Its a very good idea to get pre-approved before looking for your new home. Just make sure that you purchase your property within 90-120 days from the pre-approval or it will be expired. Also if you want the best rate then you have to close within 30 days from the moment you receive your pre-approval.

Pre-approvals do 2 things for you. Ist they get you a held rate to protect you from increases in the mortgage rates. 2nd they let you know that the bank is behind you when you find your property and how much they are willing to give you. Both ways you benefit from the pre-approval so do it today.

Powered by

My partner and i are getting a mortgage next year to build a house on our land. we each have one thing we want. mine is nice, secure fencing for our land (to keep my dogs safe) my partners is a large colourbond shed (for his cars and gym) i think it is reasonable to say they would each cost around $10,000 each, if not more. considering that we both earn a decent amount of money, and if we did add them it wouldn't be stretching our budget, do you think that it is a good idea to add these costs onto our mortgage?

YES! DO IT! 1) You get a tax deduction and a low interest rate loan 2) Chances are you will not do it again for a long time

Powered by

Thats the rate my lender offered me. i saw 4% at other banks but my realtor says the bank will get all their money somehow. even if i get the 4% somewhere else, they'll make up the rest by adding other fees. so is 5.25% good? i have no idea. thats the rate my lender offered me. i saw 4% at other banks but my realtor says the bank will get all their money somehow. even if i get the 4% somewhere else, they'll make up the rest by adding other fees. it's a 30 yr fixed. in the sf bay area. i have 25% down and i have great credit. so is 5.25% good? i have no idea.

It is decent for a fixed 30 year mortgage if the closing costs and fees are very low. The easiest way to compare total costs is to look at the APR (annual percentage rate) and compare that from bank to bank. There are some 4.75% deals out there for people with excellent credit. The 4% rates are probably loaded with extra fees.

Powered by

Would you add your new wife who is from china to your house deed? the house was bought years ago by the husband and has no mortgage. the wife has no money or assets. if the husband dies the house would belong to the wife but if they divorced why should she receive a house she never paid for? is a prenuptial also a good idea?

you are already married, it would be a post nup and she doesnt have to sign. i would not add her because she may not be married for love, and if she is, they whos name the house in shouldnt matter, if she divorces you, she will not get the house or half because you had it before the marriage, if you wanna take that chance , go for it

Powered by

We now live in a two bedroom apt of a quadplex, which i bought back in march and i can see us living here for another year or two but long term we're gonna definitely need more space. our 16 month old son lives in our room, and it’s getting cramped not to mention we’d like to have another child at some point. i've been looking at duplexes for sale in the area (wi) and for around $140,000 it seems like it’s possible to get something that would fit our needs. so what i’m asking is for you to read on, and help me figure out if this is even possible (even if it’s a long shot) and then tell me in your experience what the best order of planning should be. i was originally going to renovate the attic of our quadplex to provide more space for us, but i’m glad i waited on that idea because that renovation cost would be better spend on a down payment of a duplex for us. reason being it would keep us on the ground floor, get us living away from the rental property, and be a much better long term investment. a little background on us (scroll to very bottom for the exact questions): i am self employed full time, and after expenses earn roughly $2500 a month, i could work a little more and earn a bit more if neededfor a while but i have a good balance as it is now so would rather not unless i had to (probably could earn $400-500 more a month if needed). i also work at a high school part time under a yearly contract and that brings in roughly an additional $350 a month. i also have a third job now, as property manager for the other three tenants, and earn a small amount from that in addition to having free rent and the mortgage completely covered. right now, the other three tenants basically pay off the entire mortgage and we're turning a small profit as it is. i was a little worried about the market and keeping the places rented with good people (remember, we live here), but i've been learning a lot, getting my act together, and renovating the units a bit with good results – so i've gained a lot of confidence that this won't be an issue (also prior landlord never had a vacancy in nine years). the rents are set lower than market rate right now, and i recently rented out a two bedroom for about 20% more than it was going for and it is still priced at or just under current market rates. i plan to continue renovations on the other apartments and the total amount of rent for all four units afterwards is anticipated at $1825 a month. to be conservative, lets say i want to keep them cheaper and lower each $25 a month so we're looking at $1725 a month is a good estimate of what i could expect to bring in and with a mortgage payment of $1035 (including tax/ ins escarow, no pmi have 20% down) that means i should be able to expect a monthly income of roughly $700 and that's definitely at renting at below market rate so i know i'll be able to attract quality tenants and already have. this number is if we were to rent out the apt we now currently reside in, but hopefully it is the number the mortgage originator would be able to use since that money would be coming in as soon as we moved. so the numbers with those details add up to my personal income being 2850 / month = (1500+350) and additional income from the house being $700 a month, bumping my actual income level to $3550 (2850 + 700). as i said, we are looking to move into a duplex, so there would also be rental income available there, likely amount being anywhere from $450-$700 from the duplexes that i've seen in the $140,000 range around our area. that would bring my total income to $4000 (3550 + 450) a month in the low range being conservative. i realize i don't make a lot of money, but we need more space, and to be able to make this happen i need to plan for the future to and find out: 1) how much at minimum i need to save up for a down payment for us to move asap. i know 20% down is best so you avoid pmi, but that’s simply not an option for us right now as i just invested all my savings into the quadplex rental property. i know there used to be 3% down, 5% down, and 10% down loans available but i also know the mortgage industry has tightened up a lot. i know if we can get into a duplex soon, we’d have no problem saving and making extra payments on the mortgage to get the second one payed off to 20% within a few years. and i have seen a few listed in favorable neighborhoods that would be easy to rent (colleges, hospitals, nice area, etc), seems like as much of a buyers market as i’ve ever seen. 2) check the lenders rules on what they'll consider for my income (i remember they first said only 75% of the rent could be used, then later said they would make an exception considering my situation where i provided them past leases and aggreements for future tenants and in the end considered 85% i believe). obviously they didn't include the income from the place we now live, but i hope that they would then consider the 4th apartment income in the qua

