Mortgage Rate Predictions

From today’s WSJ: The Mortgage Bankers Association predicts rates on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will average 4.4% in the fourth quarter of 2010, increasing to a 4.7% average in the first quarter of 2011, and climbing to 5.1% by the end of next year.  Link to Article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303443904575578410336931010.html?mod=WSJ_RealEstate_LeftTopNews

 

Everything’s Bigger in Texas… and Still Growing

In a class this week, I was introduced to the term “Texaplex”.  (…and no, it is NOT an oversized duplex in Texas.)  Texaplex is what economists are calling the triangle between the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin.  In 2009, the population of the entire state of Texas was approx. 24 million people.  Over the next 14 years, just the Texaplex alone is estimated to be the home of 22.5 million folks! 

Click the link below to watch a short video with staggering numbers about our state.  Very interesting statistics!

http://www.texaplex.com/

Lakeway Grand Opening

UFCU’s new Mortgage Services Office is now open!

Our Lakeway Mortgage Professionals live in the neighborhood and bring to area residents extensive home loan expertise and products.  We can provide expert advice and a wide variety of home loans.  Come talk to us about Jumbo Loans, an FHA mortgage for your first home or a construction loan.  UFCU is committed to this area and its mortgage and financial needs.

Stop by and say “hello” during the week of November 8th-12th and register to win an iPad!

UFCU Mortgage Services Office

1213 Ranch Road 620 South, Suite 100

Lakeway, TX 78734

Hours:   8:30AM – 5:30PM    Monday – Friday

10 Ways to Add Value to your Home Without Breaking Your Bank

Click here to read about affordable home improvement project ideas

~Brought to you by Gracy Title Company and HGTV online

Improving your Credit Score

If you are interested in a seminar that covers the fundamentals of credit scores, I have just the one for you.  Not only is it free, but it will be held right down the street from our Steck branch at the Norris Conference Center and our presenter will be Brett Christensen.  If you have not been to this seminar, I highly encourage you to sign up and attend.  The seminar will be on Tuesday night September 21^st, and will start at 6:00pm.  Please register if you plan on attending so we can have an accurate count of attendees.

 Understanding and Improving Your FICO Credit Score

Enhancing your credit score knowledge can save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in interest during your lifetime. Learn how your credit score is calculated, how you can improve your credit score, and how credit scores are actually used by lenders.

Date: September 21, 2010

Time: 6:00 PM

Location: Norris Conference Center

Click here to register

 Jim Brown-Sr. Manager, Consumer Lending

Useful Household Tips

If you’re anything like me, you can appreciate a few helpful tips on keeping things running smoothly at home.  Here are some tried and true hints that really work!

With all of the rain we’ve had lately, (Thank you Mother Nature, I’m not complaining!) you may have an issue with mosquitoes around your home.  There’s nothing worse than planning an outdoor party to have it ruined by biting bugs.  Use antiseptic mouthwash in a garden sprayer to treat your lawn, and landscaping.  It’s a relatively inexpensive and environmentally safe way to rid the area of mosquitoes.  You can also spray around window frames and doors to keep them from entering your home.  We used it around kids swing sets and tables for serving food and no one was left with the sticky, oily film from other name brand bug sprays. 

Before you tackle a wallpaper removing project, first spray the old wallpaper with a mixture of fabric softener and water, 1 to 5 ratio, let stand, and begin peeling.  It makes the removal process much easier and less time-consuming so you can get on to other things, like a fresh coat of texture and paint!  Paper only, this will not work on vinyl.

And speaking of a fresh coat of paint… cutting in around the ceiling is one of the tasks most people loath when it comes to painting a room.  Next time you’re faced with the challenge of getting the brush right in that crease, try using a 2 inch artists brush, load it up with paint on one side, and start your straight line about 1/4 of an inch down on the wall.  Push that bead of paint in long, smooth strokes, rather than short, choppy dabs.  You’ll find that the line is much straighter and there is no bleeding onto the ceiling.  This is especially helpful if the ceiling is covered in the old “popcorn” acoustic texture.  No one will notice that the paint stops a quarter of an inch from the ceiling. 

