Archive for April, 2009
Clearwater Beach Florida – History shows When Tampa Mortgage Rates Drop..Lock Don’t Loaf
April 14th, 2009 Categories: Clearwater Beach Florida, Clearwater Florida, Tampa Mortgages
Clearwater Beach Buyers Don’t Blink or Record Low Mortgage Rates Could Be Gone
Clearwater Beach Florida – For the fifth time in just 7 months, those shopping Tampa mortgage rates learned an important lesson this week: When mortgage rates plummet unexpectedly, they often recover just as fast. Don’t blink or those rates could be gone!
Recently the Federal Reserve’s newest $750 billion mortgage market pledge helped to push conventional Clearwater home loans and conforming mortgage rates near their lowest levels since WWII. Then we saw how 24 hours later, however, those rates were expired.
After considering the long-term implications of the Federal Reserve — literally — printing new money to service the recession, markets grew fearful that the Fed’s interventions will eventually lead to inflation. Inflation, of course, is the enemy of all mortgage rates.
Related Tampa Mortgage News:
- Clearwater FHA loans tighten and it’s a new day after April 1st
- How Clearwater Beach Jumbo Loans are hurting buyers and sellers right now
- Tampa Condo loans effected by new Fannie Mae Guidelines changed for Florida
What can the History of Tampa / Clearwater Mortgage Rates teach us?
So, if you’re looking for the explanation of why recent Tampa /Clearwater mortgage rates rose as suddenly one day as they fell the day prior, this is it. And, in hindsight, Tampa bay mortgage rate shoppers might have seen it coming, if only because we’ve seen the exact pattern 4 other times:
- After the Fed’s “surprise” rate cut in January 2008
- After the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac takeovers in September 2008
- After the Fed announced its first $500 in support in November 2008
- After the Fed zeroed out the Fed Funds Rate in December 2008
Sharp drops in mortgage rate, it seems, are followed by immediate bounce-backs.
Unfortunately, not every would-be refinancing Clearwater home owner saw the increase coming. People that locked captured the lowest rates in 6 decades. Everyone else wishes they had.
From day-to-day, we don’t know if Tampa mortgage rates will rise or fall. Nobody knows that. But, we do know that Tampa mortgage rates tend to follow patterns and we’ve seen the above pattern 5 times now.
When mortgage rates plunge like they did, they are rarely low for long. When you find a mortgage rate you like, get in and get locked as soon as possible. By tomorrow, it’s likely to be gone.
Thinking of Buying or Selling Property in Clearwater Beach Florida – We can help
If you have been thinking about buying or selling a waterfront or beach condo in the Clearwater St Pete Tampa Bay area…
Contact us for a FREE quote and to find out your Tampa Mortgage options and you can search all Tampa St Petersburg and Clearwater condos for sale right now..
Call Us Today at (727) 710-8036 to hear more about how we can help you!
Copyright © 2009 Jack and Cyndee Haydon, Clearwater Beach REALTORS and your Clearwater Beach Real Estate Consultants specializing in Clearwater Beach Florida and may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed or published.
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Clearwater Beach Florida Condos | Buyers and Sellers Hurt by Jumbo Loans
April 12th, 2009 Categories: Clearwater Beach Florida, Clearwater Florida, Sand Key Florida, Tampa Mortgages
Clearwater Beach Florida – As most of our readers know we work hard to get great deals for our Clearwater Beach condo buyers unfortunately there are some great buys on luxury condos in Clearwater however one of the major roadblocks interested buyers encounter is the fact that in the Clearwater Beach Florida / Sand Key Florida area the allowable Fannie Mae loan limit for conventional loans is only $417,000 with at least 20% down.
Now I would agree that in most areas of Clearwater real estate – this would be plenty, however, when you consider we’re home to some of the best beaches in the United States, it’s not nearly enough if you want to buy a typical beach condo and are looking for a reasonable loan.
Even if you were planning on buying a condo and putting 20% to 25% down it’s a problem because most Clearwater Beach Florida oceanfront 3 bedroom condominiums are still selling from $800,000 to well over $1 million dollars even in today’s real estate market.
Related article:
- Clearwater Beach Real Estate – What do 3 bedroom Beachfront Condos cost?
- Clearwater Beach New Construction - What’s Happening?
- Sandpearl Condos - One of the best places to live in Clearwater Beach Florida
Clearwater Beach FL Jumbo Borrowers Squeezed and so are Sellers
So what does this mean for the Sellers with Clearwater beach condos they are looking to sell?
