Even if you have a real estate agent, you still need a real estate attorney. This may seem like overkill, but it really isn’t. Some states, such as New York, even require you to use a real estate attorney during the closing process. However, even if you live in a state without this requirement, the reasons for hiring an attorney are sound. A real estate attorney can interpret the legal ramifications of any mortgage or closing documents you may receive and let you know how these documents may affect you. If the attorney sees anything that is not in your best interests, he or she will tell you, giving you a chance to act accordingly. Remember, your attorney is there to protect YOUR interests in any real estate deal. The interests of others involved in the process are not his concern.
While most real estate closings go off without a hitch, there are always a few here and there that have important last-minute problems to be resolved. You never know if a problem is going to come up until it’s right there, in front of your face. You definitely do NOT want to be without an attorney at your side if this were to happen at your closing. An attorney can take care of unforeseen problems immediately, which usually allow the closing to go on as scheduled. If you run into problems without an attorney present, the closing may not happen at all!
Your attorney is essentially your insurance policy at the closing. If a problem comes up, then the fee you paid him will be worth it. If no problem arises, then the fee you paid will simply be like any other insurance premium you pay for a policy that rarely, if ever, gets used. You may not have t o ever use the insurance, but it’s in your interest to have it there in place, just in case something goes wrong. If that happens and you don’t have an attorney, you’ll wish you did. Having a real estate attorney could mean the difference between closing on the house of your dreams and losing it entirely. Which would you prefer?
These days, selling a house is not easy. In the down real estate market, people are reluctant to make an investment that has backfired on so many of their friends and neighbors. It’s also much harder to get a mortgage now, so even those who WANT to buy a home may find it to be more difficult than they thought. This is bad news for people who need to sell their houses quickly. Whether you’re selling because you need to get a cheaper place, a bigger place, are facing foreclosure, are getting married, or are getting a job transfer, when you need to sell right away, dealing with a rough real estate market is tough!
Don’t despair, though, because selling a house quickly CAN be done, even with the market in the bad shape it’s in. The first and most obvious thing you can do is lower the price of your house so much that it becomes a virtual steal. This is great for people who already have a lot of equity in their homes and can afford to do so. However, this isn’t the best option for most.
The next best thing you can do is to make your house as charming and inviting as possible. Make it look cozy and almost storybook-like. You want potential buyers to see your house, both inside and out, and think that there’s no way they wouldn’t want to live there. They need to be able to picture a blissful, comfortable life there. Make them feel at home in your house, and they’ll move mountains to make a deal happen.
This means you have to clean things up. Put all clutter away. Make any necessary repairs. You don’t want anything to look ugly or out of place. Re-paint if you have to, and make sure the house smells good when people walk inside. Having a pie or cookies in the oven during visits from buyers is an excellent and proven tactic that gets people clamoring for your house.
If all else fails, you could offer owner financing. People who may want your house but can’t get a mortgage could be prime candidates for owner financing. If you can afford to do it and trust the people you’re selling to to be responsible, owner financing can get your house sold lickety-split.
Your credibility in the investing world is based upon your credit score. It does not matter if you have purchased one home or ten homes, if your credit score is lower than the threshold used to determine credit approval, you could be facing higher interest rates and even higher mortgage payments. The credit score you have today, does not have to be the one you have tomorrow. Building credit credibility requires a bit of time and a great home budget.
To start the process of rebuilding your credibility, you need to know what factors are lowering your credit score. A complete credit report with credit score is a great place to start. This report will tell you the negative reports that have been filed that are lowering your credit score and thus your loan credibility.
Once you know what factors are hurting you financially, you can make a list of the items you can change today and those that will take a bit more time to resolve. The most immediate changes that can be made include the repayment of current bills, loans and credit cards. Paying your bills on time has a huge effect on the credit score, so even if you pay off every negative past due payment on the credit report, it may not have the same impact as paying your current bills on time would have.
Next, pay off the smaller bills one at a time. If there are silly bills on your credit report that are considered negative and continue to lower your credit score, pay those off. If the bills are larger, contact the companies and try to work out a smaller final payment or a payment plan. Once these bills start being reported as Paid On Time or Paid in Full, the credit score and your credibility will improve.
