When is the Best Season of the Year to Buy to get the Best Deal
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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 to get qualified to purchase a home for no money down
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Even with all the insanity that happened during the mortgage meltdown and all the changes that resulted in how money would now be lent to buyers, there are still some amazingly affordable loan programs out there. Included among them, believe it or not, are no-money-down options for buying a home. Here are some of the best programs that are out there today and how you need to get qualified to purchase a home using them to buy a home for no money...
Read MoreWhy Get Pre-approved? Structuring Your Offer to Get the Best Deal
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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 MoreHow to Find Bank Foreclosures and Distressed Sales
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Everyone wants a hot deal. For those who have the ability/desire to work with a home that is, in most cases, less than perfect, foreclosures and distressed sales represent some of the hottest deals out there If you want to locate distressed properties, the first thing you have to understand is that no one will usually advertise their home as a “distressed property” unless they are absolutely desperate to unload their home. Homeowners,...
Read MoreWhat will be your payment on your new home?
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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 MoreHow to get the home with the furniture included
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So you like the dining room table in the house you want to buy, but your agent tells you it’s not included with the sale. What do you do? In short, you ask for it. Well, you negotiate it as part of your offer to purchase the home from the seller. To effectively get the home you want with the furniture included, you should identify in advance any furniture that you are interested in buying and let the seller (or your agent) know...
Read MoreWhy You Should Have A Home Inspection Before You List
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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 MoreWhat is your debt to income ratio...why should you care?
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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 MoreHow much you should put down to purchase your new home?
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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 debt-to-income ratio....
Read MoreWhat is the Interest write off deduction?
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Tax deductible interest is a borrowing expense that a taxpayer can claim on a federal or state tax return to reduce taxable income. Mortgage interest for both first and second (home equity) mortgages, mortgage interest for investment properties are among the list of deductions you can take on your taxes. This is another reason why owning a home is more favorable than renting. In addition to building equity in a home that you can call yours, you have...
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