Renting for Horse Owners

Posted on March 19, 2018 by blogeditor

Do you own your own horse in Colorado but don’t own your home? Do you rent an apartment and board your horse? There are many reasons why a horse owner should own their own home. Colorado Horse Property has over 10,00 horse property listings. Also, we are committed to getting you into the horse property you and your horses deserve. Here are a few problems with renting in general.

Rending As A Horse Owner

The problem with renting is that you payment is higher that what home owners are paying for their mortgage payment including taxes and insurance. The experts in the field are saying that we may never again experience the incredibly low mortgage interest rates currently available. When you rent, you do not have the same advantage that homeowners have by using their home as a leveraged investment.

If you are renting, consider looking for loans that could help you buy your own home. Talk to a loan professional to find out exactly what types of loans are available and the specific down payment required. Remember, down payments can be a whole lot less than twenty percent, and therefore very affordable. Contact Colorado Horse Property for a referral to a loan professional near you.

It Costs to Wait on Your Horse Property

Posted on March 14, 2018 by blogeditor

It costs to wait when it comes to purchasing your horse property.

It costs to wait in respect to buying property. The last thing you want to do is pay more later for a property that you are looking at now. There are many things that can affect the price of a home just as there are many reasons to wait and not wait on buying. Here are a few things that you need to know.

Colorado Horse Property knows that buying a home is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make this year, but did you know that waiting could be costing you more money? Financial experts have been expecting interest rates to increase along with home prices. While homes have definitely increased over the past five years, the mortgage rates today are actually lower than they were a year ago.

Consider the following scenario. Interest rates have increase by 1% over the next year while homes appreciated at 5.5%. That means that a $260,000 home would go up by $16,000 and the payment would be well over two hundred dollars more. The increased payments alone would amount to $17,800 for the next seven years. When facing a decision to postpone a home purchase, you should ask yourself: “how will it feel to have to pay more to live in basically the same home?”

Use the Cost of Waiting to Buy calculator to estimate what it might cost to wait to purchase you horse property based on your own estimates of what interest rates and prices will do in the next year. This cost of waiting calculator is a great tool that you can use to get yourself prepared. Finding out how much it costs to wait on buying a home should be your first step in the home buying process.

Mortgage Interest Points

Posted on March 7, 2018 by blogeditor

Did you know that when loans are quoted by lenders, there is little to no notice of the mortgage interest points that may be charged along with the rate? You may not even realize that these points exist if you are not familiar with the home buying process. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.

Mortgage Interest Points

Mortgage interest points correspond to one percent per point of the mortgage amount. This is the previously paid interest that affects the loan’s return. Buyers and sellers can elect to pay these points to reduce rates. However, you should be aware that there can be limits on paying for points based on underwriting guidelines. These can be easy to miss because they differ from types of loans.

Lower note-rates would obviously make the payments less, but with a little analysis you can discover some helpful information. Knowing how much points paid up-front can save a borrower. Also, whether they can get back additional costs is very useful. If a buyer stays in a home for ten years, they can save $2,000 over the cost of the point. A less obvious advantage will be realized because the unpaid balance on the lower interest rate loan will result in an additional savings.

Tax Refunds and Home Buying

Posted on March 5, 2018 by blogeditor

Tax season can be very stressful, but for a lot taxpayers the reward is receiving a refund. Though refunds differ from state to state and person to person, the average tax refund is around three thousand dollars for most Americans. Tax refunds and home buying go hand in hand. Colorado Horse Property would advise you not to use your tax refund on just anything, especially if you are thinking about buying a home.

Tax Refunds and Home Buying

While the average tax refund might not cover the down payment on a median priced home in Colorado, it definitely helps out. Ranging from two to three percent of the the purchase price, closing costs for originating new mortgages can be expensive; that’s where your tax refund can come in handy. Most lenders will let you pay part or even all of the closing costs on your new home based on what is agreed upon and outlined in the sales contract.

