Buying Your Dream House

Did you ever dream of buying your own house?

Of course, everyone does! But the question is, can you afford it? For an average income earner, buying an affordable house is a $64 question. How can you save money out of a salary which has been allotted to fixed expenses like phone bills, electric bills, credit cards, health cards, taxes, etc.

You need not despair because there is a way to calculate your ability to buy your dream house.

We will use the lenders guidelines in determining your maximum mortgage amount. They call it debt-to-income ratios, which is the percentage of your monthly gross income (before taxes) that is used to pay your debts per month. There are two calculations, one is the “front” ratio and the other is the “back” ratio. Accordingly, “the front ratio is the percentage of your monthly gross income (before taxes) that is used to pay your housing costs, including other charges…” the back ratio is similar except that it includes your monthly consumer debt. The format is 33/38 wherein a borrower’s housing costs use 33% of their monthly income, then add their monthly consumer debt to the housing costs which should take at least 38% of their monthly income to meet those obligations.

First, calculate your income per month. The shortest way to determine your monthly income is by getting your W2 form for the last 2 years. Add your salaries together then divide by 24. Simple.

The method may vary depending on your occupation. If you are paid hourly, multiply your rate by 40, multiply total by 52, then divide by 12.

Second, start working backward. Multiply your monthly income by the back ratio for your loan which is 38%. The product will tell you the maximum the lender wants you to spend on your housing and consumer debt per month.

Third, guess how much you qualify for. Assuming you can guess the price you might qualify for, you may now calculate an estimate of your yearly property taxes and insurance cost. Afterwards, you calculate the equivalent per month and deduct it from your maximum housing cost on a monthly basis.

Other types of housing units might entail additional expenses such as association dues and the like.

Fourth and last, pray hard that lenders will approve. The last step needs you to pray hard and ask the help of the lenders to approve the amount you need for your dream house. For your information, lenders are very well-versed with regards to “stretching” a client to the max if they need it. They are more than willing to help you achieve your dream house.

Now, if luck smiled upon you and you get the amount that you need for your dream house, do not hesitate to grab the opportunity. All you have to do is go for it, work hard for it, and always remember that nothing is impossible in this world if you put heart and mind into achieving your dream.

Ma. Roma Agsalud http://www.usalendinginc.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ma._Roma_Agsalud

Finding the Perfect House

Searching for a home for yourself and your family can be an exciting proposition. Buying a residential home is more than a cold hard financial calculation, emotions are involved. This is perfectly understandable. You’re not just buying an asset; you’re buying a home which will be central to your life and the lives of your love ones. Consequently, buying a home is a serious undertaking. However, from time to time buyers, particularly first-time buyers, lose perspective and find it difficult to find a home because they set the bar so high that no home seems to meet their needs. This is a disease known as perfecta-litis. Fortunately, there is a cure.

Why can looking for a “perfect” house be harmful and is it actually possible to find one? Let me answer the second part of the question first. The definition of a perfect home is subjective and personal. So, finding a perfect home is certainly possible depending on what you’re looking for and as long as your ideal home is in line with your budget. However, if you set too high a standard you begin to overlook opportunities. Perfecta-litis blinds you and causes you to skip great homes at great prices because they don’t meet an overly lofty standard.

The first step to curing perfecta-litis is distinguishing between wants and needs. If you’re not able to tell the difference between a “want” and a “need” you are going to have a difficult time evaluating the suitability of a home for yourself and your family. Once you have a handle on your minimum requirements make sure they are in line with your budget. As you visit homes in your price range you will get an education on how much house your money can buy. Be realistic. If you can’t get everything you want within your purchase budget be prepared to make some tradeoffs in either home features or location.

Another important ingredient to the perfecta-litis cure is understanding characteristics of a home that are changeable versus characteristics that are not changeable. Carpets, color, wall paper are all examples of aspects of a home that are very changeable. Yes, it does cost money to change these things. But, if you find a home that is suitable in every other respect consider it carefully before scratching it off your list, especially if you have been having difficulty finding a home, or the home can be purchased at an attractive price.

Life is not always predictable. Some buyers assume that they will live in their home for the next thirty years. In and of itself, there’s nothing wrong with this expectation. However, statistically people move out of their homes much more often, about every 5 to 7 years. Things happen, families grow, incomes rise, and people relocate for personal or business reasons. We live in a mobile society. Consequently, a more practical outlook may be to assume that you’re not going to live in your next home forever. With this outlook homes that may be rejected because the toddler’s room isn’t big enough for their teenage years suddenly seems viable.

How long it takes to find a home is a function of your needs, your budget and market conditions. Some clients have very esoteric needs, such as a home that must have an eastern or southern view due to personal beliefs or preferences. It may take a while to find a suitable home when the feature sets being sought by a buyer are difficult to come by. Other clients have much more conventional needs that are easier to locate. But the point of this article isn’t to suggest that a buyer should be able to find a home quickly. The real point is that finding a home requires a buyer to have a clear and realistic understanding of their needs coupled with a positive attitude that tries to look for how a home can meet those needs, rather than a negative outlook that seeks to reject a home. Adjusting your outlook will enable you to suddenly see many more opportunities that perfecta-litis blinds you to. The end result will be a happier house hunting experience and enjoying the long lasting rewards of home ownership.

