The rapid collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has sent a chill through Silicon Valley, including the real estate industry. Buyers are more hesitant to take on the risk of a new loan, which means properties could be sitting on the market longer than expected. Want to know what happened and how we can avoid another big bank failure? CNN explains.
What do you do when the rain keeps us indoors and you’ve already finished your Spring cleaning?
If you’re lucky like us and get to work from home, rainy days are a chance to have a little adventure around the house. Explore rooms you don’t use as often and look for items you may have misplaced, like garage keys or jewelry. I just found a bracelet I thought was lost forever!
A little rain never stopped me from going outside. And with all the atmospheric rivers we’ve seen, you’d be advised to give your home a regular check for overflowing gutters, leaky eaves, and potential wind and hail damage to your roof. You never know when the other shoe will drop!
Are you feeling lucky? Join us in raising a pint for St. Patrick — and don’t forget to wear your green today! And if you’re looking for the best spots for a plate of corned beef with cabbage and a nice, dark pint of Guinness, TheSixFifty has you covered, as usual.
The housing market moves in a series of chain reactions. With inflation on the rise in 2022, the Fed began hiking interest rates. This cooled off many potential buyers, which in turn forced sellers to lower their asking prices, leading to a rare drop in median values and eventually a decline in inventory. Despite a brief holiday dip, interest rates remain at long-time highs, and the curve is bending upward.
Last week, we explored the ins and outs of title contingency. Now, let’s talk about loan contingency and what it means for buyers — and sellers.
Loan contingency is a clause that allows a buyer to cancel their home purchase contract without penalty and receive a refund of their earnest money deposit in the event they're unable to secure a mortgage. Like any contingency, this clause could make an offer less desirable to a seller entertaining multiple offers. But it may be necessary to avoid serious financial risk up to and including legal action or being forced to buy the property.
Sounds like a catchy clause, and it may not be all that necessary. Our job as realtors is to provide you with a choice of high-quality lenders who will do their homework and ensure that your loan will be approved before it’s sent to underwriters. At the end of the day, it benefits the lender to ensure that you’re in a strong, lendable financial position headed into the offer process. We’ll explore this more under appraisal contingency in a future post.
