Simply put, a Realtor® acts as a liaison between sellers and buyers of different types of real estate. Generally, Realtors® assist in the closing process of the sale or purchase of a home and give advice about the property.

A Realtor® is a crucial part of the purchasing process in part because they help you determine your true buying ability. After evaluating some of your basic financial information your Realtor® then helps you understand different financing options and refer you to qualified lenders for pre-approval. This is important especially for people who are not entirely familiar with the mortgage industry and programs provided.

Realtors® generally like to offer a wide selection of properties, within your specified criteria, for you to choose from. An experienced Realtor® will also provide you with extensive resources and educated advice to help you in your efforts to buy or sell. Part of a Realtor’s® job is to research and learn about the neighborhoods they work in and around, therefore they’re qualified to assist you in narrowing your choices and providing diligent information on local communities. He or she will provide you with objective and valuable insight.

When it comes to determining the best possible price, financing, and terms your Realtor® will help you negotiate and establish a deal that works best for you. They will then guide you through the closing process to make sure everything goes smoothly.

You will also receive up-to-date information on what is happening in the marketplace such as the pricing, financing, terms and condition of competing properties from your Realtor® when selling your home. They know when, where and how to market your home and will monitor potential buyers to help you objectively assess buyers’ bids and avoid any potential snares.

It should be reassuring to know that Realtors® subscribe to a strict code of ethics, have access to plenty of resources for you and can help with the entire closing process.

This time of year may increase the amount of home-buyer interest just as much as toy store coupons and department store sales attract holiday shoppers’ interest. The increase is due to tasteful holiday decorations that light up prospective buyers’ eyes. 

If your home is on the market and you’re looking to sell during or right after the holidays, try to decorate with a warm, elegant theme. The trick is to decorate enough to allow prospective buyers to envision a house they can decorate similarly, but not to over-decorate so much that they can’t imagine themselves living there.

Here are a couple hints for decorating your home perfectly for prospective buyers:

Work with what you have.
Pay close attention to the color, design, layout, and age of your home. Match decorations with the overall ambiance to create a cohesive and flowing feel for the holidays.

Be mindful of sizes.
A huge blow-up snowman on a small lawn will look out of place and make the house and landscape seem smaller than it is. Likewise, don’t put large wreaths on small doors, gigantic trees in small rooms etc.

Lights equal action.
Setting a pathway of lights up the walkway to the door is a simple yet elegant way to greet visitors and potential buyers. It can give off a preconceived notion of what to expect inside.

Go Au Natural.
Natural-looking decorations and color schemes are fashionable. Use a more organic palette with greens, golds and ambers. Make use of natural and creative materials like berries, twigs and acorns.

Happy New Year!!!  As we closed out 2010, “” has been the phrase that has carried on to the new year.  Although slow, optimism continues to climb in recent months.  With this growing optimism, rates have increased slightly, but still remain at record lows.  In fact, rates today are nearly 0.375% lower than they were in the beginning of 2010.  

To start the new year, US Manufacturing was reported to increase in December to a 7 month high, which fed this optimistic view for 2011.  The S&P 500 was up ~1.4% on the day on this news.  

The week ahead is pretty busy in terms of economic releases, and the general consensus is for continued improvement.  Any news that doesn’t point toward continued growth could cause a reduction in rates.  Minutes from the Fed meeting should be released tomorrow, along with Factory orders and Auto Sales.  ADP and Challenger will release employment changes on Wed.  And finally, Friday brings the biggest piece of economic data, with the Labor Department’s release of monthly employment data.  After last week’s jobless claims came in lower than expectations, some analysts expect slightly more jobs created than in earlier predictions.  With these types of expectations, if the new jobs number comes in under 100K for December, we’ll see some disappointment in the market, but it may help lower mortgage rates again.

Last week, we saw mortgage application volume start to increase again as people returned from the holidays. Most of the economic attention fell on Employment figures for December. On Wednesday, ADP showed a much more positive employment change than expected, which sparked a rally in equities. This raised expectations for Friday’s payroll numbers, which didn’t meet those expectations. This sparked a drop in interest rates which was then propelled by a landmark ruling in Massachusetts, where the court ruled against several large banks and their foreclosure practices. The ruling means that more scrutiny will likely fall on banks nationally to be sure that all legal items are in order prior to starting any foreclosure proceedings. As for prior foreclosures, banks face challenges ahead as they deal with the risk of foreclosures being overruled by courts across the country. Thousands of foreclosures may be affected in Massachusetts alone. For this reason, bank stocks were noticeably lower on Friday.

