This answer may differ from state to state so I am talking about my experience in Minnesota.  Condominiums or “condos” as they are called look a lot like an apartment.  The typical condo unit is in a building with a centralized entrance, often a security entrance.  Once you are admitted to the building, each floor of the building will have hallways with condo unit entrances off of the hallway.  A condo unit can be on the second or third or seventeenth floor of the building.  Thus, it has no land under it.  This is unusual in real estate and when condos were first introduced, it took awhile for people to accept the idea. 

When you buy a condo, you get two things.  You get private ownership interest in the condo unit and shared interest in the parts of the building and grounds that are shared with all the other homeowners.   The homeowners’ association, of which you are now a member, manages this shared property.   You can do whatever you want to your unit as long as it doesn’t impact any other homeowner and it follows association rules. 

You can’t do anything you want to the shared space unless you obtain permission from the other homeowners.  For example, you can’t change the outside of your door which faces the shared hallway.  Most homeowner associations develop a list of rules and regulations to make sure that all owners respect each other’s rights. 

Usually, the heat in a condo building is central and the costs of heat are included in your homeowner association dues.  Some other utilities might be centralized as well such as garbage removal or water and sewer services.

A townhome most typically will have its own front door.  Usually, that front door faces the outside of the building rather than an internal hallway.  It will stand on a small piece of ground or on its own small lot.  The townhome will typically have its own furnace and hot water heater so you will pay these bills and are responsible to replace these utilities when they wear out.  There still is a homeowners’ association and you still cannot make changes to the outside of the unit without association approval.   Many first-time homebuyers purchase a condo or a townhome first because they tend to be less expensive and less work than owning a single family home.

For more detailed information, come to our FREE NO OBLIGATION FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER class or wait for future blogs.  “Simple answers to home ownership questions”.

Everyone’s idea of a dream home is different.  Your idea may be influenced by the home in which you were raised.   Perhaps this is your idea of a very comfortable and cozy home.  Maybe you enjoy shopping for homes during the Parade of Homes in February and in September.  The builders’ model homes represent new trends and the most modern of building ideas.  Perhaps you are more practical and have created a list of needs you have…a yard for the kids and dog, an office for your home-based business, a large family room for your fantasy football club, a large kitchen for your gourmet cooking.

When you begin to think about buying a home, three things are important to guide your shopping.  First, find out what you can afford.  Meet with a reputable mortgage broker and get preapproved for your mortgage.  The mortgage consultant will tell you what the bank thinks you can afford.  If it’s too much house payment for you, you can scale it back.  This monthly mortgage payment can then be translated into an approximate house price which will help focus your shopping on affordable homes.

Second, decide where you want to live.  Most Home Buyers consider several things when thinking about cities that fit their needs.  They consider drive time to work, drive time to family and friends, school district quality, and shopping and recreational opportunities in the area.

Third, create a list of the things you require in your first home.  Certainly, everyone wants an attractive home but with so many options available, finding an attractive home is not a problem.  Finding a home that fits your unique life style is more of a challenge.  If you keep these three things in mind, you should be able to find a home that meets your needs and your budget.

For more detailed information, come to our FREE NO OBLIGATION FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER class or wait for future blogs.  “Simple answers to home ownership questions”.

Buying a home is not like buying a car.  It’s a lot more complicated and with many more risks for you, the prospective home buyer.  We recommend attending one or more first-time home buyer classes or meeting with a Realtor or Mortgage Consultant who specializes in working with first-time home buyers. 

Your first step then is to locate a class.  Sometimes you will find classes offered through your local community education resource.  Other classes may be offered by government agencies.  Other sources of classes are Realtors and Mortgage Lenders who sponsor them.  Sometimes they will be listed in the housing or home section of your local newspaper or can be found on an information website.

Wherever you go, whatever you do, become educated on how to buy a home.  If you know about the risks ahead of time, you can avoid the most common mistakes made by home buyers.

