Archive for the 'Real Estate' Category

The primary concern when you are trying to apply for a mortgage loan is the interest rate. Most of the time, it is the interest that blows your principal loan into huge proportions, leaving your personal finances in shreds.

There are various rates that are imposed on mortgage loans. You can choose the kind of rate that you prefer or that you can live with. One of the rates that people usually consider getting is the Adjustable Rate Mortgage or the ARM.

Defining the ARM

Adjustable Rate Mortgage is a mortgage that has an interest rate that closely relates to the economic index. Being adjustable, ARM changes along with the index. It can go up or down depending on how the economic index is behaving. Initially, ARM loans have fixed rate that runs within a short period of time. After the lapse of that period, the ARM will change according to the economic index.

There are various types of ARM rates. There is the 3/1, 5/1, 7/1 rates. When you say 3/1 ARM, this generally means that the rate is fixed for three years and in the 4th year, the rate becomes adjustable. The same goes with both 5/1 and 7/1 ARM. The rate is fixed for 5 and 7 years respectively; and on the 6th or 8th year, the interest rate turns variable.

When you are making your decision as to the kind of interest rate that you would prefer for your loan, you should take into consideration your personal finance plans. If you are not expecting that your payments can go up, do not consider ARM. You may opt for the fixed interest rate instead.

Be aware that with an ARM you will need to have some kind of financial buffer to cushion the effects of a increased rate change when the fixed period is up. If interest rates are high you will be paying substantially more for the mortgage so you should save some money for this eventuality.

Sometimes finding good advice on money and savings is hard, especially on the internet. Everyone and their mother (literally) seems to have advice as to how you can get rich quick, or save a bundle and retire early. Which advice do you take?

I was recently put in touch with a website called Thrifty Scot to check it over and see what I think. All in all, a good site that provides useful knowledge and services for those of you looking to save a little money and increase your wealth.

First off, as we’ve mentioned before, you can stand to save a lot of money in the long run by purchasing a house rather than renting which means taking on a mortgage. Thrifty Scot has some useful information on mortgages that may just help you out of a jam and get the right rate and deal when buying that first home.

Another killer for some peoples wallets is how much they pay in car insurance. You need to pay attention to what the “sales people” are trying to sell you and knowing what you need and don’t need is half the battle. Let this site help you out.

Lastly, once you have your finances in order you may need to get a boost in cashflow and take on some loans. We suggest heading over and learning about a sucured loan before you do anything. It could save you a lot of money in the long run by allowing you to watch out for some of the pitfalls that so often come with taking out a loan for many things.

Most of all, just read, read, read. The more you know about saving money the better chances you have of making more of it and creating wealth for yourself.

Thinking about buying a home? The steps you need to take may seem a bit overwhelming if you are a first time home buyer. Here are the basic steps you need to make to call it home sweet home.

1. Offer
Once you look around and find the perfect home, you’ll need to make an offer on the property. If your offer is accepted, you pay a fee to secure your offer. If the deal goes through, your fee goes towards the purchase price of the house. If the deal folds, you’ll get your deposit back.

2. Inspection
Arrange to have a licensed inspector examine your intended property. If the inspection turns up serious issues such as a leaky roof or cracks in the foundation, you may negotiate a better offer or withdraw it altogether based on the severity of the problems.

3. Negotiation
Your agent will negotiate with the seller’s agent to get you the best price. If the owners are eager to sell, they may consider a reduction in price or even holding part of the mortgage to make the deal.

4. Contract
This is a legal document between you and the seller detailing the purchase agreement. Standard contracts are modified to include the details of your property, such as price, date of transaction, and fixtures. Contracts are usually contingent upon your ability to secure a mortgage.

5. Deposit
When you sign the contract, you will make a deposit of the agreed amount. This is held in escrow and will become part of your down payment. The deposit is returned if the deal does not close.

The short of it yes you can.

You can borrow money from your 401K and make a down payment on a lot of things. It’s called a loan against your 401K and basically you’ll be paying back the money, with interest to yourself.

There is an article today over at fool.com that talks about just this. Selena Maranjian pulled a discussion from the buring or selling a home discussion board at fool.com and point’s out the quality responses the user who posted the question got. Selena also added a bit of her own advice such as.

Getting the best terms you can

Search out alternative means

Should you Save for a down payment

All these tips and a few more on real estate investing can be found at her article linked to above.

technorati tags:Real, Estate, Investing, Tips, 401K, Loan, Down, Payment

No doubt the housing market has stalled. If it wasn’t willed by media and the public with all the talk of a housing bubble then maybe the interest rates rising has something to do with it.

The National Association of Realtors has reported that homes for sale jumped in April by 37 percent. That means there’s a huge supply. With rising interest rates, a lower demand is here, and the prices will have to come down to match the supply. It’s economics.

In markets that were previously the mecca of real estate investing like Phoenix, Arizona, where previously homes would stay on the market on average for 7 days has gone to 60 days. Still 2 months is a quick time for most, but an almost 1000% increase from previous times on market means the housing market has to be slowing.

Markets like Boston, where time on market was reported at 52 days previously has only gone to 58 days so it seems as though there is also a resettling of the market from its two poles, no time and long time on the market.

For some their home is and will be their largest “asset” they own or will ever own. Knowing the value of you home can be key to knowing what type of credit is available to you. Often finding the value of your home is really, really, really, tough and you’ll end up paying an appraiser or a real estate agent to value your home compared to those homes around you.

Now you don’t have to look any further, call twenty realtors, or get an appraiser out to your how. Zillow.com is the latest in what web 2.0 has to offer to the world and can help you learn the value of your house as well as the houses around you. The value of your house is critical to determining your equity. Equity is what the present value of your house is minus the remaining mortgage loan you have, if you have one at all!

Zillow.com goes above and beyond what normal MLS listings do if you are able to get those. Zillow puts what are called comps or comparables right at your fingertips, something only real estate agents used to have access to. Comps can help you pin point what the value of your home is based on those around you and those that have sold in your area that a similar or comparable to your home.

If you’re looking to move to another location and don’t know where to begin looking, the newspaper can be a horrendous place to start looking. All those daunting prices. Go to Zillow put in the neighborhood your thinking about moving into and presto, Zillow will tell you all about it.

Square footage, year built, bedrooms, bathrooms, land area, improvements, etc, etc. Some areas are covered more than others but they are expanding their reach every day. Give them a try and check out what your homes value is.