2010 January — Lise Howe.com

30 Reasons to Hire a Buyer’s Agent

January 30, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

1. Analysis of your real estate needs and determine housing criteria

2. Research properties

3. Send you listings that match your needs

4. Provide information pertaining to your move or relocation

and short-term stay options

5. Educate you about home buying processes

6. Provide information on market conditions, schools,

communities, employment, and more

7. Discuss your financing needs

8. Recommend qualified mortgage brokers

9. Make appointments and show properties

10. Provide timely and professional disclosure and research

11. In car review: pros & cons of each property

12. Point out “Hot Buttons” while showing

13. Help with loan application questions

14. Follow up of loan application with your selected mortgage broker

15. Help cleaning up your credit if needed

16. Analyze purchasing timeline and needs once property is located

17. Free Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) of a property in order

to make an educated offer

18. Call listing agent to get sellers disclosure

19. Draft the offer and prepare paperwork

20. Research tax records

21. Get information on utilities

22. Explain all paperwork before signing

23. Generate net sheet

24. Write offer, collect, deposit escrow and provide verification

to listing agent

25. Submit contract and follow up

26. Negotiate contract until mutually agreeable

27. Review and explain final contract

28. Send the title company the executed contract

29. Schedule and attend the home inspection

30. Schedule and attend the termite inspection

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Filed Under: Buyers Tagged With: buyer's agent, Lise Howe

If You Snooze You Risk Losing Thousands in Increased FHA Costs

January 29, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Those Who Wait Will Pay Thousands More This Spring.

Waiting a few extra days or weeks to purchase a home this spring could cost buyers thousands of extra dollars as the office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) implements several changes for loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA). Coming just weeks before the April 30 deadline for the Home Buyer Tax Credit and just days after the March 31 expiration of the Federal Reserve Board’s mortgage backed securities purchase program (which has kept home loan rates artificially low for over a year), these FHA changes make it even more important to act now to save big.

Here are a few reasons why: On April 5th, the cost of required up-front mortgage insurance for loans guaranteed by the FHA will increase from 1.75% to 2.25%. For a borrower purchasing a $200,000 home with a $7,000 down payment, the up-front mortgage insurance will increase by $965.

Up-front mortgage insurance is typically financed in the final loan amount so the impact to a monthly payment will be minimal but overall, the increase is still borne by the borrower both upfront and monthly. Later this spring, the amount of money that a seller can return to the buyer from their sale proceeds will be reduced from 6% to 3%. The reduction in these “seller concessions” can increase the amount of cash a buyer will be required to pay at closing by $6,000 for a home purchase of $200,000.

There is only one way to avoid being affected by all of these costly changes that lie ahead – submit all FHA mortgage applications by the last week of March.

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Filed Under: FHA Financing, Financing, Latest News! Tagged With: Bethesda home search, buyer, closing cost credit, Federal Housing Administration, FHA, FHA private mortgage premium, first time buyer, new changes at FHA, seller contribution

Five Easy Pieces Before Starting to Look for a Home

January 24, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

First Time Home Buyers – Five Easy Pieces Before Home Buying

House or Heart?

Are you ready to buy that first home? Do you know what to do? How to begin? Some say you need to find the house you want to buy. But really there are steps you need to take as first time home buyers before you begin. GET YOUR FINANCIAL HOUSE IN ORDER FIRST!

Beginning Steps for First Time Home Buyers:

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

THE FIRST PIECE

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. How does that amount correlate to a mortgage payment for the size or type of home you want? There are mortgage calculators out there that will help you estimate how much you can spend.

PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS HERE!

BEING HOUSE POOR IS NO FUN!

JUST BECAUSE THE BANK WILL LEND YOU THE MONEY DOESN”T MEAN YOU SHOULD BORROW THAT MUCH. THINK ABOUT HOW THAT MORTGAGE PAYMENT WILL FIT IN YOUR BUDGET.

PIECE TWO

The first thing in qualifying for a loan is your credit rating. 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 your expenses are higher than your income, you need to lower those first.

THE THIRD PIECE

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. FHA permits borrowers with good credit to get a mortgage with a down payment of only 3.5% of the total sales price.

THE FOURTH PIECE

Take the time to interview two or three loan officers and ask them lots of questions about the programs that they offer. Ask them which program they recommend for you and why. It is definately 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. If you don’t know which loan officers to talk to, ask your realtor. I always have several to recommend to my buyers – experienced and hard working lenders who are committed to making sure my buyers have a stress free transaction that closes on time.

THE FIFTH PIECE

You will have to choose whom you’re going to use to get your mortgage. You may decide to choose the lender who gives you the best service, or the best program, or the lowest rate. Shop around and know your options. A good lender will save you money and a lower rate will save you thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.

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Filed Under: Latest News!