An issue that arises whenever you sell a home or refinancing is the appraisal process. In this process, the lender usually will send out an appraiser to give them an honest and unbiased opinion on the value of the property. When the appraisal comes back at less than the purchase price or the amount owed on a refinance, it can more money to come out of your pocket or kill the deal entirely. Most appraisers are in the home for only a couple of minutes. The best thing you can do is make sure you have all the important features …
Read More »Major mortgage lenders settle up
Since the real estate bubble burst a few years ago, many homeowners have lost their properties to foreclosure. Recently, federal and state officials announced that the federal government and every state except Oklahoma have reached a $25 billion agreement with five of the largest mortgage lenders in connecting with loan servicing and foreclosure abuse. The investigation and negotiation process took 16 months to complete and emerged as the largest joint federal-state settlement in history. The agreement included Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial, which was previously known as GMAC. These lenders agreed to provide financial …
Read More »Saving toward a down payment
With 2013 here, you may be considering purchasing your first home or investing in a second property. The biggest challenge you may face is coming up with the down payment. There are a variety of loan programs with different down payment levels. The most common are FHA loans, which offers options as low as 3.5 percent, and conventional program, which often require 20 percent down. Making more money is easier said than done for many, but truth be told, you already may have your down payment hidden in other resources you never even thought of. Many times, eliminating a bad …
Read More »The hidden costs of homeownership
One of the biggest fears of home buyers is the unpredictability in home-related costs, whether it’s a necessary large repair or a bunch of smaller unexpected costs. Property tax increases can be one of the largest unexpected costs. Imagine this, you qualify for a 30-year-fixed mortgage, and along with that you set up an escrow account with the lender so you will not have to worry about the tax bill when it’s due to the county twice a year. One day you receive a letter from your bank informing you the mortgage payment will be going up due to an …
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