Posts Tagged ‘First Time Home’

Getting your first home can be intimidating, but Lowe’s is here to help you with any home improvements or repairs. Visit our Lowe’s experts for do it yourself home repair materials, tips and advice. To learn more about home improvements in your first home, visit www.Lowes.com

Buying and selling a home often looks like a hard job for home owners, both emotionally and functionally. Although it’s partly an overwhelming experience, it can be just as much frustrating at times. People living in a house for years get emotionally attached to it. There are good reasons when people sell the old home and buy a new one, like taking up a new job or getting a transfer. However, the reasons aren’t always pleasant—people sell homes due to bankruptcy, divorce, foreclosures and more. Under various circumstances, people have realized that the best way to come out of financial problems is to sell a home and get fast cash.

With the growing real estate market, there is no shortage of potential buyers looking for homes. For first time home-sellers, the whole process of selling a home on their own will look somewhat complex. One of the most crucial worries, and perhaps even financially devastating, can be wasting precious time with those who really aren’t serious about purchasing your home. In that case, selling a home can become a bigger ordeal than you ever imagined, possibly costing you more valuable time and money than you can afford.

Facing foreclosure or pre-foreclosure, payments behind on your mortgage, multiple mortgages on your property, etc are the primary situations which lead people to sell their homes quickly for fast cash. Sometimes, selling a house is the most perfect and apt solution. You can sell a home quicker provided you take the right approach.

Home owners always want to sell their homes at the best rate and according to the latest market prices. The only thing you need to sell a home fast is by taking assistance from the real estate professionals. Home buyers assistance ensures owners to be debt-free in just hours or days, and not in weeks or months that the traditional real estate transactions take. Experts always try to put fast cash in the home-sellers’ pockets while freeing them off a debt-ridden home. Taking professional help guarantees home owners of managing properties at any condition, getting the best market price and ensuring a smooth-sailing of transaction for fast cash.

In today’s fast-paced world, people generally lack the patience of going through the complexities of selling a home. Moreover, they are also eager to sell their homes quick, when they need fast cash. Although selling a home apparently looks simple, loads of patience and efforts go into it. Taking serious help from real estate pros always ensure quick selling.

Price and time are yet some other major factors while selling a home fast. In order to sell your home as quickly as you want, it is always better to quote the right price that will attract home buyers. Asking for too high a price or a wrong price will not help you in selling your home fast. You can definitely seek professional help while fixing the right price for it. Time also plays a big part in selling a home. If the real estate market is down and you are willing to sell it at a low rate, understanding the minimum loss you will suffer, then your home selling will be faster.

In a nutshell, the various important tips that an experienced real estate professional provides to sell a home quickly for fast cash are:

·Give some discount or sell at a moderate price that will pull in home buyers.

·Fix the interior loopholes of your home to make it saleable and attractive.

·Similarly, exterior shortcomings of your home should also be fixed. Curb appeal plays a vital role in selling a home or a house.

·Home owners should always remove clutter from their homes before selling.

Real estate professionals always assist the home owners with their specific needs to sell their houses as fast as possible and at the best possible price. Selling a house quickly for fast cash always requires expert assistance that will handle every paper work and make every arrangement from opening to closing a deal. Selling the real estate property to home buyers willing to pay fast cash for a house is always the best and right approach. Home buyers are always ready to pay cash, take over your payments or lease, and purchase your house immediately. Real estate experts, with their guidance and help, always guarantee the land-sellers a hassle-free house selling.

A great deal of the information contained in “how to” guides or articles about buying a new home geared towards first time home owner is written by people who are to far removed from the process to remember it for themselves, or who have made the information to technical. My goal is to provide information from the perspective of someone who just bought a home. These are a few tips that I would have found useful had someone provided them for me.

TIP 1: Real Estate Agent selection.

A real estate agent is someone who is going to be playing an extremely vital role in your life. However, the important thing to remember is that ultimately, you, as the buyer, are making the major, life altering purchase. Do not let an agent ever make you feel uncomfortable, pressured, or bullied.

TIP 2: Price Range.

