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First Time Home Buyers: Prime Opportunity In Winter Months

December 19, 2011 by Scott Sheldon

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Sonoma County First Time Home buyers listen up we are in the month of December and in case you haven’t noticed, most people have thrown in the towel on their home search until April. This means there is prime opportunity in the market to get a mortgage from an abundance of first time buyer programs.

Another fact: most buyers including cash investors put the real estate search on hold in January-March. This means there is less competition in the marketplace.

The prime time for sonoma county first time home buyers is April through November 1. In every other month, home buying activity otherwise slows. It’s not very fun to search for real estate in the rain let alone to go and visit the mortgage lender and a drop off paperwork. With the holidays approaching, many buyers find it easier to step on the brakes.

First Time Home Buyers, you have an opportunity to scoop up a ridiculously low mortgage rate as well as successfully get into contract before March 2012.

This week we hit another record low in mortgage rates with the 30 year fixed rate mortgage touching at 3.94%. Factor this into the fact there is a decent supply of homes on the market and you have winning combination of record low interest rate and extremely low house prices.

Sonoma county first time home buyers have a tremendous advantage in the market today. However in order to be successful they need to be realistic about what they’re looking for as well as the interest rate they hope to lock in on.

Here is an example scenario: first time home buyer wants a monthly payment of no more than $1700 per month has zero money to put down and is going with the government loan program and won’t exceed a $250,000 purchase price and will not accept looking in any other cities and towns. They are also fixated on a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage at 4%.

Here is example scenario number two: first time home buyer wants a monthly payment of $1700 per month however they are flexible, they also have a zero down payment and are looking at government loan programs. Depending on what the market does they are open to the possibility of expanding their purchase price and are also open to looking in other cities and towns. They are also flexible on the interest rate and understand interest rates change on a daily basis.

The borrower in scenario two understands that the market can change. Interest rates can and do change on a daily basis as does supply and demand of housing. The borrower in scenario number two as a first time home buyer is realistic about the marketplace and can adapt to a changing climate. This person is almost guaranteed to find a super competitive interest rate as well as a competitively priced house given their affordability.

Sonoma County First Time Home Buyer should be out looking at homes in droves right now!

Sonoma county first time home buyers should be realistic about the market and their expectations.

  • Don’t be fixated on the interest rate
  • If your offers are not being accepted expand your search criteria. Especially if you have a unique scenario or there is scarcity in the amount of available homes within your criteria.
  • Don’t let the total house payment be the sole factor of whether or not you make an offer on a house. This is very important. Because rates change, you could be making an offer on a house, then have the offer accepted and then the interest rate can change. A better approach would be to get a healthy ballpark of what the total payment is going to be, then if you like the house, make an offer to purchase it.

Sonoma County First Time Home Buyers are in the hot seat to lock in with the lowest possible mortgage rate.

Sonoma county first time home buyers have flexibility in loan programs as well too. FHA loans, USDA mortgages, and even conventional financing all have lending criteria catered towards people taking the plunge into homeownership for the first time.

If you are Sonoma County first time home buyer and are thinking about getting a mortgage and want to figure out what your payments might be use our free calculator. Get a complementary mortgage rate quote.

First Time Home Buyers have prime opportunity to purchase real estate in the winter months.

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: First Time Home Buyers

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