Tips for Getting a Mortgage

Are you considering buying a Phoenix property as a second home or investment? Perhaps you are looking for a small cottage or apartment where you can escape for vacation, or maybe you want to have another home closer to family. Maybe you want to rent out your second property and make a steady income from your investment. Whatever the reason, a second piece of real estate can be a fantastic investment. However, sometimes getting a mortgage on your second home can be a challenge.

Generally, a mortgage lender will have tougher standards for second home loans than primary home loans. This is because usually when you are buying a second home your finances will be stretched thinner and you will have less money to spare because you are already paying a mortgage on your primary home. This will mean that your second home mortgage can be harder to get and might have a higher interest rate.

Here are some tips to keep in mind that will help you to get the best mortgage on your second property: Build up a decent amount of savings. Your mortgage lender will want to be able to see that you have a large amount of savings so that you will have enough to pay for the mortgage even if you were to lose your job.

Pay off any credit card debt. Many lenders will be hesitant to approve your second home mortgage if they see that you have a lot of debt on your credit card. They will want to see that you have a low debt to income ratio so that you will be able to pay back the loan.

Use the first mortgage as a good reference. If you have always made your payments on time and you are most of the way through paying off your first house, you could ask someone from your current mortgage company to vouch for you. The lender for your second mortgage will be reassured that you are a reliable person to loan money to.

These are just a few tips to keep in mind in order to make getting a mortgage for your second property as easy as possible. To find out more about investing in Phoenix property, contact me at aliciadelacruzrealtor@gmail.com phone me at 480-414-7202.

How Ready is Your Home's Air Conditioner This Summer

Your home’s air conditioner needs a regular tune-up just like your car does. If you don’t know much about air conditioners, here are some quick tips and facts:

Your home’s air conditioner consists of three main parts:

1. The compressor: It’s the large outdoor unit which is usually on the side of your house or behind the garage. It compresses the refrigerant, or Freon®, into a liquid that then evaporates, resulting in cooling.
2. The blower unit: Pushes the air throughout the system.
3. The ductwork: Circulates the air. Cool air is carried into the home; warm air is exhausted.

Anything having to do with refrigerant should be left to professionals. Hire someone to inspect the refrigerant and the compressor lines.

Here are several do-it-yourself tune-up tasks for your home’s air conditioner:

• Change the air conditioner filters: Schedule a day each month to change your filters. It can be the first, the fifteenth or any day you will remember each month, just pick a date so you do not forget. Check the number on the filter that is already in the system, and buy the same size when it needs to be replaced.`Check for debris: After you change the filter, walk around the outside unit and check for obstructions. Clear any leaves or debris that might be caught in the grate. Cut back bushes that may be preventing airflow to the unit. There should be two feet of clear space around the unit.
• Check the condensate removal system: Condensation occurs when warm air passes through the cooling coil. That condensation drips to a drain or a pan under the unit. If there is a pan, you need to empty it as it gets full.
• Clean the compressor: The outdoor unit will get dirty and need cleaning, at least annually. Make sure you shut off the power to the unit before beginning. You can then hose off the dirt.

If you’d like a referral to an air conditioning specialist for those times when you need to hire a professional, I’m happy to share my recommendations.

Call me at 480-414-7202 or email me at aliciadelacruzrealtor@gmail.com for more information

Loan Demand Softens as Rates Rise

Mortgage applications fell 2.3 percent last week as interest rates ticked up slightly, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports in its seasonally adjusted application index. Broken out, applications for home purchases dropped 3 percent while applications for refinancing fell 2 percent.

"With rates little changed for the week, we saw a dip in application volume. It is important to note that purchase volume remains 7 percent above last year's level, and has been up on a year-over-year basis for six weeks now," says Mike Fratantoni, MBA's chief economist.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose slightly to 3.87 percent from 3.86 percent the prior week, MBA reports. Tight credit conditions persist, which are keeping many would-be buyers out due to regulations over appraisals as well as inconsistent incomes for self-employed individuals, Peter Carroll of Quicken Loans said at FSR’s Housing Policy Council forum this week. The appraisal process, for example, may keep some buyers out who don’t have a lot of money for a down payment, Carroll said.

“We are seeing a chronic tightening of appraised values that very frequently come in below the sales price and when you are talking about consumers with lower down-payment loans, that's going to pull a lot of people out of eligibility with these products," Carroll said.

Source: Daily Real Estate News | Weekly Mortgage Application Drop as Rates Tick Higher (CNBC.COM)  April 15, 2015