Jana's Real Estate Blog

Austin is so excited about the announcement that the Davis Cup will be held in Austin, TX July 8-10.  This is a real honor and we expect a tremendous turnout.  This will bring an estimated $7,000,000 to the area over the weekend.  Austin continues to be THE happening place.  Ya’ll come on down to Austin and enjoy the fun!

Currently the monthly mortgage insurance is calculated on .90% of the loan amount.  It will be 1.10% after 4/18.  Here are some examples:

$100,000 loan amount
$900/year
Mortgage Insurance = $75/month as part of the payment.

On the new change it would be:
$1100/year
Mortgage Insurance = $91.67/month

Stepping it up to say at $200,000 loan amount:
$1800/year
Mortgage Insurance = $150/month

On the new change it would be:
$2200/year
Mortgage Insurance = $183.33/month

There will still be the 1% fee up-front and that will remain the same for now.   Here is the link to the changes that are coming on FHA Mortgage Insurance with a couple of examples below on the effect.

http://www.docmagic.com/compliance/wizard/2011/march-2011/ml-11-10?elq=915ddbdb38924638a7928c8f9b9b8864

For details on how this affects you, or for additional information you should contact a good lender.  I highly recommend Ian Carmichael of Envoy Mortgage.  You can contact him at 512-306-8502 or icarmichael@envoymortgage.com.

Mortgage Payment Guide

This chart shows what your Principal and Interest Payment (PI) would be on a home or lot in Austin TX at various interest rates.  For instance, if you were to buy a $200,000 property on a 30 year fixed rate loan at 5% the PI would be $1074.  But, if you wait until interest goes up to 6% your payment would be $1199.  That’s $125 more per month in a mortgage payment!  That’s huge!  So, if you’re a first time home buyer in Austin or someone wanting to relocate to Austin, you need to get your home search into turbo mode.

But, in reality, if you are approved for a $1074 payment based on a $200,000 purchase price at 5% interest, and you wait several months before purchasing at which time the interest rate has increased to 6%, you can no longer qualify for the $200,000 property.  Your buying power has been reduced to approximately $175,000.  In essence, that’s lost equity you would have had if you had purchased your property at $200,000.

So, don’t delay whether you are a first time home buyer, looking to sell your home in Austin and move up, relocating to Austin, or interested in foreclosure homes in Austin for sale.  It is a Buyers’ Market in the Austin area and interest rates are going up.  Call me at 512/964-7653 or 512/280-2665  to get started!

Jana McCool, REALTOR, ABR, CDPE, CHMS, CRS, TAHS with RE/MAX Austin Associates

3101 Bee Caves Road, Suite 301 – Austin, TX 78746

Jana@JanaMcCool.com

• November – Austin among Newsweek’s 10 Cities Best Situated for Economic Recovery.
• November – Forbes states Austin is among the America’s 10 Most Affordable Cities.
• October – Austin highly ranked among 50 U.S. Real Estate Markets to Watch  by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute.
• October – Austin ranks 2nd on the Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities 2010: Where America’s Jobs Are Created & Sustained.
• October – Princeton Review & Entrepreneur Magazine name University of Texas at Austin as 9 th Best Graduate Program for Entrepreneurs.
• September – US News find that Austin is among 10 metros Where You can Buy a Home for Less than $800 a Month.
• September – Brookings Institute states Austin continues to place among America’s Most Recession Proof Cities.
• August – Travel & Leisure readers vote Austin among America’s Best Music Cities.
• July – Austin named Top City for Young Adults by Kiplinger.
• July – Travel + Leisure selects Austin Bergstrom International Airport as one of America’s Best Airports.
• June – MetroMonitor Report names Austin as one of America’s Most Recession-Proof Cities.
• May – American College of Sports Medicine’s American Fitness Index rates Austin among America’s Fittest Cities.
• May – DogFriendly.com ranks  Austin No. 3 Dog-Friendly City.
• April – Forbes ranks  Austin as the Best Big City for Jobs.
• March – Austin ties for No. 1 in Forbes’ list of Cities Where the Recession is Easing.
• March – Travel+Leisure ranks Austin as third Best City for Singles.
• February – Builder’s Builder Market Health Index says Austin is the Healthiest Housing Market for 2010.
• January – RealtyTrak ranks Austin low for Rate of Home Foreclosures.

