The Best Way to Buy Foreclosures?
What is the best way to buy foreclosure properties? While it's a simple question, the answer is not quite as easy. Given the state of the real estate markets in the U.S. now is as good a time as any to try.
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When Bad Credit Marries Good Credit
You've found Mr. or Ms. Wonderful. Things are starting to get serious and you both see marraige on the horizon, so you're running through the marital checklist... but what happens when one's had trouble?
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Avoid Common Housebuying Mistakes
You're ready to buy a new home. Maybe it's your first shot at the American dream. Or perhaps you're moving up in the world. The same pitfalls exist whether you're buying a starter home or a mansion.
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How to Negotiate Closing Costs
Shopping around for a decent mortgage rate and terms should not be the end of your search for the perfect home purchase. Here's a quick primer to help you save money on your closing costs.
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Get a Mortgage in Your Pajamas
Time was that you used to have to spend all day huting for the perfect loan. Here's how you can find a mortgage dressed in pajamas and get a better deal than leaving your home dressed to the nines.
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What Really Matters in an Inspection?
Buying a home will be stressful. A home inspection is supposed to give you peace of mind, but can often have the opposite effect. How do you know just what you should really be concerned about?
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The Lowest Rate Can COST You Money
By focusing entirely on shopping for the lowest mortgage interest rate you play right in to the hands of unscrupulous mortgage originators and can wind up spending thousands of dollars unnecessarily.
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Property Details
All properties found on this website are also listed in the Houston area Multiple Listing Service. For more details about this property, simply complete the form below to have marketing materials delivered to your inbox automatically.
Brian Varvel, Listing Agent
Brian has lived, worked, and played in the Katy area for over 20 years and is intimately familiar with the area. He specializes in residential sales and leasing, with a specialized focus on marketing and selling REO (foreclosure) properties.
Call directly:
281.787.0930
Should you re-invest all the equity from the sale of your current home? Maybe not!
Life has a funny way of sometimes increasing ones debt; it could be due to unexpected issues or simply increased living expenses. Now may be the best time to get creative with the equity (proceeds) from the sale of your current home!
We all tend to think that putting down 20% on the purchase of a home is the only way to get rid of mortgage insurance. The fact is, there are many ways but for example's sake, let's keep this simple:
You can put down as little as 10% and have no mortgage insurance. What we create is a purchase money second loan to equal the 20% difference depending on your down payment. Yes, your payment will increase the difference of the second; however if you had debt to pay off it may put you in a much better cash flow and/or better tax position, or both.
As an example, Bill is buying a home for $200,000 with 20% down. That gives Bill a 30 year mortgage of $160,000 with monthly payments of approximately $1,011. In addition, Bill has roughly $20,000 worth of credit card debt and is paying 5% of the balance for an additional monthly expense of $1,000. Bill's monthly expense is now $2,011 with no mortgage insurance.
If we get creative and pay off the credit card debt thereby releasing the $1,000 non taxable payment and create an 80% first loan and 10% purchase money second with a 10% down payment, you would add approximately $160 per month to your house payment. Add that $160 to your monthly payment for the first loan and you get a total monthly expense of $1,171. Also known as an 80/10/10, this results in a cash flow savings of $840 per month. Now, that is smart financing and to add icing on top of that, apply the $840 saved to pay off the second quicker.
