You can be a pro at buying a home: Whether you are buying your first home or you are an experienced home buyer who owns more than one home, there are some things that can help you get faster results and get more professional and pleasant help from your Realtor.
A home or property purchase is one of the most important and exciting events to experience. Owning a home can help you build equity while reducing your income tax.
Land of any size requires minimal maintenance and is one of the best long term investments, even compared to gold or diamonds. However, along with the low maintenance, there is seldom any income to offset the cost. There are exceptions, mobile home parks, parking lots, and land rental under a shopping center are wonderful investments with relatively low maintenance if any.
Those who own land and property, as opposed to those who rent or lease, are historically considered to have a measure of stability, success and personal merit in addition to the obvious personal financial worth. This is so true that our Founding Fathers, who were dedicated students of all recorded human history, decreed that to be eligible to vote in our country a person must be a freeholder -- that is one who owned property mortgage free. They knew that the most responsible citizens would be the most responsible voters. Few of us would meet that criteria today. A person who held his property debt free, that is with a free and clear title, a Freeholder, was considered to have made good decisions, had good self control and managed his affairs well. Therefore, that person was considered to have obtained a level of maturity and responsibility -- that proved an ability to manage personal affairs and money as well as a priority to think of the future. The person who owned property with no debt, thus had obtained a sufficient ability to be allowed to vote on the management of our government and the public trust.
We are a nation of home and property owners more than any other nation on earth. However, most of us have a mortgage these days. If you, like most of us, need a mortgage on your new property, we hope you will find value in this article and that it will help you understand the advantage of planning your mortgage as a prerequisite to your purchase of a home. Having completed the mortgage acquisition step, a Realtor can help you organize your home search, as you begin browsing through the housing market.
Determining what features you want in your ideal or dream house and what payments you can afford are the important first steps. We ask that you consider the entire cost of home ownership, that is a total of the principle and interest payment, taxes, insurance and maintenance. Most folks are aware of the first four P.I.T.I. or Principle, Interest, Taxes and Insurance. There is another cost of home ownership that is not often figured in. It is property maintenance.
Maintenance is usually about 5% of the value of the improvements per year, if the average is taken over a long period of time, such as forty years. Many people think that 5% is too high a figure and prefer to use 2-3% instead. Whichever you use, make sure you figure in the cost of maintenance or you will end up not easily able to afford the upkeep on your property. This is very important to realize whether you are buying a new home or an older one. And, the older home will usually have a lot of deferred maintenance -- that is things that should have been done and haven't been!
If, for example, you purchase a home and lot where the vacant lot would sell for $50,000, and the home could be replaced for $250,000 and the landscaping value is $20,000 -- a rule of thumb is that you should figure $12,000 per year in maintenance of the home and another thousand in the maintenance of the grounds. We see properties all the time where the improvements have what is known as deferred maintenance. That work that should have been done and hasn't been, soon will need to be done. Deferred maintenance, maintenance not done that should have been done, is subtracted from the value of a home by those in the market, even if it is subconsciously done.
Home maintenance includes painting, caulking, re-carpeting, floor sanding refinishing, re-roofing every 15 to 50 years, depending on the composition of the roof and even replacing of windows, trim and siding. Outside there are sidewalks, the driveway, out buildings, decks, mulching, shrubbery maintenance, fertilizing, reseeding and replanting and of course the regular cutting and similar lawn care expenses. The reason we bring all this up about maintenance is that we hope you figure in the cost of it in addition to your home cost. If maintenance is not figured in you will end up with a mortgage plus maintenance cost or have to borrow more money to do the work that is needed, and that makes it more difficult to afford your new home.
It is important to figure in all the appropriate costs, expenses and other pertinent things, and to get a mortgage that you are able and willing to afford. It is important to your Realtor too. Some Realtors, in order to conserve their time and have more available for serious buyers, require that a person or couple be pre-qualified for the price range in which they seek to purchase a property first, before they begin to show properties. This is a good idea for the buyer as well as the Realtor and some sellers even ask us to NOT bring any prospective purchasers, unless they are financially prequalified -- in writing!
Mortgage brokers will gladly pull your credit report and get you a letter of pre-qualification or even a loan commitment letter for the amount you need to purchase a home. If you have a written loan commitment in hand when you first contact a Realtor, you will get considerably more and better attention.
