buying a home: 5 Steps Toward Buying A Home - 12/28/16 10:43 AM
 
Buying a home can be a particularly stressful, painstaking process, especially for first-time home buyers. To prepare you for the real estate market, follow these 5 steps toward buying a home.
#1 Save Years In Advance
Down payment requirements depend on the loan program, ranging anywhere from 3% to 20% of the home value. Zero down payment loans are also available from the USDA or VA for those who qualify. Most buyers should expect to put a large sum of money down to buy a home, so it’s important to plan on saving years in advance. 
In addition to the down payment, is the … (1 comments)

buying a home: What Buyers Want. Clear Patterns and Trends. - 03/05/13 01:44 AM
 
In all the recovery of the housing market, there are clear trends developing within the houses that have sold versus the homes that have not. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) conducted a large study to pinpoint on how having a recession followed by a recovery has influenced the lifestyle preferences of home buyers. The survey found the top three items sought for in a home are: energy star appliances, energy efficient laundry rooms, and double sink, French doors, full house technology luxury items. In contrast, buyers do not want: elevators, golf course homes, and laminate countertops.
The … (0 comments)

buying a home: Buying Continues to Trump Renting - 08/07/12 02:29 AM
Yeah yeah, we have all heard the pros of buying a home versus renting, but when it comes down to it; do consumers act upon all that advice? Yes.
A new study has shown that in more than 75% of metro areas in the US, home owners would start saving money after only three years of home ownership as compared to renting. This figure includes down payments, closing costs, mortgage payments, property taxes, utilities, and even maintenance costs. Three years is just the average. In Miami, the turn-over to benefit only takes 1.6 years where as in California the same figure … (0 comments)

buying a home: Top Reasons Real Estate Home Loans Do Not Get Approved - 07/04/12 02:21 AM

Before listing them all, I just want to comment on the importance of precedent. What you do in your life, financially and professionally, matters. Try to strive to improve in the areas you know you falter in.
Loan Approval Precedent
Disapproval of past loans stay on your history and will weigh into the decision of future loans. This does not mean if you were denied you will be again, but in the complex picture, it will play a role.
Lack of Full Documentation
Required documents are just that… required. The lender has a huge choice in their hands and little … (4 comments)

buying a home: Everything that Falls Must Rise Again - 05/10/12 11:07 PM
Have Real Estate Prices Bottomed Out?
Rising affordability and declining inventory combine to create the environment of today’s real estate market. Market analysis points to yes, yes the real estate market has seen its lowest prices. On the horizon is a big boom in prices with the overall prices estimated to rise by 4% over the next five years! The largest increase is estimated to be found in the areas the housing crisis has hit the hardest (Las Vegas, Phoenix, ect) “Initially, investors are expected to help drive most of this price increase, and then followed by first-time and trade-up buyers … (4 comments)

buying a home: Bidding Wars of Real Estate - 04/06/12 01:13 AM
Trends of the real estate market have shifted from “seller’s market” to a “buyer’s market” and with those shifts have come dramatic change in pricing. When foreclosures anchored the prices of homes at lowered prices, buyers began to view overall value of the average house to be lower. With that mindset, buyers are low-balling offers and the offers are coming in at a higher frequency.
Inventory of homes are all an all time six-year slump. Low supply mixed with a heightened demand due to employment rates rising means buyers feel overly confident and eager when they enter the market.

… (2 comments)

buying a home: How Low Will Mortgage Rates GO? - 01/04/12 03:00 AM
How Low Will Mortgage Rates GO?
This New Year may just be the one that you purchase your new home! If your resolutions are to buy, refinance, or explore your real estate options, the time is ideal. The Federal Reserve has committed to keep long-term interest rates low through next year. For nine weeks straight, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has been hovering or at 4%. These are record setting lows.
“Rates are very much at the bottom,” Mr. Nothaft said. But, he added, they may start inching up in the second half of the year. “If you’re planning to refinance, do … (0 comments)