Buying a Home – Mistakes buyers make with getting a home loan

  By James D. Sanderson | April 17, 2014 - 11:40 pm |
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Real Estate Related Blog and Advice

When buying a home, it is so important to be informed.  Read up about the process.  Learn all you can about getting a mortgage.  It will probably save you money.  Here are some common mistakes that home buyers make.  Looking for Corona CA Real Estate?

1. Buyers believe in that the advertised interest rate is what they are going to pay

The advertised rates are generally only for those with either perfect or almost perfect credit scores. Lenders go over your credit report looking for anything that will justify them increasing the interest rate that you will have to pay.  Note:  Lenders also run your credit again just before closing.  If there has been any change in your debt to income ratio, you may not be able to get the loan after all.  Don’t do anything that might affect your credit while you are in escrow (in contract) with your new home.  Find out more at Riverside CA Homes for Sale

2. Not shopping around

What is the difference between a loan officer and a mortgage broker?  A loan officer works for a bank and can only offer you loans that the bank offers. A mortgage broker pre-qualifies you just like a loan officer, and then shops around with various lenders that they work with.  Either way, it is recommended that you speak with at least two mortgage brokers and/or loan officers when shopping for a home  loan.  Be prepared to share personal information in order to get a realistic rate. After you get a few quotes, you can pick the loan you like best.

3. Waiting for a better interest rate

Don’t miss out on your dream home while waiting for interest rates to lower a bit.  Get the home you love and then once you have closed on your new home, work on building equity rather than focusing on the interest.  Pay an extra $100 per month or make an extra payment or two each year.

4. Not paying attention to the terms of the loan

Did you know that the true cost of a home loan is the APR or annual percentage rate which includes fees from the lender? That is the best number to focus on – not the advertised rate.  Do some research on loan fees.  Lenders use many different ways to jack up their fees to the buyers, i.e. loan origination fees, application fees, processing fees and more.  Some lenders will charge to pull your credit report.  Once you have picked a lender and applied for a loan, the lender will provide a good faith estimate to you which details all the costs and fees.  Terms are negotiable, so don’t be afraid to ask about fees and if they can be reduced or not.

5. Choosing the wrong type of loan

Talk at length to the lenders about the different loan programs.  Figure out which one fits your needs best.  There are several different loan types. Ask the lenders you are interested in working with to give you a quote – compare the costs/fees of the different programs and the monthly payments.

Check out these additional Tips on buying a home written by CNN Money.

Selling your Home – what to expect while your home is on the market

  By Joan M. Garner | April 2, 2014 - 11:43 pm |
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house real estateYour real estate agent needs your help to sell your home; they can’t do it without you. Selling your home is a partnership between you and your real estate agent.

As soon as your goes on the market and is listed on the Multiple Listing Service, other real estate agents will expect to be able to show your home. The more readily you make your house available for showings, the more showings you will get which means that the likelihood of selling your home goes up.  A home that is difficult for real estate agents to show is much harder to sell. For example look into luxury homes for sale Riverside CA and you’ll understand what the market is doing.

When you know that there will be a showing of your house, make sure that you are not there.  Tidy up the house and then leave.  Many sellers believe they can best sell their house to potential buyers by being there and telling the buyers about the home. In reality, most buyers and their agents are uncomfortable looking at a home when the owner is there.

How tidy does your home need to be for showings while you are selling your home?  As clean, neat and clutter-free as possible.  Potential buyers can more easily visualize themselves in your home if there isn’t clutter and the house has been de-personalized. Also, be concerned about smells.  If you can smell it, you can’t sell it.  Smell has enormous impact on buyers. Almost all buyers react negatively to pet smells, smoke and incense and some cooking odors.

Sometimes while you are selling your home you will get a request for an “agent preview”. This means that an agent will come alone to your home (with no buyer) for a quick run through. Agents often do this for several reasons, including having a very busy buyer who isn’t able to see all the houses that they are interested in or they are working with an out of town home buyer.  The same guidelines for tidiness apply during previews, but it’s not really necessary to leave.  Real Estate market signs to come?

You may receive an offer quite quickly. Well-priced homes can often bring in offers early.  If this happens, it does not mean that your home was underpriced and that you should have asked more. Overpriced homes that sit on the market get stale.  The best way to obtain the highest price is to sell quickly.  Important home selling tip – price your home competitively from the start.  Don’t make the mistake of pricing it high  just to see what happens.

You may get a contingent offer.  This is an offer where the home buyer needs to sell a home in order to buy a home.  Whether to accept a contingent offer is based largely on whether it is a buyer’s market or a seller’s market. Is it likely that you will get an other offer soon?  In a seller’s market, most sellers are not very willing to accept an offer that is contingent upon the home buyer selling their home.  If you need to move quickly for some reason, then a contingent offer is probably not the best choice for you.

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