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Cherry Hill, NJ Real Estate News

By Jamie Russen, 100% Financing Specialist
(Jamie Russen - Greentree Mortgage)
The National Association of REALTORS® Pending Home Sales Index rose for the third straight month last month. A "pending home sale" is a home under contract to sell, but not yet closed. The Pending Home Sales Index rose 5 percent in March, posting its second-highest reading since April 2010. Not coincidentally, that month marked the expiration of last year's federal home buyer tax credit. Home buyers and sellers in Collingswood would do well to watch the Pending Home Sales Index each month. This is because - unlike most government and private data - the Pending Home Sales Index is a "forward-looking" indicator. Because 80% of "pending" homes close within 2 months, and a significant share of the rest close within months 3 and 4, the Pending Home Sales Index tends to correlate to future s...
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By Christine Hooks, Celebrating 25 Years in Real Estate!
(Pino Agency)
3,700 Square Miles of Opportunity! SNJDC's Legislative Breakfast is scheduled bright and early for Friday, April 29th, 2011. It provides an opportunity to hear the views and plans from New Jersey's Legislative Delegation and to learn the SNJDC's agenda while they present it to legislators. SNJDC offers an excellent opportunity to meet with business associates/elected officials and showcase one's business/organization. This year's breakfast meeting is being held at Ponzio's in Cherry Hill. More information to follow.......
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By Jamie Russen, 100% Financing Specialist
(Jamie Russen - Greentree Mortgage)
Earlier today, the Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged within its current target range of 0.000-0.250 percent. The vote was 10-0 - the third straight meeting after which the FOMC vote was unanimous. In its press release, the FOMC noted that since its March 2011 meeting, the economic recovery is proceeding "at a moderate pace" and that labor markets conditions are "improving gradually". Household spending and business investment "continue[s] to expand" but the housing sector remains "depressed". Furthermore, the FOMC's statement discussed the Federal Reserve's dual mandate of (1) Managing inflation levels, and (2) Fostering maximum employment. The statement acknowledged recent inflation pressures on the economy, but it expects those pressures - beca...
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By Jeff Belonger, The FHA Expert - FHA Loans - FHA mortgages - USDA loans - VA Loans
( Social Media - Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc)
  There comes some responsibility and understanding of the mortgage process when buying a new home. Some think that just because you are approved for a mortgage in New Jersey, you can sit back and wait for the closing to happen now. There are many things a buyer must be careful of, even after they have been approved for a mortgage.  This isn’t always explained by the loan officer, hence why I wanted to give a list of items.   What not to do after being approved for a mortgage, when you have received your commitment letter. DON’T …..   DON’T change jobs or quit your job. If you change your job in the middle of the process, this could delay your closing. DON’T keep shopping for a new mortgage. This could effect your credit scores and either cost you more money or deny you for a loan. DON...
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By Jeff Belonger, The FHA Expert - FHA Loans - FHA mortgages - USDA loans - VA Loans
( Social Media - Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc)
    FHA loans in New Jersey and in all other states in the last 18 months have become the popular choice when choosing a mortgage for many different reasons.  It has been stated that FHA loans now represent about 35 percent of all financing options. And because of the popularity and usage of FHA loans, there seems to be more FHA rumors or myths circulating. Let’s review some of these so-called myths. Before I begin, just a little quick education when it comes to mortgages. You basically have 4 types of mortgage programs.   FHA loans- This type of loan can be used by anyone and not just first time homebuyers. But only when buying a primary home and not a second home or an investment property. Keep in mind, if you currently have an investment property that does have a FHA mortgage, you c...
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By Jamie Russen, 100% Financing Specialist
(Jamie Russen - Greentree Mortgage)
Mortgage rates may be a function of free markets, but real estate taxes are a function of government. And, depending on where you live, your annual real estate tax bill could be high, low, or practically non-existent. Compiling data from the 2009 American Community Survey, the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan educational organization in Washington D.C., published property taxes paid by owner-occupied households, county-by-county. The report shows huge disparity in annual property taxes by region, and by state. As a percentage of home valuation, Southeast homeowners tend to pay the fewest property taxes overall, while Northeast homeowners tend to pay the most. But statistics like that aren't especially helpful. What's more useful is to know how local real estate taxes stack up as compared...
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By Jamie Russen, 100% Financing Specialist
(Jamie Russen - Greentree Mortgage)
Which is better - a fixed-rate mortgage or an adjustable-rate mortgage? It's a common question among home buyers and refinancing households in Pennsylvania. The answer? It depends.  Fixed-rate mortgages give the certainty of a known, unchanging principal + interest payment for the life of the loan. This can help you with budget-setting and financial planning. Some homeowners say fixed-rate loans they offer "peace of mind". Adjustable-rate mortgages do not. After a pre-determined, introductory number of years, the initial interest rate on the note - sometimes called a "teaser rate" - moves up or down, depending on the existing market conditions. It then adjust again every 6 or 12 months thereafter until the loan is paid in full. ARMs can adjust higher or lower so they are necessarily un...
