They're Back - 100% LTV

Well, I can tell we are all slowly getting back on proverbial real estate "horse".  It was not too long ago that I could get a young professional into a 500K home without any downpayment.  Yep, that went away with the financial meltdown. To steal a term from the beloved Arnold Schwarzenegger - "I'll be back".

As a real estate professional I surely can remember thinking "Boy, those were the days!".  Welp, strap on your bootstraps cowboys.  I found a 100% conforming professional mortgage for up to 500K!  I know, us conservative folk say that was not then, and is not now, a prudent decision.  I do not personally disagree with that sentiment in general.  However, the key word in this mortgage description  is professional.  Are you a resident doctor?  If you are, then IMO you are professional that may need this type of product.  In my PC opinion...give me a call  (I am not a loan officer nor a mortgage professional) I will be happy to connect you to those in the know!

Skyrocketing Building Prices - Don't blame U.S.

So, you want to build a home? With 4% interest rates (the lowest in 50 years) and labor available at a discount, it seems to make sense. Most of the cost of housing is in materials (Lumber, copper, concrete, steel, etc.). Houston, there's a problem in the claimed "recovery" from the recession. Just because our economy is lagging it does not mean the world economy is following suit. If you can just imagine what the world thought of our massive growth over the last 75 years. It is time for us to consider looking out our windows at our chief competition as consumers. Right now India, China, and Brazil are exploding with growth. Their economies are booming so much that we are exporting most of our lumber, steel, and copper (to name a few items) to these countries. There is such a demand that we are exhausting natural resources around the globe at a staggering pace and thus driving up prices. Steel has increased 30% since Sept. 2010! Material costs have risen so much that the mere savings you will find in labor cannot offset the skyrocketing cost of the product itself. It makes you wonder how much money Brazil is putting into the infrastructure for the 2016 olympics (i.e. Birds Nest II).

The secret is to buy existing homes at recessed prices and upgrade. Yep, it sounds easy. I know that everyone wants to buy a home and immediately start the construction project, right? Don't be scared off - you can save tens of thousands of dollars or more and live in a home built on a mature site with quality materials. That's my tip (or word for the wise)!

Pulte Centex Merge! PLEASE start with a clean slate!

Let face the facts. For most national builders their innate emphasis is on their profitability for the share holders not lifespan or quality of the products. The longevity of the home builder needs to be staked on a quality product. A product that will pass the test of time. Pulte and Centex are building a quality home in the field. However, the design and layout of the neighborhoods are seemingly driven by local density standards and codes - not what will stabilize values and improve the quality of life in an entire community. If the builders were to drive into some of their neighborhoods they built in the 80's and 90's and then compare them to older neighborhoods dating into the 70's and early 80's -they could learn a lot. They could learn a lot about themselves, their greed, and their true commitment to improving the quality of living in the communities they serve. They may even find the answers to some of their declining home sales. The character and structural diversity of a neighborhood goes beyond mulch, entry monuments, and playgrounds. It extends to quality siding, varied home site locations set withing larger building pads, more extensive and long term landscaping, and curved streets. Let's all regroup and focus our housing efforts and investments on Eco-friendly, value driven, and value stabilizing communities that we will all be proud to call home today and in 50 years! Note to the builders - where did your cheese go? It's moved and here it lay!