Author: hallfinancial
4 Reasons Why You Should Look At Refinancing Today
Spring has not sprung in Michigan just yet!
With the weather in a holding pattern and most Michiganders working from home, now is the perfect time to prepare your funds for when the weather breaks. Rather you are planning a trip in the upcoming season, and need to take cash-out or wanting to do a “spring cleaning” on those high-interest credit cards, refinancing your mortgage can put you in a much better financial position.
Here are 4 reasons you should refinance before spring:
Get rid of unwanted high-interest credit card debt
While having credit cards make purchasing high priced items a breeze, having to pay the monthly minimum on a card with high interest can be daunting. Paying on the interest and not the principle is just band-aiding over the problem and will send you further into debt. That doesn’t have to be you! The good news is that if you refinance right now, you can pay off your credit card completely and go into spring debt-free.
Take Cash-out
Cash is king! With the weather warming up comes the opportunity to take advantage of spring home improvement projects. Don’t use your tax return to fund building a new porch or a patio. Instead, you can simply refinance and take cash out of your home’s equity. Taking cash-out can also be spent on planning a nice spring or summer vacation without the stress of going into debt to do so.
Lower your monthly mortgage payment
What is better than not having to use credit cards? Cash! Even with a few weeks left of winter, you can still close on the refinance of your home loan before spring! Lowering your monthly mortgage payment means more cash in your pocket.
Rates are low
You’ve heard us say it for the last several months and its true, RATES ARE STILL HISTORICALLY LOW. Rates are the lowest they have been in a decade. The reason you need to act now is because we don’t know when rates will rise again. The housing market can be very unpredictable… take advantage today and contact one of our mortgage experts to receive a free 5-minute mortgage review.
Creative Ways To Save For A Down Payment!
Why You Should Be Paying Attention to The FED Rates
Image source: Google
As you know the Federal Reserve just announced that interest rates are holding steady! The goal of the committee is to maintain the target range for the Federal funds rate. This is to support the expansion of economic activity, strong labor market conditions, and favorable inflation.
Why should YOU pay attention to this?
A couple of reasons:
- You’ll be informed on the state of the economy
- You’ll gain knowledge on the state of the job industry
- Paying attention will keep you up to date on the rate of inflation
- If you own a home, it lets you know if you can be saving money by refinancing to get a better interest rate
- If you are looking to purchase a new home, you want to purchase while rates are low
The next meeting is on March 17th & 18th.
The Benefits of Purchasing a Home in The Winter
Michigan winters can be brutal! The cold weather and snowy conditions make everyone want to stay inside and cozy up next to a fire. Needless to say, looking for a house isn’t typically on the winter activity list.
Traditionally, spring and summer are the prime times to purchase, but new studies show that winter can be a great time to buy as well.
Here are a few reasons why:
Less Competition
You can bet that there are a lot of people not willing to go house looking in the dead of winter. Use that to your advantage by getting in contact with an agent and taking a few house tours. Fewer people mean less competition for your dream home. The low demand will work in your favor because you don’t have to worry about outbidding anyone.
Motivated Sellers
If there is a home that goes for sale in the winter, more than likely, that seller REALLY wants to sell. This opens the door for negotiations! The seller may be willing to lower the price, discount closing cost, or even offer other incentives like appliances to be included with the home sale.
Motivated Realtors
Everything in the winter months slows down. That means realtors may have less clientele and can give you extra attention around this time of year. They are more willing to go to bat for you and work a little harder to get you the best deal possible!
Are you interested in purchasing a new home this winter? Contact our mortgage experts HERE!
New Year’s Resolution: Become A Homeowner!
Image source: Marisol Casben
Its that time of year again when everyone is setting their sights on new goals. From being healthier to save money to try new things, January 1st is when we all want to set ourselves up for a successful year.
One major goal many people have is to become a homeowner. This is a huge goal but very attainable. With Hall Financial, we can make it very simple and easy for you to obtain a mortgage.
Here is a step by step list of everything you need to make your homeownership dreams come true:
- Obtain preapproval from Hall Financial, you will need:
- Two years of W2s
- Your most recent pay stub
- Two months of bank statements
- Copy of driver’s license
- Credit Report
- Start house shopping
- Need a realtor? No problem, Hall Financial has preferred partners.
- Find a house. Put an offer in, and get it accepted!
- Loan documents
- Sign all documents
- Obtain homeowner’s insurance and provide to your processor.
