Category: Tips

7 Things House Hunters Should Do Before Steping Foot in a Home

If you’ve decided to purchase a home, visiting open houses is a crucial part of the process. However, launching straight into the search without preparing properly could land you in trouble—both financially and emotionally. Here, realtor.com explains how to lay the proper groundwork to guarantee good decisions—and a home you’ll adore. 1. Make sure your credit is in order A

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Mortgage Myths, Debunked_coins

6 Common Mortgage Myths, Debunked

If you’ve never attempted to get a mortgage before, be warned: It can be a mystifying process. Toward that end, Forbes debunks six of the most common mortgage myths to help you go into the mortgage process feeling informed. Getting pre-qualified is the same as getting pre-approved Although these two terms may sound the same, there is a world of

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3 Things You Should Know Before Applying for a Mortgage

3 Things You Should Know Before Applying for a Mortgage

You’ll need a mortgage unless you’re planning on buying a home with cash, and to get approved for a home loan you need to qualify for a mortgage, here are 3 things to know before applying for a mortgage. That requires some careful planning that begins with arming yourself with the right knowledge about the home loan application process. Here,

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Reasons to Talk to a Lender

5 Reasons to Talk to a Lender Long Before You Buy a Home

The majority of potential home buyers wait until they’re ready to purchase before they talk to a mortgage lender. After all, why bother digging up financial statements and filling out a bunch of paperwork if you’re not going to buy right away? If buying a home is one of your long-term goals, however, you could be doing yourself a disservice

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handy-mortgage-tips-from-experts

Handy Mortgage Tips From Experts

When it comes to mortgages, there’s plenty of advice out there. While some of it is good and some bad, Realtor.com delivers some great mortgage tips from experts that likely will stick with you long afterward.   Keep your monthly mortgage payment under one paycheck Don’t focus so much on the total cost of the mortgage. Instead, make sure that

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Leave Your Home On the Market During the Holidays

6 Reasons You Should Leave Your Home On the Market During the Holidays

With Thanksgiving and Christmas fast approaching, you might be tempted to either take your home off the market or hold off on listing it until after the new year. After all, you’re busy cooking, shopping and decorating, and the last thing you need is a bunch of potential buyers traipsing through your house, right? Wrong. Removing your home from the

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Build a Credit History from Scratch

How Long Does It Take to Build a Credit History from Scratch?

If you plan on buying a house in the future, it’s essential to establish a track record of past payments. This proves to mortgage lenders that you’ve repaid people (which means they’ll be more likely to loan you money for a home). But if you have no credit history—maybe because you’re young—how long does it take to build it from

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Tips to Help You Buy a Home

7 Tips to Help You Buy a Home Before the Holidays

If you’re hoping to buy a home before the holidays so you can host Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners in your new digs, you better get started on a house purchase immediately. While the home-buying process can be a lengthy one, there are certain strategies that can speed up the undertaking. Here, Realtor.com offers expert advice that should see you putting

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House-rich cash-poor

What Does ‘House-Rich, Cash-Poor’ Really Mean… And Why it Matters?

“House-rich, cash-poor” comes down to how much you have tied up in your home, compared with how much you have in your pocket. In other words, you have more equity locked into the value of your home than you have in liquid assets. For example, you have a debt-to-income ratio that is higher than 40 percent, which means your homeownership expenses

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5 Credit Score Pitfalls to Avoid

5 Credit Score Pitfalls to Avoid

Making sure your credit is in the best shape possible before applying for a mortgage will put you ahead of the game. Not only is good credit important when it comes to being approved, but it also determines what interest rates you’ll be offered on your loan. That being said, a score of 730 and above is considered excellent, while

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