Author Archive

By Tim McLaughlin, Sr. Vice President, Weichert Financial

With the spring market upon us, and rates at historically low levels, both potential buyers and existing homeowners are looking for opportunities to acquire a new mortgage or refinance an existing one. One critical piece of information you need to know to get approved and to know where your interest rate will be priced is “what is your credit score”. Below are six simple tips in managing and getting insight:

- Don’t try to manage your score on a daily or weekly basis. If you wait for the full 30-day cycle, all your information will have updated and will be the best representation.

- If you want to purchase a home or car in the next year, look at your credit score now and make moves to improve it by paying off debt in a timely manner.

- Your credit reports may contain errors. If you contest something in your report, it freezes that information until a decision has been made.

- A foreclosure or bankruptcy filing will lower your score significantly and affect you for about seven to 10 years.

- A missed mortgage payment will set off alarms, especially if your payment history has been pristine until then, but a late credit-card payment can be more easily fixed by consecutive months of good payment behavior.

- Get pre-approved by your knowledgeable Weichert Financial Gold Servicers Manager to be ready to purchase that house of your dreams or refinance an existing one…we can help!

By Tim McLaughlin, Senior Vice President, Weichert Financial

The index of pending home sales, which reflects deals that have signed contracts but haven’t yet closed, was released this week and rose to 97 from 89.8 a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. This index that tracks contracts to buy previously owned homes rose 2% in January from December to the highest level since April 2010, rekindling hopes that improving demand will continue to move the housing market in the right direction.

The reading was the highest for any January since 2007, and is further fueled by mortgage rates which are nearly one percentage point below their levels of a year ago, trending near historical lows.

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The number of Americans filing first time claims for jobless benefits fell to a level matching a four-year low from March of 2008, more evidence the labor market is healing.

Applications for unemployment insurance decreased 2,000 in the week ended Feb. 25 to 351,000, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists forecast 355,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The number of people on unemployment benefit rolls fell, while those getting extended payments also declined.

Work reductions are on a downward trend as employers gain confidence in the outlook for economic growth. A smaller number of job reductions also puts those companies in place to hire additional employees as demand picks up.

In an equally encouraging sign, only seven states and territories reported an increase in claims, while 44 had a decrease.

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Positive statements heard this week:
“The attendance at my Open House last weekend was the busiest in years, with multiple visitors having serious interest.”

“I had three offers on the first weekend, and it is becoming a bit of a bidding scenario”

This month’s newsletter features articles on:

March Into the Selling Season

Welcome to spring, the most anticipated season in the real estate calendar!  March brings a great selection of homes to the market, along with buyers eager to explore the spring listings.  In comparison to the last five years, this year is expected to produce a new sense of optimism in the real estate market.

Learn to Let Go

Do you know someone who is a bit of a hoarder?  Or do you yourself have trouble parting with belongings doing little more than occupying space?  Here are some strategies to help make letting go a little easier.

A Guide for Sellers

A property that doesn’t generate as much interest and sell as quickly as expected isn’t necessarily one that’s flawed.  There are several reasons why perfectly good homes linger on the market.  Here are some of the most common.

A Guide for Buyers

Spring’s here, which means the real estate market is in high gear!  Don’t run the risk of losing your dream home to a competing buyer by inadvertently disrespecting the seller.  Please take a moment to consider these points.

The Eyesore Next Door

When it’s time to sell your house, your street’s appeal can be just as important as your home’s.  Unfortunately, living next to (or near) that house can be another obstacle on the way to a sale.  What can you do?

Read this month’s newsletter here.

By Tim McLaughlin, Senior Vice President, Weichert Financial

A banner employment report this morning as employment data climbed more than forecast in January and the U.S. jobless rate unexpectedly fell to the lowest level in three years, casting some doubt on whether the Federal Reserve can wait until 2014 before raising interest rates.

The 243,000 increase in payrolls was the largest increase since April and exceeded all forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey, Labor Department figures showed in Washington. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3%, the lowest level since February 2009.

The jump in hiring shows companies are gaining confidence that the economic expansion will weather the European slump and may boost President Barack Obama’s re-election bid. The data comes one week after Fed policy makers said the economy wasn’t growing fast enough to push down the jobless rate, prompting them to extend a pledge to keep interest rates low for another two years. Based on the data this morning, there are conversations on trading desks that the Fed may not be able to stay on hold regarding interest rates as long as they think.

The Fed said on January 25th after a two day meeting that it would keep its benchmark lending rate low “at least” until late 2014 from a prior target of mid 2013. “We still have a long way to go before the labor market can be said to be operating normally,” Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told the House Budget Committee in Washington yesterday. “Fortunately, over the past few months, indicators of spending, production and job market activity have shown some signs of improvement.”

