First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Assistance and Federal Government Home Loan Program with Low Down Payment on FHA Mortgages. Buy Bank Foreclosed Homes at a Discount. Go To RealEstateMarketingThisWeek.com Part 2 (Excerpt) The median income family can afford twice the median priced home; prices drop over 50% And now I mentioned Dan Havey is back in the studio with us, Dan has done a lot of great things in the mortgage industry. He left us about a year and a half ago, is that right Dan? Yes, I left the mortgage industry in October of 2007. Tell us a little bit more about yourself. As you know I came originally from Wisconsin, where I got a degree in Business Finance and I came out here in 1989 and started working with my brother selling real estate owned-REO, bank owned properties for Fannie Mae, Countrywide, and the Resolution Trust Corporation-RTC which was the government entity that was put in charge of disposing of all the real estate owned by the 1800 S&Ls that had failed. I did that until about 1995 when I moved into the mortgage industry and there for 12 years I worked predominately with bankruptcy attorneys helping their clients get out of bankruptcy and foreclosure. I left the mortgage industry in October of 2007. Now I am working predominately in the arena of marketing for real estate and mortgage companies, helping out companies, just like Im here helping out Michael today, to get people to realize that right now actually is a really good time to buy.

FrontDoor.com senior editor Annalisa Burgos talks to a Boston couple who learn a valuable lesson when buying their first house. Go to bit.ly for expert tips and advice for first-time home buyers.

Tips for First-Time Home Buyers given by veteran real estate broker John Wollberg of Halstead Property, LLC in NYC. Your first stop when looking for a home to buy or rent is ResidentialNYC.com

Even though buying your first home may be incredibly exciting, there are some things you should do before considering visiting any mortgage lender.

For many first time home buyers, this will be the largest investment of their life. But there is no disputing the fact that buying a home is a sometimes an emotional process because of the amount of time and paperwork that is normal with any home purchase.

Even if you are just venturing out to look at homes or if you already know what you prefer to buy, purchasing a home requires some research and effort.

Any time that you spend in the preparation is worth the effort because it will help both the lending and closing processes proceed smoothly.

Before you ever contact a mortgage lender, you need to go ahead and get a copy of your credit report. After you get a copy, double-check it for any errors or potential problems.

If you discover an error, you need to contact the creditor to make sure that erroneous items get fixed on your report.

Even if you have a low credit score, it does not mean that you cannot get a home loan, but you may have to pay a higher interest rate.

Organize your Efforts

After you have determined which lender you would like to deal with as well as the mortgage rates you anticipate getting, your lender will request a Verification of Employment form. What you can do is ask your human resources department to keep an eye out for this form.

Then you can rest assured that your very important document is not simply buried in in a stack of mail or on top of a fax machine. If human resources is expecting the document, they are much more likely to complete it quickly.

You will also need a minimum of one month’s worth of pay stubs or payment records from your present employer. Make copies of these and retain the originals.

Find the most recent W2 forms that your employer sent you for the last two calendar years. Your lender requires these wage and tax statements from you as well as from your spouse or other person with whom you are applying for the mortgage.

Find your federal tax returns and make copies of the documents. Use the two most recent years of tax returns if you have not yet filed your return for the the just-past calendar year.

Gather All Necessary Documents

There are more pieces of paperwork that your lender is going to need. Most lenders want at least three months worth of checking or savings account statements.

Also bring copies of any assets like retirement accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds and so forth.

Your lender is also going to have to confirm your identity, so that means that a copy of your driver’s license or passport is also needed.

The final thing that you need to do is to make a financial inventory. Calculate how much debt you owe and make a list of each account.

This includes all loans, other real estate purchases and credit cards. Your lender will ask for copies of statements of all of these accounts.

You will also want to determine how much money you will have remaining after you have paid the down payment and the remaining closing costs.

A copy of your social security card is also required. Gathering all of this paperwork really is the difficult part, so being proactive in gathering the necessary documents is of great benefit.

Tips for Choosing the Right Mortgage Lender

A decision that is almost as important as which house to buy is which mortgage lender to use. It is important that the entire transaction is handled efficiently and professionally.

