Careful…Don’t Get Caught in the Rental Trap. There are many benefits to homeownership. One of the top benefits is being able to protect yourself from rising rents by locking in your housing cost for the life of your mortgage.
Don’t Become Trapped
Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at realtor.com, reported on what he calls a “Rental Affordability Crisis.” He warns 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.”
In the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University’s 2016 State of the Nation’s Housing Report, they revealed that “The number of cost-burdened households rose to 21.3 million. Even more troubling, the number with severe burdens (paying more than 50% of income for housing) jumped to a record 11.4 million.” These households struggle to save for a rainy day and pay other bills, such as food and healthcare.
It’s Cheaper to Buy Than Rent
In Smoke’s article, he went on to say,
“Housing is central to the health and well-being of our country and our local communities. In addition, this (rental affordability) crisis threatens the future value of owned housing, as the burdensome level of rents will trap more aspiring owners into a vicious financial cycle in which they cannot save and build a solid credit record to eventually buy a home.” “While more than 85% of markets have burdensome rents today, it’s perplexing that in more than 75% of the counties across the country, it is actually cheaper to buy than rent a home. So why aren’t those unhappy renters choosing to buy?”
Know Your Options
Perhaps you have already saved enough to buy your first home. HousingWire reported that analysts at Nomura believe:
“It’s not that Millennials and other potential homebuyers aren’t qualified in terms of their credit scores or in how much they have saved for their down payment. It’s that they think they’re not qualified or they think that they don’t have a big enough down payment.” (emphasis added)
Many first-time homebuyers who believe that they need a large down payment may be holding themselves back from their dream home. As we have reported before, in many areas of the country, a first-time home buyer can save for a 3% down payment in less than two years. You may have already saved enough!
Bottom Line
Don’t get caught in the trap so many renters are currently in. If you are ready and willing to buy a home, find out if you are able. Let’s get together to determine if you can qualify for a mortgage now!
Los Angeles County Real Estate Statistics for March 2014
March 2014 Real Estate Activity Statistics for Los Angeles County: Total Single Family Residence (SFR) Sold/Closed: 3,634 Total SFR Distressed Sales (NOD, In-Forclosure, Short Sale) 326 Total Real Estate Owned (REO) 136 Total Probate 75 Fun Fact: Most Expensive Los...
Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act Extension Approved by Senate
Great news from NAR on the government approving an extension to the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act of 2007.
The Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act protects the homeowner from taxation on their short sale of their primary residence.
Of course, California residents are protected from this type of taxation under CCP580E.
Chino Hills Housing Statistics
Chino hills California current housing statistics. Is it time to sell?
What is Probate?
What is probate? We answer this question here: https://shortsalesellit.com/probate-questions/ We invite your specific questions Probate, Guardianship or Conservatorship...
Paint Your Home! What To Consider When Choosing A Color.
While it’s a good idea to get creative, it’s usually a bad idea to pick colors that will clash with your neighbors’ exteriors. You can always stand out but try to do so in an unobtrusive way!
The Real Wolf of Wall Street Finally Gets Punished!
It’s about time! Former CEO of Bank of America Ken D. Lewis is given his “sentence” for instrumenting the greatest financial crisis in US history. 5 years after leaving BofA on his Platinum Parachute ($135,000,000.00) “retirement” package, the smoke has cleared?
A Tiny House is not always cheap house…Like Short Sale is not really quick!
We have several friends that are considering downsizing. Who really needs all that "stuff" anyway? Check this out! With high rents in several parts of the country, it’s not uncommon to find apartments measuring under 500 square feet. According to tiny housing...
HAMP Loan Mod Re-Refaults on the Rise!
Loan Mod re-defaults are on the rise across the US. This map is expected to see an increase of 30% loan mod failure. Do you need help?
Suspicious? JPMorgan CHASE Executives are Turning Up Dead
We're not big conspiracy theorists, however, this is right out of a crime novel. Why has this not made the evening news? JP Morgan admitting knowing all about and supporting Bernie Madoff's scheme...what else are they hiding? Below is an article scraped from Housing...
The Types of People That Attend Open Houses
1. The real buyer
These people are somewhere in the home-buying process. They’re either testing out the market or they’re serious and fully qualified, ready to take action. For the seller, these are the ones you want coming through the door.
Why Do Short Sales Take So Long?
In a short sale, you need the seller’s bank to approve before you can close. Banks require dozens of pages of paperwork to evaluate whether or not to approve a short sale. Since the seller is asking the bank to accept a sale price that’s less than the mortgage amount, the bank needs to verify that a short sale is the right thing to do. Banks want to make sure the seller is indeed unable to stay in the home and can’t afford to pay off the difference between the market value and the bank’s loan amount.
Designer Ed Hardy Asking $3.199M for LA Tudor
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Mid Wilshire area abode was purchased by the creator of the Ed Hardy brand in 2007 for $2.695 million. Since then, Audigier sold his design company for $62 million and made several attempts to lease this 5,400-square-foot property.
Grant Deed vs. Quit Claim Deed
ransferring ownership of a property in California is accomplished via a property deed. There are at least a dozen different standard deeds, all developed over time to address different circumstances. These...
Californians: IRS and CA FTB Confirm No Taxes for Short Sales Due to CCP 580E
It's official according to the California Association of Realtors (CAR). As expected, the announcement earlier this month from the IRS courtesy of CAR and Senator Barbara Boxer, the IRS will consider any short sale taxable shortages (1099) for California homeowners...
Over 40% of all mortgages underwater…Short Sales…Foreclosure…Recovery?
Here it is comes, 2014, just a few weeks away...can you believe it? I find myself wondering what 2014 will bring? With recent numbers released by housing forecasters of over 40% of homeowners with mortgages being underwater I have to ask what is really going...
Do you have a mortgage with Chase Bank? May want to Short Sale Soon
If you have a mortgage thats underwater and Chase holds the note, be on the look out for the loan to be sold to Ocwen or another servicer. November 1st is the date slotted for Chase to unload....so....if you are late on payments there is a very good chance the...
Breaking news: California Short Sales are Not Subject to IRS Tax Deficiencies
California Association of realtors and California Senator Barbara Boxer received a letter from the IRS that clearly spell out the due to California's protective laws for distressed homeowners, that the Internal Revenue Service will not pursue tax deficiencies on short...
Riverside and San Bernardino County Rank in the Top 5 Foreclosure Rates
Among the nation’s 20 largest metro areas, the highest foreclosure rates were in Miami, Tampa, Chicago, Baltimore, and Riverside-San Bernardino, California.