Ed Chaparro is a licensed New Jersey real estate agent with Prudential New Jersey Properties servicing Middlesex, Union and Somerset Counties.

Ed Chaparro has over twenty years of experience working with technology and putting it to use to help people and businesses. Ed Chaparro mixes traditional real estate marketing (MLS, signs, direct mail) with a very aggressive Internet marketing plan that maximizes the number of buyers reached.

For buyers, Ed Chaparro provides methods and communications that enable them to view their options in manner that is efficient, informative and free of any hard-sell tactics. This approach has garnered Ed Chaparro a great deal of buyer loyalty.

For more details and information please visit http://www.EdChaparro.com

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Timing in Home Buying

The winter is the best time for home buying. This is not "common knowledge" at all, so there is much less buying competition in the market. It is a widespread belief among sellers (and among real estate agents, who should know better!!) that people don't care enough about buying a home to be willing to go out in the cold.

This means that the sellers who do still have their homes listed for sale are usually exceptionally motivated. This is precisely what you want. Most people, sellers included, are more inclined to be kind and giving during the winter holidays. Offers to purchase that would ordinarily be considered just too low in price, or have other commonly unacceptable terms, will often actually generate a counteroffer.

Now, before you decide against trying to buy a home because you are reading this in the Spring, Summer, or Fall - let me hasten to emphasize that opportunities abound for the serious first time home buyer throughout the year.

When you receive a "counter," it means you are probably about to get the house. It shows that the seller is interssted in continuing to talk with you. You and your real estate agent, being ace negotiators, are going to emerge from this process with an advantageous agreement.

But DO NOT fail to include an inspection contingency in your offer! If the home has major structural and/or mechanical defects, you simply cannot make a good enough deal to compensate you for what it is about to cost you. Remember to try to figure out WHY the seller is trying to sell, even in this off-season, and "run don't walk" away from the agreement if your inspector discovers major problems.

****As I write this at the end of 2006, it is a "buyer's market" in most places in the country. It is certainly unclear how long this condition will last - if someone tries to tell you that they know when the market in your area will heat up for sellers again, just laugh at him.****

Much home buying does occur in the wintertime. Many of these closings take place in December - builders and individual resale sellers alike are often anxious to close before the end of the tax year. It is frequently "worth it" to sellers to accept offers that contain provisions that require them to pay certain costs for the buyer.

It can be very advantageous for both parties to complete the home buying transaction with a land contract. One major factor to recognize is that the closing can take place MUCH FASTER when there is no lending institution involved in the process.

Being able to beat the 12/31 tax deadline can persuade the seller to provide owner financing to you. This is a huge benefit for you if the finicky lenders want to charge a higher rate of interest because your credit is considerably less than perfect. Low credit scores are not at all uncommon for young people - see this article on credit reports.

Don't hesitate to ask for concessions regarding the listed price and terms. The things that a motivated seller will agree to never ceases to surprise me. Home buying in the off-peak season can be very rewarding.

Paul Anderberg
http://www.first-time-home-buying.net

Mr Anderberg is the author of many helpful articles about home buying. Visit his website to read more. Several other articles of his are also available on this site.

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Investing In A House That Will Have Good Resale Value

Well, you are buying a house, congratulations! But before making the purchase, read these helpful tips first.

Home and shelter is the number one priority for everyone. Everyone must have a roof over their head whether to rent or to own. When you own a house, the house is not only served as a shelter, it is also served as a vehicle for you to build wealth or equity. Having said that, you should pay attention to the following tips to making sure that the house that you are going to buy will have a good resale value.

How to choose a house that has good resale value?

LOCATION

The most important thing in real estate is location. It is the most important element in real estate because land is heterogeneous and it is permanently fixed in one place. You cannot move your house to another location if it is in a bad location. Since location is an element that is beyond your reach for change, it is the most important element to consider. The rule of thumb for determining a good location is to choose a location that is integrating and flourishing, such as an area that is moving in the forward direction. Look for location that is situated in an area that has structured economic development, transportation, infrastructure, and local government. One of the examples would be a house in a suburban area that is moving toward becoming a major city with a lot of economic activities going on. To look around an area, you can enter an address on zillow.com to get the aerial view of the property that you are interested and survey the surrounding environment. Besides, you can also do some research in the library or go to the local Chamber of Commerce to get information about a city or log on to the city's web site. At all costs, avoid airport, rail road, and heavy industrial area that constantly produce noise and air pollutants.

SCHOOL DISTRICT

The next thing is the local school district of your home. When buying a house, try to do some research on the local school district and find out the school performance ranking and public review of the school system there. Whether or not you have a family, you should consider the quality of the school system in the district where you want to live because an excellent school district will guarantee excellent resale value since there are always a lot of buyers seeking to buy a home in an excellent school district for their kids to have the opportunity to go to excellent schools.

