In the previous post, we looked at how bank web sites and government agency web sites can be your main sources of information on foreclosed homes that are for sale. Are there any other options open to you if you are in the market for a new home? The answer is a resounding YES. Aside from these web sites, you can also do the following.
Real estate signs
This option requires more physical activity on your part. As opposed to the options presented in the previous post (where you just have to turn your PC on and browse), you have to drive around the neighborhood wherein you want to buy your home. When you drive around, look for FOR SALE signs and pay particular attention to the information on them. Look for signs that say FORECLOSURE and then contact the real estate agent on the sign.
Real estate agents
If you do not have time to go running around neighborhoods, then you might as well get in touch with a real estate agent. After all, this is their business and they will have top information on property for sale. You just have to indicate that what you are looking for are foreclosed homes which present a good deal.
Asset management companies
You can also contact asset management companies in your area to inquire about foreclosed homes. Oftentimes, banks or lenders hire these companies to handle foreclosures. As such, they will have information of foreclosed homes that you can buy. You can do this by looking at their web sites or even calling them on the phone.
Photo courtesy of sfadden
In parts of the world where there are four seasons, a lot of people find themselves dreaming of owning oceanfront property during the dead of the winter. More than actually using the property for themselves, it could also serve as a source of income. After all, beach houses for rent can be in demand at certain times and can fetch a good price! For those of you who can actually afford to own property at the beach, here are some questions you should ask – they can help you find the perfect beach getaway.
How close is the house to the beach? Think about it. When going to the beach, you probably look for accommodations right on the beach. If you can’t find one, then you find something as close to the beach as possible. You also want rooms that have good views. Same thing for when you own a beach house.
How many can the house accommodate? When you do find yourself owning a beach house, you will find yourself having friends and family pestering you. The more the merrier, right? And, when you do rent out that house, you bet the people will be asking about capacity.
What other amenities are available? Does the property come with a pool? Or maybe there is a community pool? A recreation center? While people normally go to the beach for the sea, some like pools. It will be a plus to have such a feature available.
Of course, you’ll have other questions of your own, but this is a good place to start.
If you have been in the market for a home in the recent months, you are probably ready to go ahead and make the purchase. If I were you, I would do everything that’s needed and expedite the process. That’s because you can take advantage of the Home Buyer Tax Credit if you have a binding contract to purchase a home BEFORE April 30 of this year!
If you already have options, then it is a matter of making a decision. If you need more options, then here are some tips that can help you get the benefit of a tax credit.
Find a reputable agent. A good agent will be able to help you expedite your home purchasing experience. For sure, agents know about the Home Buyer Tax Credit, and they will help you take advantage of it.
Get financing NOW. Don’t wait till you find a potential home for purchase. You should already know how much you can afford. There is nothing holding you back from getting financing. Oftentimes, this part of the process could take long. As such, you shouldn’t really put it off till the last minute. The best thing that you could do is have the money ready for when you find that house.
Don’t get carried away. Sure, I am urging you to take advantage of the tax credit by hurrying things up. However, if you do not find what you want before then, do not make that sacrifice just because of the tax credit. The credit is great BUT you don’t want to be saddled with a piece of property that you will want off your back as soon as you get it.
Everyone has his own dream house. Whether or not this dream will ever come into fruition does not matter. After all, as they say, it is free to dream. I saw some houses at MSN today, though, and not in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined their existence. There are a total of 18 strange homes, which are located all over the world. Here are some of the most “interesting” ones.
Everingham Rotating House
Located in Taree, Australia, this house is built on a rotating drive which can spin the house anytime the inhabitants wish to do so. Now I can think of various reasons to want a different view at any time, but I just didn’t think that someone would actually go to such lengths so as to build something like this.
The Nautilus
One look at this house in Mexico City will tell you that it is no ordinary home. Shaped just like a seashell – and decorated like one, too! – it was designed by Javier Sensonian. He practices what he calls bio-architecture, which builds on the designs of natural creatures. He says it is enlightening.
Steel House
A trip to Lubbock, Texas will show you this extraordinary house, which was built on the fly. That is, the structural basis was not the first consideration. Owner Robert Bruno – both an artist and an architect – has been working on this house since 1974 and says that it is supposed to resemble both an animal and a machine.
For more of these strange houses, visit the slideshow here.
You’ve probably heard it many times, but let me say it again: buying your first home is probably one of the biggest decisions you’d ever have to make in life. If this is one of your goals for 2010, let me help you get on your way with a few tips that have been tried and tested.
Examine your lifestyle. Your home is going to be a central part of your life. While it is inanimate, it is definitely going to affect how you live your life. Its location, especially in relation to your place of work, is going to be important. The floor plan, the size, the layout – all of these should fit your lifestyle. From the outset, determine what it is exactly that you want: where should the house be located? How big should it be? How many rooms? What rooms do you need? And so on.
Know just how much you can afford on the house. Knowing what you want and need is one thing. Having to pay for all those needs and wants is another story altogether. Once you have decided on your first house and every other physical detail, you have to know what you can and cannot afford. You have to set the limits before actually going out and looking.
Seek professional assistance. It’s your first time. You want to do it all by yourself. The best way to go, in my opinion, is to seek expert advice, especially in legal aspects. It’s better to go about it the right way than to regret things later on.
