Archive for the ‘Total Texas Real Estate Blog Posts’ Category

When Buying A Home, Is Good Credit Necessary?

Friday, November 21st, 2008

For those who want to purchase a home or to refinance the home they already have and have a bad credit score, there is still hope! The industry that provides mortgages has a wide reach and more things to offer than many people know about. It is not necessary to go to the local bank to procure your mortgage and to know that perfect credit is all they will accept.

Thousands of lenders for mortgages are available throughout America. They are more commonly referred to as wholesale lenders because they offer special programs for those individuals who want to borrow money who have less than perfect credit. These lenders are the ones that work with a broker who has wholesale customers ready to purchase.

Brokers do not lend money themselves, but are the ones to turn to for knowledge and education on the process of obtaining a mortgage from the start to the finish. Brokers will also help find lenders that can help in providing you with the exact needs you require.

The broker will have the ability to access hundreds of lenders across the United States at one time. They have the resources to find lenders that can accommodate your credit needs and a down payment you can afford to make no matter what your credit score might be. Brokers are always ready to compete for business so sit back and let them fight for your business.

Financing on less than perfect credit is also a possibility but you can expect to see a larger amount asked for the down payment. The lower the credit score, the higher the down payment will be. Fifteen percent is normal for a standard finance but will go as high as 40% for those with bad credit under 550. Some mortgage lenders will ask for half the money down before they will agree to lend you the remaining amount.

(more…)

Should I Consider Foreclosure as an option

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

Every homeowner struggling with their payments is making the decision of maintaining increased payments or face foreclosure. This would deteriorate your credit and you will be foreclosed on. So the burning question when faced with this dilemma is “Should I stay or should I go” or should I refi my home?

The facts are that many people took cash out, borrowed more than they can afford, took teaser rates, or applied using some form of a stated income loan which would often over inflate the borrowers actual income through the home refinance or home purchase process. With the market in it’s current condition and many families finding values decreasing past the amount owed; people are no finding they can’t even afford their monthly payments. There are a lot of people that are leaving their homes and just giving the properties to lenders. Is this the best option?

I don’t have the right or wrong answer here but I do know that up until the 90’s most people bought a house as a place to live and somewhere to stay and raise a family.It might be a conservative hard line, but we all need to face the facts.We experienced a jump in the average national home value each year in the 90s.  Lending practices began to recover from the S/L crisis and a new way of thinking was born in the lending world. Can you hear me?When was the last time you reviewed your credit report? Then we can presume you can pay for a home.With that in mind you might be able to say stated income and teaser loans were common, due to a housing prices from the mid 90’s.Now you have an Achilles heel with outrageous home value increases and people scrambling to spend that money of high priced toys. These items were usually paid for with the home’s equity, creating a false sense of financial security.

 

(more…)

Property Flipping Boot Camp

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

If you are anything like millions of Americans you have probably caught countless shows on cable television that boast the serious profits that can be made by flipping houses. This is a very true statement, serious money can be made when one goes about flipping the correct way, however, serious money can be much more easily lost when a house flip goes wrong. If you are hoping to find your way to fortune through real estate investing you need to pull yourself up by the bootstraps and understand a few house flip basics.

The first thing you need to understand is that the biggest goal in a project such as this is to make as much money in as little time as possible. This means several things to the wise investor not the least of which is that you must always have a complete inspection performed before you make any sort of financial commitment to the house. A good inspection will help you identify work that must be done, and whether or not there is any structural damage, or whether there are any big problems such as termites or water damage behind the walls that you aren’t able to readily see.

These are the most important items to know and should have a big impact on the offer you make on the property as they will have the greatest impact on how much you need to spend to make the property sellable and whether or not the property will even be profitable when you consider how much money you will need to spend in order to get it into selling condition and how much you can expect to sell the property for after that.

Once you have the inspection done it is a good idea to take into account all the things that will need to be done to improve the property and the things that must be done in order to get the property in sellable condition along with permits that are needed, inspections that are needed, and jobs that require licensed contractors in order to meet local code requirements. Each of these will take a significant amount of investment in order to accomplish and that should also reflect in your offering price.

(more…)

Property Flipping Sob Stories

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

What you don’t see on many of the television shows about flipping houses are the many sad tales of promising flips gone wrong. These legendary tales of misfortune are often the precursors to big financial hardships and for quite some time as those who do not succeed at their house flips work on trying to recover from their big losses and then moving on with their lives. Some are hit harder than others but the snowball effect of a bad flip are often not even hinted out on the prime time televisions shows that are so proud of the many success stories that arise because of serious and studious efforts in the house flipping arena.

If you are planning to flip a house for a real estate investment you really need to take a step back and decide that you are absolutely not going to be one of the house flip sob stories that are rumored about in Internet chat rooms. In fact, you will definitely want to be listed among the other success stories. Unfortunately that takes a significant amount of prior planning that is never shown on these television commercials. In fact, to put forth your best effort you need to devote as much time to studying and planning properties, prices, and home values in your area before you even begin to search for your first property to flip as you need to invest in the entire process of actually working on your first flip. In other words, several months worth of planning and research need to go into your first house pick in order to lower the risk of not succeeding and to raise the odds of success.

