Weekly Digs – Fannie & Freddie

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are allowing investors to borrow over $500k now. We are not really sure what that means for the government, about-to-turn-private lender. In other news, Mortgage rates are rising again. And how to get financially independent using 3 house-hacks. This and more below the fold!

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From Realtor.com’s Latest News

• Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Will Soon Let Borrowers Take Out Mortgages Over $500K
  • The Federal Housing Finance Agency has raised the maximum conforming loan limit for the fourth straight year. Loan limits were set higher in all but 43 counties across the country.
• Mortgage Rates Increased Over the Last Week—and That Could Put a Damper on the Housing Market
  • The real-estate market has been slow to respond to the low interest rate environment, and rates appear to be on an upward trajectory.
• Pending Home Sales Fell in October—Mainly Because Buyers Couldn’t Find Houses
  • The National Association of Realtors attributed the downturn in contract signings to two factors: rising mortgage rates and a lack of homes for sale.
• New-Home Sales Fell in October, but the Housing Market’s Trajectory Remains Positive
  • The numbers: Sales of newly-constructed homes in the U.S. decreased 0.7% on a monthly basis in October to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 733,000, the government reported Tuesday. However, the figure for

From Spark Rental’s Latest Blog Posts

• How to Negotiate with Contractors: The Definitive Guide
  • Dealing with contractors is one of the hardest parts of investing in real estate. The ones who actually return your calls promptly, show up on time for work, and complete jobs on-schedule? They charge a pretty penny for that basic level of professionalism. In fact,…
• Where’s the Cheapest Real Estate in the US? Should You Invest in It?
  • Everyone loves a deal, an opportunity to acquire an asset at a low cost. When retailers cut their prices on Black Friday and Cyber Monday each year, frenzied shoppers crowd the store aisles to compete for the limited items on the shelves. And every year, the mania for…
• Can You Take Out a HELOC on an Investment Property?
  • Have some rental properties with equity in them, and want to access it to help you grow your real estate portfolio? One way to buy a rental property with no money down is to leverage equity in your other properties. That could mean a blanket loan against multiple…
• “I Rented Dirt”: How Scott Replaced His 9-5 Income with Land Investments
  • “Oh, I also had a few rental homes, but I mainly rented dirt.” So begins Scott Todd’s story, his journey from corporate manager to land investor to being able to cover his living expenses on land rental income alone. Scott reached financial independence in under a…

From Bigger Pockets’ Top Popular Posts

• 3 House Hacks in 3 Years & Now I’m Financially Free—Here’s Exactly How I Did It
  • By Craig Curelop
• Affordable Housing Is the Golden Goose of My Real Estate Portfolio—Here’s Why
  • By Matt DeBoth
• How Real Estate Bubbles Form and Why They Pop
  • By Phil McAlister

From PM Insider’s Latest Posts

• Future-Enabling Apartments with Internet
• How Technology is Saving the Day on the 4P’s of Marketing
• Strengthening the Senior and Affordable Housing Industries
• Online Chat Converts into Higher Set-Visit Ratio

From Reddits /r/RealEstate Subreddit

• Rude Sellers (Update)
  • current score on reddit: 156
• Lesson learned: check permits BEFORE buying the house.
  • current score on reddit: 147
• Both parents passed away and I have inherited a payed off house
  • current score on reddit: 135