Others know how great Austin, TX is.  So, what are you waiting for?  Get on down here!

Austin celebrates Christmas in unique ways.  The Christmas lights are just one of the wonderful reasons we live here!  Enjoy this video & have a blessed & Merry Christmas!  Christmas \”Austin TX Style\”

Today Freddie Mac released the results of their Primary Mortgage Market Survey®.  The results shows that both fixed and short-term mortgage rates rose again this week for the 5th week in a row.  Per their report 30 year fixed-rate mortgages  averaged 4.83 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending December 16, 2010, up from last week when it averaged 4.61 percent. At this time in 2009 the 30 year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.94 percent.

This week 15 year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.17 percent with an average 0.7 point.  This is an increase from last weeks’ average of 3.96 percent.   At this time in 2009 the 15 year fixed-rate mort gage averaged 4.38 percent.

Austin offers abundant job opportunities for the qualified person.  Many of those jobs weren’t even in existence two years ago.  Austin offers healthy lifestyles, fresh air, music of all types, beautiful scenery, jobs and a growing economy.  As well as an abundance of low priced homes.  Plus, over 40% of the available homes in the Austin MLS have one thing in common: They are vacant!  So, what are you waiting for?  Don’t delay in purchasing a home in Austin, TX as you can see interest rates are rising and it’s a good life in Austin, TX!  Contact Jana McCool of RE/MAX Austin Associates at (512) 280-2665 or (512) 964-7653 today!

Austin, TX is such a wonderful town, especially at Christmas.  There are so many fun things to do which will make your Christmas Season that much more enjoyable, such as….

Trans-Siberian Orchestra – Friday, Dec 3 8:00p at University of Texas at Austin: Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX http://www.uterwincenter.com/events/index.html

8th Annual Travis Heights Art Trail – Saturday, Dec 4 11:00a to 5:00p at Travis Heights Art Trail, Austin, TX http://www.travisheightsart.com/

‘A Christmas Carol’ – Thursday, Dec 2-12, at Scottish Rite Children’s Theatre, Austin, TX http://www.scottishritechildrenstheatre.org/

Radio City Christmas Spectacular – Friday, Dec 17 – 31, at University of Texas at Austin: Bass Concert Hall, Austin, TX  http://www.texasperformingarts.org/season/radiocity

Ballet Austin’s Production of The Nutcracker – Wednesday, Dec 22 7:30p at Long Center for the Performing Arts, Austin, TXhttp://www.thelongcenter.org/

Buying or selling a home is one of the most important decisions you will ever make.  Be sure you have an experienced, full-time Real Estate Agent working for you.  Not, an agent selling real estate as a side job.  In this especially difficult time you will find a lot of agents who are not working for their buyers/sellers full-time or devoting most of their time to selling their listings or finding properties for their buyers. They are working for other businesses.  RE/MAX agents have more real estate sales experience than other real estate agents and can get the job done in today’s market.  RE/MAX has the most productive sales force in real estate.  Millions of buyers and sellers visit remax.com for their real estate needs.

And, RE/MAX has more agents with the Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®) designation, representing best-in-class buyer services; Certified Distressed Property Expert® , which is a real estate professional with specific understanding of the complex issues confronting the real estate industry, and the foreclosure avoidance options available to homeowners.  Through comprehensive training and experience, CDPEs are able to provide solutions for homeowners facing hardships in today’s market, specifically short sales; and, the Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) designation, which is the highest Designation awarded to sales associates in the residential sales field. The CRS Designation recognizes professional accomplishments in both experience and education, than anybody else.  So why would you use an in-experienced Realtor to represent you?

Jana McCool of RE/MAX Austin Associates has been a full-time Realtor for almost 14 years serving the Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson Counties.  She has many advanced designations including ABR, CDPE, CHMS, CRS and TAHS.  Let experience work for you by calling Jana McCool at (512) 964-7653  or (512) 280-2665.