Tag: homeowners
guide to buying a home

The Ultimate Guide to Purchasing Your Home 2023

Many people strive to own their own home. Homeownership is a pillar in the American dream, and owning a home is often considered a sign of success and accomplishment.

There are many things that come into play when buying a home, though. If you’re looking to make 2020 the year you own your own place, here’s a quick guide to get you on the right track.

Step 1: Find Out What You Qualify For

The first thing to do in the homebuying process is to get pre-approved for a home loan. Once you do this, you’ll know what price range to look within when looking at homes.

There are multiple factors that influence what kind of home loan you can get. Lenders look at factors like your debt-to-income ratio and credit score to determine what kind of loan you qualify for and the value of that loan.

It’s important to check your credit score before applying for a mortgage. According to NerdWallet.com, the lowest credit score needed to purchase a home is 620. If you have a credit score below 620, you greatly lower your chances of getting pre-approved for a home loan.

If you need to work on your credit score, strive to get it to the national average. On average, the typical American has a FICO credit score of 700. The closer your score is to the national average, the better your chances of getting pre-approved for a loan are.

This stage of the homebuying process is extremely important. It’s here that you’ll honestly assess your financial health and how a mortgage could impact it. As of January 2019, American households owed $9.12 trillion in mortgage debt. It’s crucial to honestly assess if you can handle this kind of financial responsibility.

Step 2: Decide What Kind Of Home You Want To Buy

Once you are pre-approved for a home loan, the next thing to do is decide what kind of home you want to buy. The type of home you buy is partially dependent on what kind of loan you get. For example, there are certain requirements that must be met if a home is to be bought with an FHA loan instead of a traditional home loan.

There are multiple kinds of homes you can choose to pursue. These include traditional houses, townhouses, and condominiums. Each kind of home has its pros and cons. For example, if you buy a home, you are responsible for all its maintenance. If you buy a place that’s part of an HOA, such as a townhouse or condo, that maintenance is done for you but you pay for it through HOA fees. Although Americans have a one in five chance of purchasing a home that’s a part of an HOA, it’s truly up to you to decide what kind of home works for you.

Step 3: Hire The Right Real Estate Agent

Once you know what kind of home you’re looking for and how much you can afford, it’s time to hire a real estate agent. Real estate agents are professionals who help you find your ideal home.

There are a couple of key characteristics you should look for in a real estate agent. First, you should look for someone who knows the market inside and out. They should be able to tell you if it’s really the best time to buy a home and what the pros and cons are of buying now.

Second, a real estate agent should be a master negotiator. They will act as the bridge between you and the seller. You’ll want your bridge to be as strong as possible, like the 3D-printed bridge with the record for holding about 250 pounds, the most weight any bridge created by LulzBot 3D Printers has been able to hold. You need your real estate agent to hold firm on deals when they need to. Negotiating with sellers is a part of almost every real estate transaction, so it’s important that your real estate agent knows how to create the best deal possible for you.

Third, it’s important that your real estate agent truly looks out for you and your housing needs. They should be looking for homes that will make you happy and are within your budget. If a real estate agent only sees you as a commission check, then it’s time to move on from them.

Step 4: Search For The Right Home

Now that you have a real estate agent in your corner, it’s time to house hunt.

House hunting involves a lot of time, organization, and patience. You will most likely have to move your schedule around to fit in showings. Once you go to these showings, it’s important to get as much information about the house as possible. If you’re looking at a home that needs to be fixed up, ask if there’s any lead paint in the house. The government banned lead as a paint ingredient because of its health risks back in 1978, but most homes built before then — about 57 million of them — still contain some traces of lead paint. This is crucial information to know, as it will impact whether or not you make an offer.

If you’re looking to buy a home associated with an HOA, do some research on how current residents feel about living there. The area may be nice, but does the association do what it says it will do? How are the neighbors? Do people get loud at night?

For what it’s worth, Americans living in homeowners associations and condominiums have told pollsters they are very satisfied in their communities for the seventh time in 13 years. While this is a promising statistic, it’s important to get a full understanding of the specific place you’re looking to buy.

