1664 Cumberland Circle, Gladwin MI - SOLD!

This Great Lot already has Well, Sewer and Electric Installed

SOLD!

Nice camping lot with well, sewer, electric and driveway already installed. Completely set up for your camper! This level lot is just a short walk away from the Berkshire Beach Club and boat launch for Lake Lancer. Enjoy the amenities that Sugar Springs has to offer, such as: Two all sports lakes, several beach clubs, 18 hole golf course, restaurant, heated indoor swimming pool, camp ground, sledding hill, walking trails and more! (Additional adjoining lot #22 available for $3780 more). 

5329 Winchester Way, Gladwin MI - SOLD!

Newly Remodeled Home with Nice Fresh Interior and New Roof

3 Bedrooms, 2 Full Baths

SOLD!!!

Beautifully remodeled home within a short distance from both Lake Lancelot and Lake Lancer. This home features new floors, new windows, new drywall, new cupboards & counter tops, new bathrooms, new roof and much more! It's like walking into a brand new house! This home is "move-in" ready with immediate occupancy! Enjoy the amenities of Sugar Springs with the boat dock area just a short walk away or ride your bike down to the beach with a nice playground for kids! Sugar Springs also has an indoor heated swimming pool, 18 hole golf course, restaurant, pro shop, campground and more!

5641 Lakeside Drive, Gladwin MI - SOLD!

Nice Cottage Located in a Quiet Setting on 2 Lots overlooking the lake.

2 Bedrooms, 1 Bath, 1 Large Shed and 1 Small Shed

SOLD!

Cute, recently updated, two bedroom cottage overlooking McGilvery Lake. The interior and exterior was just recently updated and give that "up north" cottage feel. Watch Bald Eagles fly by in the morning and enjoy beautiful sunsets in the evening. This cottage comes with 2 waterfront lots with over 422 ft of waterfrontage. Located at the very end of a dead end road on a point. Cottage includes appliances and a newer large shed that also doubles as as an outside sitting area with a view of the lake. There is a flowing well and a small frog pond. Enjoy an amazing view of the lake and some fantastic fishing!

80 or 40 Acres Stockwell Road, Harrison MI SOLD!

Great Hunting or Building Parcels with Trails and Blinds!

$119,999 for 80 ACRES

$63,000 to $64,000 for 40 ACRES

SOLD!

Great hunting or building parcel, located on a county maintained road just minutes from town, but still very much out in the country. This property features plenty of trails, several hunting blinds, a camping area and even a seasonal creek on the east side. Lots of pine and other mixes of trees. Plus, plenty of deer sign and several hunting blinds. Also lots of Turkey in the area. This property can also be sold as two 40 acre parcels. 

3729 West Branch Dr, Gladwin MI - SOLD!

You will love this Charming waterfront Home with Finished Walkout Basement.

3 bedrooms, 2 Baths, 2 Car Garage, 3 Car Pole Barn and Shed

SOLD!

WOW! You will fall in love with this immaculate waterfront home on 2.5 lots, overlooking the west branch of beautiful Secord Lake. This gorgeous ranch style home features a full walkout finished basement with plenty of living space and sleeping space, two decks overlooking the lake, main living space overlooking the lake, whirlpool tub, screened in attached garage set up to entertain guests, plenty of windows and door walls on the upper and lower levels to let in the view and the light, SunSetter Awning on the upper deck and so much more! There is even a separate pole barn and shed for lots of extra storage. This home on the water is a MUST SEE on your tour of homes on Secord Lake!

Retirement Without a Mortgage

Planning for retirement is obviously important and many times, an activity plagued by procrastination. Some people plan to have their home paid for by that magical date so they won’t have payments after they retire. It makes sense to eliminate a large recurring expense before they quit working.

One strategy would be to be make regular principal contributions in addition to the payments so that it will eliminate the debt by the target retirement date.

Let’s say that a homeowner refinanced their $200,000 mortgage at 4% last year with the first payment due on May 1, 2012. Under normal amortization, the home would be paid for at the end of the term; 30 years in this example.