For more detailed information, come to our FREE NO OBLIGATION FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER class or wait for future blogs.  “Simple answers to home ownership questions”.

Many Home Buyers are surprised to learn that in addition to a down payment, they may need to pay other fees at closing, commonly referred to as “closing costs” and “prepaids”.  Closing costs cover three major items:  mortgage related fees, title insurance and title transfer fees and government fees.  The amount of these fees may vary from lender to lender.  The largest part of these fees are the mortgage costs.  A good estimate for closing costs is about 3-3.5% of the purchase price of the home.  

Prepaids include items that must be paid ahead at closing.  In Minnesota, these are property taxes, homeowner’s insurance and interest on the mortgage to the first of the next month.

When you are buying your first home, it may be hard for you to come up with enough money for both a down payment and closing costs.  Many first time Home Buyers ask for closing cost assistance from the Seller.  Most mortgage programs will permit the Sellers to help the Buyer pay for their closing costs.  All you need is the Seller’s consent.  Your Realtor will ask the Seller for this assistance when they write up the contract on your new home.  Asking the seller for closing cost help is very commonly done, especially when buying your first home.

For more detailed information, come to our FREE NO OBLIGATION FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER class or wait for future blogs.  “Simple answers to home ownership questions”.

If you’ve googled or binged or yahooed in order to do research on home buying, you know there’s A LOT of information out there….mind boggling amounts of information…contradictory information…confusing information…technically worded information.  What’s a person to do???

Rule Number One:  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

There are a lot of incredible offers out there.  Auction houses promise to sell you a home for $1 or more.  Banks offer astounding mortgage interest rates.  Credit repair services promise to fix your bad credit for a low fee and enable you to get a mortgage.  Nothing good comes cheap.  Use your head.  Check with an expert.  Make sure you know all the fine print in the offer.

Rule Number Two:  If it can’t be explained simply, they are trying to fool you.

Real professionals, both Realtors and mortgage consultants, know how to explain complicated ideas in simple terms.  If you run into a website where you are reading double-talk or which says, “trust us”, beware.  It’s your money and your new home.  Walk away from someone you don’t trust and work with someone you do.

Rule Number Three:  If the costs sound astoundingly low, they haven’t listed ALL OF THEM.

 Homes are more like pieces of custom jewelry than boxes of cereal.  They are all unique and have unique costs as well.  Some websites might have a low-priced home offered on their site in order to attract you to it.  However, the offer may be limited to people with high credit scores or large down payments and they fail to tell you that.  Make sure you get ALL the information before you lock in a loan or buy a home.

The best way to make sure you don’t make a fatal (i.e. expensive) error is to work with a loan consultant and a Realtor who are experienced, honest, and willing to spend time with you to answer your questions and guide you at your pace through the home buying process.  Come to class and find out how to locate the best!!

For more detailed information, come to our FREE NO OBLIGATION FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER class or wait for future blogs.  “Simple answers to home ownership questions”.

First time home buyers, you are living in an unprecedented time.  The market is flooded with low cost housing, a surplus not seen since The Great Depression.

However, on a less positive note, most of the zero down mortgages have disappeared from the landscape and they won’t be back for a long time.  You can probably purchase a home today with the equivalent of zero down but note that word “equivalent”.  If you qualify for some of the city, state or federally sponsored first time home buyers programs, you will collect cash either before or after closing on your new home. 

If you have family or friends who are willing to help you out by gifting you money for your down payment, that could help you through the rough patch.  Be sure to work with a talented and ethical mortgage consultant when purchasing a home.  These folks can track down every dollar to which you are entitled and make creative suggestions for how to bridge gaps that may arise.

For more detailed information, come to our FREE NO OBLIGATION FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER class or wait for future blogs.  “Simple answers to home ownership questions”.

First time home buyers, you are living in an unprecedented time.  The market is flooded with low cost housing, Congress is trying to think up incentives to lure you into buying these houses and tax breaks and incentives for home buyers abound.  Lucky you!!