- Closing
- Review closing documents.
- Schedule closing with your processor.
- Confirm closing date, time, and place with your realtor and processor.
- Sign all final documentation.
Enjoy your new home!
Holiday Décor Shouldn’t Break the Bank
Image Source: Unsplashed
The Holiday season is rough on everyone’s pockets! From gifts to hosting dinner parties and even decorations, there is a lot of cash being shelled out. There is nothing cheap about Christmas trees, garland, or outdoor lighting, but we have a few budget-friendly tips to help you as a homeowner save.
Take advantage of the end of year sales
At the end of every Holiday season, stores put ALL of their seasonal decorations on sale. That means you will have incredible savings while finding all the décor your heart desires.
Re-use what you have
There is no harm in decorating your home with what you currently have. Green garland and Christmas trees are pricey, and there is no need to buy those items new every year. Unless your décor is defective, there’s no reason to trash it. You can still make all your old items feel new by changing the colors of the accessories (bulbs, bows, ribbons, etc.).
The dollar store can be your friend
I know shopping at the dollar store for the Holidays doesn’t sound glamorous, but that’s ok, it doesn’t need to be. Every year, the dollar store has a slew of seasonal decorations. With everything being $1, you can clean up on all things “Holiday” and still have extra money to spend how you please.
Your Force Field. [DH Sweet 16 #6]
Who are you with your friends? Who do you choose to surround yourself with? Why do you choose those people to be surrounded by? How do they impact you? Do they motivate you? Inspire you? Push you? Lift you up? Or do they discourage you? Hold you back? Bring you down?
We sure hope it’s the former.
Earlier this week we talked about bringing the energy, now we’re talking about that force field you surround yourself with. Real talk: we are constantly letting ourselves get sucked into the negative attitudes of the people around us, especially at work. It’s Friday afternoon and everyone is thinking about the end of the weekend—surround yourself with people who think Friday is the last leg of the race and strive to finish the week strong.
Have your ever been so excited about a new opportunity at your company and you start talking with coworkers…
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3 Tips for First-Time Homebuyers
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Buying home is one of the biggest commitments you will ever make. Not to mention it is pricey, time-consuming and can be very intimidating. If you are a first-time homebuyer and don’t know where to start, these 3 tips could help you prepare yourself for the process.
Tip #1: Be picky about your Mortgage Lender
This is a major purchase and commitment! You need to be completely comfortable with your lender. Find a lender that is in tuned to your request, concerns and anxieties. You should never feel like you are being pitched some sales tactic and what you feel doesn’t matter. You will spend many long hours communicating with this company and they should be all about catering to you and showing you MORE PERSONAL ATTENTION.
Tip #2: Take your time!
The mortgage process can be extremely daunting. From picking a real estate agent, to your dream home, to the mortgage lender…there is a lot of decisions to make and you shouldn’t rush making any of them! Take your time throughout this entire process. If you aren’t loving the way your real estate agent is communicating with you, get a new one. Or you aren’t loving any of the houses in the current market for sale, wait till you find what you want!
Tip #3: Have money saved
Not only is it nice to have a good amount of cash saved for your down payment but, there are tons of other expenses to consider. Once you get approved for that new home, you are going to want to furnish it and fill it with things you like! Also, since buying a home is so expensive, you need buffer money, just in case some random expense occurs.
Low Rates & Increasing Home Prices
Source: Google
Mortgage Bankers Association is forecasting that we will see a three-year-high in mortgage originations since 2016. In 2016 the industry saw $2 trillion and in 2019 MBA is predicting that we will land around $1.9 trillion.
Since the FED cut rates not once, but twice this year we have seen an increase in refinances. MBA is predicting that 35% of that $1.9 trillion will be attributed to those refinancing; which reflects Fannie Mae’s projection of refinances also being at a three-year-high.
If you are someone who follows along and have been on the fence about refinancing keep in mind that your credit score will affect the rate you get locked in to. The industry has been seeing a wide range of interest rates for credit scores of 620 through 639; anywhere around 1.33% in difference. However, if you can, you can buy down your interest rate.
Not sure what buying an interest rate means? Click here to talk to someone today!
In other news, we have been seeing an increase in home prices. Before, you cringe right now this news is good. With rates remaining low you still have the ability to get more house than you may have planned for and we are seeing an increase in inventory. Right now Detroit is sitting in the top six areas at 4.1% in year-over-year strength.
The Hall Way 