If youre looking to buy a home, you probably want to secure the lowestinterest ratepossible for your home loan. Over the last couple of years, that was easier to do as the housing market saw record-low mortgage rates, but this year rates haverisen dramatically.If youre looking for ways to combat tod [Read More]

Homeownership Could Be in Reach with Down Payment Assistance ProgramsA recentsurveyfromBankrateasks prospective buyers to identify the biggest obstacles in their homebuying journey. It found that 36% of those polled said saving for a down payment is one of their primary hurdles to buying a home.If y [Read More]

When youre shopping for a home, it can feel like youre hemorrhaging money. Youve got all sorts of things to pay for, from loan application fees to home inspections, so when the issue of earnest money comes up unexpectedly, it can be a slam on the brakes moment. Now that the days of low to no down pa [Read More]

According to theBrookings Institute, about 42 million Americans (one in eight) have a student loan, totaling about $1.5 trillion in student loan debt. Only 30 percent of Bachelors degree recipients graduating in 2011-2012 managed to escape without a student loan; another 30 percent accumulated $30,0 [Read More]

Salary Drop? You Can Still Get a MortgageIn uncertain times, it can be easy to sit back and worry your time away hoping things will work out eventually. Although worrying will absolutely give you something to do, it wont get you anywhere. So if youve been wanting to buy a home or refinance this year [Read More]

Do you feel overwhelmed with the process of home buying? Youre not alone. Homebuyer surveys find that more people today want to buy a home, but challenges such as saving for a down payment and student loans are keeping them sidelined.We know the vast majority of buyers (92 percent) use online search [Read More]

Congratulations! Youve found theperfecthome with everything youve ever wanted and more. While it might be tempting to skip the home inspection as everything looks more than ideal from your point of view, my advice as a real estate agent would be to do the inspection. It will save you more money (and [Read More]

There are many factors that go in to the down payment of a home, but for simplicity sake, know that the cost of the down payment ultimately depends on the loan type.While the minimum down payment you need is 3.5% (with an FHA loan for example) any real estate expert will tell you to save a minimum o [Read More]

Avoiding Moving Company Scams Avoiding Moving Company Scams Hiring the wrong moving company can turn a homebuyer's dream experience into a nightmare. Moving scams can leave families susceptible to stolen items, fees that far exceed original estimates, or even their belongings being held hostage unti [Read More]