Whether you are a first time home buyer or a repeat buyer, 2011 is a great year to buy a home. With so many foreclosures and short sales out there, it’s hard not to find a home priced less than it’s current market value.

Here are 3 important tips of advice for buying in 2011:

Get Pre-Approved First

All to often I receive a phone call from a customer that’s looking to get pre-approved for a mortgage, because they already put an offer into a home. Seriously? Even if you know you have great credit, tons of assets, etc. the lending world has basically turned upside down in the recent years. With changes happening almost monthly, mortgage guidelines are much different than the last time you bought a home or think that your good credit and lots of money will get you approved. Yes, those are great, but you will be surprised what changes have been made.

For example, if you are looking to buy a condo, many lenders require a 10% down payment. Even though with conventional mortgage loans you only have to put 5% down, the lenders set their own overlays on top of Fannie Mae guidelines. This is something most buyers don’t even know until they talk to their loan officer.

A pre-approval letter is expected by your realtor and the seller of the home.  They both know how much more difficult it is to get approved for a mortgage, so they expect this letter when you put an offer into a home.  Some realtors even require this before showing you homes.

Know Your Mortgage Options

There are tons of mortgage programs out their for bad credit, no down payment, small down payments, etc. Working with an experienced loan officer will put you in a great position in understanding what options are out there. There are even programs that don’t require PMI (private mortgage insurance) as part of your mortgage payment with less than 20% down. Typically, this can only be avoided if you put have a 20% down payment.

Take the time to ask about these programs and don’t be afraid to ask more questions if you don’t fully understand. Buying a home comes with lots of things to know and understand, especially if you need a mortgage loan.

Foreclosed Homes

There are so many foreclosed homes out there, it’s hard not to find a good deal.  What you need to be prepared for is the condition of the home.  Many foreclosed homes sell “as is”, which means the lender that is selling it will not repair anything, even if you ask.  You may find something small like old 70′s carpet with wall paper only your grandmother would pick out, but you may also find holes in walls, old roofs, basement problems, etc.  You need to be prepared when choosing a home that needs major repairs, because you will be limited on mortgage loans.  There are mortgage programs specifically for homes like this, so make sure your loan officer offers these types of programs, because lenders will not approved a mortgage with a home “as is” if there are major structural problems.

You can take a look at foreclosed homes for free for 7 days at www.RealtyTrac.com

Here are some other posts that will help you with buying a home:

How To Figure Out The Value Of A Home
How To Get A Good Price On A Home

Just a quick post today to share a positive post about the real estate market in 2011.

Do you live in any of these states or own a home in any of these states?  If so, market values will look better this year then the recent past.

5 States Where Housing Is Predicted to Recover the Quickest

After years of working in the real estate business, I’ve learned one of the most important things a buyer needs to know in order to get the best price on a home.  There is only one reason why people look to buy foreclosed homes, they think they will get a great deal for the home.  Just like anything you buy, say it’s a new car, new furniture, etc. there is one solid piece of information that is like gold when looking for the best deal.

The solid gold information you need to find when searching for a great price on a home, is knowing the seller’s current situation.

Once you know and understand that the seller is desperate to sell, you are at the greatest advantage when you start to negotiate.  An example would be a recent divorce or a spouse that passed away.  Both of these situations have lost half their household income and, usually, the one income remaining is not enough to support the mortgage payments, along with all their other bills.  Believe me, just about every mortgage application I take needs both incomes to approve.

A seller in either one of these situations usually wants to get rid of the home fast, because it helps them to move on from what trauma they just went through.  Price isn’t on their mind, time is more important at this point.

Remember, if you really want a good price from a seller in this situation, then you need to think business and don’t let your emotions take over.  It’s in our nature to feel bad when traumatic things happen to good people, but you just want to buy a good home at a good price.

A housing rescue bill has passed through the House and Congress this week. It’s next stop…President Bush. There is much talk about him signing this bill the first part of this week!

This bill will help HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of homeowners, facing foreclosure, refinance OUT of foreclosure! This is a very exciting program that will help many people stay in their homes.

Once the bill is signed by President Bush this week, I will follow up with more detailed information on how this can help anyone refinance out of foreclosure.

But at this point, I encourage you to contact me to get on my list of people I will call immediately, once I’m able to help with this type of refinance!

I look forward to helping you!