Why is there such a difference between what my appraised value is and the price similar homes are selling for on my street? It’s a great question, and you don’t have to be a mortgage professional or a real estate agent to understand the answer. The distinction lies in the purpose of the two valuations […]
Making Sure Your Cash-To-Close Comes From The Proper Source
Providing proper asset documentation and the actual source of the funds is a critical element of the loan closing process. There’s nothing worse in a real estate purchase than making it all the way through the hoops and hurdles just to have a loan denied after the final documents have been signed due to the […]
Talk the Talk – Know the Mortgage Lingo at Closing
What the heck are they talking about? Many borrowers go through the closing process in a haze, nodding, smiling, and signing through a bunch of noise that sounds like Greek. Even though you may have put your trust in your real estate and mortgage team, it helps to understand some of the terminology so that […]
Five Myths About Home Values
A few years ago, when home values were just going up, most homeowners did not question appraisals much. It was the best of times. Over the past two and a half years, home sellers and even listing agents quite often question and pick apart appraisals. It was the worst of times. A Tale of Two […]
How Do Mortgage Companies Value A Property That Has Not Been Built Yet?
It’s obviously easier to picture the process of estimating value on an existing property in a neighborhood that has a history of home sales, but the task of determining the value on new construction projects does pose some challenges. Appraisals on homes that haven’t been built yet generally require the contractor and home buyer to […]
HOA Hurdles to be Aware of When Looking at New Properties
A Home Owner Association (HOA) can have a huge impact on your life when you buy a home in a PUD (Planned Unit Development) or Condominium Project. According to Wikipedia: A homeowners’ association (abbrev. HOA) is an organization created by a real estate developer for the purpose of developing, managing and selling a development of […]
Assembling Your Home Buying Team – Knowing The Players
Buying a new home is literally a team sport since there are so many tasks, important timelines, documents and responsibilities that all need special care and attention. Besides working with a professional team that you trust, it’s important that the individual players have the ability to effectively communicate and execute on important decisions together as […]