Deciding when to buy, or whether to, and when to refinance, is all part of a lifetime financial plan.

Markets change, individual situations change, as does the US and worldwide financial picture. Thus, it is important to discuss all the possibilities with an experienced professional.

The US, California and more specifically the Valley suffered a major housing market shift several years ago with lenders offering what normally would be elusive loans and larger mortgages to those who really did not qualify. The result is still being felt today with foreclosures and quick sales still in effect.

Mortgage rates, like interest rates, fell and remain quite low today.

“According to Freddie Mac, 30-year mortgage rates are 3.89% on average in September, compared with nearly 5.77% a decade ago,” said Rilian Ball, president of First Capital Group in Visalia. “If you already locked in a mortgage at the ultra-low rates that have prevailed over the past several years, you were very smart.”

Daily, mortgage specialists are asked to predict the future. While this obviously just is not possible, a mortgage broker is trained to follow patterns in hopes of obtaining knowledge for his or her clients.

“Forecasting mortgage rates is as difficult as predicting weather,” Ball said. “In general, seasoned mortgage professionals have an understanding of the various fronts and patterns that create rate changes, but no one really knows what’s going to happen in the future.”

There are several different types of loans available in California including convention loans of 15 or 30 years at a fixed rate, or adjustable rate; federal government loans, also available in 15- or 30-year periods, offered by the Federal Housing Administration, or fixed-rate mortgages offered by the Veterans Administration; and special incentive loans offered to Californians with low (or even “moderate”) incomes through various state and local housing departments, such as the California Housing Finance Agency.

The rate for any type of loan may vary according not only to the type of loan, but loan-to-value ratio as well, Ball said.

Current rates are actually lower than they have been all year, he added.

“The main factors that influence the Fed decision to raise rates are employment and inflation,” Ball said.

“Fortunately, the Federal Reserve has made it very clear that it desires to raise short term interest rates,” he added. “Therefore, it’s easy to predict higher rates in the future.”

Although it does not appear that an immediate rate increase will be too terribly high, further in the future it could be.

“My guess is that rates will initially rise .500 to .750% rather quickly from their current levels once the Fed announces the increase,” Ball said. “Assuming a $200,000 loan, 2016 homeowners could be paying $58 to $88 more a month. Fortunately, it should be a slow and bumpy ride before we see rates back in the 6-8% range that we saw in the early 2000’s. That would be a $258 to $527 monthly increase on the same $200,000 loan.”

The “slow and bumpy ride” takes into account that the US is heading into a presidential election year.

“Typically rates stay steady in election years,” Ball added.

With so much going on in the federal government and around the world, “we’re just in a volitle economy right now,” Ball said.

It is difficult to predict where the economy, interest rates and mortgage rates will go.

Of course, the best time to buy a home is when an individual or family are ready, financially and emotionally. Determining the best mortgage is between the investor and their lender. Do not be afraid to shop around. And remember, while signing a long-term loan, the opportunity to refinance remains a possibility for the future.

Ball offers the following links as good mortgage/housing information sources:

• Freddie Mac Average Interest Rates
• Fannie Mae Consumer Research and Analysis:
• Mortgage News Daily
• Housingwire
• First Capital Group Blog

The post Mortgages: When Is The Best Time to Shop? appeared first on Valley Voice.

Some people might want to hire a stager, for assistance, in the presentation of their home; others may prefer to do it themselves, or with a little direction from their real estate agent.

“You don’t necessarily have to hire a stager,” said Jodi Jolly, realtor and office manager for Musgrove Real Estate Group. “But a home should be staged.”

Jolly offered some tips in preparing a home, recently shared on the internet:

• Declutter
• Sell/Donate all unwanted items
• Neutralize what you have
• Deep clean
• Repair simple issues within the house – such as a chipped baseboard.
• Fix up the yard

“Most important, for me,” she said, “is to declutter and depersonalize, as much as possible.”

If there are a lot of things the family wants to keep, put them in storage, she suggested.

Decluttering and depersonalizing is important so that potential buyers can envision their own things in a home, Jolly explained.

Jolly also expressed the importance of keeping a minimal amount of pet evidence in view and assuring that a home is free from pet odors.

Jolly also feels that a home can show well when vacant, although a few things could be placed in the kitchen and bath including a plant, a pretty towel and maybe a clean small appliance.

Larger and more expensive homes may require more staging with minimal amounts of furniture, she said. It should not look completely empty, but open.