One of the most difficult situations for a Realtor is that some percentage of the prospective purchasers that come to see properties for sale are not able to purchase those properties. Roughly 95% of a Realtor's time is preparation, paper work, promotion, marketing, web site modification and maintenance as well as maintaining contact with our most qualified buyers and sellers. When we spend two or three hours with a prospective purchaser, and it's usually far more, we are taking away from all the other things we are responsible to do for our other buyers and for our sellers. That time has to be made up.
For properties under $200,000 perhaps half of the folks that come to see us for a home are not able to buy the one they want to see. For properties under $100,000 about 75% of the folks who ask us to see properties are not able to purchase those properties. And, for those folks who come into our offices or call us regarding properties under $100,000 the percentage who can't purchase what they want is greater and greater as the price goes down.
Interestingly enough, a fairly high percentage of those who seek a property over a million dollars are qualified to purchase those properties without the help of our mortgage broker. Either they have their own banker, or they are able to obtain the funds on their own from other investments, or perhaps they even have a liquid assets account such as a money market account.
If you wish to be a shining light, and of greatest interest to your chosen Realtor, you are well advised to seek a mortgage broker or mortgage banker first and get a response in writing to bring with you. Your mortgage banker will probably ask for copies of prior years' tax returns. If you have copies of your credit reports, tax returns, lists of assets and all liabilities, and your bank statements are organized, you're ready to start exploring the housing market and shopping for a mortgage.
By the way, as I write this, our in-house Mortgage Broker or another lender of our choice, is able to give you a better rate and better terms than any other mortgage banker or broker in the market. Whether you use us as your Realtor or not, and if you are planning to purchase in our area we hope you will use us; you will get the utmost attention from your Realtor when you show up with a loan commitment!
Now SHOP! And, have fun!
by Jody Hudson
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
How to Make the Real Estate Market Work For You and Get The Most Money
Dad always said that Real estate is a good investment because they don't make it anymore. Because they are so busy these days anyone selling your home may be thinking more of listing more homes than your welfare. If you plan on selling and moving you will need to take some simple steps to get the most money you can.
Most Real Estate companies do a good job but in a sellers market you can probably sell your home yourself. Anyway if you have the time it won't hurt to try. If it doesn't sell then you can always call the pros in latter. The internet has been a blessing to the average person. Not only can you sell many things you don't need anymore, you can even sell your home on the net at sites like PropertytraderUSA.com. Thousands of people visit sites like this looking for a new home. Even if your home is with a Broker you can still speed things along by putting low cost ads on the internet.
First you need to get your home ready to show. Buyers like homes that are clean with as few of your things as possible lying around so it's time to do a spring-cleaning. Some big furniture may cost more to move than its worth so sell these things locally. You may want to buy new things later anyway. Then look around for small stuff you don't want and sell it on eBay. What's left is stuff you can't live without or it's just junk. If you aren't sure then ask your wife guys, she'll point out the junk to you.
If you like most people have collected too much stuff then consider renting storage for a month or two. Clean out the garage and hose it down to get rid of dust and spider webs. Men like garages and want to picture their tools and things there. One of the best home improvements that don't cost a lot of money is pant, especially if you don't mind doing the labor.
Ever notice how guests always end up in the kitchen? Most people like kitchens and this is the first room to remodel or just clean and paint. The next most important room is the bathroom. Repair leaks, rust spots, and replace the little things that seem to get ugly over time. If you have pets make sure you don't have a cat litter box sitting around smelling up the place. Homeowners get used to their own smells and can't smell a thing but your visitors' sure can!
Big dogs scare some people (not me) and maybe it would be best to let Bruno visit Uncle Pete for a few weeks. After you finish with everything invite some friends over for a party and get some feedback on how everything looks. When everything looks good it's time to take some pictures. You need good clear pictures to post on the net and mail to interested buyers. If you're not experienced at photography find someone that is. Good photography takes years to learn and that's what you need now. I've tested photos of my products on eBay and believe me it makes a big difference. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words.
If you use a Real Estate broker select one with lots of experience. I like the larger companies because they give you lots more exposure through their advertising and intercity referrals. Buyers trust them more also. The small cut-rate company's may be slower to find a buyer and fix problems. When you are ready to move be careful to pick an honest moving company. Many of them �ave been holding truckloads of belongings and demanding more money. Pick one with a good reputation.
When I was selling Real Estate there was no such thing as the internet. What a wonderful thing it is. More and more people are selling everything you can think of on the net. There are plenty of Real Estate listing websites including my own PropertyTraderUSA.com that will advertise your Home for a small fee. PropertytraderUSA.com is free for the first 200 ads. After that its only $25 for six months and includes a photo. Wow, can you imagine selling for $25 and saving all that money! Do it Now!
