Organising the Legal Documents before you decide to Sell a House Once you have decided to put your house on the market, get yourself prepared. There’s a long list of legal documents required to sell a house. They are critical at different stages in the sales process. To avoid unwanted hiccups for an on-time closing, you should begin to pull together the legal documents required to sell a house the moment you decide to go ahead with the listing. Compiling all the legal documents required to sell a house well in advance means you will have a smooth sailing towards a stress less sale closure. So, let’s explore the key documents you’ll need at various stages of your house-selling expedition:     Documents to be arranged before listing: When you’re ready to put your house on the market, consider having these documents ready to go: The sales contract of the house you are selling from the time you purchased the house. The appraisal while you purchased that home. Your homeowners insurance policy and current statement. Your mortgage payoff statement — Ask your lender to send you this document, which includes the amount you will need to pay off your mortgage (if you have one) during closing. Homeowners association documentation — If your home is covered by an HOA, you’ll need to keep the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, also known as CC&Rs handy. These explain the rights and obligations of the homeowners and your HOA. Invoices pertaining to significant repairs and maintenance — Your buyer will want to know, for example, the last servicing dates for a roof overhaul or a central air service Invoices for major changes you have made — These might include additions or extensive remodelling. All current warranties for appliances and major works. Property tax records Recent utility bills (Best if you can provide for a year. You may not need them but might come handy for some purpose to the buyers.) Keeping a track of all of these before you plunge to sell will make things smoother. If you are missing some, ask for the copies from the company or organization that issued them.     Homeowners association legal documents required to sell a house Legal website NOLO has a list of HOA documents you’ll need to sell your home. These include: Your HOA’s Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs) along with its bylaws, rules, and regulations Unusual restrictions on homeowners. Does your HOA have rules about renting out your home, rooms or basement? Or does it restrict parking rights, pet ownership or anything else out? The latest HOA financial statements — Is the association struggling to stay afloat (in which case it may soon need to collect more from homeowners) or is it in rude financial health? How much you currently pay monthly for general fees and maintenance “Special assessments” in the pipeline. Does the HOA plan to levy extraordinary charges beyond its monthly fees for large projects or emergency repairs? Certificates from the HOA that any additions or improvements you’ve made to the home have had its approval, where necessary The HOA’s master insurance policy Again, if you never had or can’t find any of these documents, ask your HOA for copies.     Documents you need to work with your Agent before listing your property in the market. In addition to above listed documents from your files, you’ll also acquire some new ones during the listing process. These include the following: Your listing agreement. If you consider to sign up with a real estate agent or broker, you’ll get a copy of the listing agreement. This outlines the terms of your partnership with the agent. Residential Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement (SPDS) — You’ll need to disclose any material facts known to you about the property and the same will be documented. Your agent and broker will typically prepare a marketing plan that will document how and where will your home be marketed: open houses, viewings, listings on various high-traffic websites, etc. The comparative market analysis (CMA) — The agent will provide you a CMA when advising you on the listing price. A CMA displays the prices of comparable homes in your neighborhood or area that are presently listed or in escrow, along with others that have recently been sold. Your Seller’s Net Sheet — This itemizes all your selling expenses (including redeeming your mortgage, taxes, escrow fees and the agent’s commission) so that you can see how much are you actually getting by selling the house. Ask for an updated net sheet if the price you settle on differs from the one you originally listed at. Your net outflow or inflow will differ with these small changes. A preliminary title report — They’re a shortcut to confirm your ownership of the home. The buyer will commission a full title search anyway but including one of these preliminary ones in your seller’s disclosure pack makes things look better. Offer and counteroffer forms — Real estate agents create these documents when submitting an offer. And your agent can respond with a counteroffer form if you are not satisfied with the offers received. Final Purchase and Sale Agreement — When you accept an offer, the terms of the deal are laid out in a contract. You may be asked to accept “contingencies.” Those allow the buyer to withdraw in certain specified circumstances Contingency removal form — As contingencies are satisfied or fall away, these can be removed from the final purchase and sale agreement using these forms     Other considerations and documents after the offer have been accepted. Assuming your buyer(s) need a mortgage, they’ll have to pay for an appraisal before their mortgage gets sanctioned. This shows the appraiser’s assessment of the property’s market value. Smart buyers often commission home inspections to reassure themselves about the home’s condition. You could ask for copies of the appraisal and inspection report, although it’s ultimately at the discretion of the buyers whether they provide them. Shortly before closing, you should receive an estimated closing statement. This lays out all the financial aspects of the transaction and estimates how much you stand to receive at closing.     Checklist required while you are attending the closing: Concluding the sale will typically take place at the offices of the escrow agent, title agent, or attorney. And most sellers generally don’t need to bring much to closing. On the day of the closing, here are the items you will need to bring to closing: Take a government-issued photo ID along. You’ll need it along with a secondary form of identification such as your insurance card Carry all the keys to the property. Any outstanding paperwork sought by the escrow agent, title agent, or attorney Any repairs that has been carried out as part of the transaction, bring all the associated paperwork, including receipts. Your buyer(s) should have done a walk-through of the home the day before to satisfy that everything’s in order. But you don’t want any last-minute hitches     Documents to receive from the Sale: On closing or soon after, you’re likely to receive copies of: The deed — This is the document that legally transfers ownership of the home to the new buyer. The affidavit of title or seller’s affidavit — You sign this to confirm that you are the legal owner and have the right to transfer ownership. Transfer tax declarations — This applies if you live where the state or local government levies a tax on real property transfers. It confirms the price received and states the tax payable Final closing statement — This is unlikely to differ much from the estimated closing statement you recently received Bill of sale — The deed transferred ownership of the home itself. This does the same for anything you agreed to leave in the home. That may include appliances, light fittings, furniture, etc. There may be some more or fewer depending on your transaction details and the ruling state law.     Tips: And if you think arranging all these is a mammoth task, a reliable real estate agent can be your co-pilot, ensuring you navigate each stage successfully.   --   "Thanks for reading this article and for a hassle-free experience of purchase/sale of home feel free to get in touch".  

