Mortgage Rate History

Below is a memo sent to the entire Ebby Halliday organization by President & CEO Mary Frances Burleson that we thought you might also enjoy.

Be sure and check out the Home Team Mortgage interest rate chart above. If you’d like more information about a home loan or refinancing, contact Eileen Austin at Home Team Mortgage, 469-330-1062.

THE BEST TIME EVER TO BUY A HOME!

Tired of the recent negative press and ‘gloom and doom’ predictions surrounding today’s real estate market?

Consider this…

Interest rates are at historic lows!

Many lenders are quoting 30-year fixed rate mortgages below 4.5%, and 15-year mortgages may be had in the 3.75% range.

Home prices are comparatively low!

Sale prices have fallen from the inflated values of a few years ago. And, even more savings may be found in a glut of foreclosed properties.

Listing inventories are high!

The selection of properties on the market today is greater and more diverse than it has been for many years. Finding the ‘perfect’ home has never been easier.

Today’s real estate market actually offers buyers unprecedented opportunity, and perhaps the best time ever to buy a home!

Mary Frances

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Financial Reform

Yesterday, the Senate passed the most sweeping changes to our financial system since the 1930s.  These changes will definitely affect you for years to come – here’s how.
How Financial Reform Will Affect You

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“Oh, if you all get fireworks, you’d better save some for us when we get home!  We want Sparklers, too!”

Ok, I’m a sucker, but not THAT much of a sucker.  We stopped at a huge stand on the way back home (they take credit cards these days!).  We gaped at the variety of boxes of fireworks.  They must have been the giant Saturn-shaped ones that you see at the elaborate shows in State Parks:  $59, $69, $79, and upwards of $99 PER FIREWORK!!!!  This was obviously more than a pyrophobia hurdle, it was becoming a finance-O-phobia issue.

After much ado, and a helpful teen’s advice (“oh, yes – my brothers and I chase each other holding these things EVERY year!!!!  They’re just Roman Candles….  Well, I guess it’s not THAT safe….”), we bought a five-pack of Roman Candles (under $10) and three boxes of Sparklers (less than $1 each!).

Not that anyone wants to know the extent of my pyrophobia, but let’s just say, there were no candles in the church at our wedding, and I lost my breath during the candlelight ceremony in college sorority “Sentimental Night” every year….  The image of one person scalded by hot wax and dropping their candle next to another person’s gown/robe or whatever…..  A whole room filled with people and flames trying to escape is not my idea of a party.

We set up our little show in the back yard on the 4th.  We actually had the perfect Roman Candle stand:  the concrete clothes-line hole (where you put the metal pole that holds the circular, tent-shaped clothes line that didn’t last a whole summer).  I have to say, I was pretty excited, standing there with our five-year-old daughter and my husband, feeling pretty cool to be having fireworks in our own back yard. 

You know, those things go off really fast.  It probably would have been better to hold the stick than to balance it in the oversized clothes-line hole.  After the first burst of color (aka FLAME) shot out, the Roman Candle turned about 45 degrees toward our house.  Instantly, a second burst turned it another 45 degrees, and these things go off five times.  You get the picture.  My daughter and I ran screaming into the house, ducking for cover, while my husband tried to straighten the thing without getting shot by it.

Roman Candle #2:  Same thing.

Onto the Sparklers!  My husband used the incense-looking “ember stick” the teenager at the stand gave us to light our sparklers and fireworks.  It didn’t work.  Armed with a lighter and the patience of Job, he did finally get a Sparkler lit at the expense of a molten thumb.

Sparkler #2:  Same thing.  Only mine was the molten thumb.

Back to Roman Candles – one last shot (literally)!  It still turned right toward our house and sent us all screaming for shelter.

We still have three boxes (minus two) of Sparklers for when the boys return, and two Roman Candles.  Perhaps the safest thing to do is let them chase each other with the Roman Candles?  They wouldn’t waste fire by pointing it at the house, that’s for sure!

In sum, I can say that the only thing that has changed over the last 40 years is that the Fireworks vendors take credit cards.  Even the packaging for the Sparklers hasn’t changed since the 1960s.  Same star, same smell, same colors, and I’m still just as afraid of them now as I was as a little girl.  Mom’s still rolling her eyes at me from Heaven as she’s rolling over in her grave that I got near those things again.  RIP, Mom – not quite ready to join you.  We may have to table my pyrophobia-ending strategies for now, if only for our own safety.

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July!

