As a first time home buyer, you probably need all the advice you can get. That’s why I’ve collected what I feel are the top 15 pieces of advice for first time buyers. These tips will help make your home buying process a smooth one!

1. Get a copy of your credit report.
Obtain a copy of your credit report from all three credit agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Review them closely for errors / inaccuracies.

2. Correct your credit report.
If you find a discrepancy on any of your credit reports, correct it as quickly as possible. All three credit agencies have instruction on their websites for correcting mistakes. Their web addresses are their company names with “.com” at the end.

3. Make a wish list.
This list should include all of the things you want from a home. Size, location, features, etc. Prioritize the items as either “must have” or “nice to have.” This will save you time later on and help you remember what’s important to you.

4. Research local real estate agents.

Start by asking friends, family or coworkers if they can refer a local agent they were happy with. If that doesn’t pan out, move on to search engines and the websites of well-known companies.

5. Hire an agent.

Even with all of the home buying websites available these days, it’s wise to hire a real estate agent. Consider the amount you’ll pay for a home, and the agent’s fees will seem insignificant by comparison. And the peace of mind is priceless.

6. Get pre-approved for a home loan.
This will help you in several ways: (1) It will identify credit problems early on in the home buying process. (2) It will reveal how much you can realistically afford. (3) It will show sellers you’re serious about buying and capable of doing so.

7. Set up Google Alerts.
How would you like to have your own robotic research assistant, scouring the Internet for you 24/7 in search of relevant real estate news? That’s what you get with Google Alerts. Set up alerts for key phrases (ex: “Dallas real estate news”), and Google will notify you when it finds new content on the Internet matching your phrase. Visit Google.com/alerts.

8. Learn your mortgages.
You can’t choose the right mortgage unless you know the pros and cons of each type of mortgage. Learn everything you can about fixed-rate mortgages, adjustable rate mortgages, balloon loans, and government-backed mortgages like FHA and VA. When reading about these mortgage types, pay particular attention to any passage that starts with “This mortgagte might be a good option for you if…”

9. Read up on RESPA.
RESPA stands for the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. RESPA gives you rights to certain mortgage information at certain times during the home buying process. You should learn all about RESPA, and you can do so by visiting www.HUD.gov.

10. Get a home inspection.
A home inspection will usually cost you between $300 and $600. This is a small price to pay for peace of mind. A home inspector will check the status of your future home’s foundation, roof, heating / cooling system and more. You can also accompany the home inspector to learn about these parts of the home.

11. Ask plenty of questions.
Ask questions of your agent, the sellers, your mortgage lender … everybody. Don’t ever think you’re annoying somebody by asking too many questions. Get all your questions answered, every step of the way!

12. Take plenty of notes.
When house hunting, bring a notepad along. Also bring a digital camera if you have access to one. Take notes about each house (labeled by address) to help you recall the details later on. This is especially important if you’re looking at a lot of houses.

13. Bring a friend along.
The buddy system is great for house hunting. By bringing a friend along on house visits, you’ll have an objective third part to point out the pros and cons of each property.

14. Find out about schools.
You should know about the quality of local schools regardless of whether or not you have school-age children. If you do have children, you’ll surely want them in good schools. If you don’t have children, the quality of schools is still important because it affects your resale value.

15. Visit HomeBuyingInstitute.com
You can learn more about any of the home buying tips on the list (plus a lot more) by visiting HomeBuyingInstitute.com. It’s the Internet’s largest library of home buying tips and advice, and best of all it’s free!

* Copyright 2006, Brandon Cornett. You may republish this article if you keep the byline and author’s note, and also leave the hyperlinks active.

Learn more!
This home buying tip was brought to you by HomeBuyingInstitute.com, the Internet’s largest library of home buying advice. Increase your home buying intelligence by visiting: http://www.homebuyinginstitute.com!

