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Thinking about buying a house, but afraid you may not be qualify? Whether you are a first-time buyer or moving up, there are a few steps to take and make the buying process enjoyable. Before looking at any houses, or doing any searches on any real estate sites, you need to take the following three steps.

1 – Know your ratios

Whether you are considering the purchase of your first home or trading up to the home of your family dream, there are three crucial numbers you must be familiar with:

• What is the minimum down payment required to purchase a home?
• What is the minimum credit score (FICO score) required to qualify for a mortgage?
• What is the maximum Debt To Income ratio (DTI ratio) allowed?

To be able to get a loan and be able to afford the monthly mortgage payments, you need to have at least a %3 down payment, a minimum credit score of 620 and debt to income ratio of 45% or better.

I have mentioned some of the down payment assistance programs here. You can download more information about these programs here.

A meeting with a local mortgage lender can walk you through simple process of calculating the of DTI (all your monthly payments divided by your total household income). Any extra monthly payment, such as your car payments, increases this number. The lower the DTI number, the better. Lenders typically do not want it to be higher than 43 percent. However, different lenders have different DTI ratios depending on the type of loan

2 – Look for a local lender

Younger generation, especially the millennial, tend to do most of their shopping, including mortgage rates, online. While it is quite possible to find good rate online, but qualification and application process, including credit issues, better be dealt with locally through your local banks or mortgage brokers.

A local lender can sit down with you face-to-face and talk about the application process, current rates and current programs available for first-time homebuyers.
Most online lenders aren’t necessarily local and may have teaser rates on their websites. There are many down-payment assistance programs that are only available to local buyers, especially first-time buyers.

Regardless of how you finance your home purchase, remember that you can take advantage of the City of Austin and Travis County first time homebuyer programs. Even if you are not a first time homebuyers, or didn’t qualify in the past, it is worth to take a few minutes of your time and check to see how many programs do you qualify.

3 – Get a pre-approval letter
In a competitive market such as Austin, where the number of buyers searching for their dream home outnumbers the number of homes for sale, buyers need to stand out and get noticed. One way to get noticed and have a competitive advantage is to get pre-qualified or, even better pre-approved, for a mortgage before you start your search.

In today’s Austin market, most real estate agents require their buyer clients to have that pre-approval letter in-hand before they take them out looking at houses.
Most real estate professionals have relationships with lenders who will be able to provide you a list of few lenders and help you with the pre-approval process.

Once you have selected a lender, you need to fill out a loan application and provide important information regarding your credit, debt, work history, source of down payment and rental history.

This is what most first-time homebuyers dread and are weary of filling out the application with a lender. They are afraid of the negative credit report and how it may affect buying their dream home. However, even if there are negative points on your credit report, it’s best to find it early in the process with enough time to correct the.

Bottom Line
If you are considering purchasing a home, make sure you are aware of all your options and don’t overestimate the credit and down payment requirements. There are different options and many available programs to help you achieve your dream of owning your home.

Drop me a note here, with your comments or questions.

Round Rock Homes for Sale & Sold Report – July 2016

I hope you had a great July and enjoying the summer!

Houses in Round Rock are selling at very fast rate this summer season. The  number of sold houses had an almost 25% jump relative to last year. The average Days on the Market for selling a home is the area  is 27 days and the median is only 8 days;  during July nearly half of the 229 houses were sold in 8 days or less! There was a alight decrease in the number of houses listed for sale relative to last year during the same the same time.

Here is a report card for single family home sales in Round Rock area in July 2016. All comparisons are against July 2015.

All this has affected your home’s value!

If you plan to move, you need to know the value of your home right now. I invite you to find out the new value of your home at the website I created that will provide you with your homes new value at:

www.myRoundRockPropertyWorth.com

See all current homes for sale near YOU with option to get notified as soon as your neighbors home lists for sale before the major real estate websites even get them!

A special “Thank You!” to my clients and YOUR neighbors who continue to leave me reviews after a real estate transactions. You may read the client reviews below, along with other real estate resources that you may find valuable!

I hope you find this helpful and, as always, I appreciate your consideration in referring any friends, family, or colleagues my way. Again, thank you for supporting me and my business endeavors and do not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions about anything related to real estate or your home!

