Will New Tax Proposals Be the Death of Real Estate?

Many real estate professionals, lenders, and tax payers fear that the proposed income tax plans could drastically affect the housing market in a negative way.  These fears include more Americans choosing to rent instead of own, interest rates going up, and owners losing a ton of equity.  That is enough to scare anyone!  Although the tax plans have been crafted very quickly for overhauling such a complicated tax system, it shouldn’t be as bad as many are making it out to be.  Even with the proposed mortgage interest deduction limitations, there are positives for many tax payers.

mortgage interest deduction

Alan Thompson, CPA with Thompson, Price, Scott, & Adams, states that “All of the tax reform proposals are…

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How to Sell Your House With Top 12 Creative Ideas

Recently a Realtor asked for some creative negotiating items a seller may offer to a buyer.  Basically, what can the seller do to sweeten the deal so the buyer is more willing and/or able to go under contract.  This Realtor, like many, realize that a purchase contract is about more than just the price.  Sometimes these ideas for sellers mentioned below will sway a buyer towards that house, but it may also help the buyer better qualify.  Either way, these ideas could help a seller and listing agent sell your house.

12 Ideas for How to sell your housesell your house

Realtors will recognize most of these ideas, but some real estate agents and sellers may not realize that one or more tips could finalize a…

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8 Reasons Now is the Time to Buy a House

Are you currently renting?  Is your lease coming up for renewal?  Before you extend your lease for another year or two, why not consider exploring the possibility of buying instead of continuing to pay someone else’s mortgage?  First of all, we are not going to say everyone should buy a house.  Not everyone wants to.  But there are many advantages to homeownership.  On top of the normal benefits to homeownership, this is quite the time to buy!  A few reasons to become a homeowner now rather than later include the following.

8 Reasons to Buy Now Instead of Renting

buy a house

Look into your future. Does it include buying a home?

  1. Home prices are expected to rise
  2. Interest rates are expected to rise

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Getting a Mortgage While Separated Without Cancelled Checks

The end of a marriage is a trying time for a family and it typically doesn’t happen often in someone’s life, so it is hard to prepare for what happens or needs to happen.  In addition to the emotional toll it places on a family, a separation can also wreak havoc on a family’s finances as well.  Once you get a separation agreement completed, the language may sound pretty simple for what to do.  Maybe one person take over this debt, another take over the house, or even one spouse pay the other the equity in the house.  But then once you start trying to actually get that refinance, pay off the ex spouse, or purchase another home, it is tougher than you think.

Separation Agreement and…

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Unlike paystubs on a civilian job, an enlisted service member’s paystub may show the expected end of the employment or career.  The military paystub, called a Leave & Earnings Statement (LES), states the Expiration of Term of Service.  For short, this separation date from active duty is commonly known as the ETS date.  When getting a VA loan, lenders really care about the ETS date on the LES.  So what’s the big deal?  Let’s check it out.

Why do Lenders Care About the ETS Date?ETS date less than a year for VA loans

Guidelines, Underwriters, and Lenders are always weighing risk when determining if a loan should be approved.  The higher the risk, the lower the chance of VA loan approval.  Therefore, when a lender sees that the employment term for the service member “may” end soon, that is…

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If you have applied for a VA mortgage, chances are that the scenario was run through an automated system.  These days mortgage lenders use Automated Underwriting Systems (AUS) for preapprovals for about every type of loan.  Obviously, not all loans get approved.  But even if a borrower does not get an automated approval, there is still a chance of using VA manual underwriting to get loan approval.  Examples of automated underwriting systems used by lenders include:

  • Desktop Underwriter – Fannie Mae version
  • Loan Prospector – Freddie Mac
  • GUS – USDA AUS

Although DU and LP are Fannie and Freddie systems, they are both used for VA loans.  Then, lenders and investors decide if they will use DU, LP, or both for loan scenarios.  GUS, Guaranteed…

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