1. Buy it Together Anyway: You can always ignore your spouse’s bad credit and buy the house together anyway. An admirable plan that will certainly result in a corresponding high interest rate and not something any personal finance experts would advise.
Read more %1$sTo buy or not to buy?
This insurance policy can eat up to 2.75% of that down payment immediately. In dollar terms, a home that is $300,000 with 5% down ($15,000) will have an insurance fee of $7,838 — leaving you with only $7,162 equity in the home. If you decide to sell this home a year later and hire a Realtor with fees around $12,500, you would now need to come up with roughly another $7,500 to get out of the home, not to mention the payout penalty that your bank may charge for a fixed rate mortgage which could be another $10,000 — or more or less, depending on how many years you have locked in and current interest rates.
Read more %1$sThe 15 Most Expensive Cities For Prospective Homebuyers
#15 Boston, Mass. Median home price: $322,000 2009 rank: 23 Median home prices listed are for the third quarter of 2011. 2009 rankings are based on median
Read more %1$sHere Are 7 Housing Markets Where It Makes Way More Sense To Buy Than Rent
A recent study by Fannie Mae showed that 85 percent of Americans think owning a home makes more sense in the long-term than renting.
Read more %1$sWater and Homeowners Insurance
Many times water is simply not covered because it is a maintenance issue, not a catastrophic one. Homeowners insurance is meant to protect you from events outside of your control. All types of insurance are based on risk. The dictionary defines risk as “Uncertainty arising from the possible occurrence of given events†The key word here is uncertainty and lack of control. So, if it comes down to a maintenance issue, there is not the key factor necessary to create coverage—- uncertainty and a lack of control.
Read more %1$sConsumer Bureau Moves To Make Mortgages Clearer, Foreclosures Fewer
A “bank owned” sign in front of a home in Miami last October. Saying it wants “to protect homeowners from surprises and costly mistakes
Read more %1$sClosing Fees Ease Up
FOR some people, a major hurdle to homeownership is the closing costs that come on top of the required down payment. There are fees for everything from title searches to deed recordings, and if you happen to be buying in New York or New Jersey, you’ll find some of the highest costs in the country.
Read more %1$s‘Kickback’ plan could land buyer in legal trouble
For starters, the bank you choose to finance the purchase with will have the legal right to know every detail about the deal. Telling a loan officer or mortgage broker about what is essentially a kickback scheme certainly wouldn’t help your chances of gaining loan approval, but failing to disclose the arrangement could be considered a mortgage fraud that could land you in jail.
Read more %1$sBasic tips for buyers
multiple-offer buying situations,Basic tips for buyers,
Read more %1$sReal Estate Q & A
Your typical home inspection costs will range anywhere between $300 and $500 depending on the size and features of the home. After you move into your new home, you want to begin living in it and not spend time and money repairing it. Your home inspector will provide you with a personalized report of any repairs needed, suggestions on how to maintain your home, and also provide you with the knowledge that you are not purchasing a “money pit.â€
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