Real Estate Search Direct

You may think an amortization chart is something that only mortgage professionals can use.  Or you may not even know what an amortization chart is. If you are wondering what good is an amortization chart, you aren’t alone.

An amortization chart is very useful to help understand the payment structure of a mortgage.  This can be useful if you have a mortgage and are thinking of paying it down early.  You can analyze the benefit of making extra payments to your mortgage with the help of an amortization chart.

It can also help you when you are looking into getting a new mortgage, either for a home purchase or  a refinance.  If you are shopping for a mortgage, you will want to be able to understand the costs involved both up front and over the term of the mortgage.  An amortization chart can show you how much of each payment is going towards principal and how much will be paid in interest.

A basic amortization chart will use the principal amount (loan amount), the interest rate and the term (number of years to repay the loan).  From these numbers it can calculate the monthly payment.

Take a look at this example:

Let’s say you get a $100,000.00 loan for a 30 year term at 8% APR interest.  The loan payment would be calculated such that you are paying 1/12 of 8% of the remaining principal in interest each month, plus enough principal to pay off the loan over 360 months.
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Comments (1) Jul 05 2009

Have you been trying to figure out how to come up with a down payment for a home?   Are you interested in using the first time home buyer tax credit to help you come up with a down payment?  Lately I have been getting the same question over and over lately.

“Can I use the first time home buyer tax credit for a down payment?”

The answer, technically, is no you can’t.

When Congress drew up the legislation for the first time home buyer tax credit, they wanted to make it something that would enable people to buy a home.  But they weren’t able to figure out how to get the money to the closing table at the time of closing.

The challenge they found was that since only first time home buyers with purchase transactions closing before December 2009 are eligible, and the IRS handles the tax credit,  the IRS would have to be involved in the closing in order to verify the transaction and provide funds for the transaction.

The IRS simply doesn’t have the capacity to be involved so many real estate transactions.

Until last month the only remedy was to get a personal loan to cover the down payment.  Normally, lenders would not allow such a personal loan to be used for a down payment because the loan would affect the buyer’s ability to repay.

Because of the first time home buyer tax credit, some lenders made exceptions to the normal “seasoning” requirement of the down payment.  Seasoning means the buyer could show proof of having the down payment funds available over the past few months.

So the tax credit did enable people to get money for their down payment when using conventional financing that involved a 10% or more down payment.  But people who can’t afford a 10% down payment, even with the tax credit were out of luck until now.

As of the May 29, the FHA announced that they will allow lenders to provide a bridge loan for the down payment that will be repaid with the first time home buyer tax credit.  With FHA financing, this means the down payment can be as low as 3.5% of the purchase price.

With up to $8000 from the first time home buyer tax credit you can now purchase a home for up to $228,000 as long as you can afford to pay the closing costs.

So from now until the end of November is a great time to buy a house.  Prices have fallen and interest rates are at historic lows.  Now the first time home buyer tax credit helps more than ever, as it is easier than ever to apply it to a down payment and closing costs.

The National Association of Realtors reports that sales have increased for the month of May by 2.4 percent over April.  There were even more sales expected based on pending sales, but a trend has emerged in the industry.  Recently there has been a rash of pending transactions that are delayed or canceled due to faulty appraisals.

You can reduce the risk of a purchase transaction falling apart by making sure your offer is not too high.  It’s less likely to have an appraisal problem if the value of the home is clearly more than the offer price.  It also helps protect you as the buyer against decreases in property value.

To keep up to date on information that can help you avoid problems in your purchase transaction and help you get the best deal possible subscribe to updates below.  You will also be enrolled in a free course on home buying in today’s market.

Comments (2) Jun 23 2009

If you are a regular visitor to realestatesearchdirect.com you may have noticed something new in the upper right corner of the page.  That little yellow tag is from 10 Million Clicks For Peace.  This is a campaign to promote world peace.  Do you support world peace?

10 Million Clicks For Peace was founded by Julian Kalmar to end war.  The premise behind 10 Million Clicks for Peace is to end the reasons for war.  If we can bring health, success and happiness into every life, then what will anyone need to fight about?

With over 1 billion internet users we can each spread the word to make an impact on the world.

10 million clicks for peace provides tools like the tag you see in the corner of this page to make it easy for each of us to spread the word and make a difference for this and future generations.

They also provide a Gifts of Peace ecourse free of charge contributed by well known authors, speakers and peacemakers including Deepak Chopra and Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul and The Secret).  This is a program to promote health, wealth and happiness.

They have put together what amounts to a course in personal growth that will create a better life for each person and eliminate the reasons for war.

