About York County, PA

The Truth About Mortgage Modifications

The decisions you make as a homeowner today hold a profound impact on your financial future. However, it is important to safeguard yourself from misinformation and fraud. Get the facts regarding your situation and always have a contingency plan.

For those who qualify, a mortgage modification is the ideal remedy to their financial distress. I've prepared a FREE report on the truth about mortgage modifications to guide you through this important process. Simply provide your information below to get this valuable information, and feel free to pass it along to anyone who may need it. One homeowner lost to foreclosure is one too many!

As a Certified Distressed Property Expert in York, PA I have training and experience in providing solutions to homeowners facing financial hardship. Together, we can formulate a plan to get back on track.

If you have any unanswered questions, or your circumstances are urgent, please call me today.

Jerry Pilgrim
717-757-5955

Just received preliminary news that the Home Buyer Tax Credit is going to be extendend, and not only that ... it's also going to be available to ALL Home Buyers - not just first time home buyers! The current installment of the new Home Buyer Tax Credit requires homes be under contract by April 30, 2010, and closed by June 30, 2010. First time home buyers can receive up to $8,000, and non-first time home buyers can receive up to $6,500! Of course there will be tweaks before the bill is made final, but this is great news for the economy, home buyers and sellers!

So often my Sellers ask my opinion on the best way to sell a home with children in the household. Let's face it, all their toys and books can make an otherwise beautiful home seem a little cluttered. The best way to sell a home with children in the household is to make it convenient and easy for you and them to pick up and store their belongings.

Sometimes you'll get that last minute call of a Buyer wanting to see your home. If you have storage options available for the children, you can make it easy and fun for them to scoop up their stuff and stash it out of sight until after the showing. Selling a home with children doesn't need to be a frustrating task.

Check out the video and see just how fun and easy it can be to sell a home with children!

Well the stats for year over year sales for the York PA area are here. Overall the York PA area has seen a 3% decline in Median home prices and a 7% decline in the total units sold compared to same period in 2008. Many in the Real Estate profession here locally in York PA expected total units sold to be above the 2008 lows with incentives like FHA interest rates in the high 4's to low 5%'s, a $8000 Tax Credit for 1st time buyers, aggressive listing prices and a PHFA $5000 Tax Credit Advance to help 1st timers enter home ownership.

Compared to our -27% decline in total units sold thru August 2008 over same period in 2007---all in all I am please at the 1st eight months of this year----it will be interesting to see what happens over the traditionally slower 3rd & 4th quarters. With the possibility of the Fed's not extending the 1st time buyer tax credit I would expect to see these numbers continue to adjust downward thru 2010.

Many different areas have been affected by this ever changing market --- some areas, like the Central and Dover School District areas have seen price adjustments for the 1st eight months at -4 out of 16 reporting districts reports a small increase in Median values-----this does not factor in closing cost assistance paid by sellers which can further adjust the prices by 3-6%.

Whether you are looking to sell your present home of looking to make a purchase being informed of the market affecting your investment is imperative.

Follow the statistics as they are posted by visiting http://housingstats.yorkhomelistings.com
regularly.

If you want to buy up should you do it now? Or wait til prices come down a bit more?

For many existing home owners this is a common question. In most cases selling now while you have equity to produce the funds needed for today's financing - down payment & closing costs- selling now and buying that dream home is my recommendation. We know what comparable properties are selling for and can determine how much of that equity you need for your purchase. We also know that today we have interest rates around 5% or lower.

Waiting til that dream home comes down another $15k, $25k or even $40k may seem like a good reason to wait however what many existing home owners do not realize is that while their dream home adjusts in price so does their existing home.

Many existing home owners are putting themselves at risk of not having the money to make their purchase. As the market adjusts so does they cash funds that are needed to purchase that dream home.

It is imperative that home owners be fully educated about the possible risks if waiting for a slightly better price on that new house.

1. Interest rates of the future are unknown- they can't get better that what we have today.

2. The criteria for a mortgage approval is changing all of the time- today we have stricter guidelines than just a few months ago with higher credit score requirements and tighter debt-to-income ratios.

3. While they wait for anticipated price adjustment on that dream house to hit-their existing house is also adjusting. The money needed to make a purchase is dwindling away every time the market adjusts down.

4. More competition will be in the market place. More seller will be putting their "starter" home on the market increasing the available competition and these sellers will now also be looking for those "good" deals of "buy up" properties. This will limit your ability to negotiate as there will be more and more players all going after the same inventory.

Today we have an abundance of homes available in all price ranges and in all areas.

Taking advantage of the "Right Now" is my suggestion for most consumers who are looking for a place to call home for at least the next 5 years.

Whether you are a 1st buyer, a seller looking to buy up or downsize or looking to exit the home ownership world- ACT TODAY - waiting just might cost you thousands in the end and prevent your dreams from ever coming true.

For More advice Check out Blog.YorkHomeListings.com.