Best of the South Bay » Home Buying

Should I Buy or Rent in Palos Verdes? (Video)

Lee Williams — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:54:02 +0000

Hello Again,
I am Lee Williams with Keller Williams Realty and here is your question of the day.
With the low interest rates and low home prices. Sebastian wrote: Should we rent or buy our next home in Palos Verdes?
Each situation is unique but we can take a look based on average cost of each.

To see the home you can afford for $1,160,000 in Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills Click Here

First: there are 63 homes currently for Lease in Palos Verdes with the average rent being $4,552

If we take that rent of $4,550 and put it towards a mortgage at 4.25% we could afford a mortgage amount of $925,000

If you have 20% down that means a purchase price of $1,160,000. Less if you have less of a down payment. And there are lenders who are approving loans with as little as 3.5% down.

So I guess the real question is what can you get for $1,160,000 in Palos Verdes. You’ll have to click the link below to see what we have for you today. Or you can visit http://LosAngelesSouthBay.com to search for homes all over the Los Angeles Area.

If you are curious about the tax benefits of home ownership please contact a reliable tax consultant.

We welcome your questions and the opportunity to help you find your next new home. Give us a call today.

South Bay Home Buyers Rush to Beat Jumbo Loan Changes

Lee Williams — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:48:45 +0000

More buyers in Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills and other high end South Bay neighborhoods may be motivated to purchase a home before an Oct. 1 deadline when the government plans to scale back the size of “jumbo” mortgages it guarantees in costly real estate markets.

On Oct. 1, the maximum loan amount that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is set to decrease from $729,750 to $625,500. This might make mortgages more expensive or more difficult to get for buyers in high-cost areas, MSNBC.com reports.

For example, after Oct. 1, a borrower who seeks a government-backed mortgage for a $1-million property may have to come up with a $370,000 down payment instead of $270,000, Rob Chrisman, a mortgage banking consultant from San Rafael, Calif., told MSNBC.

Up until 2008, any loan more than $418,000 was considered a jumbo loan, but that later swelled to $625,500 and then was temporarily set at $729,750 (which expires at the end of September).

Once the current jumbo loan limit expires, lenders who want to make loans over $625,500 either will have to hold onto the mortgage themselves or find a private investor to purchase it.

Guy Cecala of Inside Mortgage Finance is confident that private lenders will step in to make up any of the downfall from the GSEs change. He’s already pointing to the signs: In the last quarter of 2010, private lenders originated more loans over $417,000–which is considered the traditional jumbo market–than did government agencies.

Source: “Rules for ‘Jumbo’ Mortgages to Change This Year,” MSNBC.com (April 25, 2011)

Rancho Palos Verdes $750K – $1M Home Sales

Lee Williams — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 19:39:22 +0000

Here are the current Rancho Palos Verdes active real estate listings. Click the price range that most interests you. Also, see below for Foreclosure Properties, Rancho Palos Verdes FOR RENT and recent OPEN HOUSE updates for RPV and the surrounding South Bay cities.

0 – $500,000	$1,000,000 – $1,250,000	$1,750,000 – $2,000,000
$500,000 – $750,000	$1,250,000 – $1,500,000	$2,000,000 – $3,000,000
$750,000 – $1 million	$1,500,000 – $1,750,000	$3,000,000 and over

Foreclosures	Rentals	Open House List

Rancho Palos Verdes 0-$500K Home Sales

Lee Williams — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 06:22:15 +0000

Here are the current Rancho Palos Verdes active real estate listings. Click the price range that most interests you. Also, see below for Foreclosure Properties, Rancho Palos Verdes FOR RENT and recent OPEN HOUSE updates for RPV and the surrounding South Bay cities.

0 – $500,000	$1,000,000 – $1,250,000	$1,750,000 – $2,000,000
$500,000 – $750,000	$1,250,000 – $1,500,000	$2,000,000 – $3,000,000
$750,000 – $1 million	$1,500,000 – $1,750,000	$3,000,000 and over

Foreclosures	Rentals	Open House List

Good deals on new homes to be had this spring

Lee Williams — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 05:32:21 +0000

LOS ANGELES – The spring home-selling season is underway, and homebuyers have more leverage this year to get price discounts and other perks on new homes than in years past.