If you really love war and can’t stand the thought of peace on Earth, you probably haven’t read this far. So those of you reading this line, what reason can you have not to support world peace?
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Comments (4) Jun 11 2009

Do you know the facts about solar energy? It is in high demand with energy prices increasing and concerns over global warming.  Green energy is becoming more and more popular as people become more aware of their responsibility to the Earth and its natural resources.

When you are looking into buying a new home, it is a good idea to consider the energy sources you will use.  Many people are “off the grid” now and generating their own electricity from solar and wind generators.

You may think it sounds complicated and expensive, but it can save you a lot of money in the long run.  Do you know what is even better than saving money on energy?

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Comments (1) Jun 08 2009

If you want a home that is exactly what you are looking for, one of the best ways to get it is to have a house built according to house plans of your choice.

It can be quite expensive to hire an architect for custom house plans, but there are many low cost or even free alternatives available.  Are you interested in free house plans?

You can even get free house plans with green designs.   Although green buildings may be more expensive to build, the energy and water savings over the long term will outweigh the initial cost.  And you will be creating less of a burden on the environment at the same time.

It is hard to find existing homes that are environmentally responsible, so if you feel your need to do your part for the environment you should consider building a new green home.

Green homes are homes that are designed to be energy efficient, conserve water and use materials with less impact on the environment.

They also may have some health benefits to those living in them.

If you are looking for a new home and are interested in providing a healthier environment for our children and their children to live in consider having a new green home built.

For more real estate tips and information get the free homebuyer course

Allen Davis
RealEstateSearchDirect.com

Comments (3) May 29 2009

A lot of people who are interested in buying a house get stuck when they come to the point: “I want to buy a new house. How much can I afford?“

Do you know how much you can afford on a home?  Do you know how to determine how much you can afford? 

There are actually two components to figuring out how much you can afford.  First of all, you need to  know how much money you can afford to pay at closing.  This will consist of two parts:  the down payment, and the closing costs.

The down payment is what you will actually pay towards the purchase price of the home.  In the current credit environment, it is unlikely that you can get a 0% down loan unless you qualify for VA benefits.  The lender will want to see that you have some of your own money invested in the home so you will be less likely to default on the loan.

Closing costs consist of various fees and expenses involved in the purchase transaction.  Many of the closing costs are fees charged by the lender.  There are also title insurance, escrow or attorney fees, taxes and transfer fees.  But can you get someone else to pay your closing costs?

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Comments (0) May 28 2009

In this economy many people are facing foreclosure.  You may know someone going through the foreclosure process.  Foreclosures seem to be everywhere, lately.

I could tell you story after story about people who have been in foreclosure, but first there is something I have to get off my chest.

I haven’t been very open with you.  I have been keeping my personal life out of my blog.  But I want you to be able to trust me, and for that to
happen you have to get to know the real me.  It’s time for me to come
clean.  Do you want to hear my dirty secret?

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Comments (0) May 25 2009

Shopping for a mortgage can be confusing, especially for first time home buyers.  There are so many unfamiliar terms and even the basic concepts of a mortgage that aren’t commonly used in your life before buying a home.

If you want to be sure you are getting the right mortgage, you need to understand all the terms and conditions of the contract.  If you are unfamiliar with mortgages, you should start by learning how your mortgage payment will be calculated.  Amortizations spreadsheets are a great tool for this purpose.

You may be wondering, “How can amortization spreadsheets help you understand your mortgage options?
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Comments (1) May 20 2009

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With the current economic crisis, everyone is looking to the government to save the day. There’s a lot of talk about the economic stimulus package in detail. 

Everyone is blaming everyone else for the economic situation, but nobody is willing to accept personal responsibility.  In the long run, you are the only one who has to pay the consequences for your personal finances.  Do you have a plan to get through these tough economic times?

Many people have taken all their money out of the stock market and similar investments in order to prevent loss of value.  But is keeping cash in the bank or burying it a safe alternative? 
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Comments (0) May 19 2009

Are you interested in buying a mobile home?  If so, you may have found that many mortgage lenders do not deal with mobile homes.  This is because a mobile home loan is not handled the same as other real estate loans.  A mobile home loan is more like a car loan than a mortgage.  So where can you find mobile home lenders?

Mo Bill Buyer, learned from his brother, Homer, that buying your own home rather than renting was a strategy many successful people used for building wealth.  But Moe Bill Buyer couldn’t afford to pay as much as his brother.  He found that all he could afford was a used mobile home.

Mo Bill  asked Homer where he was getting the loan for his home purchase, but Homer’s lender did not deal with used mobile homes.
Mo Bill went to his local bank for a loan, but they wouldn’t lend him the money either.  He finally turned to the internet and searched for mobile home lenders.  What do you think Mo Bill found?
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Comments (2) May 15 2009