Join Brian and David Wickert for inside information on buying, selling and financing your home in the Wisconsin market with up-to-date market analysis.

This week on the Accunet Radio Show:

We all know the market is tight right now — but how is it affecting the 5-county metro community? This week, Brian and David discuss buying a home on a budget, cover this week’s mortgage rate update and shed insight on the housing market in the 5-county Milwaukee metro area.

This week’s highlights

• Since the market is competitive for buyers, more of them are offering cash. In March, 15% of single-family home sales were sold to cash buyers.
• In March, the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors reported 715 more homes listed than sold. So, the market is growing. Not fast enough to keep up with demand, but it’s growing. (Source)
• Condo sales are still suffering, but some areas are stronger sales than others. In March in the 5-county metro area, 50% of condo sales were in Milwaukee County.

What to do when your offers won’t get accepted — Client update

Government-insured loans (AKA FHA loans) are great for homebuyers with a rough credit history. Recently, I’ve been helping a couple find a home using an FHA loan. They came to us from a previous lender, who tried to charge them 5.75% on their loan, and hadn’t verified their down payment or occupation — basically, the lender was right next door to criminal.

Accunet has been helping them prepare for home ownership the right way. We did the homework, got exception approval for job changes (one of the spouses had changed jobs 4 times in the last year) and helped get a down payment ready.

Accunet helps you communicate the flexibility to get it done.

The problem? None of their 8 offers were accepted.

This has something to do with the couple being tight on money, and asking the sellers to cover $2,500 on closing costs. This can be a real tiebreaker in a seller’s market.

They’d been in the market for a while, and clearly, something wasn’t working. So, we sat them down and suggested they take a little time off — save up some more money for a down payment, maybe sell a few things off (like their motorcycle) and work on improving their credit score. We’ll keep you updated with the lastest when we restart their house hunting.

What if my condo doesn’t appraise out? — Client update

We’ve been keeping you up-to-date with the story of a recently widowed retiree. She’s looking to downsize from her single-family detached house, and is working with Accunet to finance a condo in Waukesha County to be closer to her kids and grandkids.

She’s starting to get nervous that her condo will appraise out, changing the context of her offer. Now, her financial situation gives her a ton of freedom with price range. Meaning even if her condo does appraise out, she could still buy, no problem.

Originally, she wanted to put 25% down to get an edge on other bidders. We explained that she could do that….or she could keep that money, keep it in a drawer, and supplement her monthly payment for almost 14 years (longer than she’ll even live in the condo!). Or, we could give the money to her investment adviser, who might be able to out-earn the interest rate, or at least break even.

When life throws you a curveball, there’s nothing like having liquid assets. If it’s all stuck in your 2×4’s, you’ll have to borrow it.

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