With the start of the new year, you may be wondering if 2012 is the right year to finally buy a home in Charlotte.
This segment on the Today Show has some truth to it. Unfortunately, there are some un-truths that will keep people from making the best decision for themselves in 2012:
Key Points from this video:
- 1 in 3 cities have seen home prices hit bottom and start back up. Charlotte home prices, in the most recent Case Shiller report, showed a decline in October, but an increase from last March.
- “Banks are going out of their way not to lend money” – False – Banks simply follow the guidelines spelled out in advance by the FHA, VA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. There are limits to credit scores, loan amounts, down payments and income, but these aren’t arbitrarily made up by loan officers.
- “You need a 720 credit score, minimum” – Ouch, wrong again – you can get a great mortgage rate with as little 3.5% down using an FHA loan, or 5% down with a conventional loan.
- “One in Two people commit to a deal who can’t close” – Maybe true, and maybe not – but totally preventable! A Charlotte Home Buyer should look to get Approved, not just Pre-Qualified before writing an offer.
- Home Sellers are more willing to sell their home at today’s prices. After years of hoping for higher home prices, sellers, and banks holding foreclosures, are recognizing that they are better off to sell the house at today’s market prices rather than waiting for a high offer that will never come.
- Mortgage Interest Rates are still historically low. Last year at this time rates were almost a full percentage point higher than they are at the start of 2012.
Predictions:
- We’ll still see a bunch of foreclosures – high unemployment and 3 years of falling house values will cause this.
- low Mortgage Interest Rates will be in favor of buying a home. Rates today save you $300 a month compared to just 3 years ago for the same sized home loan.
- Lending guidelines will never get back to when a buyer didn’t need a job, down payment, or good credit. But, with a pre-approval, a Charlotte Home Buyer doesn’t need to be surprised and ba
If buying a home is right for you in 2012 – a face to face meeting with a local Charlotte Mortgage Professional is the best place to start. Learn where you are and what you need to do to get ready to buy a house in 2012. Starting with your home loan will make your Charlotte home purchase an easy and stress-free process.