Best wishes,

How much your current home worth, find out!
Homes Close to Where You Work SEARCH For New Homes Down Payment Help MY REVIEWS		Moe Dadseresht Austin Skyline Realty 512-740-6945 Licensed In: Texas License #: 650995       Texas Real Estate Commision Disclosure

Pflugerville Homes for Sale & Sold Report – July 2016

I hope you had a great July and enjoying the summer!

Houses in Pflugerville are selling at an expected rate for the summer season. The average Days on the Market for selling a home is the area  is 28 days and the median is only 8 days (during July  69 out of 138 houses were sold in 8 days or less). The number of houses listed for sale is slightly higher than last year at the same time.

Here is a report card for single family home sales in Pflugerville area in July 2016. All comparisons are against July 2015.

All this has affected your home’s value!

If you plan to move, you need to know the value of your home right now. I invite you to find out the new value of your home at the website I created that will provide you with your homes new value at:

www.myPflugervillePropertyWorth.com

See all current homes for sale near YOU with option to get notified as soon as your neighbors home lists for sale before the major real estate websites even get them!

A special “Thank You!” to my clients and YOUR neighbors who continue to leave me reviews after a real estate transactions. You may read the client reviews below, along with other real estate resources that you may find valuable!

I hope you find this helpful and, as always, I appreciate your consideration in referring any friends, family, or colleagues my way. Again, thank you for supporting me and my business endeavors and do not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions about anything related to real estate or your home!

Best wishes,

How much your current home worth, find out!
Homes Close to Where You Work SEARCH For New Homes Down Payment Help MY REVIEWS		Moe Dadseresht Austin Skyline Realty 512-740-6945 Licensed In: Texas License #: 650995       Texas Real Estate Commision Disclosure

Leander Homes for Sale & Sold Report – July 2016

I hope you had a great July and enjoying the summer!

Leander Real Estate market was as hot as the weather in July! Leander, along with neighboring Cedar Park, has one of the  lowest Days on the Market for selling a house; 34 days on the average and a median of only 14 days (during July half of the 136 houses were sold in 8 days or less). That is a quick sale! There are lots of new construction in the area and a large part of the active listings (670) is due to the large inventory of new houses.

Here is a report card for single family home sales in Leander area in July 2016. All comparisons are against July 2015.

All this has affected your home’s value!

If you plan to move, you need to know the value of your home right now. I invite you to find out the new value of your home at the website I created that will provide you with your homes new value at:

www.myLeanderPropertyWorth.com

See all current homes for sale near YOU with option to get notified as soon as your neighbors home lists for sale before the major real estate websites even get them!

A special “Thank You!” to my clients and YOUR neighbors who continue to leave me reviews after a real estate transactions. You may read the client reviews below, along with other real estate resources that you may find valuable!

I hope you find this helpful and, as always, I appreciate your consideration in referring any friends, family, or colleagues my way. Again, thank you for supporting me and my business endeavors and do not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions about anything related to real estate or your home!

Best wishes,

How much your current home worth, find out!
Homes Close to Where You Work SEARCH For New Homes Down Payment Help MY REVIEWS		Moe Dadseresht Austin Skyline Realty 512-740-6945 Licensed In: Texas License #: 650995       Texas Real Estate Commision Disclosure

Cedar Park Homes for Sale & Sold Report – July 2016

I hope you had a great July and enjoying the summer!

Cedar Park Real Estate market was as hot as the weather in July, In fact among the Austin neighboring cities, Cedar Park has the lowest Days on the Market for selling a house; 23 days on the average and a median of only 8 days (during July half of the 124 houses were sold in 8 days or less). That is a quick sale!

Here is a report card for single family home sales in Cedar Park area in July 2016. All comparisons are against July 2015.

All this has affected your home’s value!

If you plan to move, you need to know the value of your home right now. I invite you to find out the new value of your home at the website I created that will provide you with your homes new value at:

www.myCedarParkPropertyWorth.com

See all current homes for sale near YOU with option to get notified as soon as your neighbors home lists for sale before the major real estate websites even get them!

