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How to Select a Mortgage Professional in Western New York
Before you commit to a Western New York lender, here are a series of questions you should ask them. Next to selecting your Real Estate Professional, the most important thing you need to select is your Mortgage Professional.
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Getting Mortgage Pre-approval
Getting pre-approved for a mortgage So you’ve decided to buy a place of your own. Congratulations! It’s one of the most important decisions you’ll make in your lifetime. But before you start your search, there’s an important step you should take – get pre-approved. A pre-approval indicates that you have been conditionally approved [...]
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How to save money for your WNY down payment
Overwhelmed at the prospect of saving money for a down payment for a Western New York home? Here is a great way to start saving for your WNY home - your coffee drinking habit could be eating away at money that you could be saving for that down payment. Do you go out and get yourself Starbuck, Tim Hortons, or Dunkin Donuts coffee everyday in the WNY area instead of drinking the coffee in the office or from home?
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Low Appraisals Still Causing Problems in Some Deals
The real estate market is on the upswing – but are those improvements being reflected in home appraisals? When many potential buyers push the selling price of a home higher than the asking price – which isn’t unusual in neighborhoods where the demand is high – problems are arising because the appraisers are coming in [...]
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What Happens if my House Doesn’t Appraise for the Full Price?
Congratulations! You just got a better than full price offer on your home for sale after having multiple offers. You have gotten through Attorney Review and Home Inspection and the buyer is getting their mortgage approval. Everything is moving smoothly or so you think. The buyer’s mortgage company sends out an appraiser and this is [...]
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100% financing mortgage is still available!
A no down payment, 100% financing mortgage is still available! No, it is not a typo... it it's not a VA mortgage....it's the USDA Rural Development Housing Loan Program. Don't let the word "Rural" fool you. In this program, the word rural is used very loosely, for it incorporates many new suburban areas throughout the country!
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Improve Your Credit Score Before Applying for a Home Loan
It’s a good idea to start working on improving your credit score several months before applying for a big loan, whether you’re buying a house, refinancing or buying a car. Boosting your score could help you qualify for a lower loan rate as well as save you thousands of dollars over the life of the [...]
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FHA Repairs – What really has to be fixed before closing?
FHA Repairs If you are applying for an FHA (Federal Housing Administration) loan, you will need to understand about repairs and how FHA requested repairs may affect your ability to close on the sale of the home. If you are selling a home and the buyers are going to purchase using an FHA loan, it [...]
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Do You have the Credit Score Blues?
Recently we wrote an article about getting ready to apply for a mortgage. And a question came up from a reader that caught me off guard “What is a Credit Score?” and then the next question that sprang up was “why is it so important?” Well I found this video from CreditDVD, which does an [...]
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Your credit report
In determining how much you can borrow to purchase a home, lenders look at a number of factors. The most important are these: your income, your debts, the amount of your down payment and your credit history. Lenders view your credit as an indicator of your willingness to repay a mortgage loan. Having poor credit [...]
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Helpful information regarding the STAR Exemption
School Tax Relief Exemption (STAR) Information Basic STAR (no age limit and Income under $500,000) Application RP-425 completed and signed Ownership of 1,2 or 3 family home or condominium Must be primary residence Copies of two (2) proofs of residency per household must accompany application Acceptable forms of proof include: Current Drivers License Current Voters [...]
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IRS Tax Deductions from your Mortgage
Western New Yorkers are busy preparing their taxes and there are some things that you may not remember that are to your benefit. As tax time is upon us and with all the talk about recession, politics and the housing market, most people are not focused on the fact that we are only ten days from tax day.
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Does selling a home quickly indicate a great Buffalo REALTOR?
You want to be on the market for as short a time as possible. You just interviewed a few Buffalo REALTORS and they placed great emphasis on how many days their listings spent on the market. So is it a good idea to determine the agent you select by the fact that they have lots [...]
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Home financing: Making a down payment and paying for closing costs
For many prospective home buyers, one of the biggest barriers to home ownership is having the funds for the down payment and closing costs. Buyers might consider these options for raising these funds: Sell or borrow against an asset. Selling an asset, such as your car, will increase the amount of money you have available. [...]
