This is a term Realtors use for persons who offer their property for sale without using a Real Estate Agency.

A real estate broker or real estate agent who is a person who acts as an intermediary between sellers and buyers of real estate/real property and attempts to match up sellers who wish to sell and buyers who wish to buy. A Realtor® is also belongs to the state board of Realtors®.

HOA is usually a non-profit association working on behalf of a group of homeowners in a subdivision that have rules that the majority of the homeowners agree all homeowners need to abide by.

A Real Estate Agent will help you to make good decisions based on their training and past experience.

MLS is an Online Real Estate Listing Service where Buyers, Sellers, Appraisers and Realtor’s® can search for properties for sale and properties that have sold. Some of the information is only available to paid subscribers.

Title Insurance is a form of indemnity insurance usually found in the USA which helps cover the buyer from financial loss due to Title Problems.

Escrow Officers are a Neutral third party that assists in property transactions. They hold and disburse fund, prepare title documents and obtain parties signatures on paperwork.

Traditionally all agents in a Real Estate transaction represent the Seller(both the “Listing Agent” and the “Selling Agent”) When a Buyer’s Agent is involved, the person buying the property is represented by the “Selling Agent” who is known as the “Buyers Agent”.

The Real Estate Broker is different than a Real Estate agent in legal abilities to license and own their own Real Estate Business and sell Real Estate. They also can be a Realtor® and perform the same duties. The Real Estate Brokers have taken education beyond Real Estate Agents.

Closing Costs are the fees paid at the closing of a Real Estate Sale when the title of the property is conveyed to the buyer. Closing costs can be negotiated on the contract and can be both incurred by buyer and seller.

Every situation is different but it is not uncommon for you to qualify for a loan for a new home while you still own your current home. The qualifying process will help you to determine if you want to sell first or go ahead and get your new home. Another way of purchasing the new home is to put a contingency contract on the new home if you have a buyer and are waiting for the current home you are selling to close.

There is a difference in how much you can afford and should borrow. A common consideration is the length of the loan and what age you will be when it pays off. Some borrowers should consider a comfortable amount that they will be satisfied with over the long-term even if you can afford more. Then other borrowers need to push to a limit to afford a certain home in a better neighborhood. Either way the length of the loan long-term should be considered.

Real Estate Agents use the same methods of determining the property value as Real Estate Appraisers; they both go to the MLS to see what properties in the same area sold for in the past few years. A list of the sold properties and the square foot of each is used to come up with an average square foot price and this determines approximately what your property is worth per square foot. Then other factors are taken into consideration for features and age of the property. This helps determine if the house should sell towards the higher or lower end of the comparable properties. Also, the properties used in the evaluation should be approximately the same size to get an accurate Property Evaluation.

Anytime is a good time to put your house on the market. There are more buyers in the Spring and Summer but that does not mean it is always the best time to list. You can price your home on the higher side of nearby closed property values. If you receive an offer then you can make the decision if you want to sell or not. If you are motivated to sell it is better to place the price of your property at current property values.

Anytime is a good time to put your house on the market. You can price your home on the higher side of nearby closed property values. If you receive an offer then you can make the decision if you want to sell or not. If you are motivated to sell it is better to place the price of your property at current property values.

Comparable’s (or comps) is a real estate appraisal term referring to properties which square foot and location are similar to a subject property whose value is being sought.

There is a difference between Buyers and Sellers where contracts are concerned. The Seller’s contract is for a term for the agent to list their house and usually should abide by the contract if there are no opt out terms in the contract. If you are a buyer and have not entered into a contract where you have paid escrow money it is fairly easy to break a contract with the Buyer’s Real Estate Agent. Beware that you could forfeit escrow moneys when canceling a contract.

During this period the seller cannot list the property with any other agent and (unlike in exclusive listing) must pay the agent’s commission even if he or she (and not the agent) finds a buyer. Also called exclusive right to sell.

The Buyer and the Seller can negotiate repairs as a result of a Home Inspection Report. If these repairs were not made known to the buyer prior to signing the contract the buyer does not have to buy the property if they are not repaired.

By pricing your house higher than market value you may help houses located near you with correct prices giving the buyers the perception they are a good deal. Also, you may lose a buyer.

As a seller you don’t have to do anything until you have signed a contract.

Use the Comps for nearby alike properties and price your property accordingly. You should try to price within 10-% of the comparable nearby homes.

