Labor Day Weekend Fun on the Peninsula
For those of you staying home this Labor Day weekend and enjoy eating great food, here are two great events going on you may want to check out… I have attached flyers to the events and a coupon for admission to the Belmont Greek Festival. Enjoy your Labor Day Weekend!
Belmont Greek Festival
Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 3-5
With the aroma of luscious barbecued lamb and the strains of upbeat bouzouki music, the 41st Annual Belmont Greek Festival swirls into the mid-Peninsula on Labor Day weekend, Saturday, September 3, through Monday, September 5, at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Cross, 900 Alameda de las Pulgas (corner of Ralston Avenue), in Belmont.
The three-day extravaganza is expected to draw nearly 20,000 visitors for the homemade Greek meals, specially-prepared desserts, nonstop entertainment and fun children’s amusement area, according to festival organizers.
“We want our guests to sample Greek hospitality at its best,” said Festival Co-chairman Gary Brenner.
“When Greeks entertain, they put out their finest of everything, and first and foremost, that means their best cooking,” Brenner said, “which means a lot of labor and a lot of love.” Read more
What is a Reverse Mortgage?
A reverse mortgage is a special type of loan made to older homeowners to enable them to convert the equity in their home to cash to finance living expenses, home improvements, in home health care, or other needs.
With a reverse mortgage, the payment stream is “reversed.” That is, payments are made by the lender to the borrower, rather than monthly repayments by the borrower to the lender, as occurs with a regular home purchase mortgage.
A reverse mortgage is a sophisticated financial planning tool that enables seniors to stay in their home or “age in place” and maintain or improve their standard of living without taking on a monthly mortgage payment. The process of obtaining a reverse mortgage involves a number of different steps.
The first most widely available reverse mortgage in the United States was the federally insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), which was authorized in 1987.
A reverse mortgage is different from a home equity loan or line of credit, which many banks and thrifts offer. With a home equity loan or line of credit, an applicant must meet certain income and credit requirements, begin monthly repayments immediately, and the home can have an existing first mortgage on it. In addition, there is no restriction on the age of borrowers. Read more
Good News Finally!!! – New Energy Rebates
Most of us living in San Mateo County are living in homes forty or fifty years old. Older homes are always in need of some repairs or upgrading. I recently heard that San Mateo County is announcing on Monday that they will match some of PG&E’s energy rebates. You can get up to $8000 in rebates. Not sure if you have to rebuild the entire home to get $8000 but here is the info.
These will double the currently offered rebates. Some upgrades might even qualify for Federal tax Credits. I have read there is even low cost financing with income qualifications.
Attic insulation, furnace and water heater replacement, roof, solar energy and more may qualify. It is certainly worthwhile to look into if you are considering doing some work.
Follow the links for additional information.
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=164559&title=Homeowners%20eligible%20for%20big%20energy%20rebates
https://energyupgradeca.org/county/san_mateo/action_plans/property_type
ATTEND AN UPCOMING WORKSHOP:
San Bruno – Tuesday, August 23 rd 7-8:30 p.m.
Burlingame – Wednesday, August 24th 7-8:30 p.m.
Half Moon Bay – Wednesday, September 14th 7-8:30 p.m.
San Carlos – Wednesday, September 28th 7-8:30 p.m.
Lee Ginsburg
www.leesellsmore.com
“It is Better to Own Real Estate Than Wait To Own Real Estate”
Split MI: A great alternative to FHA mortgage insurance
With the increasing costs of FHA mortgage insurance, it is nice to see that private mortgage insurance companies have been offering new alternatives. Split MI offers the option for lower mortgage insurance factors in exchange for an upfront fee much like FHA. The program requires 720 credit scores, and 5% down for loans at or below $417k and 10% down for loan amounts to $729,750.
Split MI becomes even more attractive for borrowers with higher ficos and larger loan amounts. It is possible to get monthly mortgage insurance factors down to 0.22%. This is great news, because FHA “annual premiums” have increased from 0.55% to 1.15% in one year!
Unlike FHA, you are not required to pay private mortgage insurance for 5 years. Every lender has its own rules, but most have processes that allow you to petition for mortgage insurance removal when home prices rebound. This is not the case with FHA. FHA mortgage insurance is required until the principal balance reaches 78% of the original purchase price.
I’ve put this table together to show you some different MI options with today’s rates. You can see here that Split MI can save you a lot of cash.
| Monthly MI | Split MI | FHA | |
| First Loan Amount | $450,000 | $450,000 | $454,500 |
| First Note Rate | 4.5% | 4.5% | 4.25% |
| LTV | 90% | 90% | 90% |
| MI Premium Rate | 0.74% | 0.43% | 1.05% |
| Monthly MI Payment Year 1 | $278 | $161 | $394 |
| Monthly P&I Payment Year 1 (First Mortgage) | $2,280 | $2,280 | $2,236 |
| Total Monthly Payment Year 1 | $2,558 | $2,441 | $2,630 |
| Monthly Savings Or Loss | $0 | $116 | ($72) |
| MI Cancellation Eligibility Month | 45 | 45 | 60 |
| Total Interest Paid During 10 Years | $184,013 | $184,013 | $174,874 |
| Total MI Paid During 10 Years | $12,488 | $11,756 | $23,006 |
| Principal Reduction | $89,598 | $89,598 | $93,430 |
Jay Sondhi
Guarantee Mortgage
http://www.jaysondhi.com/
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