As we head into the coming days and weeks, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced that the cost of insuring loans with higher loan-to-value ratios is increasing, along with the cost of loans that have both a first and second lien (rather than just a single lien). This cost should make its way to borrowers in the coming days and weeks, and could mean as much as a 0.25% higher rate for certain loans among every lending institution across the country. Mortgage applications have been slightly higher in recent days, with borrowers looking to avoid these upcoming costs.

Today, news from Portugal and its possible need for EU economic relief has sparked a slight drop in mortgage rates as international investors seek shelter and stability with Treasuries and Mortgage investments. For the remainder of the week, most attention will be turned to fourth quarter company earnings that will begin to be released, along with inflation figures later in the week.

Whether you’re a novice or an expert when it comes to home buying, there’s always a checklist that should be reviewed before the big decision. Skim over the below tips to be sure you’re prepared for the buy.

We might sound like a broken record, but, credit score, credit score, credit score!
The higher your credit score, the more likely you are to become preapproved. Not to mention, your total down and monthly payments will be lower with a higher credit score. When credit scores are too low, a higher down payment and other fees may apply. You can improve your home-buying chances by requesting your credit reports and verifying all the information. 

How much house is too much house?
In your new home, you’ll not only want to be physically comfortable, but financially comfy as well. Check out our calculators to find out how much home you can afford and which type of financing is right for you. Play around with different calculators to learn the differences and benefits of FHA, conventional and jumbo loans as well!

A penny saved is a penny earned.
Generally, you’ll want to have saved enough to put down anywhere from 3.5%–20% of the home you want to buy. Start saving your money and stop applying for credit about a year before your apply for financing. Take into account any maintenance and repair you plan – or don’t plan – on paying for when you move in to your new home.

Mixed news pervaded the markets last week as we saw mortgage rates fall, rise, and end the week roughly where they started. Housing showed some positive signs, with existing home sales climbing 12.3% last month, and inventory levels dropping to 8.1 months of available homes at the current rate of sale. Jobless claims had previously spiked with more post-holiday cutbacks than expected, but have since fallen, and show a strong 4 week improvement overall.

With companies continuing to release 2010 earnings, signs have generally pointed toward economic recovery. Earnings releases are expected to continue heavily through the end of the week. Along with this, a flurry of news and economic data is being released. S&P will kick things off tomorrow, releasing its figures for November Home Prices. Following this, attention will focus on New Home Sales, Consumer Confidence, the President’s State of the Union address, and the Federal Reserve’s first meeting of the year. Although no change in monetary policy is expected, many will look for the Fed’s view on continuing their Quantitative Easing program, supporting the purchase of Treasuries and Mortgage-Backed Securities in an effort to foster lower rates and economic growth. Toward the end of the week, Durable Goods orders, fourth quarter GDP, and unemployment figures will be released.

Overall, look for some possible volatility in interest rates as the market digests all this new data & news. When analyzing this data, many will continue to focus on the impact on employment and the labor market……a critical driver for future economic growth.

Early in the week, rates hiked slightly as Chinese and U.S. manufacturing growth came in better than expected, and ADP projected some strong private sector job growth. Turmoil in Egypt did cause some fluctuation around rates last week, with concerns subsiding right before they would flare up again. Overall, this turmoil did help spark interest in U.S debt and keep rates slightly lower throughout the week. The latter half of the week was relatively quiet with the country reacting to one of the biggest storms in recent record. The volume of mortgage locks was light, with the lack of supply also helping maintain lower rates.

At the end of last week, however, we received some staggering news that January unemployment dropped to 9.0% vs an expected increase to 9.5%. Rates only increased slightly at first as analysts attempted to understand how this was possible considering that initial reports indicated only 36,000 jobs being created last month. Some are now claiming they expect these job figures to be revised substantially higher in the coming weeks. Rates opened the week a touch higher once again as the market continued to account for this positive employment data, coupled with reduced tensions in Egypt and strong earnings reports out of Europe.

The remainder of the week has fewer economic reports, but is full of other news that may easily drive rates. Egypt continues to draw attention, a spattering of U.S. corporations continue to release year-end earnings, a member of the Fed is scheduled to speak each day this week, and the Treasury has scheduled auctions totaling $72 billion this week.

