Real Estate Search Direct

What are amortization spreadsheets? If you are wondering what I am talking about, don’t feel bad.  A lot of people don’t know what amortization is.

For that matter, a lot of people don’t know what a spreadsheet is, either. Ivana Newhouse was in this position when she started looking for a house. 

She was wondering how she could figure out how much interest she would pay when she and her fiancé, Homer, bought their home.

Homer showed her some amortization spreadsheets.  This is a file he opened in Microsoft Excel.  He could plug in some values and see a break down of how much interest and how much principal comprised each monthly payment.

It also showed how much interest would be paid over the life of the loan.  He used the spreadsheet to compare different loan options to determine the best deal he could get.

You can download a free amortization spreadsheet here.  It requires Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice.org to run it.

Allen Davis
RealEstateSearchDirect.com

Comments (0) Mar 31 2009

Do you know your FICO score? 

When you are looking to buy a new home it is very important to be sure you have the best credit score possible.  You don’t want to have any surprises when you are applying for a mortgage.

Did you know that many credit reports contain errors that significantly affect the FICO score? You don’t want this to  happen to you.

When Homer Buyer tried to get a loan to buy a house, he found out that he had a foreclosure on his credit report.  He had never even owned a house before.  It was obviously an error, but it took Homer some time to get the error corrected.

If Homer hadn’t corrected the error on his report, it could have cost him more than $20,000 in interest over the term of his loan. So what can you do if there are errors on your credit report?
 
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Comments (3) Mar 30 2009

Image via Wikipedia

Are you getting lost in the MLS Listings?  It’s easy to do.

There are many abbreviations and industry jargon that may be hard to understand for someone who has never bought a home before.

Many of the abbreviations come from the days when the best form of marketing was the classified ads in the local newspaper.  The paper charged by the line or letter so people kept the ads as brief as possible.   Sometimes these abbreviations are still used even when publishing an ad on the internet where there is no per fee per letter or line.

Homer Buyer and Ivana Newhouse were busy searching the listings every day. 

They found out that there were some key words that had unexpected meanings.  Some properties were listed as “Subject To Lender’s Approval.”  Homer thought this was odd. Wasn’t any home purchased with borrowed money subject to the lender’s approval?

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Comments (2) Mar 29 2009

Interest rates are at a historic low, but you still want to make sure you get the best rate you can.  So how can you find the lowest mortgage rates?

When Homer Buyer started looking to buy a house, he first figured out what he could afford for a monthly payment.  Once that was accomplished he needed to know how much he could pay for a house and have an affordable monthly payment.

He searched online for different lenders and got several quotes, but he came across some unfamiliar and often confusing terms.

They had abbreviations LTV, APR, PMI, PITI, FICO, GFE, RESPA, FHA, HUD.

He didn’t understand why some lenders offered a lower interest rate and yet had a higher APR. Which one was the better deal?

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Comments (0) Mar 27 2009

Do you have a mortgage payment calculator? 

Ivana Newhouse was trying to create a budget based on the payments they would be making once she and her fiancé, Homer Buyer, bought their new home.  She knew the monthly payment she could afford.  She figured they could pay $2100 per month and stay within their budget.

The mortgage broker told Ivana that they were pre-approved for a mortgage of $448,000 with a monthly payment of $2350.00.  This didn’t fit into Ivana’s budget. 

Ivana wanted to figure out how much they could afford to offer on a house to have a monthly payment of $2100.  She needed a mortgage payment calculator. 

Ivana searched online and found a mortgage payment calculator at RealEstateSearchDirect.com.  She was able to plug in the numbers and see what her payment would be with various purchase price, down payment and interest rates.

Of course this would not have been of much use before Ivana had calculated her budget.  If you need help creating a budget, try Moneytree budget software.  It walks you through creating a budget, setting financial goals and tracking expenses step by step.

Allen Davis
RealEstateSearchDirect.com

Comments (0) Mar 26 2009

Have today’s mortgage rates gone up yet? You should be watching out for that.

The interest rates are at a historic low.  Do you think they are going to get any lower?  It’s not likely.  The Federal Reserve has already lowered the rate as much as it can stand.

Monday the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department issued a joint statement.  It said:

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Comments (0) Mar 24 2009

Are you interested in bank owned homes?  A good percentage of the homes on the market today fall into this category.

When Homer Buyer and Ivana Newhouse started looking at homes, they saw bank owned signs on many of the properties.  They thought this might be an indication that the property would be cheaper than other similar houses, but they didn’t know what else it might mean.

They were not familiar with the term “bank owned” and not sure why a bank would own property or be selling it.  They didn’t know whether they should consider making offers on these properties or not.

Homer found a lot of information online about bank owned homes, but some of it conflicted with other sources so he wasn’t sure what to believe.  Do you know the facts about bank owned homes?

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Comments (4) Mar 23 2009

Do you qualify for the first time home buyer tax credit?

If you’ve heard about the first time home buyer tax credit and you are wondering if you qualify, check the requirements below:

• If you (and your spouse, if applicable) have not owned a principal residence in the past 3 years,
• have purchased or will purchase a home that will be used as your principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009,
• and made less than $95,000 Adjusted Gross Income (or $170,000 on a joint return) in 2008.

Home buyers meeting these requirements are eligible for a tax credit on their 2008 income taxes.  The credit will be applied to any income tax owed and any excess will be refunded. What if you have already filed your 2008 income tax?
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Comments (1) Mar 22 2009

Have you ordered your free annual credit report this year?  If you haven’t, don’t until you have read this.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and Transunion) to provide you with a free copy of your credit report every 12 months upon request. 

There is no requirement to provide your FICO score free.  You will have to pay a fee for that service if you want it.

There is only one authorized website that allows you to request your free annual credit report with no strings attached.  That is AnnualCreditReport.com. 

While there are several other sites with similar names that offer free credit reports, they usually come with a subscription or purchase of another product.  Don’t be fooled by these websites.

Checking your credit report once a year is all fine and good, but wouldn’t it be better to check it three times a year, for free?

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Comments (3) Mar 20 2009

What is a good credit score?

Many first time home buyers have this question on their minds.  Having a good credit score will not only help you qualify for a mortgage in today’s credit tight market, it can also save you thousands of dollars.

Homer Buyer thought his credit score was good.  He knew he didn’t have any late payments, bankruptcies, foreclosures or judgements against him.  Those are the things that ding your credit, right?

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Comments (0) Mar 19 2009