By making additional principal contributions with each payment, it would accelerate the payoff on the home. An extra $250.00 a month would pay off the mortgage in 10 years. $524.55 extra with each payment would pay off the loan in 15 years; and $796.23 would pay off the loan in 12 years.

Having a home paid for at retirement has the obvious benefit of no house payment. It is also a substantial asset that could be borrowed against or sold if unanticipated events should occur.

Another strategy might involve purchasing a smaller home now to use as a rental that you intend to live when you retire; see Retirement Home Now.

To make some projections to pay off your own mortgage, use this Equity Accelerator.

 

The Return of the 10 Percent Down Payment - Yahoo! Homes

The Return of the 10 Percent Down Payment - Yahoo! Homes

Remember the 10 percent down payment on a house? After virtually disappearing for years, it's back.

Around the country, some lenders are offering 90 percent financing again on all loan types. For example, San Francisco-based RPM Mortgage resumed offering "piggyback" loans in the first quarter of 2013 after discontinuing them during the height of the credit crisis in late 2007, according to Vice President Julian Hebron. (A piggyback loan enables a home buyer to put only 10 percent down without having to buy mortgage insurance. This is done by getting two loans totaling 90 percent.)

* Click on the Link Above to Real Article...

First Person: We're Paying Off Our Home in Half the Time - Yahoo! Homes

First Person: We're Paying Off Our Home in Half the Time - Yahoo! Homes

My husband and I took out a 30-year mortgage in 2005. Our goal was to pay off our mortgage in half the time. Looking back, it would have been easier to force ourselves into paying our home off early with a 15-year mortgage. However, we are still committed to our goal of paying off our home in half the time.

Read more by clicking on the above link...

When Rates Go Up

Rising interest rates are great if you are renewing a certificate of deposit but not so much when you’re borrowing money. With interest rates on the rise as well as home prices, housing affordability is a concern for would-be homeowners.

A rough rule of thumb is that a person’s or family’s housing should not exceed 28% of their monthly gross income. While rental rates and home prices have been consistently increasing, mortgage rates have been soaring in the past month. In one week, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, they jumped by .5%.

This means that people have to pay a larger percentage of their income for housing unless their incomes have been increasing at an equal pace.  A $200,000 mortgage would be over $100 more per month if closed in July compared to closing at the interest rates available in January of 2013.

If rates increase by .5% by the time you close on the same size mortgage, payments would increase by almost $60 per month. In order to keep the payments the same, a borrower would have to put an additional $11,000 down to lower the mortgage amount. 

Check out how your payment would be affected if interest rates continue to rise.

The National Association of REALTORS® suggests that housing is more affordable now than one year ago. However, with all of the variables in play including inflation that was not addressed in this piece, it is unclear how long conditions will remain “affordable”. 

FHA & VA Assumptions

Not many buyers have assumed a mortgage in the past 25 years. Most people think it was because FHA and VA in the late 80’s began to require that buyers qualify for the assumptions. Not having to qualify for a mortgage would certainly benefit certain buyers. 

If a homeowner must qualify for an assumption like a new loan, they'll generally choose the mortgage with the lower interest rate.  Over the past 25 years, rates have been trending down but it appears that rates have bottomed out and will gradually increase.   As they continue to rise, the lower rates on the FHA and VA loans created in the last few years will appeal to buyers even if they do have to qualify for the assumption.

There are significant advantages to assuming one of these government insured mortgages if the current interest rate on a new loan is higher:

1. Mortgage is further into amortization schedule
2. Lower interest rate loans amortize faster than higher interest rate loans
3. Lower closing costs than a new mortgage
4. Easier to qualify than on a new mortgage
5. No appraisal required

FHA assumptions are only allowed as owner-occupied residents. The borrower must meet current FHA guidelines for borrowers. The total debt ratio including house payment to be assumed cannot exceed 41% of borrowers’ monthly gross income.
VA loans are also assumable with buyer qualification. However, in order for the veteran Seller to have their eligibility reinstated, the buyer must also be a veteran with eligibility.

A 1% difference in the current rates and a lower assumable mortgage rate begins to make it very attractive to assume a mortgage. When the differential becomes even greater, assumptions will become more prevalent than they’ve been in over twenty years.