Tags: buying a home, home buying, home loan, Mortgage, real estatebuying a home, home buying, home loan, Mortgage, real estate

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Business startup loans can be utilised for the purpose of starting up a new venture that you may have been dreaming since a long time. Business startup loans are specially designed to suit the needs and requirements of the prospective businessmen. So, if you have some great business plans along with good business knowledge, don’t waste the opportunity for the want of resources only. Get business startup loans and start your own business.
Business startup loans may be secured loans or unsecured ones. Secured business startup loans require you to furnish collateral that may be your residential home or business property. You can get following benefits by availing a secured business startup loan:

Large startup capital

Lower rate of interest
Longer repayment terms

It must be remembered that lender can always repossess the property in case you make any default in repayment in case of secured business startup loans.

Unsecured business startup loans, on the other hand, do not require any collateral. However, the lender charges you relatively higher rate of interest since the lender undertakes more risk when giving unsecured business startup loans. In this case, the repayment period is generally shorter and you can avail a limited amount as a loan. The biggest advantage associated with unsecured business startup loans is that you can startup your business venture without worrying too much because even in the case of default the lender cannot repossess your property.

Before availing business startup loans it is indispensable that you chart out a business proposal effectively and then bargain with the lender on the basis of your strong and viable business proposal. This will surely get you the best deal.

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Business startup loans

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Mortgage Prepaying

Mortgage prepaying consists on cancelling part or the total amount of the mortgage loan remaining debt. If the type of mortgage loan lets you pay part of the principal and not only interests, then you’ll be saving money by prepaying your mortgage.

The reason why prepaying part of the principal can save you thousands of dollars is that interests are calculated as a percentage over the principal. If the loan’s capital is reduced, the interests charged will also be reduced.

Since the interests are the lender’s earnings, many lenders penalize these practices either by not letting you prepay the mortgage or by charging prepaying fees in order to discourage these practices.

Home Equity Lines of Credit

The difference between the property’s value and the remaining of the home loan debt constitutes equity. And the equity you’ve build on your home since the mortgage loan was agreed, can be used to obtain further finance in the form of a home equity loan or line of credit.

A home equity line of credit is guaranteed with the same asset as the mortgage loan. This line of credit usually carries lower variable interest rates which let’s you take advantage of good market conditions and get money at probably the lowest rates on the private financial market.

Combining Both

Prepaying itself let’s you save thousands of dollars in interests. But in order to do so you need to save a significant amount of money and make a lump mortgage payment every 4 or 6 months in order to reduce the principal. You’ll then get fewer interests and thus, lower monthly payments that will let you save even more money each month.

However, you can’t always save enough money to make such payments and if you want to have any reliability in your finances, you’ll probably want to have an extra amount available for any unexpected situation.

At this point is when home equity lines of credit come in handy. Since they carry low interest rates, these lines of credit are the perfect solution for solving the problem of unexpected situations. Even if you haven’t save enough money, you can turn to them in order to get extra money and make a mortgage payment to keep canceling the principal.

You’ll then destine the extra money to repay the amount you borrowed from your home equity line of credit. Moreover, if anything unexpected comes to happen you’ll have more cash available on your line of credit and won’t have to apply for a loan and wait to be approved.

In order to see if this is the solution for you, you need to go through your mortgage loan terms and check if there are any penalizations for prepaying your home loan. Then compare the amount you’d save on interests with the prepaying fees and the home equity line of credit costs. If the overall transaction saves you at least a couple of thousands and reduces your mortgage length, then seize the opportunity and start prepaying your home loan.

Mary Wise, a professional consultant with twenty years in the financial field, helps people in the process of securing personal loans, mortgage, refinance or consolidation loans and preventing consumers from falling into the hands of fraudulent lenders.
You can visit her site and get aid for Mortgage Loans regardless of your credit. If the link doesn’t work, just copy badcreditloanservices.com and paste it in your browser’s address bar.

Tags: home equity lines of credit mortgage prepaying schedule, home loan, lendershome equity lines of credit mortgage prepaying schedule, home loan, lenders

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