Is this a Fiction Movie

cheryl-2

By: Cheryl MacCluskey

I woke up this morning thinking about how life as we once knew it has been altered forever. My son who is a senior at Greenwich High School is home schooling, his prom is canceled and we are not sure what is happening about Graduation, not to mention the isolation from his friends and classmates. I use to have road rage driving through Greenwich, now I would welcome the congestion on the roads. I fortunately am able to come into my office and shut my door but who am I kidding, there is no one in the office to be shut off from. I miss my YMCA buddies, my routine of going to the Y every morning, seven days a week, complaining the entire drive there is sorely missed. I now turn my heat up to 90 degrees in the guest room, put on a sweat suit and do online Bikram yoga! Waiting in line at Whole foods for 35 minutes for a bag a lemons. Let’s not get me started about the food situation. I am eating things my stomach has never been introduced to. I don’t even know what I am eating half the time! But, through all of this I have such gratitude for my health, my families’ health and the precious time we are spending together since isolating. We must be thankful for what we do have. It does seem like a science fiction movie doesn’t it? I just wish the movie would finally end!!

What the Coronavirus means to you buying or refinancing a home.

As everyone knows by now the Federal Reserve did take steps in March to keep the money flowing through the mortgage financing system. They have had two rate cuts, which were part of the central banks effort to protect the economy for all the damage the Coronavirus could cause. Rates on conventional and equity lines of credit have fallen since the Feds pledged to buy billions of dollars
worth of mortgage back securities and cut the short-term rate. But, with this said, it is extremely
difficult to put a home on the market during this isolation period. The homes or rentals being shown are usually vacant.

The Feds cut interest rates to help stimulate the economy when the worst of the pandemic passes and people get back to work and are getting a full paycheck again. Lower rates do drive refinances higher and may entice home buyers to start looking by virtual tours. But again, if buyers are hesitant to start looking because of the virus this could also dampen sales. I have seen adjustable-rates, conventional, 15 year and equity lines of credit with lower rates. I have seen many banks pull Jumbo loans and rates for high balance, jumbo and investment properties jump higher. 5/1 arms haven’t changed much and HELCO rates are averaging about .125 percent points lower in mid-April than in mid-February.

What to know if you buying a home.

There is only so much lower mortgage rates can do to stimulate home sales. Sales have declined when going into the spring Market. Mortgage rates are not the difficulty today, it is the lack of inventory and not being able to show homes. There are some positive things you can do given this environment. Secure a mortgage lender and get pre-approved, a letter will give the sellers confidence that you are in fact able to obtain a loan through the pandemic. Let the seller know you could be flexible about the closing date if that is possible.

Let’s just remember we are all in this together. We as a community should be proud of all the strides we have made during the isolation. I wish all of the Greenwich Community Health and well-being in the upcoming month of May.

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