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Want a great FREE tool to help you analyze the market in which you live or are looking to purchase property?
The Market Tracker gives you a broad look at the local real estate market via an email that you can cancel anytime you want.
~Track and compare up to ten zip codes.
~View stats not provided by typical Internet and MLS reports.
~Automated monthly reports provide quick snapshots of market activity.
~Follow appreciation rates in your favorite areas.
~Market research made easy with Market Tracker
If you want to know what the real estate market is doing in your area, all I need is your email and the zipcodes you are interested in.
Stay informed. Keeping up on your local market is just an email away. teresakolb@newberghome.com
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
First Time Buyer Tips
If you are currently in the market for your first home, you probably have lots of questions. You are about to be making an important decision for your future, a great investment of both money and time. I have a wealth of experience helping first time buyers like you make sound, informed decisions. Here are some tips that can help make your home buying process successful:
Tip #1: Do Your Homework
The perfect home won’t find you by itself. The key step in buying a home is doing the proper research. Educate yourself on local schools, neighborhoods, and the kinds of homes available. By reading available materials and talking with experts, you can start to put together your idea of the perfect home.
Tip #2: Start Planning
Most decisions benefit greatly from proper planning, and home buying is certainly no exception. Start a filing system with sections such as home buying, home financing, and service providers. By forming a home buying plan you can more easily focus on the most important factors and help give structure to the entire process. My website, NewbergHome.com is a great resource for property information.
Tip #3: Get PreQualified
Getting prequalified for a loan normally only requires a short phone conversation with a lender, and can greatly help your home search. Prequalification does not guarantee you a loan, but it does provide you with an estimated monthly payment and a price range to use as a guide when shopping for homes. Being prequalified can also often indicate to sellers that you are a serious, prepared buyer.
Tip #4: Look for Value
When shopping for homes, it’s important to consider potential value. Even if you’re not planning to sell the home some time down the line, it’s a good idea to consider the future value of the home. Protect yourself against things like falling prices and gradual shifts in the nature of the neighborhood. You may not think of a new home as a means to make money, but it’s an important investment that requires caution.
Tip #5: Decide What You’re Looking For
Settle on the home features that are important to you (covered parking, hardwood floors, architectural style, etc.) and make an ordered list. Having well established guidelines will help narrow down your search and will prevent you from being shown properties that lack your key amenities. It can help you make the decision not to buy an attractive property that doesn't really fit your needs. My website has a search feature that allows you to filter thousands of listings based on attributes that you select. If you know you want a brick house with gas heat and a garage, you can get the results you’re looking for.
Tip #6: Relax
You don’t have to make an offer on the first home you see. Make sure to look at other listings in the area to get a feel for the marketplace. When you decide to make an offer on a house, consult with your real estate professional so that all of your questions are answered.
Tip #7: Shop Around for Your Mortgage
Deciding on the financing for your home can be as important as choosing a home itself. The first step is deciding what kind of loan best fits you: a fixed rate mortgage, or an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM). There are benefits to each form of loan, and your real estate professional can provide you with more information. Next you’ll want to begin to shop around for different lenders.
Tip #8: Protect Yourself
Be careful when signing a contract on a home that allows you to find financing, have the home inspected, and work through any problem areas that may arise. Paying for a quality home inspection is absolutely crucial! You can save yourself thousands in repair costs by being sure of what you’re getting into.
Tip #1: Do Your Homework
The perfect home won’t find you by itself. The key step in buying a home is doing the proper research. Educate yourself on local schools, neighborhoods, and the kinds of homes available. By reading available materials and talking with experts, you can start to put together your idea of the perfect home.
Tip #2: Start Planning
Most decisions benefit greatly from proper planning, and home buying is certainly no exception. Start a filing system with sections such as home buying, home financing, and service providers. By forming a home buying plan you can more easily focus on the most important factors and help give structure to the entire process. My website, NewbergHome.com is a great resource for property information.
Tip #3: Get PreQualified
Getting prequalified for a loan normally only requires a short phone conversation with a lender, and can greatly help your home search. Prequalification does not guarantee you a loan, but it does provide you with an estimated monthly payment and a price range to use as a guide when shopping for homes. Being prequalified can also often indicate to sellers that you are a serious, prepared buyer.
Tip #4: Look for Value
When shopping for homes, it’s important to consider potential value. Even if you’re not planning to sell the home some time down the line, it’s a good idea to consider the future value of the home. Protect yourself against things like falling prices and gradual shifts in the nature of the neighborhood. You may not think of a new home as a means to make money, but it’s an important investment that requires caution.
Tip #5: Decide What You’re Looking For
Settle on the home features that are important to you (covered parking, hardwood floors, architectural style, etc.) and make an ordered list. Having well established guidelines will help narrow down your search and will prevent you from being shown properties that lack your key amenities. It can help you make the decision not to buy an attractive property that doesn't really fit your needs. My website has a search feature that allows you to filter thousands of listings based on attributes that you select. If you know you want a brick house with gas heat and a garage, you can get the results you’re looking for.
Tip #6: Relax
You don’t have to make an offer on the first home you see. Make sure to look at other listings in the area to get a feel for the marketplace. When you decide to make an offer on a house, consult with your real estate professional so that all of your questions are answered.
Tip #7: Shop Around for Your Mortgage
Deciding on the financing for your home can be as important as choosing a home itself. The first step is deciding what kind of loan best fits you: a fixed rate mortgage, or an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM). There are benefits to each form of loan, and your real estate professional can provide you with more information. Next you’ll want to begin to shop around for different lenders.
