Home appraisals are a crucial part of the home buying process, but can also throw you for a loop in certain situations. By far the number one complaint against lenders is faulty appraisals. Home appraisals are always requested by a lender to make sure that the amount of money a buyer is borrowing is fitting to the fair market value of the home. However, a faulty appraisal can make or break a loan and your mortgage interest rate is directly dependent on your appraised value.
10 Common Mistakes Home Sellers Make
It seems there is no shortage of advice for home buyers, but not as much for home sellers. Which is a bit counterintuitive since home sellers typically turn into home buyers once their property sells. When you decide to sell your home, for whatever reason, there are some mistakes to definitely avoid. Here are the top 10 mistakes home sellers make.
How to Choose a Realtor: 5 Do’s and Don’ts
If you walk by any real estate office and pick up a business card from one of the agents or visit an agent’s website you’d think that all of the real estate agents out there are multi-million dollar producers. Of course, even if that were true, being a multi-million dollar producer in Beverly Hills means something completely different in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The personal promotion is almost to be expected. There are a lot of real estate agents out there and they’re all competing for your business whether you’re about to sell your home, you’re getting ready to buy one or do both. But how do you look beyond the clutter of self-promotion? How do you find the best real estate agent out there, one that addresses your specific needs? And, do you really even need a real estate agent in the first place?
How Much House Can I Afford?
If there’s something nudging you about finally becoming a homeowner, one of the first things you’ll want to know is how much house you can afford. Once you start your search, it’s easy to become overwhelmed about not just the number of properties for sale but also the wide range in pricing. What is the price range you need to be looking into and how do you know how much you can qualify for? It’s a combination of income, credit, rates and loan amount.
How To Know When To Lock In Your Mortgage Rate
Whether you are a first-time homebuyer looking for a home or a seasoned home-buying veteran, you probably know how important it is to get the best mortgage possible, and much of that importance is placed upon the interest rate associated with the loan. Mortgage lenders compete with one another for your business and one of the primary ways they do so is to be competitive in both terms of rate as well as service and deliverability. But rates are an important factor. There is no shortage of information available about mortgage rates in general, how they act and what makes them move up, down or stay the same. So how do you know when to lock in your mortgage rate?
Who Pays Closing Costs? Negotiating With Your Lender and Seller
Home buyers know there will be closing costs associated with getting a mortgage. Buyers save up money for a down payment but also must consider the various closing costs involved. You can get a general idea on what types of costs you can expect on a typical home purchase by speaking with your loan officer over the phone or requesting a cost estimate. However you get these numbers, there are indeed costs involved. But there are definite strategies to eliminate or negotiate on who pays closing costs.
How Does Debt Consolidation Work, Exactly?
Are there more than a few bills this month than you saw just a few months ago? You’re certainly not alone. It’s that time of year when home owners start getting their credit card statements and they soon realize they probably spent more than they had planned over the holidays. But pay they must and many do so by taking out a debt consolidation loan. How does a debt consolidation loan work?
How Does the Federal Reserve Affect Mortgage Rates?
In December 2015, the Federal Reserve started the process of raising the federal funds target interest rate. Since 2008, the target rate has been in an reparative state, where it lay close to 0%. Now that the economy is recovering and unemployment rates are at a comfortable level, the Federal Reserve is working to get rates back to normal.
So the big question is, how does the Federal Reserve affect mortgage rates?
First-Time Homebuyer’s Guide to Getting the Best Interest Rate
First-time homebuyers: it’s challenging to know when and how to lock in a the best interest rate for your home purchase. Here are the top steps for novice home buyers when it comes to getting the best interest rates. [Read more…]
5 Tips Before Applying for a Mortgage
Wise financial decisions are critical during the period leading up to submitting a mortgage application. Do plenty of research, cleanup personal financial flaws, and make smart decisions about changes occurring in other areas of your life that will affect the judgment on your application. Follow the below steps to put yourself in the best position for getting approved for your mortgage application along with receiving the most optimal home interest rate.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 8
- Next Page »