A client of mine recently was deciding on what lender to use. She wanted to make sure she received a competitive deal on her new mortgage. I sent her my itemization, and she responded, that while my fees and rates were best explained, and laid out in an easy to read format, she was really trying to hit a lower target rate.
Of course, who doesn't want the lowest rate in Denver on their mortgage? But at what cost? What do you mean , Ray?
Well, she sent me the other itemization of fees from the "lower rate" lenders. Immediately this caught my attention. The rate was lower, at a COST OF $6K in extra fees. Really ? So , quickly turning my "break even" numbers on, I can say this would take 113 months to recoup the extra expense for the lower rate. How?
$6K extra fees
$53 lower payment
= 113 months before the "lower rate" broke even
That means you lent yourself $6k, and got paid back $53 a month. After 113 months you got paid-back, and that is not even making a return. Are you going to promise yourself to keep your mortgage (not sell or refinance) it for 11 years? I will bet you lunch, you won't.
I ended up saving her $3K in fees and gotten within .125% of their "lower rate".
Beware of the "lower rate" lender, and make sure you are working with a lender who explains this to you. It is only then that you have a consultative lender, and not one who sells you "rate". After all, this is the largest investment you will likely make, so make sure you seek professional advice.
Call or email with questions~
Ray Williams, Branch Manager, Summit Home Mortgage Denver
rwilliams@summit-mortgage.com or 303.779.0591 x101
I LOVE Colorado! Most everyone I meet that lives here or visits here LOVES Colorado. Being a native I am proud of what a beautiful state I live in. We get the best of all seasons and we have a beautiful mountain landscape everyday when we wake up. Not to mention the outdoor activities are never ending, from rock climbing, canoeing, rafting, camping, hunting, snow boarding, skiing, hiking, biking, fishing, I could go on and on and how about a fantastic city life, Lodo, City Park, Washington Park, Highlands, Sunnyside, the list goes on with this as well, the activities and possibilities are endless...Love it!!
Now we all know why we live here and how wonderful it is, but do you all know the history of Colorado? I don't, but I would love to, and now we can all learn. On April 28th the History Colorado Center opened. It has interactive kid-friendly exhibits, for adults they have lectures, tours, classes and programs. There is something for everyone! The History Colorado, which was formerly the Colorado Historical Society, was established in 1879,as a charitable organization and an agency of the State of Colorado under the Department of Higher Education. Their mission is to inspire and engage the people in our state about our history, by collecting preserving and discovering the past in order to educate and provide perspectives for the future.
Here is an article with great information on the kid-friendly exhibits. And here is the link for information on the History Colorado Center including admission prices and events.
The History of Colorado is located at 1200 Broadway, Denver, CO.
Let's take the time to learn about our wonderful State of Colorado!
Cheers~
Ray Williams
Branch Manager
Summit Home Mortgage
303-779-0591 ext. 101
rwilliams@summit-mortgage.com
This may be the best kept secret in real estate! For a few hundred dollars (which can also be reimbursed by Public Service) you can get a HERS (Home Energy Rating System). Getting one of these along with a home inspection prior to buying could save you a lot of money. This formal energy audit gives the home a energy efficiency score. Letting you know if the home is an energy guzzler! Knowing what could cause you more money in electricity upfront before buying is a great eye opener as well as a good negotiating tool. If you end up finding that hundreds even thousands of dollars will be spent over the years without fixing the problem areas then you can ask seller to either fix before buying or put in a lower offer during negotiations.
This can also work to benefit a seller, if they get an HERS and choose to make essential repairs or suggestions to make home more energy efficient, this can add value to the home and be would enable them to list home higher then other homes in neighborhood! Shoppers love seeing the energy audit, the upgrades and the seller's full disclosures. This can end up being a huge marketing benefit.
Most real estate agents are not suggesting these to their buyers or sellers. Of four EcoBroker designees randomly selected for interviews, only one says he regularly recommends energy audits to both sellers and purchasers and he finds that they help sell houses-even raise prices-rather than wreck deals.
It is always good to due your due diligence in buying a home and this is one you could highly benefit from. Click here for the full article in the Washington Post.
Please call or email me if you have any questions or should need any assistance. Click here if you would like to complete an online loan application.
Over the past couple months I have been seeing an increase of purchase contracts coming across my desk. I am getting more clients wanting to get pre-approved and looking at homes ready to putt in offers. From my agents I am hearing how hard it is to find a good property and when they are found there are multiple offers on the table.
