07/19/22 | 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.
The housing market feels the effects of a government shutdown in many different ways. Verifications, loan approvals, and closings can take longer, and in some cases, get put on hold entirely.
Recently Massachusetts has taken action to protect tenants from hidden fees as well as to clarify how fees are paid to real estate agents assisting both tenants and landlords. Together, these reforms aim to make the rental process more transparent and fair. Local communities are also taking a closer look at how short-term rentals (STRs) work—and don’t—when many are not properly registered.
As housing affordability continues to challenge our local communities, we find it encouraging to see legislative steps that prioritize affordability, flexibility, and access, like Massachusetts’s Affordable Homes Act, signed into law last year by Governor Maura Healey. One of the changes we find most intriguing is the expanded ability to build Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs. These are small residential living spaces located on the same lot as another home, either within an existing primary residence, like converting a basement into an apartment, attached to a primary residence as a new construction addition, or completely detached, like a cottage or converted detached garage in a backyard.”
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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