A special “Thank You!” to my clients and YOUR neighbors who continue to leave me reviews after a real estate transactions. You may read the client reviews below, along with other real estate resources that you may find valuable!

I hope you find this helpful and, as always, I appreciate your consideration in referring any friends, family, or colleagues my way. Again, thank you for supporting me and my business endeavors and do not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions about anything related to real estate or your home!

Best wishes,

How much your current home worth, find out!
Homes Close to Where You Work SEARCH For New Homes Down Payment Help MY REVIEWS		Moe Dadseresht Austin Skyline Realty 512-740-6945 Licensed In: Texas License #: 650995       Texas Real Estate Commision Disclosure

Cedar Park and Cypress Creek Homes for Sale & Sold Report – July 2016

I hope you had a great July and enjoying the summer!

Cedar Park Real Estate market was as hot as the weather in July, In fact among the Austin neighboring cities, Cedar Park has the lowest Days on the Market for selling a house; 23 days on the average and a median of only 8 days (during July half of the 124 houses were sold in 8 days or less). That is quick sale!

Here is a report card for single family home sales in Cedar Park area in July 2016. All comparisons are against July 2015.

More specifically in the Cypress Creek and neighboring communities 62 houses were sold in July. To find out the details  of each sale, including the price the properties were sold and how long they were in the market, see the detail map here.

All this has affected your home’s value!

If you plan to move, you need to know the value of your home right now. I invite you to find out the new value of your home at the website I created that will provide you with your homes new value at:

www.myCedarParkPropertyWorth.com

See all current homes for sale near YOU with option to get notified as soon as your neighbors home lists for sale before the major real estate websites even get them!

A special “Thank You!” to my clients and YOUR neighbors who continue to leave me reviews after a real estate transactions. You may read the client reviews below, along with other real estate resources that you may find valuable!

I hope you find this helpful and, as always, I appreciate your consideration in referring any friends, family, or colleagues my way. Again, thank you for supporting me and my business endeavors and do not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions about anything related to real estate or your home!

Best wishes,

How much your current home worth, find out!
Homes Close to Where You Work SEARCH For New Homes Down Payment Help MY REVIEWS		Moe Dadseresht Austin Skyline Realty 512-740-6945 Licensed In: Texas License #: 650995       Texas Real Estate Commision Disclosure

People often ask is the ‘rent-to-own’, also known as ‘lease-to-purchase’ a good alternative for homebuyers? The idea is enticing, especially for first time homebuyers who often don’t have a very good credit or have trouble coming up with the upfront cash for the down payment, The basic concept is that you and the seller agree to purchase his/her house at the end of a period of time, usually two to three years. During those 2-3 years, a portion of your monthly rent is credited toward the down payment when you ‘purchase’ the house.

To get the privilege of ‘postponing’ the actual title transfer:

• You pay an up-front fee (called an option fee), which is typically 1-5 percent of the home’s purchase price. The fee is usually nonrefundable, but part or all of it can be applied to the down payment.

• You may also pay a higher monthly rent, but a portion of the rent will go into a fund that is later used for a down payment.

• The agreement locks-in the purchase price for the house.

• You can purchase the home on or before the lease’s expiration date.

Sounds pretty straightforward and clear. However, the more you learn about its pitfalls, the less you like it. Here are just a few of many pitfalls.

• Any lease payment that is to be credited towards a down payment is the amounts over and above the market rent. So, you pay more than the market rent during the lease period. Also, any such amounts to be credited to closing costs are limited by the type of loan (the limit is usually between 3% – 6%).

• When the term of the lease is over but the property has not increased in value up to the indicated amount in the agreement, if you decide to walk away from the deal, you will lose your deposit.

• You only have a predetermined ‘option’ period. If the house value is increased but you can’t qualify for a loan at that time, you will lose your deposit.

• Generally you, the tenant, are responsible for maintenance of the house during the option years.

• Should the seller have financial problems, get foreclosed on, or incur other liens, you plans could be upset.

• If the seller doesn’t actually own the house, or if you make your payments but the seller doesn’t pay the loan on the house, you could lose part or all of your extra payments.

