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Buying A Home In Missouri

Mortgage Maven — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:22:27 +0000

Buying a home in the post real estate crash environment has been a shock to most people. Lending standards have returned to historical trends in which lenders are looking for large down payments and plenty of reserves. Debt to income ratios must be well within the safe zone and income must be well documented. None of these requirements are extreme; in fact, these requirements have been the norm for decades. They only feel difficult to comply with because in recent years borrowers have been accustomed to loose lending practices.

Home buyers looking to make purchases in the state of Missouri are no different from anywhere else in the country. Despite the fact that Missouri is by no means a prime example of real estate gone awry it is a market that is relatively an average for the country at large. Real estate prices are a bit lower than the national average, at least in many regions of the state, but generally buying a home in Missouri should be standard when compared to the requirements of real estate transactions across the country.

The first thing you need to do to start the process of buying a home is to find a good real estate agent or broker with a localized Missouri real estate license. Above all a salesperson cannot broker out or sale homes in the state without a license native to the state. You also need to make sure your finances are in order before you start the process.

Make sure your down payment is in cash sitting in your account. Make sure that the cash is aged, meaning, make sure it has been sitting in the account untouched for months before applying. Many financing deals fall apart for simple reasons like this. Also make sure to pay off any debts you can a few months ahead of the application. This removes the debts from your credit report and lowers your DTI. Also make sure you have thorough income documentation in place before the application as this is very heavily weighed in the underwriting process.

In selecting the home you choose to buy make sure to not stretch your budget at all. The more wiggle room you have the more likely your purchase transaction will play out without problems. If you find it difficult to find something lower in your budget try searching for FSBO MLS listings. Properties which fall under this category will pay less in fees as the sellers are not using an agent. They may be more willing to split the cost savings with you.

Remember; each real estate market is unique. If you are very familiar with the state of Missouri and especially the local market you may be able to do more of the home buying process yourself. If on the other hand you are new to the home buying process and unfamiliar with the Missouri real estate market then make sure to have a professional by your side guiding you through the process.

Buying A Condo In Toronto

admin — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:36:39 +0000

Monica Itiniant cites “Buying a home is not like purchasing a car, a mutual stock or other commodity”. “Buying a home in Toronto is plausibly the heaviest investment you’ll realize in your lifetime”. My name is Francois and I have had the joy to work alongside Monica Itiniant, from Royal LePage Real Estate Services in Toronto, to experience why so many of her clients say so many great things about her. Now lets get started, Monica states – To make sure you purchase the proper home, you will need to set about all aspects of buying a house with research and concern. Buying a home is a special time in your life and that’s why working with a great real estate agent specializing in buying property is a super idea. It is experience that you realize by working with an agent, and experience cuts the amount of headaches and unknown variables that the average person encounters when buying.

Monica points out, as so many others do, that buying a home in Toronto is probably the biggest investment you will realize, with long-term financial complications. Whether you’re browsing for previously owned or new, if you’re considering about buying a home, make sure you recognize its true condition before you produce an offer. An accomplished real estate agent should be able to guide you through each step to purchasing a home.

Now lets get to the heart of this. The steps involved in purchasing a house are simple: Determine what you NEED, then decide what you WANT. The next step is to figure how much you can AFFORD, and folks are financially ready. Do all the numbers, all your disbursals and all your incomes. Be precise. Then the next step is to acquire pre-financing. Make sure you go to your bank of choice, or use a mortgage broker, and tell them you desire to get pre-approved for buying a home. This pre-approval mortgage amount is a specific dollar number that tells you what you can afford. Dont start searching until you have this all-important $ number.

The next step would be to research the listings of homes for sale in your area through an online service or with your real estate agent. By comparing your home to recent sales and other alike homes on the market, you and your agent will promptly acknowledge what your home is valued. After you have found and viewed few homes, you may be at the point where you have discovered your perfect home. Work with a real estate agent and then negotiate an offer to your liking.

