All About Title Insurance

Check out my latest appearance on The Morning Blend where Julie Radke and I talk about title insurance! The Morning Blend

Top 10 Deal Killers!

This was yesterday's visit to Omaha's great morning program, The Morning Blend Peg Maloney - Omaha Morning Blend

All About Home Inspections!

Check out this Morning Blend segment where we talk all about home inspections! All about Home Inspections!

Check out my latest appearance on The Morning Blend!

Check out my latest appearance on The Morning Blend, this week was all about homes in need of repairs! Buying Homes In Need Of Repair

First Time Home Buyer Loan Availability

Today we are discussing the availability of loans for first time home buyers with Joe Iaccheri from Regent Financial Group in Omaha, NE. First time home buyers are the biggest group of buyers in the market.

The most commonly used loan for first time home buyers is the FHA Loan, (Federal Housing Administration). The FHA loan has more leniency is some areas where first time home buyers are concerned. These areas are Total Debt Ratio, Credit Score and Available Reserves which make this loan easier to qualify for. Mortgage Insurance is also now built into the FHA loans where before you would have had to carry PMI or Private Mortgage Insurance on your first home. This Mortgage Insurance insures the money on the behalf of the lender. As of April 18, 2011, The government has increased Private Mortgage Insurance.

5% Conventional Loans are great for people with rock star credit. You will need to have a very high credit score and good reserves. Most Private Mortgage Insurance companies do not like to insure 5% Conventional loans for people. They would rather flip you to a 10% Conventional loan or to an FHA loan and be able to carry Private Mortgage Insurance. With just a 5% down payment, you are considered more of a risk by the bank rather than if you were to put 10% down.

Get your credit cleaned up.

Be prepared for extra paperwork.

The national average is 45 days for closing of loans.

Call Joe Iacherri at Regent Financial today!
4402-884-5613
www.Regentfinancial.com

Peg Maloney
Re/Max Real Estate Group
402-598-3965
www.omahanebraskahouses.com

What To Consider When Buying a Home

Rismedia Top 5: Choosing a home is no easy process, however, and many factors must be carefully weighed before making your selection. As a member of the Top 5 in Real Estate Network®, I advise my clients to pay careful attention to a few details in particular when considering a home—these important details will significantly impact your long-term happiness in the home as well as the home’s appreciation over time. So, as you begin to consider properties in our neighborhood, here are a few issues to think about that may help you find exactly the right home for you and your family:

Type of home: One-story or two, single-family, duplex or condo? How will paying homeowner dues affect your overall buying power? Will a swimming pool be a bonus or a hindrance? Making these decisions in advance will help you focus on the right types of home to look at.

New or existing: A new home is all shiny and clean, but will carry with it some hefty initial costs such as landscaping and window coverings. An existing home will have many of these things, but repairs or renovations that may need to be made will also impact your budget.

Features: Weigh the costs of gas vs. electric heating and cooling, and the possible need for fencing. How important is a fireplace? Does the home have enough bedrooms and bathrooms to support your family in the coming years?

Ease of maintenance: What is the condition of the roof? The appliances? Will you have to paint the interior or exterior and/or replace the carpeting? Be sure to factor in such costs in your budget and your negotiations.

Location: Do you want to be in the city or in the country? Nearer to libraries, parks and entertainment or set among tall trees and lakes? What about the need for public transportation? Nearby hospitals and schools?

Crime rate and public schools: Check with local enforcement and local residents to get a feeling for statistics and quality. I can also provide you with up-to-date statistics on this information.

Economic stability: Whether an area is growing or not can affect its future property value—as will the economic stability of the area.

Property tax: Examine the annual amount of real estate taxes and other assessments levied in the neighborhoods you are considering.

I can help find the answers to the above concerns as well as provide more suggestions on what to look for in a new home—just e-mail me. Also, please pass this article onto others who may benefit from this information

Peg Maloney
RE/MAX Real Estate Group
Office: 800-248-6647
Mobile: 402-598-3965
peg@maloney.com
http://www.pegmaloney.com

Improve Your Credit Score Before Searching for a Home

I have people who ask me all the time, "What is the first step in buying a home?" I have found a great article that touches that subject. Credit! Rebuild your credit before trying to buy a home.

By Paige Tepping

RISMEDIA, October 16, 2010--Many prospective homeowners find out the hard way the importance of a good credit score when they apply for a home mortgage, especially after the subprime loan crisis. If you are considering buying a home in the near future, it is a good idea to give your credit score a check-up and then take positive steps to improve your credit score if you find problems. Ideally, it is best to begin working on improving your credit score at least six months before you plan to start shopping for a home.

According to the experts at Buy-and-Sell-House-Fast.com, the following tips will help you improve your credit and should be taken before you begin your home search.

The first critical step in taking care of your credit is to check your credit report. Unfortunately, many people fail to take this all important first step. Instead, they wait until they have applied for a mortgage loan to find out from the lender that there are problems with their credit scores.

By checking your credit score before you apply for a mortgage loan, you gain the opportunity to find out if there are problems which you can correct and discrepancies that need to be removed. When you check your credit report, make sure you check all three of the national credit reporting agencies: Experian, Trans-Union and EquiFax.

Review your credit report carefully for items that may be erroneous. If you believe that an item on your credit report is reported in error, you have the right to contest it. To do so, you will need to contact the credit reporting agency and explain why you believe the item is inaccurate. Supporting documentation such as receipts and cancelled checks can help your claim. Alternatively, you can engage a credit report repair services firm to fix your credit report.

If there are derogatory items on your credit report that are accurate but which could cause problems in your loan application, you cannot have them removed; however, you can take positive steps to counteract them. In the event that you have missed payments in the past, take steps now to get your bills current. Even if it means tapping into money that you might be planning to use for a down payment, it is essential that you get your accounts current and keep them that way. Begin by immediately making your payments on time. There is nothing which can lower your credit score more quickly than late payments. Ideally, make an attempt to begin sending in your payments a few days ahead of time to make sure they arrive on time and you do not have any more late payments on your record. If necessary, begin taking advantage of electronic payments in order to make sure your payments are made on time. Over time, this can make significant difference.

Keep in mind that eradicating all of your credit balances is really not the solution. In fact, credit can be your friend when you are looking to make a big purchase such as a home. The key is to make sure your credit is positive, not negative. Toward that end, avoid actually closing out your accounts. Instead, make an effort to pay down your balances and keep them paid down well below the minimum or completely paid off, but do not close the account. When your lender runs your credit to make a decision on your mortgage application, he or she will want to see that you have had a long credit management history.

After reviewing your credit history, if you see that most, if not all of your credit cards are maxed out or nearly maxed out, it is time to sit down and plan an aggressive strategy for paying some of them down. One of the critical factors that often determine your ability to be approved for a mortgage loan is your debt to income ratio. In addition, high credit card balances can drag down your credit score. Therefore, it is important to look at paying off some of your balances.

It is generally better to begin with your highest-rate balances first. Many consumers are tempted to move around balances when they receive an offer from another bank that is good; however, before you do this, remember that the worst thing you can do when you are trying to make a major purchase is to open new accounts.

By following these guidelines, you can improve your credit score and improve your chances of being approved for your home mortgage loan.

http://www.pegmaloney.com
http://www.omahanebraskashortsales.com