The second thing you will need to do when planning or researching your first property flip and avoiding a sob story is to be realistic about the outcome and avoid great expectations. With your first flip you are darned lucky to turn a profit at all. If you are expect to make more money on your first property flip than you made all last year as a full time job, then you might need to make other plans. The first flip rarely goes as expected.

Third, you will need to put back at least twice as much money (or even three times as much) as you think you will need for the improvements on the property in order to cover the actual costs that you will incure. There are inevitably tools, permits, supplies, and labor that wasn't counted on in the initial budget figures as well as the tendency to seriously underestimate the cost of the materials that will be needed in order to get the job done. If you can't afford to spend that much and then walk away without a loss then the property you are considering probably is not the best property for your first flip.

(more…)

The Government will Help you Save your Home!

Monday, November 17th, 2008

The Hope 4 Homeowners (H4H) program is aimed at helping homeowners that have found themselves owing more on their mortgage than their home is worth. This program can actually reduce the amount that a homeowner owes on their mortgage which leads to a lower monthly mortgage payment.

Explained?

The Hope for Homeowners program puts the homeowner into a mortgage based on their home’s current value. A Hope 4 Homeowners’ loan will be 90% of the current value of the home. Having the balance forgiven may have some negative aspects. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and your current lender will share in any profits of the house when the homeowner sells their home. This offsets the balance that has been forgiven. The result of the principal reduction is a new lower payment.

An Example:

Let’s say that your current mortgage balance is $400,000 and your home is now worth $250,000. This is a very common scenario for many homeowners today. The current mortgage payment is based on the old value of the home. The new Home for Homeowners loan will be determined by 90% of the current appraised value of the home. This example would result in a new loan amount of $225,000. That is a reduction of $175,000 in the principal balance of your mortgage. The new mortgage payment will be based on this new loan amount of $175,000.

The New Reduced Payment?

There are benefits beyond the principal reduction in your mortgage. The H4H loan payment will be reduced as well. Let’s say the current mortgage is $400,000 at 6% on a 30 year fixed (the benefits are even greater if you are in an adjustable rate mortgage). The current payment is $2,398. The interest rate will often be reduced but for this example lets assume that it is not. The H4H payment is $1,348. The reduction in the payment is $1,050 a month. The benefits are quite obvious.

(more…)

House Repossession

Sunday, November 16th, 2008

When the housing market is in a down time, interest rates may rise, leaving homeowners who have adjustable rate mortgages with higher payments than they can afford. Under these circumstances, it’s not unusual for homeowners to fall behind in payments and face repossession, or foreclosure.

House repossession is a hard measure that the creditor takes against the debtor, while being forced to recuperate its financial losings caused by failing to get the monthly payments to cover the debt. House repossession takes place either because the loan was made in order to buy the house, or because the loan was made in order to buy another kind of property or good, but the house was set as a guarantee that payments will be made regularly and according to the contract that was initially signed by both the debtor and the creditor.

House repossession is very serious and painful business. Before it occurs, the creditor in most states is forced by law to warn the debtor about failing to keep up with the monthly payment. After these warnings and the grace period is over, foreclosure comes next. The person who has loaned the money from the bank is probably issued an eviction order and in informed about when the house is supposed to be available for the creditor to get hold of.

Despite all these radical measure, house repossession can be avoided. There are many real estate companies that profit from this business and at the same time help you stop house reposession. These agencies can make you various offers like buying the house from you at short notice and allowing you to keep living in it while paying rent and being able to return the money obtained from selling to the bank. Some companies also agree to sell the house back to the initial owner who has now become the tenant for a pre-settled price stipulated in the contract. Indeed, the real estate company will gain profit out of this business but it will also help you stop house repossession from occurring and it will buy the debtor more time until he can figure out how to get the money in order to feel the true master of his house again.

(more…)

Moving Abroad: Buy or Rent?

Sunday, November 16th, 2008

Many people move abroad experienced home owners. Normally you are used to owning your own home so if you migrate abroad the instinct is to quickly buy your own piece of your new country. This may not be the best move, however. moving abroad can be a big step forward financially but think about your property purchases carefully.

Reasons Not to Buy Immediately

You don’t know that you will stay. Not every immigrant stays in their new country. You may not settle and wish to return within a few years. Its safer to rent until you are sure the move is a long-term one. If you sell in your home country and buy in your new country and then have to sell again – you will probably lose significant amounts in fees and commissions even if the property prices have remained stable or increased.

You don’t know the property market. Your unspoken assumptions put you in a weak negotiating position. For example an Australian wouldn’t buy a family home in many parts of a Australia that did not provide a shaded outdoor entertainment area. An immigrant from a cooler climate may not see the problem with a north-facing exposed courtyard until they have moved in.