To your success! Dean Minton
Most Real Estate companies do a good job but in a sellers market you can probably sell your home yourself. Anyway if you have the time it won't hurt to try. If it doesn't sell then you can always call the pros in latter. The internet has been a blessing to the average person. Not only can you sell many things you don't need anymore, you can even sell your home on the net at sites like PropertytraderUSA.com. Thousands of people visit sites like this looking for a new home. Even if your home is with a Broker you can still speed things along by putting low cost ads on the internet.
First you need to get your home ready to show. Buyers like homes that are clean with as few of your things as possible lying around so it's time to do a spring-cleaning. Some big furniture may cost more to move than its worth so sell these things locally. You may want to buy new things later anyway. Then look around for small stuff you don't want and sell it on eBay. What's left is stuff you can't live without or it's just junk. If you aren't sure then ask your wife guys, she'll point out the junk to you.
If you like most people have collected too much stuff then consider renting storage for a month or two. Clean out the garage and hose it down to get rid of dust and spider webs. Men like garages and want to picture their tools and things there. One of the best home improvements that don't cost a lot of money is pant, especially if you don't mind doing the labor.
Ever notice how guests always end up in the kitchen? Most people like kitchens and this is the first room to remodel or just clean and paint. The next most important room is the bathroom. Repair leaks, rust spots, and replace the little things that seem to get ugly over time. If you have pets make sure you don't have a cat litter box sitting around smelling up the place. Homeowners get used to their own smells and can't smell a thing but your visitors' sure can!
Big dogs scare some people (not me) and maybe it would be best to let Bruno visit Uncle Pete for a few weeks. After you finish with everything invite some friends over for a party and get some feedback on how everything looks. When everything looks good it's time to take some pictures. You need good clear pictures to post on the net and mail to interested buyers. If you're not experienced at photography find someone that is. Good photography takes years to learn and that's what you need now. I've tested photos of my products on eBay and believe me it makes a big difference. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words.
If you use a Real Estate broker select one with lots of experience. I like the larger companies because they give you lots more exposure through their advertising and intercity referrals. Buyers trust them more also. The small cut-rate company's may be slower to find a buyer and fix problems. When you are ready to move be careful to pick an honest moving company. Many of them �ave been holding truckloads of belongings and demanding more money. Pick one with a good reputation.
When I was selling Real Estate there was no such thing as the internet. What a wonderful thing it is. More and more people are selling everything you can think of on the net. There are plenty of Real Estate listing websites including my own PropertyTraderUSA.com that will advertise your Home for a small fee. PropertytraderUSA.com is free for the first 200 ads. After that its only $25 for six months and includes a photo. Wow, can you imagine selling for $25 and saving all that money! Do it Now!
To your success! Dean Minton
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Purchasing Property With No Money Down: My Personal Experience
Have you ever seen those infomercials about buying houses with "No Money Down?" They are really well done. They have all kinds of people offering great testimonials about how they have gotten rich, buying rental properties, with absolutely no money out of their pocket. You see this guy, standing on a street corner, talking to someone, and he says, "I own that one," pointing to a beautiful colonial. "I also own that one next to it, and the one two doors down, and I'll be closing on the one directly across the street from it, next week." He then assures us that he has purchased 17 homes in the last eight or ten months, with zero money down on the properties. Plus, in many cases he's also paid no closing costs.
And, let's not forget, this same guy is grossing tens of thousands of dollars monthly, and his net worth is nearly one million dollars. So, he says.
Now, all of this looks wonderful, so when the person selling the course that will teach you how to do this, at a nifty price of just $297.00, speaks, you are glued to his every word. "Real estate is the safest and fastest way to make money, today," the expert will tell you.
So, can this really be done? Can you purchase houses with no money down? Can you become a landlord in as little as one month's time and start raking in the cash from those rent payments? The answer is an absolute "Yes." It can be done, and I am proof positive, because I've done it. The question you should be asking yourself is not can I buy real estate with no money down, but should I?
You see, this is a question that the guy selling the No Money Down course, with all of his people and their great testimonials hopes you never ask. His advertising and marketing strategy would collapse, if he gave anyone a chance to ask this question, because he would be forced to lie if he answered it.
Rarely is the whole truth anywhere to be found in infomercials, especially when the advertising is about No Money Down real estate programs. The infomercial makes the idea and the program look so easy that any child could handle it. It makes it seem like every American should be doing it, and we'd all be millionaires. But every American is not doing it, and many of the ones who are doing it not only are not getting rich, they are actually going broke. The infomercial won't tell you this. That's why I'm here.
