John Lemos's (jplemos) Blog

NEW CONSTRUCTION STRONG AND STEADYHousing Starts came in at 1.246M in January. This was slightly better than expectations of 1.232M. December's data was also revised higher from 1.226M to 1.279M. Permits came in at 1.285M which also beat expectations. December's data was also revised higher from ...

 THREE REASONS WHY PMI COULD BE YOUR FRIEND Many mortgage loan programs today allow homebuyers to use less than a 20% down payment when buying a house.  When you do this, you are often required to pay Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI).  This increases your mortgage payment slightly.  Here are thre...

THE CASE FOR (OR AGAINST) ARMS What’s the longest time-period you’ve ever lived in a home?  Consider Jane and John Doe who are buying a new house with a $200,000 mortgage.  In this example: Expected ownership period is 7 years Interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate loan is 4.5% Interest rate on a ...

TWO WAYS TO BENEFIT FROM RISING HOUSE PRICES House prices have gone up in many markets across the country. The chart below illustrates what this could mean for you based on your home value and the rate of appreciation in your neighborhood.Here are two ways you may be able to benefit if your home ...