Creekside Mortgage - Blog

Kerry N. Greenwald | NMLS#70269 | Treasure Valley Update | March 14th, 2023

Hey there Treasure Valley! I’m excited to say that we came out with our continued education classes here in Ada and Canyon County. We have three courses that are coming out for realtors who need their continued educations credits. I know two of the offices are based right here in Meridian and I’ll get the list of locations out to you guys. If any agents or anyone else around here wants to participate in those it’s two hours continued education credits. I like to put it on at no cost. Just so I can educate more and more people, especially the introduction of how VA transactions work and the benefit of the VA loan for Veterans. I like to teach from every avenue from identifying the potential benefits that a veteran may have to all the different concepts and stuff that go along with the VA loan. So, I’m proud to launch that class. I plan to probably do a few more courses throughout the year and throughout the states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. We’re definitely going to go through and

launch it right here in Ada County first. So, it’s one of my exciting things to go through and get back to teaching which is what I used to do

many, many years ago. It’s something I’m passionate about. Definitely the more and more people I can teach about VA will benefit all of us in the end. Just want to let you know about that.

Have a great week!

KERRY N GREENWALD | NMLS#70269 | TREASURE VAMLLEY UPDATE | MARCH 7TH, 2023

Hello Treasure Valley! You’re seeing the different things going on all throughout the valley. You know from Kuna to Eagle there’s different activity going through. We have an inventory issue. I mean you can’t get around it. You just can’t find enough houses for sale and if you price the house correctly, it’s selling really, really quickly. Obviously if it’s not priced correctly, it’s sitting there for a while. So, it’s an opportunity both on the selling side and the buying side. There’s not a ton of buyers, but when there are some you know they’re trying to find the correct house and it’s been pretty difficult to do that. Another big product we see a lot of people doing are the VA Assumptions. They tend to be a little harder in the Treasure Valley just because a lot of people that bought their house 2-3 years ago the value of the property almost doubled during that time period. Them trying to go through and do an assumption is hard because you have to make up the amount down in full. So, there are unique situations where assumptions do work if the sales price is close to what they owe on the house or if you have the capital for a veteran to go through and make up that difference to get into what their current loan situation is. But they’re amazing. If they’re in the twos on interest rate let’s say for example, and the house is worth $600,000, they owe $400,000, you have to come in with $200,000 to make up that difference to put your Certificate of Eligibility into their name. It’s very inexpensive. It can be done directly through the bank, doesn’t involve one of us or a lot of times you can even avoid certain things on the real estate side of things too. So, it’s to your benefit to go through if you have the capital and cash to make up some of that difference. It doesn’t have to be a veteran, anyone can go through and do it. However, if it’s a non-Veteran the current Certificate of Eligibility is tied up on that property, it doesn’t go away until that person sells that house. So, you want to always be careful about that because you could be giving up your 28 years left on your loan, and they keep that loan for 28 years. You could lose your COE for 28 years and the capability of buying another VA house or doing anything else because of that previous property. So definitely call us. I’ll try to point you in the right direction and help as much as I can. This product is not something we could physically do, but I can show you some of the angles and stuff you can go through and get it to work. We love to go through and help any way we can. We’re right here and a phone call away.

I hope you have a great day!

Kerry N. Greenwald | Sr. VA Loan Specialist | NMLS#70269 | Clark County Update | MARCH 7TH, 2023

In Clark County right now, our average dollar per square foot is $325. So it’s ticking downwards slightly, not dramatically, but there are opportunities to go through and seek stuff out throughout the county. There are some hotspots. We’re still facing a little bit of inventory issue. You’d think based on what was going on right now,

