Golden Real Estate – Page 36

Higher Loan Limits and Lower Rates Improve Affordability for Homebuyers

By JIM SMITH, Realtor

Both the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have been in the headlines in the past couple weeks with their respective announcements that they will be raising mortgage loan limits for 2021. I exchanged emails with Jaxzann Riggs, owner of The Mortgage Network in Denver, to learn more about loan limits and what their implications are for potential purchasers. Here’s what I learned from her.

Although loan limits have been around for many years for both conventional loans (loans that conform to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s loan standards) and FHA loans, (loans insured against default by the Federal government) the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008 has largely shaped how we know them today. The 2008 act established a base loan limit of $417,000 for conventional loans and, due to the declining price trend in the real estate market at the time, also included a mandate that this baseline limit would not increase until prices rose to previous levels. In 2016, FHFA increased loan limits for the first time in ten years, and they have increased every year since. HERA also mandated that FHA set loan limits at 115% of area median house prices, with a floor and ceiling on both limits.

2021 will see conventional loan limits for single-unit properties increase from $510,400 to $548,250 as a baseline. High-cost areas (which always included places like Aspen and Boulder, but now also includes the metro area) have a maximum loan limit that is a multiple of the area’s median home value, up to 150% of the baseline. Denver, Jefferson, Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, and Douglas counties will all be seeing an increase from $575,000 to $596,850. Boulder county increases to $654,350. The increase in these limits means that more borrowers will be able to qualify for a conventional loan versus having to obtain a high-balance or jumbo loan, which typically come with higher interest rates.

It’s important to remember that purchase price does not necessarily correlate with loan limits. If a borrower plans, for example, to purchase a $750,000 property but puts a significant amount of money down, thus bringing their loan amount under the conforming limit, they can still qualify for a conventional loan.

The FHA has also increased loan limits for 2021, with a national conforming limit of $548,250. In the majority of the Denver metro area the loan limit has increased to $596,850, up from $575,000 in 2020. The FHA’s loan limit increases are tied closely to the FHFA’s conventional loan limit increases.

Although loan limits are most frequently mentioned in terms of single-family homes or one-unit properties, both conventional and FHA loans also impose limits on duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes. These increase at the same time and at the same frequency as single-unit loan limits. In the case of the FHA, which also insures Home Equity Conversion Mortgages — also known as HECMs or Reverse mortgages — there will be a 2021 limit increase to $822,375. Unlike traditional loan limits, this increase applies across the board, regardless of what market the home is located in.

2021 is sure to be a year of changes, and mortgage loan limits are no exception. The increase in limits for both FHA and conventional loans matched with historically low rates and 3-3.5% down payment options just might be the ticket to purchasing your dream home.

Regardless of what loan type you are seeking, I recommend giving Jaxzann Riggs with The Mortgage Network a call today at (303) 990-2992.

Why Do Online Publishers Keep Using ‘Portrait’ Format?

It’s surprising to me that online newsletters and ‘magazines’ keep publishing in a vertical 8½x11 or ‘portrait’ format instead of in the horizontal or ‘landscape’ format of the typical computer screens on which most subscribers read their work.

When the publication is single column, portrait format might work, but if the page has two or more columns, the reader has to scroll down and up to read from one column to the next. If the newsletter were is landscape format, this annoyance would be eliminated. You could view the full page.

Please, online publishers, join me in changing to landscape format out of consideration of your readers!

News Literacy, Like Civic Literacy, Needs to Be Taught

I’m not alone in pointing out that our electorate suffers from a lack of civics literacy. Surveys have shown, for example, that a majority of Americans can’t name the three branches of government and don’t know that they are co-equal.

I suggest, however, that we also need to promote news literacy. The lack of knowledge about professional journalism demonstrates this need. Most people don’t understand the difference between straight news articles and columns. They think a news article is biased when the reporter quotes someone who expresses an opinion they disagree with, ignoring how the same article quoted opinions they do agree with. But an article that quotes only one side of an issue is not a news article at all. It is an opinion piece, and such pieces are clearly identified as opinion in a newspaper that adheres to journalistic principles.

