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Webinar: Post-Foreclosure Options

Webinar: Post-Foreclosure Options


Join tomorrow at 1:00 pm to learn about post-foreclosure options in the latest webinar in the Help for Homeowners series.

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A troubling tale of a Black man trying to get his first mortgage

 Over 70% of Black mortgage applicants surveyed believe they have faced “stricter requirements because of their race”

Of the Black applicants rejected, the vast majority cited a high debt-to-income ratio as a factor, along with a low credit score. Black households are more than twice as likely to have student debt with a median $40,000 student debt load. Racism may also play a role.

Mortgage denial rate for Black applicants is 84 percent higher than for white applicants, according to data from Zillow in 2020, the most year the data was available. This is an increase from 2019 when the denial rate was 74 percent higher.

Overall Black ownership is up at 44 percent, but it is still below the peaks it hit in the early 2000s. The highest being 49.7 percent in 2004.

We already know the homeownership gap for Black people was low compared to other demographics in the United States and it will take an extreme amount of work and effort to ensure that there is equity among Black homeowners.

Interestingly, the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey plus an NAR-conducted survey that 8,000 homebuyers took in 2019 and 2020 – shows that 10% of Black mortgage applicants were rejected. That compares to 6% Hispanic applicants, 4 % white and 4% Asian applicants.

Forty-one percent of Black mortgage applicants responded that they believed to have faced “stricter requirements because of their race” compared to 27% of Asian homebuyers surveyed, 19% of Hispanic respondents and 16% of white households.

Meet: Sunny Jones a realtor who helps African Americans become homeowners

When it comes to buying or selling your home, hiring a professional to guide you through the process can save you money and headaches. It pays to have someone on your side who's well-versed in the nuances of the market and can help ensure you get the best possible deal.

Of course, you have the option to purchase a home without an agent's help or put your house on the market as for sale by owner. But if you're not familiar with the buying or selling process, you may skip necessary steps, whether it's failing to fix peeling paint or missing a deadline for due diligence when you're under contract. You may also find that you're not on an even playing field when it comes to negotiating the deal, which means you could ultimately pay more for the purchase or make less money in a sale.

Finding the best real estate agent for you

Lastly, choosing the right real estate agent could be the difference between a stressful home search and an easy one. Similarly, the right real estate agent could score you a higher sale price on your home and help you find a buyer quickly so your home doesn't sit on the market for weeks on end.

Take the first step toward the right mortgage.

 

How To Buy A House In 12 Steps

Most home sales involve the following 12 steps:

1. Decide Whether You’re Ready to Buy A Home
2. Calculate How Much House You Can Afford
3. Save For A Down Payment And Closing Costs
4. Get Preapproved For A Mortgage
5. Find The Right Real Estate Agent
6. Begin House Hunting
7. Make An Offer On A House
8. Get A Home Inspection
9. Get A Home Appraisal
10. Ask For Repairs Or Credits
11. Do A Final Walkthrough
12. Close On Your New Home

Take the first step toward the right mortgage.

What can you do as a real estate agent?

 

Real estate agents may do some or all of the following:

• advertise and market properties.
• arrange and host open homes.
• build relationships with sellers and buyers.
• complete sales and negotiate contracts.
• research the housing market and property values.
• organize building inspections and reports.

Don't overpay your Agent: First-time homeowners are most at risk of overpaying on their house.

For the record “are agents worth 6%?” is not what I want to talk about. There are clearly many many people who think the answer is no and working on solutions to change that. Many years and lots of money has been spent by some incredibly smart people trying to change the economics of real estate.

Why? Because those people are just recounting their experiences, all of which included an agent. Point being, there is an incredibly strong social pressure to use an agent, since everyone else has — and you don’t want to be the sucker who tried to do it on your own, and got screwed out of $50,000 or $100,000 (or some other high $$ amount).

Buying a house is the biggest financial transaction most of us will ever make, and people can experience both positive and negative outcomes for decades afterward. The most important factor that determines whether the purchase was a success is the value of the home. After all, whether the price was $100,000, or $1,000,000, paying too much for a property is a bad deal.

The first red flag home buyers should be aware of when it comes to getting a fair price are the prices of homes in the same or similar neighborhoods. Rather than looking at what comparable homes are valued at, buyers should instead look at what people actually paid for similar homes most recently.

If a home is significantly more (or less!) than comparable homes in the nearby area, make sure to ask your realtor or real estate agency why. Depending on their answer, you may be able to negotiate a price more in line with the area's present market value.

A real estate agent will also have comprehensive knowledge of the market, allowing them to tell you exactly what a fair price is in the area you're looking at. When it comes to the life-altering decision of buying a home, sometimes it's simply easier to leave it to the professionals.