home buyer tips: Pros And Cons Of Adjustable Rate Mortgages! - 01/23/14 07:36 AM
When you are in the market for a new home, you may be faced with numerous options for financing your home. One of the choices you will have to make is whether to apply for a fixed or adjustable rate mortgage.
In some cases, an adjustable rate mortgage may be your best option, but keep in mind, they are not the answer for everyone. Adjustable rate mortgages can be risky for some borrowers and it's important to understand both the pros and cons.
When To Consider An Adjustable Rate Mortgage:
Perhaps one of the best things about ARMs is they typically … (0 comments)

home buyer tips: Should I Shorten My Mortgage Term, Important Factors To Consider! - 01/23/14 07:16 AM
When you first bought your home a few years ago, perhaps you started off with a 30 year mortgage. Now, you are considering refinancing and changing it to a 20 year or even a 15 year mortgage.
Shortening your mortgage term and refinancing can be a smart financial move, but before you make this decision there are a number of factors that you should consider.
Switching to a shorter mortgage will mean that your monthly payments will be higher, but you will be 100% paid off much sooner and you will save thousands of dollars in interest rates. Here are a … (0 comments)

home buyer tips: Dodd-Frank's Latest Gift: The Qualified Mortgage Rule! - 01/15/14 05:55 AM
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act's latest provision - the Qualified Mortgage rule - is going to effect on January 10, 2014.
While, like many of Dodd-Frank's other features, its ability to protect customers remains to be seen, one of its impacts is already clear. Taking out a home loan just got harder.
The QM rule contains a set of provisions that, if followed, may protect lenders from lawsuits. They will also make it harder for customers to qualify to borrow money to buy a house.
Verifying Incomes:
Lenders now have to follow stringent procedures to verify that borrowers can … (0 comments)

home buyer tips: 3 Considerations When Making A Down Payment - 01/15/14 05:47 AM
One of the challenges you will face when deciding how much money to put down on your new home is whether to put down a larger down payment or to take a bit of money from your down payment and use it to pay "discount points" to lower your interest rate.
There are pros and cons to doing both and each borrower's situation will be different so it's important to understand which option is best for your individual need.
Some Factors You Should Consider Include:
Cost Of Borrowing - generally speaking, to lower your interest rate will mean you pay a premium. … (1 comments)

home buyer tips: Pitfalls And Warning Signs Of Making A Down Payment - 01/13/14 09:58 AM
When you already have a home, you may be interested in determining if a refinance is a good option. You will not have to worry about restrictions on down payments or some of the problems that can occur with a down payment.
However, if you are considering purchasing a home in or the surrounding communities, understanding down payment restrictions is important.
Gifting Of A Down Payment:
There are some programs that will allow you to use a gift for your home down payment. However, before you assume this, make sure you talk to your loan officer. Generally speaking, the lender will … (0 comments)

home buyer tips: 4 Tips To Save For That Down Payment - 11/22/13 04:19 AM
In order to save up a huge amount of cash for the down payment on your first mortgage, you need a solid savings plan!
When you take out a mortgage on your new home as a first time homebuyer, the more you can pay as a down payment the better. The down payment on a mortgage reduces the principle of the loan and means that you will be paying tens of thousands less in interest payments over the life of the loan.
Most financial experts recommend that you should save up at least 20% of the value of the home as … (0 comments)

home buyer tips: 5 Great Questions To Ask At An Open House - 11/22/13 04:06 AM
An open house gives you a great opportunity to look more closely at real estate you might be interested in buying. It also affords you the chance to chat with the owner or real estate agent so you can bring up any issues or hesitations you have with the home.
Knowing what to ask can be difficult, so below are examples of questions to ask at the next open house you attend.
Why Has The Seller Decided To Sell Now?
If you ask why the seller is moving, you could learn valuable information to help determine your offer or possibly whether … (1 comments)

home buyer tips: 3 Tips To Sidestep These Common FHA Loan Hang-ups - 11/14/13 06:49 AM
FHA loans are becoming increasingly popular these days as potential homeowners are not able to qualify for mortgages from traditional lenders. The FHA insures these high-risk loans, in turn allowing borrowers with low down payments and less than perfect credit to purchase homes and bolster the housing market.
However, getting through the loan process with the FHA is more difficult than with a traditional lender, and you may need to cope with some of these common loan hang-ups.
Property Condition:
You can't buy just any property with a FHA loan. The appraiser must deem it to be livable, without any conditions … (1 comments)

home buyer tips: Are 50 Year Mortgages A Good Financing Option? - 11/12/13 04:39 AM
When most people are taking out a mortgage on a property, they select either a 15 or 30 year mortgage loan. However, there is a new mortgage option that has been available to home owners since 2006 and that is the 50 year mortgage loan.
Although a half-century might seem like a very long loan term, there can be some advantages to taking out a five-decade mortgage. Here are some of the pros and cons to taking out a mortgage that you repay over 50 years.
Advantages:
The main benefit that you will experience with a 50 year mortgage is the … (0 comments)

home buyer tips: Beware Of Zombie Titles - 11/01/13 08:03 AM
With the economic downturn, anyone dealing in real estate quickly became familiar with previously little-known terms such as foreclosure and short sale. Now that the housing market is picking back up and people are moving on, a new term is coming to light — zombie titles.
The Zombie Title:
This is when a home has been vacated because the owners defaulted on their loan and their bank started the foreclosure process. However, for some reason or another the bank never completed the foreclosure and sold the home.
So, when the city starts fining someone for the overgrown grass and dilapidated structure, … (1 comments)

