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Bizarre Mortgage Requests Delay Borrowers

Thoughts

Underwriters are being extra vigilant in verifying every detail of a mortgage application, and some of their requests for information, borrowers say, are downright odd.

For example, one borrower says an underwriter demanded a letter from his doctor that an illness he had would never come back. Another borrower says that an underwriter told her she needed to get verification from her employer on her employment status when she listed “homemaker” as her occupation.

A borrower said an underwriter asked him for a letter of explanation on a $6 deposit he made (the borrower earned $10,000 a month at the time).

Read more…

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Buyer Beware: The Real Estate Technology Prognosticator

For agents hoping to incorporate more technology into their real estate businesses, the wide-ranging advice can be overwhelming. Brokers, agents, vendors, coaches, and technology celebrities all have different ideas on how you should focus your efforts and the expectations that you should have for your success.

It’s tempting to try to do a little bit of everything. The low-hanging fruit is the latest online product, app or social media craze. With a new prognosticator stating that “this is the one thing every agent should be doing” every week, it can be difficult to resist dipping your toe into all of the newest technological ventures. Since many of them are free, the low barrier to entry encourages a “try everything” approach.

Read helpful tips here…

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Luxury Real-Estate Flippers

Money

There is a new breed of quick-change artist on the real-estate front: luxury flippers who focus on high-end properties.

Popular before the housing bust, house flipping—where a property is bought, renovated and sold quickly to make a profit—is seeing a comeback nationwide. Rising prices and tight inventory are driving more investors to the upper end of the market. Flips of homes priced at $1 million or more shot up 35% in 2012 compared with 2011, according to market researcher RealtyTrac.

Read more…

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Happy 4th of July!

4th of July

Here’s a list of local events for the Fourth of July in and around Seattle, Tacoma, and Everett.

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Experts Doubt Surge in Mortgage Rates will Derail Housing Recovery

Surging mortgage rates may have little effect on the housing market, at least in the near term, housing experts say. Mortgage rates rose sharply last week following comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the Fed will begin tapering off its asset purchases later this year if incoming data continues to show the economy is on the mend.

Read the details…

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Home Ownership Makes Happier, Healthier Families, Survey Shows

Home

Owning a home can make families healthier, happier, and more financially secure, according to new research by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. on the benefits of home ownership. Researchers worked with Habitat for Humanity families to evaluate how their lives changed after moving into their homes.

Eighty-nine percent of the Canadian families surveyed said their lives improved since they moved into their homes. Eighty-six percent said they’re happier since owning a home.

Read more results of the survey…

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Simply Home Newsletter, July 2013

Simply Home Newsletter

This Newsletter includes the following articles:

  • Rules of the Road
  • Double Duty Herbs
  • Give Your Immune System a Boost
  • A Safe Home

Simply Home Newsletter, July 2013

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Home Prices Rising at ‘Unsustainable’ Rate

Graph - up

Home prices have been soaring by double digits compared to last year’s numbers and the National Association of REALTORS® are calling the rises “unsustainable.”

The price for existing home sales surged 15.4 percent higher in May compared to last year.

“Some of the increases can be explained by the fact that it is recovering from an over-corrected situation,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “But with people’s income rising at only 1 or 2 percent and prices rising in double digits, it cannot continue.”

Read more…

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5 Real Estate Recovery Myths

Thoughts

Like anything else, real estate has its urban legends, its stories that get told so often they seem like they must be true. But unlike urban legends about exploding Pop Rocks, housing  market myths have the potential to cause panic, poor decisions, and substantial financial losses. The recent market upturn, coming on the heels of 6 years of near-depression, has given rise to a long list of real estate myths. Don’t get lost in the legends — find out what’s fact and what’s fiction.

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Freddie Mac Green Lights Fed Tapering

Mortgage rates have risen sharply over the last month and Freddie Mac, in its monthly Economic and Housing Market Outlook for June, focuses on what happens to the housing market recovery if those increases continue. Recent movements have raised rates from the 3.5 percent range where they have been for most of 2013 to just over 4.0 percent.

While many market participants are concerned about the impact of higher rates on the economy and the chance that Fed tapering could take them higher, Freddie’s research suggests moderately higher rates are livable, even if they have some downside risks.

Read the details here…