Nothing could be further from the truth. Its a bad time to buy real estate any time if you aren't careful and don't understand the market and don't have a game plan when you buy. If you understand a few things about the market and the psychology of the people who make the real estate market tick - buyers and sellers- you can just about predict and do whatever you want to individually. You do have to know reality from the myths.
Right now is a good time to buy real estate if you are in the market for a single family home. Why? Well lets look at the realities.
- Foreclosures are increasing day by day, thus filling the market with an inventory of homes that have declined in value and is forcing banks to sell those properties for pennies on a dollar.
- Several thousand more homes with adjustable rate loans are scheduled to adjust upwards within the next two years flooding the market with even more homes that home owners can't afford to pay the mortgage on and at values less than the money owed on them.
- Large investors that bought hugh mortgage portfolios of subprime loans are losing their shirts, so to speak, and this has an adverse affect on the stock market as well.
Given these facts and others that are too numerous to include in this blog, there is a glut and will be a greater glut of homes on the market for sale. That means more supply. When there is more supply the demanders (home buyers) have more choices about what they are buying and can negotiate for a better deal. What it all boils down to is home buyers are now in control. They can call the shots. That is if they can look beyond the myths that keep so many deserving home buyers from branching out to stick their feet in the waters of the real estate market.
What are these myths?
1. You have to have 15-20% down payment in order to get a home in this market. The truth is there are several options that first time home buyers have that allows them to get into a home with no money down or very little money down - as low as 3% down and that can be gifted from a family member or some other source. There are numerous programs offered through the federal goverment's FHA programs that provide for no down and low down payments and below market interest rates. These can be found at http://www.efanniemae.com/.
2. Without credit you can't buy a home. Of course credit is very important but there are ways to buy a home even without credit. Once again the federal government provides a way if one really wants to buy a home, especially for the first timer. FHA's MyCommunityMortgage provides for 30-40 year fixed rate loans with credit flexibility with up to 100% financing.
3. Down payment help sources are only for low income earners. One more myth. There are several down payment assistance programs that help with down payments for home buyers regardless of their income level. In fact many of these programs don't even require that the home buyer be a first time home buyer (defined as a home buyer who hasn't purchased a home within the last three years). Some non-profit agencies have hundreds of thousands of dollars that they are providing to home buyers to assist them with down payment money. Nonprofit agencies such as the Nehemiah Corporation provide $25,000 or more down payment assistance for home buyers needing assistance. Check them out at http://www.nehemiahcorporation.org/.
Don't let the myths about home buying in the present market discourage you from taking advantage of what in truth is a real estate boom for the home buying market.
Contact us for more information about down payment assistance for the home buyer at http://www.housingamericans.com/ or email roylanders@housingamericans.com with any questions.
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