Save money for the down payment

One of the biggest hurdles of buying a home is making the down payment. Besides cutting back on daily expenses and downsizing on living arrangements to save for a year or two, there are other options to consider. Secure a gift from family or friends. Loan officers prefer to see Read more…

Form 1003 – mortgage application

Mortgage lenders will use a standard mortgage application form developed by Fannie Mae that standardizes the loan application process. https://www.fanniemae.com/singlefamily/uniform-residential-loan-application As a borrower, you will generally get the Form 1003 (Uniform Residential Loan Application) pre-filled with the mortgage information of the loan product that you have selected. Then it may take Read more…

Road less taken in house hunting

Potential buyers are generally focused on new and active listings once it appears on the market while overlooking the properties that have been on the market for an extended period of time, including expired listings and price reductions. Expires and price reductions usually indicates there may be something wrong with Read more…

Research the community association

Before buying into a condominium or co-op, it is important to research the community association regardless if it is brand new or very well maintained in appearances. The community association deals with day-to-day rules that affects the quality of life and community finances. Request for the board meeting minutes – Read more…

Rookie mistakes of house hunting

Scheduling too many viewings per day is analogous to eating more than you can chew. After a few initial viewings, the information that you can retain about a house becomes less and less. The reason being is that houses have more important aspects to remember than a majority of items Read more…