Today’s mortgage rates–averaging just over 5.0% for a 30-year fixed loan–are steals. Experts agree that loans will hover in the 4.75% to 5.5% range all year. This bodes well for anyone choosing to buy a Wisconsin Rapids home this year.
As you begin to research mortgage information take note of the following four tips:
- Some lenders are requiring more information. This can cause banks to take longer to approve your loan. Make sure you know how long each bank will need to approve your loan. My suggestion: start your loan search early in your home buying process…
- To land the best rates you’ll usually need at least 20% down and a credit score of 720 or better. Remember, you get one free credit report per year from each of the big three (TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax).
- To qualify for a mortgage, your total debt should be less than 43% of your pretax income.
- Your home debt (monthly mortgage, insurance and taxes) should be less than 31% of your pretax income.
What next?
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Thinking of selling? Find out how much your home is worth.
Spring is finally in the air here in Wisconsin Rapids. One obvious reason is the amount of ‘activity’ that’s going on. You know what I mean… People are outside enjoying the weather. Many are starting to walk outside again. Children are playing. The birds are starting to come back. Deer and turkeys are once again active.
(Watch me deftly work real estate into this discussion… 
)
Plus home buyers are starting to come out of their hibernation as well. Open house traffic is increasing. The number of buyers I’m working with is also increasing.
It’s like the perfect storm of real estate… Why is now the time for you to put your home on the market?
Reason #1: New inventory will get noticed.
The newest Wisconsin Rapids homes added to the MLS generally receive the most buyer action. Why? First, your home will be toured by everyone in the First Weber office the first Tuesday your home is ready to be shown. If your home meets the needs of a buyer any of the First Weber agents are working with phone calls are made and emails are sent well before lunch…
Showings will be set and potential buyers will be through your home in the upcoming days, or even hours.
Secondly, every other agent in Wisconsin Rapids checks the MLS daily for new homes to hit the Wisconsin Rapids market. By taking the time to craft a quality listing description as well as taking dozens of pictures every Wisconsin Rapids Realtor will know if they have a buyer that’s perfect for your home.
Reason #2: Mortgage rates are still very low.
Mortgage rates are still in the low 5% range. By locking in a fixed rate mortgage now a home buyer is able to lower their monthly mortgage payment.
With current state of our economy the majority of buyers need a lower mortgage payment now compared to a couple years ago. Many buyers are also choosing to leave money on the table by purchasing a home for far less than what the mortgage lender had approved them for.
Reason #3: Many buyers are taking advantage of the first time home buyer tax credit.
Look through the local real estate ads. What’s receiving top billing? I know the answer is obvious, since it’s in bold above, but I’ll say it anyway: the new first time home buyer tax credit. (I know the name has been changed, but the new name doesn’t explain what it is as well as the old one…)
In February the government made a major change in the wording. Gone was the fact that each buyer would have to pay back the $7500. In it’s place the amount was increased to $8000 plus the buyer does not have to repay a dime, as long as they live there for 3 years.
Their are hundreds of things a new Wisconsin Rapids home buyer can do with a free and clear $8000…
Yes, some people are concerned for their jobs. But not everyone is. These three reasons are driving buyers to our market. And everyone’s feeling the impact. Not only the buyers and sellers, but local business as well. Plus, many buyers will find their bank account much bigger as well…
What next? If you’re ready to jump into the best time of year to buy or sell a home get in touch today. Homes are coming onto the market daily.
Also, if you’ve liked what you’ve read and want to stay current with the Wisconsin Rapids real estate market enter your email address and all new posts will be automatically be sent to your inbox. Remember, as always this is free, plus I won’t be doing anything hokie with your email address… Your trust is to important to me.
Business has picked up here in the past week as we’ve received dozens of visitors reading my two posts on the Wisconsin Rapids wrestlers.
With the increase in traffic I’m holding a subscription drive for the rest of the week.
Here’s the deal:
If the subscriber count reaches 25 by Sunday at 7:00 pm I’ll draw for one $25 gas card. To be given to one lucky reader.
Plus I’ll continue to draw one $25 gas card per month. As long as you’re subscribed you’re eligible to win. So go ahead, feel good about winning multiple times!
And with that uptick in traffic, along with all you regulars… I want to thank each and every one of you who’ve made their way here over the past few months.
My goal had always been to place the most important local real estate information directly at your fingertips. If you need to catch up now’s the time to take a few seconds, or minutes, to read what I’ve written. Now that you’re back…
You can probably tell that I’m by no means a professional writer. I’m a trained computer teacher, who’s recently been remade into a real estate agent. But I am beginning to understand how to effectively put my hands to the keyboard to create posts that are worth your time and effort in reading.
I use my teaching background to make sure I provide you the information that you need before you make the plunge into home ownership. Whether it’s the first, or the tenth home you’ve bought… It seems like we’re all in the same place now. (Would it be wrong to thank W.?)
Why I’m Writing this Post
If, perchance, you’re not yet receiving the free subscription to my site, I’d love it if you took a second and subscribed. Plus you’re eligible for the monthly drawing for a $25 gas card.
