Buy Property

Buying property to let | Property | Money | Gay.com UK Home Personals Chat Jobs Boards Directory Ask the Doctor Login | Join Now | Help News | Scene | Entertainment | Travel | Women | HIV Life | Lifestyle | Money | Weddings Choose your country site… US & Canada en français Italia Deutschland Argentina Australia España México Brasil Latino in Money Banking Insurance Law Property Work Life Flatshare & Flatmates login have your say Is Elton's wedding the event of the year? Property -- gay.com money property also in property Trust & Partnership Gay couples 'buying more homes' Find the perfect gay flatshare First time for everyone? Editor's picks Property archive also on gay.com Clubs Ho Ho Ho! Theatre Top gay play premieres in London Relationships Four years of worry - about what? related links Gay.com web guide - Money and Business Motley Fool Finance Pink Finance sponsored links Mortgage Best Buys - Save 100s Find Mortgages with Central Capital Compare UK Mortgages Buying property to let Chris Morgan Pink Finance 11 November, 2005 more articles by Chris Morgan Have you ever thought of becoming a landlord? In his latest column Chris Morgan offers advice on Buy to Let property. Kenneth has an amount of 30,000 that he would like to invest in his future. He likes the idea of buying a property to let out to tenants. This would mean taking a second mortgage, as he already has one already on his residential home. Kenneth said Im unsure whether Id be allowed to have two mortgages? Id be able to afford both monthly payments, as the rental income would more than cover the new mortgage. Are there any lenders that would give me the money? There are many Buy to Let mortgage lenders that would advance Kenneth the money, providing he has a 15% deposit. They would use the monthly rental income to justify the mortgage, providing it exceeds the interest payable by 130%. There are many types of specialist mortgages for landlords, with the most common either fixed or discounted variable options. Whichever type you select the interest will be tax deductible, providing you choose a loan that is specifically for letting property. Kenneth Continued Im not even going to have to find a tenant, as I already have a friend who would like to rent the new property. They want to find a nice place to let in my local area and are not in the position to get a mortgage themselves. Heres some advice for prospective landlords You should try and avoid Buy to Let lenders who charge a percentage of the loan as an arrangement fee and only pay a flat fee of a few hundred pounds. If your mortgage broker is independent they are obliged to offer you the opportunity to pay their fees by hourly rate. You should take out the loan on an interest only basis and not try and repay the capital, as its important that you create a margin. The difference between the monthly payments and rental received should be saved for repairs, decorating and unlet periods. Most lenders will require that you get your tenants to sign an assured shorthold tenancy agreement for either 6 or 12 months. You will be able to acquire an example from a legal stationers, or from a letting agent if you are using one. And Kenneth? We raised a mortgage for him of 170,000 at a fixed rate of 5.14%, using his 30,000 as a deposit. The monthly payment will be 728 per month, with his friend paying rent of 950 per month. The lenders arrangement fee on this deal was a flat 449, with the broker fee a flat 500. Chris Morgan is Managing Director of Compass financial advisers to the gay community www.compassifa.co.uk and editor of Pink Finance gay finance magazine. www.pinkfinance.com print it | email it rate this article: [ 1 2 3 4 5 ]Rating: 4 votes Win tickets to NYC from the Money Boards Gay.com and Vouch4me.com have got together to bring you the chance to win a trip to New York! wholesale nike shoes .35$/pair .www.nike-fancy.com jordan shoes /NFL jerseys/nor wholesale nike shoes .35$/pair .www.nike-fancy.com buy sell nike shoes,jordan,tn,shox,timberland,puma,prada,adidas, shoes,lacost,ev Sell Auto Seat Cover Sell Sports shoes (Nike,Adidas,Puma etc.) more competitions Full list of message boards Search Gay.com Company info Advertising info Personals affiliates Privacy policy User agreement Contact us Help Site Map ©1995-2005 GAY.COM INTERACTIVE SERVICES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. LEGAL NOTICE

Denver Real Estate

