Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Below Market Rates Plus Free Down Payment Assistance
Below Market Rate Program
Buying a home is an exciting event in one's life. Making the smart move of choosing a REALTOR® is your first step to ensuring that your new home and community meet your needs. My services and experience range from financial aid to helping you find the home that best suits you and your family.
IN REFERENCE TO THE STATEMENT CONCERNING
Below Market Rate AND FREE MONEY
The State of South Carolina in an effort to provide affordable housing to all its citizens has established TARGETED COUNTIES for which special financing is available. The South Carolina State Housing Authority is providing special rates (below market rates) along with down-payment assistance from $2000 to $4000 to buyers who fit the scenario(s). This is not a low-income project or a program for only those living at the poverty level. Buyers can earn household incomes of up to $74,000 with a family of three and buy a home up to $200,000 and qualify for these low rates and down payment assistance.
Depending on income and home chosen buyers may receive the down payment assistance and either pay back 1/2 of it or none of it with interest on the unpaid portion being 4% and not accruing any interest for 36 months!
CALL John Kneece today to determine how you may benefit from this program. Many agents in this market are not going to mention this to you for reasons: #1- they don't want to be bothered with the additional work #2- they don't know about the program and did not attend the certification classes #3- the banks they choose to recommend do not want to do these loans because it is not as lucrative for the bank as other loans #4- if it is only about selling you a home and not what may be good for you in the long-term- then they will not know or talk about this.
info@johnkneece.com
www.BuyerHelper.com
Buying a home is an exciting event in one's life. Making the smart move of choosing a REALTOR® is your first step to ensuring that your new home and community meet your needs. My services and experience range from financial aid to helping you find the home that best suits you and your family.
IN REFERENCE TO THE STATEMENT CONCERNING
Below Market Rate AND FREE MONEY
The State of South Carolina in an effort to provide affordable housing to all its citizens has established TARGETED COUNTIES for which special financing is available. The South Carolina State Housing Authority is providing special rates (below market rates) along with down-payment assistance from $2000 to $4000 to buyers who fit the scenario(s). This is not a low-income project or a program for only those living at the poverty level. Buyers can earn household incomes of up to $74,000 with a family of three and buy a home up to $200,000 and qualify for these low rates and down payment assistance.
Depending on income and home chosen buyers may receive the down payment assistance and either pay back 1/2 of it or none of it with interest on the unpaid portion being 4% and not accruing any interest for 36 months!
CALL John Kneece today to determine how you may benefit from this program. Many agents in this market are not going to mention this to you for reasons: #1- they don't want to be bothered with the additional work #2- they don't know about the program and did not attend the certification classes #3- the banks they choose to recommend do not want to do these loans because it is not as lucrative for the bank as other loans #4- if it is only about selling you a home and not what may be good for you in the long-term- then they will not know or talk about this.
info@johnkneece.com
www.BuyerHelper.com
Friday, May 19, 2006
Orangeburg offers relief for Baby Boomer concerns about retirement
Many baby boomers feel financially strapped and worry about how they'll be able to retire, so they turn to real estate as a means of accumulating wealth, a study shows. According to Baby Boomers and Real Estate:
Today and Tomorrow, a study conducted for the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® by Harris Interactive, boomers overwhelmingly channel their concerns over finances into real estate. Almost eight out of 10 own their home and one-quarter own one or more other kinds of real estate in addition to their primary residence. The most popular real estate investment is land (13 percent), followed by rental property (8 percent), vacation or seasonally occupied home (7 percent), and commercial real estate (2 percent).“Boomers have turned owning multiple homes into a fine art,” Peter Francese, a demographic trend analyst, told attendees at the 2006 REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo Thursday. The survey found 96 percent of boomers think real estate is a good investment.As a group, boomers are wealthy compared with the rest of the country, earning median household income of $64,700 compared with $44,400 for the general U.S. population. But that relative wealth isn’t translating into peace of mind. Thirty-seven percent of the boomers say they’re making just enough to make ends meet and 17 percent say they’re having financial difficulties. Only 4 percent say they’re financially well off. The survey also found three out of four boomers believe they’re not financially prepared for retirement. “This survey uncovered a lot of anxiety,” said Francese.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Orangeburg - How buyers are finding their agents now
Primary Method of Shopping for Information
A majority of baby boomers (53 percent) ranked real estate brokers/agents as their primary source for shopping for information on their first home, followed by 45 percent of Generation X and 34 percent of Generation Y buyers. Generation Y homebuyers (42 percent) search the Internet far more than their Generation X counterparts (26 percent).