  September Mortgage Rates…. Up, Low, Moderate?     What do our Experts have to say???   Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist at National Association of Realtors Forecast: will lower mortgage interest rates in the fall and winter  “In the coming months, with inflation easing, one hopes the Fed will stop rate increases to the federal funds rate, which will lower mortgage interest rates in the fall and winter. In the short term, this is bad news for consumers looking to enter the late summer housing market. Affordability challenges will continue for buyers if new inventory is not brought to the market and rates do not abate. The increased mortgage rate is exacerbating housing affordability as home prices are climbing in this limited inventory environment. Something has to give for rates to come down, and that something is the next decision by the Fed.”     Jiayi Xu, economist at Realtor.com Forecast: The Fed is very unlikely to cut the rate anytime soon. “Mortgage rates will likely maintain their current level of approximately 7%. A sticky inflation rate combined with a declining unemployment rate implies that the Fed is very unlikely to cut the rate anytime soon. Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the Fed is proceeding with caution to make sure the lagged effects of previous rate hikes are fully revealed. As the CPI shelter index, the largest contributor to the inflation growth has passed its peak and has been on a downward trajectory since April, we may expect a faster inflation slowdown in the coming months. Therefore, it will not be surprising to see the Fed take another “wait-and-see” approach during the upcoming FOMC meeting, which may help alleviate the recent rise in mortgage rates.”     Jess Kennedy, co-founder and COO at Beeline Forecast: We expect rates to stay steady if not slightly decline in September. “There is a lot in the news about the almost unexpected strength of the overall US economy. On the back of this, we have seen rates push higher. As these newest reports become reality, we expect rates to stay steady if not slightly decline in September. This is assuming the Fed decides not to increase rates at their next meeting, which appears to be the current sentiment.”     Ralph DiBugnara, president at Home Qualified Forecast: “I see interest rates overall staying steady at their current levels through September” “The Fed finally seems to be signaling that we have reached a level, with interest rate raises, that they feel is having the impact they intended the raises to have. Inflation, in most sectors, has started to decrease or stabilize. According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the only sector that was truly up over the last few months is real estate. This is mostly because of a large inventory shortage nationwide. With all of these factors, I see interest rates overall staying steady at their current levels through September. The 30-year fixed rate will settle at around 7% average for the month of September and the 15-year fixed rate will land at 6.375%.”     Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American Prediction: Rates will fall “Fed policy, inflation, and the health of the labor market determine the outlook for inflation in September. According to the CME FedWatch tool, the odds that the Federal Reserve will pause rate hikes are nearly 90%. If inflation deceleration and labor market cooling continue and the Fed decides to pause rate hikes, there may be some downward pressure on mortgage rates. The Fed is also expected to release its dot plot projections during the September FOMC meeting. If inflation expectations are higher than expected or the Fed has to take more drastic actions than markets anticipate to tame inflation, mortgage rates may move up.”     Rick Sharga, president and CEO at CJ Patrick Company Forecast: Mortgage rates will stay between 7.0% and 7.25% through the first half of September  “Mortgage rates, after ranging between 6.5% and 7.0% for the past three months, have risen a bit more than expected in August, due in part to yields on the 10-year U.S. Treasury reaching their highest point this year. The bond market — and the mortgage market — seem to be reacting to a relatively hawkish posture by the Federal Reserve, suggesting that the Fed Funds rate may tick up higher and then stay at that elevated level for longer than many analysts expected. Given these higher yields on the 10-year bonds and the uncertainty surrounding the Fed’s direction, it seems likely that mortgage rates will stay between 7.0% and 7.25% through the first half of September, and then adjust up or down after the Fed meets on the 19th and indicates what its plans are.”     Mortgage interest rates forecast next 90 days  The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage more than doubled within the course of the year because of the rampant inflation we saw in 2022. In order to bring down the inflation the Fed took action and that led to big interest growth. With inflation gradually cooling, the size of the Fed’s rate hikes is coming down. There are high indications that mortgage interest rates will move within a tighter range compared to the spikes we saw in early 2022. Of course, interest rates are notoriously volatile and could tick back up on any given week.     Mortgage rate predictions for 2023 The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.18% as of Aug. 31, according to Freddie Mac. All five major housing authorities we looked at projected 2023’s third-quarter average to finish below that. National Association of Realtors predicts the lowest average 30-year fixed interest rate to settle at 6.5% for Q3. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo and Fannie Mae have the highest forecasts of 6.8%.        (c) TheMortgageReports.com  Source: Projection materials published by stated housing agencies.   --   "Thanks for reading this article and for a hassle-free experience of purchase/sale of home feel free to get in touch".

