Home Buying Articles - Page 7

To buy a home or refinance your mortgage you have to have good credit. To build good credit you need to have good personal finance habits such as paying your bills on time. What can you do in 2009 to build good credit so you can buy a home or refinance a mortgage? Read Ilyce's personal finance…

Home buyers who want a no down payment home loan must realize they will pay higher interest. Lenders charge a higher interest on no down payment home loans to protect themselves from late or non-payments. Research shows the smaller the down payment the more likely the home buyer will be late on the…

The 2008 mortgage crisis increased the numbers of foreclosures and short sales in the U.S. Lenders responded by tightening rules for new home loans. If you want to buy a home in 2009, what do you need to know before looking for your home and home loan? What can you do to make yourself a desirable…

In a short sale, a bank agrees to let a homeowner sell a home for less than what the homeowner owes the bank on the mortgage. But what happens when a short sale falls through -- when the home seller changes his mind at the last minute? The short sale buyer may lose money on an uncompleted short…

What recourse does a prospective home buyer have when dealing with an aggressive real estate agent who is pressuring him to close on a house he no longer wants? The home buyer should contact a real estate attorney to find out if he's on the hook legally because there is no contract for a home…

When making an offer on a house you want to buy, you should make it in writing and set an expiration date. Making an offer in the right way will lead to buying your dream home. What can you do if after making an offer on a house you want to buy, you get word from your real estate agent that the home…

If you become a mortgage lender to a home buyer can you take a tax deduction? Generally no. Mortgage related tax deductions may be taken by home owners or home buyers, not home sellers or mortgage lenders. Try consulting an IRS publication or a tax advisor to find out more about mortgage lenders and…

When you buy a home you and a home inspector should do a final walkthrough before closing. While you may have had another home inspection along the way, the preclosing home inspection is important because by that point the sellers should have moved out of the home. You'll look for different things…

Homeowners in some parts of the country such as Arizona, Nevada and Florida, are learning the hard way that their real estate investments may lose value. The growing number of foreclosures and short sales makes some wonder when the real estate market will hit bottom. If you're looking to purchase…

When a home seller sells a property the seller must disclose hidden facts. Do these disclosures include homeowners association assessments? A buyer complains about an upcoming homeowners association assessment for street repairs and asks if he has recourse since the disclosure wasn't made.

Most home sale contracts include a financing contingency, in case the buyer's financing falls through. Financing contingency sets a time frame for the buyer to find another lender. What options do the listing agent and the seller have when a buyer does not meet a financing contingency deadline?

If you're considering lending money to someone for help with home financing, is a lien on the property the best choice? By placing a lien on the home, or obtaining a mortgage from the home buyer, you can protect your loan during times of uncertainty. When the loan is repaid in full, the lien will be…

Can you as a home buyer get your earnest money back on the purchase of a home if the financial markets prevent you from getting a loan to buy the home? When you as a home buyer put earnest money down on a home you're bound by whatever the home purchase contract states. You can lose your earnest…

A home seller disclosed a basement water problem before closing on her home. The buyer now wants the seller to pay for waterproofing the basement even though the problem was disclosed. Most states have a seller disclosure law for residential real estate transactions that require a seller to disclose…

A home owner asks about offering seller financing on a home he's selling. He wants to know what's involved in seller financing and who to involve in the transaction. First he needs to assess whether a potential home buyer will make the home mortgage payments and what to do if the buyer later stops…

Buying real estate during the economic crisis has become more difficult. The current economic crisis has brought many challenges, including the drop in retirement savings and a rise in the unemployment rate that affect the real estate market and home buyers. There is a strong connection between…

Is a home buyer protected if the home he bought in a short sale sustains fire damage prior to the closing? Ilyce helps a reader sort out what kind of protection the home buyer has in a short sale - when the home owner's insurer has the home owner make the repairs himself. The home buyer's best…

If you had the choice, would you buy a house with no mortgage? Would you pay all cash for a home? What would it take for you to lower your house payments to a level that you could retire and no longer carry a mortgage?

When you buy a home, what does the seller have to tell you as part of seller disclosure? Does seller disclosure include rotten neighbors who are noisy and disruptive? Does a buyer in such a situation have recourse? You should contact a real estate attorney to understand seller disclosure laws for…

Most of the time, when you're selling your home, the buyer will come to you with an offer. In some cases, the seller proposes an offer to the buyer. Why would a seller offer his home to a buyer? How does a seller offering a home to a buyer affect a real estate agent's commission?

How a contract for deed and inheritance affect a home sale? Her parents bought a property using a contract for deed and she wonders whether the original seller can claim any of the money from the home sale. Sam and Ilyce advise that once the buyer satisfies the terms of the contract for deed, the…

The 2008 J.D. Power and Associates survey of new home construction buyers showed an increase in home purchase satisfaction from 2007. A J.D. Power spokeswoman says buyers get more for their money because home builders include once optional features such as granite countertops as standard. Builders…

A home buyer asks about water damage and mold in the basement of the home they purchased after the seller disclosed there was a one-time event and the problem had been fixed. The buyer now wants to know if the seller is liable for the mold from the water damage and not disclosing it properly. Having…

A home seller asks whether he should approach a home buyer with the asking price for his home. The seller says the real estate agent wants him to approach the buyer. Ilyce asks whether the real estate agent represents both the buyer and the seller, as a dual agent. Ilyce also discusses why the real…

Many potential home buyers start their real estate search online. Listed here are several websites where home buyers can search for real estate. But despite the proliferation of online sites where home buyers can search for their dream home, they still lack uniformity and even the best websites…