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How To Stop
Wasting Money On Rent And
Own A Home Instead
How To Buy The Home You Always Wanted... Buying a home can
seem like a frightening prospect. Whether it's your first home, or your
fifth, so much is at stake — your savings, your credit rating, your
financial freedom. It's difficult to
get up the courage to sign on the dotted line, even if you want that home
very, very badly. How do you determine
whether or not the purchase of a home makes sense? I suggest that you
read this entire report before you go house hunting. You'll learn how to
separate whims from true needs. You'll discover how to prepare a game plan
for your real estate venture, how to research effectively, choose wisely,
finance appropriately and survive the whole procedure with your smile
intact.
Seven Steps For Success: A Lender can let you
know what specific loan programs would be best for you. They can also help
you understand what it takes to qualify for the loan that you want. By taking a look at
your financial situation and looking at your credit history, a Lender can
usually give you a good idea if you can qualify for the loan that you
want. Many Lenders call
this "Pre-qualifying a Buyer." If you would like to be certain
that you can be approved for a loan, you may want to ask to be
pre-approved. In the approval process, all of your documentation is
completed and submitted to an underwriter. The pre-approval you
get back is an actual loan commitment from a Lender. This means that you
definitely qualify for a loan. Talk to your Lender about the costs and
time involved, as they are different for each Lender. The next step is
finding a home that also qualifies for the loan. By the time you've
done your homework and completed the suggestions in this report, you will
have an excellent overview of how to find and buy your dream home. And
you'll have plenty of confidence to back up your decision to buy that
special home, too. Step One: Establish Your Needs And
Wants I recommend that you
take the time to do this in writing. Take time, right
now, to be as specific as you can about your particular requirements. Step Two: Determine How Much You
Can Afford Be realistic here.
Most Lenders want your payment to be no more than 28% of your total
monthly income. Step Three: Get Pre-qualified Or
Pre-approved By A Lender Step Four: Find A Good Real Estate
Agent To Help You Questions for
agents: 1) Are you
knowledgeable about the area of town and price range that we are
interested in? (Some agents specialize in only one area or one price
range.) 2) Do you have the
time to work with us? (This is especially important if you're on a tight
deadline.) What procedure will the agent follow in working with you? How
often will they update you with new property listings? 3) Can you represent
me as my buyer's broker? Ask as many questions as you can upfront. By
finding a good agent, you will save yourself huge amounts of time and
effort. Step Five: Find A Home That Meets
Your Needs Five Tips for
Successful House Hunting: 1) Keep an organized
record of all your research data. Write down comments about the homes that
you see. Keep track of your likes and dislikes. 2) Make sure your
agent is aware of your time schedule and expectations. Do you like to look
at one or two homes in a session? Four? Eight? Discuss this with your
agent. 3) Tell your agent
about any homes you see that interest you and that you'd like to know more
about. This includes homes
you've "discovered" as you've explored the area yourself, or
those advertised in the newspaper. 4) If you like to
spend time driving around by yourself looking at homes, ask your agent for
a list of drive-bys — homes to consider first from the outside. Your agent can make
appointments later to show you the interior of those that appeal to you. 5) Express your
likes and dislikes to your agent after you look at a home. Honest
communication is essential. Many buyers are shy
and afraid to tell an agent what they really think of a house. They think
the agent might take it personally. Remember, the homes don't belong to
the agent! You must be
straightforward about your likes and dislikes in order for the agent to do
the best job for you. Step Six: Make An Offer To Buy A
Home Some agents work
only for the seller. In this case the agent may not be able to advise you
what a fair offer to make is. By looking at what
homes are selling for in the area and how long they are taking to sell,
you should be able to get a good idea of value. Step Seven: Save As Much As You
Can On The Purchase Here are six ways
to save on your initial investment: 1) Choose a low down
payment loan. You do not necessarily have to put 20% or even 10% down. You
can pay 5% or even 3% down on some loans. 2) Have someone give
you money to pay closing costs. A blood relative, church or nonprofit
organization can give you money for closing costs. 3) Ask the seller to
pay some of your closing costs as part of your offer. Sellers are usually
allowed to contribute to a buyer's closing costs. 4) Do not pay too
much insurance at closing. Some tenders want 14 months hazard insurance
paid at closing. Others want 15 months. What happens to that
extra money? It sits in your escrow account until you sell the house. It
is safe here, but it often earns no interest. 5) Shop around for
your home insurance. A little shopping can save you money. 6) You can deduct
money paid for discount points from your gross income before computing
your tax. See a CPA for more information. Here are four
ways to keep you monthly payments low: 1) Get a loan that
doesn't have monthly mortgage insurance premiums. You may be able to
reduce or eliminate them by paying a little more at closing. By putting
20% or more down, you can eliminate them entirely. 2) Take advantage of
rate lock programs that are currently available. You can lock in a low
interest rate 30-45 days in advance. 3) Remember that
interest payments on a primary residential mortgage are fully deductible
in most circumstances. Your property taxes may also be deductible. Tax
rates definitely favor homeowners. 4) Choose an
adjustable rate mortgage. Adjustable rate mortgages (or ARMs) can be up to
3% lower than fixed rates. Now that you have
finished this report, it's time to go out and find the home of your
dreams! Make sure that you
cover all of the steps in this report in the proper order. See a Lender
first. He or she will help you decide how much of a loan you qualify for. Then find a good agent to work with. If you don't have one, ask your friends and work associates for a referral. Copyright © 1998-2005 Chris Mattix All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.
Chris Mattix |
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