Motivational Monday - Create your own constellation... Pharrell Williams

After my maternity "sabbatical", I am happy to be back.  So to follow up with last night's Grammys, I am sharing this motivational video from one of my favorite artists, Pharrell Williams.  Despite his wildly successful career and amazing talents, he stays grounded and very humble.  Hope you enjoy this.

(YouTube, NovusMindset)

P.S. I really wanted to find something from Daft Punk, but robots don't speak :)

Have a Wonderful Monday!

The biggest compliment you can give is a referral of your family, friends, or business partners. - RitzHomesRealty/240-994-0150/oxana@ritzhomesrealty.com

New Mortgage Rule

As of January 10, 2014, there is a new rule that may impact anyone wanting to purchase or refinance a home, and that rule requires that lenders more thoroughly assess a borrower's ability to repay a loan.

The rule is part of the Dodd-Frank Consumer Protection Act, which placed legal liability on banks and mortgage lenders for pre-determining borrowers' ability to repay their mortgages. It was enacted to help ensure borrowers would get a home loan that they can actually afford to repay, therefore helping prevent people from going into foreclosure and losing their homes. 

The new guidelines restrict loan limits, places more restrictions on a borrower's debt-to-income ratio, and also guides allowable fees and other items. It may make mortgage borrowing more difficult for some, but the guidelines are there to help ensure you don't get in too deep over your head. 

The best thing to do is to speak candidly with a trusted loan professional prior to embarking on a new home search, or even if you are simply considering a refinance of your current mortgage. 

Have a great weekend and stay warm!

Final Walkthrough

A final walkthrough is a crucial last step to the home buying process. It is basically your last chance before closing to make sure everything in the home is as it should be. So the timing of the walkthrough is important - you want to schedule it ideally anywhere from 24 hours before closing to the morning of the closing. Give yourself enough time to be able to address any issues before closing, but not so much time that problems could arise after the walkthrough that you would otherwise never see until it is too late. 

What to do if you do find problems? You could try to get it remedied before closing, or ask that funds be held in escrow to ensure it gets remedied (though in some cases lenders may not allow that), or overlook the problem and move forward, or you could walk away from the purchase altogether (though in this case, there would need to be some kind of prior agreement that has been breached). The answer should obviously depend on the severity of the problem, and just how much you want the property. A home is likely one of the largest investments you will ever make, so it's certainly not a matter to take lightly. 

Your realtor (Oxana Ritz) is a great resource to discuss your options with, and of course I am always available for questions as well.

Have a great weekend!

Split settlements

Happy new year! As I write this, it is snowing outside. It brings to mind the topic of what happens when one party to a closing cannot make it to the scheduled closing date and/or time. The answer is a split settlement - when the parties meet separately and at different times (and perhaps a different location as well) and sign their portion of the closing documents separately. The only difference in these types of scenarios is that funds cannot be disbursed until both sides of the closing have fully signed their documents. There is also the possibility of arranging out-of-state sellers to pre-sign their portion of the closing documents - we do this as long as the documents are properly signed and notarized, and the originals are returned to us on or before the date of the closing. This in fact happens often, especially with new home builders who typically never attend closings. 

It's not completely unusual to happen this way, but of course not the norm. If you have any questions about these types of scenarios, then please feel free to message me and I would be happy to answer any questions you might have. 

Stay warm in the snow!