When we moved into our home, a foreclosure, the burners on our gas stove top were coated with baked on grease.  I tried hand washing them, dishwashing them on the “pot-scrubber” mode, soaking them for days, etc.  Finally, my husband sat them on the racks in our self-cleaning oven and turned it on to clean.  A couple of hours later, voila!  Spotless burners that I’m no longer ashamed to cook my family’s meals on.

Our third child is 2 years old an keeps me on my toes with regard to cleaning up little messes.  During the recent “Sharpie Incident” where he was unsupervised for about 20 minutes, I learned that a product called Goof Off by Valspar will remove permanent marker from just about any surface, including carpet.  It doesn’t damage most furniture or cabinets if you work with it in a quick manner.  As always, follow instructions carefully.  Oh, and never leave child unattended.

Tax Credit Deadline Extended; Flood Insurance Program Reinstated

We are happy to report that Congress has passed a bill extending the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline to September 30, 2010.  This is great news for both Realtors and homebuyers.  The extension applies only to transactions that had ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010, and have not yet closed.  There will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law. 

 Additionally, Congress has extended the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through September 30th.  The bill is retroactive and will cover the lapse period from June 1, 2010, to the date the law is enacted.

For additional information on both the tax credit deadline and the NFIP, visit Realtor.org/Government_Affairs.

Beat the Heat!

Summer is still a couple of weeks away, but the heat is here to stay!  The attached list of area swimming holes should help us endure the dog days of summer. Enjoy!

http://www.gracytitle.com/e-flyer/8×8/CentralTexasSwimmingHoles/CentralTexasSwimmingHoles.pdf

Courtesy of Gracy Title

Did we ever get that one wrong!

In the UFCU Summer edition of Currency Affairs, we mortgage gurus wrote about the inevitable rise of interest rates after March 31 when the Federal Reserve stopped purchasing mortgage backed securities.  Today rates are lower than ever, running at about 4.5% for a 30 year conventional fixed rate mortgage.  We feel better knowing that the entire housing industry was braced for rising rates as well.

The falling rates have an unexpected source:  the financial debt crisis in Greece, along with very real concerns about Spain, Italy and Portugal.  Investors have moved their money to more solid investments, including mortgage backed securities.  Today’s mortgage security bears no resemblance to those that helped bring our economy to its knees.  These new investments are secured with properties that have been carefully and conservatively appraised, purchased by borrowers who have solid credit, earnings, money in the bank and a down payment.

Housing sales strength is critical to an economic recovery that is on solid ground.  Low rates like these allow more borrowers to qualify for the home they want.  More home sales cause the new sale of products and services which in turn creates more jobs.

We are delighted to have been wrong. 

Call us at 997-HOME for information on mortgage rates and the road to refinancing or home ownership.  We may have been poor forecasters, but we are really good at mortgage lending.

Austin Ranks #1 on Forbes Job List Again!

Texas at the Top of Big Cities

Our list of best places among big cities is dominated this year, as last, by Texas, with the Lone Star State producing fully half of our top 10. This year, like last, the No. 1 big city (those with a more than 450,000 non-farm jobs) was Austin, Texas, which enjoys the benefits of being both the state capital and the home to the University of Texas, as well as a large, and growing, tech sector.

But the Texas story also includes places that do not enjoy Austin’s often overwrought “hip and cool” image. Broad-based economies, partly in energy, have paced the growth of No. 2 San Antonio, No. 3 Houston, No. 5 Dallas and No. 7 Fort Worth. Other consistent big-city Southern performers include No. 8 big metro Raleigh-Cary, N.C., as well as two ascendant Great Plains metropolises, No. 9 Omaha and No. 11 Oklahoma City. None of these places were too hard-hit by the mortgage meltdown, and they all have retained reputations as business-friendly areas.

Please check out the full article at:  http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/20/best-cities-jobs-economy-energy-opinions-columnists-joel-kotkin.html