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Tips & Advice

Looking to Invest in a Second Home? Do It Now

house

For those individuals considering investing in a second home, the time is now.

As CNBC points out, with interest rates getting ready to rise from their historic lows at just about any moment, and inventory becoming increasingly tight, the purchase window is already starting to close.

So if you’re one of the baby boomers feeling flush on the heels of a six-year stock market rally, and you’re getting ready to retire soon, now is the time to make a move toward an investment purchase.

Image via flickr/Mark Moz

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Country Stars Lady Antebellum Team Up with QuickenLoans to Pay Fans’ Mortgages

lady a

Country music stars Lady Antebellum announced last week that they have teamed up with QuickenLoans to sponsor a sweepstakes in which the grand prize is a year’s worth of mortgage payments (up to $24,000).

According to the rules of the contest, all that’s required for entry is a 50-word “essay” answering the following question: “What would meeting Lady Antebellum and getting one year’s worth of mortgage payments on behalf of QuickenLoans mean to you?”

There will be seven drawings in total – between April 10 and August 21 – and winners will be chosen based on three equally weighted criteria: most deserving, creativity/originality and clarity.

Image via Instagram/ladyantebellum

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News

Jobless Claims Up 12,000 This Week

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The Labor Department announced on Thursday that jobless claims are up 12,000 this week, bringing the total number to 294,000.

“Continuing claims dropped just a bit from 2.31 to 2.268, where they currently stand,” CNBC’s Rick Santelli added.

Although these numbers are not alarming to many experts, Reuters did say that experts had forecasted a drop in initial claims to 280,000 for the week.

Image via flickr/Andreas Klinke Johannsen

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News

Complex Tax Rules Costing Small Business Big Money

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Now that Tax Day has come and gone, CNBC has released a new report outlining the difficulties small business face each year when filing their taxes.

According to the news source, Americans invested an extra $234 billion last year alone in making sure they complied with the tax code. And for small businesses, the hit is considerably bad because of the tax code’s sheer complexity, costing the average family-run biz about $5,000 in preparation fees.

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News

Millennials Not Buying, Despite Rising Rents

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Although home rent costs are expected to rise by more than three percent this year – marking a 14-percent overall increase since 2010 – and mortgage interest rates have remained low, many young Americans are still choosing to rent over buying.

“Millennials are getting married later in life than previous generations and a sense of urgency to purchase comes with stability, marriage and growing families,” Joan Kamens, a real estate agent for Coldwell Banker Hearthside told CNBC.

Another factor to take into consideration as well is that the attitude toward long-term commitments is also in flux.

“Many millennials have been burned or felt trapped by contracts (cell phones, cable, even student loans) and are shying away from long term commitment,” Neeta Mulgaokar, a real estate agent with Mirador, added. “They will pay more to avoid it all together.”

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News

New Day Financial Fined $5.28 Million for Cheating on Licensing Procedures

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New Day Financial LLC has agreed to pay a $5.28 million administrative penalty for allegedly helping their employees cheat on a series of critical professional licensing exams.

The Multi-State Mortgage Committee of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors announced the consent order on Monday, revealing that the fine encompasses mortgage regulators in 43 states.

“The MMC coordinated the investigation of this matter, identifying a pattern of inappropriate conduct, and negotiated, on behalf of the participating state regulators, a resolution that will permit the company to continue to operate while ensuring compliance with all state and federal laws,” said Karyn Tierney, MMC Chairman and Deputy Commissioner of the Arkansas Securities Department. “This case demonstrates the manner by which state mortgage regulators cooperate to more efficiently and effectively supervise mortgage companies, including resolving compliance issues through a coordinated enforcement action.”

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Mortgages Expected to Be a Bright Spot for U.S. Bank Results in Q1

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Reuters is suggesting that – when the big banks begin reporting their earnings for the first quarter of the year next week – the mortgage sector is expected to be a particularly bright spot in the report.

“The numbers are very strong,” said Paul Miller, an equity research analyst at FBR Capital Markets. “Mortgage banking revenue will probably be greater than people are reporting.”

Historically low interest rates – coming in as low as 3.63 percent in the first quarter of 2015 – have played a huge part in the increased number of mortgage applications seen so far this year.

Image via flickr/401(K) 2012

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Tips & Advice

Expert Recommends: Don’t Rush to Pay Off Mortgage Ahead of Retirement

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While it’s true that Baby Boomers in their 50s and 60s are currently carrying much more mortgage debt than their parents did at their age, some experts says that’s OK.

As Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com, tells CNBC, these boomers don’t necessarily need to rush to get rid of their mortgage debt in order to afford retirement.

“Money tied up in the home is illiquid, and prepaying a mortgage makes no sense if you’re not maximizing your tax-advantaged retirement savings options, including catch-up contributions,” he said. “Money in the bank will pay the bills, home equity will not.”

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News

Cash Sales Continue to Decline for 25th Consecutive Month

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For the 25th month in a row, all-cash home sale transactions have declined, falling to a 38.9 percent share of the market for January (the most recent month for which we have data).

For reference, cash sales peaked in January 2011 at a 46.5 share, though that number is close to double what we were used to seeing prior to the housing crisis.

According to CoreLogic, if cash sales continue to fall at the same rate they did in January, they will reach the “normal” rate of 25 percent in mid-2018.

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News

U.S. Consumer Debt at All-Time High

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According to a new report by CNBC, consumer debt in the United States is currently at an all-time high.

“The Federal Reserve says consumer credit climbed to a record high in February with a more than $15 billion gain that month, pushing the nation’s overall borrowing to a fresh overall high of $3.3 trillion,” Morgan Brennan reported on Wednesday.

Although credit card debt was on decline for February – for the second straight month – it was a big jump in auto and student loans that contributed to the higher numbers.

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