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By Jamie Russen, 100% Financing Specialist
(Jamie Russen - Greentree Mortgage)
In a volatile week of trading, mortgage markets closed unchanged last week. Despite economic data proving stronger-than-expected - a situation that tends to lead mortgage rates higher - concern for persistently high oil prices tempered Wall Street's excitement and mortgage rates stayed steady. That's not to say rates weren't volatile, however. From day-to-day, mortgage rates showed huge variance last week and several lenders issued five separate rate sheets Friday. The 12-month average is slightly less than two per day. Expect the volatility to continue into this week, too. With little economic data due for release, mortgage rates should move on momentum. This would be good news for rate shoppers and home buyers throughout Pennsylvania because mortgage rates ended last week on a downsw...
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By Jeff Belonger, The FHA Expert - FHA Loans - FHA mortgages - USDA loans - VA Loans
( Social Media - Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc)
    We hear so much talk about buyers being pre-qualified or pre-approved, but what about pre-qualifying the house that is being sold. I was inspired to write this post after reading a post and its comments that was written by Valerie Osterhoudt. ~ FHA guidelines are making it hard to keep deals together ~ She talks about a home that she is trying to sell and just came across another change to FHA loans because the buyer was qualified with a FHA loan. The key point in this conversation was that "everything was going smoothly until ...."  Until the loan was being processed after the appraisal was done. Read the article that Valerie wrote in order to get more details. (ps - The issue mentioned in the article is also an issue for USDA loans - Just food for thought)   What I wanted to bring...
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By Jamie Russen, 100% Financing Specialist
(Jamie Russen - Greentree Mortgage)
As part of the Census Bureau's data collection activities from 2005-2009, a number of interesting charts have been published at http://census.gov. The data should not be confused with Census 2010 - a separate survey conducted every 10 years. This is the first-ever, 5-year American Community Survey. Based on data from 3 million households, it details social, economic, housing, and demographic data "for every community in the nation". Among the surveys: Median Household Income, Inflation-Adjusted To 2009 Dollars (Chart) Median Housing Value Of Owner-Occupied Housing Units (Chart) Percent Of Households That Are Married, With Children Under 18 (Chart) The ACS survey also charts average commute time by county. The chart is shown at top. Whether you live in a "long commute" town like Richmon...
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By Jamie Russen, 100% Financing Specialist
(Jamie Russen - Greentree Mortgage)
Friday is a pivotal day for mortgage markets and conforming mortgage rates across New Jersey. At 8:30 AM ET, the government will release its March Non-Farm Payrolls report. More commonly known as "the jobs report", the monthly Non-Farm Payrolls is a market-mover and home buyers would do well to pay attention. Depending on the report's strength, mortgage rates could rise, or fall, by a measurable amount tomorrow morning. It's because so much of the today's mortgage market is tied to the economy, and economic growth is dependant on job growth. With more job growth, there's more consumer spending and consumer spending accounts for the majority of the U.S. economy. Additionally, it generates more payroll taxes to local, state and federal governments. This, too, puts the broader economy on ...
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By Jeff Belonger, The FHA Expert - FHA Loans - FHA mortgages - USDA loans - VA Loans
( Social Media - Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc)
    FHA announced over a month ago that the monthly mortgage insurance  is changing on some FHA loans and it goes into effect on April 18th, 2011. I wanted to put this important reminder out there because what you can purchase and or what you can afford could change a little. I talked about such changes regarding the mortgage insurance changes in this article over a month ago. - FHA to increase the FHA monthly mortgage insurance -   Why would this news be so important?     Many think about refinancing to reduce their monthly mortgage payment, but haven’t pulled the trigger. This new change could make the difference of not refinancing now. It all comes down to your goals. For every $100,000 in money borrowed, your payment will change about $20 a month for the worse. That amount alone co...
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By Jamie Russen, 100% Financing Specialist
(Jamie Russen - Greentree Mortgage)
It's a great time for Cherry Hill buyers and homeowners to look at the 15-year fixed rate mortgage. According to Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the relative "discount" of a 15-year fixed rate loan as compared to a comparable 30-year product is the largest in recorded history. The interest rate spread between the two benchmark products is now 0.77%, nearly double the recent, 5-year average of 0.44%. Despite its lower rates, however, homeowners that opt for a 15-year fixed mortgage should be prepared for higher monthly payments. This is because the principal balance of a 15-year fixed is repaid in half as many years as with a 30-year amortizing product. The payment increase is 41% higher at today's rates. If you can manage that, though, you'll reap dramatic interest...
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By Jeff Belonger, The FHA Expert - FHA Loans - FHA mortgages - USDA loans - VA Loans
( Social Media - Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc)
The Facebook Controversy - More friends or less friends???   In recent months, there have been differing opinions on whether it's good to have thousands of friends or hundreds of friends on Facebook. In my opinion, most articles are based on opinion and just argue one side. Todd Carpenter wrote this blog post not to long ago. - Less is definitely more - Todd makes several very good points. Here is a reason why Todd has decided to reduce his list of friends on facebook.   "I feel that when it comes to Facebook, or any social network for that matter, having a friend shouldn’t be taken too lightly. ...by focusing my networking time and effort on fewer people, I’ve forged stronger relationships ... " I am not going to disagree with that statement, because I truly value friends. More on this...
