SI Real Estate Tampa and The Beaches

The dream of home ownership is now more accessible than it has been in years, and for many Americans owning a home is still the American dream. If you are not financially prepared, today’s excellent deals may pass you by. Try some of these money saving tips to add more cash to your future home fund: - Take a fixed amount from every paycheck and make sure it goes directly into your savings account. This can be a fixed percentage (10%) or a fixed amount ($200.00). - Create and closely watch your budget. Many people have no idea where there money goes every week or month. Watching where you spend your money may surprise you and you may not be so quick to buy lattes 5 days a week. - When you go shopping, make a list and stick to it. Get only what you need and forget about the extras that you don’t. - Cut back on utilities. Do you need all 10 HBO channels? Do you use 3-way calling? Probably not. Do away with them and you will be surprised by how much you will save each month. - Have a garag

When the Federal Reserve announced that they would acquire the debt and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae, homeowners across the United States rushed to lock in lower fixed-rate mortgages to preclude adjustments that were impending due to the acquisition of interest-only and adjustable rate mortgages (ARM’s). Consumers are getting smarter about their finances due to the current recession and the government is offering refinance programs that makes it even easier to get low fixed-rate mortgages. Here in the Tampa Bay area, we have seen several expansions due to the so-called “refinance surge”. One such expansion was an announcement last week from Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union (TBFCU). TBFCU has announced that they are expanding their Real Estate Lending/Servicing Division to handle the foreseen surge in the refinancing market. Dean Clark, Manager of Real Estate Lending/Servicing for TBFCU said, "In the first quarter of 2009, we have see