PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (WAGM) -The home buying process can be daunting. But local realtors say avoiding a few things can help make the transaction go smoothly and end up with you getting your new home. Its the focus of this week’s Real Estate Matters with Shawn Cunningham.
Your so close to being a new homeowner. But before you can close several things need to happen. And sometimes the unexpected can come between you and your dream…dream home. But avoiding some issues can help you turn the real estate process into turning over the keys to you as homeowner.. First do not avoid communicating with your lender.
Stephanie Fields Realtor Fields Realty LLC.
“Your lender is working hard to prepare all the necessary documents for your closing. When additional information is needed, they will typically contact you pretty quickly. It’s in your best interest to get back to them as soon as possible. The home buying process can be a stressful time in your life and while you may have a lot on your plate, don’t jeopardize how far you’ve come by delaying correspondence with your lender”
Shawn Cunningham NO STANDUP
Next, don’t avoid paying bills on time..
“There’s a good chance that the reason you were approved for your home loan in the first place is because of your upstanding payment history. With payment history typically accounting for about 35% of your credit score, one late payment can bring it down. “
Also try to stay put on your current job…
“Even if a new job means a pay raise, your lender needs to verify your employment with several months of pay stubs. If you can help it, stay put with your current employer so that all the information you provided initially stays relevant. “
And then there’s this…don’t apply for new credit.
“While closing unused credit accounts or transferring the debt to a credit card with a lower interest rate is generally a good idea, it is best to wait until after your closing date. It’s important to realize that your credit is a delicate balance that has been reviewed in detail for the purpose of being approved for your home loan. Closing a line of credit can affect your debt ratio and become a red flag to your lender. Since you can’t guarantee that these moves won’t affect your credit score, it’s best to let it be until after you’ve closed on your home. “
Some tips that will hopefully show you in a good light as a homebuyer and get you closer to living inside your new home…Shawn Cunningham, NS 8.
TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
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