Buying A House: Down Payments and Private Mortgage Insurance
July 11, 2009
Buying a house can be confusing if you don’t have someone you trust explaining the process to you. Fortunately for my wife and I, my my mother-in-law is a real estate agent and my dad is a real estate broker, so we haven’t had to play the guessing game with our first two property purchases. [...]
Interest Rates & Mortgage Options
July 3, 2009
Once you’ve been pre-approved for a loan and found a house you want to buy the next step is determining the type of mortgage to use and when to lock in your interest rates. Due to the real estate decline and sub-prime mortgage meltdown, lenders and brokers are more careful with how they lend, what [...]
Mortgage Pre-Approval When Buying a House
July 2, 2009
A mortgage pre-approval letter was very helpful for my wife and I when we started looking for houses about 8 months ago. My wife’s mom is a real estate agent, so she helped us every step of the way, but many agents won’t deal with buyers who aren’t pre-approved for a loan. They don’t want [...]
Affordable Apartments for College Graduates
June 3, 2009
Once you graduate from college, finding an affordable apartment that suits your financial needs and budget is essential to properly starting off your working life. Finding the right apartment can be a daunting task, so here are some tips to help you pick the right apartment to fit your budget. Calculate Your Rent Budget Generally, one-fourth [...]
Does Your Neighbor’s Foreclosure Affect the Value of Your Home?
September 3, 2008
You hear through the grapevine that your neighbors two houses down are losing their house to a foreclosure. You say a silent prayer of thanks that you’re not the one dealing with financial troubles and then you wonder why in the world they allowed themselves to get so far behind on mortgage payments. After that, [...]
The Newlyweds Guide To Buying An Affordable House
August 30, 2008
One of the first things on the minds of newlyweds is buying a house. This is ironic, because most young newlywed couples aren’t in a good financial position to buy a house. Buying a house is a huge endeavor, and you must have SOME cash to buy it. The days of getting into a house [...]
For Sale By Owner – How to Market Your House With a Local Area Guide
June 20, 2008
Many home buyers look at dozens of houses in their search for the perfect home. How can you make yours stand out from the rest, make it appealing and memorable? One of the marketing methods you can use to sell people on the value & benefits of your home is to create a custom local [...]
For Sale By Owner – Getting Your House Ready to Sell
June 19, 2008
Preparing your home for sale is kind of like getting ready for a date. You spend a lot of time getting ready but when those first suitors walk through the door you’re really glad you put in the time. Preparing the HouseOur neighbors spent several weekends organizing, repairing, and cleaning to get their house ready [...]
For Sale By Owner – How to Prove Your Home is Worth Your Asking Price
June 18, 2008
If you were a home buyer and the property owner told you all about how wonderful the house was and all the reasons it was a great place to live, would you believe them? Homeowners Are BiasedAfter all, they’re just trying to sell their home and might say anything to close the deal. Not that most [...]
For Sale By Owner – Tips for Selling Your House Without a Realtor
June 17, 2008
A home for sale by owner can save you thousands of dollars in real estate commissions but it also gives you the job of unofficial realtor and requires you to learn many different selling skills if you want your house to sell for what it’s worth. Our neighbors recently put their home up for sale [...]