Society would benefit from having the principles of journalism taught in America’s schools. The following is copied and pasted from www.EthicalJournalismNetwork.org.

Five Core Principles of Journalism

1. Truth and Accuracy

Journalists cannot always guarantee ‘truth’, but getting the facts right is the cardinal principle of journalism. We should always strive for accuracy, give all the relevant facts we have and ensure that they have been checked. When we cannot corroborate information we should say so.

2. Independence

Journalists must be independent voices; we should not act, formally or informally, on behalf of special interests whether political, corporate or cultural. We should declare to our editors – or the audience – any of our political affiliations, financial arrangements or other personal information that might constitute a conflict of interest.

3. Fairness and Impartiality

Most stories have at least two sides. While there is no obligation to present every side in every piece, stories should be balanced and add context. Objectivity is not always possible, and may not always be desirable (in the face for example of brutality or inhumanity), but impartial reporting builds trust and confidence.

4. Humanity

Journalists should do no harm. What we publish or broadcast may be hurtful, but we should be aware of the impact of our words and images on the lives of others.

5. Accountability

A sure sign of professionalism and responsible journalism is the ability to hold ourselves accountable. When we commit errors we must correct them and our expressions of regret must be sincere not cynical. We listen to the concerns of our audience. We may not change what readers write or say but we will always provide remedies when we are unfair.

Does journalism need new guidelines?

EJN supporters do not believe that we need to add new rules to regulate journalists and their work in addition to the responsibilities outlined above, but we do support the creation of a legal and social framework, that encourages journalists to respect and follow the established values of their craft.

In doing so, journalists and traditional media, will put themselves in a position to be provide leadership about what constitutes ethical freedom of expression. What is good for journalism is also good for others who use the Internet or online media for public communications.

Accountable Journalism

This collaborative project aims to be the world’s largest collection of ethical codes of conduct and press organisations.

The AccountableJournalism.org website has been developed as a resource to on global media ethics and regulation systems, and provides advice on ethical reporting and dealing with hate speech.

Visit the Accountable Journalism database of codes of media ethics

If You Want to Buy or Sell a Solar Powered Home, Call Us

Jim Smith and the broker associates at Golden Real Estate are especially knowledgeable about solar powered and sustainably built homes, so consider us first if you are contemplating buying or selling such a home. Between us, we own every model Tesla vehicle — S, 3, X and Y — so we’re experts in electric vehicles, too. Our solar-powered office is “net zero energy,” with no gas service, and our Xcel Energy bill is $10 per month (the cost of being connected to Xcel’s grid), so we know what we’re talking about. Jim’s home is near-net zero (because he still has natural gas service), and he has a large network of friends with such homes, at least one of whom is planning to sell in 2021. Call Jim at 303-525-1851 if you’d like to talk.

Don’t Miss This Important Documentary on Solar PV

We watched this program when it aired on PBS a few weeks ago, but I’ve registered for an online screening this Thursday, Dec. 10th, 7 to 10 pm, because it will include a post-screening panel discussion about the topic of roof-top and community solar programs, which are under attack by utilities in different states. Here in Colorado, we’re blessed with a government which is supportive of clean energy, but that’s not the case everywhere, and there is always the risk that a less friendly government on the state or federal level could frustrate the goal of moving away from an economy based on fossil fuels and to an economy based on clean, renewable energy. Click here to register for it on Eventbrite.com.

Agents Who Submit ‘Love Letters’ Risk Committing a Fair Housing Violation

Until recently it was a common practice for buyers’ agents to submit a “love letter” with their offers, hoping to convince the seller to choose their buyer over others in a bidding war.

That practice has fallen out of favor, however, as doing so might constitute a violation of federal Fair Housing rules as well as of the Realtor Code of Ethics.

Article 10 of the Code includes the following: “Realtors shall not be parties to any plan or agreement to discriminate against a person or persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.” Such discrimination is also a state and federal fair housing crime.

