Author: Jack Leachman

This week we saw mortgage rates fall again according to data provided by Freddie Mac. This continues a streak now stretching four weeks, as homebuyers benefit from lower borrowing costs. The average rate on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage fell to 6.28% down from 6.32% a week earlier. Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater stated, “mortgage rates continue to trend down entering the traditional spring home buying season.” While rates have fallen there are still challenges for home buyers including low inventory of available for sale in many markets. If you are thinking about buying a new home this spring check with us to see how much you can get pre-qualified for. You can fill out our 30 second analyzer on our website to get started.

With tax day coming let’s focus on the positives and review how owning a home can help lower your tax bill. To be clear you’ll need to do an itemized return to take advantage of the deductions. And the deductions are just that deductions from the income that is subject to tax, not just taking an amount straight off your tax bill. Onto the benefits! The biggest one, you may already be familiar with – the interest deduction. The money you pay in interest over the year on your loan is fully deductible on the first $750,000 of your loan or up to $1 million if your loan was originated before December 15, 2017. The other biggie is deducting property taxes. You can deduct up to $10,000 in state and…

With housing prices rising in recent years, one quarter of home buyers 23-31 received financial help from friends or family for their down payment and 17 percent of those aged 32-41 also received help according to the National association of realtors. Down payment gifts still need to be documented accurately in a gift letter. If you're in the process of buying a home and receiving financial help from a family member or friend, you maybe asked to provide a gift letter. This document is an essential part of the loan application process and helps ensure that the down payment funds you're using come from legitimate sources. A gift letter is a written statement from the person providing the gift (the giver) stating that they've given you money for the down…