The median projection in the Bloomberg survey called for a rise of 140,000 payrolls after an initially reported 200,000 gain in December. Estimates of the 89 economists ranged from increases of 95,000 to 225,000. Revisions also added a total of 60,000 additional jobs to payrolls in November and December. The Labor Department revised December’s gain to 203,000.

Takeaway: Fantastic news for the economy and for consumer confidence, particularly home seekers on the fence. A slight retracement in rates given this morning’s news, but rates still at historical lows with 30 year terms in the mid to high 3’s and 10-15 years in the high 2’s/low 3’s.

This month’s newsletter features articles on:

Beat The Rush

Thinking about putting your home on the market this year? If so, you’ll want to start gathering information and getting market updates now.  The right buyer for your home may already be looking, so if you’re ready to sell now, let’s talk.

Sizing it Right

Rooms that are shy on square footage can present a decorating challenge for homeowners, as can rooms that have square footage to spare.  Here are some suggestions to help you solve either dilemma.

Buying or Just Looking?

Pricing your home competitively is the key to getting it off the market sooner — as is not wasting time and energy on the wrong kind of buyer.  So who is the right kind of buyer?

Fear of Commitment

Even seasoned homebuyers can sometimes find themselves suffering a case of cold feet after signing an offer to purchase a home.  Here are some strategies to help you cope with buyer’s nerves.

Projects for the Pros

Everyone likes to save a few bucks, but when it comes to home repair and renovation, it doesn’t always pay to take the do it yourself approach.  below are five projects best left to the professionals.

Read this month’s newsletter here.

By Tim McLaughlin, Senior Vice President, Weichert Financial

Now that the dust has settled on the Fed’s directive announced last Wednesday in their statement, we want to reiterate several themes. Without a doubt, this is an uber-dovish statement from the Fed.

First, the extended period language was moved out significantly with the first rate hike targeted for late 2014 or later. Granted, this could be pulled back closer over time, but this is the projection as of today.

Second, Bernanke made it clear that the guidance sentence, which is decided by the FOMC voters, dominates the projections, which comes from the whole committee. In other words, the alternate projections, which reference potential hikes in 2012 and/or 2013, should be discounted, as they are dominated by non-voting hawks.

Third, the FOMC has quietly raised its inflation target. Just five years ago the discussion was about a 1 to 2% range, and then it moved to 1 1/2 to 2%, then 1.7 to 2% and now simply 2%. Clearly the Fed is worried about running a low target because it means that during recessions there is a greater risk of either going into deflation or hitting the zero lower bound on interest rates. Hence, create a bigger cushion gives more room for fluctuation.

Fourth, the Fed has implicitly changed the weights in its “Taylor Rule”. By law the Fed is supposed to put equal weight on unemployment and inflation, but since Volcker came in the implicit sense was that inflation had a bit more weight. This does not mean the Fed has given up on controlling inflation, but, rather, it does mean on the margin they accept bigger cyclical swings in inflation.

Takeaways:

All of this suggests:
(1) The first rate hike will come even later
(2) Even stronger odds of QE3 (focused on MBS given Fed’s focus on housing) after the “Twist” is over and if growth weakens as most expect
(3) Somewhat higher inflation and inflation expectations
(4) More inflation volatility
(5) Accommodations to support the broader economy, lending (and housing as a bi-product) and investment (corporate and otherwise).

All in all, more positive news to support the market in 2012.

by Tim McLaughlin, Senior Vice President, Weichert Financial

Mortgage applications increased 23.1% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Jan. 13. The data includes an adjustment for New Year’s Day. The MBA market composite index increased 23.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 38.1% compared with the previous week.
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Fewer Americans than forecast filed first time applications for unemployment benefits last week, easing concern that post-holiday firings were on the rise.
Claims plunged by 50,000 to 352,000 in the week ended Jan.14, the lowest level since April 2008, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 41 economists in a Bloomberg News survey projected 384,000. The four-week average, which smoothes out fluctuations, decreased to 379,000 last week from 382,500.
Companies are slowing the pace of firings and beginning to step up the pace of hiring even as a slump in Europe spurred by a default crisis may limit U.S. growth. The improvement may be a sign that companies are looking to expand their workforces as sales climb.
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Oil demand is falling for the first time since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis as a result of a mild winter, high crude prices and the European economic crisis, according to fresh estimates from the International Energy Agency. The industrialized nations’ watchdog said oil demand dropped by 300,000 barrels a day in the final quarter of 2011. Such a fall is rare: over the last decade, oil demand has posted drops only in the financial crisis of mid-2008 to mid-2009. The end game on the supply/demand curve is as demand falls, so, too, should prices.
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The spring market is around the corner…we can help!

by Tim McLaughlin, Senior Vice President, Weichert Financial

With the Republican Primaries well underway, we analyze some of the candidate’s platforms on two of the topics that will drive our industry over the course of the next four years: the economy and housing.