Forty (40) percent of all survey respondents noted that the best way to find a broker/agent was through friends and relatives. Next, the Internet is to Generation X and Y (21 percent each) what drive-by yard signage was to baby boomers (17%) in finding a broker/agent for a first home.
In all three groups of buyers, the majority preferred more frequent contact from their broker/agent when buying a first home (more than 50 percent want contact every few days).
A majority of baby boomers (53 percent) ranked real estate brokers/agents as their primary source for shopping for information on their first home, followed by 45 percent of Generation X and 34 percent of Generation Y buyers. Generation Y homebuyers (42 percent) search the Internet far more than their Generation X counterparts (26 percent).
Forty (40) percent of all survey respondents noted that the best way to find a broker/agent was through friends and relatives. Next, the Internet is to Generation X and Y (21 percent each) what drive-by yard signage was to baby boomers (17%) in finding a broker/agent for a first home.
In all three groups of buyers, the majority preferred more frequent contact from their broker/agent when buying a first home (more than 50 percent want contact every few days).
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Full service Real Estate Service Orangeburg SC
Real Estate Information Orangeburg SC and beyond
Relocating to this area?
Orangeburg South Carolina (sc) real estate made easy. Land for sale, homes for sale, and any residential, farm, acreage, investment homes, REO, FSBO, offerings in Orangeburg, Bamberg, and Calhoun Counties. Families relocating in or near Orangeburg SC will find the services of this site not only fast but also accurate. Buyers may obtain exclusive representation in 95% of all transactions. John Kneece has lived and worked in the Orangeburg market since 1975 and servicing real estate clients since 1990.
JOHN KNEECE
ERA Wilder Realty Orangeburg SC
1995 Saint Matthews Road
Orangeburg, SC 29118
www.OrangeburgHomes.com
(I have agents in Columbia, NE Columbia, Irmo, Lexington, Chapin, Sumter, Lake Norman, Charlotte, Manning, and Santee)
info@JohnKneece.com
803-378-5208
1-866-419-7539 (Toll Free)
Relocating to this area?
Orangeburg South Carolina (sc) real estate made easy. Land for sale, homes for sale, and any residential, farm, acreage, investment homes, REO, FSBO, offerings in Orangeburg, Bamberg, and Calhoun Counties. Families relocating in or near Orangeburg SC will find the services of this site not only fast but also accurate. Buyers may obtain exclusive representation in 95% of all transactions. John Kneece has lived and worked in the Orangeburg market since 1975 and servicing real estate clients since 1990.
JOHN KNEECE
ERA Wilder Realty Orangeburg SC
1995 Saint Matthews Road
Orangeburg, SC 29118
www.OrangeburgHomes.com
(I have agents in Columbia, NE Columbia, Irmo, Lexington, Chapin, Sumter, Lake Norman, Charlotte, Manning, and Santee)
info@JohnKneece.com
803-378-5208
1-866-419-7539 (Toll Free)
Friday, May 12, 2006
Bride and Groom Smarts in Orangeburg SC
(IT should be noted that 45% of all purchases made within the last 18 months by First-Time buyers was made with mortgage loans requiring NO DOWN PAYMENT...but----)
Some couples today are breaking away from the traditional china, silver and linen gift registries when it comes to asking for wedding gifts. They're asking for money.
A wedding-day cash infusion can make it easier to put a down payment on a home. With home prices appreciating rapidly in much of the country, lots of couples need all the help they can get.
