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.
Regardless of what Punxsutawney Phil has to say, the spring real estate market can begin as early as the day after the Superbowl. If you want to take advantage of the most robust market of the year, now is the time to take steps to prepare.
2025 seems like a made-up, futuristic year, and yet here we are! Like many of you, we take stock at the end of the year, looking back on our successes, challenges, and everything in between. This year tested our resilience and creativity. There were big changes in the real estate world and for our team. Following are some of our highlights from 2024. We'd love to hear about yours, too!
Fall has arrived, and with it is the idea of “Harvest Season,” bringing to mind images of abundant produce at farm stands and overflowing grocery store aisles (not to mention the ubiquitous Pumpkin Spice in everything from donuts to sausages). Yet, this time of supposed plenty contrasts sharply with the reality that nearly two million people in Massachusetts—about 18% of the population—experience food insecurity. We at Liz & Ellie Local don’t just help people buy and sell houses; we aim to educate people on the issues that affect where we live, too. In a state with so many resources, we feel moved to help our neighbors gain access to healthy and delicious food.
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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