Denver Real Estate - Find Homes in Denver at REALTOR.com Denver Real Estate Find Homes For Sale In Greater Denver, Colorado 5432 Listings in this area Select an area of Denver Select from the list below to search for homes and real estate in Greater Denver BOM-Boulder Mountain BOP-Boulder Plains BOU-Boulder BRM-Broomfield JFC-Jefferson County Central JFN-Jefferson County North JFW-Jefferson County West (Golden) JNC-Jefferson County North Central LAF-Lafayette LBE-Loveland/Berthoud LNG-Longmont LSV-Louisville MCP-Mountain Conifer Pine MGC-Gilpin County Mtn MJN-North Jefferson County Mtn NNW-North Northwest Suburban NSW-North Suburban West Other Areas To select two or more, hold down control key (command key on a Macintosh) while clicking mouse. or... Enter the MLS # Search in popular metros: Atlanta | Austin | Boston | Chicago | Dallas | Denver | Houston | Las Vegas | Long Island | Los Angeles | Memphis | Miami | New York City | Orange County | Palm Beach | Phoenix | Sacramento | San Diego | Seattle Site Map | Corporate News & Info | Contact Us | Advertise With Us | Join our staff Terms of Use and PrivacyPolicy . 1995- NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS and Homestore, Inc. All rights reserved. Equal Housing Opportunity REALTOR.com is the official site of the National Association of REALTORS and is operated by Homestore, Inc. REALTOR -- A Registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. Inquiries regarding the Code of Ethics should be directed to the board in which a REALTOR holds membership.

Real Estate and Rental

San Francisco Chronicle: Real Estate Thursday, December 29, 2005 Search By : County | City | Address Filter By : Chronicle Ads Open Homes County Select County ****Any County Alameda Contra Costa Marin Napa San Francisco San Mateo Santa Clara Solano Sonoma City Please select a county Min. Bedrooms Studio 1 Bedroom 2 Bedrooms 3 Bedrooms 4 Bedrooms 5+ Bedrooms Max. Price No Limit 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000 400,000 450,000 500,000 550,000 600,000 650,000 700,000 750,000 800,000 850,000 900,000 950,000 1 Million 1.5 Million 2 Million 2.5 million 3 Million Advanced Search E-mail Alerts Saved Listings -- New Home Developments New Home Videos -- Out of Bay Area Open Homes Recent Home Sales Search By : County | City | Address Enter City or Neighborhood Advanced Search Search By : County | City | Address Enter Address You may enter a full or partial address. Advanced Search Click on the map for Bay Area home sales listings. How To Guide Information to help you select and buy goods and services. - Advertorial Find a contractor and get tips from great professionals with ImproveNet.com, America's Home Improvement Resource. Bay Area school scores and profiles at Great Schools.net . SF Gate's SF and East Bay neighborhood guides. Bay Area Maps Real Estate and Rental display ads from the Chronicle. See the Chronicle's New Homes Section. Save Searches, Listings, & Activate E-mail Alerts! View All Featured Properties Today's Rates Product Avg. Rate 30-yr Fixed 6.020 15-yr Fixed 5.394 30-yr Fixed Jumbo 6.146 5/1 ARM 5.525 Current Mortgage Rates Mortgage calculators Apply to online lenders Rates current as of 12/29/2005 powered by MortgageTrak Surreal Estate An overwrought home for the holidays Carol Lloyd Best of a bunch Real estate authors were prolific in 2005 Robert J. Bruss At the end of each year, it is my custom to select the 10 best real estate books out of the hundreds of published that year. This article takes 52 weeks to prepare because I read at least one real est... Clarification on home-sale tax exemption Robert Bruss Q: I am confused about your answer to a home seller who wants to add her mother to the title. You said the mother would be eligible for an Internal Revenue Code 121 principal residence sale tax exempt... Normal wear and tear covers reasonable use of unit Robert Griswold Answers are provided by Robert Griswold, a property manager certified by the Institute of Real Estate Management and author of "Property Management for Dummies"; and lawyers Steven R. Kellman, directo... Transbay planners see new landmark Dan Levy Transbay Terminal planners are viewing their controversial idea for a new San Francisco high-rise as nothing less than the signature building of our time -- much like the Transamerica Pyramid defined ... Holidays evoke true meaning of home Carol Lloyd "I just want to bake a Christmas ham," says my friend, a slight note of desperation rising in her voice. "Is that so much to ask?" She has just confided that because of her husband's 8-year-long, self... HOME SALES FOR 5 BUSINESS DAYS Alameda County Total sales as of Dec. 7 484 Median price $590,000 . Contra Costa County Total sales as of Dec. 7 489 Median price $576,500 . Marin County Total sales as of Nov. 22 81 Median price $808... Perry turns pretty profit on compound Actor buys condo after selling his Beverly Hills home Ruth Ryon Former "Friends" cast member Matthew Perry has racked up his second big deal of the year. The actor, 36, sold his Beverly Hills-area home for $6.1 million. He purchased it in 1999 for $3.2 million. Wh... Real reading -- best of a big bunch Robert J. Bruss "Reverse Mortgages for Dummies" By Sarah Glendon Lyons and John E. Lucas Wiley, $16.99, 249 pages This is the best of several excellent 2005 books about the pros and cons of tax-free reverse mortgage ... ARM indexes CHART: BC: . Last Previous Year Index week week ago 6-month CD 4.62 4.61 2.67 6-month T-bill 4.22 4.18 2.46 1-year TCMS(Y) 4.34 4.35 2.66 3-year TCMS(Y) 4.39 4.42 3.18 1-month LIBOR 4.38 4.37 2.41 6-m... Ignorance no excuse in avoiding foreclosure Kenneth Harney What would happen if you got sick or suffered a drastic loss of household income in 2006, and then fell seriously behind on your mortgage payments? Think about that, even for just a moment, because no... Solar power for the home a hot deal in 2006 Tax incentives can help cut energy bills Jennie L. Phipps If the thought of rising energy bills has you rushing out to buy insulation, hold off a week until after New Year's Day, when the recently enacted Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2005 kicks in. The act i... Real Estate: Neighborhood Homes Sold . Sunday, December 25, 2005 Back to... Help | Contact us | Privacy ™ ©2005 Hearst Communications Inc. --

