Roberta Castillo

I walked into Starbucks like I do every Wednesday and ordered my iced mocha and whatever coffee cake (nonfat) looked tempting enough. I found my favorite chair sat back and I read chapter three of the "Automatic Millionaire Homeowner" by David Bach. What I took away from this chapter is that you have to be automatic about everything. David suggests that you automatically deposit money into your savings account.

If you do not do it automatically, something will come up and you will not save. If you think you cannot save, you can use the worksheet on page 80 and figure out how many incedental items you are purchasing every month and decide which one you can give up in order to save for your home.

For those of you out there that say, I can save money with out doing it automatically, David says think of Murphy's Law(I LOVE IT!) "Whatever can happen will happen"



There is a section in this chapter that mentions that you don't need a big down payment to apply for a loan and mentions 80/20 or 90/10 loans. That part is a little out dated. Those loans are not currently available in today's market. However, we still have the FHA loan which requires 3.5% down payment and you can get the seller to pay up to 6% of your closing costs.

There is a little time left to purchase and get the $8,000.00 first time homebuyer tax credit. If you purchase your home, and put $8,000.00 down you will get that money back to either use for fixing up your home, or you can put it back into savings.

Friday, August 14, 2009

If you are a First Time Homebuyer and you are interested in the slightest about purchasing a home, NOW is the time. The clock is ticking down. The deadline is November 30, 2009 so that means you need to get in to see your lender TODAY and get pre-qualified, then go shopping for your home. Although the lending requirements have changed over the last 24 months, believe it or not banks are still lending money. FHA is still probably the most attractive program for someone purchasing a home for the first time who does not necessarily want to pay all of their down payment, pre-paids, and closing costs out of pocket.

Wells Fargo's First Time Homebuyer's Guide defines these as:

Down payment - Money paid to make up the difference
between the purchase price and the mortgage amount.

Prepaids - Closing costs related to the mortgage loan which
are collected at or before loan closing - including per diem
prepaid interest and initial deposits of monthly escrows of
taxes and insurance.

Closing costs - The costs paid by the mortgage borrower (and
sometimes the seller) in addition to the purchase price of the
property. These include the origination fee, discount points,
appraisal, credit report, title insurance, attorney's fees, survey,
and prepaid items such as tax and insurance escrow payments.

If you require additional information, check with your lender, getting a home loan is a process, however, it does not have to be a difficult process if you find the right guidance. Give me a call or visit my website if you would like me to assist you.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

I had an interesting conversation yesterday revolving around the First Time Homebuyer tax
credit. I would like to share that information. First of all we need to be on the same page about the tax credit itself. You cannot have had ownership interest in a property for the last 3 years to qualify and you will recieve a credit of 10% of your purchase price up to a maximum of $8000.00. Sounds great! You have until 11/30/2009 to close and fund to recieve your credit when you file your income taxes. GET SHOPPING. You will recieve your money after you close when you receive your tax refund.

There is also a program with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs that will allow you to take an advance on your Tax Credit prior to closing and use that money for down payment or closing costs.

Check with your Mortgage lender to get specific details on these programs and to see if you qualify. There is a small window of opportunity so if you are interested in these programs, now is the time to ask.