Lastly, have the home inspected by a reputable inspection company. A comprehensive inspection by a certified professional can mean the difference between getting your dream home, or moving into a long-term nightmare. With a right home inspection, youll understand why an inspection can offer a peace of mind to a purchaser.

Let Monica take the mystery out of buying a condo in Toronto, use her online website resources. Monica also points out, go and do some online inquiry, investigate with your local alderman/politician if there are governmental/municipal inducements when buying a home, or if there are renovation discounts available as well.

First-time homebuyers may be eligible to receive tax credits for buying a home in 2009, and 2010 (certain conditions apply). I can see that working alongside Monica for a day how passionate she is about her business. The function of this article was for Monica to stress to you this – it is important for you to understand all of the consequences and pitfalls involved in buying a home, so that you can find the house that meets your needs and buy it on terms you can afford. You want to own a dream home, not a nightmare, or a property you grow out of in 2 months.

To conclude, right now as I write this article with Monica, one of her clients is buying a home in the city and they asked her to help them determine what type of home in the area meets their needs. Which brings me to another serious point: when buying a home, take the time to find a premium real estate agent, they make your life so easy and less emotional with such a big purchase. Give Monica a call, because when you meet her, you will see why people like her.

A 3 Step Guide to Successfully Preparing Your House to be Sold

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:50:13 +0000

There is a set of steps a real estate agent needs to take in order to prepare a property to be marketed effectively so that the home can be sold for its highest value in the most efficient amount of time. Although there are a number of variations on this procedure the following steps are needed to achieve the best result. Make sure to review this list and evaluate the Agents answers when you speak with them.

Step 1: Agent Interviews Interview several Realtors, the most satisfied clients are the ones who have interviewed other Agents; by knowing who else was out there they are confident right from the outset that they have made the right decision.

Step 2: Sign an Exclusive Listing Agreement Once you have decided on your Agent it is standard for them to ask you to sign an exclusive listing with them. This document will reassure the Realtor that the homeowner has made a decision and will be loyal to the selected Agent. Once the Agent has this reassurance they will start to invest their time and money into marketing the property.

The property is listed ‘Exclusively For Sale’ at 5% or 6% commission. The exclusive period usually lasts a week or two while the prep-work is done (pre-inspection, photography, home staging, floor plans, decor etc…). If the home is ‘double-ended’ and the Agent is not in competition, the Agent will normally be receptive to discussing a reduction in the commission. Double ended means that the listing Agent sells it to a client during this exclusive period. There is a specific set of rules that will allow the Agent to negotiate in good faith on behalf of both parties. I believe that this is actually not fair to the Seller since you sign a listing with them vowing to work in their best interest. It is appropriate to ask the listing Agent’s Broker to negotiate on behalf of the purchaser. This way both parties still receive fair representation.

Step 3: The House is Staged There are many different things that have to happen before a property can be properly marketed. Most of these items have to do with getting the property shined up and ready to be photographed and subsequently shown. This process is typically referred to as ‘Staging’ a home.

Staging can mean anything from a new coat of paint and some fresh flowers to entirely re-decorating and furnishing a home. There is great value in staging because it helps market a home to a broader audience then the current owner’s individual taste. This can be a very touchy subject because most people take great pride in their home, as they should, and think that it already looks its best. Unfortunately a lot of Buyers might not have the same appreciation for lime coloured paint or they may have trouble seeing how big the room is past all the boxes of receipts and tax papers from 1976.

It is usually the clutter and minor deficiencies that the home owner doesn’t notice anymore. They tell themselves they will get around to fixing it eventually and just never do. This is where the Agent has to be cautious not to overstep their boundaries, but make it clear that the goal is to sell the home for the most amount of money and it is therefore necessary to appeal to the widest audience possible. Quite often an agent will recommend a ‘Fluffer’ or ‘Stager’ to do this because that way they don’t have to be the bad guy. The goal of staging is to make the house desirable to everyone who would be looking in their market.