In my experience…
1) Clearwater Beach low conventional loan limits are causing a lot of mortgage pressure to purchase properties for $520,000 (or less) give or take so a buyer can buy a condo with a loan of less than $417,000.
2) Clearwater Jumbo rates (and terms) further limits the number of ready and willing buyers in this “jumbo” price point – so with less willing and able buyers there is again more pressure on sellers to make a deal with the remaining buyers – and we’re seeing cash is king. Our last two beach condo buyers paid cash for their gulf beachfront condos.
What’s hard to believe is we are currently working with many buyers who are the best clients a mortgage lender could want (excellent credit, no debt, no issue with income qualifications) and yet they are not willing to buy a second home / vacation home under the recent terms one National bank / lender gave … For Jumbo loans on beach condo purchases needing a loan over $417K but under 1 million they didn’t even offer a fixed rate loan only a 5/1 ARM at 5.75% with a 1% point so basically when conventional home buyers are getting mortgage rates under 5% – some of the best possible borrowers are being asked to pay a premium of almost 7% and up.
When I asked “why?”, the banks told me that it’s because “Jumbo Loans” are currently the highest loans in default. Unfortunately, those I see in preforeclosure and foreclosure on the beaches now are very different than the potential buyers we are seeing. We all know lending had loose guidelines back a few years and many real estate buyers got in way over their heads – these are not the buyers we are working with today.
77% Pending Sales of Clearwater Beach Condos and Sand Key Condos are NOT Jumbos
There are currently 22 Clearwater condos under contract and pending sale in the Tampa Bay MLS – of that 17 of them has a listed purchase price of under $420,000, 4 are in the $600K’s and one is pending at $849,000 (all of which could be lower on closing – we don’t know the negotiated purchase price at this point). It’s not surprising that it was recently reported that 50% of all real estate sales in Florida this year have been cash transactions.
In our experience, today’s Tampa mortgage rates for Jumbo Loans have caused several of our clients to scale back their Clearwater beach condo purchases and others have postponed them while they free up additional funds to make up the difference in purchase price and “conforming loans”. We’ve seen several people who planned on buying beachfront condos for @$800,000 and now have scaled back $200-300K to qualify for the conforming loan rates and terms.
So if you are a seller on Clearwater Beach Florida today (or Sand Key, Island Estates and our Gulf beaches) the best thing that can happen for you right now is that Banks get bank into the Jumbo loan market and begin to offer more attractive Jumbo Loan rates and terms for these willing Clearwater Beach buyers. With rates where they are – if Jumbo’s loosen up many of our buyers tell us they would prefer a larger more expensive condo if there aren’t punitive lending terms for them.
Well there was some good news this week….
Clearwater Beach Real Estate gets some good Jumbo Loan news
Today I read an article that stated “that the hard-to-find jumbo loan may be making a comeback. Bank of America is among the major banks rolling out jumbo mortgage programs and holding the loans in their own portfolios.
It will offer loans from $730,000 to $1.5 million with 30-year fixed rates under 6 percent; but borrowers must make a 20-percent downpayment, have good credit, provide proof of income, and hold six months’ of principal, interest, property tax and insurance payments in reserve.”
I know we are constantly working with local bankers who offer in-house “portfolio loans” – we can only hope that other banks, both local and national, will follow Bank of America lead in the Jumbo loan market. If you have questions and need a good local banker, give us a call and we can introduce you to several good lenders and we will continue to keep you posted on what’s happening on our beaches.
Clearwater Beach Real Estate – Selling or Buying – Waterfront Condos or Homes – We Can Help!
If you’ve been thinking about buying or selling a waterfront or oceanfront beach condo or house in the Clearwater St Peterburg Tampa Bay area…
Call Us Today at (727) 710-8036 to hear more about how we can help you!
Contact us for a FREE quote and to find out your Tampa Mortgage options and you can search all Tampa St Petersburg and Clearwater condos for sale right now..
Copyright © 2007-2009 Jack and Cyndee Haydon, Clearwater REALTORS and specializing in Clearwater Florida, Clearwater Beach Florida, and Pinellas County Waterfront homes and condos. Information is deemed reliable however it is not guaranteed and subject to change at any time.
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Clearwater Florida – What to Look for in an Auto Mechanic? Attend FREE Women’s Clinic
April 2nd, 2009 Categories: Clearwater Beach Florida, Clearwater Florida, Community News
Clearwater Florida Community News – Womens Auto Repair / Care Clinic
Clearwater Florida - Whether you’re moving to the area, want to learn how to pick the best auto repair shop or find honest car mechanics when you need one – you’ll want to consider joining me at the this weeks Clearwater Auto Care Clinic being offered by Ice Cold Air and Discount Auto Repair. They’re giving a free car care clinic this Satuday for women of all ages to learn the secrets of auto repair in Clearwater that could save you thousands in unnecessary repairs.
