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.

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Sorry if this is long but if your to lazy to read and are going to complain then bugger off to read something more your level and complain there. i am due with my first at the end of april and will be working full time until the middle of april bringing in two incomes while hubby is running his business whom i also work for. this was a planned baby and yes we have money set aside so keep your snide remarks to yourself. i have already bought all the furniture for the baby room with money put aside and over all for being only 21 we are doing very well. we own our own home, i breed and raise horses so have money invested in them as well. we own our own vehicles and bring in a 6 figure income due to hard work. no neither of our parents are rich and no we don't mooch of of them. i will be receive my ei when i leave work for mat leave but i am looking to make a little extra to continue putting away into savings as we are looking to purchase a second property in the country and rent out the house in town. yes i know the economy is bad and yes i have lived on a farm most of my life so i know what kinds of things are involved. i live in canada where the economy is better and the average rent in this area runs from $500.00 for a room to $1200 - 2500 for a house. more then enough to pay for one mortgage, plus extra for boarding horses. i seen a mention on house cleaning for extra cash, anyone do this and find it to be worthwhile? i also enjoy freelance writing and will look into doing this as well once i am at home. any other ideas from anyone! i don't mean to be rude and i appologize if i appear that way, however my experience with yahoo has shown me that there are a lot of bored people with no real advice or knowledge to share who are just looking for ways to put people down.

there is nothing wrong with cleaning, if your going to do this before baby gets here stay away from harsh cleaners and dont vaccum. ebay is also a good way for extra money, i sell items to buy baby items with my profit. good luck.

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My car is about to be paid off. looking for opinons on what i should do with the extra $500 a month. would it be better idea to pay the extra on the princpal on my mortgage. mortgage has a 6% intrest rate and a loan life of 30 years. since i just started my house payments about 8 months ago. or better idea to up the percentage i put into my 401k the company matches 3% of what i put in. maybe split it up alittle. thanks for any ideas.

Put at least enough into your 401(k) to get the maximum company match. After that, put it in savings/emergency fund or into a Roth IRA.

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My parents had a house built in ok tha should be ready in jan. they a got loan for $15k to get some extra things put in to the house. my parents got the house built thinking that they could sell the house they have in ny quickly enough so they could use that money to pay for the new house and have some extra money. it's the end of nov and the house still hasn't sold. if they don't pay for the house by jan they will lose the $15k they put down. my parents aren't rich so i don't want them to lose that money. here is the question. now we are planning on having me get a loan to buy the house in ok. pay the mortgage until they can sell the house. then i will sell them the house to them for what ever my loan was for. the house in ok is going to be $203k. the house in ny is for sale for $350k. would the plan above be a good idea or would we lose money doing that. or should we just lose the house in ok, sell the house in ny and lose the $15k and just have another one built later on.

If your new house in OK is your dream house why not drop the selling price in NY and move in time ? House prices are dropping in US due to the artificially high prices caused by low interest rates that are now higher. Prices will drop until they are affordable, maybe by 50% because now the interest rates are double eg. min 5% not 2.5 % the costs are double, but wages are the same. As recession and stagflation bite hard, prices will fall more. the good news ? A lower US dollar will mean more competitiveness for US exports and then more jobs. Selling the NY house would bring peace of mind, sell now as the price will only fall and if you borrow you must pay interest and maintenamce on two houses. IMHO. Or rent the NY house to fund the borrowing, if you think you can sell it later on or if the rent could cover interest on the price you would get if you sold it now.

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I have 6% fixed 30 year loan. i don't have big cash laying around, because i have already put some money on the house. ideas? to me i think putting it on the house is better, because it's much less risky. oh i forgot to say that i have no credit card debt, or debt of any kind for that matter except for the mortgage. i do also have an emergency fund.

Pay on your mortgage so you don't have to worry about losing your home.There are lots of people losing their homes & it may not get better any time soon.Be smart,not homeless!

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We are planning to sell our house in approximately two years. right now, all of our extra money each month is being put in savings. i was told it was a better idea to just keep a nice buffer in savings but then slap down the extra on the principle of the mortgage. i just feel slightly uncomfortable with the fact that i don't physically have that extra savings anymore even though the mortgage is going down and i'll be paying less each month, especially when i'm worried our current house will sell for less than what we bought it for. i understand that the mortgage interest rate is much higher than the interest rate on the savings account so logically is seems to make sense. also, does it matter that we'll be leaving in the next couple years? thanks for any advice.

