Happy Thanksgiving and Some Good News Perhaps on the Homefront

Some recent news on the loan front may help some homebuyers. FHA loan limits, which dropped back to traditional limits this September, will be raised back to $729,500 in our area if the President signs the bill passed by the House and Senate this month.

This does not apply to Freddie- and Fannie-backed loans. The higher FHA limits may help those buyers buying homes over $650,000 with down payments of less than 20 percent. However, for FHA loans you will have an up front 1 percent MIP payment (mortgage insurance) and a monthly insurance of up to 1.1 percent.

I read that in 2006 there were 279,000 mortgage broker shops and today there are around 44,000. One would assume only the best are left. Our Realtor population has dwindled as well. In 2006 there were 1,357,752 Realtors nationally and today there are about 1 million. Remember that it is quite easy to get a real estate license (probably too easy) so check out the experience and skill level of any Realtor you interview.

In addition to selling residential real estate, I mentor new agents getting into the business. This week one of my mentorees said, “The problem is that as a Realtor I have to be proficient at so many different skill sets.”

I am sure that is true for many small business owners. The professional Realtor must be good at listening, handling objections, contracts, marketing, lead generating and accounting as well as being personable, patient with clients and current with prevailing market conditions.

In the end, it pays to shop around.