It’s the busiest time for homebuilders, which means they are under less pressure to lower prices. They typically reserve the best bargains for the fall, when they look to thin their slate of unsold homes.

But this year is different. Homebuilders are coming off their worst year in almost a half century, and that means builders are hard-pressed to rack up sales sooner, rather than later.

“In a normal year, I would tell you, you have a better shot buying off-season” to get a lower price, says Stephen East, a Ticonderoga Securities analyst. “This spring … they’re being aggressive early on.”

Builders are counting on spring sales to hoist them out of their doldrums after seeing new-home sales sink last year to 322,000 homes — a 75 percent drop from their 2005 sales peak.

High unemployment, tighter bank lending standards and uncertainty about home prices have kept many buyers from entering the market. Builders also face heightened competition from resale homes and a glut of sharply discounted foreclosed properties.

The industry got help last spring from a temporary federal tax credit aimed at stoking home sales, but this year, it’s all up to builders to woo buyers.

Many are offering a wider range of incentives, such as upgrades on appliances, cabinetry, flooring and other home features. Some also will throw in money to help reduce the size of buyers’ mortgage payments
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Shopping For Your Loan (Mortgage)

Lee Williams — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 22:14:53 +0000

0:13 Hi. I’m Vicki Bott with the U.S. Departmentof Housing and Urban Development.

0:16 Buying a home is one of the most exciting – and largest purchases most of us ever

0:20 make. Selecting the right mortgage is a veryimportant part of the home buying

0:24 process.

0:25 To help you navigate this process, we’veput together three videos. They include:

0:30 Shopping for your Home Shopping for your Loan, and

0:34 Closing the Deal.

0:36 Today we’ll discuss shopping for your loan.Hopefully, by the end of this video you’ll

0:40 be able to compare various loan offers and determine how long an interest rate is available

0:45 to you; what are the key loan terms and how much will

0:49 this mortgage loan cost you;

0:51 To help you shop for a mortgage and understandthe terms being offered to you, we’ll

0:55 show you how to use a Good Faith Estimate.The good faith estimate…or GFE…is a

1:00 document that mortgage brokers and lenders are legally required to give you shortly

1:05 after you apply for a loan. We suggest thatyou shop and compare at least three GFEs

1:11 because this will help you get the best mortgage loan for your personal situation and

1:16 protect you from surprises at the closing table.

1:20 So, what is in the GFE?

1:21 The GFE is a three-page form that spells outloan terms and charges related to the

1:26 loan.

1:26 Let’s review the GFE page-by-page focusingon important information you need to

1:32 know.

1:33 Page 1 includes an “Important dates” sectionthat indicates the period time the loan

1:38 offered is good for.

1:40 The first line of this section will tell youthe date the interest rate offered is good

1:43 through. When comparing GFE’s make sure checkeach GFE to determine whether the interest

1:49 rate is locked or floating. So how can youtell?

1:53 Well if the date on this line is the samedate your GFE was issued then your interest

1:58 rate is floating. If the interest rate isfloating then the terms in the GFE may only

2:03 be available for a short period of time.

2:06 If the date on this line is in the futureit means the interest rate represented on

2:11 your GFE is locked through that date. It isimportant to know if your interest rate is

2:16 locked you still must close your loan on orbefore that date for that interest rate to

2:22 be effective.

2:24 Let’s talk about Line 2.

2:27 Line 2 reveals the date many of the loan chargesor closing costs are good through. We’ll

2:32 gothrough these in great detail later, but it’s

2:35 important to know that if you want tomove forward with this loan, you must let

2:39 the mortgage broker or lender know onor before this date or some charges could

2:45 increase.

2:46 These last two lines include information aboutthe interest rate lock and when

2:50 you must lock down your interest rate if itis floating.

2:53 Now let’s go over the “Summary of YourLoan” section. The first three lines will

3:00 tellyou the loan amount, the number of years you

3:02 have to repay your mortgage and theinterest rate. The interest rate is one of

3:07 the most critically important pieces ofinformation that a GFE will provide you. Make

3:12 sure as you compare GFEs fromdifferent mortgage brokers or lenders that

3:16 you focus on the interest rate and the chargesor closing costs associated with that rate.

