptcy) that should have automatically fallen off your reports.

The average rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage rose to 3.70 percent from 3.62 percent. The five-year hit 3.25 percent last month, the lowest rate on records dating back to January 2005.

The average rate on one-year adjustable-rate home loans increased to 3.26 percent from 3.21 percent. Two weeks ago, the rate hit 3.17 percent, the lowest level in records dating starting in 1984.

The rates do not include add-on fees, known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount. The average fee for the 30-year fixed loan, 15-year fixed loan and the five-year ARM in Freddie Mac’s survey was 0.7 point. The average fee for the 1-year ARM was 0.6 point.

With this increase in rates, don't wait on your housing purchase.  Call us today to find just the right real estate to fit your needs at a still great interest rate!

Apartment bargains once dominated the housing market, but those bargains have slowly faded away. As vacancies decrease and rents rise, renters are finding fewer deals.

Analysts expect vacancies to decrease even more and rents to continue to rise through 2013 as the economy continues to improve.

In 2011, rental activity recorded its best start for the year since 1999, according to Reis Inc. Vacancy rates have fallen to mid-2008 levels and rents have increased for the past five quarters, now averaging $991 per month nationwide.

Renters are finding the fewest deals near the coasts, such as in New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and San Jose, Calif., that have low vacancy rates. Also, a boost in these cities’ economies is sending rents higher. New York City alone has seen double rent increases compared to the national average and has the lowest vacancy rate in the nation.

The best rental deals can be found in Las Vegas, Tucson, Ariz., Phoenix, and several cities in Florida – all areas where unemployment and foreclosures remain high. According to Reis, Las Vegas was the only city to see rents fall last year. In Florida, Orlando and Jacksonville made CNN’s list of top six cities where it makes more sense to buy than to rent.

However, analysts say that bargains across the country are getting fewer, and renters should expect to see an increase in rents over the next three years.

Call us today to see if NOW is the time for you to buy that real estate you have been dreaming of.

This means fewer homes to choose from and more competition with other propsective purchasers once you do find the right home.

With the recent increase in home mortgage rates, NOW is the right time to dive into the real estate market.

Don't sit on the side lines too long, call us today!

The National Association of Realtor's chief economist states that the so-called shadow inventory of homes taken over by banks or in the process of foreclosure may total as many as 800,000, while as many as 2 million additional dwellings are 90 days or more delinquent and  headed for foreclosure.

If you are considering purchasing real estate, now is a great time to investigate foreclosures in your market.  Call us today, we can help!

The lower median prices of bank-owned and short sales, which accounted for 75.03 percent of all sales in January, exert a downward influence on the overall median price (as does the enormous percentage of sales of low-priced condos).

The median sales price of all homes sold in the Orlando area decreased 6.91 percent to $94,950 in January when compared to January 2010’s median price of $102,000.

The median price for “normal” existing homes – i.e., those that are neither a short sale nor a foreclosure – sold in January is $145,000. The median price for bank-owned sales is $75,000 and the median price for short sales is $94,500.

In addition to an increase in completed sales, January saw a 4.69 percent rise in newly filed contracts over January 2010. The area’s pending sales statistic — which like new contracts is an indicator of future sales activity — increased by 2.18 percent with 8,777 homes currently under contract and awaiting closing.”

When buying a home, here's what you can learn from The Great Homes Group's knowledge and skill:

* The Great Homes Group can help you determine how much home you can actually afford and suggest additional ways to accrue the down payment and explain alternative financing methods.
* The Great Homes Group can help you determine the home best suited to your family's needs and size, style, features, location, accessibility to schools, transportation, shopping, etc.
*  The Great Homes Group has access to thousands of listings of available homes, and can match the features of currently listed homes with your needs and within your price range, saving you time and frustration on unsuitable homes.
* The Great Homes Group can offer suggestions on how, with a few simple changes, a home could be made more suitable for you and improve its utility and value.
*The Great Homes Group can supply information on real estate values, taxes, utility costs, municipal services and facilities, and may be aware of proposed zoning changes that could affect your decision to buy.
* The Great Homes Group has no emotional ties to the homes they show, can be objective about them, and can point out advantages and disadvantages while answering your questions.
* The Great Homes Group knows our local money market and can tell you about financing. We can also tell you what personal and financial data to bring with you when applying for a loan.
* The Great Homes Group can help you better understand the closing process by explaining it all before you get to the closing table.

The area’s pending sales statistic — like new contracts — is also an indicator of future sales activity. A total of 8,998 homes are currently under contract and awaiting closing. This number is also an increase (of 4.23 percent) over the 8,633 homes that were under contract in November 2009. To date, Orlando area home sales are up 21.55 percent over this time in 2009.

The median sales price of all homes sold in the Orlando area held steady at $105,000 during November, the third month in a row. According to ORRA the current median price remains 5.11 percent higher than the $99,900 median price recorded in August 2010 and is 14.63 percent below the median price of $123,000 recorded in November 2009.

The median price for “normal” existing homes – i.e., those that are neither a short sale nor a foreclosure – sold in November is $159,900. The median price for bank-owned sales is $78,101 and the median price for short sales is $99,950. The lower median prices of bank-owned and short sales, which accounted for 66.67 percent of all sales in November, exert a downward influence on the overall median price.

When the market is down, more homes are for sale.  This means you have more homes to choose from and may find it easier to locate the dream home  you have been searching for. 

In a down market, you may often hear the term "buyers market."  Sellers want or need to sell their home and will often do whatever it takes.  A purchaser has the advantage and can often buy a great home at a great price. Sellers may also consider other incentives, such as helping pay your closing costs.

When the real estate market falls, interest rates are cut.  Over the life of your loan, this can mean substantial savings.  You can even buy a larger home and still remain within your price range.

If you are considering purchasing a home, call us at The Great Homes Group - 407-571-1445. 

Is an Orlando Condo Right for You?