Just have it written in the agreement that you will pay for your closing costs with your refund. If you are able to get a low down payment, then your refund can certainly go towards that cost as well. Many buyers think it takes 10% or more down payment to purchase a home, and though that could be the case it is oftentimes lower than you might thing. There are VA and USDA mortgages that have no down payment for qualified buyers. FHA has a 3.5% down payment program and FNMA has 3% down payment mortgages for qualified creditors.

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act

Posted on February 28, 2018 by blogeditor

Buying a home is a big decision, and the tax laws in the past can weigh hard on that decision. In today’s economic climate buyers who worry about what might happen to the tax laws affecting home ownership should feel more confident about moving forward with their decision to buy. This is all thanks to The Tax Cut and Jobs Act. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act

The good news: The Tax Cut and Jobs Act continues to treat real estate as a favored investment. Whether it is for your home or a rental property, the tax laws are in place. The only thing that might still be concerning are mortgage rates which are expected to rise as well as prices. But don’t give up just yet. Your dream home can still be yours and sooner than you think.

Not only is the mortgage interest deduction intact for most taxpayers, the capital gain exclusion for principal residences up to $500,000 is also still in place. Taxpayers can annually elect to take a newly increased standard deduction or itemize deductions; the taxpayer will pick whichever will benefit them the most.

A house payment under the new laws, along with taxes and insurance, is most likely cheaper than to rent because rents will continue to rise in the future. Rental properties are still great investments because Section 1031 exchanges, capital gains and depreciation remain the same for rental properties.

Time Management

Posted on February 21, 2018 by blogeditor

Time management is very important but also very underrated. If you have a family or an active lifestyle, then you know how precious time can be. Your schedule fills up quick with more things to do than there are hours in the day. Do you have an appointment in the morning? The kids have lessons to get to? Do you still need to go shopping to fill the empty pantry?

Time is valuable and no one wants to waste it, most of all real estate agents. Agents know that you can’t put your life on-hold while you’re trying to buy or sell a home. Whether you have a family, a couple, or you are single, life continues and the time constraints of moving can become burdensome. Agents at Colorado Horse Property are committed to helping you save time while making the experience of buying or selling a home memorable. We know the process and the potential problem areas and can help you move through them. So to preserve your precious time, and your agents time and energy, here are a few things you can do.

Time Management

First and foremost, if for what ever reason you are no longer able to buy or sell depending on what you are trying to accomplish, always let your agent know as soon as possible. There’s nothing worse than an agent spending hours trying to find the perfect home for you and then find out later that you changed your mind the day before. Secondly, if you agent is on time for appointments than you should be.

Cancelling appointments with agents should be done with as much notice as you can possibly give. One of the biggest set backs in the buying process is not having all of your required documentation. So work with your loan professional by providing all requested documentation when it is needed. If you gather all the required documents on the same day for an appointment and store them in the same place, you can reduce the chance of forgetting anything.

Mortgage Rates Through The Ages

Posted on February 20, 2018 by blogeditor

Rates Through The Ages From 1968 to 1980

In 1968, the mortgage rates were 8.5% but they went down to 7% the following year. Homeowners could buy a home that was 15% to 20% larger home with the same mortgage if they could find someone to assume the payments. Federal Housing Administration and Veteran Affairs mortgages were very popular in certain price ranges and they allowed buyers to assume the mortgage regardless of the credit. Therefore, if you could get someone to take over your payments, you were free to qualify for another mortgage.

Rates From 1981 to 1999
In 1981, mortgage rates reached a whopping 18.63%. A quarter of a million dollars of mortgage had a monthly principal and interest payment of nearly four thousand dollars. As crazy as that rate sounds, people were still buying homes; they were good investments. Four years later, the rates were going down but they were still over 12%.

The monthly payment from our previous example would now be twenty-five hundred. Home owners happy to be paying only two thirds what they had to pay a few years earlier and that was a good thing. Fast forward to late 1991 when the rates went below 9%—that same payment was down to two thousand dollars a month.

Mortgage Rates in the 21st Century
Rates during this time were 8.15% and that made the payment of a quarter of a million dollars of mortgage less than two thousand dollars a month. Rates were even lower in 2008 at 6.04%. By 2009, mortgage rates had fallen below 5%. The lowest mortgage rate was 3.31% on November 2012 with a payment one thousand dollars via our previous example.

