Relocating and Buying a Home

Having to relocate can be trying enough for anyone, single or family; but add on to that stress having to come up with a new place to live and it's easy enough to realize that without a good handle on things it could be a real upheaval of your life.

The good news is that it doesn't have to be that upsetting if you simply plan for things ahead of time and take the time to prepare and know what to expect.

Getting to Know the Area

The first thing you want to know is what's available to you around the area and what the area has as far as attractions, needs, and much more. With today's technology it's so easy to acquire tons of information about the area you're about to move to with checking a few certain online areas and a simple search in a search engine. First put the name of the city and state that you're moving to, even if it's a very small city. Chances are you will get at least a few hits even with some of the smallest of towns. Here are some places online that you want to check out and look for in order to get more information about the area and what to expect:

• The Local Chamber of Commerce


• Local Colleges & Universities


• Local Malls & Shopping Areas


• Local Libraries


• Local Radio Stations


• Online newspapers


• Local churches & schools


• Local Police Department Web site (great for finding high crime areas that you obviously want to avoid buying or renting a home in) You can also call and ask what the crime rate is for certain areas that you are looking at and the police department can tell you what the crime rate is for that area specifically before you put in a bid.

Finding An Agent

Begin your search online simply looking at houses for sale. You will begin to get an idea of what neighborhoods are "within your budget" by taking note of certain pricing on houses and then mapping where those homes are located. With the glories of today's technologies you can even see the home and homes around it online without ever driving to the location! Once you've begun to see the homes available you will also start seeing agent names coming up, some more often than others.

Once you start finding agents and agencies that come up often for your town it's time to start making phone calls and doing some "interviews" over the phone. Some things you want to find out:

• Ask who is responsible for paying the agent for their duties. You're probably going to want to prefer an agent that works as a Buyer's Agent for you while getting their commission by sharing the sale profits with the selling agent to save money; meaning you pay no extra commission fees. However this also means that the will want to sell the home for a little more in order to make a larger commission.



• Ask the agent what their protocol is for working with a buyer. Do they have a buyer's broker agreement? If so, ask them for a copy of the agreement before signing it.



• Ask the agent what their protocol is for working with other local agents. Do they work within the community as a whole and have a good working relationship with other agencies or do they basically work to sell only what they're listing?


• Find out exactly who the agent will be representing. Ask them this question direct. In cases here they have a home listed they're representing the seller and they will be representing you. In a case like this it is their job to assure both parties get the best possible deal and in some cases by law they cannot represent both. Find out ahead of time how they handle these situations, etc.

Laws That Limit Information From Realtors

The Federal Fair Housing Laws often prevent Realtors/Agents from giving you information such as local churches, "classes of families" such as an upper class neighborhood or lower class neighborhood specifically (although this can usually be obvious by pricing), ethnic make-up of an area, schools, school rankings, and some other information that you often want to know when you're moving into a neighborhood. For example if you are of a certain religious background and the city is large enough to have areas where larger areas where certain religions seem to live you may feel more comfortable living amongst others that you have in common with people of your religion. However, your agent cannot tell you "Oh this is area has a large number of Jewish families or Muslim families or Italian Catholic families" due to laws. However, if you can find places of worship online you can call and ask for guidance where you may fit in well with others who may practice your religion.

So don't get angry with an agent if they can't answer certain questions that truly are important to your living comforts based upon laws that were created to alleviate any type of hate crimes or discrimination against certain ethnicities or religions. Remember these laws were set in place to protect people. Instead go directly to the sources that you are looking for and ask where they may recommend that others with similar interests may live, etc. It's completely understandable that you would prefer to live in a community with people who are much like you and your family and celebrate the same types of holidays, etc.

Knowing the Area

You will want to ask the agent certain things about the neighborhoods but you have to ask these questions so that they can answer them. Know whether you want a "new construction" or "newer" home or if you prefer an older home. Each has its negatives and positives and it really all comes down to what you prefer. A local agent has very intimate knowledge regarding their area and depending upon how you ask the questions they can answer some things with their intimate knowledge that can be a wealth of information without giving straight answers that could get them into trouble. Collecting the information listed below you can judge for yourself where the older and newer homes are located, where the lower priced houses usually are and therefore the type of income levels that tend to buy there, if it's a hot selling area with a lower DOM (Days On Market) or if there are homes that are on the market for longer periods of time there may be a reason. You can surmise a lot of information about a neighborhood from the information gathered below.

To find out more about the particular neighborhoods ask the agent:

• To get you a list-to-sales average price ratio printout.


• For a CMA (Comparable Market Analysis) for neighborhoods you may be interested in.


• A breakdown of where new home construction is going on and where older homes tend to be located.


• A break down to help you determine average-per-square-foot price to determine exactly what the difference is when comparing the price by square foot of homes from one area to another.


• What is the current market situation in this particular area? Is it a buyer's market, a seller's market or a neutral market? This will help you to determine pricing and how to make an offer.


• Average Days-On-Market for the homes listed for various areas.

Relieve Stress

Simply taking a few steps to check things out to get to know the area and get informed and comfortable with an agent can help alleviate a lot of the stress of relocating to a new area. Take the move on as if you're a tourist first, finding out what the town has to offer and then delve a little deeper to see what amenities it offers its citizens.

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Orignal From: Relocating and Buying a Home

Selecting The Right Lender

While most lenders play by the rules and respect the law, there are always going to be some dirty fish in the pond. Those who follow the state and federal laws and guidelines are usually well known.

A good reason for using the services of a Buyer's Agent is that they know about the reputation of the lenders and which lender can help you in the present situation.

