Guide to Buying Your First Home

Down times are excellent times to be buying a home.  

Some of my clients were not bothered buying their first home in the worst of time, like at the worst of the last crisis.  With hindsight, they are the smart ones now.  Yes the market has slowed down, and prices are back to what they were last year, but so what? Buying a home is for the long term.

I always remind my clients: as long as you can afford comfortably the home you buy, you have a fairly
stable job, and you know you can find a new job should you lose your current one, then any time is good.  If you know you may have to sell in one or two years, then it may be best to continue renting until you are more sure of your situation.  Otherwise, why continue paying a mortgage - your landlord's mortgage?

This being said, buying a house requires a significant amount of money and time. The journey isn’t always easy, but when you get the keys to your new home, it can be one of the most rewarding feelings ever. 

Knowing the home-buying journey, what tools are at your disposal and creating relationships with experts who can help you get the job done is the key to getting there.

 Here is a link to this nice article, a recap of what to think about.  Source: House Logic

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Francis

Silicon Valley real estate

Tre

nds: Local prices and graphs.

How much is your home worth?

Conforming Loan Limits are raised to $1,089,300 !

 Conforming Loan Limits are raised to $1,089,300  by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and this is a big deal for home buyers in California.  

Why is it so?  because "jumbo loans" which amounts would be higher than the "conforming loan limit" are less flexible in their conditions.  This means that buyers can qualify more easily as they seek to purchase a California home, which is often much higher than the previous limit of $970,800 in high cost areas.  This nationwide figure needed to adjust to the price level that is more common in California.

“C.A.R. [the California Association of Realtors] applauds the FHFA for its continued commitment to homeownership by increasing the conforming loan limits. The higher limits will help make homeownership more accessible to Californians across the state and provide homebuyers with more financing opportunities,” said C.A.R. President Jennifer Branchini, a Bay Area REALTOR®. “This year in California, nearly one out of every four homes sold between $1.25 million and $2 million were purchased by first-time homebuyers,” Branchini said.

C.A.R. and the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) both have long advocated for loan limits that reflect an area’s cost of housing. As a result of C.A.R.’s and NAR’s efforts, areas with high median home prices have benefited from a loan limit above the national conforming loan limit.

Source: California Association of Realtors

Like my updates? Subscribe to my Blog! Thank you for reading,

Francis

Silicon Valley real estate
Tre

nds: Local prices and graphs.

How much is your home worth?