It would be hard not to reveal any of the above characteristics in a “love letter,” especially if it contains a photo of the buyer or buyer’s family. But there are other subtleties to consider. One of the sessions at last month’s National Association of Realtors conference was titled, “How to Stay Out of Trouble: Risk Management and the Code of Ethics,” taught by Barbara Betts, a California Realtor who is also a hearing officer for violations of the Code of Ethics.

In her talk, as reported by Inman News, Betts described how risky such letters could be, especially for the seller and listing agent. “Sellers are humans. Even though they are not purposely trying to create a fair housing situation for themselves, they inadvertently are,” she said. “When the seller gets these letters, they get excited to sell the home to someone they feel will fit into their neighborhood, and that’s where there’s a problem.”

The danger is intensified when there are competing love letters. Imagine, for example, that one of the buyers reveals himself to be a single African American who says your home is perfect for him because he is wheelchair-bound, but your seller chose a family with children who liked your home because it’s close to their synagogue. That choice has offered a veritable smorgasbord of fair housing violations that the rejected buyer could mention in a fair housing complaint, and that their broker could cite in a Code of Ethics complaint against the listing agent.

“We need to consider raising fair housing concerns with our buyers,” Betts advises her fellow Realtors. “Don’t read or accept these letters that are drafted by a buyer. Certainly do not give any support or suggestions. As listing agents, we definitely need to discuss the potential liability during the listing interview and not deliver or accept these letters for the seller.”

Betts added, “If the letter is all about ‘I love your home. It’s beautiful. I love how you’ve remodeled it, I promise I won’t tear it down and remodel it,’ there aren’t any fair housing violations in those statements. The second you start talking about family, color, race, religion, marital status, those things instantly become possible fair housing violations.”

For all these reasons, the agents at Golden Real Estate no longer submit or accept “love letters” from buyers. If we receive one, it’s best that we don’t even read it and that we inform the buyer’s agent that we have deleted it.

There are other ways in which Realtors can commit a fair housing violation, perhaps unconsciously. One is the practice known as “steering,” in which an agent recommends different neighborhoods to different buyers based on where they would “fit in” because of their race, color or religion. We must truly be blind to such characteristics and give the same information to all buyers. Fortunately, buyers do their own searching most of the time. As agents, we must show any buyer what they want to see without comment of any kind.

When a buyer from out of town asks us to describe our neighborhoods, it’s best to avoid all demographic descriptions, limiting ourselves to describing the housing stock, price range, etc. We must not provide such information with an intention to steer them based on their profile.

Meanwhile, sellers expect us to show their homes only to qualified buyers, but if we ask some buyers but not others to be pre-qualified by a trusted lender before showing a listing, we open ourselves to possible fair housing complaints.

We’d all like to believe that racism and other kinds of systemic or cultural discrimination are artifacts of the past, but we are more aware than ever that such discrimination exists even within ourselves, hopefully unconsciously. Unconscious or not, we need to realize that beyond being morally wrong, it can get us into serious professional trouble as agents and that it can also put our clients at risk, making it more important than ever that we educate our clients about the risks they could be facing.

Incorporated or Unincorporated? What’s the Difference?

It’s a common misconception that property taxes are lower in unincorporated areas than they are in an incorporated city or town.

Sales taxes are lower in unincorporated areas, since most cities have their own sales tax. If you register a new car in one of those cities with a sales tax, you’ll pay thousands that you wouldn’t pay registering it in an unincorporated area.

Property taxes are another matter. Take the City of Golden, for example. The mill levy for the city is 12.34 mills. Here’s the full mill levy for such a home:

If you have a Golden address but are not within the city itself, you have separate mill levies for county law enforcement, fire protection and quite possibly for water and park districts that can total far more than Golden’s mill levy, which includes all those services. If you’re in a newer subdivision, you could have an additional big mill levy for a “metropolitan tax district” which was created by the developer to pay for infrastructure. Here’s the mill levy for a home in Table Rock, that subdivision on the north slope of North Table Mountain, which does have a metro tax district:

Happy Thanksgiving! What We at Golden Real Estate Are Grateful for

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I’ve long known the value of practicing gratitude, and Thanksgiving reminds each of us to reflect on our blessings, both individually and as members of our larger communities.

