Posts in category 'Real Estate Information'

One of the most important and time saving steps during your quest to find a home is prequalification for your mortgage. By doing this, you have an idea of what you can afford and can narrow the search for a home and you will have already completed some of the steps necessary to close on a home. Normally, lenders don't charge prequalification and the process is somewhat similar to the actual loan application process itself.

What will you need to get prequalified? A good list of items includes:

• Credit report
• W-2 forms
• Tax returns
• Bank statements
• Recent pay stubs

What is next? There are some steps to prequalification. These include: 

Step 1

It is a smart move to go online to use a mortgage prequalification calculator before talking to a lender. This way you can get some idea of what you can afford. You can plug variable things such as the percentage rate and loan terms.

Step 2

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Do you ever hear REALTORS® talking and wonder what in the world they are talking about? Real Estate has its own unique set of terms. Here are some of the most popular and what they mean so you can help "speak the language."

Addendum – these are the additional documents that go into a real estate contract.

Appraisal – this is how a loan officer determines if the property is worth as much (or as little) as the buyer is willing to pay for it.

Closing – this is the date that the buyer's purchase will record at the County and become their property.

Closing Costs – All of the expenses paid by the buyer and the seller when the real estate deal closes. These can include the brokerage commission, mortgage-related fees, escrow or attorney's settlement charges, transfer taxes, recording fees, title insurance and so on. Closing costs are generally paid through escrow.

Commission – this is the amount the real estate agent makes from the sale. It...

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There are a lot of expenses that come with homeownership. Some of these expenses may appear to be useless but are actually very important, such as homeowners insurance. What the heck is it anyway and what is used for? This is your first lesson in Homeowners Insurance 101.

Homeowners insurance is essential. This insurance covers issues that happens to your home or belongings such as in the case of a natural disaster. This insurance is not required by law but in most cases mortgage lenders to require a policy in order to loan money to you for a home purchase.  Even the purchase of a condo may also require some sort of homeowners coverage. Homeowners can cover things such as an injury of a house guest at a dinner party or tornado damage.  There could be a lot of reasons that you would need it. 

There are different policies depending on what kind of home, including renters, mobile homes, and even older homes. It's important to point out that homeowners policies don't...

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If you are on the Internet, chances are you are already on Pinterest or you at least have seen Pinterest.  It is one of the fastest growing sites and serves as an electronic bulletin board where users or "pinners" can organize ideas and information by subject. Everything from recipes, fashion, beauty and even information about books and movies is housed on this site. 

According to MSNBC, Home is the number one category of pins on Pinterest.  Many homeowners feel that this is a great source of information for home projects and research.  Much like looking through books and magazines, Pinterest serves as a valuable resource for planning home improvement and organization projects.

By pinning various ideas and making an electronic wish list of sorts, homeowners can communicate this to contractors and architects and even include the smallest details.  There is such a variety of information on Pinterest and it can even be broken down by home style and is searchable. A...

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Sometimes, realtors wish you knew what they knew. In some cases, it would help them help you more in the long run. So, here is some advice on how to think like a realtor. 

One of the first things to consider when putting your house on the market is the value and price of your home. As a seller, you are excited and optimistic but a buyer may not be of the same persuasion. You need to make sure you are aware of the price range of homes around you and price appropriately. Don't price it so far out of range that a potential buyer doesn't have a reason to even look. Also, the longer a house stays on the market the chance decreases that you will get fair value for the house. 

Just because you are pre-approved, that doesn't mean you can run up credit or open new lines of credit without suffering consequences. The closer you get to closing, finances and credit ratings are reviewed and if there is a negative impact the interest rate could or you could have your preapproval...

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