This tip segues nicely from the first one: Real Estate agents ultimately only care about how much money they can make. Yes, sometimes there best interest will coincide with your best interest. However, most of the time they are going to encourage you to purchase a home at the maximum end of your approval spectrum. This is often a mistake because just because a bank believes you can make a certain minimum payment does not mean that it will be easy or in the best interest of your family. The recession we are currently in hinges almost entirely on this type of poor reasoning.

TIP 3: Nirvana Complex.

The nirvana complex is what occurs when people compare an option or choice or not to other available options or choices but to some idealized concept or nirvana like concept. When choosing a home it is important to compare a potential candidate to the other options available that meet the same criteria. Comparing a home to an idealized concept within your own mind or to a house outside of your range is a sure recipe for failure.

TIP 4: Patience.

My wife and I looked at 80 home before we made an offer. Did this make us happy? No. Did it make our real estate agent happy? Absolutely not. However, it did lead to our ultimate happiness. A home is literally the largest single purchase most people will make in their lives, and it is important not to rush into an unhappy purchase.

Plumbers can profit from taking a look at how government intervention helps change the home market, and what effect this can have on their particular industry.

You might have already known about this year’s tax credit for first time property purchasers. It is a definite advantage for those purchasing their first house. In the down market, the government has tried to present effective incentives to balance out the equation, and first-time homebuyers can expect 8,000$ in tax relief when they are purchasing a home under the right conditions.

Now, on the face of it, this may have absolutely nothing to do with plumbing. But here’s the thing: one of the first tasks for these first-time homebuyers, if they are buying foreclosed, or buying any home that needs fixing up, is to get comprehensive price estimates for home systems that need to be upgraded or repaired.

This is where professional plumbers can make amends by offering their services in conjunction with specific first-time hom ebuying situations – it’s all about offering “estimates” that first-time home buyers can plug into their equation to be more knowledgeable about the total cost of what they may be buying, in order to more accurately plan to purchase and have a greater effect on the market.

As a professional plumber, you can work as hard as possible to build the best estimates that first-time homebuyers can understand, and that will help them to contemplate all of what they can put into a house that will get them a good resale value later on, and investment they can bank on, and something that will be livable, even for a conservative down payment and investment.

You might find that as you offer this service and word of mouth spreads, you’ll have carved out a profitable niche for yourself. Clients will appreciate detailed estimates that can show them how to handle their own investments by knowing what they will need to pay to get them up to the right standards for running water and more.

This kind of strategy can prove very beneficial to a shop that is able to adapt to the changing conditions of today’s market. Instead of just completing a set of residential tasks, think of your shop as a consulting center for young home buyers you need a lot of input on just what is needed to generally fix up a home and keep it in good shape for possible resale. Extend information to clients on the relationship between tax credits and purchasing a new home, so that those who look poised to buy may use your services if they do.

Strategies like this differentiate contractors who flourish, even in tough times, and those that have to close their doors. But by using a little creative thinking about how to provide that outreach and is best estimates, you may be positioning yourself for a bright future in the plumbing industry.

Mark Mitchell Virtual Properties Realty www.markmitchellhomes.com 404-353-0185 This video is for first time home buyers and for people who want to know more about the buying process. It covers the basic steps from the beginning stages all the way through the closing. It gives you a place to go for your home buying process brochure that you can print for your reading. The video lets a buyer know what to expect from a buying transaction. I service Northeast Atlanta including Alpharetta, Roswell, Suwanee, Duluth, Cumming, Woodstock, Sandy Springs, Buford, Lawrenceville, Dacula

First Time Home Buyer Seminar with Kenn Renner – 09

Time is running out for you to avail tax incentive provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for first time home buyers to purchase a home. In accordance with the provisions of the act, tax credit for an amount of USD 8000 is provided to first time home buyers provided they purchase a home between January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.  It is important to understand the definition of a first time home buyer. All individuals who have not purchased a home up to a period of three years prior to purchase under this scheme are eligible to avail this tax credit.  It is not necessary that you need to buy a new home; your purchase could be even a re-sale to claim this tax credit.

