Common Ways of Holding Title How Should I Take Ownership of the Property I am Buying? Real property can be incredibly valuable and the question of how parties can take ...
Why You Should Not Make Any Major Credit Purchases Don't go on a spending spree using credit if you are thinking about buying a home, or in the process of ...
WHAT'S A FICO®? When you apply for a mortgage loan, you expect your lender to pull a credit report and look at whether you've made your payments on time. ...
Statements of Information What's in a name? When a title company seeks to uncover matters affecting title to real property, the answer is, "Quite a bit." Statements of Information provide ...
Considering Offers When reading an offer, keep in mind that you are out to get the best price AND the best terms for you. If you focus solely on the ...
Build a Plan of Action and Get Ready Buying a home will probably rank as one of the biggest personal investments one can make. Being organized and in control will ...
Types of Mortgage Lenders Mortgage Bankers Mortgage Bankers are lenders that are large enough to originate loans and create pools of loans, which are then sold directly to Fannie Mae, ...
Understanding Preliminary Reports After months of searching, you've finally found it -- your perfect dream home. But is it perfect? Will you be purchasing more than just a beautiful home? ...
Setting the Price The price is the first thing buyers notice about your property. If you set your price too high, then the chance of alienating buyers is higher. You ...
Adjustable Rate Mortgages - The Basics An adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) has an interest rate that fluctuates periodically. This is in contrast to a fixed rate mortgage, which always has ...
Documenting Your Assets - Verifying Your Down Payment When buying a home, it is not enough to just come up with the money. With the exception of no asset verification ...
Items You Need When Applying For a Loan Have These Items Ready When You Apply For a Loan It used to be that lenders mailed out verifications to employers, banks, ...
Required Reporting to the I.R.S. Sellers of real property will have certain information regarding the sale reported to the Internal Revenue Service. This required reporting is a consequence of the ...
The Functions of an Escrow Buying or selling a home (or other piece of real property) usually involves the transfer of large sums of money. It is imperative that the ...
Understanding Foreclosures It is an unfortunate commentary, but when economic activity declines and housing activity decreases, more real property enters the foreclosure process. High interest rates and creative financing arrangements ...
Getting the Highest Price in the Shortest Time In order to get the highest price in the shortest time, you need to know how to market your home. The better ...
What is a Short Sale Anyway? An increase in foreclosure rates will inevitably bring with it an increase in short sales. But what is a short sale? A short sale ...
Why Do You Need Title Insurance? It's a term we hear and see frequently - we see reference to it in the Sunday real estate section, in advertisements and in ...
Your Savings and Down Payment Your First Step Toward Buying a Home When preparing to buy a home, the first thing many homebuyers do is look at the real estate ...
Title Insurance - Where Does Your Dollar Go? Title Insurance: As a homebuyer, the term is probably familiar - but is it understood? What is your dollar actually paying for ...
Is Buying a Home Still a Smart Plan With the burst of the housing bubble, credit crisis, and millions of foreclosures across the country, you may wonder if buying a ...
The Biweekly Mortgage - Who Needs It? Have you received an advertisement offering to save you thousands of dollars on your thirty-year mortgage and cut years off your payments? With ...
Title Insurance When Refinancing Your Loan Lower interest rates have motivated you to refinance your home loan. The lower rate may save you a tremendous amount of money over the ...
Underground Heating Oil Tanks Underground heating oil tanks can pose many potential problems to both home buyers and sellers. They have been the source of many environmental problems such as ...
For Sale By Owner - A Good Idea? FSBO (pronounced fizz-bo), or For Sale By Owner, is a way of selling your home without the use of a professional real ...
Hot, Normal, and Cold Markets Hot Market This is an extremely competitive market and is advantageous to the seller. Sometimes, homes will sell as soon as they are listed or ...
Land Contract An alternative to a non-conforming loan is the use of a land contract, which is allowed in some states. A land contract is an agreement between a buyer ...
Title Insurance Requirements for Insuring Trusts In today's world of busy probate courts and exorbitant death taxes, the living trust has become a common manner of holding title to real ...
Living Trusts Estate planners often recommend Living Trusts as a viable option when contemplating the manner in which to hold title to real property. When a property is held in ...
The No-Cost Thirty Year Fixed Rate Mortgage There really is no such thing as a no-cost mortgage loan. There are always costs, such as appraisal fees, escrow fees, title insurance ...
Plan of Action Analyze why you are selling - If you understand your motives, you will be able to better negotiate and to get what it is that you want, whether ...
Environmental Issues When purchasing a piece of property, it is important to be aware of any environmental liabilities associated with it. For example, you should find out if there are ...
Understanding Title Insurance What is title insurance? Newspapers refer to it in the weekly real estate sections and you hear about it in conversations with real estate brokers. If you've ...
Condominium and PUD Ownership Builders, in an effort to combat the dual problem of an increasing population and a declining availability of prime land, are increasingly turning to common interest ...
Lead poisoning Lead poisoning is a serious problem that can lead to adverse health problems. In children, high levels of lead can cause damage to the brain and nervous system, ...
Making a Good First Impression If you want buyers to be interested in your home, you need to show it in its best light. A good first impression can influence ...
Use a Buyer's Agent It's important that you choose an experienced agent who is there for you. Your agent should be actively finding you potential homes, keeping you informed of ...
Advantages of Different Types of Mortgage Lenders What kind of lender is best? If you ask a loan officer, "What kind of lender is best?" the answer will be whatever ...
Creative Financing Creative financing: You've heard of it, and, as a seller, the idea sounds pretty attractive. But, do you know everything you need to know about carrying back a ...
Mechanic's Liens The Mechanics' Lien law provides special protection to contractors, subcontractors, laborers and suppliers who furnish labor or materials to repair, remodel or build your home. If any of ...