- Is anything selling?
- Can people even get a mortgage?
- Are there any loans available?
These are a few of the questions I've heard in the past few weeks. The answer to all three is YES!
I know you might have heard how difficult it is to get a mortgage on the news. I heard one news channel report that to get a mortgage and buy a house you will need 20% down and a 700 credit score. This is simply not true folks.
Yes, you can buy a home with a conventional mortgage and put 20% down but FHA loans are still available and more popular than ever. With an FHA mortgage you can purchase a home with as little as 3% down and you must have a minimum 580 credit score. The current maximum FHA loan limit for Macomb County is $297,500 for a single family home.
HOMES ARE SELLING in Macomb County, MI. Is it a tough market, you bet. Is it a great time to buy a home or invest in real estate, absolutely in my opinion. Prices on homes have dropped considerably, I cannot believe some of the prices on homes for sale. Here's a tip, if you find one you like that is priced to the current market value or below, don't wait too long to put in an offer, the good ones that are priced right sell quick.
I know, you hear nothings selling right, no ones going to put in an offer. Not true, not when it is priced right. I've had buyer clients miss out on the house they wanted because they waited too long to put in an offer and someone else came along and got it. I've also represented sellers, where we had countered an offer, the buyer wouldn't budge, thinking we would come down, guess what happened, the next day, a good strong offer came in and we accepted. Again, nice house, priced right, showed well.
If you are thinking about buying Macomb County real estate give me a call, I'd be happy to guide you through the home buying proccess from start to closing!
Mike Mitchell - REALTOR ®
GMAC The Kee Group
Direct: (586)291-2652
Hi Mike- Have your buyers ever used 100% USDA Rural Development loans? They are still awesome, and I think for use anywhere in Michigan (even cities - except Detroit & Grand Rapids).
Mike, THANK YOU! There is so much misinformation out there. There ARE still conventional programs with 5% down. There is the USDA.
One more area that is often neglected: MSHDA. Yep, it's still there.
Lynn - Thanks, I haven't had any buyers use that one yet, I'll have to check it out.
Kris - I know, these are questions I have been getting asked quite often lately. Thanks for stopping by!
I'm hearing that stuff down here too! Almost couldn't get a deal done because the listing agent was just positive my buyers weren't going to be able to do a loan...it closed....next?!
Shannon - thanks for stopping by! I guess we just need to keep telling people that YES there are still mortgages available.
USDA - 102%
VA - 100%
FHA - well.... with gift from mom and dad NO money out of pocket... 100%? kind of
The press is killing our industry. With housing prices where they should be and low interest rates this is the best time in decades to buy a house. We need to keep spreading the word!
Lewis - thanks for the additional info. Yes, we need to keep spreading the word!
The Times Online has reported a strange phenomenon last week. Apparently many property sellers are starting to ask for far higher prices than normal to sell their house - because buyers are expecting deeper discounts. Here in the UK, pries are already down 14% and are expected to drop by another 10-15% by the end of 2009.
Thanks, Mike. Keep spreading the good news!
Paul