3 Questions You Must Answer When Buying a Home

If you are thinking about purchasing a home right now, you are surely getting a lot of advice. And some of that advice is probably negative. Why buy now with prices still falling? Don’t you realize real estate is no longer a good investment? Don’t you know that people who bought six years ago lost their shirt? We understand the concern your friends and family have. However, let’s look at whether or not now is actually the perfect time to buy a home.

There are three questions you should ask before purchasing in today’s market:

1. What are the experts recommending?
In the last 120 days, many experts have said that buying now makes sense. This list includes: John Talbott, Christopher Thornberg and Warren Buffett.

2. When will I begin to see appreciation if I buy now?
This is a great question. Macro Markets, LLC is a company that studies housing prices. They started their Home Price Expectation Survey in 2010. They ask 100+ housing industry experts to project housing prices through 2016. The most current survey shows that the experts are predicting prices to remain relatively flat in 2012. The experts then project prices to rise reaching a cumulative appreciation of over 10% by 2016.

Purchasing a home today makes great sense from a financial standpoint. Think of the old axiom: you want to buy low and sell high. This decision should not only be a financial one however.

That leads us to our third and final question:

3. Why am I buying a home in the first place?
This truly is the most important question to answer. Forget the finances for a minute. Why did you even begin to consider purchasing a home? For most, the reason has nothing to do with finances. The Fannie Mae National Housing Survey shows that the four major reasons people buy a home have nothing to do with money:
   * A good place to raise children and for them to get a good education
   * A place where you and your family feel safe
   * More space for you and your family
   * Control of the space
What non-financial benefits will you and your family derive from owning a home? The answer to that question should be the reason you decide to purchase or not.

Bottom Line
Don’t allow money to get in the way of you making the right decision for you and your family. In the long run, the finances will work in your favor anyway.

Bank of America offers relo help to short-sellers

Delinquent borrowers must obtain preapproved short-sale price from bank

Bank of America says it will provide up to $30,000 in relocation assistance to delinquent borrowers who work with the bank to obtain a preapproved short-sale price before submitting purchase offers, Inman News reported.

Short sales must be initiated by the end of this year and close by Sept. 26, 2013, to be eligible for the payments, which will range from $2,500 to $30,000 at the completion of a qualifying short sale.

Payments will be determined on a case-by-case basis using a calculation that includes the value of the home, amount owed and other considerations, Bank of America said in announcing the program.

The program -- based on a similar incentive offer Bank of America tested last year in Florida will be available nationally. But Bank of America anticipates the greatest response will come from borrowers in California, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, and other states hit hardest by the economic downturn and falling property values.

Customers who believe they may be eligible for Bank of America's short-sale relocation assistance program may contact program specialists at (877) 459-2852. Qualifying short sales that have already started but have not closed may be eligible for the program.

Bank of America says its short-sale initiatives have generated 200,000 short sales in the last two years and another 30,000 in the first three months of this year.

Last month, Bank of America announced it was shortening decision times on short-sale offers to 20 days, down from 45 days or longer.

Do you owe more than your house is worth? Let's discuss your options.

A short sale may, or may not, be right for you! Read a bit about short sales at InnovativeShortSales.com

Free Spring Cleaning Shredding Event tomorrow,

The City of Irvine is sponsoring a free Spring Cleaning Shredding Event tomorrow, May 5th, from 9 a.m.-noon for Irvine residents to safely and securely dispose of unwanted documents.

Mobile shredding units will be on location at: Lakeview Senior Center, 20 Lake Road; Turtle Rock Community Park, 1 Sunnyhill; and Heritage Community Park, 14301 Yale Ave. Residents can dispose of a maximum of five Bankers-size file boxes filled with documents per person. All items accepted will be shredded on site, so don't panic that someone will see any personal info!

Spring cleaning doesn't need to stop with your paper items: Local charitable organizations will also be onsite accepting unwanted or slightly used clothing. Call me at 949-232-5634 for a list of charities - some will pick up from your house!

Here's the link to the flyer about the event.

Also on my new facebook page, DebbieDoesIrvine  (If you "like" it, please "like" it!)