Taking a DIY approach - finding, purchasing home, and searching for lenders - is just not the right way to go. Use the services of a Buyer's Agent.

Predatory Lenders

Beware of "Predatory Lenders". These lenders don't care much about business ethics, many times stretch the definition of "staying within the law," and generally make a sudden disappearance; although not always.
Signs of the "wrong" type of lender may include telemarketing-style phone calls that inform you about your prequalification for a large mortgage amount; direct mail containing offers of low mortgage rates on large amounts; and placing of flyers, everywhere from your door to your car window.

What To Look Out For

Here are some things to look out for when talking to the representative of a lending company:

• High pressure selling methods.



• Very high interest rates and fees but very low payments in your original "work ups" on the numbers.



• Assurance that your credit is not an issue - every lender bases rates, fees, as well as capability to lend on your credit profile. Regardless of what the representative says, you will pay a higher rate with a bad credit record.



• If the representative assists you in completing your forms and tells you that it's ok to misrepresent yourself; particularly if they say that everybody does it. By following their instructions on the matter, you are acting against the law and committing fraud.



• The estimate provided to you by the mortgage representative is vastly different from the deal on paper. In majority of the cases, your interest rates, fees, and charges will not be the same.



• Something doesn't feel right about the company or person. Again, go with your gut instinct because it is normally right.



• Nobody is approving your application except this firm. You may hear lines such as "your credit score is not an issue if you can make the payments" and "we understand your situation".



• You are not sure about the final monthly payments they are offering but they give you their assurance that you'll be ok as they have calculated it correctly.



• The mortgage representative avoids answering your questions including ones about your FICO Score. Beware of representatives who constantly ignore or don't explain your FICO score.

What it all boils down to is that you should have a good feeling about what you decide upon and that you are comfortable with the amount you will have to pay per month. All lenders are not the same. To make sure that the lender you're dealing with is not a predator, use the talents of a real estate agent to represent you. Play it safe. At the end of the day, it's all worth it.

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Orignal From: Selecting The Right Lender

Avoiding Foreclosure

While the economy has seen a bit of an upturn and home foreclosures and short sales are starting to level out there are still many who are looming in the dark halls towards facing foreclosure.

What should you do? Do you ignore it and just let it happen? Do you call the bank? Do you contact anyone? Can anyone help?

The answer to the final question is the answer to all of the others. YES! Yes, there is someone who can help and that someone is a qualified, certified realtor.

Finding a realtor who deals with foreclosures and short sales and has true experience may not be as hard as you think nowadays. Many agents are currently stating that 65% or more of their sales are short sales. While some areas are seeing more and some are seeing less it's no surprise that the previous few years have had a vast amount of foreclosures and short sales. Needless to say these vast amounts of foreclosures and short sales have given many agents some very intricate and valuable experience to utilize in this particular area.

What Other Options Are There to Foreclosure?

First, you have to act quickly. Once the foreclosure proceedings begin it's very hard to stop them or get a change in actions. So if you know you're going to be up against foreclosure in the near future, now is the time to act. Contact an agent and assure that they've handled short sales before. While you will still lose your home, the damage done to your credit history isn't nearly as hard as when a foreclosure goes through.

Many times your agent can negotiate with your lender and talk them into doing a short sale. Generally, lenders lose less money with a short sale as opposed to a foreclosure. They take ownership of the home and now the agent sells it; however, the agent doesn't necessarily sell it for a huge bargain price but instead at the price of what the home is assessed at by a professional.

The amount will be well under what you owe the bank but whatever the amount is that it sells for is what the bank will take to pay off your loan and consider you out of the picture. There is less damage made to your credit history and you can often go out and purchase another home in a reasonable length of time. Some have even purchased a new home almost immediately depending upon the individual situation.

Other options are also now available to home owners who are underwater with their homes; also known as owing more than the home is currently worth. Once you have contacted an agent ask them what your options are. Some things you may want to ask about are federal government-sponsored programs that have recently come into place to help the numerous home owners who have been faced with this same dilemma.

These options are often various forms of loan modification program and can vary depending upon your situation. If your agent doesn't feel comfortable guiding you in this area, ask them to suggest a Broker or Lawyer that can help you. These loan modification programs may or may not help; but either way it can't hurt to look into them.

Another possibility is working with your lender through an agent to sell your home while you live in it. There are advantages to this because the home is maintained for the lender and they don't have to worry that the home will be vandalized and the value of the home depleted even more, making their loss even greater. Often agents know lenders' styles and which buttons to push to get them to say yes, as opposed to trying to deal with a lender on your own. If you can get this type of agreement you need to get prepared for moving and handle the situation as a positive move towards getting you out of a situation that could get or could have become much uglier; instead of seeing it as a negative part of your life where you are losing your home.

You are being given a chance to sell your home under nearly "typical" conditions with minimal damage. You are also being given the chance to prepare for your move and your future. Of course not all lenders will agree to this type of sale and will instead want a Short Sale where they take ownership and you must move, but in either case it is a much more positive action than facing a foreclosure.

The Most Important Things to Remember

• Act Quickly - waiting just makes your situation worse.



• Contact an Agent/Realtorâ„¢ as soon as possible for guidance.



• Be open to various suggestions and options - chances are that any option will be better than foreclosure.



• Ask questions, especially when it comes to programs put in place to help people just like you in the same position. Find out what governmental programs or even lender programs may be available to you.



• Most of all try to keep a positive attitude towards it all even though it seems a dire situation it may end on a positive note.

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Orignal From: Avoiding Foreclosure