Country beauty with modern amenities at Sunrise Ranch
Since 1984, Stonefield Home has built a legacy for itself as the Central Valley’s No. 1 community builder, bringing quality homes to Merced County and providing exceptional value to all buyers
without compromising quality. With three beautiful communities currently building in Los Banos and two new ones on the way, Stonefield Home is offering buyers a variety of gorgeous homes to
choose from, helping you to find your dream home today. Make the drive to Los Banos and discover what Stonefield Home has in store for you!
Sunrise Ranch is our newest community
in Los Banos. It’s conveniently located near several shopping centers with easy highway access and close proximity to Pacheco High School, Grasslands Elementary and Los Banos Jr. High School.
We offer five modern and spacious single-story floor plans ranging from 1,398 square feet to 1,960 square feet. These three- to four-bedroom homes come with popular amenities including gourmet kitchens with granite counters, energy-saving appliances and solar. If you need to work from home select our office/den options or
Q: We bought a home about a year ago with a fixed-rate mortgage. We’re happy with the interest rate and with the lender, but we have just received a notice that our monthly mortgage payment is increasing by more than $100. Since the loan is fixed how can the monthly cost increase?
A: A fixed-rate mortgage is one of the great financial opportunities available to allows consumers. you to lock It in an interest rate and monthly cost for as long as 30 years.
If rates go up your cost stays the same.
If rates go down sufficiently you can consider refinancing.
In your situation the monthly cost for the money you borrowed did not change and will never change. However, a monthly mortgage payment often includes several costs in addition to mortgage interest and principal. $200,000 mortgage Consider at fixed-rate a 3% interest over 30 years.
The monthly cost for principal and interest is $843.21. That’s it.
That number will not change for the life of the loan.
Now look at your monthly payment coupon. If you bought with less than 20% down the lender will require the establishment of an “escrow” or trust account. Each month the lender will collect one-twelfth of your annual cost for property taxes, property insurance and sometimes other costs. This money will be placed in the escrow account.
When the bills come due the lender will pay them in full and on time.
In effect, with fixed-rate financing and less than 20% down your monthly
“mortgage” payment has two parts. There is the loan’s monthly cost that does not move up or down and then there is a bundle of costs that are very likely to increase each year.
Consider recent history. The country has faced a massive pandemic. We hear a lot about those who have been laid off and the many businesses that have closed as a result. Less visible is what has happened to state and local governments. Tax
collections while things costs as unemployment are for such down coverage are up.
How does a government get additional revenue? It raises taxes.
In the case of property taxes they have likely increased in recent years because home values nationwide have gone up.
For instance, the
National Association of Realtors reports that median existing home prices in
December were 12.9% higher than a year earlier.
Insurance costs have also increased.
ValuePenguin. com estimates that between 2010 and 2020 the cost for homeowners rose 59%. insurance The reason? Inflation and higher property values, of course, but think also of the many claims faced by property insurance companies during the past few years for the usual claims as well as hurricanes, floods, and fires.
So, yes, your
“mortgage payment” has increased but the actual expense for your fixed-rate mortgage has not. Instead, what’s happened is that related housing costs have grown, and that’s why you see a bigger monthly bill. Email your real estate questions to Peter Miller at peter@ ctwfeatures.com.