The amount of tax credit available under the scheme is 10% of the value of the home purchase subject to a maximum amount of USD 8000. There has been a income limit specified for eligible first time home buyers wherein the maxim um income for a single tax payer should not exceed USD 75,000 while it stands exactly twice at USD 150,000 for married tax payers. In case however, you have not owned a house during the past three years but your spouse has purchased a house within the same period, you are ineligible to be benefited under this scheme. There is something known as the phase out range which has been defined for this tax credit program. This has been set at USD 20,000. This implies that the tax credit entitlement shall be nil for an individual income exceeding USD 75,000 i.e. USD 95,000. In case of married taxpayers the income at which the tax credit shall become nil equates to 20,000 exceeding 150,000 i.e. 170,000. For individuals who have income between USD 75,000 up to USD 95,000 there is a way of computing the reduced tax credit on a proportional basis.

The process for claiming the tax credit is fairly simple and user friendly. An individual is allowed to claim the tax credit while filing federal income tax return. The first time home buyer should fill in a form known as the IRS Form 5405. Apart from this form, there is no other form required. It is extremely hassle free to enjoy this privilege.  It is best advised that you read about this scheme on the official website of IRS to know about the scheme in depth. The resource is exhaustive and does complete justice to the process of tax credit availability for first time home buyers. 

The objective of the federal government in allowing this tax credit is to make housing affordable for each individual and give impetus to the housing sector. A healthy housing industry positively impacts other sectors such as steel, cement and utilities as well and has a cascading effect on the country’s economic growth.  So go ahead and grab your new home before you step into 2010.

First Time Home Buyer Seminar with Kenn Renner 06

While the current economic forecast is looking stormy and tumultuous for many people across the nation at present, it may in fact be an ideal time for a great many people to buy their first home. Even with the current recession still making big waves for many people, the combination of factors at work in the real estate market at present can mean some very good opportunities for a big group of prospective buyers.

Right now, homes are at record low prices all across the country, especially compared to the housing prices that were prevalent during the housing boom. With the continuation of the foreclosure trends that we’ve been seeing for over a year, many homes are priced far below the levels that they had been at even just a few years ago. As well, in many places across the country there is a large amount of stock on the market due to the foreclosure trend so there are quite a few properties to choose from in all of the price brackets.

Another draw for first time home buyers is the extension of the First Time Home Buyer’s Tax Credit that the government has decided to extend until the end of April and opened up to a wider range of buyers as well. This tax incentive can help you make your way into a new home that you might not otherwise be able to manage. While the government was good enough to extend the credit until the spring, home buyers would be wise to take advantage of it now and not wait until the frantic dash at the end to have their sale close like we saw in the early fall.

As well, for home buyers who are looking to get a mortgage on a new home, interest rates are exceptionally low this quarter and can help result in some ideal mortgage rates for many buyers, particularly if you have good credit. Lower interest rates can make for some very manageable mortgage payments for home buyers.

All in all, if you are in a position where you and your family feel that you have some employment stability and can make the commitment to a mortgage then this is really an ideal time to buy real estate. It is likely that we will not see a combination of factors that are so conducive to reasonable real estate prices—especially for first time buyers—for years to come, if ever again.

Are you ready to buy that first home? Are you sure you’re ready to begin? Some would say you need to begin with finding the house you want to buy. But really there are steps you need to take as first time home buyers before you begin. Let’s say you’re planning a wedding, you don’t begin the process by picking a reception hall when you haven’t even popped the question! The same with buying a house. There are some steps you need to take before you pick the location.

Beginning Steps for First Time Home Buyers:

You need to find out how much you can afford. Can I qualify for a loan? Do I have enough money saved for a down payment? What type of loan programs are out there? Which one is best for me? Do I need a bank or a broker?

Step One:

In order to figure how much you can afford you need to take a look at your income and expenses. Do you have enough left over at the end of the month to make a mortgage payment? If you’re renting you probably already have a certain amount of money budgeted. Will that amount buy you the size home you want? There are mortgage calculators out there that will help you estimate how much you can spend.

Step Two:

The first thing in qualifying for a loan is your credit rating. You may need to get a credit report pulled. Most lenders use the middle score to figure your credit rating. They get this figure by taking the credit score from all three credit reporting agencies and picking the middle one. If your credit score is too low, then you have some work to do before you go looking for that new home.

