Today is FREE Pancake Day at IHOP.Go in and you will be treated to a complimentary short stack (3 pancakes).Why is IHOP having a free pancake day?It’s all for a good cause.IHOP National Pancake Day is a promotion to help support the Children’s Miracle Network.The Children’s Miracle Network is a non-profit that raises money for children’s hospitals throughout the country.
IHOP has set a goal to raise $5 million this year!So go out and eat your pancakes today from 7:00AM to 10:00PM.Remember, you are getting a FREE short stack so consider donating a few dollars to help this great cause.
Click to see the San Antonio IHOP locations that are participating.
Thank you for reading my No Place Like San Antonio blog
Yvette Allen Properties specializes in San Antonio Real Estate and
As of January 1, 2010 HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning) manufacturers are no longer producing air conditioners and heat pumps that contain R-22, commonly known as Freon.This is part of the US Environmental Protection Agency's Tile VI - Clean Air Act. Instead HVAC equipment manufactures will have to begin building equipment that uses the refrigerant 410a, better know as Puron, which is more efficient. To learn more click on the link to the EPA website: http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/phaseout/classtwo.html
As a buyer make sure you choose a home warranty plan that covers these expanded services in the event your HVAC needs repair.
Helpful Tips:
-If you don't get the right coverage it is possible in the future it may cost youthousands to get your HVAC unit(s) fixed.
-If your real estate agent is filling out the order form for your home warranty be sure to remind them that you want a plan that will cover R-410a. From what I see it looks like the basic plan of a home warranty will not cover the R-410a. *Be sure to read the plan or at least call the service desk to get answers to your questions.
- The information I have received from a few of the home warranty companies is that the agent/client must select the upgraded plan.These "Premium" plans usually cover upgrades and/or items that need to be brought up to code.
-Depending on what you and your real estate agent negotiate your home warranty plan sometimes is paid 100% by the seller or the seller will pay a portion and you pickup the remanding balance.
** My 2 cents - it's worth the additional $50 -$100 for the "bring up to code" plan.I know when you are buying a home the last thing you want is to do is bring more money to the table, but trust me when I say it's worth it in the end.
If you currently have a home warranty and you are not sure if you have the upgraded feature call and find out.If you don't have the upgrade plan ask when you can purchase it.
3. Re-sale value of your home. Having a new R-410a system versus the older R- 22.
If you would like to start doing some research and need names of home warranty companies email me at Yvette@YvetteAllenProperties.com and I'll forward you the information.
Thank you for reading my No Place Like San Antonio Blog
Yvette Allen Properties specializes in San Antonio Real Estate
As the title implies San Antonio's future is bright. Yesterday I attended the San Antonio Council of Residential Specialists (CRS) luncheon and the guest speaker was Dr. Henry Cisneros former Mayor of San Antonio.He had some great information about the happenings around the city.
Here are some highlights:
1. San Antonio has a stable economy that is attractive for companies.This is enticing to companies to bring new or expand existing jobs.
2. More jobs means more homes selling!With an increase in job growth we can expect San Antonio to have an increase in both home sales and values.
3. He mentioned recently seeing a few surveys that put San Antonio within the 10 percentile of cities fairing well through the recession.In one survey San Antonio was number one!
4. If you didn’t know Bio Science is huge in San Antonio employing over 120,000 people with revenue of $16 billion.Bio Science is divided into 4 sectors:
a. Medical Education
b. Medical Clinic
c. Medical Research
d. Bio Medical
5. Insurance giants All State and Nationwide will add a combined 1400 jobs in San Antonio in the near future.
As I heard from San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, at his State of the City address, San Antonio’s economy through tourism, housing, job growth, Bio Science, etc is doing great.I’ll sum it up with what Dr. Cisneros said, “San Antonio is on a Roll!”
If you or someone you know has tried obtaining a mortgage loan, then you probably know that banks have tightened up their approval process. This is not only true for buying a home in San Antonio, but nationwide.It’s important to have a good credit score. What’s a good credit score?I have some lenders saying 580+ and others saying a minimum of 620.What is clear is that the higher your credit score the lower your mortgage interest rate.
The NBC Today show talked to my favorite Real Estate Extraordinaire, Barbara Corcoran.She talks about the Link to video 7 Mistakes Homebuyers Make to Their Credit.A few of the mistakes include:
- Making big purchases prior to closing
- Closing open credit cards
- Spending too much time mortgage shopping
Watch this video to make sure you are not hindering your chances on securing that home loan.
Here's the San Antonio Real Estate Annual Sales Trends for the last 6 years. You can see that 2006 and 2007 were big real estate years here in San Antonio with over 21,000 homes sold.
