Author: Julia

Parents Helping with Jumbo Loans

Julia

 Getting Mom and Dad to co-sign a jumbo mortgage is a tough sell all around.

The practice is rare, but a few lenders will allow parents to help their adult children qualify for jumbo mortgages, which exceed conforming-loan limits of $417,000 in most places and $625,500 in high-price areas such as San Francisco. A typical scenario: a first-time home buyer whose salary has a strong upward trajectory but who hasn’t been on the job long enough to meet income requirements to buy property in a pricey locale, such as New York, says Ray Rodriguez, regional mortgage sales manager for Cherry Hill, N.J.-based TD Bank, which lends in 15 East Coast states.

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Divorce and the Shared Mortgage

Julia

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Deciding what to do with the house can be a major quandary for couples getting a divorce, particularly when they share a mortgage.

At LDSAgents.com, a qualified mortgage professional can work with you during the settlement process and can help identify many of the hurdles.

Cynthia Thompson, the founder of Divorce Planning Solutions, a financial planning firm in White Plains, N.Y., says ideally, this preparation should happen early on in the divorce process . Too often, Ms. Thompson said, people are “arguing, litigating, fighting, having no idea of the whole picture.”

When there is equity in the home, each spouse typically wants to take a share as part of the settlement agreement. But if one person wants to remain in the home, rather than sell it and split any profit, then that spouse will likely have to qualify for a mortgage on his or her own. Read more →

How to Enjoy a Long Winter

Julia
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Residents of Norway view their long dark winters as something to celebrate. It is possible to be cheerful for the next four months.

As the days get darker and colder in much of the northern hemisphere, it’s easy to indulge in gloom. For the next few months, you’ll be shivering. You’ll be battling foul weather. Thanks to daylight saving time there will be no chance to see the sun after work.

The gloom leads to a common question: What can I do to cope with the dark and cold?

If you truly want to be happy during winter, though, this is the wrong approach to the season. Changing your mindset can do more than distracting yourself from the weather. Read more →

Your Brain on Retirement

Julia

Retiring at 55 and spending the rest of your life relaxing on the front porch may sound appealing, but if you want your brain to keep working, it’s probably not a good idea. Mounting evidence shows that staying in the workforce into old age is good not only for our bank accounts, but also for our health and mental acuity. With LDS people living 8-11 years longer than the average person there is more to consider when planning your retirement.

As medical advances extend the length of the human lifespan – and the number of healthy, active years – scientists, economists and policymakers are delving into the question of what the optimial time to stop working is.

One message is becoming clear: don’t stop too soon.

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The Growing Need For the Bank of Mom & Dad

Julia

M&DThe Bank of Mom and Dad is increasingly open for business – and is increasingly necessary – for younger homebuyers looking to secure a down payment, particularly for middle-income households, presumed first-time homebuyers, Hispanics and Asians.

Not only do parents need to consider the cost of a mission and college these days but there is the potential cost of helping their children get into a home. The use of loans and gifts from family and friends to help purchase a home increased sharply during the recession – from 8 percent of homes bought in 2007 to 21 percent of homes bought in 2009. The share has since declined, to 13 percent in 2014. Hispanics and Asians are more likely to receive down payment assistance from family and friends than blacks and whites. Presumed first-time homebuyers who bought in the years after the recession were roughly twice as likely to have received down payment assistance from friends and family as those who bought prior to the recession. Read more →

Housing Demand to Surge Over the Next Decade

Julia

housing-demandKnowing who will lead the demand will guide agents where to focus their business efforts in the future.

We all know the population will grow and age in the future. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) believes that between 13.9 and 15.9 million additional households will be formed by 2024, making the next decade one of the strongest in US housing history.

At the upper end, this results in a growth rate of 1.6 million households per year. Boosted by the aging of the population, the aggregate homeownership rate will rebound to between 65 and 66%.

In their new research paper, Housing Demand: Demographics and the Numbers Behind the Coming Multi-Million Increase in Households, the MBA’s researchers conclude that the housing demand surge will be driven by Hispanics, Baby Boomers, and Millennials. Read more →

To Age Well, Change How You Feel About Aging

Julia

Aging well framed

Scientists are discovering something very peculiar about aging: How we feel about getting old matters. A lot.

In test after test, researchers are finding that if we think about getting older in terms of decline or disability, our health likely will suffer. If, on the other hand, we see aging in terms of opportunity and growth, our bodies respond in kind. Being grateful for our blessings, living the Word of Wisdom and having a positive attitude will keep us aging in a healthier way.

Research holds out the possibility for much healthier aging. But it also points to a very big obstacle: Negative stereotypes about aging are pervasive in America. Even many older adults embrace the idea that getting old is a bad thing-which means they’re doing potentially serious harm to their health without realizing it.

Psychologists and neuroscientists are identifying strategies that individuals can use to improve their mind-sets about aging, with benefits for their health and well-being.

Here are four ways people can better protect themselves from the potentially harmful effects of stereotypes about aging. Read more →

New Expectations for Electricity Consumers

Julia

electric meter

For most of the last century, Americans have been passive consumers of electricity, paying whatever their utility charged for the juice to run their lights and appliances.

That would change under the new carbon rules that the Obama administration unveiled in August, experts say. Utilities themselves would install more large solar farms and wind turbines, but that wouldn’t be enough to meet the goals for reducing greenhouse gases.

So households and businesses would have to become active participants in the electricity business, selling power from their own solar panels or collecting payments for cutting their electricity use when the grid is under stress. And consumers, with financial help from utilities, will need to replace old refrigerators and air conditioners with more efficient models.

How much the shift would cost Americans is the subject of fierce debate.

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FHA Loans Are Difficult to Obtain

Julia
29-what-is-a-fha-loanMost large banks have curtailed FHA-backed loans in the past two years because of concerns about credit and legal risks.

The rollback among big banks follows harsh penalties meted out by the Justice Department , which accused many banks of putting FHA on the hook for shoddy loans in the years leading up to the mortgage meltdown. Market shares at BB&T, Bank of America, Fifth Third Bancorp, Flagstar Bank, M&T Bank, Regions Financial and Wells Fargo have all declined in the past two years, the data shows. Read more →

Faucets for Home Chefs

Julia

faucetsHome chefs with commercial-grade appliances can complete the look with restaurant-style kitchen faucets.

These industrial-style fixtures have spouts nearly twice as high as normal faucets to fit tall pots or a large stack of plates underneath. The faucets typically have a detachable sprayer wrapped in a flexible spring coil.

While many homeowners are drawn to the faucets’ industrial-look, some balk at their large size, says Tim Maicher, director of marketing at Blanco, a high-end faucet maker. The early models were so large that “the faucet would swing around like a loose fire hose,” says Mr. Maicher. To remedy this, Blanco and other manufacturers introduced slightly smaller versions, with the option of a hidden coil.

Here are a few different styles for varying budgets: Read more →