You might ask yourself – when is it appropriate to try and “time the market?” The short answer is never. One problem with attempting to time your purchase just right in tandem with economic patterns is that no one can really predict with any degree of accuracy – the future. Many reports get published, predictions are made and some of them can be very close to spot on but the reality is that no one can tell for certain what will happen or when. Another challenge is that interest rates are most often higher during a recession (or depressed) market and household incomes might not be keeping up with the market. For that reason, fewer people can qualify for a home purchase during down times, … [Read more...]

There are times when the economy is booming and everyone feels confident about their prospects for the future. As a result, people often times spend more money. People tend to go out to dinner more often, tip heavier, invest in wardrobe updates, maybe buy a new car and… more often than not, buy a new home. If the interest rates are friendly, this is especially true. Then, for many reasons, there are periods of time when companies lay off employees and consumers become much more frugal about when and when they spend their money. They begin saving more money than spending it. When this happens, the economy further deflates. If it slows down enough, we’ll have a bona fide recession on our … [Read more...]

For most people, changing employers will not impact the ability to qualify for a mortgage loan, especially if you are going to be earning more money. For some homebuyers, however, the effects of changing jobs can spell disaster when it comes to your loan application. Make sure you discuss in great detail with your lender and know ahead of time what implications any change in your employment that might occur during your home buying experience and what its impact could be. Always be armed with the best knowledge and you will stay on the right track. A word about traditional, salaried employees: If you are a salaried employee who doesn’t earn additional income from commissions, bonuses, … [Read more...]

When talking with real estate agents, you’ll often find that when they speak to you about buying real estate, they refer to buyer’s purchasing a “home” and the sellers putting their “house” on the market. Why the play on words? The reason is psychological. Buying and selling real estate is one of the most involved and emotional situations a person can ever be in. Unless it’s simply for investment purposes, in which case many of these types never even see the homes they buy to fix and flip, it’s all number crunching for profit (if any) and no emotional ties are present. In any regard, the Realtor tries to remove some of the emotional value and sentimental feelings about the sellers home … [Read more...]