Fannie Mae Is Relaxing Some Student Loan Policies

If you have a student loan or are a cosigner on one, listen up. Fannie Mae just introduced three new rule changes that will affect those with student debt. 

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If you have a student loan or you are a cosigner on one, I have some good news for you. 

Fannie Mae, the nation's largest underwriter of mortgages, recently introduced three new rules that will affect those with student debt.

These new rules can make it easier to get a mortgage, and they can make it easier to pay off your (or your kids’) student loans.

The first change is for those on income-based repayment plans, where having a high debt-to-income ratio is the No. 1 reason for not being approved for a mortgage. 

Fannie Mae previously used a very conservative 1% of the total loan instead of the actual monthly payment. This can drastically lower your debt-to-income ratio and give you a much better chance of qualifying for a mortgage.

Some folks are lucky enough to have their student debt paid by their parents or even by their employer. The thing is, Fannie Mae didn't take this into account when calculating the debt-to-income ratio. That's the second new change.

If you can qualify for a mortgage right now, you definitely should.

If your employer or your parents have been paying off your student debt and you can show evidence of this for the past 12 months, then this debt won’t be counted in your debt-to-income ratio. This makes it more likely you will qualify for a mortgage.

If you can qualify for a mortgage right now, you definitely should. Rates are still at a historical low, and lots of great houses have recently come on the Vero Beach market.

Fannie Mae also makes it possible to refinance your mortgage for more than the value of your home. Normally, there is a 0.25% fee that applies to any cash you take out in this way.

The third big change is that Fannie Mae will now waive that fee when you use this cash to pay off a student loan. 

This applies whether the loan is yours, or you're a cosigner. If the mortgage rate is significantly lower than the student loan rate, it can make sense to refinance in this way, and the new rule makes it cheaper to do so. 

If you need help understanding these new guidelines to see whether they’re right for you, or you have questions about putting them into practice, get in touch with me at (772) 236-7862 or Kelly@KellyFischerTeam.com. I’ll be glad to help. 

I hope to hear from you soon!

What to Look for in a Vacation Home

Investing in a secondary or vacation home is a great way to make money and enjoy the Vero Beach lifestyle.

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Vacation and second homes are very popular in our area. Many people purchase a second home that they only use occasionally for the first few years, but eventually move into permanently. 

The Wall Street Journal and the National Association of Realtors reported that prices of vacation properties are very close to a level last seen before the housing crisis. Secondary homes appreciated 4.2% in 2016, following a 28% gain in previous years. 

There is no question that demand for real estate is up in Florida. Before you purchase in an investment property, there are a few things you should consider: 

1. Budget: How often do you intend to use the property? What kind of income can be generated based on your usage and the seasonality of the population?
2. Location: Most vacationers want to be close to the beach. The good news is that here in Vero Beach, most homes are only 15 minutes away from the shore.
3. Entertainment options: Is there a pool on the property? What about golf courses, restaurants, or shopping nearby? Your guest will want plenty of things to do while they are here. 
4. Activities: Stock up on kayaks, paddleboards, fishing supplies, and more so that your residents can enjoy their time here. 

Our little piece of paradise continues to attract vacationers and snowbirds alike thanks to our friendly, relaxed lifestyle. 

In Vero Beach, most homes are only 15 minutes away from the shore.

As the owner of a vacation home, you will enjoy more profit and fewer headaches by purchasing a newer home. Not only will you have less maintenance, but new construction aesthetics really appeal to vacationers. Condos and reasonable new construction properties are good options for you. 

Before you sign the dotted line, though, review the Homeowners Association documents and confirm that rentals are permitted. Beware of certain restrictions, like pet policies or the number of times you can rent out your unit. 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to help you find that perfect vacation property!

Tips on Purchasing and Selling at the Same Time

Today I’m going over some great tips for buying your next home while selling your existing one.

