Sometimes financial problems can be solved relatively easily. I was struggling to make it from week to week until I learned that some financial organization could change my spending habits. If you can organize your personal finances, you will see exactly where all of your hard earned money goes. You will be shocked to see how much the morning coffee and donuts cost you each month. This blog will provide you with information that can help you get your personal finances organized so that you don't have to continue struggling from paycheck to paycheck throughout each and every month this year.
If you are considering purchasing a home in the near future and you think you have the credentials to do so, you want to sit down with different mortgage officers at your local banks. There are a lot of different things you may not know when it comes to the home buying process or how much it's really going to cost you. The mortgage professional can look at your credentials and tell you if you are pre-qualified before they pull your credit score. Here are a few things to ask about.
Upfront Fees and Costs
When you purchase a home, you need to have money for a lot of costs before you can close on your home loan. You need to have money for the down payment and your closing costs, and closing costs alone can be up to 5 percent of the sale.
The down payment will be based off what your bank requires. You also have to pay an application fee for an appraisal and for a year's worth of homeowners insurance in advance. There are other miscellaneous expenses (e.g. earnest money, real estate agent fees, etc.) you should prepare for, and the bank you choose can give you a list.
Fixed or Adjustable Rate Mortgages
The bank may suggest or require you pick a fixed rate mortgage, where the interest rate never changes, or they could try to talk you into an adjustable rate mortgage. The adjustable rate mortgage offers a low rate for the first few years, but then the rate will get high after that. It' s best to get the lowest fixed rate mortgage you can.
Do You Qualify for a 15 Year Mortgage?
If you can afford the payments and you can make it work, see if you can quality for a 15 year mortgage or if the bank does 15-year mortgages. There are a variety of benefits to doing this--for instance, you'll build equity more quickly. While this is going to make your payments higher at first, the house is going to paid off sooner and you'll pay far less in interest.
If you are interested in owning your home it's very important to shop around to compare interest rates. Once you find a bank you think you want to work with, let them run your credit. Every time someone pulls your credit report it can hurt your score, so only do it when you find a bank you trust.
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