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 borro...

Buying a home is euphoric and scary. On one hand, you are moving into a property you own. On the other, you are committing to the repayment of a lot of money. How to Avoid Buyer’s Remorse Buying a property can throw your emotions all over the place. First, you are ecstatic when the seller agrees to your offer. Soon thereafter, you start worrying about the price, potential problems and the commitment you have made to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars over the next 10, 15 or 30 years. It can be a monstrous rollercoaster for your emotions. You need not have buyer’s remorse. The first issue giving rise to remorse is almost always the purchase price. If it makes you feel any better, the seller almost always thinks they should have asked for more. In truth, the agreed upon price is almost always pretty fair if you obtain a mortgage loan. The lender is not going to give you a loan well in excess of the value of the home, so you can rest assured you probably got a fair price. Yes, you...

As most of you are aware, if you watch or read our local news, that Lee County is being hit by multiple homicides. Having a sister being prior law enforcement and then myself, along with my parents being in the real estate industry, we have seen how crime rates can affect many different aspects within several industries in our county. What I would like to know is: 1) Have you started seeing an affect in your business due to the extreme violence? 2) If you have, what are they or what have you heard? 3) What do you think we, as a community, can do to help bring positiveness BACK into our county?