You may decide on a new neighbourhood or even state. Its so much easier to move if you haven’t purchased a house. You may rent initially in your desired area only to change your mind 6 months down that track buy in a different area.

Renting initially also means that you may not have to buy all the appliances and furniture you didn’t bring with you. Renting a semi-furnished home initially can be a good way of spreading the set-up costs involved with yourmove abroad.

(more…)

Sell and Rent

Saturday, November 15th, 2008

The reasons why a seller might need to sell to rent after closing vary, but it’s not uncommon for a seller to request a rent back. The home the seller is buying might not be available at the time your transaction closes or the seller might not be able to find a moving van on the last day of the month, when demand for moving vans is high.

Of course, as a new home buyer, you might find this situation unsettling. After all, you’ve paid a lot of money for your new home, on top of paying interest on a loan for a home that you can’t yet occupy. It’s understandable that you are eager to move in and take possession right away. Plus, you may not have anticipated finding yourself in the position of being a landlord.

 

How to Protect Seller

Treat this situation as you would any other business relationship. Buyers should never let sellers retain possession of a home without executing a formal occupancy agreement. These agreements spell out the terms and conditions of the seller’s occupancy and protect buyers as well as the sellers.

In California, real estate agents have at our disposal a handy form called the Purchase Agreement Addendum (PPA), which among other contract terms, addresses seller rent backs. When the appropriate box is checked, this addendum modifies the purchase contract.

The PPA handles short-term seller rent backs that are less than 30 days and contains the following elements:

(more…)

Moving Abroad

Friday, November 14th, 2008

Moving abroad seems to be a growing trend. It seems like entire populations are taken by the idea that the the grass is greener and heading to further shores. What’s driving thise trend?

Work and career opportunites seems to be the most common answer when people are asked why the are considering immigrating abroad? There is enormous shortages of skilled professionals in many countries including Australia, South East Asia and New Zealand. Pay rates appear way better away from their own country seems much higher than what they are used to getting on their own nation. For them, moving abroad is a dream that comes true.

Canada and Australia nowadays has a very large demand for nurses and caregivers. There are many British, American and Filipino Nationals who have decided working professionally oversease is as a worthwhile career move. There is also a huge demand for laborers in the construction industry. Many trades people as well as doctors and engineers have immigrated overses.

In the Middle East, hospitality services are big in the market for job seekers today. Hotel staff like bellboys, chambermaid, receptionists and restaurant workers are very much needed in Dubai, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Of course, let us also not forget the ever continuing demand for Engineers and Architects in these oil-rich countries.

On the other hand, East Asia is now open for English Language Teachers. There is a great numbers of Chinese, Koreans and Japanese students now leaving their countries to learn English and for those who can’t afford it create the demand for English Instructors in their own contries.

(more…)

Mortgage Advice for Real Estate Property

Friday, November 14th, 2008

mortgage protection insurance

When it comes to owning property many people around the world will tell you that this is a lifelong dream. While once an opportunity that seemed to be reserved for either the wealthiest or the most miserly among the general population home ownership is now something that is accessible to a larger segment of the population than ever before.

This is good news for many but for some can lead to confusing encounters with commercial property mortgage brokers and serious sharks along the way. The best advice that anyone can give someone attempting to embrace the dream of real estate ownership is to deal with a reputable company when it comes to obtaining a mortgage. Even when dealing with reputable lending companies you must watch out for those who do not have your best interest at heart.

You’re in the right place for mortgage advice. First of all, avoid lenders that are encouraging you to take a loan for more money than you are comfortable repaying. Foreclosures are at a record high when it comes to the mortgage industry at the moment because of predatory lending practice on behalf of some mortgage brokers. These practices include convincing people to borrow more money than they could realistically hope to pay over time and have any quality of life as well as convincing homebuyers to take out adjustable rate mortgages in the beginning in order to procure lower rates.

Shop around before you decide to buy when it comes to investment property mortgages. This doesn’t mean to actually apply for mortgages all over town but do the research and compare rates before applying with any one company. Talk to several different brokers and find out what they have to offer you that the other company down the road cannot or will not offer. Keep in mind that mortgage companies will offer everything under the sun from free toasters to free vacations in order to get you to go with their company. The proof is in the terms however. The small gift is not worth it if you’re going to pay a 6.9% interest rate instead of a 5.9% rate. You will have paid for that toaster many times over in the process of paying the mortgage.

If the deal sours after applying for a mortgage, then look at other options. There tend to be many issues that arise along the way. You’re not going to marry the mortgage broker. Most of the time, you’re not making any commitments to your mortgage broker. You will however be living in the house you select. If there is a problem with the mortgage company for the specific home you want do not hesitate to change in order to get the home you desire for your family rather than allowing the mortgage company to dictate what kind of home you can buy.

(more…)