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A lot of people, especially if they are out of state or if they currently own a home, are having a hard time buying homes. Luckily, there are a few tips I have that can help you win in this market. 

First, if you are someone owns their home free and clear, that’s fantastic. My suggestion would be to meet with a lender, set up a home equity loan, and be prepared to pay cash if at all possible. Not only will it make the process easier for you, it will also give you a competitive edge over all the other buyers.  

Second, if you own a home but don’t have enough equity for the first option, you should meet with a lender to find out if you are qualified to get a second mortgage. We do have some lenders here in town that can help you with bridge financing and help you buy your next home before your existing one sells. 

If you hire the right agent and price your home competitively, you should have no problem getting it sold.

Third, you could request an extended closing date in your offer. It’s a bit of a risk, but it has worked for a lot of people. If the seller isn’t in a rush to move, for example if they are waiting for their kids to finish school, you can ask for a four or five month out closing date. You do need to be prepared in case your home doesn’t sell during that time. However, if you hire the right agent and price your home competitively, you should have no problem getting it sold. 

There are a lot of things that need to fall into place in order for you to successfully buy and sell a home at the same time, but if you have the right agent, it can successfully be managed. We talk to a lot of people who were very nervous about undertaking buying and selling at the same time, but as long as you do things in the order that is best for your financial circumstances, everything should go smoothly. 

If you have any questions about buying and selling at the same time, or if you have any other real estate questions, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you. 

Renting vs. Owning Your Own Home

What are the advantages of giving up renting to become a homeowner? Eric Intihar, one of our preferred lenders, is here to answer that for you.

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Today we’re very excited to have Eric Intihar from U.S. Mortgage of Florida here to talk a little bit about the mortgage world and the benefits of owning a home. 

First, homeownership is key when trying to build a financial base. In fact, when the average person retires, 65% of their wealth is tied up in real estate. 

However, building a financial base isn't the only benefit to owning a home. It also allows you to be a part of a community, gets you a tax break, and increases your equity. Overall, a homeowner will do much better than a renter. 

The advantages of owning a home far outweigh the disadvantages.

It’s true that owning a home comes with more responsibilities like having to repair things yourself instead of calling the landlord, but the advantages of being able to become a part of a community and helping yourself get rich instead of your landlord far outweigh the disadvantages. 

Right now, it’s almost like the entire real estate market is on sale. Rates are historically low, so now is a great time to make the switch from renter to homeowner. 

If you have any questions for Eric, you can reach him at (954-448-9829).

As always, if you have any questions about real estate, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’m always happy to help! 

What’s the Difference Between Using an Online Lender and a Local Lender?

When getting pre-qualified, you’re much better off using a local lender instead of an online one. Today I’ve brought in a mortgage expert to help explain why.

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We’re seeing a lot of people lately get pre-qualified over the Internet instead of through a local lender. Maybe that’s ok for some people, but for most it brings some unwanted surprises. To help explain why, I’ve invited Eric Intihar from U.S. Mortgage of Florida to talk about this subject. 

In Eric’s words, a mortgage isn’t a commodity—it’s a sophisticated financial product. That’s why it’s very important when evaluating what your mortgage options are that you deal with someone you know, trust, and can get ahold of when you need to. There will be a lot of questions you’ll have as part of the normal mortgage process, and you need someone with the experience and patience to address those concerns.

A mortgage isn’t a commodity—it’s a sophisticated financial product.

Unfortunately, Eric frequently gets clients who need his help to fix something that went wrong with an Internet pre-qualification. This is because online lenders have no real relationship to the client or Realtor, so you aren’t a top priority for them. That’s a lot of risk to take on for such a big financial decision. As a general rule of thumb, when you’re working with an online lender, you’re typically working with someone who’s not as experienced as other lenders. You could even go so far as to describe most of them as entry-level. 

In my experience working with Eric, older clients who might not be as tech-savvy can especially benefit from using a local lender instead of an online lender because local lenders can actually go to their house and help them navigate through the process. Like any line of work, customer service is key, and using a local lender means getting a personal touch. 

