Real Estate News
Bank of America eliminates mortgage fees
Bank of America Corp. has expanded its no-fee mortgage program nationwide.
The program, No Fee Mortgage Plus, was started in Washington state in September and expanded to several others in February.
No Fee Mortgage Plus eliminates application fees, lender fees, closing costs and the need for private mortgage insurance.
"It takes the fears and fees out of home buying," says Liam McGee, BofA's president of global consumer and small-business banking. "In essence, we eliminated the fees customers don't like and alleviate the worry they have."
No Fee Mortgage Plus is for first-time mortgages for BofA customers. Floyd Robinson, president of consumer real estate, says BofA's existing policies will apply to the program, notably that the bank does not accept mortgage applications from customers with credit scores below 620.
McGee says a customer can save $3,000 on closing costs on an average $200,000 mortgage under the program.
In addition, BofA guarantees the loan will close within 25 days -- unless the customer requests a longer time frame -- or else the customer receives the equivalent of their first mortgage payment (taxes and insurance payments not included).
The program also offers what it calls a "best value guarantee." If the borrower is approved for a mortgage with BofA but chooses to close with another lender, he or she will receive $250.
Asked on a conference call how No Fee Mortgage Plus affects BofA loan officers, Robinson says, "The compensation plans have not changed with this product. I won't get into how we compensate our associates. But we haven't changed our methodology or the amounts based on this product."
PHOENIX: A PLACE TO LIVE
The biggest industry in the Phoenix metro area is growth. But, what does the future hold in store for our growth and where will that growth take place? According to CNNMoney.com Maricopa County was the county with the most growth of any county in the nation for the year from July 2005 through July 2006. In that time period the county went from approximately 3,640,000 to 3,768,123, a 3.5% increase in population. What does this volume of growth mean?
One additional dwelling unit is needed for each 2.5 person increase in population, and the Phoenix metro area population growth has exceeded 100,000 people per year for each of the last thirteen years. The average increase has been slightly more than 121,000 per year. That equates to an average need of 48,000+ new housing units needed per year. Projections for the metro area predict this trend will continue. At 3.5 housing units per acre the amount of land to support this type of growth is over 13,000 acres. That is over 21 square miles of residential land needed per year. Where is this land?
Maricopa County
In 1993 Gilbert was a small town. Buckeye was a farming community known for its’ dairies. South Phoenix was certainly not a booming sought after growth area. Scottsdale still had considerable land to build upon. The City of Surprise was in an outlying area. Things sure have changed, and we will see changes just as drastic over the next few years.
The adage that “All that counts in real estate is Location, Location, and Location” needs a caveat. When you live, work and make your living in the fastest growing area in the United States of America, timing and looking forward instead of backwards is also of great importance.To be successful it is essential to look beyond Maricopa County
Go south (and east) young man, go south – Pinal County
We need to revise the adage from the 19 century for where to find opportunity of “go west young man, go west” to go south (and east)… With the location of available land in Maricopa County stretching farther and farther from the core of the metropolitan area, it is only logical that the growth is expanding to the south and east into Pinal County
We are working to develop an ongoing series focusing on the opportunities in Pinal County. This series will provide general and specific information about new homes in Pinal County and about these cities or areas:
Casa Grande
Maricopa
Coolidge
Florenc
Florence
Pinal County Unincorporated
Eloy
Ten Fastest Growing States
| State | Percent |
|---|---|
| Arizona | 3.6 |
| Nevada | 3.5 |
| Idaho | 2.6 |
| Georgia | 2.5 |
| Texas | 2.5 |
| Utah | 2.4 |
| North Carolina | 2.1 |
| Colorado | 1.9 |
| Florida | 1.8 |
| South Carolina | 1.7 |
Biggest Population Growth
| State | Numeric Change |
|---|---|
| Texas | 579,275 |
| Florida | 321,697 |
| California | 303,402 |
| Georgia | 231,388 |
| Arizona | 213,311 |
| North Carolina | 184,046 |
| Washington | 103,899 |
| Colorado | 90,082 |
| Nevada | 83,228 |
| Tennessee | 83,058 |
Source: Census Bureau
- Beds: 3
- Baths: 2
- City: Surprise
- Residential:
55,322 - Commercial Sale:
1,010 - Commercial Lease:
722 - Land:
10,919 - Multi-Family:
830 - Rental Property:
9,620