The Truth
Now, let's get started with the truth about buying real estate with no money down and the truth about being a landlord. The first thing you need to know is that they are both very bad ideas. Let me illustrate by using my own experience in these areas. I started buying rental property nearly 10 years ago. The first property I bought was a deal orchestrated by some real estate con artist, who told me I needed just $2,000 to take ownership of this home and, in the process, help out a woman who was about to be foreclosed upon.
In two years, she would clean up her credit, refinance the loan on the house, and I would make $10,000. Sounded good to someone who was quick to buy into anything that returned big dollars in a short time.
This worked for the first year, as the woman paid on time, and I pocketed an extra $�00 monthly. Later, though, things began to collapse, as the house began to need repairs, all of which the woman couldn't afford, so I had to pay for them. I put nearly $5,000 into the house in a four-year period. When I was finally able to sell it, I didn't quite make back what I had put into it.
Meanwhile, I was eager to overcome this problem by adding many more. A slick mortgage broker got hooked up with an even slicker real estate prospector, and the two of them convinced me that they had a way I could buy houses rapidly, with absolutely no money out of my pocket. Although my experience will probably be enough to enlighten you to the pitfalls of this model and of being a landlord, let me say that I can't emphasize enough how dangerous buying property with no money down is.
In six months time, I had purchased eight houses - many with loans from the same wholesale lender. These lenders should have been concerned with all of the debt I was building, but they kept approving loans, based on my good credit and rents covering the mortgage payments. One of the biggest problems, which I was not experienced enough to detect, was that most of the rents were just $50 to $100 above the mortgage payment.
"Don't worry," the investor/ hustler would say. "You'll make all your money on volume. We'll get you into 30 or 40 houses, and you'll be pocketing $4,000 to $5,000 every month."
As you might imagine, my mind raced. I was making the huge deposits at that very moment. My bank account was fattening up at breakneck speed.
The Illusion
This is what people who buy houses, using the No Money Down plan envision happening. After all, if you can buy one house with no money down, why not five or ten or fifty? For some reason - the vision of the dollar sign, most likely - I failed to seriously consider the maintenance of these houses, the possibility of missed rent payments, and the chance that renters might actually stop paying, altogether, forcing me to evict them - a time-consuming and extremely costly undertaking.
As you may have already guessed, all of these things happened to me, after I had amassed 26 rental properties. In fact, oftentimes, all of these problems happened in the same month. Now, for awhile (when I had about 10 houses), if one person failed to pay rent, I could cover it with the nine other payments. But when two, three and sometimes even five tenants didn't pay in the same month, it was devastating to my business. I had to go to my business account and pay up to $3,000 at a time in mortgage payments, with no income to cover it. Plus, I had to pay a property management company to get my tenants to pay or to evict them.
Soon, this became the norm, not the exception. There were constant problems at my houses. Unhappy tenants led to poor upkeep of the property and even more maintenance problems. About one year, after I had amassed 26 houses, I was having problems with roughly 10-15 houses and/or tenants each week. I was evicting at least two tenants each month, and approximately four to seven tenants were either behind on rent or not paying at all. Promises were made, payment plans arranged and few, if any, ever followed through.
It didn't take long for me to realize that this was no way to make money in real estate. Consequently, I got rid of these houses as fast as I possibly could. There were plenty of buyers, willing to take over my headaches, because they had the ability to make it work, they believed.
In 10 years of being a landlord, I lost thousands of dollars and likely took some years away from my life with all the stress I had endured. So, whatever you do, avoid the No Money Down Trap. There are much better, still inexpensive ways to make money in real estate.
And, let's not forget, this same guy is grossing tens of thousands of dollars monthly, and his net worth is nearly one million dollars. So, he says.
Now, all of this looks wonderful, so when the person selling the course that will teach you how to do this, at a nifty price of just $297.00, speaks, you are glued to his every word. "Real estate is the safest and fastest way to make money, today," the expert will tell you.
So, can this really be done? Can you purchase houses with no money down? Can you become a landlord in as little as one month's time and start raking in the cash from those rent payments? The answer is an absolute "Yes." It can be done, and I am proof positive, because I've done it. The question you should be asking yourself is not can I buy real estate with no money down, but should I?