This is great news having more buyers but with the influx of buyers and lack of inventory it is causing bidding wars! Most sellers would think this is a great thing and it brings the question then why aren't more people who have been wanting to sell their home not putting them on the market now? Wouldn't this be the best time knowing there are more buyers than property?Well not necessarily and there are two answers for this, one is that most sellers owe more than what their home is worth, second, they are holding off for the anticipation of higher prices down the road.
Now with the lack of inventory and the bidding wars happening it is causing conflict because many of these buyers are putting offers in the day a home goes on the market and then losing out by someone who has out bid them. Real-estate agents are saying they are writing more offers but not having enough closings. The deals are falling apart because even though a bid is over the listing price it doesn't mean that the home will appraise. So appraisals are not supporting the value of the increased purchase price. Not only with appraisal values falling short we are also running across buyers whom are not qualified to buy the home at a higher purchase price.
I can't stress enough how critical it is to get pre-approved before looking at homes. Click here if you would like to complete on online loan application. And please feel free to call or email me if you have any questions.
If you would like to read more on the bidding wars click here.
Sincerely,
Tonight there will be a council meeting for initial vote and a two-hour public hearing on the bill for the homeless camping ban. If passed it will prohibit people from unauthorized camping on public and private property through out the city. The ban is similar to the one currently in Boulder.
The focus on the ban is not only to get homeless off the streets, they are trying to send more outreach to the homeless. There is a team that was put together in 2007 with the Denver Police department. It consists of four officers that are on a regular rotation around the city visiting the homeless camps and offering help every morning. With this ban not only will they be asking the campers to move they will be offering assistance in helping them find shelters, counseling, drug outreach, job outreach, food, psychological assistance, etc. They will be actively working with the homeless to help them get off the streets.
Because of this ban potentially coming if passed will be in effect May 19, Denver is scrambling to get more beds in the shelters. In the warmer months they lose 360 beds leaving the city with only 867 shelter beds. The city must get a zoning waiver to keep 100 emergency beds at the Denver Rescue Mission open past the June 1 deadline. Officials are also working through zoning issues to make sure 40 beds for women and two churches won't close.
For the Full article on 4/30/12 click here
Full article "Denver committee sends homeless camping ban to full council 4/25/12"
303-779-0591 ext.101
Mud Runs hit Colorado! Originally I was going to tell you about the "down and dirty mud run" that is coming to Colorado on June 24th, but in searching for the mud run I came across some others that may be of interest to you all. What better way to stay in shape and have some fun getting dirty! Below is a list and the links to the "mud runs" and a brief description of them to help you decide which might be best for you to try!
Down and Dirty Mud Run-June 24th- Has a 5k and 10k option as well as an Adventure kid course! It has a charity partner, Subaru is a partner with Operation Gratitude which is an organization that raises funds to send out care packages to the U.S. Service Members deployed in hostile regions.
Fee: Adult $55, Child 4-6 $20, 7-13 $28
Devil Dash - Sept. 1st- Lyons, Colorado- 5k run through "Purgatory" course and obstacles themed after the seven deadly sins, includes climbing, trudging through mud, fire, cargo nets, etc. If a group of 10 or more volunteer/fundraising they will donate $500 to your desired organization.
Fee: $59 by June 4th, $65 by July 9th, $69 by August 1st, $75 by Aug. 22nd
Survivor Mud Run- July 21st -Johnstown, CO- 5K with 20 Grueling obstacles and a ton of mud! Created to test your agility in the most extreme circumstances!
Fee: $67 until July 10th
Silly Pig Mud Run - July 29th- Aurora, Co Arapahoe County Fairgrounds- 5k run designed to bring out the inner kid in you! The Silly Pig Mud run is partnering with organization called Homes For Our Troops which builds specially adapted homes for our severely injured soldiers and their families. http://www.homesforourtroops.org/
Fee: May $55, June $60, July $65
Cheers!
These past few weeks I have been getting more and more calls from people who have lost their purchase contracts because they didn't’t’ take the time to get pre-approved!
Sellers won’t deal with them when they already have plenty of activity and the pre-approved buyers are getting all the attention. Those that don't think they need to get pre-approved are getting thrown aside I just had a call last night that lost a contract on a very nice home because of that exact reason. Had they called me a few days earlier I could of helped in preventing that from even happening.
We have always stressed the importance of getting pre-approved before ever getting into a car with a realtor, calling on a for sale sign or even just looking at houses for sale. Right now there are more buyers than there are homes for sale. You want to be ready and prepared when putting in an offer, and the seller's don't want to take any chances on someone who hasn't taken the time to see if they are approved to buy a home.
It is extremely important that you are prepared, organized and responsive when you are wanting to get pre-approved and are wanting a lender letter fast so you can put in an offer.
