Entries from Searchlight Crusade tagged with 'planning'
Economics of Housing in High Density Areas
Here are the facts of the situation, whether you're talking about San Diego or Manhattan, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, or any of the other densely packed, high cost areas where all the employment and career opportunities are. Fact 1:...
100% Financing or Low Down Payment or Low Equity: PMI May Be The Only Option
One of the casualties of the lending meltdown is the high loan to value second mortgage. With many properties locally having lost twenty percent or more of their value, a second mortgage on a property that ends up in default...
Top Twelve Things That Help You Buy Property At A Bargain Price
Quite a while ago, I wrote Top Ten Reasons You Bought The Wrong House and Top Ten Reasons Your Home Isn't Selling. In that vein, I'm going to write a list of the most important things when you're shopping for...
Loan Fall-Out And The Effects Upon Consumers
This is going to be a long article and somewhat technical in places, but it needs to be covered and it's important to everyone who is thinking about getting a real estate loan. "Fall-Out" is very simple: The number...
Investment Risk and Paying off the Mortgage Early
An email: Hi Dan, I was reading your article on "should you pay off your mortgage faster?" (DM: link here DELETED It'll be a fresh 30 year loan and I'm 44 years old so this discussion has interest, I...
Money You Will Spend Before Your Real Estate Purchase Is Consummated
Before you even make an offer, you should be aware that you're going to spend a significant amount of money in the process of buying a property before the transaction is consummated. This will largely be money that you will...
Military Housing Allowance and Loan Qualification
One of the things that is really helping military families afford good properties is the military housing allowance and the way that lenders treat it, making it much easier for them to qualify with regards to debt to income...
Second Trust Deeds: Home Equity Loans and Home Equity Lines of Credit
A Home Equity Loan, or HEL (pronounced "heel") is a one time loan, much like a car loan. You get the money all at once, pay it back so many dollars per month, and when it's paid, it's over....
Cash to Close - A Basic Primer
Cash to close has always been an underwriting standard, but more people are running into it as a reason why they cannot buy that property, why their buyers cannot perform, and why they can't get that refinance approved. With...
Pay a Prepayment Penalty Now or Wait to Refinance Until It Expires?
The original article was written when rates were higher. Rates are lower now so the answer is slightly different, the thought process to make that decision is the same. I have an adustable rate mortgage (5.875) which is set to...
If You Need A Loan To Buy A Home, You Need A 60 Day Escrow
Minimum Time was, a few short years ago, when I could reliably do a purchase money loan in two and a half weeks. That has now changed. There are three separate delays of one to two weeks that have been...
Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage Faster?
I have to admit to being conflicted. The numbers say no. The psychology says yes. Let's examine both. Most first mortgages out there are between six and seven percent, and tax deductible at a marginal rate of about 28%. If...
Using the Real Estate and Mortgage Information Found Here
The inspiration for this article came when I checked my referral logs and found an article where somebody was essentially saying "If you want to be depressed, go read this site and then go rent somewhere for the rest of...
Pocket Listings: Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Every so often, you will see references to a "pocket" listing. These are usually bad for owners, and usually bad for buyers, but good for agents. A "pocket listing" is one where there agent keeps the listing "in his pocket"...
Fixed rate, Balloon, ARM and Hybrid Loans
One of the things that always seems to be aiming to confuse mortgage consumers is advertising based upon whether the loan is fixed rate, and for how long. First, I need to acquaint you with two concepts: amortization and term....
Finding or Creating a "Green" or Eco-Friendly House
With the current popularity of pursuing a "green" lifestyle and some sustainability (garden plot, edible landscaping, micro-orchard, etc.) in one's yard area, I value your input about what to look for in an older subdivision with larger lots that aren't...
Buying Off A Prepayment Penalty At Loan Inception
Been reading some of your informative tips. I am looking at refinancing and getting a $378000 mortgage. Now in the case of having a 3 yr prepay penalty, vs paying 1.5% in points to make it a 1 yr...
Real Estate: Getting From Where You Are To Where You Want To Be
When I'm driving, and get to busy main streets, I hate turning left onto major streets unless there's a light there. Traffic is coming hard both ways, usually at high speeds, and with only intermittent breaks in each direction. If...
The High Cost of Waiting To Buy A Home
(Note: This is a repeat and 100% financing is not currently available unless you are one of those with a VA loan available to you - but the article is still valid for those who have the required down payment...
Save For A Down Payment or Buy Now? (Part 2 of 2)
(click for Part 1 of Save For A Down Payment or Buy Now?, which deals with the basic question of how well saving for a down payment increases affordability) As an alternative strategy, suppose that instead of waiting to buy...
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