You see, this is a question that the guy selling the No Money Down course, with all of his people and their great testimonials hopes you never ask. His advertising and marketing strategy would collapse, if he gave anyone a chance to ask this question, because he would be forced to lie if he answered it.
Rarely is the whole truth anywhere to be found in infomercials, especially when the advertising is about No Money Down real estate programs. The infomercial makes the idea and the program look so easy that any child could handle it. It makes it seem like every American should be doing it, and we'd all be millionaires. But every American is not doing it, and many of the ones who are doing it not only are not getting rich, they are actually going broke. The infomercial won't tell you this. That's why I'm here.
The Truth
Now, let's get started with the truth about buying real estate with no money down and the truth about being a landlord. The first thing you need to know is that they are both very bad ideas. Let me illustrate by using my own experience in these areas. I started buying rental property nearly 10 years ago. The first property I bought was a deal orchestrated by some real estate con artist, who told me I needed just $2,000 to take ownership of this home and, in the process, help out a woman who was about to be foreclosed upon.
In two years, she would clean up her credit, refinance the loan on the house, and I would make $10,000. Sounded good to someone who was quick to buy into anything that returned big dollars in a short time.
This worked for the first year, as the woman paid on time, and I pocketed an extra $�00 monthly. Later, though, things began to collapse, as the house began to need repairs, all of which the woman couldn't afford, so I had to pay for them. I put nearly $5,000 into the house in a four-year period. When I was finally able to sell it, I didn't quite make back what I had put into it.
Meanwhile, I was eager to overcome this problem by adding many more. A slick mortgage broker got hooked up with an even slicker real estate prospector, and the two of them convinced me that they had a way I could buy houses rapidly, with absolutely no money out of my pocket. Although my experience will probably be enough to enlighten you to the pitfalls of this model and of being a landlord, let me say that I can't emphasize enough how dangerous buying property with no money down is.
In six months time, I had purchased eight houses - many with loans from the same wholesale lender. These lenders should have been concerned with all of the debt I was building, but they kept approving loans, based on my good credit and rents covering the mortgage payments. One of the biggest problems, which I was not experienced enough to detect, was that most of the rents were just $50 to $100 above the mortgage payment.
"Don't worry," the investor/ hustler would say. "You'll make all your money on volume. We'll get you into 30 or 40 houses, and you'll be pocketing $4,000 to $5,000 every month."
As you might imagine, my mind raced. I was making the huge deposits at that very moment. My bank account was fattening up at breakneck speed.
The Illusion
This is what people who buy houses, using the No Money Down plan envision happening. After all, if you can buy one house with no money down, why not five or ten or fifty? For some reason - the vision of the dollar sign, most likely - I failed to seriously consider the maintenance of these houses, the possibility of missed rent payments, and the chance that renters might actually stop paying, altogether, forcing me to evict them - a time-consuming and extremely costly undertaking.
As you may have already guessed, all of these things happened to me, after I had amassed 26 rental properties. In fact, oftentimes, all of these problems happened in the same month. Now, for awhile (when I had about 10 houses), if one person failed to pay rent, I could cover it with the nine other payments. But when two, three and sometimes even five tenants didn't pay in the same month, it was devastating to my business. I had to go to my business account and pay up to $3,000 at a time in mortgage payments, with no income to cover it. Plus, I had to pay a property management company to get my tenants to pay or to evict them.
Soon, this became the norm, not the exception. There were constant problems at my houses. Unhappy tenants led to poor upkeep of the property and even more maintenance problems. About one year, after I had amassed 26 houses, I was having problems with roughly 10-15 houses and/or tenants each week. I was evicting at least two tenants each month, and approximately four to seven tenants were either behind on rent or not paying at all. Promises were made, payment plans arranged and few, if any, ever followed through.
It didn't take long for me to realize that this was no way to make money in real estate. Consequently, I got rid of these houses as fast as I possibly could. There were plenty of buyers, willing to take over my headaches, because they had the ability to make it work, they believed.
In 10 years of being a landlord, I lost thousands of dollars and likely took some years away from my life with all the stress I had endured. So, whatever you do, avoid the No Money Down Trap. There are much better, still inexpensive ways to make money in real estate.
Monday, January 15, 2007
How to Get Financing after Filing Bankruptcy
If you're thinking about buying a home but have declared bankruptcy in the past, don't give up hope. There are still ways for you to be able to find a loan, even if your credit history is less than sterling.