Note: Put 20% down on a new home so you can avoid PMI. PMI is not tax deductible, does not apply towards interest or principal. It's like throwing thousands away a year. If you feel you have the 20% down for your next home - then you must have in place 6 months worth of living expenses in a savings account - or a cd you can break. Then... you pay off debts, such as cars - and for a future home, make sure you pay credit card bills in full each month. Then... you can start paying down your mortgage ! .

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I have one credit card with 15k in debt at 5% and pay $300 per month. i will also be a first time homebuyer and will most likely not be putting any money down. was thinking of doing a 30yr fixed 80/20 loan (if numbers work out to be better than full 100% w/ pmi). ideally, i would like to pay off my debt before buying a home, but cannot in this situation. would it be possible... and what do you think about bumping the mortgage amount up 15k to pay off the debt? in essence, i will most likely be paying more in interest since the mortgage interest rates are higher and amortized over 30yrs, but a 15k increase in the mortgage amount over 30yrs at 7% is approx. $100 according to the mortgage calculators. that would free up an extra 200 that i could use to go towards the mortgage. first, do you think it would even be possible for the lender to do this for a first time homebuyer program with no money down? and second, do you think this is a good idea? thanks

Hey Dude, don't think of the short term. I would just buckle down and payoff the credit card. with the mortgage, Do what you plan with no money down. You can always refinance. The last thing you want to do is incur more debt onto your mortgage by adding credit card debt. It takes longer to pay that off. It you can, just cut some things out of your life here and there and you will payoff the credit card. But don't just pay the minimum. Try this. Advice from someone that owns a home and did what u r thinking. Hindsight is always 20/20. Good luck -ar

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I'm confused as the interested rate being so low, while i'm locked at 5.4% for another two years (1year 11months). ok here is the story, i have a house which is about 300k worth and i have just over $100,000 mortgage remains on it. my mortgage policy matures in apr 2011, interest rate is 5.40%. i actually bought house three years ago and i put over 25% down and i paid off about under $100k in principle in three years (my bank allows me to pay max 15% principle each year, so i try to make extra payment each year). i was wondering if it is good idea to refinance it? even though i don't need any extra money or anything (no cash back). only thing that is making me think about is interest rate which is almost at 3.59% (if i refinance for three years, as i think i will pay it off in three years). my refinance plenty will be around $2,500 (meaing i have to pre-pay interest difference for the rest of the term). i hope/think i will be able to pay 15% each year for the remaining term as well. so do you think if it's good idea to refinance or i should stick with what i have at the moment?

As a Certified Financial Planner, If you are going to pay off the house in 3 years, forget about the 15% just go hog wild on the mortgage. Sure you will pay like a 1%ppp but that is better than refinancing a whole mortgage. You may have less interest. If you are < 3years, just pay it off! congratulations.

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I am buying a home. i will put down an offer for $65,000. i make $30,000 a year and have $19,000 saved up towards the home. i have a credit score of 725. i was planning on getting a 15 yr mortgage, and putting 20% down, basically because i want as little debt as possible. today, i was talking with someone who recommended putting down as little as possible (fha 3% even) and taking out a 30 year mortgage. he said i could use the money i would have otherwise spent on the 15yr, 20% down mortgage to invest, thus making more money than i will pay extra in interest. while his thinking made sense, i just can't be comfortable with that much debt. i am familiar with other forms of investing. he also reminded me most 30yr mortgages let you pay more than your principle, and i would have more "cushion" this way. it just seems like a better idea to get the best interest rate possible (about 4.7% for a 15yr, as opposed to 5.1% for a 30 yr). with the 20% down i would also avoid mortgage insurance. i know i can afford the 15yr, 20% down payment, but should i go this route? thank you!

The "best" investment to make these days is to pay down debt or to not assume debt. Putting down a larger down payment means you have less of a chance of becoming upside down. Taking a 15 year mortgage gives you a lower interest rate. If you can swing it, I suggest you do it. As far as investing. Talk to anybody in the market over the past year or two. Go with the 20% down 15 year mortgage. Good luck.

