Interest Rate Report
Looks like the tulips aren't the only things rising as spring gets into full swing. March finished with mortgage interest rates hanging steady at 5.97, up just a bit from February's 5.92 rate. With rising oil prices, food costs and increases on everything else under the sun except consumer confidence, we'll see how long that trend lasts.
May Real Estate Report
Even though the sales pace is still dramatically behind last year's, two out of the four regions experienced increased sales in March. This time, both the Northeast and the West enjoyed sales increases of 2.2 percent. The Northeast region also maintained its position as the only region that had higher median sales prices compared to a year ago. To get all of the facts and figures for the month of March, 2008, read the full Existing Home Sales Report.
Tips for First Time Home Buyers
Buying a home can be a long, complicated and frightening process, and it is important to be prepared. Knowledge is power when it comes to negotiating the difficult world of home prices, interest rates and mortgage loans. For a first time home buyer, the more information you can gather before you start shopping, the better off you will be.
Preforeclosure flipping: The key to real estate riches
Buying, renovating, and selling an investment property is a sure-fire way to get rich quick. That's what mainstream America is led to believe, anyway, with the major surge in home improvement programming over the past several years.
Let's get one thing straight: It's not as easy as it looks on television.
However, it is possible to make a nice profit investing in real estate if you know where to begin. A smart and relatively safe way to get your feet wet is in the preforeclosure market.
The Home Inspection
When you buy a home, sure, you're going to look over the house yourself, as carefully and thoroughly as possible before making your offer, but...you're probably not an expert. The Home Inspector is the Expert.
Just to be clear, the inspector does not appraise the property, make guarantees about the structural viability and building codes, make recommendations on whether you should buy the house or not, or find hidden defects. The inspector will find visible problems that could be overlooked by a real estate agent, a buyer, or a seller - and that is why you need them.
Cleaning Up Your Credit
Mortgage lenders generally check with three credit bureaus in order to evaluate your past payment history. Your goal in cleaning up your credit report should be to clean up each of the three bureaus. If you only work on one, this does not effect the reporting to the other bureaus.
Assistance Programs for First Time Homebuyers
Although many people can afford a mortgage payment and associated costs to owning their own home, the thought of coming up with a substantial down payment often stops them from taking the plunge. Charity organizations and federal institutions are available to these buyers to assist with this problem.
When Your Home's Value is Less Than the Mortgage
With the real estate market cooling off some people are finding themselves in an awkward situation. For the first time in years the value of their home is less than what they owe on their mortgage. Several things have contributed to this. First, home prices aren't increasing like they were the last few years and in come cases have even dropped. Second, specialty loan products like option ARMs and interest only loans have made it easy people to buy more home than they can afford. There is a solution.
Ten Concerns Every Home Seller Should Pay Attention To
With the current real estate market such a competitive marketplace, how can you make your home stand out in an over-abundance of choices? Here are 10 easy to follow areas that every home seller should be concerned with before placing their home on the market. Increase your home's likeability factor to the point where you just may be catering to the highest bidder!
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