Buyer Competition
Our Bay Area economy is on the rise again. Many investors are making an attempt to pick up on some of this terrific property at deeply discounted prices. It is a truly a buyer's market with so many homes hitting the marketplace at prices that we have not seen in years. We are about to witness a new group of millionaires with these prices. It seems that just about anyone can now afford one of these homes. Is this going to give rise to working class investors?
There are a lot of bay area homeowners who are interested in these homes but is picking them up at these low prices as easy as it seems? Not really, big investors are coming in with their big credit and bank accounts and swooping these up as fast as they hit the market. They have the assets and the contacts to make prearranged agreements and most of the really great bay area real estate that is about to or already has gone into foreclosure may already be spoken for.
There are a few things you can do to tilt that scale in your favor. It mainly begins with your credit score. Lenders are still in the business of making money from interest as far as I can tell. At this stage of the real estate game, they are skeptical about offering loans to those with less than perfect credit. However, if your credit score is acceptable, then you pose much less risk to them and they are happy to finance a home for you. They will a lot more money making loans on Bay Area real estate that they have in their posession than they would from selling it at a discount to investors.
Another thing that can work in your favor is having collateral to back up the loan. If you own another piece of real estate that you are able to collateralize on, you shouldn't have any problems getting a new loan. It doesn't matter if it is Bay Area real estate or a summer home in Texas, as long as the equity value is there you have something to work with.
The key here is to work on your credit rating. One way you can do that is to pay off a piece of real estate you already own. This can essentially take care of both of your goals at one time. Bay area investors know this and they will work the system any way they can to get the advantage over you in an attempt to snag this property out from under you. Even if you have to hire the services of a financial credit expert. If you find that you are unable to pay off your secondary real estate, refinancing it for a lower mortgage payment is another option. Although it is not advantageous as paying it off, you will still have a better chance at qualifying for a new loan by giving you more available monthly income. It is well worth your time and money to get your hands on Bay Area real estate at these prices so don't hesitate to look into all of your options.