At the outset, I have to qualify that title – the assumption is that you want to look for property in a city where the prices are low. This year, many cities across the United States are experiencing a positive outlook in terms of house value; that is, the prices of houses are not falling as steeply as it used to. Indeed, some cities have stable house prices to date.
Forbes recently published an online article about 17 cities which have actually experienced an increase in house prices. What this means for the house buyer is to steer clear of these cities if you’re looking for a bargain. Then again, it might be a good idea to buy now before the prices go even higher – then you can sell later on for a profit.
What cities are these? This is the list according to Forbes.
1. Minneapolis, Minn.
2. San Francisco, Calif.
3. Detroit, Mich.
4. Chicago, Ill.
5. Phoenix, Ariz.
6. San Diego, Calif.
7. Los Angeles, Calif.
8. Washington, D.C.
9. Denver, Colo.
10. Seattle, Wash.
I am sure some of you will find this list quite useful in making your decisions in the year to come, especially now that 2009 is almost at an end. More so, real estate experts forecast that the rate of the decline of home price values (annually, that is), is improving. This spells good news for those who engage in real estate activities as a business, no matter the scale. Good luck!
Photo courtesy of Domain Tools
So you’ve found a piece of property that you want. There is even a house built already; but how do you know if you should merely renovate that structure or tear it down completely? Here are some things to look out for to help you decide whether to restore or to tear down.
The size of the house. If the house built on the property is way too small and you know that a larger structure can be accommodated by the land, then you might want consider tearing down. It would be such a waste of land if you settle for a tiny house. Naturally, you’d have to take into consideration your budget and the condition of the house.
The design of the house. Take a look at the neighborhood and compare the house to the other structures. Is it terribly outdated and dilapidated? If so, then tearing down may be your best choice. You would probably end up saving more money on restoration and repairs if you build completely from scratch in this case.
The amenities and foundation. A house may look good, but it is worth almost nothing if the foundation is becoming “wobbly.” Bad walls and foundation will certainly bring about more trouble later on. More so, if the house is severely lacking in amenities – good plumbing, electric wiring, and the like – then it is better to tear it down and build a house that you will be happy in for the rest of your life.
Photo courtesy of jdlong
Technology is permeating our daily lives like nothing else, and it is but common sense to take advantage of what is available and use it for our specific purposes. When it comes to buying a new home, technology has got a wide array of offerings for those who are willing to make use of them. Here are some of the best new useful tools in this regard.
The iPhone!
Yes, the iPhone is more than just a phone. It is a gaming machine as well, among many other things. More than that, you can actually use it to get information on a house or property that you pass on your way to wherever. Say you see a sign on the lawn of a piece of property that you just have to take a look at. Of course you have some info on the sign, but that is not enough. If you have an iPhone, you do not have to wait till you get home or to the office. Just go to Zillow.com, which has released a special version for the iPhone. There you can get all the information you need on over 88 million homes! How’s that for accessibility?
Trulia
This is another web site that can prove to be very profitable for those who are looking for houses on the cheap. Trulia.com recently launched a feature allowing home buyers to filter out listings at a reduced price. You just need to know which town (or the ZIP) you want, enter it, and you’ll get countless results. It’s an easy way to narrow down your search!
These are only two of the most useful tools out there. In the next post, let’s take a look at a couple more.
Getting a mortgage used to be an easy thing; at least during the height of the real estate boom. We know that all good things must come to an end, however, and currently, getting a mortgage can be as difficult as going through the eye of a needle. For those who are looking to buy a home in these hard times, your best bet would be to get a preapproved mortgage, even if you have not decided on what to buy yet. But how do you get this? Is this even possible?
The good news is that yes, getting preapproved is quite possible despite the difficult times. Here are some tips on how to get preapproved for a mortgage.
Do it early!
If you plan on buying a house next year, shop around for mortgage lenders NOW. The chances are that you will not get a preapproved mortgage on your first try. Probably not even on your second, third, or fourth try. As such you will have enough time and you do not have to go through additional stress because of the time factor.
Get your financial records in order.
No matter how you look at it, you are going to be asked to share your financial information. Get your act together – proof of income, credit, assets, and everything else that will help you prove that you are capable of paying the mortgage.
Know this: preapproval does not obligate you to borrow from the lender.
This is the beauty of the arrangement. You can get preapproval but you can back out in case you decide not to borrow money. You are not tied down. Remember that.
They say that when it comes to real estate, location is everything. There must be a lot of truth to this maxim as most people, when buying a piece of property, always takes location as the primary consideration. Why do you think the prices skyrocket when a piece of property is situated in a “prime” location?
So what do you do if you have a piece of land or a house that is located in a not-so-ideal place? Say it is near an airfield. Or maybe the Amtrak line runs behind the house? Are properties located in these areas impossible to sell?
On the surface, you may think that. After all, people might not even take a second look once they find out that they are going to be hearing jets landing and taking off at odd hours of the day. Same thing for trains running at least twice a day.
Then again, experienced real estate agents say that it is not impossible to sell properties which have lousy locations. They say that after “location,” it is the “price” that matters most to buyers.
So, your property is not selling despite being in the listing for months? Why not try lowering the asking price to something that people cannot help but check out? Your property may not be prime land, but for the right price, there will be people who will want it. It really is a matter of adjusting. You have to face the fact that you might have to sell at a loss, but if you really want to sell, that is better than nothing, isn’t it?