Home Loan

Home Equity Scams: Borrowers Beware! Home Equity Loans : Borrowers Beware! D o you own your home? If so, it's likely to be your greatest single asset. Unfortunately, if you agree to a loan that's based on the equity you have in your home, you may be putting your most valuable asset at risk. Homeowners-particularly elderly, minority and those with low incomes or poor credit-should be careful when borrowing money based on their home equity. Why? Certain abusive or exploitative lenders target these borrowers, who unwittingly may be putting their home on the line. Abusive lending practices range from equity stripping and loan flipping to hiding loan terms and packing a loan with extra charges. The Federal Trade Commission urges you to be aware of these loan practices to avoid losing your home. The Practices Equity Stripping You need money. You don't have much income coming in each month. You have built up equity in your home. A lender tells you that you could get a loan, even though you know your income is just not enough to keep up with the monthly payments. The lender encourages you to "pad" your income on your application form to help get the loan approved. This lender may be out to steal the equity you have built up in your home. The lender doesn't care if you can't keep up with the monthly payments. As soon as you don't, the lender will foreclose-taking your home and stripping you of the equity you have spent years building. If you take out a loan but don't have enough income to make the monthly payments, you are being set up. You probably will lose your home. Hidden Loan Terms: The Balloon Payment You've fallen behind in your mortgage payments and may face foreclosure. Another lender offers to save you from foreclosure by refinancing your mortgage and lowering your monthly payments. Look carefully at the loan terms. The payments may be lower because the lender is offering a loan on which you repay only the interest each month. At the end of the loan term, the principal-that is, the entire amount that you borrowed-is due in one lump sum called a balloon payment. If you can't make the balloon payment or refinance, you face foreclosure and the loss of your home. Loan Flipping Suppose you've had your mortgage for years. The interest rate is low and the monthly payments fit nicely into your budget, but you could use some extra money. A lender calls to talk about refinancing, and using the availability of extra cash as bait, claims it's time the equity in your home started "working" for you. You agree to refinance your loan. After you've made a few payments on the loan, the lender calls to offer you a bigger loan for, say, a vacation. If you accept the offer, the lender refinances your original loan and then lends you additional money. In this practice-often called "flipping"-the lender charges you high points and fees each time you refinance, and may increase your interest rate as well. If the loan has a prepayment penalty, you will have to pay that penalty each time you take out a new loan. You now have some extra money and a lot more debt, stretched out over a longer time. The extra cash you receive may be less than the additional costs and fees you were charged for the refinancing. And what's worse, you are now paying interest on those extra fees charged in each refinancing. Long story short? With each refinancing, you've increased your debt and probably are paying a very high price for some extra cash. After a while, if you get in over your head and can't pay, you could lose your home. The "Home Improvement" Loan A contractor calls or knocks on your door and offers to install a new roof or remodel your kitchen at a price that sounds reasonable. You tell him you're interested, but can't afford it. He tells you it's no problem-he can arrange financing through a lender he knows. You agree to the project, and the contractor begins work. At some point after the contractor begins, you are asked to sign a lot of papers. The papers may be blank or the lender may rush you to sign before you have time to read what you've been given. The contractor threatens to leave the work on your house unfinished if you don't sign. You sign the papers. Only later, you realize that the papers you signed are a home equity loan. The interest rate, points and fees seem very high. To