New Home Buyer Archives - Page 4 of 6

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Knowing Your Finances Before Buying a Home

When preparing to buy a house, whether it is your first home or your tenth, it’s crucial to know the current state of your finances. This includes setting your budget, making good credit decisions and getting prequalified for a mortgage. Finance 101 – Set Your Budget Figure out your finances and determine what you can […]

What Should Be In Your First Toolbox

Moving into a new home requires a toolbox to help install, build and fix a multitude of things. We see that Ikea desk sitting in the corner. If you’re an amateur at do-it-yourself repairs, you can be overwhelmed by the numbers and kinds of tools on sale in local hardware stores. But here are some […]

[Insert Sensational Headline] re: Housing Market Misinformation

The Real Headline is “Read More” to Arm Yourself with Accurate Information Misinformation riddles our society every day. We live in a world of soundbits and clips incentivizing the public to barely scratch the surface level of understanding issues. News outlets write many headlines and even some entire stories to communicate drama rather than impartial […]

Why Do I Need a Home Inspection?

Part of the E5 Homebuyers Guide reviews home inspections and why they are a good investment. Many first-time homebuyers are overwhelmed with the process, especially the challenge of identifying a house’s red flags to know what areas might lead to potential problems. Buyers should also understand the difference between the “appraisal” (an unbiased valuation of […]

Under Contract – What’s Next?

Once your house is under contract, the loan process gets going. It can be a stressful time to try and keep track of everything while packing up your things and preparing to move. As part of the E5 Homebuyers Guide, here are a few things to know and keep you organized throughout the process: Earnest […]

Mortgage Rates – A Historical Perspective

We’ve been getting a lot of questions about rates and where they’re going It’s a good time to reflect on where rates have been historically…not recently. A couple of weeks ago, we talked about the changing housing market and how sudden it is shifting. By sudden, I mean in the blink of an eye. Rates […]

The Changing Housing Market & Economy

It’s an interesting time to be in the real estate & finance business. You know, “interesting” as the word you use to be polite. Wink, wink. Where the market is today in relation to housing supply and demand, as well as where interest rates are isn’t an abnormal situation. It just feels shockingly different today. […]

Choosing Your Location When Home Shopping

The location of your new home will do just as much, if not more, for the future value of your investment as the house itself. It also affects your everyday life. Keep these things in mind when choosing your location. Geography There are many aspects to take into consideration when choosing your future location. Geographically, […]

Selling Your Home – Secrets are a No-Go

Nobody likes secrets, especially when it comes to the sale of a house. We’ve laid out a quick guide to help sellers know what they need to disclose. Material Fact material (noun) 5. a group of ideas, facts, data, etc., that may provide the basis for or be incorporated into some integrated work. fact (noun) […]

Not All Rates Are Created Equal

The rise of interest rates this year ushered in more and more loan options, news articles and conversations about where rates stand and where they are going. It’s easy to read or hear something with a number like 4%, 5%, 6%. One number doesn’t tell the whole story, whether it’s in the media or when […]