Step 5: Close The Deal

You found the perfect home. Now, it’s time to close.

There are many moving parts in closing on a home. These include your down payment, closing costs, the date you’re looking to move, and who takes care of repairs between the buyer and seller. It’s important that you work with your real estate agent closely during the closing process, as they’ll help you negotiate deals with the sellers.

This may seem like a stressful part of the home buying process, but it’ll all be worth it once you sign the papers and officially own your own space.

Two Years After Hurricane Sandy, Thousands Await Aid To Rebuild

Two Years After Hurricane Sandy, Thousands Await Aid To Rebuild

By Maddie Hanna and Andrew Seidman, The Philadelphia Inquirer

TRENTON, N.J. — Two years after Hurricane Sandy battered the Jersey Shore, the state has distributed about a quarter of the money allocated by the federal government, as thousands of homeowners await aid to rebuild.

Of the $3.26 billion the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has provided to New Jersey, state officials say they had paid out $802 million as of Sept. 30. More than half of the money went to homeowners. Some went to businesses, municipalities and housing developers.

The federal government provided its first allocation, $1.8 billion, to the state about seven months after the storm. The state has yet to distribute any of the $1.46 billion approved by HUD in May. A final round of $880 million is expected next spring.

That round, state officials say, will be enough to cover everyone on the waiting list for the state’s main housing fund, the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation program, which offers homeowners grants of up to $150,000. The state has given $10,000 grants to 18,500 people to encourage them to stay in their communities.

Some people also have received aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has given out $422 million in housing and other assistance.

For those awaiting money, the recovery effort has not moved fast enough.

“Why, after two years, are people still out of their homes?” said Sandy Trebour, who began to rebuild her Sandy-destroyed house in Brick with help from a flood-insurance payout, but is awaiting a RREM grant to finish.

Trebour, who received some state assistance to rent a home, said she and her husband have had to run through their savings while also making mortgage payments.

“I don’t know how anything can take two years when you have people out of their homes,” she said.

Of 630 New Jersey residents tracked by the Monmouth University Polling Institute who were forced from their homes for at least a month after Sandy or whose home sustained $8,000 in damages, 40 percent were still displaced, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Just one in three of those surveyed reported being satisfied with the state’s recovery effort, and 71 percent said they felt they had been forgotten. The survey results statistically do not represent the broader population of residents recovering from Sandy, the institute said, but still show the effect of the recovery’s slow pace.

State officials said last week that of 8,900 homeowners preliminarily approved for the RREM program, about half had signed grant agreements. As of Sept. 30, the state had disbursed $285 million to homeowners in the program, officials said.

An additional 2,100 people remain on a waiting list. More people could become eligible for grants depending on a state review of applications initially rejected.

By comparison, New York City has distributed $58 million to help repair 150 homes and start construction at 700 others. New York state has awarded $495 million to 9,500 homeowners through its main housing program, but they have not all received the full amount yet.

About 6,000 other applicants are awaiting aid or will not be eligible, said a spokeswoman for Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The Oct. 29, 2012, storm caused 117 deaths in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Connecticut and Maryland. In New Jersey, it caused severe or major damage to 40,500 owner-occupied homes and 15,600 rental units, and unprecedented property and economic damages, the state said.

Touting progress in the state’s recovery last week at a fire station in Toms River, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said rebuilding would be “a multi-year effort.”

While businesses and infrastructure have been repaired, Christie said, “housing is going to take the longest.” He said the mayor of Biloxi, Miss., recently told him it took eight years to rebuild housing there after Hurricane Katrina.

“This is long, painstaking, difficult work,” Christie said, acknowledging residents’ frustration. “It’s been frustrating for me, too.”

Residents in the station applauded, though some also expressed concerns about the governor’s handling of the recovery. “He had a forceful presence in the very beginning,” said Carol Raab Davis, who is waiting for a grant to elevate her house in Toms River. “And then, when a year passed, everyone felt we should be home.”

The state’s recovery effort has come under fire for a number of reasons, including the firing of the contractor in charge of the RREM program, allegations that the grant process had been politicized, and complaints from housing advocates that the state assigned too little priority to helping renters.

