Bubble Alert! Is It Getting Too Easy To Get A Mortgage?

There is little doubt that it is easier to get a home mortgage today than it was last year. The Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), published by the Mortgage Bankers Association, shows that mortgage credit has become more available in each of the last several years. In fact, in just the last year:

  • More buyers are putting less than 20% down to purchase a home
  • The average credit score on closed mortgages is lower
  • More low-down-payment programs have been introduced

This has some people worrying that we are returning to the lax lending standards which led to the boom and bust that real estate experienced ten years ago. Let’s alleviate some of that concern.

The graph below shows the MCAI going back to the boom years of 2004-2005. The higher the graph line, the easier it was to get a mortgage.

Bubble Alert! Is it Getting Too Easy to Get a Mortgage? | Keeping Current Matters

As you can see, lending standards were much more lenient from 2004 to 2007. Though it has gradually become easier to get a mortgage since 2011, we are nowhere near the lenient standards during the boom.

The Urban Institute also publishes a Home Credit Availability Index (HCAI). According to the Institute, the HCAI:

“Measures the percentage of home purchase loans that are likely to default—that is, go unpaid for more than 90 days past their due date. A lower HCAI indicates that lenders are unwilling to tolerate defaults and are imposing tighter lending standards, making it harder to get a loan. A higher HCAI indicates … it is easier to get a loan.”

Here is a graph showing their findings:

Bubble Alert! Is it Getting Too Easy to Get a Mortgage? | Keeping Current Matters

Again, today’s lending standards are nowhere near the levels of the boom years. As a matter of fact, they are more stringent than they were even before the boom.

Bottom Line

It is getting easier to gain financing for a home purchase. However, we are not seeing the irresponsible lending that caused the housing crisis.

 

Source: The KCM Team | https://www.keepingcurrentmatters.com/2017/11/22/bubble-alert-is-it-getting-too-easy-to-get-a-mortgage/ | 11.24.2017

Notice of Entry, and Other Rules Your Landlord Needs to Follow

By  | Oct 2, 2017

With a rental lease set to expire, most landlords want to show the apartment as often as possible, which means they’ll need a notice of entry to get into your place. They’ll be eager to find new renters, but the law states they can’t just unlock your door at any time and pop in for a visit. They also aren’t allowed to show the apartment so many times that it creates a nuisance for you and disrupts your life.

If you’re a renter, read on for the rules of landlord entry, so you know what to expect.

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Landlord notice of entry

Landlords are legally obligated to provide a renter with notice that they’ll be entering the premises—for any reason. Whether that’s to show the property to a potential renter or to fix a leaky faucet, the law is clear: Legal tenants have the right to quiet enjoyment of their home.

“The landlord must provide reasonable notice in writing (generally, 24 hours) of his intent to enter—and to do it only during normal business hours,” explains Bryan Zuetel, a Realtor® and real estate attorney from Irvine, CA. If a tenant is home and consents to entry, the 24-hour notice can be waived. Then again, it is OK for a tenant to deny entry to their landlord if they show up unannounced.

If the landlord intends to rent or sell the property to someone new, they may ask you to allow additional showings, Zuetel says. And depending on what’s spelled out in your lease agreement, you may have to comply. “For example, under certain conditions, a landlord may require that the tenant permit a weekend open house during regular business hours, and the landlord may provide oral notice of entry to the tenant,” he says.

So pull out the paperwork you signed if you’re worried that your landlord is crossing the line. Landlords who are following those guidelines are probably in the clear.

How often can a landlord show an apartment?

Rental law does not specifically stipulate a maximum number of times a landlord is allowed to show an apartment to prospective tenants. It does, however, provide some cover for tenants. “The landlord may not abuse the right of access, or use it to harass the tenant,” Zuetel explains.

That might sound vague, but if you do feel like your landlord is abusing the right of access and bothering you too often, you should try talking to them first, before calling an attorney. “Let them know that you are feeling stressed from all the showings and ask for a break for a few days—that seems more than reasonable,” says Holly Pasut, a Realtor with Hines and Associates Realty in Cornelius, NC. If that doesn’t help, you can then seek legal action.

