March 31st, 2008 editor
The standard commission of a real estate agent is around 6% of the house price. That could be quite a lot if you take it out of the selling price of the house. For example, you are going to sell your house for 100 thousand dollars; 6 thousand dollars of it would go to the realtor. Will it be worth it? Maybe you’ll think of why not do your own advertising and searching of house buyers. Now that could be a lot of work.
Imagine calling a day off from your job just to entertain potential buyers. You should not say no when an interested buyer calls so whether you like it or not, you have to entertain them and show them around the house, without 100 percent assurance that they’re going to buy it. And imagine all your effort and money you will spend in advertising. It could be exhausting and pretty expensive, don’t you think? Now you do the calculation.
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March 30th, 2008 B. Slade
When you refinance your home loan, you basically pay off this existing loan through another lending institution. Refinancing allows you to change the condition of the loan according to your needs, take advantage of lower interest rates, and gives you more financial flexibility overall. To refinance your loan, take a new loan from the same or a different institution and use that loan to pay off your existing loan. Usually when you move to a new lender, they will take care of paying off your previous loan. Although you can use refinancing to pay off debts faster and to raise more money for a big purchase, remember that this is not always the answer for all cases. Explore all your options before you choose to refinance your loan.
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March 25th, 2008 B. Slade
Most people think that all real estate agents are the same and list their property with the first agent that comes along. To find out which realtor you should entrust your property to, start by asking for recommendations and compile a list of names you’d like to contact. Get an agent who has had experiences selling a property similar to yours and who is active in your community. Your ideal agent should have an excellent selling record and not merely a listing record. Also inspect the average time a house gets sold from the moment of listing. Don’t assume that the shorter time on the market is better – this could mean that the agent sells the home quickly at lowball prices. You want an agent who sells close to your asking price and who is effective and quick at helping their clients determine the right price.
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March 20th, 2008 B. Slade
When looking for a real estate agent who will help you sell your house, make sure that he or she knows the community very well. That way, your realtor can give you an approximate price of what people are willing to pay for the property you want. He or she should also be able to inform you about the competition and how this will affect the sale. Also, remember that a realtor cannot raise the asking price; buyers can easily do research on the internet and find out if the price you’re asking is too high. Your realtor should inspect your pricing strategy and inform you if it is accurate. Finally, he or she should let you know if the location and condition of your property is unattractive to buyers and will cause problems during the sale.
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March 15th, 2008 B. Slade
If you don’t know anything about investing in real estate and interest rates, here’s a good tip to start with: the higher the interest rate, the more expensive it will be. A mortgage with high interest rates means that you need to pay more of the money you borrowed. Your affordability will increase if you choose an adjustable rate mortgage, but there is still a wide variety of price ranges you can choose from, depending on your lender. Should you decide to lock in on a particular interest rate, complete your loan application and send it to your lender as soon as possible. You need to do this so your commitment does not run out before your loan gets approved. Make follow-ups and be sure that the lender gets all the documents necessary. Finally, try not to miss out on any good deals. Higher interest rates are more difficult to pay off, but waiting for low interest rates is not a smart move to make, either.
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March 10th, 2008 B. Slade
Another thing you should consider before choosing what mortgage to get is how much cash you have up-front for your down payment. If you can afford to make a large down payment, this will lower your monthly payment. However, a higher monthly payment means that the term of the loan will be considerably shorter. Remember that you also have fees and other closing costs to pay besides your down payment. But don’t worry if you don’t have enough cash immediately; you can lower your monthly payment by getting an adjustable rate mortgage.
Besides choosing a loan type, you also need to consider which lender to get your loan from since each has their own terms and conditions. When choosing a lender, make sure that you are comfortable with that person. It will be easier to take his or her advice about your mortgage type once you have established trust.
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March 5th, 2008 B. Slade
You might be wondering what the best kind of mortgage there is but there is no one correct answer to that question. The type of mortgage you should get depends on many things – your needs and income among others. One of the things you should consider is the amount of time you intend to spend in your home. An adjustable rate loan is ideal if you plan on staying there for less than a decade; if you want to live there for 20 to 30 years, a fixed rate mortgage might be right. Fixed rate loans have higher interest rates though, so you need to consider your income before choosing this. Also, if you expect that your income will have a big increase in the future, a graduated payment mortgage might be the best mortgage type for you.
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