Rates predicted to stay low

I spoke recently with my friend and lender, Laura Seefeldt of Johnson Bank and asked her if she’d write a guest column for my newsletter. If you are in a position to purchase, it is an excellent time. Laura predicts the rates to stay low. Did you know if the interest rate increases just 1%, you will pay 10% more for the property? Take a look at what Laura shares…………………..

I was recently in another meeting where we were talking about some upcoming changes that the Federal government is going to implement regarding the disclosure of costs and fees, interest rates, points, etc to the mortgage consumer. This comes on the heels of many previous changes in the structure, disclosure and underwriting of all mortgage loan applications. The government continues to require more and more disclosure to the consumer along with tighter underwriting standards and higher fees as it relates to loan to value (low down payments), credit score (above 740 is best), property type (condominiums and investment property) among many other factors.

So as I was thinking about how to reply to Connie’s request for a peek in the future and forecast into the remainder of 2010 and into 2011, I recalled this meeting along with the events of this past year believe we will continue to see the trend of tweaking and tightening the current regulations.

During this meeting we also discussed the direction of interest rates and were informed that Freddie Mac forecasts that mortgage rates will be in the 4.5% - 5.0% range over the next 3-6 months. However, much will depend on the continued willingness of the Chinese to purchase US Treasuries and the overall recovery of our economy which remains sluggish at best. Two factors that continue to drag the economy is jobs (unemployment at 9.6%) and home values. A total of 716,128 homes were seized from delinquent homeowners during the first 8 months of this year. That’s almost 3,000 a day!!

Further, in the US today there are 3 million job openings and 15 million unemployed. That’s 5 out of work Americans for every 1 job opening.

Laura Seefeldt
JOHNSON BANK

Four Factors Involved In Selling Your Property

Location

The saying, “Location, Location, Location” holds true in Door County as in other markets. We are blessed with a variety of beauty throughout Door County and a diversity of buyers...some wanting waterfront, others preferring secluded acreage, and still others wanting a Village setting. Buyers will generally pay more for properties that feature a great view.

Price

The faster you sell your property, the better. And research has shown that the faster selling properties are those that are priced right from the start.

Properties that are priced above the market take longer to sell and, in the end, tend to sell for less than they should have sold for if priced at the market value in the first place.


Condition

New properties have a marketing edge over resale properties because they are clean and in pristine condition. When we work together as a Seller and Agent Team, I will share my staging DVD with you and my talents to help you stage your property for success.


Agent/Marketing Effort

The agent you choose can dramatically affect how fast your property sells and how much.

I have 26 years experience and pride myself with superior market knowledge. I have a great reputation with other agents, which means your property will get plenty of exposure. We, at the Erickson Team, are proactive in our marketing efforts, not reactive. We also have strong records of customer/client satisfaction in our market place.