It seems like every day I have a list of articles in my phone I need to catch up on to see what the latest coronavirus update is. “How much money is being added to the stimulus now?”, “Is it a bad time to sell your house?”, & “Why cant I get a mortgage?” are all questions I have been asked in recent weeks and this article will focus on answering those questions and providing a market summary.
Where is Your Stimulus Check?
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS are set to launch the “Get My Payment” application to track your stimulus check progress. It is set to launch next week and will be a free application that you can download at IRS.gov on a mobile or desktop device to get your funds quickly rather than waiting for a check to arrive in the mail. This will be available for 2018 & 2019 tax payers who will need to provide basic information such as SSN, Date of Birth and Mailing Address.
The fastest way to get your stimulus check will be to add your bank account to the app and have this information available.
- Adjusted Gross Income from most recent tax return
- Tax refund amount owed from last filed tax return
- Bank account type, accounting and routing numbers
Harder to Get a Mortgage…
While interest rates are at record lows, home buyers have been jumping at the opportunity for a sub 4% 30 year fixed rate mortgage. One thing that is for certain is that mortgage lending is vastly different now from where it was in early March.
FHA (Federal Housing Authority) had raised their requirements, therefore limiting the number of borrowers able to get a mortgage. More recently, JPMorgan announced that customers applying for a mortgage must have a minimum credit score of 700 and required to make at least 20% down payment.
This change is showing how banks are quick to shift gears in the dark economic times present in the U.S. With too much uncertainty in the market, lenders are uneasy about lending to borrowers without “perfect” credit in fear of a 2008 repeat.
“iBuyers” Are Gone! Zillow, OfferPad, Redfin No Longer Buying Homes.
What are ibuyers? An ibuyer is a phrase that describes a company that directly buys properties from the seller. These well financed buyers like Zillow, OfferPad, Redfin & OpenDoor have ceased all home buying operations after roughly two years! Why have they done this? Well these companies do not necessarily count on short term profits, but rather counting on price appreciation and growth in the long run so they can show their share holders company growth. Now with the future uncertain, they have cancelled contracts and stopped all home buying which in some markets consisted of 10% of all sales.
You had 3 options when selling your house…
- List traditionally with a realtor (Virtual Tours)
- “ibuyer” company
- Get a Cash Offer from a local company like Simply Sold Property & move when you want
Although, if you’re looking to sell your house fast and don’t have the luxury of time, these “ibuyer” companies are out which shows they are not locally rooted companies, they are here when it is convenient to them! Virtual tours and home buying on the MLS are still happening, but with a large amount of buyers waiting for COVID-19 to pass over you could potentially see a softened price. If you’re looking to see how a cash home buyer works, we are still here buying houses and know the area as well as anyone!
Summary…
While showings have moved to virtual tours only, limited buyers and with everything currently going on, it may seem impossible to sell your house now… Although, we are here to help and would love to just chat and see what your problem is to build the best solution for you! Call us at 336-540-5204 or visit SimplySoldProperty.com to learn more about how we can save you time & money when selling your NC house!