3:23 This section will also indicate how much you’llbe expected to pay for principal,

3:27 interest and mortgage insurance. Compare thisamount with other GFEs but

3:32 remember, this does not include property taxesor homeowners insurance payments. Those

3:38 costs are determined by the property you choosenot by the loan program you’re

3:44 offered.

3:45 This next part is a series of questions relatedto whether the loan has particular

3:48 features like prepayment penalties and balloon payments.

3:52 Pay particular attention if any of these boxesare checked yes. If that’s the case,

3:58 make sure you ask the lender or broker fora full explanation so that you understand

4:03 how these features could affect your loanand loan payment. If you’re unsure, you

4:08 may also want to ask a trusted financial advisor.All of these features are explained in detail

4:14 in“Shopping For Your Home Loan – HUD’s

4:17 Settlement Cost Booklet” that you willreceive when you apply for a loan and which

4:21 can be found on HUD’s web site at anytime.

4:24 The next section focuses on escrow informationand whether a lender will even

4:29 require an escrow account in order to payproperty taxes and homeowner’s insurance.

4:35 Once again,the payment amount only reflects your mortgage

4:39 payment for principal and interest butdoes not include escrow payments. Be aware

4:45 that your escrow payment can be asizable part of your monthly mortgage expenses

4:49 and you will want to budget.

4:52 At the bottom of the first page is a summaryof the loan charges which are detailed on

4:56 page 2 of the GFE.

4:59 Now let’s take a look at page 2.

5:02 Let’s begin with the fees you’ll pay whichare referred to as your “adjusted origination

5:06 charges”. These include all the costs chargedby your lender for processing your

5:12 loan, as well as charges for the interestrate you have chosen. Block 1, Block 2 and

5:19 Line A all work together to show the totalloan origination charges you’ll be expected

5:23 to pay.

5:24 Let’s start at the bottom of this section.Line A is important because it shows you the

5:30 total amount of origination charges you’llpay for the loan, basically your “out of

5:35 pocket” costs.

5:36 Be aware as we review Block 1 and Block 2,that you can pay lower origination costs,

5:41 expressed on Line A, in exchange for a higherinterest rate. Likewise, you can pay

5:47 higher origination costs on Line A, in exchangefor a lower interest rate. Be sure to

5:52 ask your mortgage broker or lender about whatoptions you have.

5:56 Now let’s look at how Block 1 and Block2 work together to determine what your

6:01 adjusted origination charges are on Line A.

6:04 Block 1 shows the amount your mortgage brokeror lender gets paid for processing

6:08 your loan.

6:09 Block 2 is all about the interest rate.

6:12 There are three boxes in Block 2 and one ofthese boxes should always be checked.

6:18 If box 1 is checked, all origination chargesare included in Block 1.

6:23 If box 2 is checked, you are receiving a creditin exchange for a higher interest rate,

6:28 which reduces the amount of money you willneed at closing.

6:31 If box 3 is checked, you are paying “points”and are receiving a lower interest rate.

6:37 Paying points allows you to pay additionalmoney up front in order to lower the interest

6:42 rate.

6:44 The charges or credits in Block 2 are thenadded or subtracted from Block 1 and the

6:50 remainder is listed in Line A.

6:52 So, while it’s important to understand whatcharges or credits are included in Block 1

6:52 and Block 2, the charges you ultimately payat closing are reflected in Line A.

6:53 Let’s look at an example.

6:56 Here, Block 1 tells us that your broker orlender is charging you 65-hundred dollars

7:00 toprocess your loan. In Block 2, Box 2 is checked

7:04 reflecting a credit of $3,000 inexchange for a higher interest rate. This

7:10 credit will reduce the fees you will haveto

7:12 pay at closing. Subtracting Block 2 from Block1 results in $3,500, which is the total

7:18 amount of origination charges that you wouldpay at closing.

7:22 Now let’s take a look at “Your Chargesfor All Other Settlement Services”.

