Some Sellers Offer Financing to Get Deals Closed

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Buyers who have a foreclosure or bankruptcy in their credit past wouldn’t be a likely candidate to secure financing from a bank anytime soon for a home purchase. As a result, some sellers are stepping in to offer seller financing to get a home sold.

Seller financing, once popular in the 1980s when mortgage rates spiked to 18 percent, is making a comeback in areas flooded by foreclosures and where tight lending standards are keeping some buyers on the sidelines, reports Bloomberg News.

“The market is locked up because there’s no financing,” says Gordon Albrecht, executive vice president of FCI Lender Services Inc. “This is moving houses.”

Last year, 52,991 U.S. homes were purchased with various forms of seller financing--a 56 percent jump from 2008, according to the REALTORS® Property Resource LLC. In 2010, such deals made up 1.5 percent of all transactions.

One popular form of seller financing is known as a land contract, which is when a buyer takes possession of the home but the seller holds the title until the debt is completely paid off. The loan’s terms--such as down payments and interest rates--are negotiable. These arrangements usually consist of a balloon payment in five to 10 years, which is when buyers will have to repay the seller or lose the home, along with any money they already put into it.



Source: “Home Sellers Become Lenders to Poor-Credit Buyers,” Bloomberg (May 11, 2011)

In Time for Buying Season, Rates Reach Yearly Lows

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Daily Real Estate News
May 6, 2011
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In Time for Buying Season, Rates Reach Yearly Lows

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, a popular choice among buyers, sank even lower this week, matching its yearly low of 4.71 percent from January, reports Freddie Mac in its weekly mortgage market survey. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5 percent.

Meanwhile, the 15-year fixed-rate hit a new yearly low of 3.89 percent this week. Last week, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.97 percent. The 15-year rate averaged 4.36 percent last year at this time. It reached its lowest level on record in November when it averaged 3.57 percent.

The one-year adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.14 percent, down from last week’s 3.15 percent. Last year at this time, it averaged 4.07 percent.

"Weaker economic data reports reduced Treasury bond yields and allowed mortgage rates to drift lower for the third consecutive week,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

Source: “30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Matches Yearly Low of 4.71 Percent,” Freddie Mac (May 5, 2011)

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Columbia Ranked Among Top 10 Small Cities of the Future

Columbia was named third among the Top 10 small cities of the future by fDi Magazine. The capital city was also ranked tenth for its quality of life.


The “American Cities of the Future 2011-12” uses a mix of data and opinion to rank cities which have the best prospects for inward investment, economic development and business expansion, according to a news release from the magazine, a specialist division from the Financial Times.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/pdf/american-cities-of-the-future.pdf