Making the decision to buy your own home can be one of the most stressful but rewarding choices of all. If you’re a first time buyer, the entire process can seem very intimidating. A few common sense tips can help you ease your way through it much easier.

First off, go visit your local library and borrow a few books on basic real estate principals. Make a sincere attempt at learning the jargon associated with the real estate process, so once you’re sitting in a meeting with a seller, a real estate agent and a bank officer, you’ll have a better idea of what everyone is talking about.

Second, know what the difference is between “pre-qualified not pre-approved”, “pre-qualified” and “pre-approved”. Sound confusing? It can be. It all relates to how serious of a buyer you are. If you’re “pre-approved not pre-approved” it simply means that you have given a letter to a potential seller that you can afford their property. It’s nice, but it doesn’t mean much. If you’re “pre-qualified” it means that you have a letter from a mortgage broker saying what he thinks you can afford. This is better than not having a letter, but you can do better still. If you’re “pre-approved” it means that you not only have a letter from a broker, but everything in the letter was shown to be true by a lender and most of the work for a loan has already been done. You’ll have a MUCH better chance of getting the house you want if you’re “pre-approved” than if you are only on one of the other stages.

Choose the right lender. One of the phrases you’re bound to get sick of hearing when you’re thinking about buying a home is, “do the research!!” This can’t be emphasized enough since banks offer different rates across the board. The more banks you visit, the better the chances are of you getting a better deal.

Make sure that you plan for possible delays in processing. Any business that deals in red tape is going to have problems getting things done on time. Real estate purchases are no different, so make sure you factor these likely problems into your plans.

While none of these tips are fool proof, they can help you through a very stressful time. No doubt you will still have times where you feel like putting your fist through a wall, but a little common sense goes a long way when dealing with real estate, and the more you know, the better off you’ll be.

Technorati Tags: real estate investing, home buying, house, home, real estate agent, real estate search

Popularity: 23% [?]

With mortgage rates inching higher every month and the doom and gloom from the experts predicting the real estate market bubble is about to burst, just about everyone is staying away from buying new homes, at least until everyone can figure out if this recession has any legs or not.

So, what reason does anyone have to buy sooner rather than later?

Incentives.

According to the National Association of Home Buyers, somewhere around 75 percent of builders are offering incentives right now.

A recent CNN-Money article documented this curious trend in the housing market, as things get tighter, realtors and home builders are looking for any possible enticement to get people to buy now.

For instance:

• No Closing Costs
• No payments for six months (Yes, on your house, this isn’t a car ad).
• $10,000 towards an in-ground pool
• Upgraded appliances
• Free expert landscaping
• Plasma TVs
• $5,000 gift certificates to upgrade your home.
• New Cabinets
• New Countertops (granite, of course)
• Marble baths
• Price cuts up to 6 percent
• Price cuts of 10 percent or more on new homes
• Lower mortgage rates

And those are just the incentives offered from realtors and builders. If you’re looking to buy direct without the aid of a realtor, you can still get in on the incentive deals. One couple in Colorado is offering round-trip airfare to any destination in Europe, or an expensive bottle of wine to anyone who will buy their condo.

Other offers in the same area included a month of professional massages or the use of a personal chef for a period of time.

Brokers across the country are reporting similarly strange behaviour, like sellers willing to give a 20 percent discount to anyone who bought by a certain date. Or others offering merchandize, like a Vespa scooter or plane tickets to anywhere in the US if their house was bought quickly.

One unique buyer in Rhode Island was actually offering a Lexus automobile with his property.

While it’s unknown if this trend will continue, these incentives are helping to move properties that might not other wise sell as quickly. Take it as a sign of desperation or a sign of sillyness, but as long as the housing market across the United States shows signs of slowing, incentives, big and small, serious and bizarre are here to stay.

Technorati Tags: lower mortagage, mortagage rates, Rhode Island, real estate, housing market, property

Popularity: 18% [?]