Jeanne Sager has strung words together for the New York Times, Vice, and more. She writes and photographs people from her home in upstate New York. Follow @JeanneSager
Source: https://www.realtor.com/advice/rent/how-often-can-my-landlord-show-my-apartment-2/ | 11.16.2017

11 Questions to Ask a Potential Roommate to Weed Out the Weirdos Fast

By  | Nov 6, 2017

Picking a roommate is a bit different from picking a spouse, a pet, or a nice couch—it’s a giant leap into the great unknown. What are some questions to ask a potential roomie to help you separate the special someone you can happily live with from all the freaks and weirdos who will drive you nuts? After all, even if everything seems fine at first blush, once a person moves in, all kinds of unsavory habits might suddenly rear their head—and by then, you’re kind of stuck. So, before signing on the dotted line with a stranger, be sure to review this list of questions for screening purposes. Trust us, you’ll be so glad you did!

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1. Do you smoke?

Living with a smoker is a deal breaker for many people; hence, this question is a staple on roommate matching websites.

Marin King, a real estate agent at Keller Williams NYC who specializes in rental properties, says potential roommates should absolutely clear the air not only on whether they smoke, but also on where it’s allowed if it’s allowed. For instance, some might not take kindly to seeing ashtrays on the back porch, even if it’s outdoors.

2. Are you a morning person or a night person?

Night owls and early birds don’t tend to mix well as roommates. Because you’re on opposite sleep schedules, you might feel you always have to tiptoe around. Research shows early risers and night people have different personality traits and behaviors that can make them clash worse than polka dots and plaid. (Fun, and not entirely surprising, fact: One study found that night owls, on average, consume more alcohol than morning people.)

3. What’s your work schedule?

Ideally your work schedules will be compatible, says Joe DeFilippo, a real estate agent and rental specialist with City Chic Real Estate in Washington, DC. This is especially important if you’re going to be sharing a bathroom, because you want to have ample time to get ready in the morning. (Having a roommate who’s impatiently waiting for you to get out already isn’t a great setup.)

4. Do you have pets?

Hate cats? Allergic to dogs? Well, don’t live with a roommate who has one! If you don’t mind having a four-legged friend around, though, you should still make sure your landlord allows pets, because many don’t.

5. Do you work from home?

Office dwellers might skip this question, but if you’ll be working from home, you should check to see whether you’d have the place to yourself. After all, one of the best things about working from home is that you have fewer distractions from co-workers, but your roommate could prove equally distracting, or even more so if he’s a chatterbox!

6. What do you like to do on nights and weekends?

If you enjoy hosting game night and dinner parties, rooming with a homebody can cause problems. After all, you should be able to entertain at home without feeling like you’re invading your roommate’s privacy.

Asking this question can also help you gauge if your prospective roommate is a party animal who’s going to treat your apartment like a frat house.

7. Have you ever had any issues with rent payments?

A landlord or property management company will usually look into each person’s rental history before approving a roommate, but you should still vet your roommate yourself. Why? Because if your roommate can’t pay his portion of the rent, you’re typically on the hook for paying his share. So, if someone says she’s had trouble paying rent on time in the past—or has had other issues with a previous landlord (e.g., arguments, fines, eviction)—look for a roomie who is more drama-free.

8. Are you in a relationship?

If you don’t want an unofficial third roommate, you need to set clear expectations about how often romantic partners can sleep over. This can become a big issue if your roommate’s significant other is a constant presence in your apartment; at that point, the person should be paying rent!

9. What indoor temperature do you prefer?

This might seem minor, but plenty of folks living in close proximity have strong disagreements over who controls the thermostat. This issue can also present financial concerns—if the person in the next room likes to constantly blast the air conditioning during the summer, for example, you could be looking at a fatter utility bill.

10. How often do you clean?

This is a better approach than asking someone straight up, “Are you a clean person?”—because few people will admit to being a slob. If you’re someone who can’t fall asleep if there are dishes in the sink, make sure you find someone who’s the same way. If you’re both lazy cleaners, you could agree to split the cost of a professional cleaning service once a month.

11. Are you still friends with your old roommates?

You certainly don’t have to become besties to be good roommates, but you do want someone who is pleasant and easy to spend time with. If your prospective co-tenant has had a long string of “bad roommates,” this could be a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Daniel Bortz is a Realtor in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., who has written for Money magazine, Entrepreneur magazine, CNNMoney, and more.