The second thing in qualifying for a loan is the ability to pay it back. So your debt-to-income (DTI) reflects whether you are a good risk or not. If you’re expenses are higher than your income, you need to lower those first.

Step Three:

Now you need to look at your savings account. Do you have enough money saved for the down payment? If not, then you may need to consider down payment assistance or grants to help you. Or perhaps you may need to set up a savings plan to help you save for that down payment.

Step Four:

It’s a good idea for first time home buyers to be educated on the different types of loan programs out there to see which one is a good fit for you. There are programs that have low down payments, ones that are best for buying in suburban areas, ones that have low interest, and many more. It never hurts to be educated.

Step Five:

You will have to make a decision on who you’re going to use to process the loan. You may wish to go to your bank and have them start the application process. Or you may wish to pick a broker. There are pros and cons to both, so spend some time learning the pros and cons so you can make your decision.

Now you’re ready to propose marriage!!! But before you buy that ring, know your rights. First time home buyers should understand things like Fair Housing, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), Predatory lending and what the borrower’s rights are before they initiate their search.

Once you’re really engaged, I mean have all these steps in place, then you can begin looking for that first home. You’ll be happy you did all this planning ahead of time.

Jeffrey Ragan wants to help you get into your first home by offering a free buyers guide and other helpful informatin on their website, First-Time-Home-Buyer-Solutions.com.

One of the most important parts of your mortgage is the mortgage rate – the rate of interest that you’ll pay on the money you borrow to buy your house. Often, ads for mortgage lenders make it sound as if they offer a single mortgage rate to all lenders. If that were the truth, it would be easy to find the right mortgage – just shop around for the lender advertising the lowest interest rate and apply for a mortgage with them. Unfortunately for simplicity, calculating a mortgage rate is far more complex than that. The truth is that the mortgage rate that you’re offered is influenced by many different things.

Prime Lending Rate

Mortgage lenders generally base their calculations of their mortgage rates on the prime lending rate. That’s not to say that the prime lending rate is the mortgage rate that they’ll offer to customers. Rather, it’s the starting point of their calculations for their mortgage rates. The prime lending rate is the interest rate that most commercial banks charge their most creditworthy customers. It is adjusted up or down, usually in increments of 1/8 or ¼ of a percentage point. It responds to both the availability of money to loan and the demand for loans in the marketplace. Because those things tend to be the same across the board, most of the major banks will be offering the same prime lending rate.

First time borrower?

If you’re a first time home buyer and your credit is good, banks and lenders will often offer mortgages at a discounted rate – one that is below the prime lending rate – in order to attract your business. First time home buyers who meet certain income guidelines may also qualify for first-time home buyer loans guaranteed by the federal government. One of the conditions of those loans is a very low interest rate, usually several points below the prime lending rate.

Your credit rating

One of the major factors that affects the mortgage rate a bank or lender will offer you is your credit rating or your credit score. Lenders use your credit score to determine whether or not they’ll lend you money, and how much they’ll charge you in interest for the money that you borrow. The better your credit rating, the lower the mortgage rate you’ll be offered.

The type of mortgage

Different types of mortgages carry different risks for lenders. The higher the perceived risk to the lender, the more interest they’ll charge you for your mortgage. Adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) present the lowest risks to the lenders because your mortgage rate can rise if the interest rates rise. Fixed rate mortgages are riskier for lenders. They’re making the gamble that interest rates won’t rise above the mortgage rate that they charge you. Thus, fixed rate mortgages nearly always carry higher interest rates than adjustable rate mortgages. This can be affected by the size of the loan, and how adjustments are calculated.

The amount and length of the mortgage

It’s a general but not a hard and fast rule that the larger the amount borrowed, the lower the interest rate will be. In addition, the longer the term of your mortgage, the lower the rate will be. These differences can be very slight up front, but they add up over the life of the loan. A difference of an eight of a percent can save you tens of thousands over the course of thirty years.

