Home Loans and Real Estate Thread

[bestsynd]

What to Consider when Refinancing a Home - Fixed Home Loans via Brokers
January 17th 2006


There are many things to consider when refinancing your home.  One of the important considerations is who or what company to use when refinancing.  Also speak to your financial consultant before making any decisions.  The refinancing option may not be worth it.

There is a cost associated with refinancing a home.  There are various parties that may take a fee, including a loan broker.  Loan / mortgage brokers can be helpful in shopping for a loan.  You only need to supply your information once and they do the rest.  You save yourself the loss in credit-score by having multiple inquiries on your credit.

Some mortgages have a prepayment penalty.  If your current loan has one of these clauses it will add to the cost of refinancing.  These prepayment penalty clauses should be avoided in your new loan as well. 

[bestsynd]

There are a few things that you need to have accomplished before searching for you new home. Usually a real estate agent wants to have a letter of pre-qualification for a home loan to start shopping for a home. In order to qualify for a home loan you need to meet certain requirements.

Before you apply for any home loan you should get a copy of your credit report from the credit reporting agencies. You can either sign up for a yearly monitoring service that will send you a report once a year with quarterly updates for credit changes, or you can contact each of the agencies directly for a copy of the report. Try to get your credit report cleaned up and improve your credit score. If there are any errors contact the reporting agency to get the information corrected.

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[bestsynd]

Zillow Website will calculate what a Home is Worth – Offer’s Free Home Appraisals called a Zestimate

Every wonder what your house is worth? Need to refinance your home or thinking of selling or buying? The newly launched website Zillow.com, gives complete data on your home value much like an appraisal service will do. It compares other homes in your area, offers satellite photos of a specified street. It also compares daily interest rates and housing prices in general.

The Zillow website calls there appraisals a “Zestimate” and offers daily tracking of your housing price much like a stock market analysis. Zillow has a database of over 60 million home prices. The majority of the prices are for the West Coast, and they are working on expanding the data to reach across the country. They have East Coast locations that cover Boston and many home prices in Florida. If you are on the East Coast, their data will reach your neighborhood soon.

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[DesertNomad]

if you're at 5.25% fixed it might be a good idea to not refiance.

vultures and bottom feeders are gonna be out in force this year.

[bestsynd]

Can Your Realtor Negotiate the Best Sale For Your Home?

February 10th 2006


Home Sales

When you get ready to sell your home, you want to be sure that the real estate agent who represents your property will do the best possible job. You may need to interview a couple of agents or realties before making a decision on which one should sell your property. Don’t hesitate to ask questions or talk to several realtors before choosing one to sell your home.

How do you know if a realtor will do a good job for you? Here are some things to look for when choosing an agent.

1. Look for a good communicator. This person should be able to explain complex terms clearly. He or she should be readily available, and return telephone calls within a reasonable amount of time.

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The Top Five Realtor Skills That Will Sell Your Home

February 13th 2006


Choose the right Realtor

When shopping for a realtor, look for one who can get the job done. You want your property to be sold to a qualified buyer in the shortest amount of time possible. That means you need to find a real estate agent who knows the market, understands the economy, and is willing to position your home in an attractive market niche. Here are some of the most important qualities to look for when signing with a real estate agency to sell your home.

1. Reputation. Does the agency enjoy a favorable reputation in the community? Are buyers and sellers eager to work with this company and its agents for real estate transactions? Avoid those with out-of-date or disreputable characters. Look for top-of-the-line realtors who know their stuff and will go out of their way to make a deal work for both buyer and seller. This doesn’t mean you have to go with the most expensive realtor, but rather, that you should look for one with a positive history of satisfied customers and productive sales.

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[SLK230]

This is all great advise if you are 18 years old or younger and have never been to the city.

I have bought and sold many homes in my life without all the razzle dazzle
layed out above.
_________________
AL

I tell it like it is.

[bestsynd]

Al, this article could be useful to homesellers. It is common sense, but sometimes sellers need to be told.