• Since you are not the owner, buying insurance for the house could be an issue. Also, any insurance on the house may not cover your investment.

A comprehensive contract agreement is needed to cover all these details. These are beyond the standard a typical Real Estate Sale Contract and certainly not a do-it-yourself contract. For these and many other reasons, the Texas Legislators has made it mandatory to have lawyer involved in these types of contracts. It is required by the Texas Real Estate Commission that an attorney representing you, be involved in the transaction to ensure that the contract respects your wishes, although having an attorney is no guarantee that you won’t have problems anyway. Guess who pays for the services of that lawyer,  you the buyer!

The idea of lease-to-purchase seems to be more popular in a ‘down’ housing market, where sellers can’t find a buyer outright and find this method of financing a good alternative. Austin area is in a sellers market and current projections calls for that to continue, at least through the next year. It is hard to find a seller willing to agree to such a deal.

On rare occasions with a carefully crafted agreements that address a specific situation this can work. However, these cases do not involve a buyer who can not obtain lender financing. These successful transactions require professionals who are able to ‘match situations.’ They will NEVER be advertised as lease-to-purchase.

If you are looking at lease-to-purchase as a way of getting around you not-so-good credit or have trouble coming up with the down payment money, consider the following plan for a purchase in 1-2 years. You want to do this BEFORE you jump into a house, not while you are in it.

• Save, Save, Save!
  • Live as cheaply as you can. Rent as cheap as you can stand; for example a one bedroom or smaller in the cheapest place you can feel safe. Rent until you have the proper credit scores and sufficient cash to afford to purchase a home. You’ll need at least enough money for the 3% required via FHA and likely quite a bit more.
  • Save the extra amount that you would’ve been required to pay if you were in a lease-to-purchase situation.
  • Save every dime you can, eat at home, watch movies at home, entertain yourself with FREE events. Don’t blow money anywhere. Pay off all your debt and save for a down payment.
  • There are many websites that provide budget minded tips and plans.

• Get your credit in order and build your credit
  • Consider contacting a local lender who has a history of investing in your community through small business loans and home loans.
  • Select an “A” or “B” Graded banks in your community. Don’t make things worse by entering the lobby of a ‘Too Big to Fail and Too Big to Care’ bank. You will see that Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase and Cite are all “F’ graded lenders
  • Talk to a trusted mortgage lender and tell them your plans, your current budget, salaries, etc. They can provide you a plan to repair and rebuild your credit and give you a timeline of when you may be able to start shopping for your first home. I have a list of some local mortgage lenders if interested, contact me. Some lenders would be happy to look at your overall situation and may even recommend a reputable credit repair company that they work with to help you.
  • There are credit repair companies that can examine your credit and provide you a plan of action and even help you negotiate with creditors to bring your score up. Unfortunately, there are a lot of scam artists in this field who charge you money and get nothing done, so be very careful.
  • Even if you’re not going to be ready to buy for a year or two, I recommend getting pre-approved with a lender and having somebody look over your whole scenario, from credit, to debt, to income, etc.

• Plan for your purchase
  • Keep your eye on the real estate market; use this time to narrow down neighborhoods based on your future family plans, job commutes, entertainment needs, etc. If your credit situation is not totally off the low end of the charts, the time will pass quickly and you will be a new homeowner before you know it.
  • Look for alternate down payment programs.

• In short, be PATIENT, and SAVE SAVE SAVE, until you’re in a solid financial position then find a good Realtor to help you find the right property and terms that are beneficial to you.

If you have been thinking of buying your dream home, but don’t have enough money saved for down payment, in my judgement rent-to-own is not a good solution. Instead, use some of the suggestions above, read my ‘First Time Home Buyers‘ post and contact me with any questions for further assistance on this or other real estate questions.

Moe Dadseresht Austin Skyline Realty, Inc.  p:  (512)740-6945                   c: (512)740-6945  w: www.moeproperty.com  e: [email protected]  a:  11507 Hare Trail       Austin, TX 78726        Texas Real Estate Commission

Leander Homes for Sale & Sold Report – June 2016

I hope you had a great June! Here is a report card for single family home transactions in Leander area in June 2016. All comparisons are against June 2015.

