Announcing the Fall Events Lineup

Now that fall is here, we have some really great events coming up that we're excited to see you at. We've also got a new addition to the team that we'd like you to meet.

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We have some really fun and exciting things happening right now, and some great events planned for the fall.

First, I'm happy to introduce Michelle Soquet, our new executive assistant and customer care specialist. She's awesome and thrilled to be here.

Additionally, we have lots of great inventory right now that we think you should check out from investment properties at $50,000 to a high-end contemporary home at $650,000.

As for events, we're starting with "Have a Good Night" at Gilroy's on October 12th from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. We're hosting this event with food and live music–hopefully we'll get nice some weather to enjoy the patio!

We're really excited to see you at these events!

On October 20th, we'll have a really fun Trunk or Treat event here at the office to get ready for Halloween. Get the kids dressed up and come get some candy with us!

We're also bringing back the popular event "Gather the Girls" on November 3rd with Meghan Blum Interiors. You can start your Christmas shopping here; we'll have local vendors and local artists.

Finally, we want you to save the date for our third annual Reindeer Day. Last year, we had 800 people show up, so we'll have VIP tickets for our clients and contacts so you won't have to wait in line.

We're really excited for these events! If you have any questions in the meantime, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to seeing you soon!

How to Navigate the Des Moines Market

It’s clear that our market has shifted a bit lately, but this is something we predicted. Here’s how to navigate our market on both the buying and selling side.

Today I’m joined by David Bell with Gershman Mortgage to talk a little bit about the market in terms of housing inventory and financing.

In regard to housing, the market has definitely slowed down quite a bit since spring. On David’s end, he’s seeing the market change along with the interest rates. The Federal Reserve has hinted toward an increase in interest rates, and that hint itself could cause rates to go up right from the get-go.

We’re seeing some of these changes on the housing market as well. We’ve been predicting these changes for about the last 12 to 18 months, and July of this year was the first month where we saw these numbers shift. Our inventory levels are up and our sales are coming down, so it’s clear that the market is indeed changing.

As far as financing in the market goes, the biggest change that David has seen so far has been some of the modifications to the USDA program. Though the USDA’s upfront fee has been 2.75% up to this point, they’re planning on reducing it to 1%. In addition, their monthly guarantee fee is set to decrease from .5% to .35%, which will reduce monthly payments for homeowners. These changes will make things much easier for homeowners, especially those looking to buy homes in small, rural communities with populations below 20,000.

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Be Johnny-on-the-spot with the loan officers.

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What should you do if you’re thinking of selling your home? One warning I’ll give you is that you will have increased competition on the market. For this reason, we’ll want to make sure that the home shows well and that it’s priced right initially. For those that are considering moving within the next one to two years, the forecast that we’re seeing is that home values are going to decrease. This is why if you’re considering selling, it’s important to get your home listed as soon as possible.

On the buyer side, David advises having all documents ready to hand in to your loan provider in order to streamline the process. Loan officers will generally ask for things like W-2s, paystubs, and tax returns up front to process your initial file, but once your loan goes into underwriting, you’ll be asked for additional documentation. Be ready for all of this because the sooner you get all of these things in, the sooner you’ll be cleared, and the sooner you can close on the home.

If you have any other questions about the mortgage process, give David a call at 515-330-2930 and as always, please give me a call or send me an email with any questions about anything real estate-related. I’d be happy to help you!

How Betsy Sarcone helped us sell our home quickly so we could purchase the home we wanted.

"We were happy with what we found. We found something we liked in our price range and area. We were able to get it very quickly and we were able to sell our townhouse very quickly also. And I know we were, well we sold our townhouse pretty quickly so we could get the new house because there were other buyers that were wanting the new house. Then our first buyer ended up cancelling the agreement on the townhouse, so we had to re-list our townhouse for sale in order to get the new house, so we had to sell it pretty quickly. She was able to find buyers for us to keep the new house."

-Amy Pille