  Will mortgage rates go down in August?     Expert mortgage rate predictions for August Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist at the National Association of Realtors Forecast: hopeful signs rates will start to fall "The Fed should react positively to the recent ease in inflation. If so, this will have a ripple effect on the mortgage market. Even as the 30-year fixed recently hit an eight-month high and is brushing 7%, there are hopeful signs rates will start to fall for home buyers in the coming months."     Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com Forecast: Rates likely to drift lower. "With mortgage rates at the upper end of their 2023 range headed into August, they are likely to drift lower in the month ahead. The June CPI data issued in mid-July showed striking improvement in inflation trends. While this is unlikely to deter the Fed from hiking its short-term rate at the end of July, progress on inflation could help the Fed sound more confident that its hoped-for economic soft-landing is in reach."     Ralph DiBugnara, president at Home Qualified Forecast: Fixed mortgage rates increase "I believe we will see the 30- and 15-year fixed mortgage rates increase based on the perception that the Fed will be raising rates at least two more times in 2023. Settling at 6.99% on 30-year and 6.25% on 15-year. Rates seem to be trending up over the last few weeks based mostly on the Fed holding off rate rise but promising more raises. With the anticipation of the raise, I don't see any huge move until the Fed speaks and clarifies where they currently see the United States trending for the remainder of the year.     Rick Sharga, president and CEO at CJ Patrick Company Prediction: Rates likely to stay within the same 6.5-7.0% "Mortgage rates in August are likely to stay within the same 6.5-7.0% range that they've been in for the past couple of months, maybe edging toward the lower end of that range assuming that the Federal Reserve doesn't do anything unexpected at its July meeting.This month's better-than-expected inflation numbers coupled with a job market that appears to be softening a little bit provide hope that the Fed will stop raising rates soon, allowing mortgage rates to fall slowly but steadily for the remainder of the year."     Current mortgage interest rate trends The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rose from 6.9% on Aug. 3 to 6.96% on Aug. 10, according to Freddie Mac. Interest rates grew for the third consecutive week. "There is no doubt continued high rates will prolong affordability challenges longer than expected, particularly with home prices on the rise again. However, upward pressure on rates is the product of a resilient economy with low unemployment and strong wage growth, which historically has kept purchase demand solid," said Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac. Mortgage rates went up or down at the beginning of 2023. In the first half, the average 30-year fixed rate went as low as 6.09% on Feb. 2 and climbed up to 6.79% on June 1, according to Freddie Mac.   Mortgage rates increased for the second week in a row. The 30-year fixed rate rose from 6.9% on Aug. 3 to 6.96% on Aug. 10. The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate also grew, going from 6.25% to 6.34%.     Source: Freddie Mac   Mortgage rates soared to a 14-year high in 2022, after hitting record-low rates in 2020 and 2021. Many experts and industry authorities believe interest rates will follow a downward trajectory in 2023.      McBride says this about the future of mortgage rates: "With the backdrop of easing inflation pressures, we should see more consistent declines in mortgage rates as the year progresses, particularly if the economy and labor market slow noticeably." Dating back to April 1971, the fixed 30-year interest rate averaged around 7.8%, according to Freddie Mac. Whatever happens, interest rates are still below historical averages.  So if you haven't locked a rate yet, you can still get a good deal especially if you're a borrower with strong credit. You need to know the right agent to help you sail through this.   --   "Thanks for reading this article and for a hassle-free experience of purchase/sale of home feel free to get in touch".