The graph above shows the statistics of each year from January through November.
When we add the numbers for December 2009 it shows that 18,164 homes sold. So between November and December an additional 1,368 homes sold. This number is lower than 2008, but only by 3%.
With the extension of the $8000 tax credit, the $6500 tax credit for move-up buyers and a steady San Antonio Real Estate market I am hopeful that we will continue to see the number of homes sold increase.
Thanks for reading my No Place Like San Antonio Blog!
Posted by: Yvette Allen - San Antonio Real Estate Agent
Yvette Allen Properties specializes in San Antonio Real Estate and
Helotes Real Estate
210.215.6897
If you are thinking of buying a home and you are applying for a FHA loan read about the following changes that could impact you.
On January 20, 2010, FHA announced they were making some changes in order to ensure long-term financial soundness.Back in October of 2009 FHA did announce that its capital reserve fell below the congressionally mandated level of 2 percent.Due to the drop a call for action took place in order to help strengthen FHA.
Here are the announced changes FHA is making:
1. Upfront mortgage insurance premium will increase to 2.25 percent.That is up front 1.75 percent. You will be allowed to finance your upfront mortgage insurance premium. The change will take place on April 5, 2010.
Here's a quick explanation of upfront mortgage insurance premium.Monthly mortgage insurance is required for loans with less than 80% loan-to-value ratio (meaning you are putting less than 20% down on the house).The FHA mortgage insurance protects lenders against losses that result from homeowners defaulting on their mortgages.The up-front MIP can be paid in cash or financed by the borrower.The majority of the time, the MIP is financed by the borrower meaning that 2.25% of the loan amount is added to bring about a total loan amount.
2. The minimum down payment will remain at 3.5 percent, but borrowers with credit scores below 580 will be required to have a down payment of 10 percent.Expect this change Spring/Summer 2010.
3. Seller concessions will be reduced to 3 percent from 6 percent.What does this mean? When you make an offer on a home and you ask the seller to pay your closing costs they will not be able to give as much as they have in the past.In the past the seller would be able to pay up to 6 percent, but with this change the seller will only be able to pay 3 percent.This is expected to take effect Spring of 2010.
As soon as I know exact effective dates I will post it.At this point I only have approximate time frames for some of the changes.
** Keep in mind if you are looking to buy a home in the next few months the upfront mortgage insurance premium increase goes into effect 25 days before you need to be under contract in order to qualify for the home buyer tax credit.
What better way to give back and get healthy at the same time, but by participating in one of the following local fundraisers. I plan to put on my walking shoes and do my 3+ miles for SA MMinistries. How about you?
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Cupid’s Chase 5K Supporting People with Disabilities
Location: Brackenridge Park
Registration starts at 8:30AM
The Race begins at 10:00AM
For more information: Jamie Brundige at Jamie.BrundigeATcomop.org
Happy Monday! I hope your week has started off on a good note. This past weekend I was able to catch up on some business reading. I love to read especially what I call brain candy. Those are books for pure entertainment and I don’t have to do much thinking (unless of course it’s a murder mystery). I also read a lot of business books and magazines. I was reading Texas Realtor magazine and came across some cool trivia questions. I thought I would share some of them with you and throw in a little contest as well. The first person to email me at Yvette@YvetteAllenProperties.com with both questions answered correctly will get a $5 gift card to Starbucks. Let’s see how you do – it’s only 2 questions - no cheating. :-)
1. In 2008, the national average interest rate for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage loan was 6.03%. What was it in 1981?
a. 12.88%
b. 16.63%
c. 19.51%
d. 9.09%
2. Approximately 60% of today’s mortgage applications are approved. What was the percentage in 2003?
a. 55%
b. 68%
c. 79%
d. 85%
It’s interesting to see what mortgage rates were in previous years. Take a look at the average rates over the past four decades:
1970’s 8.90%
1980’s 12.70% (some people remember 19%!)
1990’s 8.12%
2000’s 6.33% (through September 2009)
Source: Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University
Mortgage rates continue to be low and the housing market in San Antonio continues to be steady. The mortgage rates are the lowest we have seen in 40 years. So if you are planning to buy or refinance your home take a look at the mortgage rates as of Friday – February 4, 2010.
Conventional 30 year fixed 4.75%
Conventional 15 year fixed 4.25%
FHA 30 year fixed 4.75%
FHA 15 year fixed 4.375%
VA 30 year fixed 4.875%
VA 15 year fixed 4.50%
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What better way to give back and get healthy at the same time, but by participating in one of the following local fundraisers. I plan to put on my walking shoes and do my 3+ miles for SA MMinistries. How about you? 