Chris Whitehead's (hbexperts) Blog

There is a rule of thumb that says you should not buy a home that costs you more per month that 20 to 25% of your take home pay. We rarely see anyone following that rule of thumb today.Too many consumers are buying homes that take a large part of their monthly income. This leaves little room in t...

Emotions can cost a Buyer tons of money! Here in the Northeast Ohio real estate market we sometimes see buyers and sellers getting together either on-purpose or by accident before there is a ratified sales contract. This is VERY dangerous. It can affect the whole negotiation process. If you are t...

Would you buy a car without getting a warranty? I think not! Even if you go to “buy a used car you are going to want at least a short-term warranty to make sure that by the time you get home you don’t have to call a tow-truck! So why should a house be any different. Our advice is, GET A WARRANTY!...

3. Not doing a proper financial plan.  We are seeing record foreclosures today. While there are some which were due to product mistakes, most were a result of improper planning! Setting up reasonable realistic budgets with proper forecasting can alleviate this problem. This kind of work will help...

Choosing the wrong loan.  In the past few years the lending world has seen more changes than you can count! There are lots of programs and terms most of us have never seen before like; interest only, negative amortization, hard or soft prepays, option arms, 40 year terms, balloon payments, LIBOR,...

1. Seeking a Loan without Pre-qualificationNot being pre-approved prior to shopping for a home is the number one cause of headaches and delayed closings.  When shopping for a loan you have two options; to get a pre-approval or to simply pre-qualify.  Pre-approval and pre-qualification are two dif...