May 12
6
All About Homeowners Insurance
Everybody who owns a home should get insurance on their property, and everyone who has a mortgage on their home MUST get an insurance policy. The lender will force you to carry a policy that covers fire and hazard insurance in order to protect thier investment. In places like Florida you will also be required to take out windstorm insurance (i.e. protection against hurricanes). If you don’t take out your own policy, the lender will take one out for you (which will be more expensive than the one you would have gotten) and bill you for it. If you don’t pay what they bill you for insurance the lender can forclose on your home so, the bottom line is that you should shop around and take out your own homeowners insurance.
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This useful guide to home mortgage refinancing and home equity loans includes tips on where to find the lowest mortgage rates, mortgage calculators, where to apply for online mortgages, and mortgage company reviews. You’ll also find scams and loan fees to avoid, dealing with mortgage brokers, and tips to increase your approval chances for a mortgage loan or a second mortgage. We also review the top sites for you to comparison shop for the best mortgage rates like LoanWeb, LendingTree or E-loan.
Home-equity debt gives you a way to take out a “personal loan” but maintain the ability to turn the interest you pay into a tax deduction. People use home-equity debt for various purposes such as home improvements and debt consolidation. There are 3 major types of home-equity debt which are defined in this section.
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May 12
6
How To Sell Your Home
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ou’ll find home selling tips for houses, townhomes, villas, and condominiums, scams to avoid, how to choose a seller’s real estate agent, what to put in your contract, real estate agent tricks to watch out for, and negotiating tips for dealing with tough buyers.
Great Expectations
Many sellers have unrealistic expectations for their property value, especially on condominiums and townhouses. These types of property at least here in Florida do not hold their value very well, and very few of them appreciate. Often the builders of new condos and townhouses charge buyers too much money and when the buyer resells years later, they are shocked to see how much value their unit lost. They will have a hard time selling their condo, especially if the maintenance fees are high.
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All the tips you need to help you choose a good real estate agent that will work diligently in selling your house if they are your listing agent, or as a buyer’s agent if you are buying a house. We even have tips on how to make your relationship with your real estate agent go as smoothly as possible, and scams to avoid.
“Real Estate Agent” Is Just Another Name For “Salesperson”
Don’t ever lose sight of that fact. Their only mission is to sell, sell, sell to YOU. Don’t ever let on that you are in a desperate situation, or that you need to sell a house fast to pay for emergency bills, or that you are in a desperate crunch to buy this house now, because you are being transferred into town this week. It’s simply none of their business and as far as they are concerned, you are not in a rush to buy a house.
You cannot guarantee impartiality
If your real estate agent’s commission is based on the selling price of a house you are about to buy, you cannot guarantee that the agent has your best interest at heart. The only way to guarantee that is to actually pay a large fee to a real buyer’s agent who does not get a percentage of the selling price. But the fee almost removes the benefit of bypassing the commissioned real estate agent in the first place. To play it safe, never tell anyone but yourself how high you are willing to go. By law the seller’s real estate agent has a fiduciary responsibility to the seller, and they WILL tell the seller everything you say, so pretend you are under police interrogation. The first thing the agent will do is ask you how high you are willing to go on the house. Don’t fall for this trick. Just give them the price you want to pay for the house and if they ask how high you are willing to go, tell them that’s it. If the seller does not agree there is no deal and you’re taking your money elsewhere. If you are a home buyer, don’t think your real estate agent is “going in to do battle on your behalf” with the seller’s agent.
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You’ll find everything you need to know to come out ahead when buying a new construction home, including, finding the right builder, how to find good deals, finding the right location and avoiding scams
New Construction Home
One advantage to buying new construction is that you can customize many things such as color schemes, flooring, kitchen cabinets, appliances, TV and phone wiring, speaker wiring, etc. The builder generally will not let you put in your our TV, phone and speaker wiring, due to inspections and code regulations. But having this done by the builder to your specifications, will saving you a lot of time and effort later.
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How To Get Your Online Credit Report & FICO Credit Score
Here you’ll find everything you need to organize before applying for a home loan, how to get your Equifax Credit Report, your Beacon score, clean your credit report. You’ll find tips on files and paperwork you need to have ready to increase your odds of getting approved for a home mortgage. For more thorough information on credit reports, & credit bureaus, visit our other site DebtWizards.com and read the chapter: How To Get Your Credit Report and improve your credit score.
Can you even afford a house right now?
Assuming you can afford a house, how much can you afford? These are important questions that many people don’t research, focusing on what their mortgage payments will be, ignoring other monthly payments. This oversight puts many people down the wrong path to bad debt. For example, your monthly expenditures will be more than just the home loan, there will also be homeowners insurance, flood insurance, mortgage insurance, utilities, garbage, cable TV, groceries, unexpected auto repairs, lunch money, and many other obligations. They must all be accounted for in your budget spreadsheet. What’s that? You don’t have one? Are you nuts?
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Apr 12
6
Glossary
This glossary is a quick reference of certain terms used throughout the site. For more detailed information and tips related to each term, click the term and you will be taken to the relevant section of the site.
APR – Annual percentage rate
ARM – Adjustable rate mortgage
ASHI – American Society of Home Inspectors
Buyer’s Agent – A real-estate agent that works for the home buyer.
FEMA – Federal Emergency Management Agency
FHA – Now an agency within HUD, the Federal Housing Administration was established in 1934 to advance opportunities for Americans to own homes. By providing private lenders with mortgage insurance, the FHA gives them the security they need to lend to first-time buyers who might not be able to qualify for conventional loans. The FHA has helped more than 26 million Americans buy a home.
HOA – Home Owners Association
HOW – Homeowners Warranty
HUD – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD was established in 1965 to develop national policies and programs to address housing needs in the U.S. One of HUD’sprimary missions is to create a suitable living environment for all Americans by developing and improving the country’s communities and enforcing fair housing laws.
MLS – Multiple Listing Service
NFIP – National Flood Insurance Program
NIBI – National Institute of Building Inspectors
Point – A fee equal to 1% of the loan amount
Seller’s Agent – A real-estate agent that is working for the property seller
Truth in Lending Disclosure - Required 3 days after the lender receives loan application. This statement is required to show the loans annual percentage rate (APR), amount financed, total finance charges, total amount paid for the loan, total number of payments, amount of monthly payment, prepayment penalty and late payment charge.
VA – Veteran Affairs or Veterans Administration
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