Why you should wait to buy that car until after your home purchase?
by Marc Ouellet

Getting preapproved for a mortgage is a major step in buying a home. When done properly, it’s like having cash in your hands so you can negotiate effectively with a seller to buy a home. It’s easily one of the most important things you can do in order to buy the home of your dreams. But its name gives you a hint as to how fragile this financing instrument can be. You see, it’s a “pre” approval, which means you’re...
Read MoreWhat does a real estate agent actually do?
by Marc Ouellet

Being a real estate agent requires you to employ a significant number of skills to complete a variety of different tasks on a daily basis. Trying to put what an agent does each day in one or two sentences is virtually impossible to do. It would be like trying to tell you what a chef does “cooks food” or what a nurse does “takes care of patients”. There’s a lot more that goes into what they do than just “helping people buy or sell properties”. If...
Read MoreWhat is your debt to income ratio...why should you care?
by Marc Ouellet

Any time you have more income and less debt, you’re in good shape in life. That said, there is an ideal ratio between your debt and income in order to qualify for a good mortgage. When your debt to income ratio is on the high side, you run the risk of not getting a good loan (or not getting a loan at all) if your income were to take a hit during right before or during the loan funding process. Conversely, having no debt can work against...
Read MoreWhat happens when you overprice your home?
by Marc Ouellet

When the real estate market favors sellers, it’s almost like there’s a feeding frenzy among buyers trying to secure listings that seem to get snapped up within hours of being put on the market. Such demand drives the prices of homes up rapidly, which only feeds into the perception that the good times will last forever. Unfortunately, trees don’t grow to the sky and there will always be a top of the market. What this means is that even...
Read MoreWhy Get Pre-approved? Structuring Your Offer to Get the Best Deal
by Marc Ouellet

Buying a home is a dream come true, but the process of getting an offer prepared and accepted can be a nightmare if you don’t know what you’re doing. There are over 80 variables that need to be managed properly when buying a home and mishandling just one of them could cost you tens of thousands of dollars in unnecessary expenses. Making a home purchase is expensive enough that you don’t need to part ways with any more of your hard-earned...
Read MoreWhy You Should Have A Home Inspection Before You List
by Marc Ouellet

One of the largest home sale killers is the home inspection. Nearly one-third of all terminated real estate contracts fell apart because of the inspection results. Inspections also ranked as the number three cause of delayed settlements, accounting for 13 percent. For some reason - and I’ll never get it - a home inspection that comes back with anything less than a perfect report strikes fear into the hearts of buyer agents and home...
Read MoreYour home is under contract, what’s next?
by Marc Ouellet

Great news, you’ve put a home under contract and you’re excited to move in one day soon. There’s a lot that has to happen before you can take occupancy: home inspection, appraisal, financing paperwork, contingencies and other dates to be met. Here’s what you can expect to happen over the coming weeks. Due Diligence Now that the home is yours to negotiate exclusively with the seller, you have a due diligence period that allows you to...
Read MoreWhat will be your payment on your new home?
by Marc Ouellet

Buying a new home can be overwhelming. Between understanding the financial aspects of your loan and all the paperwork required to buy your home, things can get a little crazy. One of the biggest parts of getting a new home is figuring out the terms and conditions of your mortgage. Two of the biggest areas that impact your loan are credit and your down payment. In this post, we’ll cover both and also explain how to determine the down payment on your new home. Understanding...
Read MoreWhen is the Best Season of the Year to Buy to get the Best Deal
by Marc Ouellet

Since the market meltdown in 2008, the US housing market has rebounded dramatically. In fact, even if you purchased a property at the lowest point of the market crash and held onto it until today, your home would have appreciated by roughly 25 percent. What’s even better news is that It’s expected that the housing market will continue to climb in the future due to the changes that were made in the lending market coming out of the mortgage debacle. Plus,...
Read MoreHow much you should put down to purchase your new home?
by Marc Ouellet

Historically, home buyers seek to put down 20% when they purchase a home. However, according to a recent survey by The National Association of Realtors (NAR), the actual national average is much closer to 10%. When it comes to first-time homebuyers, the average down payment is at 4% as per the same survey. While down payment requirements vary based on the lender you choose to work with, the amount required will usually depend on your credit score and your...
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