There are formal and informal rules governing gifts of money to help newlyweds buy a house. First, the informal rules: Is it OK to ask one's wedding guests for money?
"It's not rude to request money as a wedding gift," says Peggy Post, author of "Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette." "However, it's extremely important to ask politely."
Peggy Post is Emily's great-granddaughter-in-law, the wedding etiquette expert for WeddingChannel.com and the main spokeswoman for the Emily Post Institute. She says one of the most common challenges that couples face is how to request money as a wedding gift. Doing so is acceptable, if done politely.
If you seek down-payment money, get the word out through family and friends, Post recommends. Just don't include that info in the same envelope as a wedding invitation.
"If you are asked point-blank what you would like for a gift, you might say, 'Whatever you choose will be wonderful, I'm sure, but money for a house down payment is on the top of our wish list,'" Post says.
It's OK to say what it's for- Go ahead and tell people what you want the money for. Who knows? If you let people know that you plan to spend the money on a down payment, rather than on a honeymoon in Tuscany, they might be more willing to open their pocketbooks.
Wedding guests who insist on giving you yet another toaster or wicker picnic basket or a set of rosewood corn holders should be thanked anyway, even though they aren't helping you buy a house.
"You should always accept any gift graciously, and remember that the choice of what to give really belongs to the gift giver," Post says.
With the etiquette question out of the way, that brings up how to get the money from your guests' pockets and into the hands of the folks who eventually sell you their house. It's not simple, because mortgage loan programs have differing rules on the use of gift money in making a down payment.
The rules on using gift money Generally, you are expected to be able to make a down payment of at least 5 percent from your savings, excluding gifts. But what if you are too impatient to wait that long? Some mortgage programs allow you to use gift money if you can't scrape together enough for a 5 percent down payment.
Loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration allow you to use money from gifts to make a down payment of as little as 3 percent. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two biggest purchasers of home loans, offer similar programs through lenders. Fannie Mae's "Flexible 97 mortgage," for instance, lets you pay 3 percent of your home's purchase price as your down payment, which can come from gifts. Freddie Mac's "Affordable Gold" and "Alt 97" programs also allow a percentage of the down payment to come from gifts donated by relatives.
If there is a problem with these loan programs, it is that they limit who you can accept money from. The FHA, Fannie and Freddie allow family members to give you money.
What about friends? Can you use gift money from, say, the woman who has been your mother's best friend since kindergarten? Technically, no. The money has to come from family (or from a nonprofit or government agency, but they don't give wedding gifts).
It wasn't always this way. In 1996, the FHA encouraged lenders to offer "bridal registry accounts," where couples could stash gifts from friends and family. "Then, when the newlyweds purchase their new home, the money will be available and documented through a lender-supervised account," the FHA said.
A few lenders responded enthusiastically, establishing account programs specifically for newlyweds complete with gift cards that could be returned to the bank with a check enclosed.
One such lender is SunTrust Mortgage, a subsidiary of SunTrust Banks Inc. Through SunTrust Mortgage, you can open a bridal registry savings or checking account at SunTrust Bank. When a wedding guest makes a deposit, the bank sends a card to the bride and groom to let them know.
"When they're ready to go ahead and make that first home purchase, they access those funds and we get a mortgage for them -- and we hope they remain a SunTrust banking customer," says Cheryl Nolda, senior vice president of marketing for SunTrust Mortgage.
Despite their success at SunTrust, bridal registry accounts never really caught on. You can always open a regular old savings or money market account to hold your down payment fund. You might need to document where the money came from. That's easy enough when the money comes from your paycheck. If some of the money comes from gifts, be prepared to document whom it came from. Encourage gift-givers to give checks from their personal accounts.
And don't forget to write those thank-you notes.
ALSO--- there are loans that actually loan you the down payment and currently start with a FIXED RATE of 5.125% on 30 year mortgage to learn more about this go to:
http://johnkneece.com/buyers_page.shtml
Some couples today are breaking away from the traditional china, silver and linen gift registries when it comes to asking for wedding gifts. They're asking for money.