As you can see, rates fluctuate and most of the experts are expecting rates to be above 5% by the end of this year. Rates have been historically low for a long period but will probably continue to go up. Based on history, even 8% would be an excellent rate for home owners. Until it reaches that point again, everything lower is a bargain.

Negotiating and Home Buying

Posted on February 16, 2018 by blogeditor

Negotiating and home buying go hand in hand. Going into a transaction for buying a home can put the buyer under a lot of stress. Especially when it comes to getting what they want. If you are planning on buying a house and you are intimidated by the entire process, don’t fret. There are periods during the buying process in which you can list your demands. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.

Negotiating and Home Buying

The negotiation takes place when the contract terms are agreed upon, which include the price, closing, and possession. You could be done there, but if you have anything else to bring to the table—problems with financing, inspections or other things—then you will get another chance to bring them up. When you are in the transaction of getting a home, you will be expected to get the home inspected. This is for you to receive an objective evaluation of the property and its components to identify existing defects and potential problems. Inspections are not cheap.

The expense for inspections can be several hundred dollars and it’s reasonable for buyers to not want to spend the money before they find out if they can come to terms with the seller. There for it is reasonable for you to negotiate for the seller to pay for these inspections themselves. But be aware that the seller may have a different perspective; sellers want to know quickly if the buyer is going to reject the home due to the inspections. If the inspection comes back with problems that must be fixed, then you can also negotiate on the costs of repairing these issues.

Why Wait to Buy?

Posted on February 15, 2018 by blogeditor

Why Wait to Buy? Do you want to buy a new home? Don’t have enough money to put twenty percent down? Don’t give up just yet. Having the twenty percent is good because so you can avoid paying mortgage insurance. Continue reading for more information on this topic. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.

Why Wait to Buy Your First Home?

Except for VA loans, lenders require mortgage insurance when the loan-to-value ratio is greater than eighty percent. This is the ratio to how much the lender is giving you and how much the home is worth. The twenty percent down balances everything out. Therefore, if you are able to provide it then you will not be required to pay mortgage insurance. However, if you fear the costs of mortgage insurance, don’t give you just yet. Odds are you can still get the home of your dreams by finding the right balance between loan and mortgage insurance. Here’s how.

Imagine that you are purchasing your new home with a nine-five percent loan at the current low interest rates plus approximately eight-five dollars a month for mortgage insurance—this will greatly depend on your individual credit score. At the end of three years, the unpaid balance would be of a two hundred thousand dollar home would be about one hundred and seventy-nine thousand. Assuming the home will be worth the same two hundred thousand, the buyer’s equity would be almost forty thousand dollars. You might find that having a little bit of mortgage insurance to pay for is worth it in the long run to get the house you want now.

Homeowner Documents to Get Now

Posted on February 14, 2018 by blogeditor

Homeowner documents, like a living will, are important. If you have invested in property it is important to prepare for the future. What if something were to happen to you? What would happen to your investment? Are you married? Do you have children? Who will get the house when you pass away?

Homeowner Documents to Get Now

An estate plan is a collection of documents. Also, your lawyer carries out your wishes according to these homeowner documents when you die. They also help if you are no longer capable to make your own decisions. Every state is different and document requirements can vary. Therefore you should always get legal advice before filing any documents. If you need a current estimate of value of your home, then you can just get help from a licensed professional. For more advice, contact Colorado Horse Property.

Will & Living Will
A will specifies the way a person wants to manage and distribute his/her assets.
Durable Power of Attorney
This document is very important. It grants whomever you choose the authority to act on your behalf in legal affairs. Also, this would allow the attorney-in-fact to buy and sell property on your behalf.
Healthcare Proxy
If you are incapacitated a healthcare proxy is used. It determines who can legally make healthcare decisions on your behalf. This document should outline specific decision you want made when in specific situations.
Hippa Release
The law requires healthcare professionals to protect the privacy of your health information. Include the people you want the information shared with. The healthcare professionals can legally inform them.
Letter of Instruction
This document contains information about a person’s wishes upon death. It is intended to offer details on whom to contact. It says where to find important documents about financial matters.