Palm Beach Real Estate and Loans

I don't know where it came from.......

But it seems like quite a few people have gotten the idea that the words "short sale" are the same as "bargain" when it comes to Palm Beach Gardens real estate.

NOPE.

Here is a short sale situation:

• the property owner gets behind on the mortgage payments
• the owner can not just sell the property and pay off the home loan because (for whatever reason) the balance due on the mortgage is higher then what the home could sell for. 
• so, the property is listed as a short sale
• all offers go to the bank that holds the mortgage
• when - and if - the bank gets an offer that they find acceptable, they will sell the home to that particular buyer
• at that point, the seller is off the hook with the bank - a much better result than foreclosure.

(Read this article for a more detailed explanation of the process--->>)

Here is why short sales are NOT a bargain for Buyers:

While the bank MIGHT take less then what they are actually owed, they are NOT going to accept a low-ball offer because the loss would just be too great - they would rather take the house and try selling it themselves.

It really is that simple.  So, you see a home listed as a short sale - the loan balance is $300,000 and you think "I'll offer them $190,000, they should be thrilled!".

Not only won't the bank be thrilled, they probably won't even respond.  They'll just keep waiting for bigger offers.

Don't forget, you're not dealing with the owner and what he or she will accept - with a short sale the BANK is in control and they don't just throw away money.

There are some REAL bargains to be had in Palm Beach Gardens real estate - call me.

Ah - it's that time of year again. Spring is here - we're all spending more time at the beach, working on that perfect tan......

And to make things really enjoyable, it's almost Income Tax time....

Oh joy (and many other things I really shouldn't write here).

But there's no way around it so make sure that you're prepared.

As an owner of Palm Beach Gardens real estate, there are a couple of deductions that you should be aware of:

1. We all pay Property Tax and you are able to deduct what you pay in a particular year on all of the properties that you own - primary, secondary AND even investment properties.
2. If you have a mortgage you can deduct the amount of interest you paid on the loans on two properties - your primary, of course, and one other.

Relatively simple things, but I talked to several people today who didn't know the specifics.  Why pay more then you have to?

Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLChas just opened it's new branch at 3309 Northlake Blvd, suite #203, in Palm Beach Gardens.

Considering all of the bad news that's been around lately - starting with the sub-prime disaster of last year - people might wonder how we can actually be expanding.

It's easy.  

We started up our main office with the intention of cutting through all of the BS in the mortgage industry.  Sounds like a lofty goal - but it's really not that difficult.  Over the last few (?) years, all of the hype, the ridiculous advertising and plain old-fashioned greed had gotten things to the point that a mortgage almost seemed like a mystical thing.

When you come right down to it, the entire mortgage loan process is pretty easy - ESPECIALLY on the residential side.

It didn't take us very long to settle on our motto:

"Financing the way it's SUPPOSED to be".

The term 'transparency' is thrown around quite a bit in the mortgage world  - a lot of companies spout it, but very few actually operate in a transparent manner.

This is what you can expect when using Knightlines:

• no guessing - you're always kept updated
• no surprises - especially not at the closing table
• we operate 7 days a week - things don't stop at 5:00 PM on Friday
• you will be fully educated on the loans that you qualify for so that you can choose what's best for you - we can make suggestions, but the final choice is yours
• we only advertise realistic loan terms - no 'bait' ads about loans so outrageous that nearly no one can qualify
• your Broker will be with you from the beginning all the way to the actual closing and that includes being AT the closing.

Late this week Freddie Mac reported that rates on both fixed and adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) are tending back down again after the unfortunate jump up that they recently took.

The main example that they used was the rate on the popular 30 year fixed-rate mortgage, which fell to a national average of 6.03% after the recent spike to 6.24%.  At the same time last year, the same product was around 6.14%.

At first, that might not really seem to be that significant, but any movement DOWN is always better than UP.

Lower payments help to stimulate activity in real estate - it's very simple, the lower payments make homes more affordable so more people are able to purchase.

In addition, if you've been looking to re-finance your Palm Beach Gardens real estate, the time to act is NOW - before your ARM increases, not after!

Of course the rate is not the only thing that you need to consider when looking at a home loan, you have to look at the ENTIRE package before making a decision.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call me @ 561-282-7406 - myself and the staff at Knightlines Mortgage Services will be happy to help.

A few years ago, Jason Price and myself were thoroughly disgusted with what we were seeing in the Mortgage Industry. 

The average Broker / Lender couldn't even spell 'ethics'. 

As long as they made a quick dollar, they couldn't care less about:

• that their advertising was 'stretching' the truth,
  
• lying to a Client about what they could qualify for to get them into a situation that was more profitable,
  
• not disclosing the facts about the loan in a timely manner
• or the last minute 'oops' change in the loan at the closing table.

That's no way to run a business if you plan on being around for the long haul-

Just look at the large # of Mortgage Companies that went out of business in 2007 - the whole subprime mess, coupled with ineptitude and a complete disregard for Customer Service brought quite a few companies down - some of them were huge.

We couldn't do much to change things if we were working for other people, so we opened Knightlines Mortgage Services - and the slogan that we easily settled on was:

"Financing the way it's SUPPOSED to be."

We both realized that the only way to generate business was to get referrals from Clients that were more then satisfied with how we took care of them.

It's not exactly rocket science!

We started small, with our first office in Central Florida and now we're getting ready to open a new office right here in Palm Beach Gardens. 

This new office will offer the following:

• Residential Financing: Purchase money mortgages for new property, refinancing for current owners of Palm Beach Gardens real estate  and HELOCS
  
• Commercial Financing: Come to us with any situation - you'd be surprised at what's possible.

We started out small and quiet - no ridiculous ads for mortgages that 99.9% of the population can't qualify for, no promises for BS 'No-Cost' loans, no price-gouging - and things seem to be working out pretty well!

Makes you wonder where the 3rd office will be......