So are you looking for a honest auto repair shop when you need to fix your car or do routine maintenance like oil changes? Do you know the 5 red flags when looking look for an auto mechanic in Clearwater. Now’s the time to learn what insiders know before you need you car fixed.
I started taking our cars to Ice Cold Air and Discount Auto Repair in Clearwater on Court Street about two years ago and love knowing I have mechanics I trust and I know will stand being their work. As a woman, I can tell you the number of times I’ve had my car repaired by other auto shops only to find out later I was taken advantage of (Not something I appreciate) Like in real estate, you need a professional you can trust to give you good advice and to do the right thing or their could be costly mistakes. And since a car is an integral part of my business – I need to make sure it’s always running and safe.
And don’t let their name fool you! I know I was a little confused a first thinking they only fixed car air conditioning problems – though that’s an important one here in Florida.
They are one of the best auto repair shops in Clearwater and are a true full service car repair shop and offer great value pricing. Yes, they do car air conditioners and everything else. Jack and I have had quite a bit of work done on our cars and highly recommend these auto mechanics to our friends.
The owner of Ice Cold Air at both Court Street in Clearwater on the way to Clearwater Beach and the Main Street location off US 19 and 580 near Dunedin is Brett ONeill.
Brett has become a close personal friend of ours over the years as a result of the personal attention and care he takes in his clients and recently was interviewed about the Auto Care Car Clinic on Channel 10 News - Check it out here
Need Auto Repairs? What to look for in a Clearwater Auto Mechanic?
So what will we learn? They are planning to teach us the 10 things everyone must know before having their car repaired in Clearwater FL.
Why did they focus on women? Recent statistics show that over 60% of women are the decision makers when choosing who repairs and maintains their family’s cars.
So as a woman like me…..
- Do you know how to choose the right repair shop?
- Are you going to the dealer, even though you know that it is far more expensive?
- Is the fear of being taken advantage of, or having unnecessary repairs done, driving you to someplace you ‘think’ you can trust?
- How do you really know you’re getting exactly what you paid for?
It is questions like these that prompted Brett’s Clearwater auto repair team at Ice Cold Air in Clearwater Florida to organize a car care clinic specifically for women.
They told me that these topics and many more will be covered in detail:
- “How you can be 100% sure your not being ripped off”
- “The 7 questions you must ask any automotive repair facility before you set up an appointment”
- “What maintenance items are really important and what is just fluff?”
Ice Cold Air owner Brett O’Neill explains, “We deal with women making decisions about their cars every day, and we are asked over and over some of the same questions. I thought it would be a good idea to host a clinic, just for women, to cover some of their main concerns and to help dispel many of the mysteries that have been associated with our industry.”
They will be opening their shop on April 4th to any woman who never again wants to have that frightening, out of control feeling when they think of car repair. I’m planning on being there - are you?
They will give us the questions and answers we need to never fear automotive repair again. As vehicles become more and more complicated, and the level of knowledge necessary to repair them correctly increases, choosing the right repair shop is critical to the long life and proper operation of our vehicles.
Women’s Car Clinic - Clearwater Florida
- When: Saturday April 4th 2009
- Where: Ice Cold Air 1180 Court Street in Clearwater on Gulf to Bay just west of Missouri on the North side of the road
- Time: Starting at Noon - lasting 1 hour until 1pm
- @$150 FREE Gifts, food drinks and more
There is ABSOLUTELY NO CHARGE to attend! As a matter of fact everyone who attends will get a FREE gift worth at least $150 dollars! However, space is limited, so please contact them to reserve your spot by calling 727-461-5727 or email info@icecoldair.net (If you email them your name they’ll send you a confirmation)
For a map to the location, please click here.
We had a great time….
Missed this one? Call them and ask when the next one will be – I have a feeling they’ll be having more since the interest has been very high in the community.
Buying a Home in Clearwater Florida – We can help
If you have been thinking about buying a home or condo now is a great time to buy in home in Clearwater
Contact us for a FREE quote and to find out your Tampa Mortgage options and you can search all Tampa St Petersburg and Clearwater homes for sale right now..
Call Us Today at (727) 710-8036 to hear more about how we can help you!
Copyright © 2009 Jack and Cyndee Haydon, Clearwater REALTORS and specializing in Clearwater Florida, Clearwater Beach Florida, Sand Key Florida and Pinellas County Waterfront homes and condos. This article may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed or published.
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