For a first time home buyer, choosing a loan can be a difficult and confusing experience. Sifting through the various home loan options available takes time and doubts usually surface about which choice is the best.

The search for the perfect house loan can be made considerably easier if you follow a few basic guidelines.

Know How Much you Can Afford in your First Home

There is no point in driving around and visiting open houses if you are not certain what you can realistically afford in a new home.

The time would be better spent reviewing your finances, speaking with your accountant or financial advisor and putting some facts down on paper.

With this knowledge you can seek out home loan lenders and request a pre-approved mortgage. Having this confirmation will raise your confidence level and make your actual home search more interesting and satisfying.

Estimate How Long Will you Stay in the Home

The average length of a time for home owners to stay in their home is 7 to 10 years. Attempt to project into the future and determine if your status is likely to change and require you to move.

There could be various reasons for this such as having children, additional space needs, career changes, increased financial stability, and many others.

An additional reason for estimating the duration of your stay is related to the house being an investment. Remember that the home loan and the home value are closely related and that in order to recoup the costs of that investment you will need to remain for some amount of time.

To simply break even could take 3 to 5 years, assuming that the house appreciates 5 percent annually.

Fixed Rate Versus Adjustable Rate

The time that you choose to remain in your new home, or a future home can be helpful in suggesting a fixed rate home loan or one with an adjustable rate be selected.

Staying in a home for only a few years may indicate that a variable rate may be preferred, if economic conditions are favorable.

But, if you seek to remain longer and perhaps raise a family, then the predictability of a fixed rate mortgage may be more appealing.

Be Honest with Yourself

Making that first home purchase is an exciting time in life and causes many questions to arise that must be answered. What are your future plans, where do you want to live, how much can you afford as a first time home buyer, how long will I stay, and many others.

They may seem almost impossible to answer, but by addressing them you will understand more about yourself and what it is you truly seek.

Does buying a less expensive home help lower your mortgage interest rate?

Before refinancing, count the costs. Remember, refinancing will entail paying closing costs.

If you are a first time home buyer, you are facing even more uncertainties today than ever before and you need to find out what to do how.

There is nothing quite like owning your own home. Previous cave dwellers have developed into proud homeowners.

The current market might be very intimidating to the first time buyer but on the other hand is full of opportunities to get into your first home at a more reasonable price.

Here a quick guide to the most important steps towards first home ownership.

Examine Your Budget

If you are paying rent presently and can manage these payments, you can expect to be able to do the same for a similar mortgage premium on a monthly basis.

Do not forget that you will also have to pay home owners insurance and property taxes in addition to your mortgage premiums.

Those rental fees you paid included such hidden costs such as heating, maintenance and occasional property upgrades.

Pre-Qualify for a Mortgage

Get pre-qualified with two or more financial lenders. Work with at least two mortgage brokers and request to be told which lenders they will approach on your behalf.

Also, ensure that they are not talking to the same lenders and request confirmation.

Select a Real Estate Agent in the target Area

Selecting a real estate agent in the area you will be buying in. Do not sign with the first agent you come across but interview several and in depth.

Ask them relevant and important questions and attempt to discover one that has appropriate experience and is able to assist you. Beware of inexperienced agents.

It is a good signal if the real estate agent asks you numerous questions in return. The agent and their associated company should also offer a first class online MLS search site.

Review Real Estate Listings Online

Spend considerable time browsing multiple listing services on the Internet. Become familiar with what the market has to offer. Let the agent send you a list of what homes have just closed and demand regular updates.

Closed prices are a better indicator of value than listing prices. Be aware that closings happening today are the prices of 6-8 weeks ago.

In a rapidly falling market todays prices would be even lower.

Once you found a list of homes that interest you go over the list with your Realtor and have them supplement the list with their recommendations. Do not make a decision before you have seen all the homes on your list.

You will likely observe some of the search criteria that seemed to matter most to you might not be all that important after the first round of showings and other criteria have become more prominent.

When you started your search a pool seemed like a must have but now it turns out that a large kitchen living room area is more important.

