How to Prequalify a Buyer When You Sell Your Home "By Owner"
One questions many "for sale by owner" sellers ask is "how can I determine if a potential buyer can afford to buy my house?" In the real estate industry this is referred to as "pre-qualifying" a buyer. You might think this is a complex process but in reality it is actually quite simple and only ... more...

Home Equity or Debt Trap?
Are you using the equity from your home to purchase everyday things? This is a dangerous trend growing more popular every month as millions of Americans tap into the value of their home to fund a lifestyle.How many times have you heard the saying Your home is the best investment youll ever make? ... more...

Do You Qualify for a Loan?
Like most people, you will probably wait until submitting a purchase contract on a home before applying for a mortgage. By then, not only will you know the specific property you want, but also how much you need to borrow. At that point, the lender will require that you fill out a loan application ... more...

VA Loans, A Gift from Uncle Sam
Uncle Sam has a gift for the men and women who serve our country. It is the VA loan. The VA loan, short for Department of Veterans Affairs home loans, is available to veterans, active service members, reservists, and members of the Public Health Service. These loans are so popular, that in the past ... more...

Refinance Benefits - Refinancing Could Save You Money
The most common reason most people refinance is to save money, but many people refinance for various other reasons.1. Refinancing to Lower Your Monthly Payment for an Existing Loan.You can refinance your existing loan at a lower interest rate thus reducing your monthly loan payments. With interest ... more...

Home Loans and Mortgages The Selection Can Be Bewildering
For years, when someone wanted to purchase or refinance a home, the choices were simple. The buyer chose either a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage or a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage. That was it. Of course, those were also the days of twenty percent down payments, which seriously hindered the ability ... more...

Credit Suicide
Few things influence the home buying process more than your credit. I like how Clark Howard refers to the three credit repositories as, the three screw-ups. There is some validity to that, and hopefully recent legislation will help clean up many of the inaccuracies. Regardless, lenders need a ... more...

Expense List for Buying a Home
There are many expenses that come with buying a home. The following list is a good example of what to expect:Down payment - A minimum of 20% of the homes purchase price is usually required for the best loan terms and to avoid paying private mortgage insurance (see below), but its entirely possible ... more...

Alternative Options For Rising Interest Rates
As interest rates have risen in the last six weeks from record lows, homeowners are once again face with finding viable options to reduce the amount of interest paid on their home loans. The rush to refinance provided borrowers with good to excellent credit the opportunity to take advantage of low ... more...

Getting Pre-approved For a Loan
For a first time home buyer, you are taking on a monumental task, undoubtedly the largest task you will ever venture upon, financially speaking that is. Unfortunately, most of us dont have huge sums of money sitting around in our bank accounts to go out and pay for a house in cash. We must find a ... more...