home buyer tips: Get The Lowdown On Private Mortgage Insurance - 10/17/13 08:11 AM
You may have heard the term Private Mortgage Insurance when looking to finance real estate. What is PMI, and how do you know when you need to purchase it?
The answer can be hard to find among all the real estate jargon you're hearing lately. Below is the short version of what you need to know.
What Is Private Mortgage Insurance?
PMI is an extra insurance required by some lenders to offset their risk of you defaulting on your home loan. When you put down less than 20 percent of the real estate's value, your lender may tell you that you … (0 comments)

home buyer tips: Nail The Final Walkthrough Before Closing - 10/17/13 08:01 AM
By the time you get to the final walkthrough on your property, the home buying process is almost complete. However, it is still important to pay close attention to this final step, as it will be crucial in the success of your home purchase.
The final walkthrough is your last opportunity to ensure that everything in the home is in working order and that there are no potential problems waiting for you when you take over ownership of the property.
While conducting a final walkthrough of the property, give yourself enough time to look carefully at everything and not be rushed. … (1 comments)

home buyer tips: Tips On Passing Your Home Inspection With Flying Colors - 10/11/13 05:43 AM
Home inspections are a tense time for everyone. Sellers are fervently hoping that nothing major is wrong with their home that could hold up the transaction.
Buyers are eager to hear that their new house is in prime condition. Whatever the wishes, one thing is for sure; any news from an inspector is usually bad news.
Home inspectors have a tough job. They have to be trained to spot hundreds of potential issues with a home and be knowledgeable of local codes, community restrictions and residential permit parameters.
Stay one step ahead of your home inspector by reading the list of … (0 comments)

home buyer tips: When Is It A Good Idea To Use A Home Equity Loan? - 10/11/13 05:31 AM
A home equity loan is a type of loan that allows you to use the equity of your home as collateral. It is an option that home owners have available to them and that some people use to pay for major expenses such as home renovations, college education or medical bills.
These types of loans became popular in 1996 because they provided a way for consumers to circumvent their tax charges for that year, which eliminated the deductions on the interest for most consumer purchases.
It is a good idea to leverage your shelter for cash? What is a legitimate reason … (0 comments)

home buyer tips: How Does An Interest-Only Mortgage Work? - 10/07/13 08:08 AM
When you have been researching your different options for a mortgage on your home, you might have heard of an "Interest-Only Mortgage". What exactly does this type of mortgage mean and how does it work?
Usually when you take out a loan, you must pay back the capital debt (the amount you borrowed) and the interest on that debt. An interest-only mortgage offers a cheaper option for purchasing a property, because you will only be making payments on the interest and not the capital.
Compared to a repayment style mortgage where you are paying down the principle of the loan, an … (0 comments)

home buyer tips: 4 Quick Tips On Becoming A Young Real Estate Investor - 09/26/13 11:51 AM
Investing in property at a young age seems like a bit of a daunting prospect sometimes. Most young people don't have a lot of disposable income, often have poor credit and perhaps even student loans.
When you are in your early 20s, you are not likely thinking about investing in property and are probably focusing on other things. However, investing in property at a young age can bring you a lot of advantages.
It requires a different approach and style and you might be the only one of your peers who is doing so, but you will definitely reap the benefits later … (1 comments)

home buyer tips: Highest Existing Home Sales Since February 2007 - 09/26/13 11:39 AM
Sales of existing homes reached their highest volume in almost six years in August. The National Association of REALTORS reported Thursday that sales of existing homes rose 1.70 percent in August to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million existing homes sold.
This was the highest number of existing home sales since February of 2007.
August's results exceeded estimates of 5.20 existing homes sold, which was based on July's unrevised reading of 5.39 million existing homes sold.
The NAR also reported that the national median home price increased to $212,100 in August. This represents a year-over-year increase of 14.70 percent and … (1 comments)

home buyer tips: Quick Tips To Beat Out Cash Buyers - 09/20/13 08:25 AM
You've been searching for the perfect home for quite a while, and finally, you've found it! You get all of your finances in order and place an offer on the house.
However, you're not the only one that loves the home, because there are multiple offers — and one of them is cash.
Cash buyers are seen as desirable because they're almost always a guaranteed quick close.
They don't have to borrow money from a bank therefore won't have any financing hang-ups, which is where a large portion of offers fall through. Don't worry; not all hope is lost.
Follow the … (0 comments)

home buyer tips: Don't Overlook These Important Factors When Buying A New Home - 09/20/13 08:05 AM
Most of the time when buying a property, there are a few obvious factors that you will consider – such as the location, the number of bedrooms, the accessibility to schools or your workplace, the need for repairs and any interior features. However, there are a few things that might not have crossed your mind during your house hunting but are still quite important.
Water Quality:
Most home buyers don't even think about the water quality at the property until they get to the inspection stage. However, if you find out that the home has hard water this will dull your … (1 comments)

home buyer tips: What You Need To Know About Mortgage Insurance - 09/16/13 05:47 AM
If you are on the verge of buying real estate, you've probably heard the term Private Mortgage Insurance(PMI). Mortgage professionals talk about it a great deal, but you may be asking, "What is it exactly? And why should I care?"
Private Mortgage Insurance Defined:
PMI is required by lenders if the down payment of a purchase is less than 20 percent of the home's value. It protects the lender if the borrower defaults on the loan.
It also makes the lender more apt to loan, even if the down payment is as low as 3%, because in the long run, the … (1 comments)