Finalize your List

With your newly calibrated list of important features go over all the properties again and re-evaluate the MLS listings. Select five properties for another round of showings.

The goal is to find three properties that you could see yourself living in. Do not try to narrow it down to 1 property and it is not wise to do so at this point in time.

Prepare Offers to Purchase

When you have found the 3 properties that you like the most have your agents prepare offers for all 3 properties. Start with a very low offer price.

The aim here is not to get your offer accepted but to find the seller that is most motivated. The responses to your offer will show you who that person is.

Make sure your agent prepares a cover letter that goes with your offer, which highlights the point that you are pre-approved for a mortgage and that you are ready to offer a quick close.

Also make sure it mentions that you have made offers on 3 properties and that you will only be buying the one offering the most realistic price.

Expect Counter Offers

Expect your offer to be countered if not outright accepted. The counter offers will show a great deal about the motivation of the sellers.

Have your agent call the listing agent to try to find out more about the sellers motivation and willingness to negotiate.

If none of your offers were accepted prepare another round of 3 offers at slightly higher prices. Make sure that you make it clear to the sellers that you will quickly close on the offer that is first accepted.

This strategy will lead you to purchase one of the 3 best homes you selected at a rock bottom price.

When buying a home, especially if it’s your first, you need to understand all the costs that go into making this extremely important purchase. What are the costs that you have to pay at closing?

There are one-time costs that you will have to pay at the closing time and others that are integrated into your monthly mortgage payment. Often you have the option of choosing either of these, but the advantages or disadvantages to this depend greatly on current interest rates.

Locking in Mortgage Interest Rates

In today’s market there are many variables and the rates are always changing. You may speak to a lender and think you are getting one rate but when you come back a week later, they may give you a different quote.

One way to be sure that you get the quoted rate at closing is by formally locking in the rate. This will guarantee that you receive the rate you were quoted when you go to sign the mortgage papers. If requested, lenders will lock-in for 15, 30 or more.

However, lenders charge fees for lock-ins longer than 30 days. The common fee is a quarter point for each additional 30 days although fees vary. If you believe that the interest rates are likely to go down, you may not want to do this as you may be able to get a better rate at closing.

What Lenders Mean when They Talk About Points

It is a fee that you pay at closing that helps you to lower the interest rate over the life of the loan. One point is equal to one percentage point of the total amount of the loan. In order to calculate how much lower your monthly payment will be you need to find out how many points it will take in order to lower your interest rate.

Then calculate what the difference in your monthly payment will be. Doing this makes sense if you are planning on living in your home for more than five years. If you think you live there a shorter period of time, the up-front cost will be more than what you will save.

Consider the Fees Involved when Purchasing a New Home

There are many fees related to purchasing a home. The mortgage lender requires these fees. Different lenders have different requirements.

One they all require for closing is a home appraisal; they want to make sure that your house is worth at least the amount they are loaning you.

This is important to you as well; as you want to be sure that your new home is worth what you are paying.

Other services with fees are home inspections, land surveys and title search (making sure there are no other liens on the property).

The competition in the lending interest is high, so some lenders offer reduced or no closing fees in order to get your business. Their loan may have a higher interest rate. If you need to lower you upfront costs this may be to your benefit.

If monthly costs are your concern, it might be to your advantage to pay some of those fees for a lower monthly payment. You need to shop around and ask questions to find the combination that suits your needs.

Finally, it is a good idea to meet with your tax consultant before you make this purchase.

Eight Tips to Guide Your New Home Search

Home buyer closing costs can be paid by the seller on most loan programs. The seller can pay 3% or 6% of the home buyers closing costs depending on the program.

Get your finances in order. Review your credit report and be sure you have enough money to cover your down payment and closing costs. Then, talk to a lender and get prequalified for a mortgage.

Advice To Home Buyers about Closing Costs

Advice To Home Buyers When It Comes To Closing Costs. Closing on your new home is an exciting time. Regardless of how you negotiated your purchase contract and the structure of your loan with your mortgage professional, it is important to understand the fees associated with your new loan.