Refinance Mortgage HQ » Homes

Becoming a Homeowner

admin — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:06:35 +0000

Many people read a magazine, and buy products due to advertising and marketing influences. However, buying a home is a marathon and should never done on impulse because of the significant negative impact on your financial resources. This is an important once in a lifetime purchase.

First thing to do is to select the location you want to live in or nearby, and rent for a year because your new home is going to tie you and your family down for 5-10 years. Renting allows you to explore surrounding neighborhoods, community amenities, schools, restaurants, and night life with the chain and ball that comes with a large financial decision. Only buy when you are truly in love with the location.

There’s always value to owning a home, but home ownership requires a lot of responsibility. Buy a home for the right reasons, and not just to flip it for a quick buck unless you are already well versed real estate investing.

Timing Home Prices

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:46:20 +0000

Home prices are determined in cycles. However, your agent will always tell you that every day is a good day to buy because commissions is their main incentive.

It is important to stay ahead of the curve by paying attention to the number of homes listed as a larger supply of inventory will drive home prices listed on the market lower. Also, prices are softer during the winter months.

Doing a little more due diligence than other buyers can easily save you thousands of dollars on purchasing a new home.

House Hunting Made Easy

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:29:59 +0000

Before the internet, house hunting starts at the real estate agent’s office where you make a schedule for them to drive you all over town to see a couple of houses that eat up a lot of each others’ time until you find something that you are looking for. The internet solved a huge waste of time for the real estate industry, where the potential buyer has already done all research and know exactly which house they want to look at before arriving at the real estate agent’s office.

Call it window shopping for houses. And it is extremely effective, because you will only be looking at houses that you are interested in rather then the agent’s taking you to houses that you will never buy.

Many real estate websites allows you to select residential properties by zip code, price range, number of bedrooms & baths, and various requirements. Why settle for looking at 4-5 homes that your real estate agent has available when you can literally look through hundreds of thousands of home in advance.