How to Get Top Dollar from Your Home or Condo


Get Top Dollar for Your Home

Every property owner wants to receive the maximum profit from a home or condo sale. Although your property may already look great and represent a super offer to potential buyers, here are a few tips that can help to bring out its best features.

1. Emphasize curb appeal as you work on your home’s external appearance. Trim the lawn and eliminate weeds. Dress up the porch or front door with a fresh coat of paint and hanging plants or a wreath. Set out a couple of cozy chairs, and pick up all the kids’ toys around the yard. Your front entrance will welcome or repel guests, setting the tone for their overall basic impression.

2. De-clutter the interior. Remove junk like stacks of newspapers or magazines, pet toys, and stray blankets or mail. Store unused furniture in the attic or basement. Your rooms should look comfortable and lived in without feeling crowded. Cover worn spots in furniture with doilies or slipcovers.

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[SLK230]

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Enhanced Buying Power in Today’s Real Estate Economy

February 14th 2006


Investment Property

Are you looking for a good investment property? This could be a piece of land to build on, an existing structure for rental purposes, or a home or condo that you will occupy. Yet, any of these purposes may lend themselves to investment advantages if you plan to build up some equity over the next few years before selling the property for a profit.

If you do plan to resell the property within a relatively short amount of time, you will want to keep a few guidelines in mind when you go shopping for your property purchase.

1. Location, location, location. Yes, as most realtors will agree, location is everything. Of course, that is not to say that some people have not turned around a house in a low-income neighborhood and made a nice profit on it, but for the most part, you want to buy something in a desirable neighborhood that will attract a good selection of buyers.

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[GOODave]

WITH the caveat that I live in Central Illinois (which, no doubt, has different rules than you guys have), I sold my house and my wife's house (that she had before we were married) "By Owner."

Once you've done one, the rules and the "watch-its" become pretty darned easy.

PLUS we have a website called forsalebyowner (or fsbo.com) that costs only $125 for up to 7 photos and a complete description. They get hundreds of hits a day so if you list on there (they're not a broker, but a seller's service) and you have a good RE attorney to keep track of the paperwork, it's a cinch and I got to pocket (actually, re-invest in the new place) an extra $15,000 that would ordinarily have gone to RE agents.

Nice!

dave
_________________
Now that he's president, if you question his tax policies, energy plans or health-care ambitions, you are “hoping he will fail” — and that, with the help of roundabout reasoning, is tantamount to hoping we cannot transcend race. -Jonah Goldberg, 8/20/09

[Guest]

Some brokers will discount their commissions also. They are out there.

[SLK230]

[bestsynd]

Ready Buyers for Your Real Estate Property

February 18th 2006


Real Estate

When you’re ready to put your property on the market, you want to get the most qualified buyers to take notice. This is especially the case if you have already purchased another property or need to relocate within a short time span. Rather than spending days bickering over a fair selling price or financing terms, you may want to draw those who are ready to do business, so you can finalize the deal as soon as possible. If that’s the case, here are some tips that can help to attract those who are ready to sign on the dotted line.

1. Avoid contingency offers. These buyers have a property of their own to sell, and may not even have any firm purchase offers they are negotiating. If you sign a contract with this type of buyer, the sale of your property might not be final until their property sells.

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Profitable Real Estate Internet Marketing Strategies
February 23rd 2006


Using the Internet to Market

More and more people are turning to the Internet to find local resources. At the top of the list is the search for real estate and agents. The experts predict the next wave of the Internet will be local marketing.

Currently the real estate industry is leading the way with estimated online marketing expenditures exceeding $1 billions for 2005. That amount is expected to grow substantially over the next few years. There are those realtors who have figured out how to successfully market online, and are reaping the rewards. What are those rewards?

A source of new customers at a much lower cost per acquisition. As a realtor here are some facts that you simply can’t ignore: More then half (56 percent) of all consumers now use the Internet when buying real estate, which is up from 28 percent in 2000. When asked where they first learned about the home they purchased, 24% of buyers identified the Internet.

By Fred Waters

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