The Agent should shoulder the costs of all the marketing, but the homeowner is expected to pick up the costs of staging and any pre-inspections. These are suggestions that will net them more money at the end of the day and stay with the house after sale.

At this point the house is ready to be professional photographed and subsequently marketed. Don’t underestimate the value of having your home professionally photographed. Pictures form the basis of any marketing campaign. To sell your house for the most amount of money in the least amount of time you need you home looking its absolute best.

11 Tips for Buying a Home

admin — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:43:36 +0000

Use these 11 great tips for buying a home to get the best deal on your home purchase.

1. Location, Location, Location! Look for a location in that has the potential for growth, this is the best advice when investing in real estate. If the house you choose in Toronto is not exactly as you’d like it to be, you can always renovate and change things. You cannot renovate an entire neighborhood.

2. The best Toronto investment properties are sometimes the ones that require the most work. Sometimes you can find a great fixer-upper in a popular area. When investing time and money into remodeling, not only will you have a great place to live, but you have a home that has been designed to your liking and will get a much better return on your investment.

3. Remember you can always expand Typically it is a good idea for clients to think into the future and see the broader picture. Will the property be suitable within the next few years? If not, it is a good idea to see if the house can be expanded to accommodate a larger living space. This could be in the form of a finished basement or adding an addition. If major renovations are required, check into whether or not there are any building restrictions for the neighborhood. It is a good idea to find it beforehand than when you are actually facing the prospect of buying Toronto building permits.

4. Check into the schools in the area. Even if you do not currently have children, if you are thinking about it in the future, it is a good idea to check into the local schools. Having a good school in the area is something a potential homebuyer should never overlook. Oftentimes, a family will move into a particular neighborhood to be within the district of a favorable school.

5. Perform a personal credit check now. Before applying for a mortgage in Toronto, it is a good idea to perform a personal credit check. If your credit report contains any errors, you can have it rectified before any financial institution makes the discovery.

6. Clean up your credit. Making any credit report repairs can sometimes be as easy as making timely payments. Even if you have had bad credit in the past, you can turn it around and the bank or financial institute can be surprisingly forgiving. This is why it is imperative to check on a credit report prior to shopping the Toronto real estate market.

7. Never underestimate the value of an energy efficient home. An energy efficient house can save you thousands of dollars over the course of time. More and more people are seeking energy efficient homes, it is a common request more real estate agents are hearing every day.

8. How far is the daily commute to work? If you are giving serious thought to a particular home, a good idea is to make a test run to see how the traffic flows in both directions during the average daily commute.

9. How low are the rates? Lock in a secure mortgage rate for as long as possible, if the rates are low and there is no chance of rates dipping any lower it can equal to saving a substantial amount of money over time.

10. Avoid Toronto houses that tilt. Gaze at the house you are interested in from across the street, if the house tilts you definitely need to move on to the next property. Just because the floors of a home are uneven does not mean the house necessarily tilts, to verify if this is the case you will need to have an inspection done. A tilt is indicative of foundational issues; it is a problem with the potential to drain finances when it comes time for making repairs down the road.

11. Remember resale value. When you are considering purchasing a Toronto property, keep the potential for resale in mind. Do not let it determine your every thought, however, at some point you may want to sell the home so it is a good idea to keep the thought in the back of your mind.

Top 5 Mistakes of Making A Lowball Offer On A Home

admin — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:47:50 +0000

Most real estate agents have had a low-ball offer on a listing or represented a buyer that has submitted a low-ball offer. A majority of real estate agents have dealt with both types of low-ball offers. In general, low-ball offers written up for buyers by a good agent get accepted, and low-ball offers received by a seller get rejected.

Listed below are 5 common mistakes made by buyers and agents when submitting a low-ball.

Making a Low-ball Offer to the Seller Instead of Calling the Listing Agent

A listing Realtor provides a great wealth of information that can help a buyer write an offer that the seller is more apt to accept. The agent should call the listing agent first, to ensure the home has not sold and to find out how many offers have been made on the property.

