Things to Buy After Home Buying
Friday January 16, 2009
You may not realize it, but there are a lot of
things to buy after home buying.
Many of the first-time home buyers with whom I work put down less than 5% to buy a home; at least four out of five opt for FHA loans. Making a smaller down payment can make more financial sense than liquidating assets or cash accounts, especially if those assets are under-performing in today's stock market. If cash is tight, it’s smarter to keep your powder dry. Why? Because you’ve only just begun to shop.
The items you will need to buy to stock a house differ greatly from the stuff you need for an apartment. Before closing on your new home, prepare a budget for that after-closing shopping spree. Just don’t buy anything until you close, and never, under any circumstances, acquire new debt such as charging a new sofa or washer and dryer while waiting for underwriting. Increased credit card balances could severely jeopardize your chances of closing on that new mortgage . . . read more about Things to Buy After Home Buying.
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5 Reasons That Lowball Offers Get Rejected
Wednesday January 14, 2009
There's not a home buyer out there today who doesn't want to make a lowball offer, yet many novices make at least one or more of the
5 lowball offer mistakes, which typically result in offer rejection.
The first question many home buyers ask about a listing is: How much lower will the seller go? In some cases, these listings are already priced below market value, as with most short sales and foreclosures. The question isn't really how low will the seller go as much as how high do buyers have to go to win a multiple-offer situation? Below-market homes often get multiple offers. They are priced low for a reason, to attract attention
. . . read more about Lowball Offer Mistakes.
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The Top 10 Real Estate Stories of 2008: Year in Review
Monday January 12, 2009
Some web sites are holding contests to name the
biggest real estate stories of 2008, but I didn't enter any of them.
I figured my readers would prefer to hear my picks directly from me and not read what I think about the biggest 2008 real estate stories elsewhere. 2008 was a grueling year for many. Apart from the failing banks, folding real estate companies and agents running home barefoot and hungry, the saddest and sorriest tale from last year is how hard home owners were hit.
Who was watching out for the consumer? That's what I think the public wants to know
. . . read more about Top 10 Real Estate Stories of 2008.
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Do You Know the Difference Between a Good and Bad Layout?
Friday January 9, 2009
Homes with a
bad layout are always the hardest to sell.
Ever walk into a house and say to yourself, “Something is wrong here?” But you don’t know what is bugging you about the house? Well, it’s probably your intuition telling you the layout is wrong. A bad layout is not always evident at first glance.
After listing a home that had fallen out of escrow while listed with another agent. I wondered why the first buyer canceled, so I e-mailed the buyer and asked. She said the home had a bad layout but she didn’t notice it until her final walk-through. She lost her earnest money deposit because she bailed right before closing.
Layout is more than the way the rooms flow into each other. Layout involves the structure, feng shui, the direction doors open, the view and other factors
. . . read more about Bad Layouts.
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