Student Loan Debt Precludes Mortgage Debt

Because the cost of acquiring a college education has increased so much in the past decade, many millenials have crippling student loan debt. Before they can begin to save a down payment on a house and take on a home mortgage, they need to spend years paying off their student loans. The rate of homeownership among young people has plummeted.

Inability to save the down payment is only part of the problem. Lenders will only allow borrowers to spend about 36% of their gross monthly income on all debts, including student loans, car payment, credit card payments and mortgage. If student loans are eating a large portion of their young peoples' pay checks, they won't have much left to qualify for a mortgage.

The other problem is the lack of jobs. College graduates who are unable to find a job or who lost a job will be unable to make their student loan payments. When they default on their student loans, their credit is trashed, and they are in a hole that will be very difficult to climb out of. Adding to the difficulty is that some employers do a credit check as part of the hiring process. Bad credit means no job offer. 

Some people who had been promised that their student loans would be forgiven if they worked in a public service job found that rug pulled out from under them last year.

Read or Die

My fabulous client Daphne Russell has had a huge impact on her students, inspiring them to read as if their lives depend on it, which of course is true. She is having a book signing of her book Read or Die at Borderlands Brewery this Friday from 6 to 10 PM

Diane Keaton Buys $1.5M Adobe in Barrio Viejo

Hmm, this is curious. Diane Keaton bought a $1.5M fixer upper at 560 S Convent. She plans to flip it.

Casual Elegance in the Catalina Foothills

The Wow Factor is off the charts! Exquisite custom masonry home on spectacular lot with astounding mountain views. Meticulously maintained with high-quality upgrades. 

Gorgeous, sunny kitchen with breakfast bar open to great room. 

Two-sided free-standing fireplace. PRE-PAID SOLAR LEASE has saved the owners over $8,000 in electric bills and over 50 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Whole house water softener and dual pane windows and doors installed in 2017. 

Office near entrance has bathroom and closet. It can be fourth bedroom with the addition of a door. 

Dreamy master bedroom has a fireplace, big beautiful shower and private patio. Breath-taking back yard with refreshing infinite-edge pool. 

So much outdoor space for entertaining and family fun. Come see the lovely palo verde trees in bloom. Watch the nearby Catalina Mountains change hue throughout the day and the seasons.

Four bedrooms and three bathrooms in 2,513 square feet. Two car garage. The floor plan is here. 0.98 acre covered with mature xeriscape and native desert. Sold for $553,500 on July 9, 2018.

We Have Some of the Country's Best High Schools!

US News & World Report says that Basis Oro Valley and Basis North Tucson, two charter high schools, are the third and fourth best in the country. Tucson Unified School District's University High School is ranked 27th.
They evaluated over 20,000 schools and ranked them based on graduation rate, offering challenging course, and standardized test scores.

How to Turn a Home Renovation into a Vacation

If you're going to be spending a lot of money on a home renovation, consider charging it to a credit card that gives generous airline miles or cash rebates. The key is to be able to pay the cards off before high interest rates accrue. An article in the New York Times has lots of resources.

Old Friends Get a New Home

I must tell as many people as I can who are interested in purchasing a home in and around Tucson, AZ.  I just had the best experience with what I call the "Power Team" of Donna Moulton and Catherine Ellinwood.  I contacted Donna first, as a long time and trusted friend who I knew was a realtor in town.  I know a lot of other realtors, but without a moment's hesitation I chose Donna. 

So we went house hunting. After we went to houses for about three days, we honed in on a perfect house for us.  She went ahead and called her chosen loan officer from People's Mortgage, who she's been working with for over 15 years.  Catherine worked absolute miracles.  She knew about all of the types of loans we could get out there.  She checked each one and came up with an amazing deal for us with a great low interest rate.  The entire process has been seamless, from returning calls, prompt emails, to just basically being there every step of the way.  We have now signed at Title Security Company, which also went very well. Everything there (Donna was there of course) was explained to us. 

Donna brought over our keys even two hours ahead of the time she said.  I highly recommend getting your house with the "Power Team" of Donna & Catherine!

Sincerely,

Joan Vernon