When applying for an FHA loan, applicants are now required to have a minimum FICO score of 580 to qualify for the low down payment advantage, which is currently at around 3.5 percent. If your credit score is below 580, however, you aren’t necessarily excluded from FHA loan eligibility.

If you have not paid the taxes and they are still due you will be responsible for the taxes due while you owned the property.

When you have a mortgage an escrow account is created, you must pay the lender a certain amount each month to cover property taxes, homeowners insurance, and private mortgage insurance. This money, known as escrow items, is placed in the Escrow Account and the lender then pays for those items on your behalf as the bills come due.

The amount of money that a lender can require borrowers to place in their escrow account is set by The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) RESPA limits the initial deposit into an escrow account to an amount equal to the sum sufficient to pay taxes, insurance premiums, and other charges on the mortgaged property for the first payment period, plus a cushion. Sometimes the Mortgage Lender can require the borrower to pay a cushion in addition to the known amounts of the “other charges” but not more than 1/12 of the total amount.

The advantages for the borrower is Cancellation of Borrower-Paid MI (unlike FHA insurance), Tax deductible premiums for eligible borrowers, Range of payment options and Tax deductible premiums for eligible borrowers.
The advantages for the lender is Wide range of insurance products, Expanded pool of buyers with lower cash requirements, Faster, easier closes and Broader range of loan products.

An escrow account is setup by the Mortgage Lender to pay property related expenses that have to be paid annually. The escrow account protects both the borrower and the lender from problems that could happen if these fees were not paid.

An ARM is an adjustable rate mortgage with interest rate changes. The ARM may start off with lower interest and lower payments but at the specified times in the contract the rates increase and the payment increases. It does not matter if Interest Rates go down or up the ARM can increase according to what the contract says.

A Lock in is also called a rate lock or rate commitment. This is where the lender has promised to hold a certain interest rate to a buyer for a mortgage and usually for a specific time usually while the loan is being processed.

There are several reason that a mortgage payment can change; it could be from an ARM loan, increase in taxes or an increase in insurance for the escrow account.

The bet way to avoid paying Private Mortgage Insurance is to pay more than 20% down-payment of the purchase price on your mortgage when you take out the loan. Anything less than 20% the lender may require PMI.

In most Real Estate transaction’s the funding is scrutinized by an underwriter to see how much the lender will be at risk. In most cases the property itself is used to decide if it is sufficient collateral for the borrowed funds.

Getting pre-qualified is the initial step in obtaining a Mortgage Loan. Once you are pre-qualified the Lender can give you an idea of the amount you qualify for basically making you pre-approved.

If you have a loan amount of $100,000 and see that you loan origination fee is $1,000 the bank or the broker is charging you 1 point for the origination fee. These fees can vary.

The DTI or debt to income ratio is the percentage of the borrowers monthly gross income that is being used to pay debts including taxes, fees and insurance premiums.

Your credit score, also known as FICO score, is a tool created by the Fair Isaac Corporation. The FICO score is commonly used by lenders to determine their risk involved in making you a loan.

The Mortgage Company you use is your decision to make. Your builder may have a special rate with the mortgage company he directs you to but you can always compare them to other mortgage company’s.

There are different factors effecting the length of time a Mortgage Loan process may take. Sometimes the mortgage loan is held up due to title encumbrances but for the most part 30 to 60 days with 45 days being the average.

The Title of the Property need to be cleared of any encumbrances or liens so that the Title Company can issue a Title Policy Guarantee for the Mortgage Lender to have first lien position.

Generally the time it takes to close the loan is up to the buyer and how much information they need during closing. If they are satisfied with all the documents then closing can go fairly quickly in maybe less than an hour.

PITI is the total sum of monthly principal, interest, taxes and insurance.

These loans mean a borrower takes out two mortgages at once. The second mortgage is in the form of a home equity loan or line of credit. These loans are usually used by borrowers who want to avoid mortgage insurance and don’t have the 20% down payment.

Prepaid interest is interest that is paid on your mortgage loan at closing. Mortgage interest is paid in arrears. When you make your monthly payments on the 1st of any given month you’re actually paying off interest that was accrued over the previous month.

Written document to a lender stating that there was money received from a friend or relative is a gift. Gift letters typically come into play when a borrower has received assistance in making a down payment on a new home or other real estate property.