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By Jeff Belonger, The FHA Expert - FHA Loans - FHA mortgages - USDA loans - VA Loans
( Social Media - Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc)
    Getting pre-approved over being pre-qualified, what does it all mean. I have been doing mortgages for 18 + years and I have a very strong opinion on the difference between pre-qualification letters and pre-approval letters. What do we keep hearing on the streets?  Pre-qualification letters aren't worth the paper they are written on. So, pre-approvals are written on gold bars then? The comments below is the reason why I wanted to give more insight to this argument.       Comments from realtors in past discussions : "A pre qualification is of absolutely no use in my market. If it is not a pre-approval letter...you have NOTHING!" "The loads of 'preapproval' letters flying around that aren't worth didley really irk me. A good loan officer doesn't run around flying around pre-approvals u...
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By Jeff Belonger, The FHA Expert - FHA Loans - FHA mortgages - USDA loans - VA Loans
( Social Media - Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc)
    I consider myself to be a die hard sports fan and March has to be one of the best times of the year when it comes to sports. Yes, my favorite sport is Pro Football, hands down. And my favorite team, the Philadelphia Eagles. But when it comes to a specific month, it's March. You have March Madness, probably one of the quickest growing events over the last decade. Talk about a frenzy...  You also have Hockey winding down and baseball season around the corner. But again, it's all about March Madness for me. I look forward to this time of month every year.   For those that have been following college basketball over the years, and understand March Madness, should know that it hasn't been this wide open in years. Usually the day prior to Selection Sunday, which is at 6 pm tonight, the nu...
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By Jeff Belonger, The FHA Expert - FHA Loans - FHA mortgages - USDA loans - VA Loans
( Social Media - Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc)
  The mortgage industry keeps changing and just recently there have been new changes regarding both FHA loans and USDA loans. USDA loans were great because they had no monthly mortgage insurance, but that will be changing soon. The comparisons that I will be showing will be using the new changes for both FHA loans and USDA loans, even though these changes haven’t taken place as of yet. Here are those new changes and when they take place. FHA loans will be increasing their monthly mortgage insurance as of April 18th, 2011 USDA loans adds monthly mortgage insurance starting October 1st, 2011   ***In the examples above, assume that both programs are creating the same profit margin for both the USDA loan and the FHA loan. And that all points and or fees are the same, with the same credit sc...
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By Jeff Belonger, The FHA Expert - FHA Loans - FHA mortgages - USDA loans - VA Loans
( Social Media - Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc)
  There will be a major change regarding USDA loans in New Jersey and for all other states come the fall of 2011. USDA loans will now have annual mortgage insurance, which is also known as monthly mortgage insurance, which begins October 1st, 2011. This move was approved through Congress last year.   What will be collected and how much?  The charge will be .30 basis points. Example:   As it stands, there is no monthly mortgage insurance right now.  The monthly fee will be based on the guaranteed loan amount. You can use simple math and say for every $50,000, the monthly mortgage insurance will be $12.50.  So for a $100,000 loan amount, your monthly mortgage insurance will be $25.00 a month. Keep in mind that my examples above won’t be this exact when doing a USDA loan, because of the fo...
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By Jeff Belonger, The FHA Expert - FHA Loans - FHA mortgages - USDA loans - VA Loans
( Social Media - Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc)
  There are statistics that say 80% or more looking for a home first shop online. This doesn't say that these same people actually buy a home online, but they start their research. And I am finding that many more are shopping for mortgages online once they have a problem with their current lender or have been denied. So I can safely assume that the internet is being used a lot when shopping for a home or when shopping for a mortgage. My question and thought process is, how far does one take their shopping. Do they stop at the first person? After talking to three and then deciding? I read an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer's business section written by Alan J. Heavens from December 19th, 2010. Survey says borrower seldom shop for a mortgage     There has been a lot of talk about Rep...
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By Jeff Belonger, The FHA Expert - FHA Loans - FHA mortgages - USDA loans - VA Loans
( Social Media - Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc)
  Repuation Architecture has been floating around the internet in recent months. Jonathan Washburn talked about it here. Reputation Architecture : How to multiply the effects of "Remarkable Service".  Yet there is no true definition for this phrase, but we can define reputation.  Reputation defined by Merriam is the overall quality or character as seen or judged by people in general, a good name. I wrote this post yesterday, Stop eating with your fingers - use your silverware - There are some good articles listed in my post that you should catch up on. Which will lead us into more details in the post below.     So, what's at stake?  Your reputation, right?  Will one be able to hide behind a mask anymore? Be able to hide behind false ads that tell others how great they are? False testimo...
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