Willis Nana Addo Jr real estate market guides in Atlanta? Overlooking FHA, VA and USDA loans. First-time buyers might be cash-strapped in this environment of rising home prices. And if you have little saved for a down payment or your credit isn’t stellar, you might have a hard time qualifying for a conventional loan. How this affects you: You might assume you have no financing options and delay your home search. What to do instead: Look into one of the three government-insured loan programs backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA loans), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA loans) and U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA loans). Here’s a brief overview of each: FHA loans require just 3.5 percent down with a minimum 580 credit score. FHA loans can fill the gap for borrowers who don’t have top-notch credit or little money saved up. The major drawback to these loans, though, is mandatory mortgage insurance, paid both annually and upfront at closing. VA loans are backed by the VA for eligible active-duty and veteran military service members and their spouses. These loans don’t require a down payment, but some borrowers may pay a funding fee. VA loans are offered through private lenders, and come with a cap on lender fees to keep borrowing costs affordable.
When looking at homes, you should seriously consider ignoring paint and landscaping. These are two items that are easy to fix, and they should not impact your decision making when purchasing a house. If the home has a terrific location and the paint/landscaping is poor you shouldn’t rule it out, you have to be able to envision what the house will look like when you move in and make changes. A lot of time buyers will not be able to overlook paint or landscaping and this gives an opportunity for others who know how easy it is to fix. Location is something you can’t change, paint and landscaping is something you can.
Willis Nana Addo Jr is a real estate expert in Atlanta Georgia. Have Financial Goals: If you want to accomplish financial goals, you need to figure out what goals are important to you first. Having a clear goal can keep you motivated and help you come up with a plan to reach that goal even faster. Now, don’t think that you need to set outrageous goals. If this is your first time thinking about personal financial goals, start off small and work your way up from there. I’d suggest coming up with a few different goals in each of these categories: What you want to achieve in the next 3-months, In the next year, In the next five years. This way you’ll have some short-term goals to look forward too, and some long-term goals to work towards as well. Your short-term goals may even be small stepping stones towards your bigger goals. So, remember to set long-term and short-term goals, and keep track of them too! Write them down somewhere and set a day each month to track your progress.
After narrowing the search to 2 or 3 homes, your agent will do whatever research is necessary to aid you in making your decision. Ultimately, however, it is your decision. Some tools that can help you make that final decision include school reports (if you have or are planning on having children), statistical information from the local chamber of commerce, future zoning or road expansion from local planning offices, etc. Whatever the factors of importance are to you, have your agent help locate that information. Once you have selected a single home to focus on, your agent will conduct a comparative market analysis on that property. This involves determining “fair market value” by looking at what other buyers were willing to pay for properties similar to yours in the same neighborhood or area.
Many people make their home their personal sanctuary and decorate it with family photos, memorabilia, religious decor, personal keepsakes, among other items. You want to make sure to remove all of these items, pack them up, and put them in storage. A good way to do this is to pretend that you are moving out. De-personalizing your home is extremely important because the buyer wants to visualize your house as their own. It is difficult for a buyer to do so if all of your personal items appear as if you are marking your own territory. See extra info on Willis Nana Addo Jr.