Time is the key to building credit credibility. The lender does not believe in quick fixes and neither does your credit score. Over time, with patience and attention to paying ALL of your bills on time, the credit score reported by all bureaus will rise and that will mean your actions are paying off. It will take one to two years to rebuild the credibility needed to secure the lowest home interest rates on your loan.
The lower the home interest rate, the less money you will have to repay. This is a huge factor in being able to afford the home you are currently living in and maintaining that credit credibility you have worked so hard to secure.
Buying that first new home is a change that is filled with anxiety, excitement and energy. In the midst of these emotions, a homebuyer could make some very real mistakes that may haunt them for years to come. The process of buying that first home starts with a home search, but is it really a search if the potential buyer has chosen the perfect home without ever looking?
The Internet opens a huge portal in the real estate world. All a buyer needs to do is log onto the Internet and search for homes in a given area. Once the search is narrowed down by price, bedrooms or square footage, there will be a short list of homes that fall into the acceptable category. From here, buyers click on images and maps to find out where the home is located. With enough legwork, the buyer can also find the address and visit the home before even seeing a real estate agent.
This type of search is great for knowledge, but the real estate agent is trained to know about the pros and cons of every home. Just because the home looks great on paper, does not mean it is the perfect home for the buyer. The search should empower the buyer, not limit them to the results only THEY find.
Another huge pitfall is assuming income. Buyers may choose to enter into an adjustable mortgage or an interest only loan for the first few years of homeownership because they PLAN on making more money in the future. This is a huge mistake. Life change, things happen and if that income hike is not there, the mortgage (in full) will eventually come due and the owner will see the Foreclosure sign before they can write the check.
The key word when searching for that first home is LOGICAL. The buyer needs to be logical about the home they need, logical about what they can afford and logical about the amenities in the home. Just because you think you want a particular home does not mean that is really the home you need or the home you will love for the next 30 years.
Owning real estate is a huge step in life and one that should never be taken lightly. A real estate agent, or even a seasoned home owning friend, can help start the search process for that new home and help the virgin buyer steer away from the bad and the ugly choices they may make out of haste.
Prince William County Real Estate and Homes for sale
For some reason, renters have a tendency to skim over the pages of a rental contract and sign their name on the bottom line without really understanding what they have read. This can be a disaster for the renter when the fine print becomes a reality.
There are several key aspects of a rental agreement that need to be overviewed before the lease is signed. These include:
Pets - If you have a pet and the landlord swears you will be able to keep your pet in the rental unit, make sure that phrase is included in the lease. Word of mouth means nothing once you sign the lease and it clearly says, NO PETS.
Guests - Guests are often written into a lease with a time limit on how long they can stay. This time limit is not a legal inclusion, just the most common limit used for rental contracts. If you have a large family and many guests will be coming in and out, make sure that time limit is lifted. No one wants to look at their mom or dad and say, you have to leave because my guest time limit is up.
Lawn Care - If the rental unit has landscaping, will you be in charge of keeping the grass cut and cared for? Many landlords would rather a professional service take care of the landscaping and are willing to add a few extra dollars to the lease to hire an agency.
Sub Leasing - Need a roommate? You can’t have one according to your lease. Roommates and subleasing out an apartment are often forbidden by leasing contracts. Again, if this is an intention in the future, make sure you have the acceptance written into the lease.
Prince William County Real Estate and Homes for sale
Money tends to easily come into the bank account and just as easily disappear. A home equity line of credit, unlike other forms of revolving credit accounts, is based on the equity you have earned in your home. As the line of credit is used, the repayment is like repaying yourself for the money you have spent.
When applying for a home equity line of credit, the homeowner can choose how much of their home equity they wish to use as the basis for their credit line. If they have $100,000 in home equity, they may only want to use $30,000 for home repairs and debt. This equity will then be linked to a credit line that the homeowner can use for any purpose they see fit as long as they can pay the money back.
