Posts Tagged ‘buying a home’

Cameron Huddleston's first time home buyer experience may be similar to some of you who've recently walked the seemingly winding path to home ownership. The big difference here is she gets to share her experience, and very timely home buying tips, with the entire world as a writer for Kiplinger.com. The home buying process while generally an enjoyable experience overall, may have some hurdles along ... Full story

The Affordability Factor How can you decide whether or not you can afford to buy a home? The biggest part of house affordability is the interest rate because it determines your monthly principal and interest payment. Let’s look at a $100,000 loan amount, a thirty-year fixed rate mortgage, interest rates, and monthly payments. The table below shows the difference the interest rate can ... Full story

What is a “Buyers Market”? I would define it as a market where the inventory of homes is high, and housing values are down. Either scenario cause homes to stay on the market longer - enticing sellers to consider lower offers to purchase their homes. Add all-time-low interest rates to this and you have what I would consider a “buyers ... Full story

Commentary So, you’re trying to navigate the intimidating, unfamiliar waters you’ve suddenly found yourself immersed in as a potential first time home buyer. Acronyms like ’CHFA’ dance in your head like sugar plums while you wonder if you’re ready to undertake the huge responsibility of owning your own home. But now, with interest rates hovering lower than Red October’s undercoating, there’s really no excuse ... Full story

When Brandon and Jamie Creamer decided to buy their first home, they weighed several financing options. They chose to take advantage of their military service and apply for a VA loan. Brandon, on active duty in Iraq, and Jamie, a former member of the Army National Guard, met the eligibility requirements for VA and decided it was ... Full story

With the prices of homes today, a temporary buydown may be worth considering. Depending on your circumstances, it may be just what you need to ease into homeownership.  What is a buydown? A buydown is a reduction in your monthly mortgage payment in the first two or three years of your loan. What you are essentially doing is paying down your rate for a specific period ... Full story

Virtually all home buyers fail to ask their attorney whether or not there are any liens or encumbrances affecting the property they are about to purchase.  The reason may be that the home buyer expects that the attorney has taken care of all issues and there is nothing to worry about. I would guess, however, the answer is even simpler: the home buyer does not ... Full story

A proliferation of “No Fee” mortgage programs are being advertised lately, and who can refuse something for free? As your mother told you when you were growing up, though, nothing–or almost nothing–is free, and beware of things that appear to be too good to be true.   The “No Fee” mortgage has been around for years and has recently ... Full story

Mortgage fraud is on the rise, and borrowers are increasingly likely to encounter it and may even knowingly or unknowingly become part of it. According to the FBI, mortgage fraud can best be understood as a material misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission relied upon by an underwriter or lender to fund, purchase, or insure a loan. In some situations, people intentionally engage in mortgage fraud because ... Full story

If today is the first of the month, pay your rent!That is a reminder you should take to heart for many reasons, because paying your rent on time can have many benefits besides hanging onto your warm place to sleep this winter.   Payment Reporting Builds Credit (PRBC), an innovative national credit bureau, has been paving the way for individuals with no credit score or “not enough ... Full story