I found this video today and it delights me. It’s really an amazing way to conceptualize a space. And, as a Star Trek geek, the holodeck-esque nature of the thing is priceless.
Another moment of “living in the future”.
Category: Real Estate
Living In Crazy Town
Well, so far today I’ve dealt with a couple surly callers. My favorite: another agent who was mis-directed to me. However, the property was one I was familiar with, in an area I knew pretty well, and the seller is the VA, and I’ve sold many so I figured “what the heck, I’ll help”. Plus, I know the team that did list it and they don’t generally take calls from random agents (there’s a formal process…they have an insane number of listings and really do need the steps to manage their workload). So, got most of the questions answered (one challenging one was whether this property was able to qualify for a USDA loan, but the map wasn’t loading. The main qualifying criteria is location based.) Spent 8 minutes on the phone answering questions, but when I told her that I couldn’t connect her to the listing agent, I got “well, I guess, thank you…f*#cking a$$hole” and a hangup.
Another chewed on me because I didn’t answer my phone. Of course, they didn’t leave a message, so I didn’t call them back after I got off the phone (shocking note: I was on the phone and didn’t HANG UP AND TAKE THEIR CALL!!! Ok, they didn’t say that…but…). There seems to be an assumption that I’m sitting around waiting for them to call.
Last of the crew cheerful: mad as a hornet that he had to follow the showing directions listed in the MLS.
And, so, back to it.
Mortgage Qualifications Ebb & Flow
Since the beginnings of “the financial crisis”, lending rules tightened massively. I’ve been hearing that these criteria have been loosening, at least slightly. Then I have these message in my inbox:
Though getting lending more accessible is desperately important to rebuild the housing market, I don’t want to see a return to the “fog the mirror” qualification process.
My sincerest hope is that we can find some type of middle ground. However, society and pendulum swings are massive forces to be dealt with.
Mortgage Rates And Other Fun
One of the drier topics in Real Estate, or so it seems. Yet for most home buyers, this is one of the most critical factors in the whole home purchase equation. The rates below were provided by my colleagues at Jolene Messmer’s Cobalt Mortgage Team.
So, the main message: mortgage rates are either stable or slightly down, depending on which loan type you look at. I keep hearing that rate will rise, that the current rates are unsustainablely low, so the main bet seems to be on WHEN rates will rise back up. So, “when”, not “if” they rise.
So, low rates keep home buying affordable, but low inventory pushes prices up. It’s challenging, to be sure. Still, though, this is one of the best times to buy. Much like the African proverb, “the best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago, the second best is now”, it’s easy to find missed opportunities, harder to see them now. For those who manage to buy in the near term, though, the appreciation should be exceptional.
Challenges with Bank Owned Properties
One that’s coming up a great deal lately: multiple entities at an institution hitting for updates. It’s really funny, and a bit frustrating, when I send a message to person X, and then person Y (who I’ve often never heard of) hits me with a request for the same information. Twice now, I’ve been hit by three people within a few minutes time, asking for the same update, without any clear connection to the sale, and with a demanding sense of urgency. Yeah, first world problems, but a source of frustration nonetheless.