Posts Tagged ‘home’

The Seller’s Way or the Highway: Contracts for Deed

Look no further than the contract for deed if you’re considering selling your home soon but are hoping to make a bit more of an immediate profit than what is traditionally made during the home selling process. Assuming you have the finances to pull it off, this legal real estate concept is a great way to achieve just that.

The contract for deed is also known as a land contract or an installment sale agreement. It is a contract entered into between the home seller and a buyer where you as the seller provide the financing to make it possible for the buyer to purchase the property. Essentially, you’re acting as the lender and providing funds for the buyer to purchase the home outright, whereas a bank or other type of lending institution would usually do this.

As a result, you as seller retain legal title to the property, while the buyer is allowed to take actual possession of it for every conceivable purpose except legal ownership. Just like a traditional mortgage, the agreed upon price of the property is paid in installments. Usually what happens is a balloon payment is required at a much closer time to the sale of the house than would otherwise be typical in a traditional mortgage. The buyer is also often required to make a downpayment before the seller agrees to offer financing.

The reasons why someone would choose a contract for deed over a traditional mortgage are varied. Using it as a form of short-term seller financing is one of the most common reasons. The seller stands to benefit in the long run a lot quicker, since the purchase price must usually be paid in full many years earlier than it would be in a traditional mortgage. Not having to pay additional closing fees for a lending institution to investigate a potential buyer’s financial background before determining whether or not they will approve a home mortgage for them is another reason.

Since the rules about contracts for deed vary by state, make sure to understand the laws in your own jurisdiction before proceeding. If a seller both has the money and trusts the buyer in such a way, offering a contract for deed could pay off in more ways than one for a seller.

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The Young and the Restless: How Young Professionals Can Make Use of a Graduated Payment Mortgage to Buy Their First Home Now

There is an interest in first home purchases among many young professions in today’s economy. Particularly when employers are able to pay their employees less to work when jobs are sparse, mortgages are becoming more and more difficult to obtain, however.

In terms of purchasing a home, you have options as a young professional, though. A graduated payment mortgage, or GPM for short, is one of these.

A graduated payment mortgage loan offers you the ability to make lower payments initially at the beginning of the loan’s term. Over time, these monthly payments will become larger. This loan is called a form of negative amortization. Geared primarily toward young professionals, a graduated payment mortgage makes it possible for people who wouldn’t otherwise have the financial capabilities to purchase a home. This loan is often offered under the assumption that a young professional, while currently not making enough to make full monthly mortgage payments under a traditional loan scheme, will eventually be making more money in the future.

The mortgage payments become larger around the same time the young professional is assumed to be getting a raise at their jobs that will help cover the heightened mortgage costs from month to month. The main targets for this loan are law students or medical students primarily. Traditional monthly mortgage payments might be too expensive for such a student to afford under normal circumstances. The assumption is that jobs are plentiful and just awaiting the newly graduated professionals in these fields. After graduation, once employment is secured, it will be easier for these types of people to handle mortgage payment increases on their newly purchased home.

The graduated payment mortgage option ultimately becomes an advantage to lenders and young professionals alike. Assurances are offered to lenders that the professionals to whom they borrow money will be able to meet payment requirements. If you’re a young professional in this kind of situation, on the other hand, this is a great opportunity to purchase your first home even in these difficult financial times when you may have assumed it was impossible. Ultimately, both parties benefit from a loan scheme like this, making it an excellent choice as far as mortgage options go.

Interested in discovering more on Colorado Springs CO Realtors or other property alternatives here in Colorado? Our real estate brokers are here to assist you. Furthermore, consider making use of our complimentary info and real estate tools if you are trying to find Colorado Springs Realtor.

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Home Sale Closing 101

You’ve gone through the real estate process thoroughly. You’ve gone to open houses, found the perfect house and price-crunched to ensure you could actually afford it. You’ve made an offer on the house of your dreams. Maybe the seller even countered it. In the end, you both agreed to a price and terms with which both parties were comfortable. Now what?

Welcome to the closing on your new home. This is the day when the new buyer and the home’s previous owner finish the property’s legal transfer. Once this process has been completed, the buyer receives the keys to his or her new home.

