Real Estate Investing Advice & Information

Let’s face it. Your basement is a hole in the ground, and you don’t want water getting into that hole. Grading and drainage are issues every home owner faces. Home inspectors find grading and drainage problems to be quite common.

If grading collects and holds water near a foundation wall it can cause basement flooding. That can lead to mold growth as soon as 48 hours after flooding, something you definitely don’t want. Of course, any amount of flooding can damage those valuable items you’ve stored in your basement, and you don’t want that either.

If you’ve lived in an area for quite a while, you maybe familiar enough to detect certain weather patterns, such as a wet spring that could cause flooding. You may already know you have to be on guard concerning water getting into your basement. However, aside from immediate flooding, water leakage over a long period of time will rot and damage wood framing structures and also cause damage to the foundation. That’s something to be aware of, too. continue reading…

First, it is important to understand what PITI means. PITI means the Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance. The PITI does the same thing that the lender who underwrites your loan does in calculating your property taxes and insurance in a monthly basis. If applicable, you may have to add a homeowner’s association fee or a mortgage insurance fee for your calculation.

Be able to calculate your PITI mortgage payment when you buy a home. This is the only calculator that automatically calculates the mortgage payments already with interest, principal, property taxes and insurance. These are the four important factors in buying a home.

Here is a guide on how to use this type of mortgage payment calculator:
1. Enter the sales price of the property
2. Enter the amount of your down payment
3. Choose up to three different programs or mortgage rates to calculate your mortgage payments
If you are using an adjustable rate mortgage, you should qualify at the fully indexed rate, approximately the same as a 30-year fixed mortgage in most cases. After entering these three, click on button “calculate PITI mortgage payments” continue reading…

We all know that moving can be expensive but there are ways that you can cut the cost when you buy a new home. If you are moving for work, find out of your employer is willing to cover some of the expenses involved. Many of them are but you do have to follow certain guidelines.

They may give you a reimbursement check or they may cover a percentage of the cost of the move. Others will cover up to a particular dollar amount and then you are responsible for the remaining cost. Ask your employer before you move what they offer so you can use it to your benefit.

Look for promotions that you can benefit from. For example some real estate agencies have moving trucks. When you buy a home through them you can use their moving trucks free of charge. There are certain restrictions that apply but such promotions are worth looking into. continue reading…

Something strange happened, and if you were born before the mid-1980s you likely know all-to-well what it was: a recession.

This recession has been so widely hyped up for many reasons, the least of which include the folding of several major American banks and the bankruptcy of an entire country (you did what you could, Iceland). However, more than anything, this recession has been so widely pumped-up simply because it was the first major recession that an entire generation of people had ever experienced. For those born in the 1980s and beyond, a recession was something they had never had the pleasure of experiencing. Until now, that is.

Not only that, but the Internet and the world’s ability to send and receive information in a tenth of a second makes it easier than ever before to transmit news. Of course, doom and gloom sells nearly as good as sex, and that’s what’s been all over TV and the Internet.

Economic Recession Myths: You Can Still Buy a Home, Dummy!

One thing that seems to be circulated more than anything is the myth that the recession, with all of its economic hardship and financial disparity, has made it impossible for your average Joe to purchase a home or obtain a mortgage. To be blunt: if you believe that, you are wrong. continue reading…