Category: Housing Market (Page 35 of 38)

I’ve been speaking with a number of Realtors lately regarding the importance of the Pre-Qualification process and thought it might be a good idea to highlight its importance.

Many potential home buyers begin looking at homes without understanding the steps involved prior to engaging a Real Estate Professional.  It’s essentially a matter of making sure the horse is in front of the cart!

“Going shopping for a home without a pre-qualification letter is like going shopping with one of those left over Visa gift cards you find in your wallet. You have absolutely no idea if the funds left on the card will cover the purchase.”

“If you’re serious about buying a new home, show the sellers you are serious. Start off by getting pre-approved for your loan – you’re more likely to get that house you love and the rest of the transaction will go much more smoothly!”

Amy V., Realtor

In order for a real estate agent to best help you find that right home, it’s vitally important to know how much “house” you can afford.  That’s why you should reach out to the right Mortgage Professional first, before you contact an agent and start looking at houses.

Your chosen lender should sit down with you to assess your goals and objectives – and then help you choose the optimal loan program that best fits your needs. The first step in this process is the a pre-qualification or pre-approval.

Source: The Mortgage Reports

The Form or Letter

The Pre-Qualification Form was developed to provide information on the buyer’s ability to qualify for a loan without an actual loan contract. This form provides information to the Realtor regarding the ability of the borrower to obtain financing – and that way, your agent can begin the process of identifying particular areas and homes that are the right fit for you.

The form sets forth the loan amount for which the buyer can prequalify, assuming a maximum monthly housing payment.  Most importantly,  in states like Arizona, an offer on a home can’t be accepted without this Pre-Qualification Form.

Reasons Why

For all of these reasons, home sellers and their Realtors insist that home buyers submit a valid pre-approval letter along with their initial offer for the home.

Sellers don’t consider offers from people who haven’t taken the time to determine if they can even get approved for a loan in the first place.

Again, make sure to reach out to a mortgage specialist prior to going house hunting!

Two activities have stood the test of time throughout history as the best ways to make money:

1. Trading
2. Real estate investing

If you look at America’s list of millionaires and what they did to get there, you will observe the most common path to millionaire status in America has been real estate.

Sure, you have the Warren Buffetts who did it by investing in stock, and you have the Zuckerbergs and Gateses who did it by starting new companies and riding them to fortune. But most of the lower profile millionaires built their wealth with real estate.

Check this out from one of my favorite bloggers….Get Rich Slowly

So you’re selling or buying a house in 2016 and you want to make sure your real estate transaction goes to closing without glitches. Is there any guide to the potential problems most likely to disrupt deals or delay them?

If you know the major pitfall areas, maybe you could take steps in advance to avoid them.

According to the study, of the 32 percent that experienced delays, 46 percent were triggered by “financing issues,” which is up from 40 percent during the first half of 2015. Appraisal-related problems caused 21 percent of the delays and home-inspection issues in 14 percent. Of the nearly 1 of every 16 (6 percent) of deals that turned into total disasters and fell through, home inspection and financing were the primary culprits. Sixteen percent went south because of the appraisal.

Source: Washington Post

Deal-killer inspectors may not be avoidable by sellers, but one way to be ready for them is to get a pre-listing inspection by a reputable professional before you put the house on the market. That allows you as a seller to fix anything important in advance and at the very least have defenses against inspection findings that might be at least partly aimed at lowering the price to the buyers’ advantage.