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What Costa Mesa Homebuyers Hope the Future Brings

As Costa Mesa homebuyers arrive at their final choice, it’s impossible to ignore how greatly their decision will influence their future. Five, ten, twenty—or more— years from now, the purchase will likely have shaped a lot of what’s to come. Buying a home in Costa Mesa at this point in time may be seen to have been a great move for the family. Or not. It’s a truism that puts most homebuyers in a thoughtful state of mind.

A prime facet of what will come to be seen as a successful purchase is whether it will later be seen as a financially shrewd decision. On that score, today’s Costa Mesa buyers have little to worry about—particularly if they will be financing with a typical 30-year home mortgage. Everyone knows that home loan interest rates are low right now—but the real impact of how that fact will actually play out is informative.

The average interest rate over the past half-century is 7.75%, according to Freddie Mac’s official records in this report. By decade, that breaks down as—
1970s: 9.35% 1980s: 12.34% 1990s: 7.91% 2000s: 5.10% 2010s: 4.03%

For the average homebuyer during the past 50 years, that means a typical monthly payment for a $300,000 mortgage has been (principal and interest only) $2,149. Contrast that today’s buyer—when offered a 3.75% home loan, the monthly P&I will be only $1,389. Over the course of a 30-year loan, that’s a difference that works out to a savings of more than $273,600!

Back in the ‘80s, when interest rates were ballooning, buyers could only shake their heads when they heard stories about earlier generations who had financed their homes for what seemed like pennies. Those earlier mortgagees might as well have been lottery winners. It’s no stretch to foresee that years from now, future buyers facing historically average (or worse) rates may hear what today’s buyers are being offered and think it’s some wild exaggeration.

Your own envy-worthy home purchase begins with finding the right Costa Mesa home—one you’ll enjoy living in for years to come. Get started by giving us a call!

We are built on a philosophy of Heritage & Hustle. The L3 is a full service real estate agency with a regional office located in the heart of #CostaMesa, offering a wide-array of custom services to meet their clients’ needs with roots in the community since 1976. It’s L3 mission is to provide trusted, convenient, responsive service to ensure clients enjoy their real estate experience. The L3 was originally formed to offer personal, concierge-level service as an alternative to the large, nationally based real estate companies. From its small beginnings of only two employees, The L3 has grown to a full staff of 25 serving over 300 clients a year. The L3 is not limited to serving just its clients; it is also committed to serving the community. Not only has The L3 donated hundreds of hours to many area charities, they have also received the prestige of being named one of the #toprealestatecompaniesinCostaMesa If you’re interested in #buyingorsellinginOrangeCounty, turn to the experts. Turn to The L3 and let them help you make your real estate buying or selling dreams come true. For more information or to get started on finding or selling your home contact The L3 today at 714-444-4663 or email us at info@thel3.com

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Buying a Home this Spring: Bright Spots and Challenges

On Thursday, USA Today published a view of what many of this spring’s first-timers have encountered in their inaugural home-buying ventures. Our own Costa Mesa trends don’t precisely match those tapped by their research—but the themes cited in the national press are familiar here, too.

Although the headline emphasized the difficulties those buying a home for the first time may encounter (“3 Challenges Facing First-Time Homebuyers This Spring”), elsewhere in the piece, some bright spots were acknowledged. For Costa Mesa readers inclined toward a ‘glass-half-full’ point of view, they tend to balance out the familiar challenges.

Bright Spots:
• According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, affordability has advanced with the easing of 30-year fixed mortgages to a national average of 4.42%.
• Inventory “has loosened up slightly.” This is a relative finding since the U.S. still lags in properties for sale (at least compared with the historical norm).
• Prices. Price growth has slowed “and leveled off” according to the MBA.
• Spring buying. Nationally, good, old fashioned negotiations have replaced the frenzied bidding wars of last year. But USA Today isn’t calling this spring a buyer’s market—only one characterized by fewer competing offers.