You fall into the investor category which typically means 20%-25% down and 2-3 points over prime on the interest rate. A current good relationship with a bank may put you on the best end of those terms, possibly even better depending on the relationship. A portion of your rental income will be considered. Typically they do allow for vacancy though and that can vary from lender to lender, and the property may play a part. Anything less than 20%-25% down and you are likely going to be looking for an owner financed deal, which in the current market is certainly not out of the question. Its a difficult time and there are owners out there that need to sell. Owner financing allows them to not only sell the property, but also get the maximum price for it. I would however be cautious in considering your rental income for your own personal calculations. Based on my experience of owning apartment buildings, duplexes, sixplexes, and over 100 single family homes, the best rule of thumb is this. There is no such thing as cash flow on investment property. None. If you don't have this view, then you haven't been doing it long enough. I'm not saying it is impossible to have cash flow. I'm saying thats the attitude you should have. Don't plan on it. If it happens, fine. If you can keep it on a small scale, do the repairs yourself, and manage the heck out of your properties, its possible to have some sort of cash flow. Its also possible to do all those things and have a negative cash flow. You increase your luck by keeping things on a small scale. Still, you have to plan for problems. Even if all the big ticket items like HVAC, roof, electrical, plumbing, etc., are fine, you still have to keep up all of the cosmetic items like painting, carpet, and general maintenence and upkeep. With 5 rental units it can add up, especially if you have several tenants decide to move out all at once. Problems will come up that you can't plan for, and never would imagine. So, you can use your cash flow in trying to obtain a loan, but from there, forget you ever heard the word cash flow. In most cases it simply does not exist.

Powered by

There are a lot of foreclosures in our area and my husband and i are thinking of purchasing one. there is a house we have had our eye on for a while for a while because it is in a culdesac, good schools, a large yard that backs to a pond. problem is.... it's a little ugly inside. the layout and size are great but i like bright white trim and this has your "builder's special" cheapo oak trim and doors, etc. and vinyl flooring. my questions is..... would it be silly for my husband and i to stay in our condo and rent out the house if we bought it? then when we have enough money to remodel, we redo everything and move in? we have the down payment of 20% but don't have the cash to remodel. (we've done a remodel before so we know what it takes, both time-wise and money). i'd also like to add that a 4 bedroom would be easy to rent in this family-oriented area, and what we would owe on the mortgage, we would definitely get back in rent in this area, probably even more (we could rent for over 1500 and the mortgage would be about 1300). has anyone ever done this? please any advice....

