Friday, July 20, 2007

Ready for your first home?


Most of us have heard that the "sub-prime" mortgage market is in trouble. According to Realtor.org, over 25 major lenders have quit or severely limited this area of lending. On Wednesday, July 18th, The national Association of Realtors testified before Congress regarding a reformed FHA (Federal Housing Authority).

"REALTORS® support efforts to give consumers affordable alternatives to subprime mortgages. We believe that a modernized FHA could offer a safe alternative, especially for borrowers with less than perfect credit,” said John Anderson, broker-owner of Twin Oaks Realty in Crystal, Minn., testifying on behalf of NAR. See the rest of this article here. FHA loans have come back in vogue. Not that they ever left us, but the market produced products that made FHA loans less attractive. That is changing because of the sub prime markets colapse.

Research by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that the cost of home ownership is going down while the cost of renting is on the rise. With the large inventory of entry level homes available, now may be the best time for renters to own their first home. For those of us who can remember buying our first home, it brings back memories of fear and cold sweats! I personally thought that the $52,000 we paid for our first house was all the money in the world and that I would never pay it off. Looking back, even though I was scared to death, it was the best financial move I ever made.


If the thought of buying your first house has you curled up in the corner, give me a call @ 770-862-8002. I can help you decide if this really is the best time for you to buy your first home.

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