The Economy:

Romney: A proponent of lower taxes, less regulation, and a balanced budget. Proposes the repeal of Dodd-Frank, a law toughening financial industry regulations after the meltdown in that sector. Proposes changing, but not repealing, Sarbanes-Oxley, a law tightening accounting regulations in response to corporate scandals, to ease the accountability burden on smaller businesses.

Santorum: Spur jobs by eliminating corporate taxes for manufacturers, drill for more oil and gas, and slash regulations. Repeal every Obama-era regulation that costs business more than $100 million a year.

Huntsman: End corporate subsidies, cut regulations, lower taxes, spur jobs through energy development; seek repeal of President Barack Obama’s health care law. Break up megabanks as a hedge against future bailouts of the industry.

Gingrich: Repeal the 2010 financial industry and consumer protection regulations that followed the Wall Street meltdown, and repeal the 2002 regulations enacted in response to the Enron and other corporate and accounting scandals. Restrict the Fed’s power to set interest rates artificially low.

Perry: Spur economy by repealing rafts of regulations, Obama’s health care law and Dodd-Frank toughening financial-industry regulations after the meltdown in that sector. Create jobs in energy sector by removing obstacles to drilling and production. Cut corporate taxes.

Paul: Return to the gold standard, eliminate the Federal Reserve, let gold and silver be used as legal tender, eliminate most federal regulations.

Housing: Sadly, the silence has been deafening regarding the candidates stance on housing and their plan to revive the sector. A couple of quotes are as follows:

Romney: “Don’t try to stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom. Allow investors to buy homes, put renters in them, fix the homes up and let it turn around and come back up.”

Perry: “Immediate remedy for housing is to get America working again. Creating jobs will address the housing concerns that are impacting communities throughout America.”

This month’s newsletter features articles on:

3, 2, 1…Happy New Home!

Welcome to 2012, and to a whole new year of real estate opportunities!  If you have friends or family who are currently renting their homes, please forward this to them, as there is information wihtin they may be very interested in hearing.

To Your Health!

A very happy New Year to you, and a healthy one, too! You’ve no doubt heard it said that most accidents occur inside the home.  With that in mind, here are some helpful tips onhow to make your home a safer place to live in, in 2012 and beyond.

Home Hunting Don’ts

Whether your looking for your next home now or your planning to pound the pavement this spring, be sure to avoid these home-hunting “don’ts”.

Justifying Your Price

Ideally, you’d never have to haggle over your selling price.  While there’s not much you can do to prevent buyers from offering less than you’re asking, there are some things you can do to help justify your asking price.

Well Documented

Missing paperwork can hold back or even stop a real estate transaction.  For a smoother sale, gather the following documents so they’ll be available to your real estate representative and to buyers as needed.

Read this month’s newsletter here.

by Tim McLauglin, Sr. Vice President, Weichert Financial

Whether you are on the verge of purchasing a home that you love but that you know you will most likely want to remodel a bit, or you want to make some changes to that existing home, here are the five most common remodeling mistakes:

Setting an unrealistic budget

Most homeowners underestimate their budget by at least 25 percent. As you can imagine, not having enough money to complete a project can not only stress you out, but can also force you to live with a half-finished project for a lot longer than you expected. Most experts suggest calculating your budget and then increasing it by 20 percent for safety (and sanity) sake.

“Keeping up with the Joneses”

One of the biggest mistakes I’ve read about is remodeling or redesigning a space for what’s most popular at this minute. The more trendy the project, the more likely it will feel out-of-date in a few years. That’s not to say you shouldn’t update your home to match your style and interests, but if you’re looking to sell in the near future, do not get hung up on trends.

Over-improving

A lot of the time, homeowners invest in remodeling their home hoping that when they do sell, they will be able to maximize their ROI. However, they fail to consider the quality and state of the homes in their neighborhood. Say you invest in top-of-the-line products, but the rest of the homes in the neighborhood are modest and average, then you run the risk of having an even more difficult time selling the home or getting the money back.

Doing it Yourself

In order to keep budgets low or reduce the costs of some projects, many homeowners think they can tackle big projects themselves. This is usually a HUGE mistake. Unless you have the right tools, training and connections, you could actually cause more problems down the line, including doubling your budget when you have to call a professional to come in and fix your mistakes.

Financing

Whether this is a new home that you want to renovate upon closing or an existing home, the biggest mistake you can make is not using Weichert Financial Services for your funding needs. On a refinance, we can offer you historically low rates on a cash out refinance to fund the initiative. On a purchase, talk to your knowledgeable Weichert Financial Gold Services Manager regarding putting less down and/or financing the closing costs to have more liquid assets for the renovations. Ask us how…we can help!