Source: Money Crashers
Are you thinking about a home remodel project this year? Before you start knocking down walls or hiring a contractor, you might want to think about a few projects that won’t require a big contract and heavy equipment. Here are a few simple projects that will add value to your home and not break the bank.
By Anna Bahney, CNN Business
Updated 2:51 PM ET, Tue December 28, 2021
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/27/homes/us-real-estate-market-2021/index.html
originally posted on Sept 7, 2021 by Porch Research
originally posted on FreddieMac Nov 3, 2021
Freddie Mac Multifamily engages with Esusu to report on-time rent payments
MCLEAN, Va., Nov. 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today announced a new initiative to help renters build credit by encouraging operators of multifamily properties to report on-time rental payments to the three major credit-reporting bureaus. Presently, less than 10% of renters see their on-time rental payment history reflected in their credit scores, inhibiting their ability to access credit or obtain competitive rates for a range of financial products. The initiative, which incentivizes rent reporting via technology created by Esusu Financial Inc., will seamlessly deliver on-time rental payment data from property management software platforms to the credit bureaus. It will automatically unenroll renters when missed payments occur, preventing harm to those who struggle financially.
“Rent payments are often the single largest monthly line item in a family’s budget but paying your rent on time does not show up in a credit report like a mortgage payment,” said Michael DeVito, CEO of Freddie Mac. “That puts the 44 million households who rent at a significant disadvantage when they seek financing for a home, a car or even an education. While there remains more to do, this is a meaningful step in addressing this age-old problem.”
Freddie Mac will provide closing cost credits on multifamily loans for owners of rental properties who agree to report on-time rental payments through Esusu’s platform. Freddie Mac has also negotiated discounted fees for Esusu’s services. The platform manages the end-to-end process of reporting rental payments to all three major credit bureaus while ensuring compliance with industry standards. This solution eliminates the administrative and compliance burden for property owners, which has been the largest hurdle facing industry efforts to report rental data. Esusu even reports up to 24 months of past on-time rent payments, resulting in an immediate positive impact to credit scores.
“At present, the most common way for rents to be reported to the credit bureaus is when there is a missed payment that has gone to a collections agency,” said Alexis Sofyanos, senior director of Equity in Multifamily Housing at Freddie Mac. “Freddie Mac wants to flip that script, so that renters who pay their rent on time and in full each month get credit for doing so, while also putting in safeguards for the most vulnerable.”
In addition to helping renters build credit, Esusu’s platform enhances credit score awareness and helps renters verify their rental history. Esusu aims to provide a holistic platform for resident financial stability and the tools needed to strengthen relationships between renters and property owners.
“Esusu and Freddie Mac are committed to a more equitable housing market for homeowners and renters alike. Working with Freddie Mac allows us to address credit invisibility, which is an essential first step toward addressing renter financial stability,” said Samir Goel and Abbey Wemimo, co-founders of Esusu. “Where you come from, the color of your skin and your financial identity should never determine where you end up in life. Today there are over 45 million adults in America with no credit score, the vast majority of whom are immigrants, minorities and low-to-moderate income households. The benefit of the Esusu platform is that everyone wins. It's a win for renters, property owners and society at large.”
About Freddie Mac
Freddie Mac Multifamily is the nation's multifamily housing finance leader. Historically, more than 90% of the eligible rental units we fund are affordable to families with low-to-moderate incomes earning up to 120% of area median income. Freddie Mac securitizes about 90% of the multifamily loans it purchases, thus transferring the majority of the expected credit risk from taxpayers to private investors.
Freddie Mac makes home possible for millions of families and individuals by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Since our creation by Congress in 1970, we've made housing more accessible and affordable for homebuyers and renters in communities nationwide. We are building a better housing finance system for homebuyers, renters, lenders and taxpayers. Learn more at FreddieMac.com, Twitter @FreddieMac and Freddie Mac's blog FreddieMac.com/blog.
About Esusu
Esusu is the leading financial technology platform that leverages data solutions to empower residents and improve property performance. Esusu's rent reporting platform captures rental payment data and reports it to credit bureaus to boost credit scores. This allows renters to build and establish their credit scores while helping property owners increase revenue, lower evictions, and fill vacancies powered by differentiated data and insights. Founded in 2018, Esusu reaches over two million rental units across all 50 states in the United States. Learn more at www.esusurent.com and follow us on Facebook @myesusu and on Twitter @getesusu.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Freddie Mac: Mike Morosi
(703) 918-5851
Michael_Morosi@FreddieMac.com
Esusu: Chanel Cathey
chanel@cjcinsights.com
Today’s hot housing market is one of the peculiar outcrops of the pandemic. Housing supply was already low before Covid-19, but it was further hampered as lockdowns took place and people began looking for new homes, driven by a host of reasons—from the desire to leave populated cities to better home offices or just fear of missing out (FOMO).
The Federal Reserve’s steps last year to keep the financial markets liquid and to ensure mortgage rates stayed low have continued. But the low mortgage rates pale in comparison to soaring housing prices in the past year.
Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, grew by 17.2% in June 2021 compared with June 2020—a record high, according to the latest CoreLogic report. And while there have certainly been hot seller’s markets in the past, none quite compare to the current market where more than 50% of homes for sale have fetched over the asking price.
“We’ve been tracking housing prices for over 20 years, and we’ve never seen anything like this,” says Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic.
Historically, the fall ushers in less competition and better deals as children return to school and the holidays overtake schedules. But the pandemic altered that trend last year, and many cities are going through double-digit percentage increases in housing prices.
To get some insight into what prospective buyers and sellers can expect as we enter the midpoint of summer, Forbes Advisor spoke to housing experts across the country to get their forecast on home prices, rates and buyer appetite in the coming months.
While a full-on celebration might be too soon, prospective homebuyers can breathe a little easier, based on predictions from real estate experts. Prices are beginning to decelerate in some areas as more inventory has become available for single-family homes.
According to the National Association of Realtors, unsold homes rose 3.3% to 1.25 million from May to June this year. Although the increase in inventory is not enough to satisfy demand, it might give buyers hope and possibly buying leverage with more options to choose from.
“Mortgage applications have dropped to an 18-month low, and we are seeing some real buyer fatigue in the market,” says Tamar Asken, real estate agent at Avenue 8 in Los Angeles. “Sellers are responding to lower buyer enthusiasm with price reductions.”
In Northern Virginia, home prices were up 10.9% year-over-year (YOY) in June 2021 compared to the same time last year. The more affordable areas of Northern Virginia, like Fairfax City, saw a sharper rise in YOY median home price gains (15.1%) compared to their more expensive nearby areas like Falls Church, which experienced a smaller rise of just 3.2%.
“The market in Northern Virginia has slowed significantly during the past month, with fewer offers and longer days on market,” says Ryan McLaughlin, CEO at the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors (NVAR). “While this would be a normal pattern in a typical year, given the intensity of the spring market, it is surprising. It could well be due to an uptick in travel as pandemic restrictions eased.”
Cape Cod, part of the “Zoom towns” (areas that got popular as more people were able to work from home) housing frenzy that took hold last year, is starting to see a slight reprieve from the hopped-up demand.
Last year, the early pandemic buying spree slashed Cape Cod inventory from approximately 2,300 homes to 230 homes as cities shut down and buyers flocked to the coastal town, says Ken Hager, general manager of Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty on Cape Cod. But Hager says that the market is beginning to normalize.
“Looking ahead, we could see price increases continue on Cape Cod as well as across the country, but at a much slower pace. And prices will likely retreat from panic-buying highs,” Hager says.
However, for some communities, the pandemic gave them a much-needed boost from the lagging price appreciation still leftover from the last housing crisis. Wisconsin, for instance, was slower to recover from the 2008 crash, when foreclosure filings hit a record high of 21.5%.
“In many of our neighborhoods, it took until 2018 to return to those pre-crisis values. Since then, we have seen double-digit appreciation, but it has largely been a reversion to the mean,” says Rick Ruvin, lead partner with the Falk Ruvin Gallagher team at Keller Williams in Milwaukee. “Locally, we are anticipating an evening of the playing field and a return to offers with the typical inspection and financing contingencies.”
Similar to how the pandemic triggered a sanitizer and toilet paper buying spree, consumers also flocked to the real estate market last year. As demand for houses picked up, interested buyers have pulled out all the stops to outbid the competition.
This caused all sorts of strange and perhaps reckless behavior, including buyers forgoing contingencies in the sales contract meant to protect them and their earnest money, which can amount to thousands of dollars. Some buyers were using their retirement savings, while others were getting loans so they could appear to be all-cash buyers.
But this going-for-broke approach could be declining, says Brady Miller CEO of Trelora, a real estate company based in Denver, Colorado. Whether it’s because inventory is beginning to ramp up or home prices are flattening, some buyers realize that they might be putting too much on the line and “are taking the power position back once they go under contract,” Miller says.
Even Asken, who’s based in Los Angeles’ notoriously expensive and competitive market, says she is noticing that more buyers are now proceeding with caution.
“I do not see the same level of desperation and urgency we saw a few months ago,” Asken says. “After large price increases, many properties just don’t feel like such a good deal anymore.”
While history would indicate that fall is when you can get a better deal on real estate, last year bucked all trends with enormous home sales growth recorded in the fall season. So are we likely to see a repeat later this year?
Ralph B. McLaughlin, chief economist and senior vice president of analytics at Haus, Inc., says that demand will go back to its usual cooling-off period in the fall, noting the recent expansion of inventory and retreating home prices.
“I think it’s absolutely likely that price growth will slow throughout the end of the year, as they’re already slowing from their peak in June,” McLaughlin says. “We expect price growth to moderate to the mid-high single digits by December.”
However, McLaughlin added that he doesn’t expect inventory to recover fully until next spring.
Likewise, Nothaft was cautiously optimistic, pointing out that inventory is on a rising trajectory thanks partly to lumber prices easing and the construction of new sawmills in the U.S. But Nothaft also agrees that housing supply is a long way from meeting demand.