make matters worse, the work on your home isn't done right or hasn't been completed, and the contractor, who may have been paid by the lender, has little interest in completing the work to your satisfaction. Credit Insurance Packing You've just agreed to a mortgage on terms you think you can afford. At closing, the lender gives you papers to sign that include charges for credit insurance or other "benefits" that you did not ask for and do not want. The lender hopes you don't notice this, and that you just sign the loan papers where you are asked to sign. The lender doesn't explain exactly how much extra money this will cost you each month on your loan. If you do notice, you're afraid that if you ask questions or object, you might not get the loan. The lender may tell you that this insurance comes with the loan, making you think that it comes at no additional cost. Or, if you object, the lender may even tell you that if you want the loan without the insurance, the loan papers will have to be rewritten, that it could take several days, and that the manager may reconsider the loan altogether. If you agree to buy the insurance, you really are paying extra for the loan by buying a product you may not want or need. Mortgage Servicing Abuses After you get a mortgage, you receive a letter from your lender saying that your monthly payments will be higher than you expected. The lender says that your payments include escrow for taxes and insurance even though you arranged to pay those items yourself with the lender's okay. Later, a message from the lender says you are being charged late fees. But you know your payments were on time. Or, you may receive a message saying that you failed to maintain required property insurance and the lender is buying more costly insurance at your expense. Other charges that you don't understand-like legal fees-are added to the amount you owe, increasing your monthly payments or the amount you owe at the end of the loan term. The lender doesn't provide you with an accurate or complete account of these charges. You ask for a payoff statement to refinance with another lender and receive a statement that's inaccurate or incomplete. The lender's actions make it almost impossible to determine how much you've paid or how much you owe. You may pay more than you owe. Signing Over Your Deed If you are having trouble paying your mortgage and the lender has threatened to foreclose and take your home, you may feel desperate. Another "lender" may contact you with an offer to help you find new financing. Before he can help you, he asks you to deed your property to him, claiming that it's a temporary measure to prevent foreclosure. The promised refinancing that would let you save your home never comes through. Once the lender has the deed to your property, he starts to treat it as his own. He may borrow against it (for his benefit, not yours) or even sell it to someone else. Because you don't own the home any more, you won't get any money when the property is sold. The lender will treat you as a tenant and your mortgage payments as rent. If your "rent" payments are late, you can be evicted from your home. Protecting Yourself You can protect yourself against losing your home to inappropriate lending practices. Here's how: Don't: Agree to a home equity loan if you don't have enough income to make the monthly payments. Sign any document you haven't read or any document that has blank spaces to be filled in after you sign. Let anyone pressure you into signing any document. Agree to a loan that includes credit insurance or extra products you don't want. Let the promise of extra cash or lower monthly payments get in the way of your good judgment about whether the cost you will pay for the loan is really worth it. Deed your property to anyone. First consult an attorney, a knowledgeable family member, or someone else you trust. Do: Ask specifically if credit insurance is required as a condition of the loan. If it isn't, and a charge is included in your loan and you don't want the insurance, ask that the charge be removed from the loan documents. If you want the added security of credit insurance, shop around for the best rates. Keep careful records of what you've paid, including billing statements and canceled checks. Challenge any charge you think is inaccurate. Check contractors' references when it is time to have work done in your home. Get more than one estimate. Read all items carefully. If you need an explanation of any terms or conditions, talk to someone you can trust, such as a knowledgeable family member or an attorney. Consider all the costs of financing before you agree to a loan. For More Information The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues , visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel , a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION FOR THE CONSUMER 1-877-FTC-HELP www.ftc.gov April 1998

Buy Home