To prevent this from happening to you make sure you call a lender and start the process of getting pre-approved. To know what is expected for a pre-approval and what documents you will need to provide make sure to read "how the loan process works" and "loan application checklist" these will help you get organized for your pre-approval!
Don't let the home you've been waiting for get away, apply online, or please feel free to give me a call if you have any questions, I am always here to help.
We all know April showers bring May flowers! And we definitely need the moisture on the ground but we don't need the moisture in our house along with a flooded basement! Just last night I was compelled to check and see if my sump pump was working because the last few nights we have had rain, hail, winds and more rain. To my surprise it was NOT working and on the border of flooding over. Had I waited just one more day or even a few more hours my basement would have been flooded!
I am here to remind you that in Colorado if you are not a native, you should know that the weather can be pretty unpredictable, meaning when the weather forecast calls for some mild showers we can end up getting gusty winds with hail. Amidst all this moisture now is the time to double check your sump pump OR better yet if you have been putting off installing that sump pump now would be the time to put it in the budget.
I found a very informational website solely about sump pumps and flooding, it covers all facts and questions. To read more about the need of a sump pump or how to check if yours is working properly I encourage you to check out this website.
Stay dry ~
303-779-0591 ext. 1o1
Remember when your parents would say "Because I said so" well this is the mentality you need to go into when applying for a loan. So when your lender asks you for a document, you just say "ok" you don't need to ask why, you just need to get it to them as soon as possible (within 24 hrs). You can be your own worst enemy in the loan approval process if you take too long or never provide the needed documents. Trust that you have chosen this lender for a reason, they are on YOUR side and they are working to help you get this loan, they are not out to torture you or make this more difficult than it already is. They are your own personal boxer in your corner!
Anyone applying for a mortgage in today's market, it is no longer about who has the best credit score, or who has the money in the bank. It is about who can prove their financial worthiness on paper! This would be the PERFECT LOAN FILE this makes all the difference in getting approved for a mortgage today.
As a lender we are the middle man in the loan process. Initially it starts with us, collecting the needed documents per the loan requirements you are applying for. Once collected it goes to the processor who gathers and reviews, then submits it to the underwriter. From there the underwriter ALWAYS asks for some sort of additional documentation. So be prepared to gather more documents. Any lender you choose to work with, this will happen! It is not something that can be avoided by switching lenders. ALL lenders have the same guidelines.
Now these documents may seem silly or redundant but no matter how you feel about it, it will still need to be done so you just need to do it, "because they said so"!
The article I read from Forbes.com "The Perfect Loan File" is the best article I've read in a long time. It explains the loan process and the "because I said so" mentality needed. It helps layout the reasons why we are in this "over documentation" loan process and how we got into this new "under the microscope" underwriting. I highly recommend anyone who is applying for a mortgage or will be in the near future to read and to pass it on to anyone else they know will be applying for a mortgage.
If you would like to get pre-approved please click here to complete a loan application.
If you have any questions please contact me. I'm always available to help.
~Ray Williams
Many of us now a days either know someone directly or know of someone who has either foreclosed or is going through the process of foreclosing on their home. Today I read some more news regarding the foreclosure process in Colorado, news that will not impact us but nonetheless is important for us to be informed.
Legislators killed a bill on March 13th requiring that lenders prove they have the right to foreclose on a home, saying they killed this bill because they grow tired of laws trying to reform the Colorado foreclosure process.
If this bill would of passed it would of put a stop to the current practices that were started 6 years ago, which allows foreclosures on just a lawyer's say-so. Which if fact the law also absolves the attorneys from culpability if they're wrong.
The representatives for the bill feel it is necessary to refine the current foreclosure process. Those against it feel there has already been too many bills passed to reform the procedure (15 bills passed since 2005) and feel we should leave it alone, the process we have now is just fine the way it is.
Should this bill have passed? Or would it have been "too much" paperwork to prove the right to foreclose. Making it a longer process and are banks getting lazy and going with the easy route? Is there really a need to show documentation proving the need to foreclose on a property? I don't think any of us really knew that they are not required to prove documentation on a foreclosure. That the lawyers representing the banks just handle the paperwork but are not required to fully investigate all documentation showing and proving bank ownership and verifying the need to foreclose.
"There are people whose homes are being taken wrongfully, or there are people who wanted to cure their loans and could have, if not for the cloudy paperwork, it would have alleviated all of this." stated economic justice director Corrine Fowler
This article raised my eyebrows and I felt it needed to be shared.
Here is the full article from Denver Post to read more on the issue.
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