Before You Buy - Answering Service Resources | Specialty Answering Service

Home
>
Mortgage Refinance
>
Before You Buy

Before You Buy

Before you start looking for a home, figure out what you can realistically afford to pay per month. Check out the market in the area you want to buy. Find out what price houses are going for and what the payments are per month. Remember that you may end up paying a little more per month than someone with a conventional bank loan, so keep that in mind as you figure out what you can afford.

You are going to have to work harder to find a home you can get without a loan. You will have to shop around more. So, concentrate on your needs in housing before your wants. Make a list of the minimum that you will accept in a house. Only write down your essential needs. Do you have to have three bedrooms or can you make do with less? Do you have to have a two-car garage or will a carport do? Do you have to have a single story home for health reasons? How close do you have to be to a school?

Make a separate list of the things you want. Wants might include things like a pool or hot tub, a walk-in closet, wooden floors, a deck, or a certain type of architecture. It would be nice if you can find a home with some of your wants, but to begin with, concentrate on finding a home that meets your needs. Often many of these things can be added to a home later.

Also make a third list of things you absolutely do not want in a home, such as: too many stairs to climb, a fixer-upper, certain areas of town you dislike, a location too close to a freeway, or a location too far from the center of town.

You may not be in a position to be too picky. Perhaps you can make do with a smaller home for now, while you establish your credit and get equity in the smaller home. Then you will be in a position to trade that home in for a bigger home.

Re-establishing your financial footing is not as difficult as it used to be, but it is impossible if you attempt to buy more house than makes sense. Be conservative!

Are you ready to get started? Go to I-can-buy.com and get the instant download e-book, "Buying a Home When You Have Bad Credit."

In The News:

The Free Lance-Star
Columbia Bank is an Approved FHA Mortgage Lender
MarketWatch - 7 hours ago
Existing homeowners wanting to refinance their current mortgage having only limited home equity. -- Homebuyers who would benefit from allowable seller ...
Once again, the subprime wolves are on the prowl KXXV News Channel 25
FHA sets limits on home mortgages The Free Lance-Star
all 20 news articles

Fitch Downgrades 3 Classes of GMAC 1998-C1; Assigns Stable Outlooks
MarketWatch - 8 hours ago
The loan was modified during bankruptcy to allow for the sale or refinance of the properties with the sale proceeds applied to the pay down the loan. ...

When refinancing mortgage makes sense
Chicago Tribune, United States - Nov 14, 2008
But you don't have to be in financial trouble to benefit from mortgage refinance, real estate experts say. "At this point, there are thousands of good ...

Boston Globe (registration)
Center for Responsible Lending and Industry Groups Urge HUD to ...
MarketWatch - Nov 20, 2008
... to help the largest possible numbers of at-risk borrowers. This is not the appropriate time to permit the lapse of a viable mortgage refinance option.
HUD Said to Entice Banks to Enter Foreclosure Program (Update1) Bloomberg
Hope For Homeowners Program National Association of Home Builders (press release)
Major Revamp Of Two HUD Mortgage Relief Programs To Be Pushed AHN
BusinessWeek - North American Press Syndicateall 95 news articles

LendingTree Loans Selects IBM for Loan Fulfillment Services
MarketWatch - 13 hours ago
The company, which also works with lenders and servicers to help refinance and modify loans in their portfolios, is a licensed mortgage lender authorized to ...
LendingTree Loans Selects IBM for Loan Fulfillment Services International Business Times
all 18 news articles

Congress may have to approve a 'TARP 2,' economist says
BloggingStocks - 5 hours ago
... it is clear we will need more money to purchase toxic assets, improve bank capitalization and allocate funds for home mortgage refinance programs, ...

The Money Times
US MBAâ€™s Mortgage Applications Index Decreased 6.2% Last Week
Bloomberg - Nov 19, 2008
The Mortgage Bankers Associationâ€™s index of applications to purchase a home or refinance a loan fell 6.2 percent to 398.6 for the week ended Nov. ...
Mortgage Applications Fall VillageSoup Belfast
HOUSING: Mortgage applications among buyers dip North County Times
Week-to-week mortgage applications off 6.2%: MBA MarketWatch
RTT News - Reutersall 144 news articles

Seeking a jumbo conforming home loan? Act fast
Seattle Post Intelligencer - 40 minutes ago
If someone in LA wants a $700000 mortgage -- either to buy a home or to refinance an existing loan -- it's a jumbo conforming loan if closed in 2008, ...

Should you refinance your mortgage?
Vail Daily News, CO - Nov 20, 2008
Many homeowners are finding it increasingly difficult to afford the mortgage payments on the loans they have taken out in the last several years. ...

Los Angeles Times
Nehemiah Applauds FDIC Chair Sheila Bair for Calling Attention to ...
MarketWatch - Nov 20, 2008
Further, distressed families could easily refinance out of risky adjustable rate mortgages into low-interest, fixed FHA mortgages using DPA. ...
Should Obama name FDIC's Bair as a Special Advisor for Mortgage ... BloggingStocks
FDIC Revises Proposal to Refinance Troubled Loans DSNews.com
Bairâ€™s Testimony: More Aggressive Intervention Is Needed Wall Street Journal Blogs
Money Morning - CNNMoney.comall 958 news articles

mortgage refinance - Google News

Answering Service ResourceAnswering Service Resource