Believe in Integra Real Estate and Mortgage - Buy and Sell Homes and Lots on Mercer Island, WA and the Surrounding Areas

The Smarter
Choice for
Real Estate & Mortgages

If you are ready to buy, sell or finance your home, then you need Integra – the smarter choice for real estate

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Believe in Integra

Are you strapped for CASH?
Would you like to LOWER your mortgage payments?
Do you have an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) that will adjust soon?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then Integra can help you! Here’s how we can turn you into a believer.

An Ideal Time to Buy or “Re-Fi”

Interest rates are experiencing historical new lows. If you already own a home, you can refinance now to get a better interest rate, lowering your monthly payments. This improves your monthly cash flow, while your real estate investment continues to grow in value. If you are ready to buy a new home, you can lock in an attractive interest rate, so you can afford a bigger home than you could at higher rates.

Because Integra specializes in buying and selling homes as well as financing them, we are experts are at using today’s interest rates and mortgage products to your advantage. Here is one example of a financing scenario that has benefited our clients.

Client Brandon Smith and his wife Cindy came to Integra to refinance their home. With a $417,000 mortgage balance, they considered two 30-year loan options:

Mortgage Loan Type	Interest Rate	Monthly Payment	APR
30-Year Fixed	5.750%	$2,433.50	5.903%
30-Year Steady Option ARM*	6.125%	$1,085.95	7.225%

* Fixed rate and payment for five years

If the Smiths opt for a traditional 30-year fixed mortgage, their monthly payment is $2,433.50. By choosing the 30-year Steady Option ARM, however, their payment drops to $1,085.94. This dramatically increases their monthly cash flow, helping them to set funds aside for their children’s college expenses. Meanwhile, their home continues to appreciate in value at the same rate as if they had the 30-year fixed loan. The Smiths chose the 30-year Steady Option ARM.

The Steady Option ARM Advantage

Assuming the Smiths make only the minimum mortgage payment each month, the $1,085.94 payment will not be sufficient to pay all the interest that accrues each month. The difference, or interest shortfall, will be added to the principal balance of the loan, so the principal will increase instead of decrease. However, in a period of real estate appreciation, that interest shortfall is significantly less than the appreciation of the property, so the borrower’s net equity continues to increase while the monthly payments remain affordable. After the first five years of the loan, most consumers refinance their loans.

Let’s look at an example: If the Smith’s home is worth $600,000 and it appreciates at an average of 6% per year over the next five years, their home will be worth $809,000 at the end of that period, for a gain in value of $209,000. Their negative amortization over the same period will have been $61,500, so their net equity gain will have been $147,500. And they obtained that gain in equity while making payments of $1,085.94 instead of $2,433.50. Now that’s an example of a WIN-WIN financing scenario!

Act Now Before Rates Rise

Are you ready to learn how Integra can help you increase your cash flow by lowering your mortgage payments? Contact the Integra Team TODAY and find out why our clients believe that we are the smarter choice for real estate and mortgages