10/19/21 | Ellie Botshon
Liz and Ellie have helped buyers in the Greater Boston area for decades. They’ve seen it all, from housing bubbles to busts, from no inventory to overflowing inventory. But one thing that doesn’t change is educating you on how the whole process works.
Impacts whether or not you qualify for a mortgage;
Determines if you must purchase private mortgage insurance (a LTV ratio above 80% requires PMI);
May lead to a loan not being approved if the LTV ratio is above 97.5%;
Affects the interest rate on your loan.
Be able to back out of the deal;
Increase their down payment and rewrite the Purchase & Sale (P & S);
Pay a higher loan rate;
Pay for personal mortgage insurance (PMI);
Petition the lender to take another look based on properties they may not have included in the appraisal.
The loan to value ratio is an important consideration when putting together an offer for a home.
Find the LTV ratio by dividing the amount of the loan by the lower of either the appraised value or the offer price. The answer is a percentage. 80% or below is ideal. If it’s higher than that, you may need to purchase Personal Mortgage Insurance or pay a higher rate. If the LTV is upward of 97%, your loan might be denied.
The appraisal number only comes in after the offer has been accepted. This means you must think through and plan for all possible appraisal outcomes when making an offer—Ellie and Liz can help with that!
Use your attorney to protect yourself in the Purchase & Sale agreement. Talk with them about which contingencies fit your needs.
An informed buyer is more likely to be successful. Ask your agent and your lender lots of questions.
How many of us were told, “Get outside for some fresh air!” by a grumpy caretaker when we were kids? It turns out those adults may have been onto something, because in many cases, the air we breathe indoors is decidedly not fresh. More people than ever are working from home these days and are spending about 90% of their time indoors. We at Liz & Ellie Local want to help people feel happy and healthy in their homes, so we’ve put together a FAQ-style guide to ensure that your indoor air quality is the best it can be.
We at Liz & Ellie Local help people buy and sell homes in the Camberville and Greater Boston areas, but we’re also intent on doing our part to keep the planet as a whole–well–whole. What’s on our minds these days is food; grocery bills are skyrocketing, and the word is spreading that food waste in our landfills isn’t just smelly, it’s bad news. If we reduce food waste, it’s good for our wallet and our conscience; but it's also one of the easiest and effective ways we can tackle climate change head-on. Let’s start with a quick question:
Owning a home is a much touted part of the American Dream. You know the one: white picket fence, big yard, friendly neighbors. And whether it boasts a decorative fence or not, houses are one of the few commodities that increase in value over time. In fact, home ownership is one of the major factors in building generational wealth–assets that can be passed from one generation to the next, providing stability and financial safety for one’s descendants. Unfortunately...
With their complementary communication styles, responsiveness, competence, and ability to truly listen, Ellie and Liz enable their clients to feel at ease throughout any real estate transaction. They would welcome the opportunity to be your next real estate advisors.
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