And since these columns are published on Thursdays, it has become a tradition for me to pause on this particular Thursday to write about my sincere gratitude as an individual, as a husband and step-father, as a Realtor, and as an American.

So, first of all, I’m grateful for having this platform to share with fellow real estate professionals and the general public what I know (and continue to learn) about real estate. Yes, I pay for it, but I have been rewarded greatly for the effort, both in terms of financial gain from the business it generates for me and my broker associates, and by the satisfaction it gives me from indulging in my first and favorite profession, journalism.

To be political for just a moment — and it’s sad to think this is political — I’m grateful for the mainstream media which has weathered four years of assault without forsaking journalistic standards. A free press is essential to our democracy, speaking truth to power unflinchingly.

Naturally, all of us at Golden Real Estate are grateful for those buyers and sellers who have entrusted us with their real estate needs. We know that the sale or purchase of a home is often our clients’ biggest single financial transaction, and we don’t take that responsibility lightly.

Real estate is an interesting profession. For most of us, it was not our first profession. In my case, I didn’t even think of becoming a real estate agent until my 50s. When I earned my license, I discovered several interesting facts about the profession, including that the median age of licensees was my age at the time, 54.

I also learned that it takes several years to become successful in real estate and that the average real estate agent has only two or three closings a year, not enough to make a good living. The majority of new agents give up in their first or second year, having wasted money they could ill afford to lose on software, signs, advertising, licensing and association fees, errors and omissions insurance and more.

I’m grateful when I have the opportunity to educate prospective agents about the difficulty of breaking into this profession and can save them the heartbreak of a lost year or two. But I’m also grateful when I am able to help our own broker associates succeed through the leads this column, our website, and our social media attract for us. As broker/owner, I also serve as a mentor and advisor to them, which I find quite satisfying.

I’m grateful for our MLS (Multiple Listing Service), REcolorado, which has made terrific strides toward being one of the best MLSs in the nation. I’m privileged to represent the Denver Metro Association of Realtors (DMAR) on the Rules & Regulations Committee, providing me with insights I’m then able to share in this space.

DMAR, too, has made great strides under its long-time executive director, Ann Turner. I’m grateful to her and the many Realtors who volunteer on DMAR committees, contributing to the high ethics and professionalism of our industry.

Not all real estate agents are members of the Realtor association, but they all benefit from the work that these associations do. We can all be grateful for the work of the National Association of Realtors, to which all the local Realtor associations belong. From its Washington, DC, office, it lobbies Congress to protect property rights and to fend off legislation that is harmful to our profession and in turn to all property owners.

NAR President Apologizes for Past Racist Practices

On his first day as president of the National Association of Realtors, Charlie Oppler said NAR will continue to advocate for equality and inclusion in real estate, and he apologized for NAR policies in the 1900s that contributed to discrimination and racial inequality.

Oppler spoke during the Diversity and Inclusion Summit, issuing a sobering message that sets the tone for his priorities as president of the 1.4-million member organization. “What Realtors did was an outrage to our morals and our ideals.” said Oppler. “It was a betrayal of our commitment to fairness and equality. I’m here today, as the president of the National Association of Realtors, to say we were wrong.”

“We can’t go back to fix the mistakes of the past,” Oppler continued. “But we can look at this problem squarely in the eye. And we can finally say, on behalf of our industry, that what Realtors did was shameful, and we are sorry.”

Oppler recognized the fact that “words aren’t enough,” emphasizing that the association and all Realtors should take “positive action to remedy decades’ worth of inequality.”

We at Golden Real Estate applaud Oppler for his strong statement on this subject.

Click here to read the full NAR press release.

Biden Presidency Will Bring Renewed Focus on Affordable Housing and Discrimination

As you’d expect from any Democratic administration, there will be an increased focus on middle class and low income communities’ needs in the Biden administration, and that includes housing policy.