Nothaft also expects mortgage rates to increase as we head into fall and the new year. The mortgage rates on both fixed 30-year and 15-year mortgages have been sitting at record-low averages since last summer, bobbing between the low-3% and mid-2% range. These low rates have only encouraged an already fiery housing market, so higher rates should help subdue demand.
“Mortgage rates are rock-bottom and record low, but they will not stay like that forever,” Nothaft says. “Over the course of 2022, we’ll see a gradual rise, probably about half a percentage point higher than in 2021. On the margin, that will moderate demand.”
The best course of action for buyers waiting on the sidelines is to start getting your finances in order now—if you wait to do that until a deal comes along, you’ll be too late.
This is a good time to work on your credit score—a higher score means lower rates, which translates into lower monthly payments. You can get weekly free credit reports from all three credit bureaus until April 20, 2022. After that, you’re entitled to one free credit report from each bureau per year.
Keep in mind that as home prices rise, so does your down payment requirement. What was a 5% down payment on a house last year is much higher this year as home prices continue to tick up, so keep saving and explore down-payment assistance (DPA) options.
Not only do you have to save for a down payment, but there are also closing costs and reserve money you’ll need in the bank, too. If you want help navigating the homebuying process, a great place to start is with a housing counselor. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has a directory of free, HUD-approved housing counselors on its website.
originally published by Better.com
Buying your first home is exciting, but it can also feel daunting — especially in a hot market, where offers are flying and homes are going on and off the market in a matter of days.
One of the best tools in your homebuyer toolkit is a pre-approval letter. It shows sellers that you’re likely able to secure financing, and that they can take your offer seriously. And most importantly, it helps you focus your search by giving you an accurate picture of how much house you can comfortably afford.
Essentially, pre-approval is a snapshot of what you’re likely able to borrow for a home. It’s based largely on information you provide to a lender, so the final amount could change somewhat once you’ve gone through the full underwriting process, where an underwriter verifies all of the necessary information to understand what you’ll be able to comfortably borrow.
A Better Mortgage pre-approval takes as little as 3 minutes and asks you a few brief questions about things like how much income you have, how many assets you have available, and how much debt you owe. To get an accurate picture of what you can afford, it’s good to be as accurate as possible when answering these questions — accuracy here will ensure your final approved amount doesn’t end up being significantly different from your pre-approved amount.
Pre-approval also usually involves a credit check. Most lenders run a hard credit check which can impact your credit score by up to 5 points. A Better Mortgage pre-approval uses a soft credit check which does not impact your credit score. This means that even if you’re just starting to think about buying a home you can see how much you’ll be pre-approved to borrow with peace of mind that your credit score won’t take a hit.
We recommend that every homebuyer get pre-approved. Even experienced homebuyers with proven credit and significant assets will still benefit from having a pre-approval letter to show sellers their offers should be taken seriously.
The one exception is cash buyers, who of course do not need any mortgage approval processwhatsoever. It’s worth noting that even if you don’t have the entire purchase amount in cash, you can work with a company with a program that gives you the resources to make a cash offer, such as the Better Cash Offer Program.* These programs allow you to use the lender’s cash to make a cash offer on the home, then convert to a traditional loan after underwriting is complete. Since cash is so attractive to sellers, this can make a big difference in your likelihood of winning the offer beyond what even a pre-approval letter can do.
Since most lenders only run a soft credit check for pre-approval, you can get pre-approved at any stage in the process — even if you’re just starting to think seriously about buying a home. One of the biggest benefits of pre-approval is that it tells you how much a lender is willing to offer you for a purchase, which can help you frame your thinking around what kind of home to start looking for.
That said, it’s important to keep in mind that pre-approval letters are typically valid for 90 days — so if you plan to start making offers in the near future, it’s wise to keep that 90-day window in mind.
The other timing consideration has to do with the information you’re able to provide. If you anticipate an increase in your income, a payoff of a debt, or a detractor on your credit report falling off in the near future, it’s worthwhile to wait for those things to pass before getting pre-approved. It may significantly impact the amount you’re pre-approved for.
Imagine someone’s selling a home for $350,000, and they receive two offers: One without a pre-approval letter from a lender, for $375,000, and one with a pre-approval letter for the list price of $350,000. The higher amount is enticing, but they have no way of knowing if the person making that offer can actually pay that amount for the home. The lower one, on the other hand, is backed up by a lender who has said “Based on what this person has told us, this person is pre-approved for a mortgage to buy your home.”
That’s the power of pre-approval. Even if your offer isn’t the highest, it proves that you’re likely able to complete the purchase and therefore gives you a much higher chance of winning the home.
Depending on the lender, it could be as simple as a few questions online or as complex as an in-person appointment with a series of paper forms to fill out.
Many lenders are moving to an online pre-approval process, but most still require in-person paperwork further along in the underwriting process.
WIth Better Mortgage, you can get pre-approved online in as little as 3 minutes, and have your pre-approval letter in-hand immediately. If you continue with Better Mortgage to get your loan fully approved, your pre-approval flows seamlessly into our fully digital mortgage approval process, where you’ll have a dedicated support person and an online portal where you can view, download, and upload documents all in one place.
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