The 30-year mortgage rate hit another record low at 3.84% according to Florida Realtors.This is the lowest rate since the 1950's and beats the previous all-time low which was reported for February, 2012.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.88%, down from 3.98%. That is almost as low as the low rate in the 1950's of 3.87%. 15-year mortgages fell to 3.11%, down from 3.21% last week.

Warren Buffet was recently interviewed on CNBC’s Squawk Box. He said that he would "buy up a couple hundred thousand" single-family homes if it was practical. Buffet said that was because he believes the purchasing of a home with very low mortgage rates and holding it for long-term has become a better investment than stocks right now. He said "housing will come back - you can be sure of that".

According to a New York Times article on January 5, borrowers who have a history of paying rent on time may see an increase in their credit score. Last year Experian, one of the large credit reporting companies, added a section to its credit reports to reflect on-time rental payments. These on-time payments help increase credit scores for some on-time rent payers. CoreLogic and FICO, two other large credit reporting companies, recently added a similar section to their reports. In a summary of the article provided to me by FloridaRealtors, it stated that nearly half of high-risk consumers saw an increase of 100 points or more after their rental history was added to their credit report. This change also helps former homeowners who went through a foreclosure. They may be able to rebuild their credit scores quicker by showing that they are responsible renters.

Effective October 1, 2011, Florida's Power of Attorney Act was changed. Now, certain powers have to be initialed by the principal in order for the agent to have the authority, such as banking transactions, insurance transactions, and investment transactions. Also, all powers of attorney have to be signed in the presence of two different witnesses and a notary public.

The U.S. Census Bureau has just reported that homeownership is at its second highest level on record, only behind the record year of 2000. The U. S. Census Bureau has been collecting homeownership data since 1890. While the national homeownership rate remains high, the decease from the 2000 rate was 1.1%.

How To Apply For a Mortgage Loan

It is more difficult now to obtain a mortgage loan. Here are five ways suggested by the National Association of Realtors® to help the process go smoother.

1. Get a free credit report. This won’t entitle you to a copy of your credit score (unless you pay for it) but it is important to review the report to make sure the information they have on you is correct.

2. Organize your financial documents such as two months worth of pay stubs, bank statements, and tax returns for at least the last two years. If you get alimony or child support, get up-to-date court records on those. If you recently changed your name because of marriage or divorce, make sure to update your financial documents.

3. Don’t do unusual financial things for several months. Don’t buy large items like a car or furniture.

4. Document the downpayment source. It might be from savings, from a money market account, or from an inheritance. If it is a gift from a relative, you will need to produce a gift letter.

5. Show a stable work history for the past two months.

According to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FreddieMac), the average rate on 30-year loans fell to 4.60%. This is the lowest interest rate since mid-December, and historically one of the lowest interest rates ever.

The 2010 Profile of homebuyers and sellers, conducted by the National Association of Realtors, shows the following:

In Florida 44% of recent homebuyers were first-time owners compared to 50% nationwide. The typical first-time buyer was 31 years old while the typical repeat buyer was 54. Of recent buyers, 19% were single females and 11% were single males, which almost matches the national statistics. The typical home purchase was 1,800 square feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Death is a subject people do not like to think about. But there are good reasons to prepare for death by having an attorney prepare a will for you. A will is a written document stating the manner in which your property is to be distributed after you die. A will can be simple or more elaborate, depending upon if there are minor children, how much property is involved, and the wishes of the person making the will. In addition to directing how property is to pass at your death, a will can also name a guardian to take care of minor children and can create a trust naming a trustee to manage property for minor children or for others, and you can name the person who will manage your property after your death during the probate proceeding (the personal representative). The laws of each state set forth the formal requirements for a legal will. In Florida, the maker of the will must be at least 18 years old, must be of sound mind, and the will must be witnessed by two different people who are not receiving property under the will.

It is important to remember that a will has no legal effect until you die. You can change your will at any time by making a new will or making an amendment to the will (called a "codicil"). In order for the will to be legal, it is important that there be no mistakes in the preparation or signing of the will. You should never try to prepare your own will. You should have an attorney prepare it and supervise the signing of the will.

There are some restrictions as to what you can put in the will. To protect the family, particularly a surviving spouse, Florida law does not allow you to disinherit your spouse without a properly executed pre-nuptial agreement. Most people do not have such agreements. Even if the will leaves all of your property to someone else or even to a charity, Florida law requires that your surviving spouse be allowed to have at least 30% of property owned at your death less any claims against the estate, real estate located outside of Florida, and state and federal taxes, and administrative expenses. This is known as the spouse’s elective share. You may, however, disinherit your children. There are also restrictions on what you can do with your homestead (your primary residence). In most cases, your surviving spouse or minor children will have some form of ownership in the homestead after you die no matter what your will says.

Real estate and personal property owned jointly with your spouse or another person with right of survivorship cannot be given away in the will, since ownership of the property automatically passes to the other person upon your death. Also, you cannot specify that someone other than the beneficiary of your life insurance policy receive the benefits of the policy. When you die, the benefits of the life insurance policy immediately become the property of the beneficiary named in the policy.

If you die without a will, your property will be given to your heirs according to the formula provided by Florida law. Your property does not go to the State of Florida unless there are absolutely no heirs at law, which is unlikely. If you die without a will, the court will appoint the personal representative to manage your estate. The cost of probating your estate will probably be more than if you had a will.

If you have moved to Florida from another state, you should have your will reviewed by a Florida lawyer to be sure that it is a valid will in Florida.

There are also several other documents that you should consider when having a will made:

(a) A Living Will allows you to provide a written statement that you do not want artificial life prolonging procedures used if your physician and another attending physician find that there is no reasonable medical probability of your recovery from your illness or accident.

(b) Power of Attorney. This is a document where you name someone else to act for you. It is especially useful if you are out of town or if you are injured or ill and cannot act for yourself.

(c) Health Care Surrogate. Florida law allows individuals to designate a person to make health care decisions for them when they are temporarily unable to do so.