Common Questions from First-time Homebuyers - HUD HUD News Newsroom Priorities About HUD Homes Buying Owning Selling Renting Homeless Home improvements HUD homes Fair housing FHA refunds Foreclosure Consumer info Communities About communities Volunteering Organizing Economic development Working with HUD Grants Programs Contracts Work online HUD jobs Complaints Resources Library Handbooks/ forms Common questions Tools Webcasts Mailing lists Contact us Help Common Questions from First-time Homebuyers Information by State Esta página en español Print version Email this to a friend Why should I buy, instead of rent? Answer: A home is an investment. When you rent, you write your monthly check and that money is gone forever. But when you own your home, you can deduct the cost of your mortgage loan interest from your federal income taxes, and usually from your state taxes. This will save you a lot each year, because the interest you pay will make up most of your monthly payment for most of the years of your mortgage. You can also deduct the property taxes you pay as a homeowner. In addition, the value of your home may go up over the years. Finally, you'll enjoy having something that's all yours - a home where your own personal style will tell the world who you are. What are "HUD homes," and are they a good deal? Answer: HUD homes can be a very good deal. When someone with a HUD insured mortgage can't meet the payments, the lender forecloses on the home; HUD pays the lender what is owed; and HUD takes ownership of the home. Then we sell it at market value as quickly as possible. Read all about buying a HUD home . Check our listings of HUD homes and homes being sold by other federal agencies. Can I become a homebuyer even if I have I've had bad credit, and don't have much for a down-payment? Answer: You may be a good candidate for one of the federal mortgage programs . Start by contacting one of the HUD-funded housing counseling agencies that can help you sort through your options. Also, contact your local government to see if there are any local homebuying programs that might work for you. Look in the blue pages of your phone directory for your local office of housing and community development or, if you can't find it, contact your mayor's office or your county executive's office. Are there special homeownership grants or programs for single parents? Answer: There is help available. Start by becoming familiar with the homebuying process and pick a good real estate broker. Although as a single parent, you won't have the benefit of two incomes on which to qualify for a loan, consider getting pre-qualified, so that when you find a house you like in your price range you won't have the delay of trying to get qualified. Contact one of the HUD-funded housing counseling agencies in your area to talk through other options for help that might be available to you. Research buying a HUD home, as they can be very good deals. Also, contact your local government to see if there are any local homebuying programs that could help you. Look in the blue pages of your phone directory for your local office of housing and community development or, if you can't find it, contact your mayor's office or your county executive's office. Should I use a real estate broker? How do I find one? Answer: Using a real estate broker is a very good idea. All the details involved in home buying, particularly the financial ones, can be mind-boggling. A good real estate professional can guide you through the entire process and make the experience much easier. A real estate broker will be well-acquainted with all the important things you'll want to know about a neighborhood you may be considering...the quality of schools, the number of children in the area, the safety of the neighborhood, traffic volume, and more. He or she will help you figure the price range you can afford and search the classified ads and multiple listing services for homes you'll want to see. With immediate access to homes as soon as they're put on the market, the broker can save you hours of wasted driving-around time. When it's time to make an offer on a home, the broker can point out ways to structure your deal to save you money. He or she will explain the advantages and disadvantages of different types of mortgages, guide you through the paperwork, and be there to hold your hand and answer last-minute questions when you sign the final papers at closing. And you don't have to pay the broker anything! The payment comes from the home seller - not from the buyer. By the way, if you want to buy a HUD home , you will be required to use a real estate broker to submit your bid. To find a broker who sells HUD homes, check your local yellow pages or the classified section of your local newspaper. How much money will I have to come up with to buy a home? Answer: Well, that depends on a number of factors, including the cost of the house and the type of mortgage you get. In general, you need to come up with enough money to cover three costs: earnest money - the deposit you make on the home when you submit your offer, to prove to the seller that you are serious