Mortgage Fraud

If you have been looking for condo's in Dorchester, there is an illegal activity that you are or will become very familiar with; Mortgage Fraud. It starts numerous ways, but always ends bad.

You might see condos for under $100k and think that might be a great deal. And it might be for someone. But usually, condos in that price range are priced that low because they cannot be financed because there is no association. One thing to remember to consider when purchasing a condo is the health of the association. Who cares if the price is $89,000 when you are the sole owner-occupant and paying all of the common expenses and repairs?

There are certainly some buyers that these deals were made for. What you need to do as a buyer is figure out what is important to you and speak with someone familiar with the process.

For more information on mortgage fraud, visit the FBI's website on mortgage fraud.

Freddie Mac Economic and Housing Market Outlook

For all those number junkies out there. I would take this with a grain of salt, knowing that they missed the boat entirely on insuring mortgage-backed securites, but there are some interesting speculations. What catches my eye is the prediction of 30 year fixed rates hitting 7% in Q4 of 2009.

See the full pdf chart here.

New place to eat - Dot2Dot Cafe

It's not really so new, but they opened earlier this year in the spring and I have just made it around to visiting a few times for breakfast. I have become a big fan of theirs, you can too by visiting them on Dorchester Ave in the St. Marks's area.

They have a great quality menu with breakfast basics made with love! I am a big fan of the breakfast sandwich on homemade foccacia bread. The best part of the sandwich is the yolk is still sort of runny. MMMM... The home brewed iced tea is delicious too!

There are so many great places to eat in Dorchester that I have found that I rarely leave town. It's starting to become a running joke with friends and co-workers that I need to spread my horizons a bit. But great food in walking distance? I say pishah!

Visit them in person or on the web at www.dot2dotcafe.com.

OK, OK, I know it's been a while

This summer has been very busy for me and I know that shouldn't be an excuse, but it is. And I have back burnered the blog for long enough.

So, July has been relatively quiet on the buyer side of things as many have been on vacation. We have been super busy with rentals we have listed some more properties including a new development in Harrison Point. A beautiful, newly-constructed development with a pool!

I'll blog about that in a few days. But first, I need to comment on the status of the Dorchester condo market. In my personal opinion, it stinks!

There still are quite a few units on the market, but there is very little to get excited about. Then there are the dogs: Units that aren't bad and in decent areas, but the owners just can't seem to get the price right and the foreclosures/short sales that nobody wants.

This bodes well for sellers of decent units that have the ability to price it right to start.

Here are some stats that I find very interesting:
On May 3rd there were 349 units on the market with a average market time of 130 days.
Today, August 3rd there are only 283 units with an average market time of 120 days.
I think sellers that can are holdin'em. The Kenny Rogers song definitely applies in this market.

From quickly looking, this is the lowest inventory we've had in the past year, couple that with buyers are back from vacation, it is making it a bit more competitive in making/accepting offers end of things. On the flip side, once the offer is in and accepted, financing it is becoming an exercise in futility. It is getting harder and harder to close deals because of financing.

My best advice is to work with a mortgage professional and real estate agent who know the right questions to ask, before you get in too deep in a sale and find out you can't close.