Buying Your First House

The American Dream

nap — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:10:21 +0000

The first time you fulfill the “American Dream” in buying your first house is a real adventure. Terms like title, title company, escrow, mortgage, fha requirements, inspection all seem pretty foreign. In this case, “learn from experience” is not the best way to go. You can buy smart with a little training.

Your investment is too large to just “learn by experience”. For example, you will have to decide which type mortgage suits your needs the best. Your investment meaning downpayment. If you are considering purchasing a home priced at $100,000, then you would need $10,000 to $20,000 as a downpayment. Would you just hand that kind of money over to someone you didn’t know and have yet to trust? I am sure you would not without considering many things prior to doing it. A “learning curve” would not be the best approach.

The best approach would be to seek some training on the issues of every home. The realtor will show you a flowery picture and will try to cover up or pass over the imperfections with their profit in mind. You and you alone are responsible for discovering the imperfections and if you don’t, you are buying a house “as is”. Training will give you some creative ideas on negotiation for seller concessions.

Here is the guide that will best help you figure out some of the necessities in buying your “American Dream” or your first house smartly: Guide to Buying Your First House

Mortgage Escrow

nap — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:43:34 +0000

What is mortgage escrow? The amount you must pay each month to cover your property tax liability and property insurance annually.

Not many people are aware that your mortgage lender may allow you to control your own escrow account. This has certain advantages.

A self-managed escrow account can be located at the financial institution of your choice. You can shop for the best deal. If it is interest bearing, you will make a little money as the balance increases. It may not be a lot but “something is better than nothing.”

Another advantage is you would be allowed to make adjustments based on your property tax bill almost immediately. Many municipalities allow you to meet your property tax liability in installments. This means that you do not have to lay out the whole amount due in one lump sum.

The disadvantage of required (forced) mortgage lender controlled escrow accounts is that they always automatically increase the amount you should pay annually, and thus, monthly. Whether your property tax liability actually increased or not, the mortgage lender will require you to pay more. This is your money the lender is using for their own purposes.

Another disadvantage is when the property tax bill is submitted to the lender, a check for the full amount is made payable to you and the municipality. Because of this, it excludes you from the installment feature.

Some mortgage lenders do pay interest on a required escrow but most do not. This means the mortgage lender is using your money for free!

The issue of escrow should be carefully checked out as you are arranging your mortgage loan, especially in light of the high property tax rates of today!

Houses Have Character

nap — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 15:49:23 +0000

Your new house is waiting for you. Waiting for what, you ask? Waiting for you to make the changes that will give the house character and make it “Your House”.

A house has style and character. The style will be pretty well set and dictated by when the house was built. Some people have remodeled their homes so that the style is almost invisible. This is a choice every new owner will make. Older homes generally have a volume of history, not only style history but, also, owner history. If the style is not acceptable to you, you have purchased the wrong house. In otherwards, go with the flow!

The character will reflect your preferences. Changing light fixtures, paint colors, flooring, visual effects, furniture, storage, outdoor amenities and additions are some of the ways to change character. Some of the changes will be for functional reasons and some for beauty. Make a list of priorities and then complete them one at a time as your financial resources allow. Do not forget the items that bring the best resale value because some day, you will probably be in a position to sell.

Guide To Buying Your First House

Circumstances Are In Your Favor

nap — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:34:56 +0000

If I were looking to buy my first house, I would do it NOW!

1. House prices have decreased considerably making a purchase for a buyer a bargain.

2. Interest rates are low, low and, if the buyer thinks the offered rate is too high, can probably negotiate for a lower rate. This is true particularly if the buyer is looking at foreclosed property and has excellent credit plus a more than ample down payment.

3. Sellers who are looking to unload their expensive properties will be willing to negotiate with the buyer so as to shorten the sellers market time. Currently, inventories are extremely high (in otherwards, existing housing sales are almost standing still).

I reiterate, it is a buyer’s market. Maybe not for investment purposes but for purchasing your very first property to use as your residence (live in).
The one, especially, important fact to remember is that we all have to live somewhere, somehow and I happen to believe owning is now more of a bargain than renting.

Guide To Buying Your First House

Free Information How To Buy Your First House

nap — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:00:03 +0000

There is a lot of free information in respect to buying your first house available on the internet. The problem with the “Free” is that a lot of the information is slanted, someone has their best interests in mind. Where can you get the best information to assist you when you are looking for your first house? Since information providers have profit in mind when they provide information, the best place is from a neutral source which is not involved in real estate at all. This information would only be available from a buyer’s perspective. A person who has previously, but recently, purchased their first home has the experience needed for the prospective first time home buyer.

These experiences are shared in Guide To Buying Your First House. Even following my guide, you may still encounter a few problems after your purchase.

One, I encountered, was I requested that the furnace be serviced (inspected) prior to my purchase. It was done, but less than one year into my residency, I found a heat exchanger was cracked. Then I was told by a heating contractor that heat exchangers generally only have a life of 5 years. Faulty heat exchangers give off carbon monoxide, a deadly gas!