One thing to keep an eye out for: Some suspect that the government will issue a report discussing the future of the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE’s). Namely Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, these organizations have shaped mortgage origination for the last several decades. If this report is released, expect interest rate volatility as people digest the overall structure and role the government might take in insuring mortgages in the years to come.

Mortgage rates were a bit of a rollercoaster last week. To cut to the chase, rates are lower out of the gate compared to nearly all of last week.

News that pressured rates higher included another drop in weekly unemployment claims, along with an increase in consumer confidence. Labor reports continue to point toward the U.S. . Reports in Asia also point toward improving manufacturing and exports.

News pulling rates back down was primarily the proposed reform of Government Sponsored Enterprises, as well as continued tensions in Egypt, causing investors to opt for the relative safety of U.S. government debt.

When the Treasury released their white paper on proposed reform of Government Sponsored Enterprises (namely Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), the proposal indicated that the Government take a smaller role in the mortgage market over the long term, which most notably included raising the cost to insure mortgage backed securities for investors. By raising this cost, the intent is to stimulate more private investment and support for the mortgage market, with the government only targeting a 40% share (vs. close to 100% currently). The result was a drop in interest rates, not only because there was some long awaited transparency with what to expect, but investors also see stronger performance with the loans originated under the current structure. Expect more to take shape here in the coming months.

To start the week, eyes are on the White House’s 2012 budget proposal, and the resulting impact on economic growth. Rumors currently range from small to broad-based cuts to bring the budget deficit within control (the 2011 deficit is expected to reach $1.65 trillion, the largest amount in history). The remainder of the week brings us several important releases, including minutes from last week’s Fed meeting, Retail Sales, and Consumer and Producer Price Indices. Not to mention, the markets will continue to keep a watchful eye on tensions in the Middle East.

Keep an eye for any news regarding the Fed’s “Quantitative Easing” (QE2) plans. With the , pressure continues to fall on the Fed to potentially cut short their plan to purchase the remaining ~$300 billion Treasuries of the initial $600 billion plan. This could create some upward pressure on rates.

Mortgage rates continue to wander in a fairly tight range, with signs of economic growth coupled with inflationary concerns balanced against international unrest and increasing oil prices. Retail sales posted a full one percent increase last month, with many categories experiencing increases.
The Federal Reserve meets this week to discuss monetary policy. While the Fed is unlikely to change interest rates, it faces a host of growing issues even as the US economy seems to be gaining some traction. From the disaster in Japan, to increasing oil prices, to middle east unrest, to debt strain in Europe, the Fed and financial markets will have plenty to consider this week. Mortgage rates are likely to benefit from the global turmoil, as money flows into the safe havens of US Treasuries. However, rates may experience some upward pressure if economic news continues to point to a firming domestic economy. With so many competing pressures, mortgage rates may simply continue to be constrained to a fairly limited range, unless something unexpected happens.

Overall, the interest rate trend from last week was probably put best by Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke. He spoke earlier in the week that as long as commodity prices come under control relatively soon, there shouldn’t be any major concern over the inflation outlook. That message carried through as rates eased over the second half of the week.

Although inflation concerns have been creeping into economic reports and commentary, the Consumer Price Index indicated that prices were in line with expectations, and retail sales were just slightly lower than expected, both of which tapered off inflation concerns. Treasuries also rallied after news that Greece may have to restructure their debt and Moody’s downgraded Ireland’s credit rating to the lowest investment grade with a ‘negative’ outlook. In terms of un-employment, although Initial Claims last week were higher than expected, Continuing Claims were lower, which most viewed as neutral. Financial institutions also turned for the better as the Wall Street Journal reported that major banks were close to a deal with SEC regulators to settle fraud allegations on mortgage-bond deals.

To start the week, Standard & Poor’s put a ‘Negative’ outlook on the AAA credit rating of the U.S., claiming the nation’s leaders may fail to appropriately deal with the rising budget deficit and debt issues. The impact here has been minimal overall thus far, but it will be important to keep a close eye on commentary here going forward.

Today’s economic releases are minimal, but we will see housing start data tomorrow and several reports on Thursday including Jobless Claims, Leading Economic Indicators, and some Home Price Index figures. The important word to look for is “Balance”. If reports remain balanced, or in line with expectations, rates shouldn’t see much change this week. If we see improvements that are better than expected, we may see rates nudge higher to offset some of last week’s drops.