Importance of a Real Estate Down Payment

Getting into a new home with no money down seems like a great idea and in some cases it can be the best option for you. In recent years, during our real estate boom, it seemed like every financial institution offered a “No Down” loan program; but as the sub-prime market began to experience more foreclosures, lenders tightened lending criteria and got rid of many of their “No Down” programs. Today, there are certainly less opportunities available for consumers to land that very ...

Is Title Insurance A Scam?

Even though I think very HIGHLY of the need for a detailed title search when buying real estate and would NEVER purchase a property without having done a detailed title search, I do NOT think very highly of title insurance. What is the difference? Title Insurance is issued by a Title company AFTER they have run their title search and have satisfactorily identified and removed any clouds on title that they found. Until this point, I am all for it and I LOVE it. However once they have ...

Easy Ways to Mess up Your Credit Rating

While it isn't hard to acquire and maintain good credit, it can also be easy to lose it. And given that a good credit rating is of ultimate importance in buying real estate, it's important to keep yourself in good standing. If you live with roommates, and get the utility bills in your name, you need to realize that no matter what, you are the one ultimately responsible for those bills being paid. Be sure that your roommates are reliable, and set up a specific date by which they must have ...