Challenges:
• Home prices. Prices are still relatively high—especially for those buying a home for the first time. Since they can’t count on the equity built by their current property, scrambling for a substantial down payment can be a barrier.
• Securing a loan. In March, the FHA said that it is tightening its rules for high-risk mortgages. As is generally the case, this can provide a hurdle for first-timers.
• Inventory is still tight. Some finger-pointing is aimed at the home construction industry, which is only now rebounding from the recession-spawned falloff in new home starts. Entry-level housing ($200,000 and less) is the sector hit hardest.

Buying a home in Costa Mesa may take more determination for first timers—but that doesn’t mean it isn’t well worth the effort. Whether you are a first-timer or a long-time homeowner, give me a call for an in-depth discussion of the possibilities presented by this spring’s many offerings!

We are built on a philosophy of Heritage & Hustle L3 is a full service real estate agency with a regional office located in the heart of #CostaMesa, offering a wide-array of custom services to meet their clients’ needs with roots in the community since 1976. It’s L3 mission to provide trusted, convenient, responsive service to ensure clients enjoy their real estate experience. L3 was originally formed to offer personal, concierge-level service as an alternative to the large, nationally based real estate companies. From its small beginnings of only two employees, L3 has grown to a full staff of 20 serving over 300 clients a year. L3 is not limited to serving just its clients; it is also committed to serving the community. Not only has L3 donated hundreds of hours to many area charities, they have also received the prestige of being named one of the #toprealestatecompaniesinCostaMesa If you’re interested in #buyingorsellinginOrangeCounty, turn to the experts. Turn to L3 and let them help you make your real estate buying or selling dreams come true. For more information or to get started on finding or selling your home contact L3 today at 714-444-4663 or email us at info@thel3.com

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After Halloween, Buying a Home in Costa Mesa isn’t So Scary!

While we’re still in Halloween Scary Things mode, we might as well address the fear factor when it comes to buying Costa Mesa homes. First-time Costa Mesa home buyers aren’t the only ones who experience at least some degree of trepidation as they go about such a major purchase. The prospect of buying a home can be so intimidating that putting it off seems the easiest course of action (actually, inaction). The problem is that if that delay happens to fall during a period of rising home prices or mortgage rates¬, it’s going to seem self-defeating in retrospect.
But unlike the scary Halloween decorations that are being crated up until next year, the fears that accompany home buying are reality-based. When you look up “home buying top fears” you come up with a remarkably consistent million and a half commentaries.
Here are 5 hobgoblins that contend for the honor of being the most Universal Home-Buying Fears—issues most likely to haunt people as they go about buying a home in Costa Mesa:

1. Money. It’s not just the unusual number of zeros that buying a home involves, it’s also the scary thought that maybe the property is overpriced (in other words, that you are the only one who will ever be in love with the place enough to pay $xxx,xxx). The mortgage lender’s loan approval letter can shoo away this goblin.
2. Interest rates. As home loan interest rates rise, it’s rational to fear that you won’t find a suitable home before rates drive the monthly payment number out of range. As soon as the right Costa Mesa home is located and rates are locked, this witch flies off into the night.
3. Condition surprises. This fear can wake anyone up in the middle of the night: what if the inspection doesn’t uncover major issues–but they show up later? This fear may be rational, but it’s seldom realized. It’s usually banished by Father Time.
4. The neighborhood. What if the neighbors turn out to be an unfriendly lot—or are just plain weirdos? The cure for this is as simple as chatting with some folks on the block, making some shopping forays at local Costa Mesa stores. Most of us have our own reliable built-in antennas that alert us to places that make us uncomfortable.
5. It’s safer to rent. Especially for first-timers, this scary gremlin may be the most persistent of the five because it’s self-inflicted. In fact, it’s just another cloak that Fear of the Unknown wears¬—so it’s particularly difficult to throw off. The best cure is to remember that everyone who has ever bought a home in Costa Mesa has eventually reached the opposite conclusion. Ask them, and they’ll tell you it’s one they don’t regret.
Buying a home can be scary at first, but one very reassuring factor is that you don’t have to go it alone. Just give me a call!