housing market Archives

If you’re ready to sell your home, you don’t need to wait until the spring just because that’s the more popular time. There are plenty of benefits to selling in the off season, even a few that can be monetary. Here are our top 5 reasons for why winter is a good time to sell your home.

Since spring is the most popular season to sell a home, that means the housing market is packed with plenty of houses for buyers to choose from. When the market slows down in the winter, your home will be one among a few. This gives you the opportunity to not only sell your home faster, but also to sell above your asking price because buyers will be competing against each other over the low inventory.

Many potential buyers have been waiting to purchase a home or upgrade until they have enough money saved. Year-end bonuses and other financial payouts could have provided them with the down payment they need.

With the ability to house-hunt online, cold weather will keep people inside. If you have potential buyers attend your open house, it’s safe to assume they are serious about purchasing. This means you will waste less time on buyers who aren’t ready to pull the trigger and are ‘just looking’ to see what’s out there. These motivated buyers are more likely to be pre-approved and can put down a serious offer.

Early winter is the most popular time for companies to do corporate relocation. Some buyers might be moving for a job and need to find a home quickly. Therefore, they don’t have the luxury to take their time when house-hunting. If they find a home that meets their requirements, they will be ready to buy right away.

Depending on where you live, you might experience typical winter weather – lots of snow. While it might not be fun to deal with, it can help you by keeping your landscaping maintenance to a minimum while trying to sell. Just make sure your drive/walk-ways are clear and safe to walk on. The harsh weather also allows potential buyers to see how your home handles it. Whether the snow has accumulated or is melting away, buyers can look for any potential issues they might not have seen if buying in later months.
Bonus: You can light up the fireplace!

Don’t let group mentality get the best of you and make you feel as if you must wait until the spring to sell your home. Take advantage of the slower season and reap the rewards that may come. Keep these 5 reasons in mind when weighing the pros and cons or evaluating the circumstances of why you need to sell.

If you have a mortgage or are going through the homebuying process, you’ve probably heard of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. While the names might be familiar, there’s much to learn about the two biggest players in the housing market. We believe it is important for you to understand their roles in the industry and how they function. Here’s a quick rundown of what they are and what they do.

What They Do: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are government-sponsored enterprises, more commonly known as GSEs. Their main function is to assist lenders by providing liquidity, or access to funds. This is done primarily through the purchase of loans from lenders. Lenders provide borrowers with loans for a home purchase or refinance, but they want to be able to do so for as many borrowers as possible. Most loans have a lifespan of around 30 years, but lenders are unable to wait out the lifespan before getting their money back. If they did, they could only help a few borrowers before running out of money. However, GSEs like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can make the 30-year commitment. Buying the loans allows lenders to have their money returned right away and lets them engage in further lending to more borrowers.

Here is an example of how this process works: A lender has provided a borrower with a 30-year, $100,000 loan to purchase a home. The lender is now out $100,000 and will have to wait 30 years before being fully paid back. They only had $100,000 to give, so now they don’t have any money to help other borrowers. Instead of taking on the loan, the lender sells it to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Now they can use that money to help another borrower.

Quick Note: You might be wondering what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do with the loans they purchase. The two GSEs buy thousands of loans every day, but they don’t need to keep them all. Rather than holding onto all the loans, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can sell them to different institutions, such as City Bank or Wells Fargo. Because there are so many loans, the institutions like to buy pools, or collections of loans that have all the same parameters.

How They Compare: While very similar in function, there are some differences between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae was established first in 1938, followed by Freddie Mac later in 1970. They use different Automated Underwriting Systems (AUS): Fannie uses Desktop Underwriter (DU) and Freddie uses Loan Prospector (LP). The two also differ in how they handle student loans, condominium reviews, and self-employed borrowers. However, the two are more similar than different. Both GSEs have set guidelines that every loan must meet before they purchase it, involving aspects such as income, asset, down payment, and credit requirements. They both provide conventional lending, rather than government lending like their competitor, Ginnie Mae. While Fannie Mae used to only offer a Debt-to-Income (DTI) Ratio of 45%, they recently matched Freddie Mac at 50%. Both also have a maximum Loan-to-Value (LTV) Ratio of 97%.

Without Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, many Americans would be unable to purchase a home. Both are vital to the housing market, making it important that you have a general idea of who they are and their function, especially if you are beginning the homebuying process.

CCPA Request

CPA FORM

First Name*
Last Name*
Address*
City*
State*
Zip*
Loan Number or last 4 digits of the Social Security Number*
Email*
Telephone Number*
Please re-enter the CAPTCHA code below

Contact Page

Name*
First Last
Email*
Phone Number*
Select what you are contacting us about:*
All FHA Case Transfer Requests must be sent in writing via email to: [email protected]. The request must include the FHA Case number, the new lender’s Origination ID or Sponsor ID, the full subject property address, and a letter signed and dated by the borrower expressing desire for the transfer.
Request for payoff should be submitted to the current servicer of the loan:
If your loan is being serviced by the NFM Lake Zurich Servicing Center, please call 1-866-352-6802 to request a payoff. You can also request a payoff via the online borrower portal, if you are a registered user on the portal.
If your loan is being serviced by the NFM Lending Linthicum Maryland Office, you may submit the request to [email protected] or call 1-866-765-1827.
Property Location
FHA Case Number*
New Lender's Originator ID*
Subject Property Address*
City*
State*
Zip*
New Borrower to subject property or Borrower and Property are the same?*
- New Borrower
- Same
Message
CAPTCHA
Email
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Contact Me

First Name*
Last Name*
Phone Number*
Email Address*
Property State*
Loan Purpose*
How did you hear about us?
First and last name of referral source (if applicable)
Please type the characters below
Consent
- I agree to receive SMS Text Messages at the above phone number from NFM Lending for follow up purposes for banking products. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies. Text HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel. By clicking this box, you agree to receive SMS.
Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.