If you're looking to buy a home, you should consider investing in a buyer's agent. After buying my first home, I learned that we needed someone to protect and look out for our interests as a buyer, rather than using a real estate agent who was only interested in only the sellers' needs. Here are some things that you can expect if you enlist in the help of a buyer's agent.
• Lender Selection: Choosing the lender requires you finding the best rates, and a buyer's agent can be helpful in this department, particularly if you're a first-time buyer or unfamiliar with the area. It's wise to get pre-qualified for a loan before you begin searching for your ideal property.
• Assistance Choosing Property: A buyer's agent can help you find the best property in your price range, giving you access to properties not listed for sale, for sale by owner properties, lender owned properties, and foreclosure properties. If you search on your own, you typically can't find these closed properties.
• Negotiation: Putting down an offer and negotiating the price is the most important part of the home buying process. A buyer's agent can help with negotiation strategies, protective clauses in purchase offers, and alternative financing arrangements.
• Pre-Closing and After: Here is where you can receive help with issues that arise during the property evaluation, moving, insurance, and other house improvement and repair issues. The buyer's agent can communicate your needs, and ensure that everything is done properly before the closing day.
If you're looking to buy a home, you should enlist the help of a buyer's agent. If you're relocating, buying a home for the first time, downsizing or upgrading, you should consider looking through the detailed listings of Fayetteville Arkansas real estate, one of the fastest growing areas in the country.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Olivia_Hanks
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Mortgage Loans 101: The Primary Parts of a Home Mortgage
To understand the home buying process is to understand the mortgage process. So before buying your first home, it pays to brush up on your mortgage knowledge.
Let's start with the basic parts of a mortgage. Understanding these three elements will help you determine your financial comfort zone, because when combined these elements will determine your monthly payment. Also, if you use an online mortgage calculator, these are the three elements they will ask for.
The Primary Parts of a Mortgage Loan:
1. Size of the loan
2. Interest rate on the loan
3. Term (or length) of the loan
Size of the Mortgage Loan
This one is fairly obvious. How much will you borrow? The size of your loan will primarily depend on your budget, your credit, and how much of a down payment you can afford.
Interest Rate
The interest rate is the amount of interest charged on a monthly mortgage payment. It is a percentage of the principal loan amount. To find the current interest rates, you can start by visiting Bankrate.com or Interest.com.
Term / Length of the Loan
Just like there are many types of mortgage loans, there are also a lot of mortgage terms (or lengths). The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is one of the most common terms. "Fixed rate" means that the interest rate you get upon loan approval is the interest rate you maintain for the life of the loan.
Fixed-rate mortgages also come in the 15-year variety, but you'll generally pay a lower interest rate with the 30-year option.
Variable or adjustable rate mortgages offer shorter initial terms, sometimes as low as three or five years. With these types of loans, you would generally refinance or sell before the initial term expired.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brandon_Cornett
Let's start with the basic parts of a mortgage. Understanding these three elements will help you determine your financial comfort zone, because when combined these elements will determine your monthly payment. Also, if you use an online mortgage calculator, these are the three elements they will ask for.
The Primary Parts of a Mortgage Loan:
1. Size of the loan
2. Interest rate on the loan
3. Term (or length) of the loan
Size of the Mortgage Loan
This one is fairly obvious. How much will you borrow? The size of your loan will primarily depend on your budget, your credit, and how much of a down payment you can afford.
Interest Rate
The interest rate is the amount of interest charged on a monthly mortgage payment. It is a percentage of the principal loan amount. To find the current interest rates, you can start by visiting Bankrate.com or Interest.com.
Term / Length of the Loan
Just like there are many types of mortgage loans, there are also a lot of mortgage terms (or lengths). The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is one of the most common terms. "Fixed rate" means that the interest rate you get upon loan approval is the interest rate you maintain for the life of the loan.
Fixed-rate mortgages also come in the 15-year variety, but you'll generally pay a lower interest rate with the 30-year option.
Variable or adjustable rate mortgages offer shorter initial terms, sometimes as low as three or five years. With these types of loans, you would generally refinance or sell before the initial term expired.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brandon_Cornett
Austin Real Estate: Buying a Home in the 'Live Music Capital' of America
Thinking of buying real estate in Austin, Texas? If so, sooner would be better than later. Prices in Austin continue to rise, and there’s no sign that they will level off any time soon.
Why is Austin real estate becoming such a hot commodity? Fist, consider the city itself:
Austin, Texas is a great place to buy a home. The weather is relatively mild. There’s plenty of history and culture. A series of highway-improvement projects will soon make commuting a breeze. And, of course, there’s the music -- Austin has been dubbed the "Live Music Capital" of America.
But if you’re thinking of moving to Austin to buy a home -- or if you currently rent in Austin and wish to purchase your first home -- you should move quickly. Prices are rising, and they will likely continue to rise in the foreseeable future.
You can blame it on supply and demand. Sure, a lot of new residential areas are being developed. But the land prices are going up, which means the houses that sit on the land will also increase in price.
On top of that, the influx of new Austinites is outpacing the supply of houses. In a recent article in the Austin Business Journal, John Doyle, director of land acquisitions for KB Homes in Austin, cited the influx factor as a key reason for the steady increase in land prices. Doyle also noted the high volume of Californians flocking to the Austin area.
