Best Time for Financing/Purchase.

[Well-Wisher]

Best Time for Financing/Purchase.

I have seen some threads opposing or asking Readers in this forum to stay away from buying any property because of current market condition. I think this is the best time to buy if you are getting a deal. 30 Year Fixed loan @ 5.375% with another rate cut expected today @ 2:30 PM. What better should one expect if you are planning to buy a primary residence?

I personally know a friend who bought a house in Virginia, which was sold for $555,000 in 2005 and my friend end up buying this for $268,000. Yes I will also add that this is not a short-term game any more and people with no financial cushion should stay away from this. But if you are looking for a good investment with better return and comparatively long term planning then you are ere in the right country at the right time.

I am not trying to inspire you by giving you my friends example but I am telling you the other part of story since all we see these day on CNN showing US foreclosure going up, Bank like Bear Stearns going out of Business, Economy is not doing good, Oil and Gold prices going up and Dollar value going down unemployment is at record high and Fannie and Freddie firing left and right

Think positive just keep your eyes open but do not rush.

[Nabeel]

Fed just cut down the rate by .75% which means prime rate is @ 5.25%.

[srikondoji]

What makes you think that $268000 is cheap?
Just because it is less compared to $555,000, doesn't make this a steal.

Offcourse, if you are bent on buying a property fixed interest rate is a logical choice, but even then our jobs are not guranteed to pay us those high salaries any more.
Especially if Financial sector collapses the next sector is Software as Software sector is heavily dependent on Financial sector.
As per one source, Financial sector re-invests 9-10% of their revenue only on software alone and if that stops coming then Software sector will go to dogs.

In that worse case scenario, no one can afford mortgage payments event for $100K homes.

If you are looking to purchase, then apart from interest rates, look at the longevity of your job and the city you work in.

If i were to purchase, i would consider
1) Interest rates
2) Job continuity and pay
3) My fuel expenses from Home to work
4) Proximity to public transportation
5) Home prices in the range that were prevalent during year 2000-2001

Warning: Don't go for ARMs as interest rates can jump upto 15% on home lonas due to inflation alone.

Originally Posted by Well-Wisher

Best Time for Financing/Purchase.

I have seen some threads opposing or asking Readers in this forum to stay away from buying any property because of current market condition. I think this is the best time to buy if you are getting a deal. 30 Year Fixed loan @ 5.375% with another rate cut expected today @ 2:30 PM. What better should one expect if you are planning to buy a primary residence?

I personally know a friend who bought a house in Virginia, which was sold for $555,000 in 2005 and my friend end up buying this for $268,000. Yes I will also add that this is not a short-term game any more and people with no financial cushion should stay away from this. But if you are looking for a good investment with better return and comparatively long term planning then you are ere in the right country at the right time.

I am not trying to inspire you by giving you my friends example but I am telling you the other part of story since all we see these day on CNN showing US foreclosure going up, Bank like Bear Stearns going out of Business, Economy is not doing good, Oil and Gold prices going up and Dollar value going down unemployment is at record high and Fannie and Freddie firing left and right

Think positive just keep your eyes open but do not rush.

[NKR]

Originally Posted by Well-Wisher

Best Time for Financing/Purchase.

I have seen some threads opposing or asking Readers in this forum to stay away from buying any property because of current market condition. I think this is the best time to buy if you are getting a deal. 30 Year Fixed loan @ 5.375% with another rate cut expected today @ 2:30 PM. What better should one expect if you are planning to buy a primary residence?

I personally know a friend who bought a house in Virginia, which was sold for $555,000 in 2005 and my friend end up buying this for $268,000. Yes I will also add that this is not a short-term game any more and people with no financial cushion should stay away from this. But if you are looking for a good investment with better return and comparatively long term planning then you are ere in the right country at the right time.

I am not trying to inspire you by giving you my friends example but I am telling you the other part of story since all we see these day on CNN showing US foreclosure going up, Bank like Bear Stearns going out of Business, Economy is not doing good, Oil and Gold prices going up and Dollar value going down unemployment is at record high and Fannie and Freddie firing left and right

Think positive just keep your eyes open but do not rush.

Just curious, where did you find 30 Year Fixed loan @ 5.375%?..

[dpp]

Originally Posted by NKR

Just curious, where did you find 30 Year Fixed loan @ 5.375%?..

Mortgage interest rates don't depend exactly on Fed rate cuts. See this article

http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/14/news...ion=2008031809

Inflation drives mortgage long-term fixed rates.

