Reasons To Attend Your Own Home Inspection

Jan 28

Reasons To Attend Your Own Home Inspection

January 28, 2013 By Justin Paulhamus Leave a Comment

As a home buyer in DC , you can get a feel for whether a home's systems and appliances are in working order. However, you can't know for certain until after the home's been inspected. This is why real estate agents recommend that buyers hire a licensed home inspectors immediately after going into contract. It's the best way to really know the home which you're buying. By definition, a home inspection is a top-to-bottom check-up of a home's physical condition and systems, including a review … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Home Buyer, Home inspection, Inspection, Plumbing, real estate, Real estate broker

Dec 03

A Look At This Week’s Mortgage Rates : December 3, 2012

December 3, 2012 By Justin Paulhamus Leave a Comment

Low mortgage rates are pumping up home affordability. Average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates made a new all-time low in November, continuing this year Refinance Boom and giving fuel to the budding housing market recovery. At month-end, Freddie Mac's survey of 125 banks nationwide put the benchmark product's rate at 3.32% for borrowers willing to pay 0.8 discount points. This is just 0.01 percentage point above the record-low rate establishing prior to Thanksgiving. The 15-year fixed … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Ben Bernanke, Case-Shiller Index, Consumer Confidence, Freddie Mac, Gross Domestic Product, Mortgage loan, Unemployment, United States Department of Commerce, Wall Street

Nov 27

Which Is Better : 15-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Or 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage?

November 27, 2012 By Justin Paulhamus Leave a Comment

As a home buyer or refinancing household in District of Columbia , you have choices with respect to your mortgage. You can choose a loan with accompanying discount points in exchange for lower mortgage rates; you can choose adjustable-rate loans over fixed rate ones; and, you can choose loans with principal + interest repayment schedules or repayments which are interest only, as examples. For borrowers using fixed rate loans, there's also the choice between the 30-year and 15-year fixed … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: 15-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage, 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage, Amortization, Choice, Fixed interest, Fixed rate mortgage, Floating interest rate, Loan, Mortgage loan, Payment, Point (mortgage)

Nov 19

Federal Reserve : New Economic Stimulus May Be Warranted

November 19, 2012 By Justin Paulhamus Leave a Comment

The Federal Reserve released its October Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes last week, revealing a Fed in disagreement about the future of the U.S. economy and about what, if any, stimulus may be warranted in the next 12 months. The "Fed Minutes" recaps the conversations and debates that transpire during an FOMC meeting, and is published 3 weeks after the meeting adjourns. According to the October minutes, FOMC members "generally agreed" that a housing recovery is under … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: District of Columbia, Fed Minutes, Federal Reserve System, FOMC, Freddie Mac, Purchasing Power, washington dc

Nov 09

For November : Home Maintenance To-Do List

November 9, 2012 By Justin Paulhamus Leave a Comment

The calendar has turned to November; the month during which we transition from fall into winter. With less sunlight, colder temperatures, and shorter days ahead for DC , it's an opportune time to cross those last-minute maintenance items off your homeowner to-do list. Practicing preventive care -- both inside and outside your home -- can save thousands of dollars in repairs come later this winter. What follows is a brief checklist to get you started. For outside the home : Inspect … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC, Selling Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Cleaning, Garage door opener, Heat exchanger, Home Repair, Home Safety, HVAC, Kitchen stove, Planned maintenance, Preventive medicine, Smoke Detector

Nov 06

October Jobs Report Blows Away Estimates; Mortgage Rates Falling

November 6, 2012 By Justin Paulhamus Leave a Comment

Another month, another good showing for the U.S. economy. Mortgage rates are performing surprisingly well after Friday's release of the October 2012 Non-Farm Payrolls report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly report beat Wall Street expectations, while also showing a giant revision to the previously-released job tallies of August and September. 171,000 net new jobs were created last month against calls for 125,000 and revisions for the two months prior totalled … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Bureau of Labor Statistic, Economy of the United States, Jobs, Mortgage loan, mortgage rates, Non-Farm Payrolls, Point (mortgage), report, Unemployment, Unemployment Rate, Wall Street

Oct 30

Pending Home Sales Index Suggests Housing Momentum Into 2013

October 30, 2012 By Justin Paulhamus Leave a Comment

The home resales is expected to finish the year with strength. Last month, for the fifth straight month, the Pending Home Sales Index hovered near its benchmark value of 100, registering 99.5 in September. The Pending Home Sales Index tracks homes under contract to sell, but not yet sold, and is published by the National Association of REALTORS®. The index is a relative one. It compares today's housing market activity to the housing market activity of 2001 -- the index's first year of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Selling Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: NAR, National Association of Realtors, New Home Sales, Pending Home Sales Index, PHSI, Real estate economics, September, September 2011, U.S. Housing Market

Oct 26

New Home Supply Remains Firmly In “Seller’s Market” Territory

October 26, 2012 By Justin Paulhamus Leave a Comment

The U.S. housing market appears headed for a strong close to 2012. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of new homes sold jumped to 389,000 units in September 2012 on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis. Not since the expiration of the $8,000 federal home buyer tax credit in April 2010 have new homes sold at such volumes. September's tally marks a 5.7 percent increase from the month prior, and a 27 percent increase from September 2011. There are now just 145,000 new homes … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC, Selling Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Buyer, homes for sale, Mortgage loan, mortgage rates, New Home Sales, New Home Supply, Real estate pricing, Supply and demand, U.S. Housing Market, United States Census Bureau

Oct 22

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : October 22, 2012

October 22, 2012 By Justin Paulhamus Leave a Comment

Mortgage markets worsened last week as hope for a European economic rebound and stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data moved investors out of mortgage-backed bonds. Mortgage rates all of types -- conventional, FHA and VA -- lost ground last week, harming home affordability in DC and reducing purchasing power nationwide. Rising rates also thwarted would-be refinancing households hoping to time a market bottom. The increase runs counter to Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: District of Columbia, Federal Open Market Committee, FOMC, Freddie Mac, mortgage, mortgage rates, New Home Sales, Purchasing Power, washington dc

Oct 18

Single-Family Housing Starts Rise To 4-Year High

October 18, 2012 By Justin Paulhamus Leave a Comment

The housing market continues to improve. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis, Single-Family Housing Starts rose to 603,000 last month, an 11 percent increase from the month prior and the highest reading in more than 4 years. A "housing start" is a home on which construction has started and home builders are breaking ground at rates not seen even during the 2010 federal home buyer tax credit period. It's a signal to home buyers throughout … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buying Real Estate in Washington, DC, Selling Real Estate in Washington, DC Tagged With: Census Bureau, District of Columbia, Housing Starts, Purchasing Power, real estate sales, washington dc