Knowing you can borrow against your home’s equity may seem like a dream come true. If you need money, you can apply for a home equity loan and have the money in hand shortly. But, should you do it? What mistakes do people make with home equity loans?Get Matched with a Lender, Click Here.Keep reading to find out. Ignoring Your Loan-to-Value Ratio Just because you can tap into your home’s equity doesn’t mean you should. Know what the loan entails. Can you afford the payments? Do you know … [Read more...]
The Steps to Making a Success Offer on a Home
You’ve decided on a home and are ready to make the offer. Do you know what you are doing? Do you know what sellers want?Looking for Current Mortgage Interest Rates? Click Here.Even if you work with a realtor (which we recommend), it’s important to know what makes a great offer. We outline the steps for you below. Get a Pre-Approval Before you look at homes, find a reputable lender and get pre-approved. This step saves a lot of time and frustration.Sellers will take your offer more … [Read more...]
How to Sell a Home in Pre-Foreclosure
If you’ve received notice that your home is in pre-foreclosure, you don’t have to withstand the agonizing process that it starts. You may be able to sell your home up until the day it goes to auction. The actual pre-foreclosure phase lasts anywhere from three months to a year. This gives you ample time to sell your home and avoid a complete foreclosure.Get Matched with a Lender, Click Here.Keep reading to learn how you can sell your home if it’s in pre-foreclosure. Work With a … [Read more...]
How to Handle Capital Gains in Real Estate
You obviously want to make money selling your home, but how much? Did you know that if you make too much, you’ll owe capital gains taxes? Fortunately, there are ways to minimize the taxes. See below.Looking for Current Mortgage Interest Rates? Click Here. What are Capital Gains in Real Estate? Capital gains are the difference between the price you bought and sold your home. Let’s say you bought your home for $100,000 and sold it for $200,000. Your capital gains are $100,000. It’s the same … [Read more...]
Fees Beyond the Down Payment: What to Expect
You saved money for a down payment and you can’t wait to buy a home. Before you start looking, though, did you save money for closing costs?Looking for Current Mortgage Interest Rates? Click Here.It’s an unfortunate fact that many first-time homebuyers overlook the closing costs. It’s not a small figure, though. Expect to pay between 2% and 5% of the loan amount in closing costs. That means thousands of dollars that you need on top of the down payment.Keep reading to find out what … [Read more...]
What’s Better – Renting or Buying?
The American Dream makes us think we have to buy a home or we aren’t living life the right way. Is that the case, though? Today many people choose to rent (or are forced to do so), and is it really all that bad? Both buying and renting have their pros and cons.Get Matched with a Lender, Click Here.We help you understand both sides below. The Long-Term Commitment of Buying Buying can help you make money on your investment, but it’s a long-term investment. Do you know what you will be … [Read more...]
Understanding the Difference Between Prepaid Items and Closing Costs
When you close on your mortgage, you’ll pay many fees, each of which has different names. Two of the most common expenses are prepaid costs and closing costs. Even though the closing agent collects both expenses at the closing, they mean different things.Get Matched with a Lender, Click Here.Keep reading to learn about the difference between prepaid items and closing costs. You’ll understand the mortgage process better and find the loan that’s right for you. What’s Included in Prepaid … [Read more...]
Can you Use Non-Traditional Trade Lines to Get a Mortgage?
You need good credit to get a mortgage, but what happens if you don’t have any credit? It’s not a bad thing to not be in debt, but lenders also don’t have anything to use for their decision. How do they know how you handle your finances without a history of your payment habits?Get Matched with a Lender, Click Here.Some lenders allow the use of non-traditional credit or non-traditional trade lines. Everyone pays some type of bills in their life. That’s exactly what non-traditional trade … [Read more...]
What’s the Minimum Required Credit Score for a Home Equity Loan?
You have equity in your home if your home is worth more than your mortgage’s outstanding balance. If you have equity, you may tap into it with a home equity loan. In order to do so, you must meet the lender’s requirements for a home equity loan including the minimum credit score requirements.Get Matched with a Lender, Click Here. What Credit Score do You Need? Lenders put a lot of emphasis on the credit score. It tells a lender your level of financial responsibility. It’s not the only … [Read more...]
The Top Methods to Use to Counter Offer a Home Inspection
If you have a home inspection contingency on your purchase contract, you have the right to counter offer with the seller after receiving the inspection report. If you see things in the report that you don’t like, you can go back to the seller and ask for either him/her to complete the repairs, give you the money to cover the repair costs, or you can walk away from the sale.Get Matched with a Lender, Click Here.It sounds easy, but sellers aren’t always willing to negotiate. Keep reading … [Read more...]