This has affected your home’s value!

I would like to invite you to find out the new value of your home at a website I created that will provide you with your homes new value at:

www.myLeanderPropertyWorth.com

See all current homes for sale near YOU with option to get notified as soon as your neighbors home lists for sale before the major real estate websites even get them!

I would also like to give a special “Thank You!” to my clients and YOUR neighbors who continue to leave me reviews after a estate transactions. You may read my latest client reviews below, along with other real estate resources that you may find valuable!

I hope you find this helpful and, as always, I appreciate your consideration in referring any friends, family, or colleagues my way. Again, thank you for supporting me and my business endeavors and do not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions about anything related to real estate or your home!

Best wishes,

Moe Dadseresht Austin Skyline Realty, Inc.  p:  (512)740-6945                   c: (512)740-6945  w: www.moeproperty.com  e: [email protected]  a:  11507 Hare Trail       Austin, TX 78726        Texas Real Estate Commission

Cedar Park Homes for Sale & Sold Report – June 2016

I hope you had a great June! Here is a report card for single family home transactions in Cedar Park area in June 2016. All comparisons are against June 2015.

This has affected your home’s value!

I would like to invite you to find out the new value of your home at a website I created that will provide you with your homes new value at:

www.myCedarParkPropertyWorth.com

See all current homes for sale near YOU with option to get notified as soon as your neighbors home lists for sale before the major real estate websites even get them!

I would also like to give a special “Thank You!” to my clients and YOUR neighbors who continue to leave me reviews after a estate transactions. You may read my latest client reviews below, along with other real estate resources that you may find valuable!

I hope you find this helpful and, as always, I appreciate your consideration in referring any friends, family, or colleagues my way. Again, thank you for supporting me and my business endeavors and do not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions about anything related to real estate or your home!

Best wishes,

How much your current home worth, find out!
Homes Close to Where You Work SEARCH For New Homes Down Payment Help MY REVIEWS		Moe Dadseresht Austin Skyline Realty 512-740-6945 Licensed In: Texas License #: 650995       Texas Real Estate Commision Disclosure

People often ask whether or not now is a good time to buy a home. No one ever asks when is a good time to rent! It is not a secret, and if you have been renting in Austin in the past few years you have first hand experience, the rents are steadily going up! Here is a graph showing Austin area rent increases in the past few years:

A recent Wall Street Journal article reports that rents rose “faster last year than at any time since 2007, a boon for landlords but one that has stoked concerns about housing affordability for renters.” The article also cited results from a recent Reis Inc. report indicating that average effective rents rose 4.6% in 2015, the largest gain since before the recession. Over the past 15 years, nationally the rents have risen at a rate of 2.7% annually.

When asked about the reason for not buying, most first time homebuyers often answer “I don’t have enough money for a down payment” or “my credit score is not good” amongst other reasons. But like the rest of the “Top 6 Reasons to Not Buy a Home“, these can be overcome if there is a desire and a will to go forward.

Where are rents are headed?

If you are thinking that the rents are stabilizing and housing prices are coming down it may be a while before that happens. Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at realtor.com recently warned that: “Low rental vacancies and a lack of new rental construction are pushing up rents, and we expect that they’ll outpace home price appreciation in the year ahead.”  

Bottom Line

Lawrence Yun, NAR’s Chief Economist, had this to say in the latest Existing Home Sales Report: “With rents steadily rising and average fixed rates well below 4 percent, qualified first-time buyers should be more active participants than what they are right now.”

One way to protect yourself from rising rents is to control your housing expense by buying a home. If you are ready to buy, let us meet to determine if you are able to buy a house in today’s market!

As I mentioned in my last months’s post, I have summarized the whole process of house buying in a document. You can download or read it here or download it here.

Regardless of how you finance your home purchase, remember that you can take advantage of the City of Austin and Travis County first time homebuyer programs. Even if you are not a first time homebuyers, or didn’t qualify in the past, it is worth to take a few minutes of your time and check to see how many programs do you qualify.

Drop me a note here, with your comments or questions, or if want to arrange for a tour of any of the new houses listed in the portal.