Latinos fastest-growing minority in US

From  US Census Report as of July 1, 2004 printed in the SF Examiner:

- 1 in 7 people in United States is Latino/Hispanic

- It is estimated that there are 41.3 million Latinos in the US

 

And of course this has tremendous impact on the real estate market.

 

There are many issues that need attention for the Lation Home Buyer, including:

- Overcoming the high prices of homes. They simply have become too expensive in many urban areas.  Without fancy, creative, and sometimes confusing loan programs, most home buyers and Latinos in particular cannot afford to enter the market.

 

- Access to capital. There has to be more loan programs that are competitive and are alternative to the "FICO" score mentally.  We need more loan programs that can take Tax Payer ID Number versus Social Security numbers, alternative trade lines versus FICO Scores, to buy in groups versus a single qualifying person.

 

- Need for good information.  The Latino Home Buyer needs "truthful" information and a team of professional that helps the LatinoHomeBuyer rather than take advantage of her/him.

 

 

 

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JOHN LIRA,
BayDirect Realty,
Mobile: 415.609.3331,Fax. 415.824.1866
Office: 415.824.4878
http://www.BayDirect.com
3405 Cesar Chavez St. #A
San Francisco, CA 94110
(corner of Mission St)

Becareful with the hype of interest only loans

As a real estate broker, I see that a lot of my buyers are getting homes with INTEREST ONLY payments. Although it is explained to them what this means, a lot of them come back months later to have me explain why their mortgage balance isn't going down and ask if they can refinance to get a lower "payment."

 

Well, interest only is a great investment loan vehicle if you know how to use.  But it is a sure path to becoming a "mortgage nightmare" if not understood.

 

For a lot us, Latino or not, we want to own our home free and clear eventually.  But after a great sales job by lenders, the Latino buyer accepts an interest, prepayment penalty, variable loan and never really understands it implications.  On the other hand, without these loans a typical (latino) home buyer will not qualify. So it comes down to being practical and realistic in terms of homeownership.

 

So set up your priorities, and if the overriding goal is to own your home then often the comprise is an interest only loan in order to have the minimum mortgage payment. This is especially true in the San Francisco Bay Area.  But a buyer also has to under that that the principal will not go down, and that most likely when she refinances the then current rates will be higher.

 

So a buyer should look at the worst case scenario: WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM INTEREST RATE THE MY LOAN CAN HAVE(the caps), and see if they can still afford the mortgage, or would be willing to consider selling options.

 

 

 

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