Just Listed - Gettysburg, OH

This place would make a great first-time homebuyer place or income producer. Four bedrooms and almost 1200 square feet of living space. Updates include: vinyl windows, newer central heat and air, and village sewer hookup. Priced at $61,000 this place is ready to sell and you can move in at closing.

Home Buying On Your Mind?

Have you been waiting to buy that first home? Are you ready to move up because your family is growing but don't think you can sell your current home?

Why?

Some reasons I've been hearing are:

"Interest rates aren't changing enough for us to afford a house."
"I don't have much of a down payment."
"The timing isn't right."
"Not a good time to try and sell our house to be able to move up"

Well.....

Interest rates are falling, yesterday (Jan. 13, 2008) there were rates in the Dayton area for as low as 4.50% for a 30 year fixed and even lower for 15 year loans. www.interest.com

FHA loans often require less of a down payment, as low as 3% of the loan amount. The federal government is offering first time home buyers up to a $7500 tax credit to be paid back over a period of 15 years, interest free! Sellers are sometimes willing to pay closing costs and or help with the down payment.

The time to buy a new house, first or move up, couldn't be better. There are still plenty of homes on the market and interest rates are approaching historic lows.

Yes, you might take a loss on the sale of your home but the savings you'll get on another could offset that loss. Remember, there are going to be more people looking.

Check with your local lender for more details on different types of loans and current rates. I can provide some resources and as always I'd love to assist you in finding that home of your dreams.

Give me a call (937-423-3316) or email (trfinch@gmail.com) or leave me a question or a comment. I'd love to hear what you have to say or answer your questions.

First-Time Homebuyer - Part Three

Once you've selected an agent who you're comfortable with and talked to a loan officer to determine what you can afford it's time to sit down and get together a list of what you want in a first home.


What Are Your Basic Needs?

1. How many bedrooms are essential?
2. One, One and a half, or two bathrooms?
3. Living room, family room, or both?
4. Eat in kitchen or separate dining room?
5. Office space?
6. Storage space?
7. Garage - attached or detached? Size one, two, or more cars?
8. School district?
9. Close to town or outside and how far?


What Additional Items Would You Like?

1. Laundry room?
2. Built on a slab, crawl space, or basement?
3. Outside entertainment area? Deck, patio, backyard?
4. Type of heating?
5. Overall condition of the house - appliances, roof, mechanicals, foundation,
etc.
6. Attached master bathroom?
7. First floor master bedroom?

Add others to match your desires.


Make sure your basic needs list are met first for each place before going on to the additional items. By answering these basic questions and any others you choose to add you will be able to start assembling a list that will greatly aid your agent in finding homes for you on the MLS (multiple listing service) and then setting up showings.

Any questions or comments? I'd love to hear them.

First-Time Homebuyer - Part One

You're ready to buy a house!


A home can be one of your best investments if you do your research and don't rush into it. In the next series of posts I will try to answer a lot of questions a first-time home buyer might have and prepare you for that most important step. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section and I'll respond as quickly as possible.


What are the advantages of owning your own home?

• It's yours and you can do what you want with it (in most cases)
• When filing taxes, you can deduct your mortgage interest (if you itemize)
• You can deduct the points paid for your loan (with some exceptions)
• You can deduct your property taxes
• There are other closing costs that may be deducted
  
• It will increase in value (appreciate)
• You gain equity with every payment you make (you can't do that with rent $)
  
• You may eventually borrow against your equity

The process of buying a home can and should be a long one. Make sure you ask many questions of your real estate agent and your loan officer. The reward for your diligence and patience will be a higher degree of satisfaction and confidence in your decision.