A Christie spokesman did not make the governor available for an interview for this article.

State officials have said their efforts were hampered by the federal government’s initial delay in allocating money and remained slowed by red tape, including required environmental reviews of damaged properties.

Critics have said the state should have performed those reviews for homeowners more quickly — a step it is now taking, said Lisa Ryan, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Community Affairs.

Other recent changes to the RREM program cited by Ryan include giving grant applicants the options to email and fax documents instead of driving them to a housing center; to receive a 50 percent advance payment upon signing a grant award; and to choose their own contractors.

In the past, the state offered homeowners the option of using a preapproved contractor rather than finding their own.

That approach caused problems for Frank and Pat Sinquett, who in January were awarded $150,000 to rebuild their house in Brick.

Ten months later, they aren’t back home, after RREM rejected estimates by state-approved contractors as too expensive, Frank Sinquett said.

After the couple found their own contractor and got their plans approved, they had to wait for permits from the township.

“We’re very grateful to get the money,” Sinquett said. “But it’s a shame it takes so long.”

Ryan, the Department of Community Affairs spokeswoman, said the state could not comment on specific cases because of federal privacy regulations.

Complicating the state’s recovery was its decision to hire Hammerman & Gainer Inc., a Louisiana firm that oversaw a Katrina grant program.

New Jersey fired HGI in December, six months into the job, later citing poor performance. HGI improperly rejected scores of applications for aid. In a settlement agreement with several advocacy groups, the state in May agreed to review the rejected applications. Ryan said that review was ongoing.

New Jersey has paid HGI $36 million; the company says the state still owes it $22 million. Arbitration is scheduled for April.

The state has paid $75 million to six other contractors currently assisting with housing programs, state data show. It owes them $40 million more.

Homeowners who have been promised money say it isn’t always quick to arrive. Tom Largey said that when his parents signed a grant agreement Sept. 3 for $150,000, they were told they would get the money in installments over six to eight weeks.

So far, they’ve received one check for $7,193 to rebuild their Sea Bright home — and were recently told it would be an additional five to six weeks before more money would be released.

“There’s always an excuse, there’s always a delay, there’s always another equivocation,” Largey said.

Some back in their homes also await resolution.

Debbie Fortier and her husband, Tom, moved into a new house in Brick this month, though they have yet to be awarded money after being taken off the RREM program wait-list in July. They hope to be reimbursed for $25,000 they spent trying to repair their original home before township officials said they had to tear it down.

While Debbie Fortier is glad to be home, elsewhere along her street, neighbors are just starting to knock houses down.

“I feel bad,” she said. “I know what they have to go through.”

Photo via Flickr

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Possible Mortgage Refinancing Plan Could Help Housing Market

The Obama administration knows that broad action to strengthen the housing market could both help homeowners and improve his chances of reelection. Even though Congress has resisted further stimulus programs, a refinancing program could have a large impact without necessarily requiring Congressional action. As The New York Times reports:

One proposal would allow millions of homeowners with government-backed mortgages to refinance them at today’s lower interest rates, about 4 percent, according to two people briefed on the administration’s discussions who asked not to be identified because they were not allowed to talk about the information.

A wave of refinancing could be a strong stimulus to the economy, because it would lower consumers’ mortgage bills right away and allow them to spend elsewhere. But such a sweeping change could face opposition from the regulator who oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and from investors in government-backed mortgage bonds.

It also would not tap any of the $45.6 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Funds that was set aside to help struggling homeowners. Only $22.9 billion of that pool has been spent or pledged so far, and fewer than 1.7 million loans have been modified under federal programs. But Andrea Risotto, a Treasury spokeswoman, said whatever was left would be used to reduce the federal deficit.

Additionally, the administration is working on a home rental program that would prevent a large number of foreclosed homes from flooding the market.

The government has encouraged limited refinancing already, but this proposal has the potential to create much more sweeping change. If the reports are true, Obama might have found a viable means to ease the housing crisis — one that could boost his chances of reelection next fall.