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Dec 29

Tips For Home Buyers

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If you haven’t taken advantage of the sour real estate market by buying a home, you are missing out. Interest rates are still low and there are many homes to choose from. Here are a couple articles that give some tips to help you buy a home without regret.

7 Tips for the First Time Home Buyer

If you are a first time home buyer, these 7 tips will address the most important issues to help guide you in your decision process. I trust you’ll enjoy “North Bay Real Estate and the 7 Tips For The First Time Home Buyer”

Get Preapproved for a Mortgage. Before getting too far down the home search path it is always best to have an idea of how much home you can afford. Arrange a meeting with your financial institution to go over your personal financial situation. This will help you determine the amount of monthly payment you can afford after factoring in extraneous costs that come with home ownership. Establishing a realistic budget you can live with at the beginning is essential!

Work with a REALTOR® Ask your family and friends for recommendations then meet and interview a short-list. Choose a REALTOR® that you are comfortable with and matches your personality or approach. A professional REALTOR® will do most of the ‘leg work’ on your behalf saving you time and effort in seeking out the best possible listings based on your personal wants and needs.

Research the neighbourhood. Once you have found a house, be sure to check out the area that house is in. Amenities, schools, shopping and public transit are something that you may or may not want next door to your new home. Visit the neighbourhood during a week day and on the weekend, as well as at different times of the day to get a ‘feel’ for the neighborhood. –more

10 tips to buy or sell real estate in 2010

Entering 2010, many home sellers feel they’re mired in the winter of their discontent, but there are signs the real estate market is on the mend. Sales activity is up, homebuilders are finally moving inventory and values are rising slightly in many American cities. At year-end 2009, mortgage rates stood at historic lows, spurring a wave of new applications.

But don’t be too jubilant. A recent report by Deutsche Bank estimates that by 2011, about 48 percent of all U.S. mortgages will be underwater. Short sales and foreclosures will continue to put pressure on home prices in 2010 as they work their way through the pipeline slowly. It was apparent in 2009 that lenders were holding back much of their foreclosure inventories and REO, or real estate-owned property, in an effort to keep values up.

Meanwhile, housing’s biggest economic driver — the job market — continues to stagnate as average unemployment remains high, at around 10 percent. So it’s no surprise the new year will ring in another buyer’s market, though with far more upside than in 2009. With that as a backdrop, here are 10 real estate tips for homebuyers and owners in 2010.

Tip 1: Take up Uncle Sam on his offer.
Might as well get a piece of that big stimulus pie while it lasts. At some point, the federal government will have to let the toddler walk on its own legs.
The $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit program that helped jump-start the real estate market in 2009 has been extended into 2010 and expanded. First-time homebuyers who sign a binding contract to buy a home by April 30, 2010, and close on it by June 30, 2010, qualify. The program’s maximum income limits have jumped from $75,000 to $125,000 for individuals and from $150,000 to $225,000 for couples.

For those who have owned their homes for at least five years and want to trade up to a different primary residence, a separate $6,500 tax credit has been added. Further, many homeowners who are underwater in their real estate loans are eligible for a loan-modification program with their current mortgage company or loan servicer through the Making Home Affordable Program.

Tip 2: Find down payment assistance.
There are several down payment assistance programs for first-time homebuyers at the federal and local levels. Other down-payment assistance programs that can piggyback ongoing federal programs are often available at the city, county and state level. Just conduct an Internet search for “down-payment assistance programs” with your locality’s name added. –more