Buyer Tips
Why Use a Real Estate Agent to Buy a Home?
March 6, 2010 by Jane Peters · Leave a Comment
Buying a home is not simply a matter of walking into a house and making an offer. Why use an agent to buy a home? There is so much that goes on behind the scenes that you need your own personal agent. Only this agent does not take his or her 10%. You have the benefit of someone guiding you through the process for absolutely free! This is what your real estate agent will do for you: Provide you with a market analysis to determine the value of... [Read more...]
Buying a Home
February 27, 2010 by Jane Peters · Leave a Comment
The following are some of the basic steps you will need to consider: How much can you afford? Your first step is to consult a mortgage professional. They will be able to tell you the price range in which you should be looking. In this market, your realtor is going to insist that you are pre-approved, before they spend their time and yours looking at houses that are not within your reach. There is nothing more disheartening than getting excited... [Read more...]
Purchasing a New Primary Residence
February 23, 2010 by Jane Peters · Leave a Comment
If you are looking to buy a second home and wish to keep your previous home as a rental here are your options: Your primary residence must have 30% equity and an appraisal will be ordered to confirm this. A rental survey will also be ordered so that the mortgage payment can be washed out. Rules for Buying a Second Primary Home or Both mortgage payments must be included in qualification. or The new property would be purchased as non owner-occupied. ... [Read more...]
Buyers Beware of the Good Faith Estimate
January 17, 2010 by Jane Peters · Leave a Comment
The Good Faith Estimate, or GFE was intended to protect the buyer by documenting all the fees that need to be paid by a buyer at closing. The fees at closing cannot differ more than 10% of what was quoted, and if it is more, the lender is liable for the difference. This was put in place to keep lenders honest. Previously, cost estimates would be massaged in order to lure a borrower away from the competition, and when it came time to pay up at... [Read more...]
Buying a Home in Los Angeles
January 9, 2010 by Jane Peters · Leave a Comment
You have decided you are ready to buy a home in Los Angeles but you are waiting for: The bottom of the market. Interest rates to go even lower. A great deal on a foreclosure…… There are many reasons to avoid actually jumping in an making the purchase. But: You will never know where the bottom is, and common opinion is that we are at the bottom now. Interest rates are at an all-time low, and are likely to rise this year. You and the... [Read more...]
Buying a Home
December 5, 2009 by Jane Peters · Leave a Comment
Now is the time to buy a home. There has never been a better one. All the stars areas aligned: Interest rates are among the historically lowest. House Prices Will Rise House prices are at the bottom Home buyer tax credits are in place until April 30. Are you worried that house prices are going to drop further? Are you going to live in your home for a while? If so, think of it like this: when you buy are car, the minute you take it off the lot... [Read more...]
Make Sure Title is Clean Before you Buy Your Home
November 22, 2009 by Jane Peters · Leave a Comment
As part of due diligence when purchasing a home a buyer will be provided a copy of the Preliminary Title Report (PTR). What is a PTR? A PTR is a report prepared by a title company prior to issuing title insurance. It shows who owns the property and any liens or encumbrances that a new policy will not cover. Ensure you have Clear Title to your Home If there is any doubt make sure that any documents referred to in the PTR are available. An example... [Read more...]
What if the Appraisal Comes in Lower than the Accepted Offer?
September 26, 2009 by Jane Peters · 1 Comment
House Appraises Lower You have an accepted offer in on a house for $600,000. You have put down 25%. The appraisal comes in at $580,000. What do you do? Firstly, you do not have to pay more than the house is worth, unless your would like to. Meaning you don’t want to risk losing it. Of course this means you would have to come up with $20,000 out of pocket. You can walk away from the deal since Item 2 J of the California Residental Purchase... [Read more...]
203K Made Simple?
July 15, 2009 by Jane Peters · Leave a Comment
Courtesy colleencraig.com http://activerain.com/blogsview/1151845/203k-made-simple-yes-for-your-clients- Ok, maybe not, but I will attempt to make it as simple as possible for the client to understand and want to read on. For many of us in the business who are ” in the know” we forget that we need to go back to the basics and spell it out in simple terms for others to understand. So I’ve compiled some information based... [Read more...]
Extending Home-buyer Tax Credit
May 22, 2009 by Jane Peters · Leave a Comment
By Lew Sichelman WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Question: Is there any possibility that the tax credit for first-time home buyers will be expanded to also include repeat purchasers who already own a house but would like to move up? I understand there has been some movement in Congress along these lines. [Read more...] ... [Read more...]
Competing Bids for That Los Angeles Home
May 8, 2009 by Realtyrank · Leave a Comment
OK, here’s the deal we showed you a few Los Angeles Real Estate properties. Now you’ve found that perfect home. Its in the right area, has all the right benefits, is close to work and the price is right, but someone else also thinks the same as you. Now there are competing offers on your dream home. [Read more...] ... [Read more...]
