A Mortgage Can Do a Lot When It Comes to Your Home

 When it comes to mortgages, they are generally thought of as just for buying or building a new home. A mortgage can also come in handy when it comes to renovations, repairs and restorations. This means when you are in the market for a mortgage, you need to understand what the different loan types are.

Private loans are only offered by private lenders. They are offered to approved homebuyers and come as conventional, construction and jumbo. A buyer must have a good credit history, 10% to 20% of the loan’s value for a downpayment, and want the most attractive current rates available for a conventional loan. For a construction loan a buyer must have an excellent credit history, must be building a new home on purchased land and have a bit of a longer timeline than most. A jumbo loan a buyer has to have an excellent credit history, a home valued over $424,100 and a high down payment.

Government-backed loans are backed by the government. An FHA loan is for a homebuyer with a low income, only has 3.5% to 10% for a down payment and can also be a first-time homebuyer. A USDA Rural loan is for a homebuyer who lives in a rural area, has a low income and little downpayment and is fixing up the home. A VA loan buyer has to have had at least six months of military, reserves or National Guard service, or a spouse of a veteran who died in active duty and fair credit history.

Purchasing a home is a very exciting time and financing your home should be also. Understanding the different types of financing can help reduce the stress of the process and make it much more enjoyable.

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Tips for Creating the Perfect Sunroom

 What are some ways to plan a sunroom addition to your house?

Choose a location
Define the purpose of the sunroom
Choose window types and placement
Decide if it will be climate controlled

A sunroom is a perfect place to enjoy the view of the outdoors during any season. A sunroom is not only a great space for a homeowner but also will add value to your home. Follow these four tips when planning the perfect sunroom addition.

1. Location

The first step is to determine where you want to add your sunroom. If you love sunlight and want to have the most sunlight in your sunroom, then it should be built along a south-facing wall. If you are a morning person and love to watch the sunrise, then place it along an east-facing wall.

2. Purpose

Next, you will want to define the purpose of your sunroom. A sunroom functions as many different rooms, it is all up to the homeowner. Many popular choices are a family room, a home office, or an entertaining guest space.

3. Window Size & Placement

You will want to now decide on windows and their placement. If you want to create a screened porch look you will need to use floor-to-ceiling windows. Other good options for a sunroom are awning windows or sliding windows. These allow fresh air into a home's sunroom.

4. Climate Control

The last thing to consider is whether the sunroom should be climate controlled. A four-season sunroom is climate controlled and can be both heated and cooled. This can range from a ceiling fan to extending the HVAC system in the sunroom. Other options can also include insulated glass and windows that can open.

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 A drop in growth pushed the housing share of the economy up at the beginning of 2022. The overall GDP dropped at a 1.4% annual rate. This was due to the increased inventories and a jump in imports. The housing's share of GDP rose to 16.7%.

The beginning of the year also saw a 4.8% increase in GDP in terms of residential fixed investment. There will be challenges this year for home construction. There will be a higher interest rate due to tightening monetary policy. RFI added 10 basis points to the headline GDP growth rate at the start of 2022.

Housing activities add to the GDP in two ways. First through RFI which stands for residential fixed investment. This measures how home building, multifamily development, and remodeling contribute to GDP. It can do this through the construction of new single-family and multifamily structures, residential remodeling, production of manufactured homes, and brokers’ fees.

Second is the measure of house services and how it affects GDP. This includes gross rents (including utilities) paid by renters, owners’ imputed rent (an estimate of how much it would cost to rent owner-occupied units), and utility payments. In the first quarter of 2022 housing services made up 11.9% of the economy, totaling $2.9 trillion on a seasonally adjusted annual basis.

This year the recent interest in housing has definitely affected the economy in a positive way. The shares are near historic norms.

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Inventory Is Rising As of July 2021's Report

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) housing inventory is starting to improve. Industry leaders predict that home prices will begin to level off as the inventory starts to increase.

As of July 2021 on a year-over-year basis sales were up by 1.5% over this time last year. Existing home sales including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops also increased. Total existing-home sales jumped 2.0% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.99 million.

July also reported the current sales rates of unsold inventory sits at a 2.6 month supply. This is up from June 2021 but is still behind from this time last year. New construction will benefit from the low level of existing homes on the market.

Homes were on the market an average of 17 days in July which is an all-time low. This time last year homes stayed on the market for an average of 22 days. This summer homes 89% of homes that were sold stayed on the market for under a month.

Low inventory is still pushing home prices up. July reported a 17.8% increase in the median sales price of existing homes to $359,900. This is the 113th consecutive month of year-over-year increase according to the NAR. Multifamily existing homes were up 14.1% from a year ago to a median price of $307,100.

If you are in the market for a home, contact a local Realtor. Working with a local sales professional will help you save money and time. Realtors know the community the best.

