Be Blessed!

Title Junction wish you and yours a blessed Easter weekend!

7 Good Reasons To Refinance

Does a new home loan make sense?

There are at least seven reasons to refinance a mortgage. You probably can think of the first one -- to get a lower mortgage rate.

The average interest rate on an outstanding mortgage at the beginning of 2012 was 5.098 percent, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. However, lenders today are offering rates well below that benchmark, making a refinance a no-brainer for many.

But low rates are not the only motive nowadays, here are some more good reasons to consider to refinance.

Refi for a lower rate

The No. 1 reason to refi is to get a lower mortgage rate. Despite sinking rates, a lot of people haven't refinanced.

Many homeowners would like to refinance but can't because they have little or no equity due to falling home values, too many can't refi for this reason.

Convert an ARM

Stability-hungry borrowers are ditching adjustable-rate mortgages and refinancing into fixed-rate loans.

Other borrowers swing from one hybrid ARM to another. Even though the rates were about to adjust downward, they got new 5/1 ARMs to extend low rates another five years.

Get a mortgage on a paid-off house

This isn't, technically, a refi, but it's close. Mortgage-free homeowners sometimes get mortgages to put cash in their pockets.

They could also take out a mortgage on a paid-off property to start a business or for other reasons.

Cash out to consolidate debt

When house prices were rising by 10 percent or more a year, millions of borrowers got cash-out refinances. They refinanced for more than they owed, got cash, and spent or invested it.

The cash-out refi craze ended when the housing bust began. But there are still a few cash-out refis.

Cash out to buy other property

Refinancing to buy property can bring up unexpected tax and mortgage underwriting issues. A lot depends upon how the refinanced house and the new property will be used.

For example, which property will be the primary residence? Will the other property be rented out? Those are issues for a financial adviser or tax professional to untangle.

Consolidate two mortgages

Some homeowners want to combine their first mortgage with the home equity line of credit.

Why get rid of a loan with such a low rate? Because they're worried if five years from now, what if that rate jumps up to 11, 12, or 13 percent!

Address family matters

Divorces often lead to refi's as a means of removing the absent former spouse from the note.

To read more about other mortgage and refinance stories go to Bankrate.com

It's PI(E) DAY!

Yes, today all mathematicians around the world will be celebrating...but whether they choose to eat PIE is another story!! 

For those who don't know π, it is the ratio of circumference to diameter of a circle. Also known as, 3.14.....hence the date attached to it March 14th (3/14). 

Click HERE, to see many ways to celebrate this day. From sending an ecard to watching a video with dominoes. 

Any way you SLICE it, whether it be pi or PIE....ENJOY THE DAY!!!

All Things Title

How much does Title Insurance cost?

The one-time premium is directly related to the value of your home. Typically, it is less expensive than your annual auto insurance. It is a one-time only expense, paid when you purchase your home. Yet it continues to provide complete coverage for as long as you or your heirs own the property.

Do I need Title Insurance?
Most definitely! Title insurance is a means of protecting yourself from financial loss in the event that problems develop regarding the rights to ownership of your property. There may be hidden title defects that even the most careful title search will not reveal. In addition to protection from financial loss, title insurance pays the cost of defending against any covered claim.

Why Do You Need It?
Buying a new home is one of life's most gratifying experiences. As you approach the big day of closing, however, all the details can be a little overwhelming. You might easily overlook the single most important step in the entire process -- the purchase of Title Insurance on the wonderful new home of yours.

Have more questions about Title Insurance? Give Title Junction a call, we will be glad to help in anyway we can! (239)415-6574

Images Are Dominating Social Media!

How? By all the new Apps out there...here are FOUR that are topping the list! And they are all FREE!

SNAPCHAT ~ available for both iPhone and Android

It is a new way to share moments with friends. Snap away...add a caption and then hit send! Your friends receive it, view it and then SNAP it disappears!

The users are mostly young teens, sending about 60 million images and videos daily!

GIFBOOM ~ available for both iPhone and Android

Express yourself IN MOTION! Use the app to take a series of pictures, add some effects, texts and comments. Then share away!

GIFs have become a stable on sites like Tumblr.  It takes 30 smart-phone pics in rapid succession and lets users pic which ones to animate and share!

VINE ~ available ONLY for iPhone

It is the best way to see and share life IN MOTION! Create short, beautiful, looping videos in a simple and fun way for your friends and family to see.

This app is backed by social-networking giant Twitter! It is still in it's baby stage as it only came out at the end of January 2013!

INSTAGRAM ~ available for both iPhone and Android

It's a fast, beautiful and fun way to share your photos!

Snap a pic, choose a filter to transform it's look and feel, then post! Then you have the option to share to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr too!

