Real Estate Information

Basic Tips for First Time Home Buyers


Choosing a first home can be a daunting task, but following a few key steps makes it a lot less confusing.

An essential part of the process for every home buyer is to simply do the math. It is very wise to do all the financial planning first, before beginning the search for a suitable property to buy. Every home buyer should shop around for the mortgage deal which suits them best, and calculate exactly how much the monthly repayments will be for each loan option, how much the loan will cost in the long term, and how long it will take to repay, to get a clear picture of exactly how much property they can afford to buy. Most mortgage lenders offer pre-qualified loans, so buyers can shop for their new home with the confidence of knowing exactly what they can afford. Having a pre-qualified loan deal also means the buyer can move quickly on a purchase when they find the right property, which can be a great advantage particularly if there are other interested buyers.

Choosing whether to use an agent, and choosing which agent to use is another important step. Negotiating the purchase directly with the seller can save a substantial commission fee, but inexperienced home buyers in particular can benefit from the advice and negotiation skills of a good realtor. An experienced realtor can give advice on factors which may affect the future resale value of the home. A good agent also has knowledge of the real estate market in a specific area, and can help point a buyer in the right direction by showing them properties with features which are most important to them.

David Cannell is a freelance writer and university educator.He is the owner of http://www.all-your-finances.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Press-Enterprise

REAL ESTATE: California receives up to $18 billion in multistate settlement
Press-Enterprise
“It is a good first step but only a step toward the solutions we need,” said Kevin Stein, associate director of the California Reinvestment Coalition, a real estate consumer advocacy group. In California, the banks have guaranteed more than $12 billion ...
Will bank settlement help Florida's real estate market?Palm Beach Post (blog)
$25B settlement reached over foreclosure abusesSacramento Bee
States, banks reach foreclosure-abuse settlementAlbany Times Union
LoanSafe -KTAR.com
all 2,842 news articles »


Fort Worth Star Telegram

Evangelical real estate developer brought Santorum to North Texas
Fort Worth Star Telegram
If Rick Santorum eventually wins Texas Republicans over, one of Texas' leading real estate developers should share credit. Last month, Jeff Blackard of the McKinney-based Blackard Group went undercover in South Carolina as a walk-in Santorum volunteer.
Donald Trump: Rick Santorum 'Wants To Be President? Give Me A Break' (VIDEO)Huffington Post

all 461 news articles »


Bloomberg

Shrinking the foreclosed real estate glut
Boston Globe
But it isn't going to fix the nation's residential real estate mess. That mess - millions of homeowners underwater on their mortgages, a stagnant residential sales market that lacks buyers and a clog of foreclosed property - can't be cleaned up with ...
REAL ESTATE: Refinancing program expands for Fannie/Freddie borrowersPress-Enterprise
Online Offers for HomePath Properties Expanded by Fannie MaeLoanSafe

all 160 news articles »


The Free Lance-Star

Vakos Real Estate opened this week in the Southpoint II shopping center.
The Free Lance-Star
BY BILL FREEHLING BY BILL FREEHLING One of the Fredericksburg area's oldest and most prominent development firms has started a full-service real estate brokerage arm. Vakos Real Estate opened this week in a 5200-square-foot space next to a Tropical ...
Who's who at new Vakos Real Estate firmFredericksburg.com (blog)

all 4 news articles »


Real Estate Agent Highlights New Technologies by Bicycling 700 Miles to Mid ...
MarketWatch (press release)
His route takes him across the breadth of four states and through 12 overnight stops, ending on stage before an expected 4000 attendees of the Coldwell Banker Real Estate's International Business Conference. Dyer aims to use a 150-year-old ...

and more »


DOJ: Three NorCal Real Estate Investors Agree to Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging ...
San Francisco Chronicle (blog)
Three Northern California real estate investors have agreed to plead guilty today for their roles in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, the Department of Justice (DOJ) ...
Three to plead guilty in foreclosure auction fraudSan Jose Mercury News

all 6 news articles »


Real-Estate Crash Aids the Green Movement
Wall Street Journal
By LAURA KUSISTO The real-estate crash left pockets of the region's rural areas littered with the remnants of would-be golf courses, shopping centers and luxury subdivisions that never got off the ground. But the market swoon has yielded an unexpected ...



ETF Trends

Top 10 Global Real Estate ETFs
TheStreet.com
By Dave Fry 02/09/12 - 03:03 PM EST There is currently an expanding list of nearly a dozen ETFs oriented to primarily to global REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) with more on the way no doubt. In the following analysis we stick with our top ten ...
Investments for Income-LoversMotley Fool

all 24 news articles »


CBRE Clarion Global Real Estate Income Fund (NYSE: IGR) Declares Monthly ...
EON: Enhanced Online News (press release)
PHILADELPHIA--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--The Board of Trustees of the CBRE Clarion Global Real Estate Income Fund (NYSE: IGR) (the “Fund”) declared a monthly distribution of $0.045 per share for the month of February 2012. The following dates apply: ...

and more »


South Bay commercial real estate market heats up
San Jose Mercury News
Silicon Valley developers are racing to erect office and R&D buildings to meet a fresh surge of expansions by tech companies that's turning the region into a commercial real estate boomtown. Last year, the South Bay added about 26000 employees, ...

and more »

Google News

home | site map
© 2006