All home buyers are encouraged to shop for a mortgage. Finding the right home loan program with competitive interest rates and fees is an integral part of your home buying decision. BUT! There’s a right way and a wrong way to shop for your home loan. For home buyers, to shop the “right way” it’s
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05/20/2013
One of the most puzzling aspects of the housing recovery is: With affordable prices and record low interest rates, why does the rate of homeownership continues to decline? Where are the missing households? According to a recent Census Bureau report the rate of homeownership has declined to a leve
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05/17/2013
Buying your first home is one of most important and expensive purchases you will ever make. Both you and your lender need to know that the home you’re buying is everything you believe it to be. Is it a Home Inspection or a Home Appraisal? You will want to know that the home is free from any mat
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05/17/2013
First time home buyers are getting ready to sign up for the largest financial obligation of their life (so far). Every month for the next 360 months you'll be writing a check. Do you understand what you're signing up for and how it works? Related: What's your Mortgage IQ? Infographic - What's in
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05/15/2013
According to Zillow: One-third of all first time home buyers lack basic mortgage knowledge. This is the most important purchase of your life (so far), shouldn’t you know what you’re signing up for? What’s your Mortgage IQ? Buying a home is different today than anytime in history and that’s good n
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05/09/2013
When is an approval letter not an approval letter? Pre-approval letters first appeared during the early bubble years. They didn’t mean much because there was a fallback “funny money” loan program for just about every buyer. But times have changed and with the tightening of lending guidelines mo
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05/08/2013
How much home can I afford? Probably the number one question we're asked by first time home buyers and the answer might surprise you. Think like your mortgage lender If you want to know how much home you can afford, you have to start thinking like a first time home buyer specialist. While p
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05/05/2013
First time home buyers in California will find a number of homes and condos that are part of a homeowner’s association (HOA). If you’re not careful the HOA can be a deal breaker. When the recession began several years ago, distressed borrowers had to make sacrifices when paying bills. And, many o
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05/03/2013
Unfortunately homeowners don't seem to consider the effect on their home's value when they decide to convert a garage or patio into additional living space. In many parts of California, homeowners have converted patios or garages into additional living area. If they neglected to get permits, it c
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05/02/2013
If first time home buyers didn’t already need a reason to buy “sooner than later”, on Monday, June 3, FHA mortgage insurance becomes a permanent fixture to their first time home buyer loan. The FHA is the nation's largest insurer of low down payment home loans. As a result, the economic and hou
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05/02/2013