However, on a less positive note, most of the zero down mortgages have disappeared from the landscape and they won’t be back for a long time.  You can probably purchase a home today with the equivalent of zero down but note that word “equivalent”.  If you qualify for some of the city, state or federally sponsored first time home buyers programs, you will collect cash either before or after closing on your new home.  In the case of the federal tax credit, you still need the cash to close to collect the credit.

If you have family or friends who are willing to help you out by gifting you money for your down payment, that could help you through the rough patch.  You could accept the “gift” and then make a promise to repay when your tax credit refund arrived.  Be sure to work with a talented and ethical mortgage consultant when purchasing a home.  These folks can track down every dollar to which you are entitled and make creative suggestions for how to bridge gaps that may arise.

For more detailed information, come to our FREE NO OBLIGATION FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER class or wait for future blogs.  “Simple answers to home ownership questions”.

Now that the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit has expired, what will the real estate market do?  Buoyed by the tax credit, the sales for the last week in April of 2010 were 31% higher than in the same period in 2009.  For the month of April, sales were up 13% when compared to last year. This is according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors.  We are all wondering “what happens next”?

For some First-Time HomeBuyers, the tax credit was a very important part of making their first home purchase possible.  The 10% credit (up to $8000) could be used to refurbish a battered home or even help repay relatives and friends who helped with the down payment on the home.

I like to remind all First-Time HomeBuyers that homes were being purchased BEFORE the credit and homes will be purchased AFTER the credit.

There are still zero down financing programs for eligible borrowers including USBank’s American Dream Program and the programs available through the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency.  You can get an FHA mortgage for only 3.5% of the purchase price so if you have been diligent about saving money for a down payment, AND you’ve been protecting  your credit rating by paying your consumer debts on time, you can still get a great deal.

Prices are still very low (I can’t believe how low they are when I take Buyers out to look at homes) and mortgage interest rates are at almost the lowest point they have been in the last 40 years.  Housing affordability is still great.  Don’t despair.  Bargains abound.  Come to our class and find out how to make a plan to own that great first home!!

For more answers to your detailed questions, sign up and attend one of our FREE HOMEBUYER CLASSES!!

We get asked this question a lot in our First-Time Homebuyer Classes.  Remember, before the tax credit which started in April, 2008, people bought homes for the first time.  I’m sure that after the tax credit expired in April of 2010, people will still buy homes for the first time.  Owning rather than renting is still a good idea. 

Is this still a good time to buy a first home?  Yes, yes, yes.  This is the lowest home prices have been in last 8 years.  There are still a large number of foreclosed homes coming on the market.  While I feel sympathetic to those homeowners who have lost their homes to foreclosure, these foreclosed homes present a remarkable value to the first-time buyer.  Many are discounted in price 30-50% from their original purchase price.  And the banks that own the homes give a rapid response to your offer. 

It’s still up to you to save a down payment, in most cases 3.5% of the purchase price.  If necessary, you should also work on a good credit rating which will help keep your mortgage interest rate affordable.  But don’t miss out on one of the best buyer markets in a decade.

For more answers to your detailed questions, sign up and attend one of our FREE HOMEBUYER CLASSES!!

Buying a home is not like buying a car.  It’s a lot more complicated and with many more risks for you, the prospective home buyer.  We recommend attending one or more first time home buyer classes or meeting with a Realtor or Mortgage Consultant who specializes in working with first time home buyers. 

Your first step then is to locate a class.  Sometimes you will find classes offered through your local community education resource.  Other classes may be offered by government agencies.  Other sources of classes are Realtors and Mortgage Lenders who sponsor them.  Sometimes they will be listed in the housing or home section of your local newspaper or information website.

Wherever you go, whatever you do, become educated on how to buy a home.  If you know about the risks ahead of time, you can avoid the most common mistakes made by home buyers.

For more detailed information, come to our FREE NO OBLIGATION FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER class or wait for future blogs.  “Simple answers to home ownership questions”.