NEIGHBORHOOD AND CRIME RATE

Look for a safe and well organized housing community. Your home should be in a safe and well maintained neighborhood to make it marketable for high resale value. New housing developments usually have Homeowners Associations established for taking care of the community; they enforce the covenants of their community, and also ensure that proper maintenance, care and order are in place to maintain their property values. At all costs, avoid run down neighborhood or a neighborhood that is going downhill. Go to the local police station to find out the crime rate in your area.

HOME STRUCTURE AND APPEAL

The home itself has to be pleasant in and out. A pleasant home should be well designed, constructed and maintained. If there is something that will turn you off in the house, walk away because your buyers will probably have the same kind of negative feeling of the house when it comes the time to sell it. Remember that no deal is better than a bad deal. There are always plenty of houses on the market for you to choose from.

Finally, buying a house that will have a good resale value is the key to building wealth in real estate and it would be a nightmare for anyone to move into a house and then later on regret it if the above elements were not considered before buying the house.

Emi is a freelance writer, her specialty is in real estate and mortgage. She also writes articles for findmyroof.com, a web site that provides free online real estate listing service.

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The Canyons Real Estate

The Canyons Ski Resort area in Park City Utah is a popular resort to find ski properties for sale. The Canyons Ski Resort is the largest ski area in Utah and continues to grow in size. You can find condos, townhomes and luxury homes for sale in the Canyons area as well as full ownership and fractional ownership ski properties. It is also located in one of the easiest to get to ski communities of Park City Utah in which the Salt Lake International airport is a short 35 minute drive away.

The Canyons Resort area is exploding with many new developments for this new up and coming Ski Village. So if you are looking for new construction ski property opportunities then you should strongly consider the Canyons Resort area. There are ski in ski out condos, ski in condos and condos a short walk to the lift.

If you are looking for more space than what a condo may offer there are also several pre-construction townhome projects to look at in the lower village section of the Canyons. There are a few luxury ski home developments which include The Colony area that offers the largest ski in ski out lots in North America where you can find a lot to build your dream luxury ski estate or find a luxury ski home that is currently for sale.

At The Canyons Resort you can find some of the best values for ski properties since it is still early in it's development. So now is a good time to buy at The Canyons Resort Village. Only 10% of the village has been built compared to what is planned for this upcoming ski village. There is also a proposed golf course and convention center planned so that the village can be enjoyed year round.

In the 2006 ski season you can find older condos at the Canyons Resort starting at around $225,000 for a 1 bedroom condo built in the late 70's that is full ownership. A fractional studio condo next to the gondola with 13 weeks of use per year starting around $60,000. New construction full ownership condos for sale are running between the $550 a square foot to the $900 a square foot depending on the location, size and quality of finishes which is much less than that seen at many other ski resort villages.

Now is the time to buy at The Canyons Resort while it is still in it's early stages of development.

Julie Olsen is a Full Time Local Park City Realtor that specializes in helping Second Home Buyers find their perfect second home retreat in the Park City and Canyons area.

Visit BestSkiProperty.com for more information on the The Canyons Real Estate Market and to search the entire Park City MLS for all current listings in the Park City and Canyons area.

Call Julie Olsen Today at 435-513-2848 if you have questions on buying real estate in the Park City or Canyons Resort area.

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Selecting a Home Inspector

Buying a home may be the largest investment you make in your lifetime. Hiring a good home inspector will increase the odds that you’ll make a good investment. Follow these tips to help select a qualified and trustworthy inspector. (For a detailed discussion on selecting a home inspector, see Kenneth Edward’s Home Buyer’s Survival Guide. Dearborn Financial Publishing, Inc. 1995)

• Get recommendations from people you know who have purchased homes in your area. The realtor who is selling the home shouldn’t recommend an inspector.

• Avoid inspectors who also do contracting or renovation work. They have a vested interest in finding problems with a home.

• Most states don’t license home inspectors, so try to find someone who has a long-term affiliation with a professional home inspector’s association. The American Society of Home Inspectors is one such organization. They require their members to pass an extensive entrance exam and take continuing education credits every year. Also ask for letters of recommendation, certifications or other credentials. Many universities offer certificate programs in home inspection.

• Look for someone who has errors and omissions insurance. Be sure to request a copy of their policy.

• Ask to see a sample of their final report. Many inspectors issue a simple form with checkboxes for the major systems that say Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. You’re better off with a detailed report that gives specific recommendations. You want to know if the 30-year-old furnace is satisfactory today, but can be expected to fail in the near future.

• Look for someone with a long-term record in your area who can provide VA and FHA inspections, and who uses certified EPA labs for chemical testing. These inspectors won’t necessarily cost more, but they will almost certainly provide a complete and professional analysis.

Joe Pescatello is an author, a real estate investor and commercial software developer. Visit http://UncleBobsAttic.com for a sample of his work.

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