Real Estate Information

Effective August 13^th Vermont Housing Finance Agency will reintroduce the MOVE Program, which is a limited time 3.875% mortgage option that can be used for Conventional and Government loans. The MOVE Program interest rate is subject to change when the pool of funds is nearing completion.

Are you working with a VHFA Participating Lender so you can take advantage of this
opportunity? Visit www.vhfa.org/homeownership/lenders.php to search VHFA Participating Lenders.

Terms and Eligibility*:

•  3.875% Fixed Rate for 30 Years.
•  Program includes Conventional, Rural Development, FHA, and Veterans Administration product options.
• First-Time Homebuyer Requirement applies in Addison, Bennington, Chittenden, Grand Isle, and Windsor Counties. Buyers in these counties may not have owned a residence for the previous 36 months. All other

Vermont Counties have no First-Time homebuyer Requirement.

•  One-Unit and Two-Unit Single Family Homes or Condos are eligible, no Manufactured Housing.
•  Income & Purchase Price Limitations by county are available at www.vhfa.org
•  All VHFA Programs are for purchase of a primary residence only.

More than a low rate, borrowers will also receive all of the traditional benefits of a VHFA Mortgage:

•  First $110,000 of the property purchase price is exempt from the State Property Transfer Tax.
•  No Loan Level Pricing Adjustments or Loan Delivery Fees from Fannie or Freddie. This means the rate you see, is the rate your buyers will receive – and their closing costs will not be impacted by Credit Scores, Loan to Value Ratios, or the type of property they are purchasing.
•  Lower Mortgage Insurance coverage requirements, lower premiums, and expanded eligibility.

Do you need a down payment and closing cost assistance, or the long-term benefit of a Mortgage Credit
Certificate? Those benefits are still available through our Advantage and MOVE MCC programs!
For more information on the MOVE Program, and other VHFA Programs, contact one of our Participating Lenders, or
VHFA Outreach Coordinator Seth Leonard at 802-652-3424 or sleonard@vhfa.org

Great News!

RE/MAX Associates donated $8.2 million dollars to Children’s Miracle Network last year!  This brings the total donated to over $130 million since 1992 when the ‘partnership’ began. The Matt Hurlburt Group has committed to donating a portion of every transaction to Children's Miracle net work for the last three years and it's nice to know that the contribution we give goes right to our local Children’s Miracle Hospital at Fletcher Allen.

RE/MAX CEO Margaret Kelly told CNBC's Amanda Drury on March 14 that RE/MAX agents are reporting the busiest January and February they've seen in years.

We would like to thank our customers and clients for making the Matt Hurlburt Group Vermont’s #1 RE/MAX Team, and #17 team for RE/MAX of New England, in May, 2011.

Burlington, Vermont may be home to a lot of happy people according to Men's Health Magazine!  It named BTV the least angry city in the entire country.

Cities were ranked on four criteria: Aggravated assaults per capita, the number of people with high blood pressure, anger management specialists per capita, and time spent in traffic during rush hour.  (They obviously didn't visit on a Friday at 5:00 and try to merge lanes on Williston Road...LOL!)

What is the angriest city in the country? Detroit.

Click here to read article.

I'm often asked if this is a good time to buy a home. Some clients are concerned that home prices may fall further than they have already. They are assuming that the best course of action is to wait for the bottom in the market and then buy. The problem with this approach is that you don't know where the bottom is until you see it in the rear view mirror, meaning until you've missed it!

Home prices are one factor in determining your cost of ownership, but so are interest rates and financing availability. Even though interest rates have gone up in the last six months, they are still near historic lows. Since your monthly mortgage payment is a combination of paying down your principal and paying the interest owed, if home prices come down a little further but interest rates up, it could cost you even more to service a mortgage on an identical home!

While a home is a major investment, it is also the center of your personal life. It's important to live in a home that reflects your taste and values, yet is within your financial "comfort zone." To that end, it may be more important to lock in today's relatively low interest rates and low home prices, rather than to hope for a further break in prices in the future.

Please give me a call if I can be of any assistance in determining how much home you can afford in today's market.