Source: Realtor.com | https://www.realtor.com/advice/rent/questions-to-ask-a-potential-roommate/ | 11.10.2017

‘We Gave Up the Perfect Apartment for Our Pet’

By  | Nov 2, 2017

If you had to choose between having the perfect apartment or a sweet, sloppy, loving pet, which would you pick?

Fifteen years ago, my husband and I found ourselves in this situation when we adopted a stray dog named Rocky—all high-strung energy and cuddles concentrated in a tiny Chihuahua body. He suited us perfectly.

The only problem? We didn’t check with our landlord first.

Worse yet, we loved our apartment: The kitchen was painted a burnt Tuscan orange, the bedroom was expansive with a walk-in closet and a brilliant blue color that made us feel relaxed and right at home. The location was perfect, a quarter-mile from my favorite yoga studio and a stone’s throw from the subway. Best of all? The rent was an affordable $900.

But that dog.

After we brought Rocky home, we did the right thing. We called our landlord. We figured since he’d approved our corpulent cat, he’d almost certainly approve the dog, too. Especially such a little dog!

Alas, our landlord said no. No dogs allowed.

What should we do? Well, we never really had a choice. Our hearts were set on that sweet little pooch with his big brown eyes and curly tail. So we found another apartment a few doors down that allowed pets.

Our new apartment had no dishwasher. It had no closet. It was in a run-down building with a bathroom so disgusting, we wore shower shoes the whole two years we lived there. It’s no wonder it allowed dogs.

The kicker? It was smaller and $400 more expensive than the place we’d just left.

The move was depressing and long. We did a terrible job packing, because we didn’t want to leave. We walked our things box by box down the street, feeling more and more angry with every trip. But we moved. And we settled Rocky and Melvin (the fat cat) into our new place.

A few weeks later, we were at the local dog park when we met a new couple who, to our surprise, had just moved into our old place. Even more shocking? They also had a dog—a Chihuahua named Percy.

“We just didn’t tell him,” they explained after we revealed how our own Chihuahua had been the reason we’d had to move out. “And once he found out when he saw us walking the dog and met him, he just let us stay.” Wait, what?

So what did I take away from this infuriating experience? Plenty. Here are five things I learned about mixing apartments and pets.

Ask your landlord before you meet the dog

We made the mistake of falling for Rocky before we confirmed that our landlord would approve. The best path is to clear the dog question with your landlord before you lose your heart to a furry one.

‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ is a gamble, but it can sometimes pan out

Hiding a pet from your landlord is, of course, terrible legal advice. But it’s also possible that once or if your landlord finds out, he will OK it rather than go through the annoying and expensive process of finding a new tenant. It’s a gamble, of course. You could end up on the financial hook if your puppy or dog destroys something or if your landlord considers it a breached lease. But mostly, the worst-case scenario is mutually parting ways with your landlord and then you are no worse off than if you’d asked and he’d said no.

Introduce your pet to your landlord, and maybe he’ll melt

This isn’t going to work with a landlord who hates all animals, but our landlord was already OK with cats. The only difference between us and the tenants who followed us is that he’d met their Chihuahua. Had he met ours, he might have had a different reaction.

Offer to sign additional paperwork

If we had offered to sign liability clauses in the lease indicating that we would pay for any damage incurred by Rocky, our landlord might have been more amenable to his presence. We asked without that offer and, in retrospect, we could have made our request more appealing, and harder to turn down.

Propose paying more rent

If all else fails and you really want to keep the apartment, put more money on the table. For the dishwasher, the nice bathroom, the walk-in closet, and the feeling of home, we would have upped our rent considerably. We simply didn’t argue enough. We gave up too soon.

If all of these tactics fail and your landlord says it’s a no-go, the good news is this: We left that apartment in 2003. In the 14 years since, we have had three children and five houses. We moved out of the bad apartment and bought a condo—and never rented again. Rocky has been with us through it all. Today, he is gray around his temples and has lumps and bumps too numerous to count. He limps a bit and sometimes pees on the carpet, but he’s been in our lives for almost as long as my husband and I have been together—and we almost couldn’t imagine life without him.

In other words: It was worth it.

Sasha Brown-Worsham has written for the New York Times, Self, Cosmopolitan, and other publications. She lives outside New York City with her husband, three kids, and menagerie of pets.
Follow @sashabrownworsh

Source: https://www.realtor.com/advice/rent/we-gave-up-our-apartment-for-our-pet/ |  11.03.2017 |

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