To find out why so many Californians are moving to Austin, just do the math. Homes are much more affordable in Austin than in most parts of California. A $200,000 home in Round Rock (a suburban city north of Austin) might go for as much as $700,000 in San Diego.
Add in the fact that the climates and cultures are somewhat similar, and you’ve got the makings for a continued immigration of former Californians. The result? Continued increases in land and housing prices.
And that, of course, affects anyone thinking of moving to Austin -- whether they’re coming from San Diego, California or Fargo, North Dakota.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brandon_Cornett
Why is Austin real estate becoming such a hot commodity? Fist, consider the city itself:
Austin, Texas is a great place to buy a home. The weather is relatively mild. There’s plenty of history and culture. A series of highway-improvement projects will soon make commuting a breeze. And, of course, there’s the music -- Austin has been dubbed the "Live Music Capital" of America.
But if you’re thinking of moving to Austin to buy a home -- or if you currently rent in Austin and wish to purchase your first home -- you should move quickly. Prices are rising, and they will likely continue to rise in the foreseeable future.
You can blame it on supply and demand. Sure, a lot of new residential areas are being developed. But the land prices are going up, which means the houses that sit on the land will also increase in price.
On top of that, the influx of new Austinites is outpacing the supply of houses. In a recent article in the Austin Business Journal, John Doyle, director of land acquisitions for KB Homes in Austin, cited the influx factor as a key reason for the steady increase in land prices. Doyle also noted the high volume of Californians flocking to the Austin area.
To find out why so many Californians are moving to Austin, just do the math. Homes are much more affordable in Austin than in most parts of California. A $200,000 home in Round Rock (a suburban city north of Austin) might go for as much as $700,000 in San Diego.
Add in the fact that the climates and cultures are somewhat similar, and you’ve got the makings for a continued immigration of former Californians. The result? Continued increases in land and housing prices.
And that, of course, affects anyone thinking of moving to Austin -- whether they’re coming from San Diego, California or Fargo, North Dakota.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brandon_Cornett
First Home Buyer Mortgages
Buying a home is not an easy task, and it can be daunting at times requiring a lot of effort. You’ll have to do extensive research and planning. You will also need help from experts to get the best deal and the home you’ve been dreaming of for years. Being a first-time homebuyer, it is advisable for you to know the basic aspects involved in buying real estate. If you’re planning to own a home but don’t have enough funds, first homebuyer mortgages may help you.
Nowadays, it is common to buy homes through mortgages. With this process, you don’t have to pay the whole value of your dream home right away. There are lots of consulting firms and lending institutions that offer help in securing your first home. You have to be careful in choosing someone you can trust, because you are spending a large sum of money. Better to get through tiresome processes and succeed in the end
When you buy a home for the first time through a mortgage, you must learn all the basics and gather as much information as you need for a safe transaction. Since it’s your first time, you have to orient yourself to all the traditions and customs of buying property. Don’t rely on anyone’s advice. Instead, visit government offices that can give you advice on buying property.
Get used to the basics of first home buying. Employ the help of any qualified real estate agent and have discuss the pros and cons of obtaining a certain property that you have in mind. Make sure that the person you’re talking to is reliable and is from a reputable office or consulting firm. You may also opt for a bank officer who specializes in loans and mortgages, and a mortgage broker can also be a big help.
Ask questions. If you have thoughts and doubts about first homebuyer mortgages, you must ask questions.
Do a lot of research. Both online research and printed material about mortgages will help you better understand the terms and coverage of first homebuyer mortgages.
First Home Mortgage provides detailed information on First Home Mortgages, First Home Buyer Mortgages, First Home Equity Mortgages, Different Types of First Home Mortgages and more. First Home Mortgage is affiliated with First Residential Mortgage.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Seth_Miller
Nowadays, it is common to buy homes through mortgages. With this process, you don’t have to pay the whole value of your dream home right away. There are lots of consulting firms and lending institutions that offer help in securing your first home. You have to be careful in choosing someone you can trust, because you are spending a large sum of money. Better to get through tiresome processes and succeed in the end
When you buy a home for the first time through a mortgage, you must learn all the basics and gather as much information as you need for a safe transaction. Since it’s your first time, you have to orient yourself to all the traditions and customs of buying property. Don’t rely on anyone’s advice. Instead, visit government offices that can give you advice on buying property.
Get used to the basics of first home buying. Employ the help of any qualified real estate agent and have discuss the pros and cons of obtaining a certain property that you have in mind. Make sure that the person you’re talking to is reliable and is from a reputable office or consulting firm. You may also opt for a bank officer who specializes in loans and mortgages, and a mortgage broker can also be a big help.
Ask questions. If you have thoughts and doubts about first homebuyer mortgages, you must ask questions.
Do a lot of research. Both online research and printed material about mortgages will help you better understand the terms and coverage of first homebuyer mortgages.
First Home Mortgage provides detailed information on First Home Mortgages, First Home Buyer Mortgages, First Home Equity Mortgages, Different Types of First Home Mortgages and more. First Home Mortgage is affiliated with First Residential Mortgage.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Seth_Miller
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