there would be a little bit more stuff coming onto the market, but there’s not and that’s the big issue. There’s the have and have nots out there on properties. You get something that is priced right, and it’s sold really, really quickly. If it’s priced wrong, it seems to be sitting on the market for quite some time. But you as a purchaser it’s tough and hard to find that right property, especially with what rates are doing. They tend to keep up ticking right now. There’s a lot of information coming out during the course of this week so that should do some correction on that, we’re hoping. It’s one of those types of things right now that’s influencing a lot of things happening in the market. Assumptions are also a big deal right now. I mean a lot of people call us quite often on VA Assumptions. I love to go through help and point those out. The unique thing on that is whatever is owed on the house versus what they’re trying to sell it for is has to be made-up with the cash portion brought into closing. That’s what’s difficult because you can’t seek lending on doing stuff like that. So, if you can find something that’s real close to what the margin is, what they’re trying to sell the house versus what they owe, it can be easier to go through and get an assumption. I love to go through and point those out and see if there’s any opportunity for you to do that. It’s very inexpensive compared to what a normal loan would be and of course you can take over their current interest rate. It’s a big deal. So, always here to help from vet to vet. Love to go through and do anything we can on that.

Thanks!

Kerry N. Greenwald | Sr. VA Loan Specialist | NMLS#70269 | Clark County Update

So Clark County continues to grow. We’re watching a lot of activity especially in the Ridgefield area. Even in the Battleground outskirts you’re still seeing development go through and happen. VA loans have been extremely popular in these areas and continue to increase with the market changing. It’s going more away from a sellers’ market to a buyers’ market and they’re accepting of more VA transactions and things are going

through and taking place. So, definitely don’t let anyone talk

you out of your VA rights. If you ever get someone in there, make sure that you go through and you keep that to your advantage. One thing that people aren’t aware of is you can have a secondary VA loan now. The VA limits have increased dramatically and are now over $726,000. So if you bought a VA house many, many years ago and you want to keep that house, keep it under VA. You might potentially be able to do a second VA transaction, which has been a very, very, very big deal in Clark County.

So definitely reach out to us and ask us those questions and we’re

here to help. Anything to do with the VA or other, I’d love it if you would give us a phone call, we’d love to go through and help you.

Thank you!

Kerry N. Greenwald | Sr. VA Loan Specialist | NMLS#70269 | Treasure Valley Update 2/28/2023

We got some cool statistics in for the Treasure Valley for last year. It kind of breaks things down. Approximately 85 transactions per month that were done in the Treasure Valley were VA. So, it’s a big deal. I know we’ve seen Kuna growing dramatically, Star is where a lot of things took place and all the way out to Caldwell. So, we’re seeing activity happening throughout the entire Treasure Valley on VA. Now a lot of those transactions were new construction or finalization of new construction, but we’re seeing that uptick compared to the year before dramatically. It’s more of a buyers’ market now. People are more willing to accept a VA transaction. I just beg everyone out there, if you’ve got your VA eligibility don’t let someone talk you out of that, especially if you have service-connected disability and you’re not paying any fee. If you’re doing anything in the Boise Metro area here in Idaho, you definitely want to take time, if you’re a veteran, to talk to us. We want to make sure that you’re doing the right transaction for you and the thing that best fits. This means, doing a 0 down and you tend to have a lower rate than what conforming rate is. If you have a service-connected disability you’re not paying that upfront fee to the VA so VA is going to be your option that you typically always want to go through. We don’t just do VA here. We like to work with veterans as much as possible being, a veteran myself, but it’s one of those things that we want to encourage you to do the loan that best fits you versus trying to persuade you to do that conventional loan that’s easier for the realtor and everyone else. It typically is not best for you as the consumer. So, take time to reach out to us. I’d love to go and have a one-on-one conversation with you Me or my team is always here. We would love to go through and help you.

Thank you!

Kerry N. Greenwald | NMLS#70269 | February 13th, 2023 | Why we opened a branch location in Idaho where we did

Today, I want to talk to you about how we decided on this location in Meridian, Idaho. I’ve always been big on being in the middle of an area. Being where our office is now, we are located in the center of the Treasure Valley. Our address is 1965 S. Eagle Road Suite 100 Meridian, ID 83642. We are located just 3 blocks south off of I-84. One of the key landmarks that is nearby is the new Top Golf that just got built in Meridian, ID. Across I-84 on the other side you have Saint Luke’s hospital. Some of the main crossroads located near us is Overland, and of course, Eagle Road.  