For more information on lending and the pre-qualification process, you can call Eric at (954) 448-9829. If you need to buy, sell, or invest in real estate in the Vero Beach area, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We’d be happy to speak with you! 

Why Is It So Important to Hire a Local Appraiser?

Today I want to discuss why, if you’re a buyer, you always want to hire an appraiser that lives and works in your area. 

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Today I’m joined by Shannon Pohl, a lender with Caliber Home Loans here in Vero Beach, to talk about how important it is to hire locally when it comes to appraisers. 

When you’re in a market that has appreciated as ours has over the last five years or so, issues can sometimes arise regarding appraisals. This is because an appraisal is looking back on closed sales, and sometimes the appraisal process has not yet caught up with the active listings currently going under contract. If you’re a buyer, you want to hire someone local to do your loan if you want a good chance at securing the home you’ve fallen in love with.

Local appraisers know your area far better than out-of-area ones do.

Shannon’s company has an appraisal panel to vet any appraisers they do business with to make sure they’re local. Local appraisers—the ones who live and work in your community—know the area and its nuances more accurately. An out-of-area appraiser could pull our 32967 area code and see neighborhoods like Vero Lago, Eagle Trace, Grand Harbor, and Vero Lake Estates, and not know that they’re all completely different from each other. This ignorance can easily screw up your appraisal. 

If you have any questions for Shannon, you can call her office phone at (772) 226-6300 or her cell at (772) 360-6030. You can also visit her on the web at www.caliberhomeloans.com. 

If you’re looking to buy or sell a home or just need some friendly advice about our local market, don’t hesitate to give us a call or visit us online. We’d be happy to help! 

Expert Lending Advice from Shannon Pohl

Today I’m here with Shannon Pohl from Caliber Home Loans to discuss interest rates, homestead exemptions, and pre-approvals. 

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Today I’m here with Shannon Pohl from Caliber Home Loans. Shannon has been a lender in Vero Beach for 15 years, and she has some advice to share with all of you buyers out there today.

First of all, let’s talk about interest rates. Rates are still phenomenal right now and continue to hover in the 4% range. This July, we had the lowest interest rates ever. The T-Bill in July was down to 1.37, and now it’s at 2.3, which might not mean much to the average consumer. Rates back in July were at 3.75%, and now they are in the 4% range.

Even factoring in these historically low interest rates, the 45-year average for interest rates was 8.25%, which means today's rates are still incredible!

That said, experts expect that interest rates will continue to rise. As interest rates go up, purchasing power goes down. For instance, you may be able to afford a $400,000 house right now with a 4% interest rate. If rates go up to 4.5%, you would only be able to afford a $350,000 house.

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Interest rates are still phenomenally low.

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If you want to qualify for a homestead exemption, you still have time to close before the end of the year. When you get the homestead exemption, the value of your primary residence cannot increase by more than 3% each year. Now you have a great chance to fix in a low interest rate and cap your taxes.

Shannon and Caliber Home Loans can also help you get pre-approved. Shannon cannot stress the importance of using a local lender enough. For instance, when you get pre-approved at Caliber Home Loans, you will be thoroughly vetted by an underwriter. That makes your pre-approved offer as good as cash pending the appraisal, which we can get to you within 48 hours. That gives you a lot of buying power, especially in a market like this with a lot of cash buyers.

If you just get pre-qualified, keep in mind that even the best client can run into disputes with their credit down the road. A pre-approval is the best way to go.

If you have any questions for Shannon, you can call her on her cell at 772-360-6030. You can also call Caliber Home Loans at 772-226-6300 or visit their website. As always, if you have any real estate questions for me, just give me a call or send me an email. We would be happy to help you!

Don't Miss Out on the Home of Your Dreams in Vero Beach

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I want you to find your dream home in Vero Beach, and today I'll give you a few tips on how you can do that. I see home buyers fall in love with a property, and then they are heartbroken when another buyer comes in and swoops it out from under their feet.

