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Terry Story’s Real Estate Survival Guide podcast includes her weekly round-up on NPR's "The Steve Pomeranz Show," WLRN and affiliates. The show provides expert advice in all aspects of the real estate transaction from listing to negotiations; to sales and purchase and everything in between.
Episodes
Monday Dec 17, 2018
Mortgage Rates Driving Starter Home Sales Despite Low Affordability
Monday Dec 17, 2018
Monday Dec 17, 2018
Mortgage Rates Still Low By Historical Standards
Steve kicks off Real Estate Round-Up with a focus on mortgage rates. He notes, with significant satisfaction, that he bought a house five years ago with a 3.75% rate on a 30-y mortgage. Terry adds that mortgage rates are currently in the 4.5% range, so they are still low by historical standards.
That said, if your finances are tight, a 0.75% increase can be sizable.
Potential buyers could opt for a lower rate of about 4% with a 15-year mortgage.
However, because the loan needs to be paid back sooner, monthly mortgage payments are a lot higher. (103)
Monday Dec 10, 2018
Rising Sea Levels Wipeout $14.1 Billion In Property Value
Monday Dec 10, 2018
Monday Dec 10, 2018
Rising Sea Levels Wallop Property Prices
Where once beachfront property was considered prime real estate, rising sea levels are changing things dramatically. Homes in eight U.S. states have lost $14.1 billion in market value due to rising sea levels, rising river levels, floods, etc.
Florida leads the pack in almost every category. The other states include Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia; and in the tristate area of New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, pricey homes lost $7 billion in value. Homes in Ocean City, New Jersey lost $530 million versus $337 million lost in the Miami Beach area.
Steve adds that insurance premiums should go up for homes in high-risk areas. (1010)
Monday Dec 03, 2018
Non-Bank Mortgage Lenders Are A Boon To Home Buyers
Monday Dec 03, 2018
Monday Dec 03, 2018
Non-Bank Mortgage Lenders
In the past, if you wanted a mortgage, you’d go to a bank. But today, non-banking financial institutions have entered the mortgage-lending business. As a result, it’s much easier to get a mortgage loan today.
In her own experience, Terry Story finds that getting loans from non-bank mortgage lenders is far easier, quicker, and more convenient.
Non-bank lender, Quicken Loans, for instance, is the third largest mortgage originator after Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase.
Steve attributes this to fewer regulations on non-bank mortgage lenders than on banks, which were chastened for the 2007 mortgage crisis. (926)