I see it more and more everyday. The housing inventory in Phoenix is shrinking and buyers are looking to make offers and get approved as quickly as possible. But for new or first time home buyers the steps to approval can be foreign and slow down the process, which is the last thing you want in this market.

But have no fear! Jeannie’s here!

It’s important as a home buyer to get pre-approval to expedite the process. In short: you want to have a pre-approval letter in hand before you even step foot in a potential home.

Now don’t get confused between pre-qualification and pre-approval.

A mortgage loan pre-qualification is simply an estimate of how much house you can afford and how much money a lender would be willing to loan you. This can be done over the phone in 10-15 minutes by providing information on your income, assets, debts, and a potential down payment amount.

A pre-approval takes more time, but can be just as easy. Getting pre-approved means that you have a tentative commitment from a specific lender for mortgage funding. You provide a home loan lender  with all that fun financial information you probably keep in a drawer in your house (tax returns, pay stubs, assets, debts, etc.) They will run a credit check and work to verify all your employment and financial information. Jeannie can take care of this with you in about an hour in her office.

In the house-buying process, the benefit of being pre-qualified or pre-approved is twofold. Not only do you have the added comfort of knowing what you can afford, the seller may also accept your offer over another if you are pre-approved and the other party is not.

So what are you waiting for?! Please call Jeannie Bolger, Sr. Loan Officer for more information.

Or call me for more information about the market: 602-456-9388.

If you are putting off  purchasing a home because you are afraid that there might be changes at your job (layoffs, relocation, etc.), there might be an answer in Nova Home Loan’s Safe House Mortgage Protection Plan.

I work with a lot of different brokers. Others may have this, as well. But this is good to know.

Here are the features:

• If you lose your job, they will cover as much as 24 months of your mortgage (up to $1,800 per month). 12 months if you purchase the plan if when you are just refinancing a loan.
• You start the plan when you close on the house or complete the refinance.
• Cost = $770 on a purchase and $595 on a refinance. (You can pay this at close of escrow and maybe work it in to the closing costs that the seller pays!)

Eligibility:

• Ages 18-66
• Must reside in the US.
• Cannot be self-employed.
• Must be employed a minimum of 30hrs per week at time of close.

There are more details here. So, have a look. It might be something that could give you the piece of mind to move ahead and get a house in phoenix now, while you can still get the $8,000 tax credit!

Here is a news article about it.

Or, call Jeannie Bolger at Nova Home Loans at jeannieb@novahomeloans.com.

Sunnyslope is a little north of CenPho, but they are doing a great job of community building.

My friend Chritina Plante with John C. Lincoln Hospital, who helps out with the Sunnyslope Art Walk wants you to know that there is a call for art for their October 10th Art Walk.

The application deadline has been extended to September 11th.

Have a look at the Sunnyslope website for submission details.

The Case-Shiller Index is going to come out tomorrow and tell us that home prices are on the rise.

See and article here.

Of course, I’ve been telling you about this since March of this year. We saw it coming because we see the numbers, direct from the multi-listing service (MLS). Here is an oft-repeated graph from the Cromford Report:

Here are some things to remember:

1) Reports like this are always 3-5 months behind because the people who report them want several months behind them before they feel comfortable making any statements, even if the triggering event happened 4 months ago!

2) Prices are not going to rocket up like they did from 2005-2007. The economy is just not that strong. So, today’s market is much like it was in 2001-2003.  It is still a great time to buy.

3) Stratify the market. Homes on the market sell faster the cheaper they are. A $100,000 home that is a foreclosure is going to sell in a matter of days or weeks. A $300,000 traditional sale may stay on for a few months. However, the over-all market is very close to equilibrium, which means homes sell in about 5 months. Homes over $1 million have an “absorption rate” of 848 days!

4) The Case-Shiller Index looks at the market nation-wide. Every market is different. Stay tuned for the best local information.

I want to give a little shout-out to Tazmine and Paul over at Blooming Rock Developments. Have a look at this post about a renovation project that they did earlier this year. It demonstrates that even the most drab and uninspiring structures can be sharp, fresh and unique. Their project, 3 Palms, is over on Cheery Lynn, east of 16th St. They are in a great place to serve as a catalyst to residential property redevelopment.

I’m waiting for more photos of the work they did inside and some information on the costs and lessons from the project. I’ve seen inside, but you should, too. They did a great job of balancing modern and warm.