7:27 The charges listed in Blocks 3 – 11 arefor services that you are required to pay

7:31 as acondition of the loan. This includes things

7:34 like an appraisal, title services andinsurance. The lender may choose which company

7:40 performs some of these servicesand may let you choose the company that performs

7:43 others.

7:45 If the lender chooses the companies that performsthese services, the combined cost

7:49 for those services may not increase more thanten percent above the estimated

7:54 charges on your GFE.

7:57 If the lender allows you to choose who performsa service, the lender must give you a

8:01 list that has the name of at least one companyfor each of these “shoppable” services.

8:07 You’re not required to use these companies,but if you choose a company that is on

8:10 this list, the charges for those servicescannot increase more than ten percent above

8:16 the charges on your GFE.

8:18 If you choose a company that is not on thelist, the charges for those services may

8:23 increase from the charges listed on the GFEand that ten percent limit will not apply.

8:28 The charges for origination (highlight LineA) and all other settlement services

8:31 (highlight Line B) are combined here and thattotal is moved to the bottom of page 1.

8:37 Be sure as you shop for a loan and compareGFEs that you focus on the lender determined

8:42 fees shown in blocks 3 – 11. These fees, andthe amount your mortgage broker or lender

8:48 gets paid for processing your loan, are thecosts for getting your mortgage.

8:53 It’s important to note that these chargesdo not reflect the total amount of money you

8:59 will need to bring to closing table. Theyare the total charges to get the loan allowing

9:04 you tocompare loan programs. Please ask your real

9:07 estate agent or lender for an estimateof the total amount of money you will need

9:11 to bring to closing.

9:12 Now let’s take a look at the last page ofthe Good Faith Estimate.

9:17 Page 3 contains 3 sections: a tolerance chart,a trade-off table, and a shopping chart.

9:24 Earlier I discussed that some charges hadlimits on how much they could

9:30 increase. The tolerance chart gives more informationabout which charges may not

9:35 increase at all, which charges that, in total,may not increase by more than ten

9:40 percent and which charges can change. At closing,if the lender exceeds these limits

9:47 or ‘tolerances,’ then they must reimburseyou the difference, either at closing or within

9:53 30 days.

9:54 Let’s look at the trade-off table. Thistable shows you the trade-off between

9:59 receiving a higher interest rate for lowerclosing costs and vice versa. You can pay

10:05 now – in terms of paying higher closing costs – or pay later through a higher interest

10:11 rate. You decide which loan program fits yourpersonal situation.

10:16 Ask your lender about what options you have.

10:19 The last section on page 3 is a shopping chart.By filling in the loan terms and

10:24 settlement charges from the various GFEs youreceived from different mortgage

10:28 brokers or lenders. When comparing the loans,make sure that you take into account

10:32 whether or not interest rates are floatingor locked. Compare and decide which loan is

10:38 best for you and let the mortgage broker orlender know so that you can move forward

10:42 with the terms and costs shown on the GFE.

10:46 Once you decide on a mortgage broker or lender,keep your GFE. Bring it to closing

10:52 to compare your estimated charges and loanterms on the GFE to the final charges

10:57 and loan terms which will be reflected ona document called the HUD-1 Settlement

11:01 Statement.

11:03 To make it easier for you to shop for a loanwith different mortgage brokers or lenders,

11:07 you only need to pay for a credit report toget a GFE. Once you let the mortgage

11:13 broker or lender know that you want to proceedwith a loan you may be charged for

11:17 additional fees.

11:18 So, let’s quickly review what you’ve learnedand what you need to focus on as you

11:23 shop for a loan using your good faith estimate.

11:26 Looking at the GFE, you should be able todetermine if your interest rate is floating

11:30 or lockedidentify and compare the loan terms of the

11:34 loan offered – like the interest rateand mortgage payment; and compare the charges

11:39 associated with getting the loan from multiple lenders.

11:43 To access other home buying videos includingour next video, “Closing the Deal”,

11:49 please visit our website at www.hud.gov/respa.

11:54 Remember that this information is also explainedin “Shopping For Your Home Loan –

11:58 HUD’s Settlement Cost Booklet” that youwill receive when you apply for a loan and

12:02 which can be found on HUD’s web site.

12:05 Armed with this information – go shoppingfor the best loan for you!