It’s official: FHA was just given authority to change the amount charged to borrowers for both the Up Front and the Annual Mortgage Insurance premiums…and change them they did.

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When you are in the market to buy a condo there are some thing you need to know about Home Owners Associations (HOA).  The HOA is responsible for building amenities, maintenance and, in some cases, utilities.  As an owner, you may have some voting rights for the management of the budget, but the majority has the final say.  I like to make sure that my homebuyers review the building’s finances to know whether or not the HOA is financially strong or as useless as a Deutsche mark.   

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When you get approved for a home mortgage you should ask, “What are my closing costs?”  You should see them in writing.  Interest rates are important, but your ‘closing costs’ are equally important.  If you have a rate of 5% on a $300,000 loan with closing costs of $9000 quoted from one bank and you have a rate of 5.5% with 0 closing costs from another bank which is better? (more…)

When working with a homebuyer, I don’t start off by asking, “How much are you approved for buying?”  The better question is, “How much of a payment is comfortable for you?”  Typically, a homebuyer is pre-approved for an amount that is more than what they are willing to pay monthly.  (more…)

When a homebuyer is purchasing a residential property, the seller is required to provide them with a Seller’s Disclosure Statement to detail any pre-existing conditions.  Now, the million dollar question is whether or not everything in the disclosure statement is 100% true.  Is it fact or fiction? 

 Consider that the homeowner is (more…)

Yes, it’s true; a pre-inspection can be a great tool for sellers to verify the condition of their house in preparation for a selling.  So nothing to worry about buyers because the seller has already taken care of everything found on the pre-inspection, right? (more…)