[h1techSlave]

I 100% agree with you. Right now, every tom, dick and harry is saying that the housing market is doomed. Hence, this is the time to buy.

One question that I have. There are many houses in the "short" sale list now a days. I am looking to get some feed back regarding the risks involved in purchasing a house on short sale. But has any one here gone thru a short sale process? How risky is it? Is there a way to get out of a contract?

Originally Posted by Well-Wisher

Best Time for Financing/Purchase.

I have seen some threads opposing or asking Readers in this forum to stay away from buying any property because of current market condition. I think this is the best time to buy if you are getting a deal. 30 Year Fixed loan @ 5.375% with another rate cut expected today @ 2:30 PM. What better should one expect if you are planning to buy a primary residence?

I personally know a friend who bought a house in Virginia, which was sold for $555,000 in 2005 and my friend end up buying this for $268,000. Yes I will also add that this is not a short-term game any more and people with no financial cushion should stay away from this. But if you are looking for a good investment with better return and comparatively long term planning then you are ere in the right country at the right time.

I am not trying to inspire you by giving you my friends example but I am telling you the other part of story since all we see these day on CNN showing US foreclosure going up, Bank like Bear Stearns going out of Business, Economy is not doing good, Oil and Gold prices going up and Dollar value going down unemployment is at record high and Fannie and Freddie firing left and right

Think positive just keep your eyes open but do not rush.

[Nabeel]

Originally Posted by NKR

Just curious, where did you find 30 Year Fixed loan @ 5.375%?..

I called in this number 301-869-6000 who had advertised in Washington Post Express @ 5.625% When I called him today he said he can give me 5.375% for 30 Years Fixed. Sounds like he can honor it.

[nixstor]

Originally Posted by Well-Wisher

Best Time for Financing/Purchase.

I have seen some threads opposing or asking Readers in this forum to stay away from buying any property because of current market condition. I think this is the best time to buy if you are getting a deal. 30 Year Fixed loan @ 5.375% with another rate cut expected today @ 2:30 PM. What better should one expect if you are planning to buy a primary residence?

I personally know a friend who bought a house in Virginia, which was sold for $555,000 in 2005 and my friend end up buying this for $268,000. Yes I will also add that this is not a short-term game any more and people with no financial cushion should stay away from this. But if you are looking for a good investment with better return and comparatively long term planning then you are ere in the right country at the right time.

I am not trying to inspire you by giving you my friends example but I am telling you the other part of story since all we see these day on CNN showing US foreclosure going up, Bank like Bear Stearns going out of Business, Economy is not doing good, Oil and Gold prices going up and Dollar value going down unemployment is at record high and Fannie and Freddie firing left and right

Think positive just keep your eyes open but do not rush.

Your friend just inherited a calculated risk and the calculation is that he is going to be just fine going ahead. It's his personal decision and he knows his strengths and weaknessess. We cannot apply that to every one.

Myth: Fed cutting interest rates will get mortgage interests low.

Fact 1: It will only make credit easier and will make ARM's easier.

Fact 2: Fixed rate mortgage will actually go up because they are tied with bond prices and due to worries of inflation, banks are actually charging more than they would

I dont know how many people want to do ARM's still. The more the inflation is the more fixed rate mortgage is and I have a strong feeling that the Fed is trying to stop the inevitable by pumping money and bailing out corps. Eventually they will give up and the tipping point will be when they see inflation growing due to their pumping money left and right. Hope it wont be too late by then.

You did not specify which location in VA. Fairfax county is pretty stable and it must be either Prince William or Loudoun county. PW Housing is a big toast due to the local immigration laws they are trying to enforce or actually enforcing and the sub prime crisis combined.

Loudoun county is where the prices went in 20% every year starting 2003. Your friend getting the home for 268K means that he might have got it for the price its actually worth or a bit less because its FC/short sale. Those homes in Leesburg and Purcellville were never worth 550K in 2005.

Fannie & Freddie's hiring practice from 04-07 is not a representative of how they hire normally as both companies had to redo their books & hired a load of people as consultants/temp. They are not doing great, but they are not cutting people like 5% or 10% of work force. Did they?

[nixstor]

Originally Posted by Nabeel

I called in this number 301-869-6000 who had advertised in Washington Post Express @ 5.625% When I called him today he said he can give me 5.375% for 30 Years Fixed. Sounds like he can honor it.

