Halloween Pumpkin Facts!

Pumpkin's Roots

Pumpkins have inhabited the planet for thousands of years. They originated in Central America. They were used then (and now) as a food crop. Over the course of centuries, pumpkins spread their vines across all of North and South America. When Europeans arrived in the New World, they found pumpkins plentiful and used in cooking by Native Americans. They took seeds back to Europe where they quickly became popular. Pumpkin recipes

Did you Know? There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with orange? Hard to believe for such an important color? The same is true for the colors purple and silver. But, who cares about silver and purple...they are not pumpkin colors!

Growing big pumpkins is a big time hobby. And, serious at that. Top prize money for the biggest giant pumpkin is as much as $25,000 dollars at fall festivals. The current world record for giant pumpkins is 1446 pounds. Now that's a lot of pumpkin pies! See the current world record pumpkin.

Can You Afford to Buy a House?

By Michele Dawson

Although the thought of paying a mortgage is more enticing than paying rent, it's important to understand all the costs involved in buying and owning a home as you determine whether you can afford to join the ranks of homeowners.

Potential buyers sometimes forget to factor in the down payment, homeowners insurance and the possibility of depreciation, as well as the costs associated with closing the transaction, moving, purchasing major appliances, and home, landscape and pool maintenance, not to mention furnishings and design accessories once you move in.

The days of calling up the landlord to fix your problems come to an abrupt halt when you're a homeowner. You'll be responsible for everything from malfunctioning appliances to leaky faucets to broken heating and air conditioning units and everything in between. And if you buy an older home, you'll probably eventually encounter costly repairs, such as replacing the roof or windows.

To determine whether you can afford to buy a home, you should do the following:

1. Determine the property value of homes that interest you. The property value (what the home is worth) is determined by comparing the prices of homes recently sold of similar size in the same neighborhood. Your real estate agent will be able to provide this information to you.

2. Review different mortgage loan types and compare their required down payment amounts to the money you have available. Down payments, based on a percentage of the value of the property and determined by the type of mortgage you select, typically range from three to 20 percent of the property value. Don't forget to factor in private mortgage insurance, a policy that allows mortgage lenders to recover part of their financial losses if a borrower fails to full re-pay a loan. Mortgage insurance makes it possible to buy a home with as little as 3 percent down. Usually, the lower the down payment, the higher the PMI, which typically will cost somewhere between $40 and $125 a month.

3. Get an estimate of your closing costs, including points (the dollar amount paid to a lender for obtaining a lower interest rate on a loan—one point is one percent of the loan amount), taxes, recording, inspections, prepaid loan interest, title insurance (a policy that insures a home buyer against errors in the title search; cost of the policy is usually a function of the value of the property, and is often borne by the purchaser and/or seller) and financing costs from your mortgage lender or a real estate professional. These will generally add up to between 2 and 7 percent of the property value. You'll receive an estimate of these costs from your lender after you apply for a mortgage.

4. Add the down payment requirements and the closing costs together to determine the amount of money you'll need right off the bat. But you're not done yet.

5. Think about the actual move. Will you hire a moving company or rent a truck? Either way will cost you. The more stuff you have, the more it will cost.

6. Property taxes. Many lenders will require an impound account in which monthly payments for property tax (and often insurance) are paid together with the monthly mortgage payment. You can figure your average annual tax rate will be about 1.5 percent of the purchase price of your home.

7. Next, budget for maintenance and repairs.

Once you crunch the numbers and find you come up a bit short, investigate ways to reduce or creatively fund your down payment—it can come from a variety of sources. Check with your realtor or lender to find out what's available.

You'll also need to factor in the cost of homeowners insurance. In addition to the type of construction, age of the home, your credit history and past insurance history, new issues like litigating costly toxic mold cases are raising homeowners insurance rates.

In fact, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners reports that homeowners will spent an average of $822 on homeowners insurance in 2007, the last year data was available.

In your final analysis of whether you can afford to buy a home, you'll want to weigh the costs with the financial benefits—a consistent mortgage payment (unlike rent, which can increase), the tax benefits (you can deduct, in most cases, mortgage interest, closing costs, and property taxes), and the all-important appreciation factor—the rate of increase in a home's value.