5 Tips To Get A Good Deal On A Foreclosure

In a market flooded with foreclosures, homebuyers can find steals easily. Or that's what many of them think until they begin searching. Soon, they learn that only savvy buyers get the best deals.

Understanding how banks negotiate foreclosure deals is a must if you want to buy low in today's market.

Here are five secrets every homebuyer must know when shopping for a foreclosed home.

Don't make lowball offers on just-listed properties

It's useless to make lowball offers on bank-owned houses that have been on the market for only a few days, says John Thompson, a Realtor at Samson Realty in Chantilly, Va.

"When you haven't had opportunity to expose your property to the marketplace long enough, you would be reluctant to take a lowball offer," Thompson says. "Most of the banks are aggressive with their pricing, but they are not going to give the properties away."

Asset management companies handle sales for banks. These companies price the foreclosed homes close to what they think the properties are worth. And they are given guidelines that stipulate how much of a reduction -- if any -- they are allowed to give during a specific period.

The guidelines vary. Normally banks are more reluctant to lower the price on properties that have been for sale for less than 90 days, says Tatiana Moody, a Realtor who specializes in distressed properties in Las Vegas.

Thompson says that in Virginia he has observed that some banks review unsold listings and consider price reductions every 21 to 31 days.

That doesn't mean you should sit and wait for the lender to reduce the price or accept a lower offer, unless you find the house overpriced. In that case, wait and check back in a few months to see if it's still for sale. If it is, most likely, the price will be reduced.

Avoid bidding wars

Many agents list bank-owned houses for less than they are worth to grab buyers' attention and attract multiple offers. Once potential buyers are emotionally attached, bidding wars begin.

Don't fall for the gambit.

Do your homework to find out what the property is really worth based on what comparable homes in that area have recently sold for.

"Know what the property is worth and know what you can afford," before you engage in a bidding war, says Jeff Richardson, a Realtor at Alliance Bay Realty in San Mateo, Calif. "You don't want to overpay."

Thompson says, "It's not uncommon for a foreclosure to come on the market for $150,000, get 12 or 15 offers and sell for $175,000."

In some cases, even when the property sells for more than the listing price, it may still be a bargain. That's why it's so important to ask your agent to do a market analysis to determine the house's estimated value.

"I've seen properties sold -- even to investors -- and I've said, 'I can't believe they paid that much for this place,'" Thompson says. "It wasn't worth it. That's why being educated on the market and being able to control yourself and not get emotional helps you make a good financial decision."

Do your research and be ready to jump on a bargain

Borrow cash if you can

Clean offers, bigger deposits get priority

Read the rest of these tips HERE

Make Google Fall in Love with You, Again

With the Web technology constantly changing, you, in turn, have to keep up with it. For example, Google recently altered the way it indexes Web sites, which turned much of the predictable wisdom regarding search on its head.

1) Create, don’t duplicate. One of the biggest changes relates to identical content. In short, BE ORIGINAL. “Google aims to return authoritative relevant results,” says Jesse Leimgruber, certified Google analyst and SEO pro at Rank Executives. “They now remove sites that are not authoritative, post duplicate content, and fail to add value to users. Their recent ‘Panda’ update was designed to improve search experience by demoting low-quality sites that lack useful and original content.” So while sharing that awe-inspiring article you found on the Web will hold value in social media, i.e. Facebook and Twitter, it won’t aid in boosting your Google ranking. It can actually hurt your site’s rankings. So in a nut shell, keep it original when it comes to your blog and content on your business Web site.

2) Say it well. Another way to appeal to Google love is having good grammar. “Proper sentence and paragraph construction is important,” says computer programmer John Nelson. “Bad grammar will result in Google ranking you lower than someone writing a similar article with good grammar.”

3) Link, link, link. Getting other respected, quality sites to link to your site will improve your association with Google too. In reaping the benefits of this, why not link to another real estate agent’s site (or your industry specific businesses) in another city or state? Trust me, Google will appreciate your sharing.

4) Update frequently. Frequently updating your business web site or your blogs is yet another great opportunity for you to boost your ranking within Google. And what is even better, to do this is absolutely FREE; all it takes is a little bit of time on your end. Google is constantly crawling the Web to find changes that sites have made, so the more you refresh the content on your site, the better your search rankings will be with them.

5) Stay relevant. Keep target audiences’ demands in mind: If no one is searching for what you’re writing about, the traffic you get on your blog might be very slow. Are there exciting things happening in your area? If so, feature it to bring an audience to your site.  By doing this, you’ll boost your rank while targeting your preferred audience, basically hitting two birds with one stone!

So if you want to get Google to swoon for your blog or site, keep your content fresh, exciting and especially new. Write about what your audience wants to know and avoid duplicating content, and you’ll be on your way to a lasting love affair.

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