Wow! there are quite some people here in the DC area. What happens to folks when there is an event or meet up?

[485Mbe4001]

Guys,
I say this a a person with some experience. Please...Please do not take loans based on interest rate alone, look at the cost of the loan. There are many factors. Please remember to get a Good faith Estimate and a Truth in lending, from any originator/broker you contact.

Please do your homework, Short Sales and forclosures are not for everybody. I see people making fantastic claims on these forums. All i can say is that each experience is unique and take it with a grain of salt.

thanks,

Originally Posted by Nabeel

I called in this number 301-869-6000 who had advertised in Washington Post Express @ 5.625% When I called him today he said he can give me 5.375% for 30 Years Fixed. Sounds like he can honor it.

[razis123]

I am not ready to do any investment here without a GC. Everytime you go out of the country on a visa you know whats the probability of coming back especially when you also have to do a stamping.AP is ok but not worth risking to buy a home....

[Nabeel]

Originally Posted by 485Mbe4001

Guys,
I say this a a person with some experience. Please...Please do not take loans based on interest rate alone, look at the cost of the loan. There are many factors. Please remember to get a Good faith Estimate and a Truth in lending, from any originator/broker you contact.

Please do your homework, Short Sales and forclosures are not for everybody. I see people making fantastic claims on these forums. All i can say is that each experience is unique and take it with a grain of salt.

thanks,

You are absolutely correct. I have asked this person to provide me a Good Faith Estimate. I had a very bad experience with my last loan officer for my property financing. Again, this new person (AJ) sounds promising to me.

[whitecollarslave]

Originally Posted by nixstor

Wow! there are quite some people here in the DC area. What happens to folks when there is an event or meet up?

Let me know when the next meeting is and I'll be there as long as somebody informs me of the meeting reasonably ahead of time. I was not able to make it to the last one, the only one I know of, because it was announced like 2 or 3 days prior to the meeting day. I was not able to reschedule the plans I had already made with a short notice.

[h1techSlave]

While your post contained many good points regarding the fact that house prices could fall further, the rental income and mortgage is not very accurate. Nor is the rental income the only attraction when you buy a property.

In the area where I am residing, rent for a town home worth around 300,000 would be 1,500. When you consider that the typical down payment is 10% - 20%, the rent represents 6.67% to 7.5% of the purchase price (270000 - 240000) on a yearly basis. And it is not uncommon to get a mortgage with APR of 6% with good credit. So you actually make a profit on the rent with out considering tax. Taxes could eat away around 3500 of your profit on a yearly basis. But owning real estate is one of the most solid investment vehicles out there.

This is not to say that you can never loose money or there are no risks involved.

Originally Posted by albertpinto

Yearly rents are 3% of purchase price. Mortgage rates are 6.5%

[PD_Dec2002]

Originally Posted by h1techSlave

While your post contained many good points regarding the fact that house prices could fall further, the rental income and mortgage is not very accurate. Nor is the rental income the only attraction when you buy a property.

In the area where I am residing, rent for a town home worth around 300,000 would be 1,500. When you consider that the typical down payment is 10% - 20%, the rent represents 6.67% to 7.5% of the purchase price (270000 - 240000) on a yearly basis. And it is not uncommon to get a mortgage with APR of 6% with good credit. So you actually make a profit on the rent with out considering tax. Taxes could eat away around 3500 of your profit on a yearly basis. But owning real estate is one of the most solid investment vehicles out there.

This is not to say that you can never loose money or there are no risks involved.

I have to respectfully disagree with the statement "But owning real estate is one of the most solid investment vehicles out there".

This is because seasoned RE investors make the most money in RE by buying foreclosed homes. If you buy a home at fair market value (FMV), chances that you will come out far ahead are very slim. Any RE investing book will tell you that. The RE bubble that just deflated happened because everyone got the impression that investing in RE is very simple......the 20-40% annual appreciation was unsustainable and we are now seeing the downfall. We have to understand that there is a lot more to RE investing than just calculating the rent and the mortgage payment. Among other things you have to account for is RE depreciation, personal tax situation (a second mortgage can trigger AMT), property taxes, monthly maintenance commission (if applicable), HOA fees (if applicable), etc.

Also, you wrote "it is not uncommon to get a mortgage with APR of 6% with good credit". The 6% rate you quote is not the APR for a RE investor. If you are buying a second home, you have to declare which one is your primary home and which one is for investment. The APR on the investment property is typically 1-2% higher.

Thanks,
Jayant