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Iowa Is The 5th Happiest State!

According to a study done by LiveScience.com, Iowa is the 5th happiest state in America!

I feel validated -- I have been saying something similar to clients and friends for a long time.  There are so many pluses to living in Iowa.  You get the best of both worlds: small towns, but close to the big city.  Great autumns.  Friendly people.  When the economy or real estate takes a nose-dive, it's never nearly as bad as it is in other parts of the country.  And on, and on.

Iowa is a great place to live.  That's easy to forget when we have a bad winter like the one we're in now, but dealing with cold and snow is a nice trade off for everything else that you get by living here.

Read the entire article here: Iowa is the 5th happiest state; and view the entire list of states from the #1 happiest (Hawaii) to the 50th (West Virginia), here.

Oh, and did you know that the Des Moines metro area is #4 out of the most affordable 100 cities in America?

The grass definitely is not greener on the other side!

Tonight: Radio Show With Mike Davis Talking About First-Time Homebuyer Information!

Tonight, from 8:00pm to 9:00pm central time, I'll be speaking with Robb Spearman, broker of RE/MAX Real Estate Concepts, about First-Time Homebuyer Programs, the steps to buying your first home, and everything pertaining to being a first-time homebuyer.  Please listen in, and join in the chat!

Just go to macsworldlive.com to listen to the program!

Those Who Wait Will Pay Thousands More This Spring.

The Stephanie Reed Mortgage Team, with Academy Mortgage, wrote a very good article the other day, and they gave me permission to re-post it here.  I am not a fan of "high pressure" sales tactics, and that's not what this is about.  However, if I don't share this kind of information with you, to save you money, I'm not doing my job as your Realtor.

Here's the article:

Waiting a few extra days or weeks to purchase a home this spring could cost buyers thousands of extra dollars as the office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) implements several changes for loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA).

Coming just weeks before the April 30 deadline for the Home Buyer Tax Credit and just days after the March 31 expiration of the Federal Reserve Board’s mortgage backed securities purchase program (which has kept home loan rates artificially low for over a year), these FHA changes make it even more important to act now to save big.

Here are a few reasons why:

On April 5th, the cost of required up-front mortgage insurance for loans guaranteed by the FHA will increase from 1.75% to 2.25%. For a borrower purchasing a $200,000 home with a $7,000 down payment, the up-front mortgage insurance will increase by $965. Up-front mortgage insurance is typically financed in the final loan amount so the impact to a monthly payment will be minimal but overall, the increase is still borne by the borrower both upfront and monthly.

Later this spring, the amount of money that a seller can return to the buyer from their sale proceeds will be reduced from 6% to 3%. The reduction in these “seller concessions” can increase the amount of cash a buyer will be required to pay at closing by $6,000 for a home purchase of $200,000.

There is only one way to avoid being affected by all of these costly changes that lie ahead –submit all FHA mortgage applications by the last week of March.

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Mike here again: This article is brought to you by the Stephanie Reed Team.  You can reach them at 515.988.7074.  You can reach me at 515.966.4510.  When you are buying your first (or second, or third) home, you need a good team on your side, and that means both a Realtor and a loan officer who care about you and your needs.

If you prefer to email me, you can do so by clicking here.