Smart Choices: Getting Renters on the Elusive “Path to Buy” a Home

There’s a growing segment of consumers that may want to buy today, tomorrow, or five years from now. We have identified a great strategy that plants them in our “lending garden,” and nurtures them into main stream buyers for when they are ready to take the leap into home ownership.

I work with clients on a daily basis that rent but want someday to buy a home of their own, but they have no clue how to get there. Or in many cases, I have clients that lost a home in the market implosion through a short sale, deed-in-lieu, or foreclosure. We start early to put these otherwise disenfranchised clients on a plan that will make homeownership for the first time or the next time an attainable goal. We include these households in a dedicated database for observation, and establish an ongoing relationship with them to monitor their growth, and schedule follow-up sessions with interested households a minimum of every 45 days. Our goal: to coach, mentor, and enlighten them on the financial principles they’ll need to take the keys to their own home one day.

Our “Path to Buy” program is designed to help former homeowners weather the storms of foreclosure, bankruptcy, divorce or other unexpected life shocks, as well as first-time homeowners strengthen their financial foundation to handle the long-term responsibility of maintaining mortgage payments. Being fiscally prepared to enter the market and knowing when the timing’s right to enter the market is pivotal in helping these future homeowners to succeed. “Path to Buy” empowers our clients to make wise long- decisions to make that long-term goal of a home a shorter, truly attainable one. The program educates first-time home buyers about home buying, emphasizing facts and debunking the myths surrounding the process.

Keep in mind that home prices and interest rates are predicted to remain affordable for quite some time. Additionally, the potential tax savings generated by mortgage interest deductions make a compelling argument for clients to transition out of a rental situation subject to yearly price increases and lease restrictions. All consumers should be afforded the opportunity to take advantage of these favorable market conditions when they are ready to handle the responsibility. “Path to Buy” does exactly that: helps potential buyers to make the right choices to put them in a home.

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About Steve Duncan

Steve Duncan of Peak Finance Co. - Residential works with clients on a daily basis that want to someday to own a home of their own, but have no clue how to get there. His goal: to place these otherwise disenfranchised clients on a plan that will make homeownership an attainable goal. He works with existing homeowners to find the best rates and mortgage programs available that fits a long term ownership strategy.

Steve can be reached at stevend@peakcorp.com.

Armageddon? Maybe not

After a 7 day span which saw the stock market shed nearly 2,000 points, many clients have asked me if all of this is a sign of things to come for the bond markets. After S&P incredulously dropped our credit rating to AA+ (that's still about as good of a grade you can get in college, I think) stock markets once again dropped several hundred points today. Yet the most shocking thing was that people bought up treasuries in droves. After hearing the news of our country's increased risk of defaulting on our debt, I would have at least thought that investors would be cautious with treasuries and bonds. However, it seems that we are definitely the best of all evils and that there really isn't anywhere else that investors are comfortable to park their money

While the run up higher in mortgage bonds recently is nice, I feel that we are ripe for a reversal shortly similar to the one we saw Friday in which MBS shed a full 100 BPS. I think it is safe to say that rates will still be low in the short term but I fear that investors will soon start to have that sinking feeling creep in when they start to realize that the United States is not the infallible safe haven we used to be

The next 7 to 10 days of economic reports will also determine how far the government will need to go to prop us up again. I wouldn't be surprised at all to hear serious consideration (possibly even implementation?) of QE3 at the fed meeting tomorrow

We are in some volatile and scary times right now. But I still believe that real estate is a sound investment in the long run and that now is the time to take advantage of these ridiculously low rates.

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About Tamir Lahav

Tamir Lahav joined Peak Finance Company in May of 2006. Lahav brings to the table a strong understanding of how all aspects of the mortgage business impact consumers and their ability to obtain affordable mortgages under any economic climate. His advanced product knowledge, combined with an exceptional customer service ethic and insight into market conditions, have made him a valuable asset to the Peak Finance Company team. Lahav successfully merges his expertise of exceeding customer expectations with knowledge of changing market conditions to successfully help all of his clients find the perfect solution for their needs.

Tamir can be reached at tamir@peakfinanceco.com.

Acting with Urgency

The word "never" gets used a lot by politicians. It is usually done in conjunction with some sort of preachy doomsday prophecy or in relation to our nations history. The new "never" that is still gripping the markets as of today is our debt ceiling struggles. While it seems that both sides are now in agreement on a new deal, the fact that the United States has "never" defaulted on its debt obligations is still very much up in the air.

A sense of urgency is what has been prevalent over the past couple of weeks but it seemed that an agreement would always come at the absolute last moment. Now, although it seems that we will avert our "never" it has yet to be seen if the credit agencies will reduce our "never" lower then AAA credit rating.

On the plus side, the bond markets have been basically assured that bond holders will get paid no matter what and this has caused a small 2 day rally in mortgage backed securities, leading mortgage interest rates to drop to 2011 lows. While there is still a lot of uncertainty and the next 24 hours can go a long way to seeing where we will end up, the sense of urgency for buyers and those wanting to refinance should be at an all time high.

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About Tamir Lahav

Tamir Lahav joined Peak Finance Company in May of 2006. Lahav brings to the table a strong understanding of how all aspects of the mortgage business impact consumers and their ability to obtain affordable mortgages under any economic climate. His advanced product knowledge, combined with an exceptional customer service ethic and insight into market conditions, have made him a valuable asset to the Peak Finance Company team. Lahav successfully merges his expertise of exceeding customer expectations with knowledge of changing market conditions to successfully help all of his clients find the perfect solution for their needs.

Tamir can be reached at tamir@peakfinanceco.com.

The ugly four letter "D" word

Almost all of us have it and it always seems to be impossible to completely get rid of it. This nuisance of the financial world has taken a front seat globally and is now gripping world markets in a state of fear and uncertainty. Of coarse the term I am talking about is DEBT. With our own issues here dealing with how to properly raise the debt ceiling while working on a balance of deficit cuts and probable tax hikes and Europe's ongoing Sovereign debt crisis between Greece, Ireland, Portugal and now even Italy, it seems that the modern world is finally understanding the nature of its previously frivolous ways.

Meanwhile the bond market has benefited greatly over the previous two sessions and rates have dropped back down to the lows seen from over a week ago. However, a cautionary tale persists and with an influx of treasury auctions coming this week and the ever important PCE inflation gauges, it is extremely important to be prudent about taking advantage of what positive strides we have taken as of late.

As I keep telling all my clients, purchasing a property has never been this attractive. I guarantee that rates will go up, and when they do, it might come in the form of a spike that could wipe away any positive advantage a potential buyer might have in making a sound investment.

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About Tamir Lahav

Tamir Lahav joined Peak Finance Company in May of 2006. Lahav brings to the table a strong understanding of how all aspects of the mortgage business impact consumers and their ability to obtain affordable mortgages under any economic climate. His advanced product knowledge, combined with an exceptional customer service ethic and insight into market conditions, have made him a valuable asset to the Peak Finance Company team. Lahav successfully merges his expertise of exceeding customer expectations with knowledge of changing market conditions to successfully help all of his clients find the perfect solution for their needs.

Tamir can be reached at tamir@peakfinanceco.com.