God bless,

Angie

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2809 Hampton Court in Richardson, TX in Plano ISD

(June 30) The Senate passed the bill extending eligible closings to Sept. 30, so buyers who were in contract by April 30 can get the tax credit.  For more information, go to http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs

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Here are the latest details on the Tax Credit Closing Deadline:

Our best advice to members with questions and concerns is to proceed as if the June 30, 2010 date is binding.

NAR is pursuing all possible options with senior congressional staff to determine what other legislation may be available for passing a June 30 extension. Each of the possible options face difficult obstacles, but NAR’s efforts to clear the way are on going.

Senate voting on the Tax Credit Extension deadline has been moved to the week of June 28, 2010.

Should Congress extend the date, information will be posted on www.realtor.org/government_affairs as soon as it happens.

The final outcome will be posted on www.realtor.org/government_affairs on July 1, 2010.

Here are the latest details on the national Flood Insurance Program:

The consideration of H.R. 5569 (National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010) has been moved to the week of June 28, 2010.

NAR is working with Senate leadership in both parties to urge the Senate act quickly to pass H.R. 5569.

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 The move by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would give buyers until Sept. 30 to complete their purchases and qualify for tax credits of up to $8,000. Under the current terms, buyers had until April 30 to get a signed sales contract and until June 30 to complete the sale.

 Read more here.

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Luggage Free

Air travel these days is bad enough without having to spend three figures for the privilege of taking luggage, only to have the airlines lose it for you.

 Enter Luggage Free, a service that ships luggage to anywhere in the world, saving you the, uh, baggage that often accompanies your baggage.

 Simply fill out the online form and arrange for a Luggage Free representative to pick up your items from your home, office, hotel or cruise ship. (You don’t even have to be present when they arrive).

 When you arrive at your destination, bypass baggage claim (and, for international travel, customs) and go straight to your hotel or home, where your bags will be waiting for you.

 The service is priced based on a per-pound rate instead of a weight range, with priority overnight options available for most major cities. (Fifty pounds of luggage will cost you $50, which is reasonable these days).

 A handy on-site feature estimates the cost of common items like bikes, skis and golf bags based on origin and destination points.

 In terms of logistics, an in-house team tracks your bags along their route, alerting you by e-mail when your belongings arrive. When your trip is over, simply schedule a return pick up (if you haven’t done so already) and the entire process is reversed.

 All shipments are insured for up to $1000, with additional coverage available up to any amount.

 With service like this, the only stress during your travels will be whether or not the sales guy in the seat next to you will turn the pages of his Grisham novel too loudly.

– from Netted, by the Webbys

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Living rent-free vs. foreclosure?

By Alana Semuels

RISMEDIA, March 27, 2010—(MCT)—It’s been 16 months since Eugene and Patricia Harrison last paid the mortgage on their Perris, Calif., home. Eleven months since the notice got slapped on their front door, warning that it would be sold at auction.
A terse letter from a lawyer came eight months ago, telling them that their lender now owned the house. Three months later, the bank told them to pay up or get out by the end of the week.

Still, they remain in the yellow ranch-style home they bought seven years ago for $128,000, with its views of the San Jacinto Mountains. They’re not planning on going anywhere.

read more here

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The foreclosure landscape is littered with buyers who didn’t do their homework, and as a result either didn’t get a great deal or worse, lost their life savings.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Watch the following news story by Stacy Johnson…LINK: Why NOT to buy a foreclosure at auction

read more

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Beautiful model home from Pulte in Mansfield

Family Room

Ridge Trace, a subdivision built by Pulte Homes, attends Mansfield ISD, starting with Brown Elementary.  The model home is now available for an amazing price.  Few homes of this size (4/3 with over 3000 sf) served by Brown Elementary School in Mansfield ISD are selling for under $100/sf.  The average, in fact, is $101 (sold properties in the last six months). 

Kitchen 1815 Rim Rock

You can take advantage of this opportunity, a relocating family, and live in the former model Pulte home for an amazingly low price for the area and upgrades.  The yard has plenty of room for family, friends and pets to run and play, even if you were to add a large pool. 

The landscaping is lush, and the shaded front patio and balcony sitting areas are relaxing.  The home is neutrally colored and the chef’s kitchen has an upgraded appliance package including a gas range and stainless steel.  The summer electric bills will be eased by the added ceiling fans in every bedroom and family area, even the office!  Further reduction in A/C bills was added when the solar screens were installed by the current owners.

Back Yard 1815 Rim Rock Trail

Breakfast Nook overlooking back yard and patio

There is upgraded, decorator tile in all full baths, and even the designer backplash in the kitchen.  Plenty of storage with several floored access attic areas will give you lots of spots to tuck away holiday decorations.

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