Do yourself a big favor and get this very valuable guide.

How Do I Find My Palace?

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 23:57:59 +0000

Your palace has to fit your family and your budget. The location of your first house will be contingent on a number of factors. Do you want to live in the city or town where you now live? Or do you want to move to someplace “out of town” or even out of state? Originally, I selected a rural area. That changed after finding my house. I now live in a quiet area of the city I grew up in.

Sometimes your job will demand that you move to an unknown area or you may just want to own. In the location you intend to move to, drive around the side streets to gain knowledge about the community areas. Even better, walk the neighborhoods you like. You could talk to some of the neighbors about their neighborhood. As you drive or walk the side streets, take brochures from homes advertised “For Sale”. When you get to your quarters, look over the brochures, especially any that are “For Sale By Owner”. These will probably be your best buys!

Now you can make appointments to view any of the properties which interest you. Take notes so when you get home, you will be in a position to evaluate what you liked and what you did not like. When buying an existing house you will never find perfection, meeting all your desires. The trick here is to decide what you can live with and what you can live without. Guide to assist you as you consider prospective properties.

Downpayment Is Necessary

nap — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:40:45 +0000

Where do you go for your downpayment? Retirement funds are one source but only if you are very young, let’s say 20’s to 30’s. From my experience, I personally feel it is a mistake to take retirement funds to make a downpayment. Much better to use an inheritance, save yourself or win a lottery (laugh!). Some borrowers have taken a second mortgage to fund their downpayment. This can really put a lot of stress on your budget. However, if you are serious about owning, you may be willing to struggle for a while. Providing you have a fixed rate mortgage, as your income grows, your monthly mortgage payments become more affordable since they are fixed.

Something to remember as the loan numbers are put together is that the more downpayment, the smaller the mortgage loan, resulting in smaller monthly payments.

Note: If you are refinancing a mortgage loan, instead of another 30 year term, you can negotiate with the lending institution for the number of years left on your original loan. Example: You are into the 5th year of your mortgage loan and want to refinance. You can request a refinance for the term of 25 years..ie, 30 years minus 5 years. This is just one of the choices you have.

Is Real Estate Moving ? First Time Home Buyers Take Heed!

nap — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:03:59 +0000

According to my source, real estate is not moving. My contention is that it is a buyer’s market. This post is particularly targeted at young people paying too much rent.

How much rent do you pay? I will use $700.00/month as an example. In 10 years, you will have paid out $84,000 for rent and when you walk away, you will have nothing. Wouldn’t it be nice to walk away with some money?

The housing market has so much current opportunity. By opportunity, I mean a surplus of available for purchase homes, available money and great interest rates. This is a buyer’s market!

My advice is young people get started with home ownership while you are young. In future years, you will be able to upgrade to another house or walk away with some real money and will have provided yourself a place to live.

A realtor, I am acquainted with, has some wonderful statistics about the current housing market trends. Here is the url:
Current Market Statistics

In conclusion, first time home buyer’s take heed and get started before current conditions change! You have all the leverage, negotiating power.

You will need a great guide to assist you with your first house buying adventure: It is available by clicking here.

Buying Your First House – Professionally Inspect or Not?

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 01:07:03 +0000

You are buying your first house and your offer has been accepted by the seller. Now what is the next step . . Inspection.

Inspection is a right of the buyer. It will disclose many of the imperfections of the home. Some of these could be code inadequacies of electrical, plumbing and heating.

What is important here is to hire a very professional inspector. If the inspector is excellent, they will not require you to be present as the inspection proceeds. The resulting written report will be so complete you will not have needed to spend the time (hours) accompanying the inspector but will have some important information.

You can then, if necessary, amend your offer to include the code violations, etc. to be the responsibility of the seller.

In conclusion, when buying your first house, it is very important to have the property professionally inspected.

Get These Great Tips When Buying Your First House

Happy House Hunting !

Norine Peardon

Buy Your First House With Insurance

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:52:56 +0000

You need to protect your financial resources when buying your first house. You may move in only to find the toilet has Chinese Water Torture or the thermostat is shot. These are emergencies which cannot necessarily be anticipated. They also cannot be ignored.

This is where your emergency homeowners policy is quite useful. This policy can be negotiated in the offer to purchase. It is well worth your while to suggest that the seller provide you with this insurance.

If the seller is confident of the “mechanics” of the home, they will not hesitate to provide you with this perk. As a fist-time buyer you will feel more secure and relaxed about all the things that can go wrong in your new home.

The insurance normally has a deductible, but the service you require will not be bank breaking. The policy is written for your first year of occupancy. At the expiration, you will have the option of renewing the policy.

My recommendation is when buying your first house, use precaution and negotiate with the seller to ward off first year emergencies with this insurance.

What To Look For When Buying Your First House

Happy House Hunting !

Norine Peardon