Lenders make various kinds of home loans, normally graded from "A" all the way down to "D." The more problems that show up on your credit report--slow pays, late pays, or even bankruptcy--the lower the grade of loan you'll be able to qualify for. If you're employed and have a relatively good income, you'll get better terms, even though you won't qualify for a "Grade A" loan. The longer you've been at your current job, the better, because it shows stability.
Here are some general rules about the qualifications lenders look for before giving consumers the various grades of home loans:
To qualify for an AA loan, lenders must see no late payments or any other difficulties when they look at your credit history for the past two years. First, we'll look at the top of the line loans, all in the A grade category.
To qualify for an A+ loan, you can only have one late payment in that two-year time period. An A- loan is available to borrowers whose credit report shows two or three late payments, and have at least two credit cards. Borrowers in the A category will normally be qualified for all the various perks that lenders offer, such as low interest loans and low down payments.
But if you've had a bankruptcy in the past, you're choices are more limited, and you'll generally need a larger down payment.
For instance, a grade B loan can be obtained by borrowers who've been at their jobs for a reasonable length of time in as little as 18 months after declaring bankruptcy, assuming that they've been able to reopen at least one line of credit during that time and kept it current. Usually the lender will require 15% down, and the best interest rate the borrower can generally get is 6-7%.
A grade C loan will require good, steady employment, and may be available within a similar time frame as a B grade loan. The interest rate is generally higher, currently at about 8.5%, and the down payment requirements are considerably higher. For instance, a lender will normally require 20% down on $300,000 house or 40% down on a $500,000 home.
You'll need a significant amount of down payment to qualify for a grade D home loan, as well, and the interest rate will normally run between 9.95-10.7%, depending on your overall credit score. If you're employed and your credit score is above 500, you can put down as little as 30% on a $300,000 home or 45% on a $450,000 house. If you're self-employed, however, you'll need 45% down just to buy a $250,000 home.
If you're hoping to purchase a home, talk to your local lender to see what their criteria are for their various grades of loans. Even if you've had a bankruptcy in your past, that doesn't mean you can't buy a home. It just means it may take some time, you'll need to establish a strong employment history, and you'll need to save more money for a down payment than if the bankruptcy hadn't occurred.
(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.
Forget what you've been told about credit. Get the Credit You Need to Buy Real Estate. Visit Real Estate Credit Help Center: http://www.recredithelp.com
Lenders make various kinds of home loans, normally graded from "A" all the way down to "D." The more problems that show up on your credit report--slow pays, late pays, or even bankruptcy--the lower the grade of loan you'll be able to qualify for. If you're employed and have a relatively good income, you'll get better terms, even though you won't qualify for a "Grade A" loan. The longer you've been at your current job, the better, because it shows stability.
Here are some general rules about the qualifications lenders look for before giving consumers the various grades of home loans:
To qualify for an AA loan, lenders must see no late payments or any other difficulties when they look at your credit history for the past two years. First, we'll look at the top of the line loans, all in the A grade category.
To qualify for an A+ loan, you can only have one late payment in that two-year time period. An A- loan is available to borrowers whose credit report shows two or three late payments, and have at least two credit cards. Borrowers in the A category will normally be qualified for all the various perks that lenders offer, such as low interest loans and low down payments.
But if you've had a bankruptcy in the past, you're choices are more limited, and you'll generally need a larger down payment.
For instance, a grade B loan can be obtained by borrowers who've been at their jobs for a reasonable length of time in as little as 18 months after declaring bankruptcy, assuming that they've been able to reopen at least one line of credit during that time and kept it current. Usually the lender will require 15% down, and the best interest rate the borrower can generally get is 6-7%.
A grade C loan will require good, steady employment, and may be available within a similar time frame as a B grade loan. The interest rate is generally higher, currently at about 8.5%, and the down payment requirements are considerably higher. For instance, a lender will normally require 20% down on $300,000 house or 40% down on a $500,000 home.
You'll need a significant amount of down payment to qualify for a grade D home loan, as well, and the interest rate will normally run between 9.95-10.7%, depending on your overall credit score. If you're employed and your credit score is above 500, you can put down as little as 30% on a $300,000 home or 45% on a $450,000 house. If you're self-employed, however, you'll need 45% down just to buy a $250,000 home.
If you're hoping to purchase a home, talk to your local lender to see what their criteria are for their various grades of loans. Even if you've had a bankruptcy in your past, that doesn't mean you can't buy a home. It just means it may take some time, you'll need to establish a strong employment history, and you'll need to save more money for a down payment than if the bankruptcy hadn't occurred.
(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.
