How to Prepare to Finance a Home Develop a budget: Instead of telling yourself what you’d like to spend, use receipts to create a budget that reflects your actual habits over the last several months. This approach will better factor in unexpected expenses alongside more predictable costs such as utility bills and groceries. You’ll probably […]

Questions to Ask When Choosing A Lender Loan terms, rates, and products can vary significantly from one company to the next. When shopping around, these are a few things you should ask about. General questions: What are the most popular mortgages you offer? Why are they so popular? Are your rates, terms, fees, and closing […]

What to Know About Credit Scores Credit scores range between 200 and 850, with scores above 620 considered desirable for obtaining a mortgage. The following factors affect your score: Your payment history. Did you pay your credit card bills on time? Bankruptcy filing, liens, and collection activity also affect your history. How much you owe […]

How to Prepare to Buy a Home Talk to mortgage brokers. Many first-time home buyers don’t take the time to get prequalified. They also often don’t take the time to shop around to find the best mortgage for their particular situation. It’s important to ask plenty of questions and make sure you understand the home […]

How to Prepare for House-Hunting Know that there’s no "right" time to buy. If you find the perfect home now, don’t risk losing it because you’re trying to guess where the housing market and interest rates are going. Those factors usually don’t change fast enough to make a difference in an individual home’s price. Don’t […]

Agency & Agency Relationships The term "agency" is used in real estate to help determine what legal responsibilities your real estate professional owes to you and other parties in the transaction. The buyer's representative (also known as a buyer’s agent) is hired by prospective buyers and works in the buyer's best interest throughout the transaction. […]

Questions to Ask When Choosing a REALTOR® How long have you been in residential real estate? Is it your full-time job? Like most professions, experience is no guarantee of skill. But much of real estate is learned on the job. Do you have any designations or certifications? Real estate professionals have to take additional specialized […]

7 Reasons to Work With a REALTOR® REALTORS® aren’t just agents. They’re professional members of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribe to its strict code of ethics. This is the REALTOR® difference for home buyers: 1. Ethical treatment. Every REALTOR® must adhere to a strict code of ethics, which is based on professionalism and […]

7 Reasons to Own a Home 1. Tax benefits. The U.S. Tax Code lets you deduct the interest you pay on your mortgage, your property taxes, and some of the costs involved in buying a home. 2. Appreciation. Historically, real estate has had a long-term, stable growth in value. In fact, median single-family existing-home sale […]