A wedding-day cash infusion can make it easier to put a down payment on a home. With home prices appreciating rapidly in much of the country, lots of couples need all the help they can get.
There are formal and informal rules governing gifts of money to help newlyweds buy a house. First, the informal rules: Is it OK to ask one's wedding guests for money?
"It's not rude to request money as a wedding gift," says Peggy Post, author of "Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette." "However, it's extremely important to ask politely."
Peggy Post is Emily's great-granddaughter-in-law, the wedding etiquette expert for WeddingChannel.com and the main spokeswoman for the Emily Post Institute. She says one of the most common challenges that couples face is how to request money as a wedding gift. Doing so is acceptable, if done politely.
If you seek down-payment money, get the word out through family and friends, Post recommends. Just don't include that info in the same envelope as a wedding invitation.
"If you are asked point-blank what you would like for a gift, you might say, 'Whatever you choose will be wonderful, I'm sure, but money for a house down payment is on the top of our wish list,'" Post says.
It's OK to say what it's for- Go ahead and tell people what you want the money for. Who knows? If you let people know that you plan to spend the money on a down payment, rather than on a honeymoon in Tuscany, they might be more willing to open their pocketbooks.
Wedding guests who insist on giving you yet another toaster or wicker picnic basket or a set of rosewood corn holders should be thanked anyway, even though they aren't helping you buy a house.
"You should always accept any gift graciously, and remember that the choice of what to give really belongs to the gift giver," Post says.
With the etiquette question out of the way, that brings up how to get the money from your guests' pockets and into the hands of the folks who eventually sell you their house. It's not simple, because mortgage loan programs have differing rules on the use of gift money in making a down payment.
The rules on using gift money Generally, you are expected to be able to make a down payment of at least 5 percent from your savings, excluding gifts. But what if you are too impatient to wait that long? Some mortgage programs allow you to use gift money if you can't scrape together enough for a 5 percent down payment.
Loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration allow you to use money from gifts to make a down payment of as little as 3 percent. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two biggest purchasers of home loans, offer similar programs through lenders. Fannie Mae's "Flexible 97 mortgage," for instance, lets you pay 3 percent of your home's purchase price as your down payment, which can come from gifts. Freddie Mac's "Affordable Gold" and "Alt 97" programs also allow a percentage of the down payment to come from gifts donated by relatives.
If there is a problem with these loan programs, it is that they limit who you can accept money from. The FHA, Fannie and Freddie allow family members to give you money.
What about friends? Can you use gift money from, say, the woman who has been your mother's best friend since kindergarten? Technically, no. The money has to come from family (or from a nonprofit or government agency, but they don't give wedding gifts).
It wasn't always this way. In 1996, the FHA encouraged lenders to offer "bridal registry accounts," where couples could stash gifts from friends and family. "Then, when the newlyweds purchase their new home, the money will be available and documented through a lender-supervised account," the FHA said.
A few lenders responded enthusiastically, establishing account programs specifically for newlyweds complete with gift cards that could be returned to the bank with a check enclosed.
One such lender is SunTrust Mortgage, a subsidiary of SunTrust Banks Inc. Through SunTrust Mortgage, you can open a bridal registry savings or checking account at SunTrust Bank. When a wedding guest makes a deposit, the bank sends a card to the bride and groom to let them know.
"When they're ready to go ahead and make that first home purchase, they access those funds and we get a mortgage for them -- and we hope they remain a SunTrust banking customer," says Cheryl Nolda, senior vice president of marketing for SunTrust Mortgage.
Despite their success at SunTrust, bridal registry accounts never really caught on. You can always open a regular old savings or money market account to hold your down payment fund. You might need to document where the money came from. That's easy enough when the money comes from your paycheck. If some of the money comes from gifts, be prepared to document whom it came from. Encourage gift-givers to give checks from their personal accounts.
And don't forget to write those thank-you notes.
ALSO--- there are loans that actually loan you the down payment and currently start with a FIXED RATE of 5.125% on 30 year mortgage to learn more about this go to:
http://johnkneece.com/buyers_page.shtml
