Panama City Real Estate Blog

Summer is coming, and many homeowners are eyeing swimming pools as a way to beat the heat. Fact is, those turquoise sanctuaries add cash value to a home and distinguish it from those who don’t have such a fun lifestyle amenity.

Real-estate experts say putting in a pool will reap rewards in both the short- and long-term. The short-term benefits include an enhanced quality-of-life experience and recreational enjoyment no further than the back yard. The long-term benefits – especially in southern regions where the humidity rises along with the mercury – are the importance the watery asset plays in the purchase of a home.

The majority of homebuyers consider swimming pools to be an upgrade feature, so if one already is installed, it usually is…

Whether your interest lies in gulf or bay view homes, lake or pond there is no shortage of waterview homes and condos in Bay County.

If your preference is for a low maintenance vacation waterview condo, consider any one of the dozens of condominium complexes located up and down the beach.  From full family oriented to specialty, there are resort complexes to suite most vacationers needs.

With an average air temperature of 74 degrees and a water temperature of 70 degrees, the gulf coast in Panama City Beach is an oasis of comfort offering families and singles one of the best "bangs for the buck" vacations. But there's more to life than just vacations, isn't there?

Many vacationers having come to Panama City Beach for years quite often relocate…

Market Update Week Ending April 20, 2012

Thanks to Jackie Fowler at Regions for this mortgage market update

Investors saw little this week to cause much movement in mortgage rates. The Spanish debt auctions received surprising demand, and disappointing US economic results were not weak enough to shift investor sentiment toward safer assets. In the end, mortgage rates finished the week with little change.

In a market looking for positive economic momentum, this week's data provided little encouragement. With the exception of Industrial Production, every measure announced reflected a slowdown in its rate of economic growth. The growth rate of manufacturing activity saw the biggest drop. Retail Sales growth slowed from last month and Industrial…

Recently, the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) made an announcement: Starting April 1 FHA will no longer insure mortgages to borrowers who have an ongoing credit dispute of $1,000 or more on their file.

Consideration for an FHA-backed loan, requires borrowers either:

• Have to pay the remaining balance on the credit dispute or
• Enter into a payment plan, making at least three payments on it.

Any payment plans need to be fully documented and submitted to the FHA, to be included in the debt-to-income ratio for the new mortgage.

Excempt from the FHA’s new rule are:

• Disputed credit accounts from more than two years ago or
• Any accounts related to reported identity theft.

According to FHA, the…

Market Update Week Ending March 23, 2012

Mortgage rates remained volatile this week, mostly due to shifting expectations about future Fed action. Early in the week, mortgage rates continued last week's move higher. Comments from Fed officials helped them recover their losses later in the week, though, and they ended the week slightly lower.

While the Fed does not control mortgage rates directly, it's important to remember that the Fed maintains an enormous influence. Mortgage rates are largely determined by mortgage-backed securities (MBS) prices. One primary reason why MBS have performed so poorly since last week's Fed statement is clear. To boost the economy after the financial crisis, the Fed has taken extreme…

Here's the latest mortgage market update:

Market Update Week Ending February 24, 2012

The Greek bailout package was passed on Monday as expected, and there was little reaction in US markets. Mixed US economic data also had little influence. Strong Treasury auctions were the biggest factor for mortgage rates this week, and rates ended the week a little lower.

Investors are beginning to focus on the price of oil. Concerns about Iran have pushed oil prices up to the highest level in nine months. Higher energy prices are bad for consumers and the economy. Since higher oil prices have two opposite effects on…

Thanks to Jackie Fowler Mortgage Loan Originator at Regions Mortgage for this update

Increased concerns about Europe helped mortgage rates improve this week, although the impact of the recently passed extension to the payroll tax reduction is beginning to push up mortgage rates for certain loans (discussed below).

The news from Europe was mostly negative this week. Economic growth in Germany was slower than expected. Negotiations on restructuring Greek debt did not progress as planned, increasing the risk of default. S&P is downgrading the debt of several European countries, including France. Finally, the European Central Bank (ECB) provided no relief, as it gave no indication that it would increase the level of aid available to troubled…

All across the country buyers are attempting to "snatch" up foreclosures, short sales and REO properties as if these property types were going away.

What's most interesting is many who are new to these types of properties don't really understand what they may be getting into.

Example Foreclosure - Many foreclosures are due to the owner not being able to make their mortgage payments so the bank repossess the home and offers to allow a real estate agent to sell it for them.

Issue? - Thank about it - if the owner wasn't able to pay the mortgage, how up to date do yoiu think the maintenance on the house is?  Many foreclosure properties come with significant damage due to deferred repairs and maintenance.  If you really want to purchase a foreclosure,…