In competitive homebuying situations, particularly in any “seller’s market,” a key factor for buyers will be making a strong home offer once they’ve landed on a home they desire. There’s a decent chance you won’t be the only buyer making an offer on the home, and finding ways to keep your offer competitive and help it stand out from others will go a long way.

At Daybreak Living, we’re here to provide numerous services to those looking to buy one of our homes for sale, from finding a home to providing financing and numerous other steps. While the most obvious way to improve or sweeten any home offer is to add money to it, this is not the only method available to you here. This two-part blog series will go over several ways to make your home offer

For virtually anyone preparing to buy a new home, a primary consideration will be a mortgage loan to help finance the purchase. Buyers will have to consider not only the price of the home they desire and their general budget, but also areas like taxes, insurance, closing fees and others when determining how much to borrow from a lender.

At Daybreak Living, our real estate agents are here to not only help you locate and buy homes for sale in our numerous communities, but also to offer expertise and advice on numerous areas, including mortgages and borrowing. Today’s blog will focus on some general rules of thumb when it comes to how much you should be borrowing and how this compares to your overall financial picture, plus how these factors connect to

FHA loan limits have increased! The FHA loan limits went from $304,500 to $312,800 in Salt Lake County. What dose this mean to buyers and sellers? If you buy in Salt Lake County with an FHA loan purchase price (typically putting down 3.5%) this makes your ​purchase power increase from last year approximately $8,000.

Something for Sellers to keep in mind: if you list your home for $325,000-$440,000 you are only making your home available to buyers that are able to put 5% down (this price range is above the 3.5% down FHA limit). However;  if you list at $325,000 you then add a plethora of buyers to your purchasing pool by including 5% down buyers AND 3.5% down buyers. This makes your home an option for many more buyers and your ability to sell that

Sometimes there are questions about how to get someone’s finances ready to purchase a home. Here are a few of the ideas I recommend to people who may be in a bad situation, or just want to manage their money better.

1. Develop a household budget. Instead of creating a budget of what you’d like to spend, use receipts to create a budget that reflects your actual spending habits over the last several months. This approach will factor in unexpected expenses, such as car repairs, as well as predictable costs such as rent, utility bills, and groceries.

2. Reduce your debt. Lenders generally look for a total debt load of no more than 36 percent of income. This figure includes your mortgage, which typically ranges between 25 and 28 percent of your net

You may recall the recent changes to FHA financing that require you to pay your Mortgage Insurance for the duration of the loan. FHA financing is still appealing because of the low down payment requirements to get the house. However, if you don't like the idea of paying around $50K in Mortgage Insurance you are still in luck.

Utah Housing has announced a new loan program called the "No MI Risk Share Loan." This is a conventional loan that only requires a 3% down payment. Check out their current rates HERE. If you are interested in the program contact a qualifying lender to lock in your rate. A lender is the best source for relevant and reliable information about this loan product.

For those of you who need to research things on your own here are

There are a few surprises that can disrupt your home purchase. Can you imagine finding the home of your dreams, one that meets all of your needs and most of your wants, only to discover you can't buy it? There are a number of things that can cause this catastrophe. One common surprise that can ruin a home purchase is a bad credit score.

Knowing how your credit score is calculated can help you protect your score. That way you will not be surprised when you seek qualification for your home purchase. Most credit scores range between 300 and 850. To get a mortgage you'll want to maintain at least a 620, depending on your financing.

Here are the 5 Factors Affecting Your Credit Score

1. Types of Credit: 10% of your credit score is based on the type

I want to make sure all our wonderful Veterans are aware of these opportunities associated with their VA loans. Since 1944, over 20 million Veterans and Service Members have purchased a home through the VA Home Loan program. Over the past 5 years VA home loans have had the lowest foreclosure rate than any other type of home loan.

The VA's Home Loan Program Benefit is not a one-time benefit. It can be reused. Veterans may reuse their VA benefit to purchase another residence, or to refinance to a lower rate. Refinancing a VA loan is referred to as an Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL). No appraisal or credit underwriting is required.

One average, Veterans saved more that $200 a month after an IRRRL. You can read more about the program

Waiting?

Everyone asks me “When is the best time to buy a home?” The answer: Before April 1st!

Waiting until after April 1st will cost you money. Big money! In fact, waiting until after April 1st could cost you at least 6% of your home purchase. That means you’ll be paying a lot more for your house!

Here are 3 reasons why you should buy before April 1st.

1.) Supply and Demand! The last time we saw our current levels of supply and demand was 2005. Do you remember what happened last time? Prices skyrocketed. Here is our situation: the supply of homes is less than 50% what it was a year and a half ago. If you've been looking at the homes for sale you've noticed that many are short sales that already have multiple offers. This means you will

In a recent forecast of future market conditions, MBA economists published the following information about interest rates from 2009 to 2012. It has the average rates per quarter since the beginning of 2009 shadded in gray. The other numbers are the projected average interest rates per quarter.

As you can see it is expected that rates will increase to 5% by this time next year, and up to 5.7% by the end of 2012. This rise in interest rates will reduce buying power by as much as 10%!

Today with an $1,100 monthly payment you could probably get a $175,000 home. Next year that payment will only get you a $165,500 home, and by the end of 2012 the price of the home you can afford will be closer to $150,000. Here is a graphic demonstrating how the

A few months ago I reported on some possible changes coming from Washington D.C. The wait is over and Change is approved!

The Senate has approved changes in FHA financing that will reduce the upfront costs of an FHA loan, but increase the monthly payment for mortgage insurance. The official statement points at 'perilously low' reserves as their reasoning for making the change.

The changes will go into effect October 4th, 2010.

Here is how it is right now:

If you were to get a $200,000 FHA Mortgage...
The upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium would be $4,500 (2.25% of the loan amount)
Monthly premiums would be $92 per month or $1,100 for the first year (.55% the loan amount)

Here are the new terms on a $200,000 FHA mortgage...

The upfront