Back in February, after losing the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, and prior to the South Carolina primary, Biden released a $640 billion housing plan, focused primarily on increasing home ownership among Americans. Among other things, it included a $15,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers that could be used as part of the down payment at time of purchase.

“People vote based on their pocketbooks, and you don’t get a bigger pocketbook issue than housing,” realtor.com’s chief economist Danielle Hale said. “For many, [housing] is the largest monthly expense that they have. And if you own a home, it’s likely the most valuable thing that you own.”

According to Clare Trapasso’s article on realtor.com, Biden’s plan also includes down payment assistance for teachers and first responders plus changes in the appraisal process to address racial disparities. The down payment assistance, however, would be conditioned on purchasing in targeted low-income areas in need of investment.

It has long been understood that home ownership is central to building family wealth, supported statistically by the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances. The report covering the period 2013-2016 showed that during that period the median net worth of homeowners rose by 15% to $231,400, while the median net worth of renters fell by 5% to only $5,200. In other words, as of 2016, homeowners’ median net worth was 44.5 times that of renters.

A new 3-year survey covering the period 2016 to 2019 was released in September.

As you’d expect, there’s a racial component to the homeownership divide. According to Svenja Gudell, chief economist of Zillow Group, nearly 75% of white households own their own home, while less than half of black and Hispanic households are homeowners.

Although redlining of low-income communities, which was promoted by the FHA from its inception in 1934, was outlawed by the 1968 Fair Housing Act, the damage had been done, and it will be hard for any administration to undo it. We are just beginning to understand the problem and how to solve it.

The Biden plan also includes increased funding of Section 8 vouchers for low-income renters. At present, there’s only enough Section 8 funding to meet 25% of the demand. The plan would also prohibit landlords from discriminating against prospective tenants using Section 8 vouchers, and would provide legal assistance to tenants facing eviction.

The most progressive element of Biden’s plan may be his proposal to provide a tax credit so that no renter pays more than 30% of his/her income toward rent, estimated to cost $5 billion/year.

The plan speaks about appraisal reform, aiming to create a national standard to assure that homes in minority communities are appraised for the same as homes in comparable white communities, but that defies the core principle of appraisal — that a home is worth what a willing arms-length buyer will pay for it.

According to the realtor.com article, the Biden plan promotes the creation of a public credit agency that would take into consideration a positive history of payment of rent and utility bills, providing a higher credit score that could help renters qualify for a home mortgage.

Not mentioned in the realtor.com article about Biden’s housing plan is the president-elect’s promise to undo the elements of Trump’s tax law which favored the wealthy. However, one provision actually harmed the wealthy who live in states with high property taxes, many of which, coincidentally, voted for Hilary Clinton.

That was the provision regarding SALT — State and Local Taxes, composed primarily of real estate taxes and income tax. It limited the deduction of those taxes to $10,000 per year. I suspect that this element of the tax code will be changed under the Biden administration.

The Trump tax law also doubled the standard deduction to $24,000, which eliminated for many the benefit of charitable donations. I, for one, thought this would spell doom for many non-profit organizations, although Giving USA re-ports that donations by individuals fell only 3.4% in 2018. That’s remarkable, given that the number of taxpayers who itemized deductions fell that year to 18 million, from 46.5 million the year before, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation (per accountingtoday.com).

Those of us who are into sustainability and fighting climate change can expect the new administration to incentivize energy efficiency improvements and building codes through tax credits and grants. When Trump took office, there was a lot of concern in Golden and Jeffco that the Department of Energy, whose secretary had advocated abolishing the department until he learned it was responsible for America’s nuclear arsenal, would defund the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, but funding was actually increased by Congress. We can expect that a Biden administration will provide even greater funding to NREL, energy efficiency, sustainability and the electrification of transportation.

Biden’s February housing plan does address this issue, with the goal of cutting the carbon footprint of buildings by 50% by 2035, and providing incentives to home owners who retrofit their homes to be more energy efficient and more solar powered.