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My husband has a lot of trouble handling his bills. even before we got married, he was evicted from a $1000 a month apartment even though he brought in about 80 thou a year and did not have any other bills other than a $300 a month car note (he moved in with me, but didnt tell me he was evicted). over the years he has gotten behind in bills and i have "loaned" him money to pay things. we both handle our own money and have individual things to pay. no joint account due to him taking both of our shares of money out of it without asking. we are pretty much even in how much we earn and our bills, but he is also paying off four credit cards bills which i had years ago suggested he get rid of, because he keeps running them up. the problem is my husband is short at the end of the month and i have to take from my savings to make up for it,. he is short, because of his credit cards, he is a smoker and he doesn't manage his money well and always has to pay everything from the next check. this has been going on for years and i have always threatened to have all his pay come to me. he doesn't want this, because he knows i am not going to give him money for his cigarettes or anything i think is frivilous. it has nothing to do with that. i would give him his extra money after his bills are paid, but he does not have enough monthly salary to pay them. he is playing catch up and at the end of the month i am the one who has to pay for his shortfall. $5 for cigarrettes is $5 i would eventually have to kick in. so, the last few months have been the last straw. the most recent finacial issues came up when we were about to leave for vacation. i paid a $1000 dollar for a 3 month overdue bill when he got our phones, cable and internet turned off. i need internet, i work from home. i paid it, then he paid me back and had no money for our trip. i bought everything while on vacation with our two kids, daycare provider and my 13 year old neice until he was paid six days later. i wouldn't have even planned the trip if i knew things were going so bad for him. (my neice had more money than he did, but he did have a suitcase full of smokes.) it was also my second mother's day and the second mother's day i get nothing. since then it is ongoing. no money for pampers, groceries, getting things fixed around the house. money for smokes though. his car is broke, so he took 1/2 of his share of the mortgage money ($800) to get it fixed. didn't get it fixed and cannot account for the money other than he bought things for a party that we were having. i had to loan him his share of the mortgage for that month. sunday, he did not have grocery money. he said if i loaned it to him, he would buy groceries the next two times. ok, that is what we did last month. i keep telling him that just makes things worse. he has to make cutbacks. his idea of cutbacks is on our grocery budget. its roughly $150 weekly for five people. he says its unnecessary and i have an expensive tastes in food. he can survive on a pack of hotdogs. anyway, i told him to turn all of his money over to me and let me pay handle it. i have threatned it before, but never did it, because i don't really want too. now, i have no choice or keep getting hit with bills and having to loan him money taking money from a savings account that is for emergencies and the kids college fund. i told him if he doesnt allow me to do it, not to come to me for loans or anything else. this includes using my car to get back and forth to work. he has so far said no to this. i personally think it is fair. i know i am putting him between a rock and a hard place, but i don't think its fair for me to have to pay his shortfalls simply because i budget better than he does. he doesn't want me too, because he knows i'm not giving him money for cigarettes. i understand its an addiction, but come on you have responsibilities that comes first. the holidays are coming up and our kids birthdays. i see it now, me having to pay for everything and no christmas gift for me again. i don't want his money. i just want him to pay his bills and build himself some savings. i just don't want him living paycheck to paycheck. we should be able to live off our salaries.

It should be collective decision...

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My husband put me through hell in the last 5 years to the point that i don’t love him anymore. he was controlling wanted to tell me who to talk to what to wear etc. i worked full time and finished school going full time and he refused to help me with the house chores. he wanted me to pay for his past mistakes like giving his ex extra money beside the child support so she will let him see his daughter now 14 year old which i never thought it was a good idea since he already had court order for visitations. he also paid whores with my money while i was on business trip and that was the end for me. well while we were dating for a year he was completely different person. i decided to leave after talk was not working with him. now, i moved and live in a house with our child where i put the mortgage under my brother’s name and i have a good job thanks to the lord. so we have been separated for 6 month and he doesn’t pay me child support and he refused to give me divorce unless i pay him 20k. i had a lot savings but i put it down payment for the house and i did put the rest of the money in my brother’s account. my lawyer told me that it will be nasty divorce since he refused to give me one. my lawyer said he will dig into my husband’s past history that i didn’t even know about like him been into jail when he was a teenage and strong drug use etc especially that my husband is in the army. if the lawyer digs into my husbands history he may lose his job with the army etc. will he be able to get anything from me since i do not have any money on my name in any account and the 2 cars we had i took mine and left his in our old apt. i make 7k he makes 3k. i’m 27 he is 38.

Well if he refused to divorce you in 6 months unless you give him 20K that’s a threat. Also, he needs to pay child support. Let the lawyer put all his dirty laundry on display and see how he likes it.