MORTGAGE MATTERS

Maria Kuczynski Gibson

Office: 949-223-0373Fax: 949-660-4908Cell: 714-624-6209

E-mail: mgibson@uamco.comBRE LIC #01159092 NMLS #2385953

Maria Kuczynski Gibson’s

Who do you know who

• is looking to purchase orsell a home?

• is interested in getting alower interest rate?

• is considering home im-provements?

• needs help with debt consolidation?

• hasn’t considered the benefits of an equity lineof credit?

I’d love the opportunity tohelp them.

As the winter thaw takes place,

the approaching spring will soon

warm things up and bring on hot

selling in the 2015 real estate market.

Based on a Time magazine article

that discusses the psychology of

homebuyers and sellers in most

American markets, the best time to

make an offer on a house is in the

spring. Folks with tax refund checks

in bank accounts have greater bank

balances. In fact, sales peak in the

spring, which explains why about

60% of those moving do so in the

summer months.

Employment rates reported the

week of February 6, 2015, show a

strong economy with solid job

creation. Expanding employment

allows people to set up their own

households, and changes in

employment and income also drive

existing households to move.

Jonathan Smoke, chief economist

at www.realtor.com, points to rising

household formation. The quarterly

report on residential vacancies and

homeownership from the U.S. Census

indicates that the number of house-

holds increased substantially in the

fourth quarter. The pace of increase

in the fourth quarter approached an

annualized rate of 2 million new

households–compare that with the

historical norm of 1.2 million new

households.

Better employment conditions,

higher consumer confidence, and

demand for housing will be strong this

spring, states Mr. Smoke. The key

questions will be if listing and new

construction will keep up. If not, we

may see greater home appreciation

than was initially anticipated.

Interested in buying? Please get

a pre-approval letter, (again not a pre-

qualification letter) so you can make a

sincere offer on a property. Have funds

sitting in your bank accounts and get

your 2014 taxes filed. All these things

will put you in the driver’s seat if there

are multiple offers made on a home.

Please give me a call to discuss your

housing plan.

Spring Thaw Moves Towards Heated Housing Sales

March, 2015 Issue

� Homebuyers are getting relief on theirmortgage fees. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will significantly reduce annual premiums from 1.35 percent to 0.85 percent. Lower premiumswill entice some buyers to take out federally insured loans.WashingtonPost.com

� The U.S. Budget deficit shrank to itslowest level since 2007 in the past fiscal year, as falling unemployment andfaster economic growth boosted revenue.The U.S. Treasury posted a shortfall of$483 billion for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014, compared with adeficit of $680 billion a year earlier. The New Yorker

� Kidzania is a theme park for childrenwanting to play grownups. Youngsters can work on a car assembly line, ring uppurchases behind a supermarket counter,and peer inside a dummy’s mouth for cavities. Kids earn salaries in “kidzos.”Current theme parks are in Mexico City,Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai and Istanbul.Owners are in talks about opening asmany as 16 parks in various U.S. locations.Businessweek.com

� The median income for young adultstoday, when adjusted for inflation, is$2,000 less than what their parentsearned in 1980. Though real wages havegrown by double digits in coastal citieslike Washington, San Francisco, and New York over the past three decades,young workers’ earnings have actually declined over that time in 35 states.NYMag.com

� California had its driest January sincerecord keeping began in 1849. January is usually California’s wettest month, butno measurable rain fell on many parts ofthe state, including San Francisco. The Wall Street Journal

Noted

A R T A N D A R C H I T E C T U R E

Frozen has taken the design world by storm. Interior designers whodecorate high-end bedrooms for wealthy clients are busy creatingcastle-themed rooms. Evelyn M Designs, a full service interior designcompany located in Long Island, NY, has received calls from overseasrequesting princess boudoirs. Evelyn's recent design was inspired by aroom in an Italian palace and built for her client’s daughter at a cost of $100,000. The room consists of antique furniture, luxurious windowtreatments, a Nepalese silk rug, and Audrey Hepburn artwork.

Riding Frozen's popularity, specialty furniture shops tout bedroom furnishings such as $3,000 Cinderella lamps and $35,000 carriage-shaped beds. For those not on a Marie Antoinette budget, Pottery BarnKids has introduced tufted headboards and tulle canopies. Target andWalmart carry fairy tale-themed linens and plates. For the grown-upprincess that is to be married, designers are out with exquisite weddinggowns and, of course, a complete ice table setting to be a must in many a newlywed’s home.

Photo: Dorothy Hong Photography

You can’t escape Disney’s film Frozen.

The Royal Treatment

Best WebsitesKeep in mind, there isn't a substitute

for a professional appraisal or a comparative market analysis,

but for a quick search you might try:

www.zillow.comZillow is famous for the "zestimate."Type in your address and you can get a good idea on what your home might sell

or rent for.

www.trulia.comThis is an excellent tool if you're house hunting. It’s very helpful, whether you are moving across town or across the country.

www.realtor.comThis is the official site of the National

Association of Realtors. Interested in sellingyour home and want an informative report?

Visit this site for comparable sales.

This newsletter is published for home owners and real estate investors. Please refer to my phone number for my specific opinion on various topics and loan programs. This information is provided for general use only and should not be relied upon in making an investment, tax or legal decision. Bond Marketing ® 3/2015

I n s i g h t s

What’s your number?How much do you need to retire comfortably? The conventional wisdom is you should aim to have a nest egg of $1.5 million. Yet that depends where you live.

For people approaching retirement, those figures might be a source ofpanic, denial and dread. But a true retirement number is different for everyone. While there is no magic amount, some questions you can askyourself are:

What will your living costs be?The first step is to figure out how much you’re spending. Start by creating a budget to track your expenses. A much touted rule of thumb says you’llneed 70 to 80 percent of your pre-retirement income after you finish working. Some financial planners are suggesting that might not beenough–that you’ll need at least 100 percent of your pre-retirement incomeeach year for at least the first 10 years after you stop working.

Will your nest egg last as long as you will?People are living a lot longer and that makes retirement planning more challenging than ever. A healthy, upper middle-class couple who are 65today have a 43 percent chance that one or both partners will live to see 95. Savings needs to be adjusted accordingly.

Will your saving generate enough cash?There is no way of knowing what will happen to interest rates and inflation in future years. But for a retiree to generate $40,000 a year after finishingwork, he or she will need savings of $1.18 million to support a 30-year retirement.

What if you haven’t saved enough?Get your nose to the grind stone. Save, save, save. If you have two cars, go to one. Move. A couple who lived in New York retired to Myrtle Beach,South Carolina. Their dollars bought them more of a home for less money,and they pay a fraction of property taxes.

Retirement – How Much You’ll Need

$1,500,000? $2,000,000? $4,000,000?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have expanded their guidelines allowing us tohelp Homeowners that were previously unable to obtain a new home loan atthese historical low rates.

Please contact me if you were previously unable to get a new loan, or tell a relative, co-worker, friend or neighbor to contact me and I will be happy to see if I can help.

Thank you all for your continued business and referrals.

Maria Kuczynski Gibson

Office: 949-223-0373Fax: 949-660-4908Cell: 714-624-6209

E-mail: mgibson@uamco.comBRE LIC #01159092 NMLS #2385953

714-624-6209

19782 Mac Arthur Blvd. #250Irvine, CA 92612

In order to communicate more efficiently please update me with your currentemail address and phone numbers.

Great news!