Unlike a home equity loan, the line of credit is revolving. This means the money will have to be paid back in addition to the current mortgage payment. Much like a credit card payment, the money owed is not figured into the mortgage payment and recalculated for future payments. Thus, the line of credit is far different from refinancing, per se.
While the one time loan seems to offer a bit of freedom because the money does not have to be repaid, so to speak, when the home equity line of credit is repaid, the money is available again for future purposes.
The home equity line of credit is also a great way to teach financial limitations, especially if you are trying to be more budget minded. Taking out a smaller line of credit will limit the homeowner spending. This means even a larger home repair will need to be completed in smaller bits and pieces. As the money is paid back into the line of credit, the repair can continue. The smaller the home equity line of credit is, the more thrifty the homeowner will need to be with the money spent, but the repayment amount will also be smaller.
Choosing a home equity line of credit over a home equity loan means revolving money and that is a great way to continue improving your property and your debt to income ratio if the money is used to pay off high interest loans and credit card balances. The more you pay off with the line of credit, the better your credit score and financial stability.
Prince William County Real Estate and Homes for sale
At any given time, there are millions of buyers waiting to snatch up their dream home. These buyers may be preparing to jump into home ownership, or waiting for that dream home to hit the market. Then there are people who believe renting a home is the best way to go. When debating the rent versus buy thought, homeowners will tell you to buy every time but only when you are ready.
Before beginning the process of buying a new home, a 15% down payment needs to be saved. This down payment required on the home could be less, but any home buyer would be happy to have money left in savings after getting that key than running around trying to liquidate assets to keep the home of their dreams.
The closing costs on the home will average about 5% of the price of the home. This is another bit of money that should be saved before the search even begins. If the potential home owner finds the home they wish to buy, they should be ready to buy right then and not after months of saving when that dream home could already be sold.
How much can you afford? This is question that will vary from person to person, but traditionally, the mortgage payment should not be any more than 25% of your total income per month. That is take home income, not gross income because the gross amount is never the same as the amount that available for use on payday. For instance, if a potential buyer brings home $6000 a month, the mortgage should be no more than $1500 a month.
This number may seem conservative, but the true cost of ownership involves more than just the mortgage payment. There are utilities, upkeep and property taxes in addition to home insurance that will need to be paid each month just on the home.
A self run credit report is also a huge item to look over before applying for any mortgage. If you walk into the office blindly, you could lower your credit score without obtaining a mortgage. When the lending company runs your credit report, that could lower your score and if it is too low to meet their lending guidelines, it will be for nothing. When you run your own report, the score is not affected and will not lower.
You usually have high hopes when you move into a new neighborhood. It’s a brand new life, a new experience, and you want it to go well. While you can choose the best house in the world, an excellent location, and a beautiful neighborhood, you can’t choose your neighbors. What do you do if you get your dream home, only to find that your neighbors are the stuff of nightmares? Here are the best ways to handle the top three types of problem neighbors and still enjoy your new home.
1) Gossips
It’s not uncommon to encounter a neighbor who loves to gossip. This can be extremely annoying, especially when you’re the subject of the gossip. Gossips love to find out every detail about what you’re doing and spread it all around the neighborhood. It’s irritating if you otherwise like the person, and downright upsetting if you don’t like the person at all!
You can deal with a neighborhood gossip by doing nothing to encourage them. Don’t give them too much information about yourself. If they ask you personal questions, either try to change the subject to something about THEM, or just tell them you can’t imagine they’d be interested in such a trivial detail about yourself. You could even outright lie to them (also known as propagating dis-information) if you’re comfortable with that. Just come up with a response you like and that deflects the personal questions in a kind and polite way.
2) People Who Make Too Much Noise
Yes, a fact of neighborhood life is that sometimes people make noise. Sometimes you can understand it and ignore it, such as holiday parties, once a year birthday parties, or the kids trying out new toys outside. But neighbors who are consistently noisy can be a problem. These are the people who play their stereos too loudly outside all the time, the people who mow their lawns at insane hours, those who keep their televisions on high volume with the windows open, etc.