Forget what you've been told about credit. Get the Credit You Need to Buy Real Estate. Visit Real Estate Credit Help Center: http://www.recredithelp.com
Sunday, January 14, 2007
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 involves a little math.
Before we get to the math there are a few terms you should understand. The first is PITI which is nothing more than an abbreviation for "principal, interest, taxes and insurance. This figure represents the MONTHLY cost of the mortgage payment of principal and interest plus the monthly cost of property taxes and homeowners insurance. The second term is "RATIO". The ratio is a number that most banks use as an indicator of how much of a buyers monthly GROSS income they could afford to spend on PITI. Still with me? Most banks use a ratio of 28% without considering any other debts (credit cards, car payments etc.). This ratio is sometimes referred to as the "front end ratio". When you take into consideration other monthly debt, a ratio of 36-40% is considered acceptable. This is referred to as the "back end ratio".
Now for the formulas:
The front-end ratio is calculated simply by dividing PITI by the gross monthly income. Back end ratio is calculated by dividing PITI+DEBT by the gross monthly income.
Let see the formula in action:
Fred wants to buy your house. Fred earns $50,000.00 per year. We need to know Fred's gross MONTHLY income so we divide $50,000.00 by 12 and we get $4,166.66. If we know that Fred can safely afford 28% of this figure we multiply $4,166.66 X .28 to get $1,166.66. That's it! Now we know how much Fred can afford to pay per month for PITI.
At this point we have half of the information we need to determine whether or not Fred can buy our house. Next we need to know just how much the PITI payment is going to be for our house.
We need four pieces of information to determine PITI:
1) Sales Price (Our example is 100,000.00)
From the sales price we subtract the down payment to determine how much Fred needs to borrow. This result brings us to another term you might run across. Loan to Value Ratio or LTV. Eg: Sale price $100,000 and down payment of 5% = LTV ration of 95%. Said another way, the loan is 95% of the value of the property.
2) Mortgage amount (principal + interest).
The mortgage amount is generally the sales price less the down payment. There are three factors in determining how much the P&I (principal & interest) portion of the payment will be. You need to know 1) loan amount; 2) interest rate; 3) Term of the loan in years. With these three figures you can find a mortgage payment calculator just about anywhere on the internet to calculate the mortgage payment, but remember you still need to add in the monthly portion of annual property taxes and the monthly portion of hazard insurance (property insurance). For our example, with 5% down Fred would need to borrow $95,000.00. We will use an interest rate of 6% and a term of 30 years.
3) Annual taxes (Our example is $2,400.00)/12=$200.00 per month
Divide the annual taxes by 12 to come up with the monthly portion of the property taxes.
4) Annual hazard insurance (Our example is $600.00)/12=$50.00 per month
Divide the annual hazard insurance by 12 to come up with the monthly portion of the property insurance.
Now, let's put it all together. A mortgage of $95,000 at 6% for 30 years would produce a monthly P&I payment of $569.57 per month. This figure was produced by our payment calculator. Add in taxes of $200.00 per month and add in insurance of $50.00 per month and the PITI necessary to purchase our house equals $819.57.
Putting it all together
From our calculations above we know that our buyer Fred can afford PITI up to $1,166.66 per month. We know that the PITI needed to purchase our house is $819.57. With this information we now know that Fred DOES qualify to purchase our house!
Of course, there are other requirements to qualify for a loan including a good credit rating and a job with at least two years consecutive employment. More about that is our next issue.
Bruce Andrews has been in the real estate business for over 20 years. He has experience in real estate investing as well as practicing real estate as a broker for several years. He is currently President of Fifty States Realty, www.fiftystatesfsbo.com a national "for sale by owner" website.
Before we get to the math there are a few terms you should understand. The first is PITI which is nothing more than an abbreviation for "principal, interest, taxes and insurance. This figure represents the MONTHLY cost of the mortgage payment of principal and interest plus the monthly cost of property taxes and homeowners insurance. The second term is "RATIO". The ratio is a number that most banks use as an indicator of how much of a buyers monthly GROSS income they could afford to spend on PITI. Still with me? Most banks use a ratio of 28% without considering any other debts (credit cards, car payments etc.). This ratio is sometimes referred to as the "front end ratio". When you take into consideration other monthly debt, a ratio of 36-40% is considered acceptable. This is referred to as the "back end ratio".
Now for the formulas:
The front-end ratio is calculated simply by dividing PITI by the gross monthly income. Back end ratio is calculated by dividing PITI+DEBT by the gross monthly income.