Tip #8: Protect Yourself
Be careful when signing a contract on a home that allows you to find financing, have the home inspected, and work through any problem areas that may arise. Paying for a quality home inspection is absolutely crucial! You can save yourself thousands in repair costs by being sure of what you’re getting into.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Where to Start?
How to get started buying a home?
Step 1 - What can you afford? This is the first thing you need to find out. To get the answer, you need to begin by speaking with a loan/mortgage professional to get a Good Faith Estimate. Basically, a Good Faith Estimate gives you the details of the products and services a lender can provide you. It will give you down payment amounts, closing costs, monthly payments and different types of loans with varying interest rates. The lender should not pull your credit score to give you this information about what they can do for you. I recommend you always get 3 opinions.
Important Note
SELECT ONLY ONE LENDER/LOAN OFFICER TO GET "PRE-APPROVED" After you decide which lender to use, you'll need to get pre-approved for a loan. If you ask several lenders to pre-approve you and pull your credit, your credit score could be adversely affected by credit checking (points are deducted from your score each time your credit is checked or you apply for credit). A lender or bank that agrees to loan you money looks at you as a "risk". They want to determine their risk in giving you money and your likelihood of paying on time...that is why they look to credit scoring, your open accounts, your banking practices, income, monthly debt(s) and how you have handled them all. One Mortgage Consultant to call is Clare Zickuhr 503-720-324, czickuhr@cmortgage.net. He also has a blog: GoToLoanGuy.com. He is a great place to start since you will be interviewing at least 3 lenders and reviewing their Good Faith Estimates and different loan programs based on your distinct needs and circumstances. The decision ultimately is yours on whom you choose to get a loan with - so interview wisely.
Step 2 - Make a Wish List...Or Hopes List ... Just remember, we all have to start somewhere and sometimes we end up having to compromise something. This list consists of your needs and wants in your new home...and WHY do you need this or want that? It may come from what you have had and liked, or possibly what you have had and didn't like. We ALL want privacy or hope for space. Some have to have 2 acres while others don't even want a patch of grass to mow. Still others wish for a vegetable garden or space for kids or dogs or be near a park or work or school or nearby shopping or or or...
Step 3 - Call a Realtor when Step 1 AND Step 2 are COMPLETED
When you are ready, I can help you understand your loan options and then give you a list of available homes in your price range that meet some of the items on your Wish and Hopes list and together we will find the right home for you. Teresa Kolb 503-550-6438, TeresaKolb@NewbergHome.com
Step 1 - What can you afford? This is the first thing you need to find out. To get the answer, you need to begin by speaking with a loan/mortgage professional to get a Good Faith Estimate. Basically, a Good Faith Estimate gives you the details of the products and services a lender can provide you. It will give you down payment amounts, closing costs, monthly payments and different types of loans with varying interest rates. The lender should not pull your credit score to give you this information about what they can do for you. I recommend you always get 3 opinions.
Important Note
SELECT ONLY ONE LENDER/LOAN OFFICER TO GET "PRE-APPROVED" After you decide which lender to use, you'll need to get pre-approved for a loan. If you ask several lenders to pre-approve you and pull your credit, your credit score could be adversely affected by credit checking (points are deducted from your score each time your credit is checked or you apply for credit). A lender or bank that agrees to loan you money looks at you as a "risk". They want to determine their risk in giving you money and your likelihood of paying on time...that is why they look to credit scoring, your open accounts, your banking practices, income, monthly debt(s) and how you have handled them all. One Mortgage Consultant to call is Clare Zickuhr 503-720-324, czickuhr@cmortgage.net. He also has a blog: GoToLoanGuy.com. He is a great place to start since you will be interviewing at least 3 lenders and reviewing their Good Faith Estimates and different loan programs based on your distinct needs and circumstances. The decision ultimately is yours on whom you choose to get a loan with - so interview wisely.
Step 2 - Make a Wish List...Or Hopes List ... Just remember, we all have to start somewhere and sometimes we end up having to compromise something. This list consists of your needs and wants in your new home...and WHY do you need this or want that? It may come from what you have had and liked, or possibly what you have had and didn't like. We ALL want privacy or hope for space. Some have to have 2 acres while others don't even want a patch of grass to mow. Still others wish for a vegetable garden or space for kids or dogs or be near a park or work or school or nearby shopping or or or...
Step 3 - Call a Realtor when Step 1 AND Step 2 are COMPLETED
When you are ready, I can help you understand your loan options and then give you a list of available homes in your price range that meet some of the items on your Wish and Hopes list and together we will find the right home for you. Teresa Kolb 503-550-6438, TeresaKolb@NewbergHome.com
Friday, May 1, 2009
$8000 First-time buyer tax credit - who qualifies?
A Federal Housing Tax Credit of up to $8,000 is available for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. For the purposes of the tax credit, the purchase date is the date when closing occurs and the title to the property transfers to the home owner.
The law defines "first-time home buyer" as a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. For married taxpayers, the law tests the homeownership history of both the home buyer and his/her spouse.
Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit.
For more answers about the Federal Housing Tax Credit visit the FAQ page on the following link : http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/2009/glance.php
The law defines "first-time home buyer" as a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. For married taxpayers, the law tests the homeownership history of both the home buyer and his/her spouse.
Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit.
For more answers about the Federal Housing Tax Credit visit the FAQ page on the following link : http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/2009/glance.php
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