This sounds simple, right? In reality, there are several key things that need to take place to ensure a proper closing. The buyer needs to prove to their mortgage lender that they purchased insurance on the property by presenting a homeowner’s insurance receipt. The buyer and seller have to sign paperwork showing that the price listed on the contract is what they agreed on, as well. In addition, closing costs need to be paid to the closing agent by the buyer, seller or both, depending on what was agreed upon. After this, all other relevant documents must be reviewed by both buyer and seller.

In addition to paperwork, an escrow account must be established. The closing agent does this in order for the buyer to cover things like property tax, homeowner’s insurance, interest that accrues in the interim and sometimes even private mortgage insurance. The buyer must then sign all documents associated with the mortgage on the property and execute them by signing. At this point, the lender can present the closing agent with a check that will cover the agreed upon mortgage amount to purchase the home.

Lastly, the buyer receives keys to the property, as well as its title. The title and sometimes other legal documents must be recorded so there is a public record of the buyer’s new interest in the property. If property isn’t properly recorded, it opens the buyer up to other peoples’ claims that they own the property. In some instances, a shifty seller sold the property to two separate people. Depending on the state in which you live, in some instances, the person who records their title first is considered the true owner. Recording is the final step in the closing process and, once complete, the house fully belongs to the new buyer.

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Government Standards for Making a Home Green

What does it take to make a home green? For some people, the answer is simple. Using recycled materials and finding ways to lower your energy bill are all ways people assume get their house the green label.

It might not be that simple, though. The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) governs different sustainable practices and consists of the nation’s leaders in a variety of different industries. Its main goal is to encourage environmentally friendly building projects in which people can live and work. According to USGBC, performing a few sustainable practices in your home is just the beginning to getting your home considered green.

Instead, the nationally accepted benchmark for buildings that are considered green is LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It originally launched in 1998 and is a home rating system that encourages the design and construction of green homes. There are eight different categories used in its rating system. Each category has a certain number of credits which, in turn, are worth one or more points. United States homes are given a certification rating by LEED based on the number of points they scored.

What are some of these categories, then? Points can be awarded for innovation and design process. They can also be awarded for the home’s location and its relation to the larger community. In addition, there are points for sites that are sustainable and being fully used. So too are there points for water efficiency, materials and resources and energy and atmosphere. Points are awarded for the latter based on how energy efficient a particular home is. Lastly, points can also be awarded for relevant education to the homeowner or any other resident living in the building.

When someone now declares their house to be green, you’ve got some background information to know how accurate their statements may be. You have to do more than simply perform practices that are sustainable to ensure your home is considered green. Ensuring just that, the USGGC and LEED ratings are a particularly good set of standards that are both impartial and balanced in that regard.

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Home Window Tinting: 3 Simple Advantages That May Not Have Occurred to You

It’s likely you’ve seen it on cars. A popular method of maintaining privacy while driving around town is window tinting, to be sure. What is a little less known is that you can also tint the windows on your home. Opting to tint your home’s windows brings with it a few advantages, actually.

First, while it certainly does protect your privacy from nosy neighbors and passersby, it’s also a healthy option. Excessive exposure to the sun’s rays is not good for you. It’s why health professionals advise you to apply sunscreen before going outside. Along the same line of reasoning, those harmful rays can reach you and your family within your home. All you need to do is sit and watch television near a window on a particularly sunny day to be affected. By tinting your home’s windows, you can block harmful ultraviolet rays and add to the comfort of your family during times of relaxation.

A second advantage is that you can protect the interior of your home by tinting your house’s windows. Sunlight fades all colored objects. Wallpaper, carpet, drapes and furniture are just some examples of things that can be faded. Wooden furniture can also warp, and sunlight can negatively affect your electronics. Not only does this happy from direct sunlight, but it can also occur as a result of the heat the sun generates. The harmful effects of the sun’s of the sun’s rays on your favorite household items can be reduced at the same time as its heat by home window tinting.

Lastly, it is an environmentally friendly option to choose. Tinted windows decrease the need to turn on your air conditioner on a hot summer day. That, in turn, will end up reducing your monthly heating and cooling costs. In time, what you save on air conditioning even might just pay for the window tinting itself.

Home window tinting is thus a superb option to choose for a number of different reasons. You can decrease your family’s discomfort. You can also protect your home’s interior. Plus, it will save you money in an environmentally friendly way. It is also important to note that home window tinting may void any window warranty you had with the original installer. Read through your contract and make sure you understand the consequences as well as the benefits before making your ultimate decision.

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