Barriers, doubts remain, but more work of the common closing is being done electronically, and the trend is only growing.

These days, you can use a computer to order an entire wardrobe without trying on clothes first. You could earn a college degree without ever setting foot in a classroom. Or buy a car without stepping onto the lot.

But while so many transactions can be completed electronically, buying a house has remained rooted in the world of paper — reams of it, in fact, as anyone who has sat through a tedious closing ceremony could attest to.

The real estate industry has been slow to adopt change, and homeowners and buyers are still wary of putting such important financial information online.

“The technology is there,” said Mark Lesswing , vice president of the National Association of Realtors’ Center for Realtor Technology. “It’s mostly making everybody feel comfortable with the process.” (Read More)

Source: Boston Globe

Tags: Home Buying, Home Selling, Mortgages, Mortgage, Mortgage News, Real Estate, Real Estate Tips, Real Estate News

Mel Schuckenbrock always said that if he bought a house in Washington, it would have to have a view of Mount Rainier.

In 1987, after looking at more than a dozen homes that just weren’t right, Schuckenbrock found the perfect three-bedroom rambler in Tacoma. From a window in the back, there was the Mountain.

At the time, Schuckenbrock was married with two small children. He had just started a professional job after leaving the military as an infantry officer.

With help from a veterans loan and the Mortgage Certificate Credit Program, Schuckenbrock was able to afford his dream home, which cost $63,500.

“Without the MCC program, I wouldn’t have qualified for the payments,” said Schuckenbrock, now a loan officer for Viking Bank in Tacoma.

The program allows qualifying first-time homeowners to claim a federal tax credit of up to 20 percent of their annual mortgage interest paid.  (Read More)

Source: The Seattle Times: Real Estate

Tags: Home Buying, Home Selling, Mortgages, Mortgage, Mortgage News, Real Estate, Real Estate Tips, Real Estate News

A new generation of home buyers is thinking smaller.

After their marriage nearly four years ago, Kathryn and Dan Drury decided to move out of their condominium in an Atlanta suburb and build a house. It was “the kind you think you’re supposed to,” as Ms. Drury described it, “a home you could live in, raise a family and compete with the Joneses.”

But after they moved into their new 4,000-square-foot home, they realized it was not what they really wanted. “It was a big beige box in a typical subdivision,” said Ms. Drury, 29, who has a degree in architecture and interior design. “We got tired of maintaining a big home, cleaning it, keeping up the yard.” One monthly electric bill was $300, she said, “and we are two professional people and a dog!” (Read More)

Source: NY Times

Tags: Home Buying, Home Selling, Mortgages, Mortgage, Mortgage News, Real Estate, Real Estate Tips, Real Estate News

Those struggling to afford a home may be wondering how long their mortgage payments can be stretched out.

The answer: half a century.

A few lenders have begun offering 50-year adjustable-rate loans to buyers who need to keep payments low in the face of record home prices and rising mortgage rates.

Most big banks offer 40-year mortgages, which account for about 5 percent of home loans, according to LoanPerformance, a real-estate data firm. So far, only a few small lenders have rolled out the five-decades-long mortgages… (Read More)

Source: The Seattle Times: Real Estate

It is important to know when to insist and when to cave.

In law school, Alexander Greenberg won a negotiating competition. Did his skill help when it came to negotiating for a New York apartment for himself and his fiancée, Victoria Bronstein? “It is important to know when to insist and when to cave,” said Mr. Greenberg, who will graduate next month from Harvard Law School and start work in September as an intellectual property lawyer.(Read More)

Source: NY Times