Take Advantage of New Year Mortgage Rates

Average fixed mortgage rates in the U.S. over the past week finished the year near all-time lows, with the 30-year home loan at 3.95%.

According Freddie Mac's weekly survey of mortgage rates, the rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has been at or below 4% for the past nine consecutive weeks and only twice in 2011 did it average above 5%.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.95% for the week ended Thursday, up from 3.91% the previous week and below 4.86% a year ago. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.24%, up from 3.21% last week and below 4.20% a year earlier.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARM, averaged 2.88%, up from 2.85% yet below 3.77% of a year ago. One-year Treasury-indexed ARM rates averaged 2.78%, up from 2.77% in the prior week and below 3.26% last year.

To obtain the rates, 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages required payments of 0.7 percentage point and 0.8 percentage point, respectively. Five-year and one-year adjustable rate mortgages required an average payment of 0.6 percentage point. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged as prepaid interest.

To take advantage of these historic low interest rates visit WheatonHomes4Sale.com to view available homes and investment properties for sale in your area for free!



Article Provided by Mia Lamar
Taken from WSJ.com
Mortgage Rates End Year Under 4%

Remodeling Your Home? These 10 Items Should be Included in Your Remodel Contract

10 Things Every Remodeling Contract Should Include

1. The contractor’s name, address, phone number, and license number.
2. Details on what the contractor will and will not do.
3. A list of materials for the project in your contract. This includes information about the size, color, model, brand name, and product.
4. The approximate start date and completion date.
5. All required plans. Study them carefully for accuracy. Insist that you approve them and that they are identified in your written contract before any work begins.
6. Written notice of your right to, without penalty, cancel a contract within three business days of signing it.
7. Financial terms, spelled out in a way that you understand. This includes the total price, payment schedule, and any cancellation penalty.
8. A binding arbitration clause, which you’ll need in the event a disagreement occurs. Arbitration may enable you to resolve disputes without costly litigation.
9. Everything you’ve requested. Consider the scope of the project and make sure all items you’ve requested are included. If you do not see a specific item in the contract, consider it not included. Never sign an incomplete contract.
10. A warranty covering materials and workmanship for a minimum of one year. The warranty must be identified as either "full" or "limited." The name and address of the party who will honor the warranty (contractor, distributor, or manufacturer) must be identified. Make sure the time period for the warranty is specified.

Find out home much your home is worth! Visit WheatonHomes4Sale.com for a free estimate.

Article taken from RealtorMag.REATOR.com
April 09
Kelly Quigley