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Reasons to Buy a Home

From a survey conducted every 2 years by the National Association of Homes Builders (NAHB), builders and Realtors can learn and understand what the “average home buyer” wants in the home that they are buying.  This survey is very important in detailing a buyer’s reasons to buy a home.   From a broad perspective, the survey indicated that over 55% of home buyers would prefer to buy a new home vs. a pre-existing home, but the actual percentage of home buyers buying new homes was only 11% from 2011 – 2013.  However ,this 11% was actually a 3% increase from 2008 when only 8% of home buyer bought a new home.

Size, floorplan, price and neighborhood scored in the top 70th percentile as reasons to buy a home by home buyers surveyed by the NAHB with the aesthetics and safety playing an important role in the decision to buy in a certain neighborhood.  In St. Tammany Parish, Bedico Creek Preserve offers a master planned community in Madisonville that scores highly on not only beautiful homes and an almost completely safe neighborhood location, but also, with 10 Neighborhoods within the subdivision from which to choose, new home buyers also get to enjoy lots of variety in choosing not only a house to buy but also a lot location on which to build a new, custom home, if desired.

The NAHB also said that good schools tended to be important to new home buyers especially.  Madisonville, Louisiana, boasts the best school district in St. Tammany Parish which already scores as one of the best school districts in the state.  Many home buyers’ reasons to buy a home in Bedico Creek is because of its excellent school district.

Another important factor found in the survey was that buyers of new homes valued quality construction especially when using a builder to build them a new home.  The construction, durability, and beauty of the home was extremely important to them.  In Bedico Creek, we have 14 new home builders that are available for a consultation on either building a new home on a lot purchased in our community or buying a new home built by our quality builders in St. Tammany Parish.

According the National Association of Home Builders,  Bedico Creek Preserve scores highly across the board for all of the features that are important to new home buyers which is probably why the homes and lots in our new subdivision are selling out so quickly.  Don’t miss your opportunity to own a new home in the fastest growing master planned community in St. Tammany Parish!  Contact Us at 985-845-4200 or E-mail Info@LiveBedico.com.

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Guidelines to Use When Purchasing a Home in a Seller’s Market

The housing market is hot right now as can be seen in all the statistics gathered from real estate professionals. Multiple offers and shortage of homes on the market along with low interest rates have driven the market to where it is today. This can make for a challenging situation for home buyers. Bidding wars could lead you, as a buyer, to purchase a home priced higher than the appraised value of the home, or you may even spend more than you can afford. One of the downfalls of the Recession is that homeowners ended up owing more than their home was worth – home buyers don’t want to repeat this trend.

In the market for a new single-family home but are a little apprehensive because of the low inventory, increased prices and bidding wars? Don’t be…here are some guidelines to use when purchasing a home in a seller’s market.

Recognize the Supply and Demand. If there are not many real estate listings, it can be difficult to find what you are looking for when your pickings are slim. When you do find what you are looking for, you can bet other buyers want the same thing which will only drive the price up. You do not want to purchase a home at a higher price when the price rise is determined by low inventory versus a strong economy. A strong economy can support a strong market.

Scout Out the Neighborhood. Are there any signs of new construction or have the housing starts increased? If so, this is a good sign that the local housing market is thriving. Remember, if the local economy is strong it can sustain a rising housing market. Research the market by noting the number of developed lots in the community and the amount of building permits that have been issued. The St. Tammany Parish Residential Permits office provides information regarding the amount of building permits that have been issued in the Greater New Orleans area. Speak to a Realtor in the neighborhood market in which you are interested. They can tell you if new home construction is strong in the neighborhood and how many lots are for sale in the area.

Sometimes Losing Can Be in Your Best Interest. Buyers who push to any limit to win the bidding war can overpay and loose in the long run. Go into the bid with your game shoes on…set a budget and think about getting a preapproval from a mortgage lender. When setting a budget, remember to compensate for living expenses and emergency funds. If the bidding war sets the price too high, walk away!

Do Not Let Your Guard Down. Use smart self-defense when purchasing a home. Many buyers who want to win the bid give up rights that are standard in sales contracts. Contingencies are there to protect the buyer. It is pretty risky to give these up to appease a seller into accepting your offer. Buyers can lose their deposit if they do not have a preapproved mortgage and have been denied a mortgage after they have a house under contract or the inspection comes back with costly repairs. Another way a buyer can lose cash is if an appraisal comes in low and the mortgage lender reduces the loan amount making the buyer put up the cash to compensate for the gap between the loan and purchase price. If you feel you have found the house for you, then determine if the risk of waiving any contingency clauses outweigh any hidden financial surprises you might find.

Now is still a good time to buy as mortgage rates are low. In St. Tammany Parish at Bedico Creek Preserve, we have many new homes for sale from which to choose, including new homes priced from the $230’s – $300’s in two exclusive Neighborhoods called Cypress Crossing and Deer Park. To find out more about our homes for sale, Contact our sales office at 985-845-4200 or E-mail Info@LiveBedico.com.

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