Blog – Page 674 of 787 – First Rate Financial Group

28

Sep

Market Outlook

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – September 28, 2015

Whats Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week September 28 2015 Last week’s scheduled economic news included reports on new and existing home sales, the FHFA House Price Index, weekly reports on mortgage rates, and new jobless claims. The week finished with a report on consumer sentiment.

Existing Home Sales Fall as New Homes Sales and Home Prices Rise

The National Association of Realtors reported that home sales for pre-owned homes fell in August. Analysts expected sales of existing homes to reach a reading of 5.52 million sales on an annual basis, but the actual reading was 5.31 million existing homes sold as compared to July’s reading of 5.58 million pre-owned homes sold. Rising home prices were cited as a primary reason for the drop in sales.

FHFA’s House Price Index for July reflected the trend of rising home prices; July’s reading was 0.60 percent as compared to June’s reading of a 0.20 percent increase in home prices associated with homes with mortgages owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Sales of newly built homes reached the highest level since early 2008 in August, evidence that demand for housing is strengthening heading into the fall. Home builder sentiment is at its highest level in nearly a decade according to a survey earlier this month from the National Association of Home Builders

Mortgage Rates Fall

Freddie Mac reported that average mortgage rates fell on Thursday; the rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 3.86 percent; the average rate for a 15-year mortgage was 3.08 percent and the rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage dropped by one basis point to 2.91 percent. Discount points were 0.70, 0.60 and 0.50 percent respectively.

Jobless Claims Also Rise As Consumer Sentiment Fell.

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose slightly last week yet remained at a low level consistent with solid job growth. The Labor Department says weekly applications for jobless aid rose 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 267,000. The four-week average fell to a 15-year low last month.

The University of Michigan says consumers lost confidence for the third straight month in September, worried about bad news about the global economy. Consumer sentiment index fell to 87.2 this month, lowest since October 2014 and down from 91.9 in August. Richard Curtin, Chief Economist for the survey, said consumers are worried about signs of weakness in the Chinese economy and continued stresses on Europe’s economies.

What’s Ahead

This week’s economic reports include Pending Home Sales, the Case-Shiller Home Price Index, Core Inflation, ADP Employment and the government’s Non- farm Payrolls report. The national unemployment rate and Consumer Confidence Index for September are also slated for release this week.

25

Sep

By support

Home Buyer Tips

The New Home Warranty: Why This Benefit Alone Makes Buying New Worth Considering

The New Home Warranty: Why This Benefit Alone Makes Buying New Worth Considering When making the decision to purchase a home, there can be an array of questions to ask regarding location, size, style and additional features that will complicate things. If one of the considerations among these is whether to buy new or old, though, you may want to be aware of new home warranties. While buying new can seem like a risk, this type of warranty may help make at least one decision easy when it comes to your home purchase.

It’s A New Home Benefit That’s Often Guaranteed

Currently, there are a number of places in North America where a third-party warranty or a builder’s warranty are now required so the quality of a builder’s work can be assured. While some builders may offer a warranty when you purchase a home through them, a third-party warranty that is guaranteed in many regions will mean that you don’t have to worry about paying out of your own pocket when a problem occurs with your new home.

The Coverage Included In New Home Warranty

Generally, a new home warranty will include insurance on your deposit and a guarantee against flaws with the work, the materials or the structure that may appear down the road. While this type of warranty will commonly cover standard issues that can occur with a new home, there’s often the option for more extensive warranty coverage that will safeguard you in the event that issues beyond the basic appear.

What You Can Expect From Your Builder

If you’ve decided on a new home, you will want to research your builder and choose one that is reliable, up-front and will follow-up on any issues you may have with your new home. Once your house is close to completion, you’ll have the opportunity to do a home inspection with the builder to take notes of any issues with your house – like a sticky drawer or a chipped cabinet – that may be present. The builder should be able to offer a completion date for these issues, and also provide you with information you need to keep your new house in tip-top shape.

There are no assurances when it comes to buying a house, but new home warranties are a good guarantee that you’ll be covered in the event that a problem occurs. If you’re interested in learning more about making a new home purchase or this type of warranty, you will want to contact your trusted mortgage professional or real estate professional for more information.

24

Sep

By support

Home Mortgage Tips

Looking Ahead: How to Ensure That You Are Taking Full Advantage of Mortgage Tax Credits

Looking Ahead: How to Ensure That You Are Taking Full Advantage of Mortgage Tax Credits One of the major benefits to purchasing a home with a mortgage are the tax credits that can be taken advantage of when April 15 comes around.

Many homeowners are unaware of what mortgage related expenses can be deducted and, more importantly, which ones can no longer be deducted.

Receive A Tax Deduction For Interest Paid On The Mortgage

The most common tax credit associated with mortgages is the interest paid credit. This allows borrowers to deduct the cost of the interest paid on their mortgage on their taxes, which in many cases is the largest tax break available to homeowners.

Interest paid deductions on taxes are available to second mortgages as well as first time mortgages and are available on home equity lines of credit as well as home equity loans.

Mortgage Insurance Is No Longer Tax Deductible

Unfortunately, as of 2014 any mortgage insurance paid was no longer considered tax deductible. This came as a shock to many borrowers who planned their finances around receiving the tax credit.

Although mortgage insurance is no longer tax deductible, there are still other home related deductions that can be taken advantage of. Real estate taxes can be deducted the year they are paid and discount points purchased at the time of the sale can also be used as a deduction.

The IRS treats discount points as mortgage interest that is pre-paid and allows deductions on certain loan types.

Using Tax Information To Plan Ahead When Buying A Home

There is a limit imposed by the Internal Revenue Service on how large a loan can be to qualify for an interest paid tax deduction. Any loan that is over $1 million dollars is not allowed to have the interest paid towards it deducted when tax time rolls around.

This knowledge can be used to put the borrower in a beneficial situation in years to come when they plan to purchase a home. Limiting any loan to under $1 million dollars, no matter what the cost of the property, will allow the interest paid into it to be deducted the following year.

The tax laws are always changing and differ from state to state, so it is advised to contact a mortgage specialist with knowledge on mortgage tax laws to provide more information on which deductions you qualify for.