The Top Whatever.......

Every year Money Magazine publishes their list of the best places to live.  At first glance it seems pretty cut and dried but the deeper you dig into the list the more confusing it can be. There are so many factors from housing, weather, jobs, cultural activities.  Pretty soon you won't really be convinced anywhere is perfect but it is still lots of fun to play with.

This year there is an interactive sort of menu where you can choose your state and then compare communities close to you. I provide the link here so you can play with it yourself and have some fun.

What is the best thing about where you live?  For me, in Palm Springs,  it is the small town feel combined with the perpetual sunshine. Enjoy.

A beautiful Day In La Quinta

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to spend some time in La Quinta. It was a perfect summer day - low 100's very dry and stunning blue skies. Part of what makes living in this California Desert City so great!

I took the opportunity in a few spare moments to take some pictures of things in the area and share those here.

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La Quinta California

La Quinta Museum

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email: michael@psagent.com

The La Quinta Cove Neighborhood

Old Town Shopping and Dining

Balconies in Old Town

Solar Highways

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GOT Prequalified or Preapproved? Know the difference!

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This month in Real Estate our video explains the importance of being PRE- APPROVED vs. PRE - Qualified before you go out shopping for your new home.   The work you do up front to get this done will ensure that when you find the house you really want you are prepared and in the best place to make sure you get it!

A good lender can make all the difference in your transaction.  Ask your agent for recommendations and tips on what questions to ask to make sure that the choice you make is best for you and your situation. You can also stop by our mortgage information page on our website PSagent.com

What is A QRM?

It is a Qualified Residential Mortgage and is a proposal put forth by federal regulators to try and make sure that lenders cannot make risky loans just for a quick profit. Protecting the economy at large and consumers as well.

While the idea is a good one at heart the proposed restrictions would make it vastly more difficult for the average consumer to obtain financing for a home purchase. Many consumers would be shut out of the housing market all together.

An article on the rismedia site says:

RISMEDIA, August 3, 2011—A proposed rule by federal regulators to impose a minimum 20 percent down payment, stringent debt-to-income ratio requirements and rigid credit standards will deny millions of Americans access to safe, low-cost mortgages, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Read the whole article on RIS MEdia Site

There is no question that some regulations on risky and predatory lending need to be put in place. There is no question that there were big problems with the way things use to be. However, a middle ground needs to be found, in any new regulations , so that the very consumers the regulators are trying to protect are not shut out of the market to the extent that they don't need any protection since they can't participate anyway!

If you are considering a home purchase anytime in the future I would encourage you to pay attention to the political debate on this subject. Let your representatives know that access to financing for your dream of home ownership is important to you. This access to finance issue and the mortgage interest tax deduction are probably the two most important political issues you can't afford to ignore if you are interested in owning your own home.
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