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Now That You Are Ready to Buy, What Comes Next?

August 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

You have good or excellent credit, or maybe you qualify for federal programs to help you purchase a home, like HUD; you have saved a down payment, calculated your budget and know how much you can afford as a monthly mortgage payment. And you don’t even need paycheck advance anymore. Now what do you do?

You will want to find a real estate broker to help you find the right property and make the deal. Though some people think it will save money to try and manage this part alone, in many situations, particularly when dealing with federal home buying programs, a real estate broker is required to make the deal. A real estate broker can also help you determine a price range, find a property, a lender, broker the deal, and help your with everything until after the closing. Real estate brokers can save you time, energy, and stress throughout the home buying process. Though a broker cannot tell you exactly what to bid for a property they can advise you and make suggestions, but ultimately you have to make the final decision.

One step that can speed up the process is to get prequalified with a lender. If a property owner gets two equal bids, but one buyer is prequalified for a loan and the other bid is contingent on qualifying for the loan, the homeowner or builder will usually accept the bid from the prequalified buyer over the other bid. This does not mean that being prequalified means a seller will accept any bid because you are a prequalified buyer. It just means that the seller knows you can get the loan if your bid is accepted.

Filed Under: Budgeting, Real Estate Tagged With: , ,

Home Repair Warnings

March 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Most new home owners fall in the trap called a shoddy home. A home that is brought at a very low price, but has to be repaired from scratch, just like building a house entirely from the foundation. The art of differentiating between a good deal and a bad deal in houses is a skills that a few real estate agents master quite skillfully. They do this with years of practice in choosing between houses and making a few mistakes. Even if a real estate agent makes a mistake, he can get rid of it as soon as possible without and does not have to live in it. But if it is a customer who purchases a house with the intention of buying it, then she is in a huge trouble.

Home repairs can end up costing twice as much as you paid for buying the house in the first place. Hence you will need to make sure that whatever you purchase, is worth every penny spent and will require very little money for repairs. The skill to differentiate between repairs that cost very little to repairs that cost a leg and an arm is very important. External things such as painting and landscaping can be done cheaply. It requires very little money to do these.  Hence, don’t let the outer appearance fool you, it is only on the inside that counts. A house is prone to attack by termites; you will have to check properly. A house that is infested with termites will require all of the wood work to be replaced, which easily run into thousands. Foundation, electric and plumbing work too can turn out to be costly if the house is old.

Filed Under: Repairs, Restoration Tagged With: , ,

Decide Which Home Renovations to Make

January 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you know that you want to make some improvements to your home, it may be difficult to decide where to start. You want to make sure you are getting the best return on your investment and really spending time on the projects that will increase the value of your home. Deciding which projects to do and when is not always an easy decision. Read on to discover some ideas for helping you know which projects to include in your home remodeling.

  1. Contact a local real estate agent. A real estate agent will know what kinds of houses with which features are selling in your area. Invite a real estate agent over for a quick tour of your home and ask him to tell you which projects he recommends. Sometimes the project that is important to you may not be what potential buyers are looking for.
  2. Ask your friends. It’s also a good idea to ask your friends for the same advice you’d ask from a real estate agent. Invite a group of friends over and ask for their honest opinion on the projects you are considering. You could even show them some plans or colors you are thinking about.
  3. Spend money in the kitchen and bathroom. You’ll definitely want to spend the most time and money on projects that will give you the most return. Generally, improvements to kitchens and bathrooms will help increase the value of your home. This is especially true if your home only has one bathroom or a small kitchen.

Home remodeling and renovation projects can be a lot of fun – they can also be a lot of work! Decide up front what you are going to work on and when in order to be the most efficient. Be sure to ask for help and advice before you begin your projects.

Filed Under: Real Estate, Restoration Tagged With: ,