Buy the house as your primary residence using an FHA loan with only 3.5% down, rent your condo out, move in, fix it up and then decide what you want to do. This way you get to buy the home with minimal money down which would allow you to fix up the home with money you already have and were going to spend as the down payment. You also have to consider the requirements for getting a mortgage on an investment property, like 6 months mortgage payments in reserves and higher interest rates. If you go with an FHA loan you have the option of going with an FHA 5/1 ARM with rates running 3%-3.25%.

Powered by

I am looking for ideas of how to locate a vc or angel investor. the funding would be 2.2 million, and would give the investor an equity position in one of the 5 interlocked companies involved in the project. this is not really a startup business, but rather a new partnership between 5 exisiting companies. now that the system has been tested and the marketing force is in place, we need the additional funds for a national expansion. ideally within 30 days. the project was developed by mortgage industry experts as a way to evolve the mortgage industry, save the consumer money, better educate the consumer, and be profitable at the same time. the project uses a unique and innovative way to generate business and save the expense of traditional mortgage operations. the cumulative net profit on the investors side of things over a 10 year period would add up to about 17 billion with conservative volume projections. definately worthwhile. any ideas?

You may want to go and pitch your ideas where investors gather. Here are some places where angel investors come and those looking for funding can come and pitch their business plans. Be sure to have a strong business plan and describe what makes your business idea stand apart: Angel Capital Association http://www.angelcapitalassociation.org Angel's Forum http://www.angelsforum.com Band of Angels http://www.bandangels.com Common Angels http://www.commonangels.com Keiretsu Forum http://www.k4forum.com Launchpad Venture Group http://www.launchpadventuregroup.com New World Angels http://www.newworldangels.com New York Angels http://www.newyorkangels.com Robin Hood Ventures http://www.robinhoodventures.com (charges $250) As for venture capitalists, there are a number of VC directories that you can check http://www.vfinance.com/ http://www.vcaonline.com/directory/invdir.asp http://www.vcgate.com/

Powered by

Tell me if this sounds like a sickly start. i plan to be as wealthy as i can in the next ten yrs. 1. save 3/4 of a paycheck per month or pay an extra half of my mortgage. 2. buy no new car unless i desperately have to. 3. i owe $80,000 on my townhouse; i will reside here until then; just do upgrades. 4. have no checking account; do money orders. 5. invest in freezer to reduce grocery shopping and buying unneeded items when visiting the grocery store. 6. when going on family reunion vacation blocking out what they think and impulses to buy unneeded items. 7. decorate with classical and contemporary to maintain a good decoration scheme throughout the years. 8. invest moderately instead of modestly in investments. 9. roll tsp (401k) into an ira before the end of 2008. 10. pay off loan and one charge card. can you help me add to my plan? i am also thinking of writing an unusual autobiography.

1) add a few exemptions to your paycheck, but make sure you build a "reserve" fund to pay the tax offsets in early 09? 2) Max out ROTH IRA: 3) Look at incremental ways of saving a little on cable, phone services, etc.

Powered by

" economists estimated that the deficit for this year will be between $100 billion and $120 billion higher because of the stimulus package, primarily from the cost of the refund checks. business tax breaks will reduce government revenue by a smaller amount this year; other costs from the business relief will take effect next year." how long will it take to pay this money back? our country is already deficit spending, so is it really a good idea to add even more to our deficit? wouldn't a better alternative be to cut federal spending? cut pork barrel spending and abused social programs, in order to balance our budget, then reduce our taxes permanently, instead of a one time "bribe" to get us to vote for our candidates? won't this stimulus package really help the chinese economy more than ours...as stupid people will go blow this money on stuff they don't really need that has been imported from china? isn't this as irresponsible as obtaining a large mortgage you can't repay

I'm a democrat and I'm not for the stimulus package. If we have to take a 150 billion dollar loan from China and the Saudi's then we don't need it. Why create more debt for our children to have to pay off in the future? The stimulus package will only create a short burst of economic activity. Many people will be paying off bills, making mortgage payments, paying their light bills or saving it for later use. Secondly, the bigger the debt, the harder it will be to balance the budget, decrease the deficit in the future, giving more headache to future presidents.

