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Your Diligence Was So Complete
"It was clear that you knew the market cold, sometimes alerting us to opportunities before they were public. And it was equally obvious that you knew all the angles, from construction, zoning and rehab to pricing.
"Your diligence was so complete, we found ourselves betting whether it would ever take you more than twenty minutes to return one of our many phone calls. We especially appreciated your low-key style and your sincere efforts from the very beginning of the process until after the closing."
Karen and Larry Kirsch
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Financing Your Home >ARMs
Here is a tip for those who are shopping for Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs): the "margin" is almost as important as the initial rate. The margin is the percentage point above the average yields for Treasury notes on which future rate adjustments will be calculated.
Let's compare two hypothetical one-year ARMs. The first may have an initial interest rate of 7% with a 2.5 margin, while the second begins at 6 7/8% with a 2.75 margin. Both loans have rate caps of 2%. Suppose that at the end of the first year of the loan, the average of the one-year Treasury note yield has been 5 1/2%. For each loan, the lenders will add the margin to that 5 1/2% average yield. Thus the interest rate for first loan would increase from 7% to 8%, and the second would go from 6 7/8% to 8 1/4%. While the first ARM had a slightly higher initial rate, it will have lower rates in subsequent years, unless the Treasury note rates increase enough to activate the annual caps on the amount of the increase. There is a wide variance among margins in ARMs offered by competing lenders, and this should be a factor when you decide on your loan.
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| Q |
What are the world's most valuable chairs?
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| A |
A pair of Chippendale chairs designed by Robert Adam sold in 1997 at Christie's, London to an anonymous buyer for $2,762,330. |
 See More Real Estate Trivia > |
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- NUMBER1EXPERT™ 
