One of the biggest misconceptions I hear from people is that it’s hard to get a loan. Actually, I can tell you it’s not hard at all. In fact, it’s easy to get a mortgage loan if you do the following: Pay your bills on time Have a steady income The next step is determining the mortgage amount for which you qualify. The prequalification process is pretty simple for the majority of home buyers. I
If you’re starting to apply for a home mortgage, one of the biggest questions you might have is how much do I need to put toward a down payment. For starters, a down payment is a percentage of the sales price that a home buyer pays out of pocket. I’d suggest aiming for anywhere from 5 to 20 percent down payment. Putting down 20 percent is the best, but it’s not necessary. The benefit of
Step 1: Select a person or company to write the loan. Don’t be intimidated, even if this is your first time buying a home. Look for the blog post titled – “The difference between a bank and correspondent lender”. Making a good choice here will make the following steps much easier. Step 2: Get pre-approved for a loan. The pre-approval helps in a number of ways. First, you get a better idea of what you
When buying a home you will need to come up with more money than just the expense of your down payment. There are closing costs and prepaid expenses that you will pay at the time of closing. These are typically referred to as the “closing fees” and you will need to pay these fees, along with your down payment. The amount of these costs is different for everyone. Closing costs include: Loan appraisal Origination fees
We always suggest to buyers to drive by homes they are considering to ensure they like the neighborhood. If they are comfortable with the homes’ surroundings, the landscaping has a huge impact on whether a buyer requests to set up a showing or simply crosses the home off their list of possibilities. Follow these landscaping tips to sell your home which will create great curb appeal to potential buyers: Spread new mulch. Use dark brown “triple-shredded
Before you know what homes to consider, you need to figure out your home financing to know how much you can afford, and that comes down to the monthly payment amount. Between loan products and new lending rules, variable interest rates and credit score surprises, most buyers are looking in the wrong price range (too high or too low). We will refer you to a mortgage lending specialist with the right experience. Based on your
This innovative home inspection strategy is earning Hunter Rowe buyers thousands in HVAC repairs and replacements. THE STORY: When we help a client put a home under contract, there is a three to four week period during which we help the buyer inspect the home and prepare a repair request (also known as a “due diligence request”) to address any problems. A normal home inspection costs $400-600, depending on the size of the home. But
You are in the market, looking for a home. If you’re like most people, you have scrimped and saved up a little nest egg and are now ready. It also means you’re going to need to borrow money to get into your dream house. The loan taken for a home purchase is called a mortgage. This post is going to take a quick survey of the various ways to actually get the funding for the
You found your dream home and now you’re ready to buy. While it might seem like many of the factors that go into getting a mortgage loan are out of your hands, there are a few things you can do to speed up the process – or at least not slow it down. The average time it takes to get a mortgage offer is about 30 days, provided you have all the right information. The
Before making an offer and committing to purchase a home, take a few slow walks through the neighborhood at different times of day. Listen for barking dogs. Look for children playing if that is important to you (the law prohibits your broker from discussing “familial status”). Introduce yourself to a few neighbors, tell them which home you are thinking about, and ask them what they know. Neighbors love to talk and you might be glad
Our sellers have had very good experiences using temporary storage containers (such as PODS or PackRat) to store clutter while preparing their home for sale. Some sellers end up using them for the entire move, often in combination with hired labor. As of this writing, a 16-foot container (holds approximately 4 rooms) was $69 for drop off and pick up, plus $155/month for secure, climate-controlled storage, plus a second $69 at final drop off and
By making the right investments in your home, you will not only cause buyers to fall in love, but you will also make a profit when you sell your home. Depending on your neighborhood, your price point, and the size of your home, the following improvements will generally produce at least $2 or more in increased sales price for every $1 you invest. And anything that increases your price will also reduce your “days-on-market.” Granite
Here is a variety of options that may be included on your home criteria list: Price range Detached/Townhome/Condo Number of bedrooms Living area square footage Master down (Y/N) Number of bathrooms Geographic area School district(s) Acreage Age of home One story (Y/N) Lot type (corner/cul-de-sac) Flat lot (Y/N) Basement (Y/N) Number of garage bays Commute time to work Screened porch (Y/N) Fireplace (wood/gas) Fenced yard (Y/N) Exterior (brick/vinyl/etc) Community pool (Y/N) Golf course community (Y/N)
You have prepared your home for the market and priced it realistically. Now you need to market it effectively. In order to do that, you need to understand how buyers find the home they purchase in the Raleigh area. Almost every buyer searches for homes on the internet, but except for a small percentage, that is not how they find the home they actually purchase. The vast majority of Raleigh-area buyers (approximately 80%) become aware
Why do most of our clients think putting a home on the market now is a good idea? Inventory is at the lowest it’s been all year! Because other sellers assume it’s a bad time it will keep inventory low, allowing the homes on the market to shine with less competition! There is a backlog of buyers who have not found their perfect home yet, who are prequalified and still need to buy. Less