A great time to buy

[Comment Below]

By Matthew Stephens

With the current market situation in real estate, this summer will be a great time to look into purchasing a home. With the recent fed cuts and other sources of financing, money is cheap and available to those with a steady job.

With mortgage rates now down to near 5 percent for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage, there is no excuse to keep renting. There are plenty of guides online that can calculate your mortgage payment with a given rate. Just remember when you are evaluating your price range to include allowances for utilities that you have previously not had to pay.

In addition to traditional financing, you may also qualify for bond money from the city or parish – often with very low rates. Although bond financing offers low rates, the caveat is that you must live in the home for nine years, lest you pay a penalty.

You can learn more about these programs by contacting your mortgage lender or realtor, who can refer you to the right people. Remember to check on your credit report and clear up any discrepancies before allowing it to be pulled by a credit.

Is the price right? It’s hard to tell, especially since your opinion of the house will largely determine how you value it. As far as quantitative evaluations, realtors use a Current Market Analysis (CMA) to compare different homes of similar size that have sold recently in the area. This method provides you a per square foot basis to evaluate your alternatives on.

From my recent experience, I found that houses in the same subdivision were more expensive when advertised for sale by owner. Even though many sellers claim that selling it by owner makes the house cheaper, I have not found that to be the case. Of course, the market is house by house, so you might find a good price with a FSBO.

My best advice to you as a buyer is to use a realtor. It costs you nothing, and they are extremely helpful, especially since you will have so many questions about this very complicated transaction. Good luck with your purchase; it’s a great time to buy!

E-mail the author at Matthew@tigerweekly.com

Originally Published: Issue 601 - March 26, 2008

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