Powered by

Hi all. i don't really know what to do about my relationship with my dad. i'm going to write what is currently on my mind, it'll be long but even if nobody bothers to read it it should still make me feel better to get it all off my chest. i'm 21 years old and both of my parents are still together. i also have a 23 year old brother. the problem is my relationship with my dad. he has become such a mess and made so many mistakes over his life that i find it hard to even look at him anymore and i don't know what to do about it. here is an overview of his problems: my dad has always enjoyed his drink, but in the last couple of years he's taken it to a whole new level. he now goes to my local pub every single day without fail, and as soon as he returns home at about 6pm he'll open a bottle of red wine and drink it like it's holy water. we've all been monitoring his drinking for the last couple of weeks and we've seen him get through two bottles of red wine in one day at the weekend. he probably has about a bottle every night, that's after 3 pints of larger at the pub. if he runs out of red wine he'll start drinking vodka despite the fact that he hates it. he also smokes far too much, probably about 20 cigarettes a day. i haven't worked out how much he's spending on cigarettes and alcohol but it must easily be in excess of £5,000 a year, probably more like double that. we've found receipts and tabs from the local pub for £350+ a time and he often buys all of his buddies drinks, pretending to them that his business is successful and he has loads of money. in actual fact he is in debt and doesn't spend any money on his family (read below for more on that). his whole life basically resolves around drink, cigarettes and the local pub. he has no ambitions in life and despite turning 57 this year he has no plans to retire and no pension. i would find it easier to deal with if he has money, but he doesn't. he's been in debt constantly for as long as i can remember. he's lied to all of us on several occasions, the latest being just 2 years ago when he promised all of us that if we took out a mortgage on the house he would pay off all of his debts and renovate the house. what actually happened is we now have a half finished house and he is still in a lot of debt but now with the added mortgage repayments. we get letters and phone calls constantly from the the electricity, gas, phone and other companies asking for money. i've also counted three different credit card company's phone up asking after him, he's obviously in financial trouble but he'll never tell us what's really going on. the sad thing is that i can see us having to sell one or both of our properties (he's lucky to have inherited a lot from family over the years, which is the reason why he hasn't gone bankrupt yet). he is racist, sexist and homophobic. i'm sick of hearing him whining about immigrants taking over the country, etc. in reality he has no idea what is going on. i usually just have to bear it because i don't want to get into an argument when he's drunk, it's impossible to ever have a civilised conversation with him. i'm lucky to have a good head on my shoulders, otherwise i'd probably be believing this stuff. last but not least, he treats my mum like dirt. my mum is the most adorable, loving and caring person in the world. she's also very good looking, especially for her age, and she often gets successful men flirting with her. my dad is incredibly lucky to have her but he takes her for granted. he just uses her to clean the house and cook meals. he never takes her out anywhere and he never shows any affection towards her. i don't think that i have ever seen him kiss or hug her passionately in my entire life. he's constantly talks down to her and often makes her cry. i've had her in tears multiple times. however, he's always had a soft spot for me. he doesn't like my brother, but he's always been more supportive towards me than anyone else. this makes it very hard for me because i don't want to hurt him, but he's been an absolutely awful father. as much as it hurts me to say that, and as much as i love him, he has been awful and he has caused so much stress and upset in the family. the problem is that i can barely look at him in the eyes anymore, probably because he's caused so many problems and he's changed so much in the last 5 years that i barely recognise him sometimes. why can't i look at him anymore? what does that mean?

woah okay well first of all .. your mom is a very lucky woman to have you in her life.. you and your brother have to pick up dad's slack and give mom hugs and kisses ..which i am sure you guys do anyway.. but now yu are a man you are 21 yrs. old .. stick up to your dad... yu jhave to get the balls to tell him how you feel, how he has been acting, that he has to slow it down. you are watching his life crumble.. maybe even write a long letter.. just like u did on here.. instead of saying this stuff to him write it to him.. it might be a bit easier for you.. you can either sit with him while he reads or give it to him and creep outside the door .. wahtever you think is best.. he has gotta get his act together before everything caves in.. i really wish good luck to you ,.. aw ..good luck

Powered by

Oh my gosh!!! are you kidding me??? she actually thinks that this would help solve our economic downfall of america??? the one truth behind her stupidity is that this is an obvious political stunt to be able to try to shame bush into appearing that he doesn't care about the american people when he vetos this idiotic idea!!!! where would that money come from anyway??? oh, let's add on to the billions of debt the government just used to bail out these mortgage loan companies!!! good one, nancy! do you agree with me?

She did not seem to think it was a good idea when Bush wanted to do it, but now she had "come up" with the idea she thinks it's great. A few measly $ is not going to fix the economy at this point, and all it is going to do is cause more taxes in the long run to make up for it.