There can be seven offers pending a short sale approval on a home and six of the offers can be over the listed price. The buyer’s agent has sent a lowball offer over without calling first. Of course the offer will not even be taken into consideration.

Submitting a Low-ball Offer with an Inadequate Deposit

Typical deposits vary from $1,000 to 3% of the property price. When a buyer has only a small deposit, it can make the buyer appear like they do not make enough money to be able to afford the property or that they are not serious about actually buying the home.

Submitting a Low-ball Offer with a Hardship Letter

Most sellers are not at all interested in a plea for acceptance. A sellers main motivation is to make a profit on the property for sale. Banks are even less interested, especially when the house is in foreclosure or is listed for a quick sale.

When a buyer informs the seller that they do not qualify for the list price of the property, the seller realizes that the home is out of the buyer’s price range. By doing this it will make the buyer appear uninformed and ill equipped to purchase the house.

Submitting a Low-ball Offer with Alerted Comparable Sales

A listing agent will show comparable sales that support the price of the property before placing it on the market. When an agent delivers a list of fake comparable sales from another area, this shows that the agent is incompetent.

By doing this, it shows that the buyer’s agent thinks that the listing agent is not familiar with the neighborhood and the surrounding area. A good buyer’s agent should try to get the listing agent’s cooperation.

Submitting a Low-ball Offer with a Concessions Request

When a buyer submits a lowball offer, some buyer’s agents will also submit a concessions request. A concessions request can include a closing credit cost of 3% to 6% of the total price.

Some seller’s can be willing to provide a cash credit to buyers, unless they are presented with a lowball offer. When a buyer practices these types of offers, it only insults the seller.

These are the five most common mistakes that people make when presenting a low-ball offer.

How to Hire a Real Estate Agent and Save Money

admin — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:15:42 +0000

Real estate agents charge fees; money that could otherwise be going into your pocket. At least that’s the misconception amongst many home sellers. But is that the reality of the situation? Do real estate agents really take up a large portion of your house sale price? Does a professional real estate agent really cost you that much?

The first thing to acknowledge is that yes, a real estate agent is going to charge you a commission. However, he’s not getting something for nothing. In fact, when you realize what the real estate professional does, you’ll understand that although he does charge you a fee, you are not actually out of pocket. So what does a real estate agent do, and how do they earn their money?

The first thing that a real estate agent brings to the table is an up-to-date working knowledge about houses in your area, what price they are currently selling for, and who’s buying them. This is invaluable because they know exactly the kind of target buyer who will be interested in taking a look at your home with a serious interest in buying it. This kind of buyer is often already qualified so that if they like what they see, you’re more likely to see the sale through to closure than if the buyer hasn’t even started trying to raise finance to buy a home.

An experienced real estate professional will be able to advise you on what needs to be done to your home in order to sell it at the best selling price for your type of home in your area. It could be that his list is actually shorter than yours based on how much return you will get for investing time and money in repairs and updating such things as drapes. You may know your home better than he does, but he knows what sells, and his knowledge on how to place furniture in order to maximize natural light etc could make the difference between selling and not.

Selling a house isn’t like going to the store, picking an item off the shelf and buying it. There a lot of legalities and paperwork to be covered before a closing a house sale. A real estate agent works with this paperwork on a daily basis. They know how to simplify things and get the official process taken care of as quickly as possible. They will negotiate on your behalf with the buyers, the financial people and the legal people so that all the ends are tied up neatly and you won’t have a legal case on your hands in the future because of a form that didn’t get filed, or a negotiation clause that was forgotten in the excitement.

On the surface, it may seem that a real estate agent is there to take your money, but in actual fact, his experience and knowledge will help you speed up the process, and because of his negotiating skill, could put more money into your pocket than you pay into his.

by Brad Sage

About the Author:

RealtyStock.com is a free unbiased Toronto real estate listings website that is designed to help Toronto home buyers find properties for sale. We have simplified the Toronto real estate search process by listening to the market.