The first thing you should do is let your neighbors know that their noise is bothersome. If kids are the problem, talk to their parents. Try to come up with an equitable solution for everyone. If no solutions can be arrived at, talk to other neighbors to see what can be done, or call the police, if necessary.
3) Creepy Stalkers
Once in a while, you come across a neighbor who just won’t leave you alone. He (or she) invites himself over all the time, makes a point to be outside just as you’re getting home or leaving, and seems to be watching your every move. If you’re unfortunate enough to have this kind of neighbor, you’ve got to tell him that you’re not interested. Don’t give him any reason to think you may actually be a little interested. Keep any communication with this neighbor perfunctory and speak only when necessary. If it continues to be a problem, you may have to go to the police and get a restraining order. However, remember, protecting yourself is your first priority.
If you’re building a home, you’re going to need a construction loan. The construction loan is different from the mortgage. The construction loan is to pay the contractors to build your house. Once the house is built and the contractors are paid, then your loan will be converted into a regular home mortgage. But before you can move into your dream home, custom designed by you, you’ll need to get a construction loan. If you’ve never done it, here’s how.
First, you choose a lender that will work with you, and find out just how much you can qualify for in financing. Be sure to take down payments and closing costs into consideration. Next, choose a home design and hire a contractor and an architect to do the job. Get these two professionals to give you an estimate of how much it will cost to do the job, and be sure you know how many revisions your architect will allow you to make to the home design plans before chargine you additional money.
Once you’ve got everything all set up with the architect and contractor, go back to the lender and ask for the construction loan. You should already know that the estimated cost of the project will fit in with the financing figure the lender gave you previously. The lender will need to see the plans for the house before releasing any money to you. It will be easiest on you if you get a construction loan that can be automatically converted into a regular mortgage upon completion of the home. This way, you can keep the same lender, which saves a lot of paperwork. However, be aware that you may have to get a separate mortgage from another lender once construction in complete, depending on your individual circumstances.
Construction loans usually need a 10% downpayment (20% if you want to avoid having to get private mortgage insurance). You could also avoid having to get this insurance by piggybacking your loans. To do this, get a first mortgage for 75 to 80% and a second mortgage for the balance of the price of the construction of the home. Once you have the right construction loan and plans for your dream home drawn up and ready to go, it’s time to get started on building. Soon, you’ll be moving in to a great home at an excellent price. What could be better than that?
Sure, the economy is down, but the resulting real estate deals out there can be very tempting. With plenty of homeowners desperate to sell their houses and get out from under mortgages they can no longer afford, there are deals available now the likes of which haven’t been seen in decades. If you’re in a position to buy, now is definitely a good time. But how can you be sure your new home purchase is a good idea, or if it will plunge you further into the mires of the recession that have plagued so many already?
Simply pay attention to the following three pointers, and you’ll be in a perfect position to buy a house in a down economy and thrive with it.
1. Take a good look at your finances and make sure you can afford the home you’re considering. This means you need to be either employed or have a stable source of income. The money you make needs to be enough to cover the monthly mortgage payments of the home you’re considering. Today’s stricter lenders will want to know the answers to these questions. Typically, your monthly mortgage payment must not be more than 30% of your monthly income. And remember, the mortgage payment will include taxes and insurance, as well.
2. Decide how long you plan to be in the area. Single people who move around a lot, or people with jobs that require frequent moves may well want to wait to buy a home right now. In the past, you could buy a home and re-sell it again a year or two later for a significant profit. However, trying to do that now would most certainly result in you taking a significant loss. The best rule of thumb right now is to not buy a house unless you plan to stay in the area for at least 3 to 5 years to give the economy time to recover.
3. Ask yourself how well you can really manage your personal finances. If you’re consistently late on monthly payments or if you have trouble making ends meet throughout the month, buying a house now isn’t going to be a good idea for you. You don’t want to get caught up in a cycle of late payments that could totally wreck your monthly budget. Even worse, you don’t want to end up losing your new house to foreclosure like so many others. Only take the plunge and buy a house at this time if you’re very stable with your finances. Follow these three tips, and you just may be ready to buy the house of your dreams.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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