Their are many ways to get Wis. Rapids Real Estate School directly to you. But here is the most popular:
Subscribe via Email
You’ll receive periodic emails that will have all the posts from the previous week. Allowing you to read at your leisure. Plus you’re eligible for the $25 gas card drawing… can’t forget that!
And again, thanks for getting this far. We’re all busy, but I appreciate you taking your time to read through many of the articles I’ve written. I’m excited to be doing this. To be putting myself out here more. It’s never easy to hit the publish button and know that anyone in the world can come and read what I’ve written. But I feel myself getting better.
But enough about me, this site is all about you. The renter who’s looking to buy her first home because of the new tax credit. Or the empty-nester who’s oldest is going off to college next year and is thinking about downsizing. Or the newly married couple who are excited about starting their new life together in a new home. It’s for you that I do this.
So, what is it that I can do for you? What do you need me to do in the future to help you buy or sell your next home? Anything you want to see written about on this website? Do you have questions about the buying process? What about getting approved for a loan? How much down payment do you need? I could go on and on…
I look forward to comments and questions that you have. Please feel free to leave them in the comments section (you can be anonymous if you’d like) or email me directly.
So before you go, have you signed up to have posts delivered to your email? And if at any point I’m not meeting your needs, there is a link in every email where you can unsubscribe.
Have a great day!
After a one year absence the Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln Red Raider wrestling team makes their way back to Madison for this weekends team-state tournament.
Coming off a successful individual state tournament, where they crowned two state champions, two runners up, a third, fifth and sixth place finisher, the Wisconsin Rapids wrestlers will take on Muskego this Friday at 7:00 pm. But first, lets congratulate this past weekends individual wrestlers.
Congratulations goes out to Ben Best and Vance Grube for their first state championships! They now belong to a pretty prestigious group of Lincoln wrestlers.
It’s nice to see both Ben and Vance stand on top of the podium this year. Ben came into the program as a very well talked about freshmen. I hope this championship is the exclamation point on a career that has seemed to have as many ups as downs.
I still remember seeing Vance and Vaughn Grube’s names on wrestling championship’s back when they were still wrestling in Nekoosa. At that time I was a student teacher in the middle school and I remember assuming they had to be twins with their similar first names…
Devin Petersen capped off a successful freshmen year by placing 2nd. What’s even more impressive is doing it at a weight that is usually reserved for upperclassmen.
Doug Fuller lost his championship match to Jackson Hein from WausauWest 3-1. Hopefully, the silver lining for Doug is another chance at Jackson in the finals this weekend…
A few years back, I’m remembering a match (maybe a Vanevenhoven (sp) from Kaukauna) who was coming of a state championship the weekend before, and ended up getting stuck by a Rapids wrestler…
I’m at Lincoln every morning and the wrestlers and students are excited about bringing the championship back to Wisconsin Rapids.
Wrestling starts Friday night at 7:00 pm and continues Saturday. Tickets went on sale starting today. Plus, the weather sounds like it will be a lot easier getting to Madison this week compared to last.
Obviously you can listen to the matches on WFHR, but you’ll also be able to see results at WIwrestling.com as well. Also, updates will be found at Justin Tritz’s brainchild, TrackWrestling.com.
For fun you can watch the previous Rapids-West dual at BadgerWrestling.com.
No matter where we turn today, news about the economy and real estate market surround us. Foreclosures around the nation are on the rise, including Wisconsin.
As foreclosures have increased numerous strategies have been put in place to help limit the number of homes that ultimately end up in foreclosure including:
- agreements with the lender
- temporary forbearance
- loan modification
- short sale
Still, many Wisconsin homeowners are unable to stop the foreclosure process causing the number of foreclosure filings in the state to rise 21.4% from 2007 to 2008. This is the second consecutive year with a 20% plus increase.
Area Foreclosure Results
Wood county saw an increase of 45% in the number foreclosure filings in 2008. The total number of homes increased from 143 in 2007 to 207 in 2008. But we are not the county with the largest increase…
Adams county had the largest increase of any Wisconsin county, increasing 80% to a total of 222 homes in 2008. In central Wisconsin Juneau county increased the least by only going up 4%.
Overall, only 6 of 71 counties (Portage did not report) saw their number of foreclosures decrease or stay the same. Eighteen counties saw an increase of 30% or more.
This past weekend I heard that 45% of Americans are worried about making their next mortgage payment.
You can see a breakdown by county by clicking here.
It is my sincerest hope that none of you have to experience a foreclosure, either personally or through a friend or family member. If you see yourself falling behind please be proactive and seek help early.
Special Note: If you need assistance, or just want to know where to start, please get in touch. I have many contacts in the Wisconsin Rapids area and would be happy to help you find the help you need.
PHONE: (715) 572-8372
My name is Adam Holberg and I’m a Realtor with First Weber of Wisconsin Rapids. This website is designed to inform and help bring conversation to a topic I love, real estate.