Understanding the Keywords While there is no need for you to be a mortgage expert, having a basic understanding of certain key concepts will help your communication with a mortgage lender. Below is a summary for your reference. All this to get you closer to your goal of homeownership. Annual Percentage Rate (APR): The APR includes the base interest rate, points, and other loan fees. Continue Reading
Home Inspections 101
When you buy a house, you want to know as much as possible about the property. Hiring a home inspector is a good way to learn more about the property condition of your potential home. It’s for this reason that real estate professionals recommend that you have a property inspected immediately after contracting. A HOME INSPECTION IS A VISUAL EXAMINATION OF A PROPERTY’S STRUCTURE AND SYSTEMS. It Continue Reading
Counting the Days in Texas Contracts
Days are Days, in Texas Real Estate If you’re involved in a real estate contract in Texas, you need to understand how to determine the deadlines. Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) and Texas Association of Realtors® (TAR) contracts use calendar days, not business days. You count Sundays, you count holidays, all of it. What is the Effective Date? First, you must know the “Effective Date” — Continue Reading
What You Should Know About Earnest Money
Earnest money is an important part of the home buying process that could help you land the home of your dreams. Here’s an explanation of how earnest money works in a Texas real estate transaction. WHAT IS EARNEST MONEY? Earnest money is an amount agreed to in the real estate contract that you will pay soon after entering into a contract as a show of “good faith” that you intend to purchase the Continue Reading
Tips on Buying a Home
Are you considering buying a new home? Here are some tips to get you started: KNOW WHAT YOU NEED BEFORE YOU START. How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you need? What is the minimum square footage you need? How is the location in proximity to your work? Do you need to be in a specific school system? List your “would be nice” items such as a bigger garage, media room, etc. Continue Reading
Pump Up Your Credit Score With UltraFICO™
Every little bit helps. The introduction of a new element to help improve your credit score, UltraFICO™, is set to launch as a pilot program in early 2019. This new score has the potential to improve credit access for many Americans and is especially relevant for those with current credit scores in the upper 500s to lower 600s. Consumers with limited credit history or previous financial Continue Reading
Why “Instant Offer” May Not be Best for You
Getting a cash bid for your home after going to a website and inputting basic information sounds easy and stress-free. But there can be downsides to “instant offer” services. INSTANT OFFERS MAY BENEFIT INVESTORS MORE THAN YOU Investors who would buy your property want to make a profit. Some even intend to find a buyer willing to pay more right away. Why sell to an investor for less money than Continue Reading
Survey Property Before Closing
Where is everything? Get a survey done before closing on your new home. Why? You need to know where the property lines are, in relation to the house and other structures. Does your fence fall within your property lines, or does it wander onto your neighbor's property? Do you have encroachments from neighbors? Where and what type of easements are on the land? Get a survey before Continue Reading
