25
Jun
By First Rate Financial Group
Mortgage

A Guide To Everything Regarding Instant Pre Approved Home Loans

A Guide To Everything Regarding Instant Pre Approved Home LoansThere are many people who set buying a home as one of their major life goals. There is a lot that comes with owning a home including a major investment opportunity, a sense of stability, and a feeling of pride; however, homes are also expensive. It can be challenging to find a home loan.

A traditional mortgage requires a thorough credit check and could take a long time to get approved. Some people might not even qualify.

On the other hand, there is also a helpful alternative called an instant pre-approved home loan. There are a few important points that everyone should keep in mind.

What Is An Instant Pre-Approved Home Loan?

A pre-approved home loan is a loan that has been offered to existing customers of a certain lender with an immediate sanction. The funds are disbursed once the property has been verified.

The point of a pre-approved home loan is to skip the lengthy procedure that is usually required for someone to obtain a home loan. The bank makes this loan offer available to customers even before they have selected the property they want to buy. A pre-approved home loan often comes with a strong offer at an affordable price. Sometimes, the pre-approved home loan is even offered at a lower interest rate when compared to the current market average.

In order to offer a pre-approved home loan, the bank will still go through the credit history, payment history, and bank statements of its customers.

There are a few major features of a pre-approved home loan that people should note. Usually, these loans are only available for a short period of time. Second, the pre-approved home loan allows borrowers to manage their funds well. They usually bank with the same lender. Finally, there is some room for negotiation when it comes to a pre-approved home loan.

Is A Pre-Approved Home Loan The Right Option?

Many people are wondering if a pre-approved home loan is the right option for them. The downside of a pre-approved home loan is that people are limited to that specific lender. Therefore, it is a solid strategy to continue to check around with other lenders to find out about their comparable rates.

17
Jun
By First Rate Financial Group
Mortgage

How To Tell If A Home Has Been Well-Maintained

How To Tell If A Home Has Been Well-MaintainedAs a homebuyer, your real estate agent will do their best bring you to see homes that meet the criteria you asked for. However, there’s no guarantee that a home will have a history of being properly cared for.

Your real estate agent can choose the homes you see, but they have no control over the property owner’s homeownership habits.

Why Home Maintenance Matters

Home maintenance should matter to you as a homebuyer and later on as a homeowner. A home needs consistent and proper maintenance in order to run efficiently, and that doesn’t only apply to moving parts like the HVAC system. If a home isn’t looked after, it begins to run down and then break down.

Just as a poorly maintained vehicle will eventually strand its owner on the side of the road, a poorly maintained home will eventually fail to properly house its occupants.

How To Tell If A Home Has Been Well-Maintained

A home that hasn’t been cared for will easily give up its secrets to a discerning homebuyer. Conversely, you can tell if a home has been cherished and well-maintained over the years.

  • Home maintenance warranties in place would be a selling feature and indicates the owner understands the power of proactive maintenance.
  • Solid, quality flooring indicates that the owner has shored up the subfloor beneath tile, removed carpet spills expeditiously and replaced cracked, peeling or missing planks or tiles.
  • No signs of basement water damage may signify that owner has installed sufficient sump pump or other drainage solutions, applied basement waterproofing or taken other steps to ensure a dry basement.
  • Finished basement shows that owner has taken care to improve the home where possible and that the owner trusts their basement possessions will be safe from water damage.
  • Straight roof lines mean that there is likely no sagging roof problem that hasn’t already been addressed.
  • Mature, healthy plantings are a sign that the owner has given thought and care to the surrounding landscape over a long period of time.
  • Sound gutters in good condition show that the owner has taken steps to ensure proper roof drainage to water damage.

These are all positive signs for a prospective homebuyer. Of course, you must still pay attention to the home inspection report. But odds are if you see all these signs, you’re probably looking at a new home that will serve your needs for many years to come.

 

16
Jun
By First Rate Financial Group
Mortgage

The Most And Least Expensive Cities In America

The Most And Least Expensive Cities In AmericaThe cost of living in America varies widely in different parts of the country. In general, it is less expensive to live in the country than in the cities.

However, there are many cities where the cost of living is modest compared to others where the money needed to live there is outrageous in comparison.

These rankings came from comparing the monthly cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment, utilities, the price for gasoline, and the cost of groceries.

The Ten Lowest-Cost Cities For Renters

From Texas and Ohio to New Mexico and Arizona, there are some nice cities in this low-cost group.

The top ten lowest-cost cities are:

  1. El Paso, Texas
  2. Lincoln, Nebraska
  3. Toledo, Ohio
  4. Wichita, Kansas
  5. Louisville, Kentucky
  6. Tulsa, Oklahoma
  7. Memphis, Tennessee
  8. Lexington, Kentucky
  9. Albuquerque, New Mexico
  10. Mesa, Arizona

For the top ten lowest-cost cities, the total monthly expenses for two adults ranges from just under $1,200 per month in El Paso to just over $1,500 per month in Mesa. These cities are a great deal when compared to other cities.

In America, the median rent of $1,566 per month is more than the total amount needed to live in these low-cost cities.

The Ten Highest-Cost Cities For Renters

It is not surprising that the biggest metropolitan areas are on the high-cost list.

The top ten highest-cost cities are:

  1. San Francisco, California
  2. New York, New York
  3. San Jose, California
  4. Oakland, California
  5. Boston, Massachusetts
  6. Jersey City, New Jersey
  7. Washington, D. C.
  8. Los Angeles, California
  9. Seattle, Washington
  10. Irvine, California

For the top ten highest-cost cities the total monthly expense for two adults ranges from just over $2,000 per month in Irvine to over $4,200 per month in San Francisco. For those wanting to live in the “City by the Bay” of San Francisco, both of the people in a couple better have an incredibly well-paying executive position to be able to afford to live there.

What About Home Buying?

The national median home price in America is $229,000. The city with the highest median home price is San Francisco at $1,352,000. New York is only $672,000 in comparison. The median home price in El Paso is $129,800; however, El Paso does not have the lowest-priced homes in the country.

The Top Ten Cities With The Lowest-Priced Homes

There are many cities where the homes sell at bargain prices for under $100,000, these include:

  1. Detroit, Michigan — Median home value: $42,800
  2. Dayton, Ohio — Median home value: $66,500
  3. Cleveland, Ohio — Median home value: $67,600
  4. Lansing, Michigan — Median home value: $77,100
  5. Buffalo, New York — Median home value: $77,800
  6. Toledo, Ohio — Median home value: $78,600
  7. Rochester, New York — Median home value: $79,400
  8. Akron, Ohio — Median home value: $80,100
  9. South Bend, Indiana — Median home value: $81,100
  10. Brownsville, Texas — Median home value: $85,900

Conclusion

There are bargains to be found in many parts of America for those that do not have to live in the big cities.

Many younger people are now part of the “gig” economy. They do all of their work online and can work from anywhere that has a decent Internet connection. For these young people, finding a lost-cost city in America to live in and finding a modestly-priced home to buy is not limited to any particular area.