Let see the formula in action:
Fred wants to buy your house. Fred earns $50,000.00 per year. We need to know Fred's gross MONTHLY income so we divide $50,000.00 by 12 and we get $4,166.66. If we know that Fred can safely afford 28% of this figure we multiply $4,166.66 X .28 to get $1,166.66. That's it! Now we know how much Fred can afford to pay per month for PITI.
At this point we have half of the information we need to determine whether or not Fred can buy our house. Next we need to know just how much the PITI payment is going to be for our house.
We need four pieces of information to determine PITI:
1) Sales Price (Our example is 100,000.00)
From the sales price we subtract the down payment to determine how much Fred needs to borrow. This result brings us to another term you might run across. Loan to Value Ratio or LTV. Eg: Sale price $100,000 and down payment of 5% = LTV ration of 95%. Said another way, the loan is 95% of the value of the property.
2) Mortgage amount (principal + interest).
The mortgage amount is generally the sales price less the down payment. There are three factors in determining how much the P&I (principal & interest) portion of the payment will be. You need to know 1) loan amount; 2) interest rate; 3) Term of the loan in years. With these three figures you can find a mortgage payment calculator just about anywhere on the internet to calculate the mortgage payment, but remember you still need to add in the monthly portion of annual property taxes and the monthly portion of hazard insurance (property insurance). For our example, with 5% down Fred would need to borrow $95,000.00. We will use an interest rate of 6% and a term of 30 years.
3) Annual taxes (Our example is $2,400.00)/12=$200.00 per month
Divide the annual taxes by 12 to come up with the monthly portion of the property taxes.
4) Annual hazard insurance (Our example is $600.00)/12=$50.00 per month
Divide the annual hazard insurance by 12 to come up with the monthly portion of the property insurance.
Now, let's put it all together. A mortgage of $95,000 at 6% for 30 years would produce a monthly P&I payment of $569.57 per month. This figure was produced by our payment calculator. Add in taxes of $200.00 per month and add in insurance of $50.00 per month and the PITI necessary to purchase our house equals $819.57.
Putting it all together
From our calculations above we know that our buyer Fred can afford PITI up to $1,166.66 per month. We know that the PITI needed to purchase our house is $819.57. With this information we now know that Fred DOES qualify to purchase our house!
Of course, there are other requirements to qualify for a loan including a good credit rating and a job with at least two years consecutive employment. More about that is our next issue.
Bruce Andrews has been in the real estate business for over 20 years. He has experience in real estate investing as well as practicing real estate as a broker for several years. He is currently President of Fifty States Realty, www.fiftystatesfsbo.com a national "for sale by owner" website.
Can I Sell My Private Mortgage Notes?
In this country millions of homes are sold every year. In most cases buyers go to a bank or finance company to seek mortgage financing.
In some cases, 200,000 in the U.S., home buyers rely on the seller rather than a financial institution to provide financing because:
? The purchaser may not qualify for a traditional mortgage.
? The purchaser may be a relative looking to save on closing fees.
? The seller may be interested in having a long-term income stream.
Often the seller is pressured into providing financing for the purchaser instead of receiving a lump sum. This forces the seller to assume the role of a mortgage company, worrying about servicing and collecting a monthly income stream. A stream, which may or may not be consistent, depends on the payer's ability to meet their monthly obligations.
Peacock Capital�provides an option to note holders nationwide who are ready to sell their homes and use the equity for their own purposes.
We will purchase the note for a lump sum and collect the monthly checks. No more worrying about the "Check is in the mail" Or, "Will they stop paying, forcing a foreclosure?" Or, "Has my buyer kept up with their insurance payments?" Etc.
In some cases, 200,000 in the U.S., home buyers rely on the seller rather than a financial institution to provide financing because:
? The purchaser may not qualify for a traditional mortgage.
? The purchaser may be a relative looking to save on closing fees.
? The seller may be interested in having a long-term income stream.
Often the seller is pressured into providing financing for the purchaser instead of receiving a lump sum. This forces the seller to assume the role of a mortgage company, worrying about servicing and collecting a monthly income stream. A stream, which may or may not be consistent, depends on the payer's ability to meet their monthly obligations.
Peacock Capital�provides an option to note holders nationwide who are ready to sell their homes and use the equity for their own purposes.
We will purchase the note for a lump sum and collect the monthly checks. No more worrying about the "Check is in the mail" Or, "Will they stop paying, forcing a foreclosure?" Or, "Has my buyer kept up with their insurance payments?" Etc.
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