And of course, you'll want to weigh perhaps the biggest benefit of all—having a place to call your own.

Copyright © by Realty Times

Mortgage Rates Fall to 4-Month Low

Mortgage Rates, Real Estate News 

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Oct 24, 2013 

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By: Neal J. Leitereg

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Key fixed-mortgage rates fell to their lowest levels in four months this week, with further declines predicted in the short term.

The federal government’s shutdown and ongoing concerns with the economy’s recovery, particularly the Federal Reserve’s decision to continue its bond-buying stimulus program, were cited as factors in the declines of the key mortgage rates.

The drop in rates comes after the federal government shutdown drew to a close last week. Averages on fixed-rate mortgage previously spiked by more than a percentage point since early May; however, both the 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate loans are now trending at their lowest levels since June 20.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage saw a 0.15 percentage point decrease over the last week, according to the latest survey by mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. The rate is currently trending at 4.13 percent, down from last week’s 4.28 percent. A year ago, the average on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 3.41 percent.

The average rate on a 15-year fixed loan saw a decrease of 0.09 percentage point, dropping from 3.33 percent to 3.24 percent week over week. Compared to a year ago, the 15-year fixed has gained 0.52 percentage point. It previously peaked in August, hitting a high of 3.6 percent, and has remained above the 3.00 percent mark since early June.

“Mortgage rates slid this week as the partial government shutdown led to market speculation that the Federal Reserve will not alter its bond purchases this year,” Frank E. Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, said in a statement.

Following a 0.02 percentage point increase a week ago, the average rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage saw a slight drop. Previously at 3.07 percent, the five-year ARM settled at 3.00 percent this week. The one-year ARM also registered a decline, falling 0.03 percentage point from 2.63 percent to 2.60 percent this week.

Sales of existing homes saw a 2 percent decline in September from the previous month, according to October datareleased by the National Association of Realtors. However, sales of existing homes have increased 11 percent year-over-year. First-time homebuyers represented 28 percent of the real estate purchases while 39 percent of the homes sold in September were on the market for less than a month.

Looking ahead, homebuyers hoping to lock in a lower rate may want to hold off for a week or two. In the latestMortgage Rate Trend Index, 77 percent of the analysts and loan experts polled believe that mortgage rates will continue to trend downward.

“Mortgages have improved greatly over the last week. Bond-market participants now think any tapering by the [Federal Reserve] has been pushed back to well into 2014,” opined WCS Funding Group mortgage banker Michael Becker. “I think the weak employment report of this week only reinforced that sentiment. Because of this, I expect bonds to rally and mortgage rates to improve slightly in the coming week.”

NEW LISTING in Brownsburg, IN

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Beautiful all brick ranch in popular Brownsburg Northern Acres addition.  This home has 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, eat-in kitchen and much more.  The homeowner pride is evident throughout with all of the updates and well maintained features.  There is a wonderful screened porch that overlooks the nice sized yard with a privacy fence and mature trees.  You won't want to miss this home, it won't last long!  Please give me a call if you would like a private showing (317) 966-1790.

All you Need is Chocolate!!

Tips for a First-Time Home Buyer

1. Check the selling price of comparable homes in your area.
2. See what you can afford.  Work with local mortgage lenders to give you an idea of the price of home that would fit for your income.
3. Find out what your total monthly housing costs would be, including tax and homeowners insurance.
4. Find out how much you'll likely pay in closing costs.
5. Look at your budget and determine how a house fits into it.  Fannie Mae recommends that buyers spend no more than 28% of their income on housing costs.
6. Talk to reputable real-estate agents in your area about the real-estate climate.  (This is something I can certainly do for you- just give me a call (317)966-1790.)
The above information was taken from MSN Real Estate.

Heartland Film Festival

The 22nd annual Heartland Film Festival begins on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013 and continues daily through Oct. 26. Some 275 film screenings are scheduled at AMC Castleton Square 14, AMC Showplace Traders Point 12, and the theatre at Wheeler Arts Community in Fountain Square. There's also a variety of other activities including Q&A sessions with the filmmakers, panel discussions, and several special events. Advance tickets are available at Marsh Supermarket. For more information, visit http://www.trulymovingpictures.org/heartland-film-festival/, or call 317-464-9405. Heartland Film Festival on AroundIndy.com...