Why to consider a Reverse Mortgage

The Reverse Mortgage programs are not necessarily for all senior homeowners over the age of 62. However there are reasons to consider these programs if you wish to stay in your home. Some of the reasons maybe the death of your spouse, one of you are very sick and need expensive medication, did not plan to life as long as you have, savings are decreasing and cost of living and expensives are continuing to increase. I believe in these programs, I refinanced my mothers home into the HECM program because that was the right one for her, it was a creditline that built intestest and was available for her when she needed extra money. Mother was able to afford making her mortgage payment, but it was a stretch to do anything else, with the program she was able to pay-off her mortgage and get extra money to do some home improvements that she would not have been able to do without the new loan. Let me talk you a little story about my mother, she was a very independent women that did not like people giving or doing things for her. However she was the one that would give you the shirt off her back if you needed it. My mother was the type that when you come to visit she wanted you to have a meal. When worker would come to do a job for her she would make them take lunch which she would make for them. My brother, sisters and I offered our mother the opportunity to stay with us. She would travel between homes for a little over 6 years before she decided that it was time for her to go back to her home. My sisters try to get her to sale her home she let them put it up for sale but decided that she did not want to live with any of us because she liked to take care of herself and she felt like she was losing that ability because we were taking care of her needs. The reverse mortgage allowed my mother to travel to visit us, and to do some home improvements to her home without having to worry about making a mortgage payment. The only house expense was for her to pay the homeowners insurance and property taxes.

Did You Know How Hotel/Motel Financing Works

Did you know how hotel/motel financing works? If not let me enlighten you to a few things you need to know when seeking financing. First - is the property a flagged or non-flagged, if flagged that is good due to the property has a recognizable name and that means that you may be able to get better rates and terms and larger appraisal value than similar non-flagged properties. Second - who is in charge, if you have no hotel property management skills you need to make sure that the property income would be sufficient to cover you hiring a full-time hotel experience management team to run the property. Third - Done waste your money ordering an appraisal because the lender will handle that process. The appraiser will analyze the documents received from the current owner and compare the information with comparable properties to determine value. The value that the seller,buyer,investor comes up with are of no interest to the lender they are going to lend on a percentage of the value derived by the appraiser only.

10 Slip-Ups Homebuyers Often Make

Some home buyers believe that they do not need a Realtor to assist them in purchasing property. However that is a very costly mistake to make. I will give you today 5 of the 10 slip-ups home buyers often make today.
1)Bidding on a home without getting pre-qualified; today some sellers will not accept your offer unless you provide a pre-approval letter from a financial lender. Also you have no idea if you can qualify to purchase at that sale price or afford the monthly payment.
2)Skipping the home inspection; This is a bad idea, this is like purchasing a nice looking car and not checking to make sure it has a running engine(rent the movie the money pit staring Tom Hanks old movie).
3)Searching for home listings only on your own; great idea, however you do not know if the property is pending, or sold already. When working with a Realtor they are able to search and verify if a property is still available.
4)Choosing the wrong real estate agent; The myth that you can get your offer accepted by using the listing agent is false. When purchasing a property you need to work with an agent that knows your wants and needs and that you believe has your interest above their own.
5)Putting on blinders;You may have a picture in your head of the ideal house - but that isn't usually the way home buying works. You need to be a little flexible, the most important thing sure be is this the neighborhood, school dist., etc that you are looking for and is this the right price. You should make a list of needs, wants, and will settle for in your selection process.

Do You Know

Today if you are interested in purchasing a home as of Oct.2010 you would need to have a credit score of minimum 640 to qualify. Of course FHA per their guidelines does not have a credit score requirement. HaHa- the requirement is Investor's that buy and sell your Note on Wall Street.

My Agents Unfair Advantage: Energy-Efficient Improvements

My Agents Unfair Advantage: Energy-Efficient Improvements: "Green home improvements such as thermal windows, insulation or a propane furnace not only help save the environment but also build your home..."

Energy-Efficient Improvements

Green home improvements such as thermal windows, insulation or a propane furnace not only help save the environment but also build your home equity. Add the grants you can apply for and the tax credits you can claim on energy-efficient home improvements and you may be looking at a profitable return on your investment. For example, you can claim for tax credits of 30 percent of the cost of buying new energy-efficient windows, doors or skylights. This will reduce your energy bills, increase the value of your home and make your home more comfortable by reducing drafts and sharp temperature changes.
City of Temecula has a home improvement grant up to $7500.00

Financial Fitness

As this year comes to a closing have you plan what you are going to do as a new year resolution? I have a good idea, if you are training yourself to have a healthy body you make want to consider working on training yourself to have financial freedom. Pay down all your credit debt to less than half of your credit limit, and all you need to keep is no more than 4 credit items that are reflecting active balances on a regular basis. This year you should plan to not be in financial debt.