Mortgage Calculator

There are of course predatory lenders to avoid, (even in Annapolis) but just as important, there are incompetent mortgage brokers out there. And I would never recommend using one of the on-line lenders, or non-local lenders. Why? Because accountability and experience.

(And to be clear: housing prices are going to fall 25% before they start to rebound. That’s the optimistic scenario, as far as I’m concerned. Housing prices must fall, substantially, before everything comes back into balance — there’s not really any way around the Bad Thing)

we have to move house this month. our landlady has decided that she wants to move back into her house, so she gave us notice a few weeks back. other than having to move, the frustrating part is that everything we are finding available for rent is about twice the amount we currently pay. apparently housing prices have skyrocketed over the course of this last year.

Also, "back in the day," the minimum down payment was 10 percent, with most people putting 20 percent down. With today's higher housing prices, 20 percent represents a huge chunk of cash, and zero-down, 100 percent loans are not uncommon.

I’ve been comparing housing prices in various parts of this valley as well as a few random spots around the country. I haven’t found anywhere as high priced as the Hawaiian island of Kauai but then, I didn’t expect prices that high elsewhere.

Behind the scenes, your mortgage broker is juggling all these criteria, and building relationships with lenders — the best mortgage brokers compare 30 or more — each with a myriad of rate offerings, in order for you to get the best pricing possible for your particular transaction.

After echoing many of my comments in a recent post on Mountain View, saying how local housing prices are supported by supply and demand, and Silicon Valley’s ability to reinvent itself to remain a leader in technology development (agriculture, aerospace, semiconductor, PC, internet, biotech, web 2.0), Rodoni went on to prognosticate about the local real estate market in the coming years.

Calif. median home price - January 07: $559,640

Walked back to the hotel and somehow ended up at a very cute street where I saw lots of amazing looking little houses. I don’t want to even imagine how much they cost, I’d say easily over a million since housing prices here are just ridiculous.

Congress seemed content to let these most dangerous ARMaments proliferate until they were in nearly every American ZIP code. And the bankers responsible for the proliferation of these ARMs throughout America assured us all that ever-rising house prices would keep the fallout from any WMDs to a minimum.

What is happening here is the selling out of our citizens to benefit the bottom line of our nation’s financial systems. It is not unheard of for closing costs to be five or ten thousand dollars to simply re-write a thirty year mortgage. All of the closing costs are profit to the lender and it is awfully nice of them to roll them charges into your payment. Then you get hit with the private mortgage insurance that protects the bank but not you. Isn’t it nice that you pay for the bank’s insurance on your loan if you do not have 80% equity in your home? If you lose your home, legally you are still responsible for the loan. Nothing short of bankruptcy will cover your butt and even still, it can go the distance through collections.

2- Predicting Housing Prices Based on Historic Data Is Doo Doo. from sellsius° real estate blog

Interesting, isn’t it, how financial considerations can influence so many facets of one’s life? In LA, if you have a steep mortage or rent, you may be forced to drive long distances just to pay for it all, whereas in areas with saner housing prices, things are quite a lot more relaxed.

With housing prices being what they are, I’ll take a gamble and say you don’t have enough space. Me either. this is a pretty darn cool coffee table that doubles as a couch.

Tip #3: Consider a second loan to avoid paying PMI. This can be tricky because you want to make sure the second loan cost you less than the mortgage insurance (obvious, but it has to be said). Optimally this will be a second loan that you can repay early, avoiding most of the interest payments. Check with your mortgage broker or banker to see if this option may be right for you.

FreddieMac.com has reported a lowering of interest rates for a second week in a row, according to its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Rates on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.18 percent, down from last week’s 6.22 percent.