The main city that everyone knows near us of course is Boise, Idaho and that is located just East of us.  If you travel a little bit farther you will find Mountain Home, ID. A lot of people commute from Mountain Home Air Force base to Boise or Meridian. Directly North from us you run into Eagle, Idaho which of course is right off of Eagle Road. Eagle might be a little bit more of an expensive area to live in, but it is very popular. Directly South of us you have beautiful Kuna, ID. Kuna is a little bit less expensive, and it is a beautiful area with a great view of Boise and Meridian. Right in the middle, you find Meridian, ID. The giant land mass that runs through everything. Directly to the West of us you have Nampa, ID. If you continue up I-84, you will find Caldwell, ID. Right between Eagle and Caldwell, you will find Star and Middleton, ID.  

Our main goal is to be centrally located so we can service all of these keys areas in the Treasure Valley.  Meridian, Idaho has been a key location and we love everything about it. It is obviously a growing area and it will probably potentially pass the population point of Boise, Idaho within the next 10 years. There is a little bit more capability for growth here in Meridian, ID  

The Treasure Valley is an awesome place to be. With Boise being the capital of Idaho, we are really close to the downtown area with the shopping and the restaurants and it makes the Treasure Valley a very desirable place to live.  

We love our office and just wanted to tell you how much!  

Kerry N. Greenwald NMLS#70269 | December 21st, 2022 | A Cold Front Hits Treasure Valley

I thought I knew what cold was, but wow has it been cold in the Treasure Valley this week! It’s a different thing for me to see snow sitting on the ground for over a week and not go away. It’s crazy that December is the coldest month of the year. But at least it is dry!

We are seeing market changes here in the Treasure Valley and other parts of the PNW. It is a positive sign that things are still moving. We are seeing stagnation in other areas where sellers are having difficulty selling their house, but we aren’t necessarily seeing that here. Yes, we are seeing values drop a little bit, but we are also seeing steadiness overall. The cool thing about buying a house right now is you have a seller willing to go through and provide funds towards closing costs and even buying the rate down.

We are here for any questions you may have. VA will always be my passion, but always feel free to reach out with questions on Conventional, FHA or anything else. Being a broker, we have a lot of ability to go through and look at many different companies that could potentially fit your specific needs.

Kerry N. Greenwald | November 29th, 2022 | Treasure Valley Update

As we head into the new year, I want to talk about how certain things might affect us here in the Boise area. Come January 2023, there is going to be a Social Security increase of a little over 8%. This is a positive thing, but it is also another inflationary driver. Anytime you are putting money into the system, it creates inflationary factors. A lot of people in the Treasure Valley are waiting for the day that values drop dramatically on houses. However, we are going to get things that will stabilize it. I think we are nearing the low of what values are going to be, but I do think we have a little bit higher of what interest rates are going to eventually increase to. It will be interesting to see how the Social Security increase will affect the market. Rent seems to be leveling off as more people decide not to sell their house, but to rent it out. I do think markets are going to pick up around the middle of 2023 and the market is still pretty strong in the Treasure Valley.  

Hope that helps! 

As we lead up to the election, what can you expect in the market?

by Kerry Greenwald  |  November 2nd, 2022 | Treasure Valley Area Update

Another week has come and gone. As the weather starts to change in the Treasure Valley, we are starting to see builders drastically cut back on productivity and for the most part industry values are holding. As I’ve said before, as we start to see a decrease in the production of new construction, we will start to run into inventory issues as we come into next year. This essentially means that values will hold or even have a 1-2% increase into 2023. The Treasure Valley is still a very desirable place to be even as we head into some colder weather. It’s a great community to live in. Another positive thing is that rates seem to be holding. On the verge of the election, we know that all sorts of things can happen. Don’t hesitate to reach out directly to us. The top ten steps in getting a loan are step #1: call us and let us worry about the other 9 steps. We have the ability to shop multiple different lenders to find one that best fits your situation.

Have a great week Treasure Valley!