The amount of your down payment

In many cases, the amount that you can offer up as down payment will affect your mortgage rate. The reason is simple enough – the more you put down on your house, the more likely it is that you will not default on your mortgage. Zero-down mortgages generally carry mortgage rates that are considerably higher than the prime lending rate. Depending on the lender and the state of the economy in general when you take out a mortgage, a down payment of as little as 5% or as high as 20% may make a difference in the amount of mortgage rate that you’re offered.

What about the APR?

The Annualized Percentage Rate is the total cost of the loan expressed as an annual percentage rate on the amount borrowed. The APR includes any fees that are paid in addition to the interest rate, so it may differ from the mortgage rate advertised by the lender. In the United States, lenders are required by law to disclose the cost of the loan as a standardized APR in order to make it easier for consumers to compare loans.

One of the biggest questions regarding real estate is the need for a down payment. People who have purchased homes before know the ins and outs of the game and they know that a down payment makes the whole process much easier. A down payment of 20% not only gives you far more mortgage options but it also keeps the monthly payments lower and when purchasing a home for the first time that is a nice bonus to have. Owning a home is drastically unlike renting. Suddenly you become responsible for many more costs and labor that have never been your concern before. This is where many first times lose out, they fail to plan ahead for the costs that are unexpected, those ones that tend to crop up out of nowhere and catch them by surprise.

Here’s the catch: getting a down payment together can be tricky. Life in this era is expensive and it can be a real challenge to save 20% of a huge purchase. Especially if you are paying off student debt or have other financial obligations. That being said, financing 100% of a home can be an enormous undertaking and without a down payment your home options will be severely limited. In trying to arrange a down payment for a new home it’s a good idea to try to take care of any outstanding credit concerns before applying for a mortgage. Your credit is a major factor in determining your eligibility for a loan. Any negative marks on your report can decrease the amount you are eligible for and serious marks can disqualify you entirely. Try to have your debts paid off before you apply for funding, it sounds difficult but it will benefit you in the long run.

Be wary of mortgage offers that sound too good to be true, most of the time they are. Educate yourself on the types of mortgage loans that are available and decide on which one suits your needs and your ability to pay. Remember to leave excess money available for the unexpected costs as well. Take the time to prepare yourself for home ownership and hopefully there will not be too many surprises.

If you’re a first time home buyer and your wallet is not overflowing, the first thing you need to do is get yourself pre-approved by a lender. Assuming they decide you’re of good character and there’s a pretty good chance you’ll choose to pay their monthly stipend, they’ll tell you what the maximum is that they will lend you, so now you have a figure with which to work.

The easy part is to figure how many bedrooms and bathrooms you want. Find out the amount of square footage you’re living in now. Decide if that’s less than or more than you need to feel comfortable and then begin your search.

Feed your search engine with these facts, i.e. 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, minimum 1200 square feet and your maximum listing price and see what pops up. Don’t forget to add to your monthly expenses the estimated property tax – take the annual amount of property tax, divide by 12 and that’s your monthly addition to your budget.

If the property you’re considering has an association – condo or HOA – there are also going to be common charges. See what they are and how often they’re assessed – usually monthly or quarterly. If it’s quarterly, divide by 3 and that’s your monthly amount. You’re probably going to need homeowner’s insurance. Usually the lender insists on it, to protect their investment in your property.

Make a couple of calls to find out what the approximate charge will be and divide that into a monthly amount. Then there are your utilities – electric, telephone, cable, water, sewer. If there’s a homeowner’s association, some of these are probably included. Find out.

Once you’re armed with these figures and you’ve decided how much of your earnings you want to give away in order to move from under that bridge or out of Mom and Dad’s or from that rental apartment that you thought was so terrific when you first moved into it, it’s time to start house hunting. And that’s the fun part!

If you haven’t done your homework, you’ll be wasting your time and your realtor’s time looking at properties that will not work for you. Give your realtor the maximum amount of information that you can. Talk about communities that appeal to you. Talk about driving time to work.

Talk about pets, your vehicles, child friendly communities or not, how important security is to you, i.e. gated communities, your need to be near public transportation or close to beaches. There’s a long list that belongs exclusively to you that makes up your wish list. Communicate well and save time. Be prepared to compromise on some of those wishes. Decide if you want a renovated property or a fixer upper or anywhere in between.