So, how can you prevent this from happening to you?

We're seeing a lot of buyers in Vero Beach that aren't local to our area. If you know our market and see a home that's a good deal, don't hesitate to put an offer in. The best thing to do would be to speak to myself and my team before doing so, but getting your offer in is just as important. This market is moving quickly, so you need to act fast.

If you need help crafting a winning offer, please don't hesitate to contact me!

The Difference Between Buying and Renting in Vero Beach

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Today, I want to address a common question I'm asked. Specifically, they want to know if it's better to buy or rent a home based on current market conditions. Which is better: buying or renting?

Most people don't know this, but the United States Federal Reserve does a study every three years of the wealth of the American people based on homeownership habits. The next study comes out in 2016, which will reveal the gap between renters and homeowners. This next report will be particularly interesting due to the recent price gains in the real estate market. These price gains mean that the gap in wealth between a homeowner and a renter could be wider than it has been in a long time!

The last report found that the average homeowner's net worth is 45 times higher than the average renter's net worth. That's a lot of money! The average homeowner's net worth is $195,400, and a typical renter is worth $5,400. Simply deciding to buy your home means you could dramatically increase your net worth!

We can help you get started when it comes to buying a home. If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

Is This Real Estate Myth Preventing You From Getting More for Your Home?

There are many great Vero Beach area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (772) 321-6905 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Even though we're still experiencing fabulous weather here in Florida, we are heading toward wintertime. This is the time of year when homeowners get skittish about selling; conventional wisdom has them thinking it's currently a bad time to sell a home. Today, we want to talk about why that couldn't be further from the truth.

The truth is, as we approach the holidays, we here at Vero Beach are at 15-year low of available inventory. That means it's a great time to put your home on the market. People who want to buy during this time are serious about doing so. While your friends are sitting around drinking eggnog and shopping, you could be showing your home. 

With inventory as low as it is, you will have very few homeowners to compete with when you list your home. People think the holidays are a bad time to sell, but, when you think about it, there are only four days over the next month you don't want people walking through your home. You can schedule your home showing to fit your lifestyle, avoiding days like Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, and New Years Day.

The buyers who are looking now are often relocation buyers, who need to find a home by the end of the year, or who are trying to beat the spring rush to the market. Now is a great time to find an ideal buyer for your home. Additionally, buyers who are in a hurry are more likely to pay a little bit more for your home.

Give us a call today and we'll do a market analysis on your home. We can determine what you can realistically get for your home in today's market and discuss your options. We would love to help you take advantage of this market!

What are you missing out on working with a single agent?

There are many great Vero Beach area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (772) 321-6905 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

Many people are unaware of the advantages of working with a real estate team instead of a single agent. We've compiled a list to illustrate the efficiency and effectiveness a full team has to offer, whether you're buying or selling a home.

• A single agent has between 40 and 70 hours a week they can give you. Working with our team multiplies the available time by 5 - we can give you over 300 hours a week to help you find or sell your home! We work together to promote your interests and help you meet your goals, for no additional charge.

• Teams bring together individuals with different experiences, ideas, and spheres of influence to form a unit. This diversity results in unmatched expertise and specialization - and you get the benefits.

• Systems and processes are in place and have been time-tested.

• Teams have flexibility of schedule. We live in a fast-pace, busy world where it can be difficult to make time to see homes. Our team can find a time that works best for you and get you into a house immediately.

• A team has the resources necessary to obtain state-of-the-art technology for buyers and sellers. If you want to market your home effectively, so you can get top dollar in a reasonable amount of time, this technology is invaluable. Because teams do more business, they have the means to invest in more technology on your behalf.

As you can see, there are many advantages to working with a team. We always have somebody available to address your needs and are always working to improve our ability to serve you. To learn more about us and how we operate, give us a call or shoot us an email. We would love to hear from you!