One of the first things many realtors will express is curb appeal. A house must look attractive and inviting when potential buyers pull up. This may not seem easy to do during the current minimal amount of water permitted in most areas, but in fact, it can be done well said Brent Main, owner of Mid-Valley Trees.

“Drought-tolerant plants are most definitely popular right now, but you don’t want to take it the extreme either,” he said.

Some of these plants may not do well should an abundance of rain come and continue, he said.

An option for the lawn is UC Verde Grass, also known as Buffalo Grass, a drought-resistant grass recently developed.

“Once established,” Main said, “it make only take water, perhaps, every two weeks.”

Another alternative is artificial turf, but that may not be appealing to potential buyers.

There are also shrubs which can be used in place of grassy areas.

Some plants that are good to plant in these times of drought and are attractive include Butterfly Bushes (Budelia), Flowering Yucca (Hesperaloe), Mexican Bird of Paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima ), Acacias, Lantanas, and Mazanitas, Main said. There are also a lot of new varieties of pampas-related grasses, he said.

Like the house itself, landscaping should be kept simple, yet attractive. It should allow for potential buyers to see it clean and well kept, yet amenable to potential new plantings of the buyers liking, without much needed removal of existing landscaping.

Declutter, neutralize and add curb appeal are important keys to attracting potential buyers and getting a home sold.

The post Declutter, Depersonalize and Beautify Landscaping Before Listing appeared first on Valley Voice.

“It goes up in stair steps, rather than a bell curve” said Richard Knee, multiple listing service chair of the Kings County Board of Realtors.

To show the market turn around, Knee referenced one house in Hanford that has sold three times in nine years.

The house was built in 2004, and is a “bread and butter house,” he said, meaning it is in a good location, with three bedrooms and two baths in 1,400 square feet of living space.

At the market peak, in 2006, the house sold for $280,000, he said. It was foreclosed upon and sold in 2011 for $160,000.

The house is once again pending sale at the moment with a listing at $195,000, which is probably close to what it is selling for, he said.

This one house reflects where the market was just before it fell, where it fell to and how far it has come back into what is now a more stable environment.

Year-to-date, 953 single-family residences have been recorded in the multiple listing service for Kings County, Knee said. Of those, 485 have sold, 219 are in escrow and 249 are currently on the market.

“It is a very strong seller’s market,” he said.

Of the 485 homes that have sold, nearly 50 percent sold in the first 30 days of listing, and another 18 percent sold within 31-60 days of being on the market.

“This is another indication of a very strong seller’s market,” he said.

Most of the homes which sold quickly are in the lower-to-mid-market range, while higher priced homes are taking longer to sell.

But there are also still very good rates available, which makes it a good time for buyers and probably a good reason that the market is doing so well, Knee said.

“There is a pent-up-desire to own,” he said. “Everyone needs to own their own home.”

Kings County, and especially in and around Hanford, needs a higher inventory of homes available, he said. There is a need for new construction, he added.

Knee referenced one residential development in Hanford that has sold 10 new homes in the past month.

And, they are mid-to-high end homes. Quite a remarkable feat, he said.

Knee admits that he is not really sure just why the market is so good at this time.

“I see this stuff happening (around the world), what they are showing (on the news) and, to me, the world is unstable,” he said. “But yet, the US is doing very well.”

It is not only the housing market that has improved and is now doing well, so is the commercial market doing much better, said Mike Porte, SIOR, senior vice president of Newmark Grubb Pearson Financial in Visalia.

“Following the residential market, retail growth has taken place,” he said. “And as retail does better, then follows industrial.

“There is a lot of money on the sidelines and people are taking advantage of good buys, before it (the market) goes up.”

With more buildings being sold, some new development is starting to move forward in the area, with new pads being readied as potential building sites.

The price of rental spaces is also seeing an increase he said.

“There were a lot of office buildings sitting empty,” he said, “and now they aren’t.”

Similar to residential loan rates, there are still reasonable rates out there for investment property as well, Porte said.

For those thinking of selling, be it residential or commercial, it is a good time to sell, these realtors indicated. Properly priced properties, that are not too high, are selling quickly.

For those looking for their own home or investment property, it is also a good time to buy, with reasonable and low rates available.

“Real estate can be a premise vehicle to getting wealthy,” Knee said. “It doesn’t take a lot to get into your first home. Once it’s paid for, buy a second and rent the first one.”

The post It Is Simultaneously a Seller and Buyer’s Market appeared first on Valley Voice.