It’s my opinion that unless you have experience renovating, whatever the budget you create, it’s probably going to cost around double that number. It’s also my experience that if you’re inexperienced, it will be cheaper and easier in the long run to pay more for that renovated property instead of doing it yourself. It’s also my experience that most people don’t listen to advice and do what they want. And then live to regret their decisions.

Once you’ve seen 3 properties, it’s time to have a talk with your realtor. Is the space too small? Are you changing your mind about your needs? Or are you on the right track and just need to find the right one. Most people walk in the front door and know immediately if this is the one. Something talks to them, first saying no, no, no and then yes, I love it!

If you’re moving because you require more space, i.e. another bedroom, a larger home, a bigger kitchen, then you know what you’re looking for. And a lot of people like to stay in the same community and just move up one level. But you need to do your homework with a Lender and calculate your expenses so you’ll have that listing/selling price figured out.

Unless you have nerves of steel and can afford to carry two properties at the same time, I advise you to sell your home first and then start looking. No sense shopping for the new home till the old one is sold. That’s not to say that you can’t shop Open Houses and check out model homes. That’s a good Sunday afternoon expedition to educate yourself. It solidifies your needs and wants too. But don’t waste your time or your realtor’s time till you’re really ready.

Now for you folks who are about to buy a vacation home in the sun, it’s time to have a reality check about how much space you need or want. I always tell people that if they have a Fla in their mailing address, the people will come. And if you have children or grandchildren, they’ll come for sure – and probably bring friends for company!

So how many bedrooms do you really need? Bearing in mind that if there are children involved, Christmas, Easter, spring break, etc. are the times they’ll be able to visit. They’ll all want to come south at the same times. Unless you don’t care about creating a dormitory in your living room, it’ll be a lot easier to have enough bedrooms to accommodate your family comfortably. And save you moving twice.

So that’s my advice for choosing a home that suits your needs. Happy House Hunting!!

First Time Home Buyer Seminar with Kenn Renner 05

Purchasing a home is the largest cheque most people will ever sign, so making sure you have all the information at hand before making your purchase is important.  In addition to your down-payment there will be various closing costs that you will need to think about as well.  These costs can add up to quite a substantial amount of money.  But for many home buyers, especially first-time home buyers, these extra costs could be offset, at least in part, by available rebate programs.  Here are 4 home buyer rebate programs you need to know about.

Land Transfer Tax Refund for First-Time Home Buyers
Every buyer in Ontario must pay the government a land transfer tax which is based on a percentage of what the home sold for.  First-time home buyers however can apply for a rebate for and receive a rebate for all of a portion of the tax paid.  Other provinces may have similar programs available and in Ontario the maximum amount that would be refunded is $2,000.  Some cities, such as Toronto, have also implemented their own land transfer tax but this too can be refunded to eligible buyers.  That’s nothing to sneeze at.

GST Rebate For New Home Purchases
If you buy a resale home you generally do not have to pay GST on the purchase price.  Not so however if you buy a new home construction.  New homes are subject to GST on the purchase price but there is a rebate program for this as well.  In general eligible new home buyers can apply for a refund of all or a part of the GST.  Keep in mind though that some builders include the GST in the price of the new home and any GST refund would go to them since they are the ones who absorbed the GST in the first place.

Affordable Housing Program
Government is continually trying to make home ownership affordable and available to everyone and with any government program the rules can be complex.  In a nutshell the affordable housing program allows those people who qualify to apply for a government grant for the down-payment of their home.  Municipalities and provinces have different rules as to who qualifies so check with your real estate professional for more details.

Home Buyers’ Plan
For most people looking to buy their first home the monthly mortgage payments are not the issue.  Mortgage payments are usually close to what they are already paying in rent.  The biggest obstacle to buying a home is coming up with the down-payment.  If you have money in your RRSP however you can withdraw up to $20,000 tax free for the purpose of using it as your down-payment.  This money needs to be paid back to your RRSP within fifteen years and payments need to be made to it every year.

It is important to do your research and speak with your real estate professional to find out more on theses programs and which ones you will be eligible for.  Even qualifying for only one program can save you a substantial amount of money.