Buying a home is always exciting, but if you want to be sure there are no surprises on closing day, there are ways you can prepare yourself ahead of time. There is a lot of documentation and paperwork needed to close on your loan, but a mortgage involves much more than that. Your loan company …
Researching Mortgages: Seven Tips to Prepare for the Best Mortgage
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So, we’re seven months into homeownership and still enjoying it. We’ve learned quite a few more lessons about owning and maintaining a home. And, of course, we learned them the hard way. Always Double-Check the Paint Before Starting On President’s Day weekend, I decided to paint the hallways between two of the bedrooms. It’s a fairly small …
Adventures in Homeownership: 7 Months and Counting Read More »
This question comes to me from a reader: “I’ve lived in a furnished home for 5 years. I’ve paid over $150,000.00 in rent. The home owner want me to pay for the Living Rm, Dining Rm and 2 Bedroom Set. Should I have to replace these furnishings?” My first response was: heck, no. Then I thought …
“Bidding war?” you may say. “No one gets into bidding wars anymore.” Au contraire. If you’re trying to buy in a real estate market where prices have fallen significantly and the market is loaded with foreclosures and a few traditional sales, any well-priced home in good condition will generate multiple offers and potential bidding war. …
If you search for real estate or homes for sale, you’ll find dozens of websites vying for your attention. In my research, I’ve found that I consistently visit just a few of these sites. Here are my favorite research sites, each with a different purpose. Preliminary Real Estate Research I like to use Cyberhomes to do my …
How to Use Real Estate Websites to Hone Your Research Read More »
Several counties have begun sending out updated property tax assessments to request declining home values. You probably received notices of increases while property values were rising. Many people don’t know that they have the right to appeal the assessed amount if they feel it’s not right. If you’re successful, you could save thousands of dollars, …
Mortgage brokers have gotten a bad rap in the last year. Unfortunately, many unscrupulous brokers steered borrowers into expensive loans with large kickbacks and helped fuel the current crisis by failing to properly disclose all information. Fortunately, most of them are now out of business. The brokers who remain are usually reputable people who are …
Mortgage points come in two very different categories. The first is the origination point, the second is the discount point. When applying for a mortgage, you need to know which you’re paying because they could impact not only your interest rate but your taxes. Both are a part of the closing costs, not reoccurring costs …
So, my vacation happened to coincide with the one-year anniversary of buying my house. It’s been quite a year. Here’s a quick review of my first year: Boxes Moved: 80 Rooms painted: 9 Rooms left to plant: 1 Ceilings painted: 2 Ceilings I will paint in the future: 0 Thanksgivings Hosted: 1 (my first) Refinances: …
If you’re looking for a home, the first thing you should do is get pre-approved for a mortgage. You could opt for a pre-qualification letter, which won’t require anyone to pull your credit, but we found that we pre-qualified for a much higher mortgage than we actually qualified for with a pre-approval. In addition, most …