about wanting to buy the house; the down payment , a percentage of the cost of the home that you must pay when you go to settlement; and closing costs , the costs associated with processing the paperwork to buy a house. When you make an offer on a home, your real estate broker will put your earnest money into an escrow account. If the offer is accepted, your earnest money will be applied to the down payment or closing costs. If your offer is not accepted, your money will be returned to you. The amount of your earnest money varies. If you buy a HUD home, for example, your deposit generally will range from $500 - $2,000. The more money you can put into your down payment, the lower your mortgage payments will be. Some types of loans require 10-20% of the purchase price. That's why many first-time homebuyers turn to HUD's FHA for help. FHA loans require only 3% down - and sometimes less. Closing costs - which you will pay at settlement - average 3-4% of the price of your home. These costs cover various fees your lender charges and other processing expenses. When you apply for your loan, your lender will give you an estimate of the closing costs, so you won't be caught by surprise. If you buy a HUD home , HUD may pay many of your closing costs. How do I know if I can get a loan? Answer: Use our simple mortgage calculators to see how much mortgage you could pay - that's a good start. If the amount you can afford is significantly less than the cost of homes that interest you, then you might want to wait awhile longer. But before you give up, why don't you contact a real estate broker or a HUD-funded housing counseling agency ? They will help you evaluate your loan potential. A broker will know what kinds of mortgages the lenders are offering and can help you choose a lender with a program that might be right for you. Another good idea is to get pre-qualified for a loan. That means you go to a lender and apply for a mortgage before you actually start looking for a home. Then you'll know exactly how much you can afford to spend, and it will speed the process once you do find the home of your dreams. How do I find a lender? Answer: You can finance a home with a loan from a bank, a savings and loan, a credit union, a private mortgage company, or various state government lenders. Shopping for a loan is like shopping for any other large purchase: you can save money if you take some time to look around for the best prices. Different lenders can offer quite different interest rates and loan fees; and as you know, a lower interest rate can make a big difference in how much home you can afford. Talk with several lenders before you decide. Most lenders need 3-6 weeks for the whole loan approval process. Your real estate broker will be familiar with lenders in the area and what they're offering. Or you can look in your local newspaper's real estate section - most papers list interest rates being offered by local lenders. You can find FHA-approved lenders in the Yellow Pages of your phone book. HUD does not make loans directly - you must use a HUD-approved lender if you're interested in an FHA loan. In addition to the mortgage payment, what other costs do I need to consider? Answer: Well, of course you'll have your monthly utilities. If your utilities have been covered in your rent, this may be new for you. Your real estate broker will be able to help you get information from the seller on how much utilities normally cost. In addition, you might have homeowner association or condo association dues. You'll definitely have property taxes, and you also may have city or county taxes. Taxes normally are rolled into your mortgage payment. Again, your broker will be able to help you anticipate these costs. So what will my mortgage cover? Answer: Most loans have 4 parts: principal: the repayment of the amount you actually borrowed; interest: payment to the lender for the money you've borrowed; homeowners insurance: a monthly amount to insure the property against loss from fire, smoke, theft, and other hazards required by most lenders; and property taxes: the annual city/county taxes assessed on your property, divided by the number of mortgage payments you make in a year. Most loans are for 30 years, although 15 year loans are available, too. During the life of the loan, you'll pay far more in interest than you will in principal - sometimes two or three times more! Because of the way loans are structured, in the first years you'll be paying mostly interest in your monthly payments. In the final years, you'll be paying mostly principal. What do I need to take with me when I apply for a mortgage? Answer: Good question! If you have everything with you when you visit your lender, you'll save a good deal of time. You should have: 1) social security numbers for both your and your spouse, if both of you are applying for the loan; 2) copies of your checking and savings account statements for the past 6 months; 3) evidence of any other assets like bonds or stocks; 4) a recent paycheck stub detailing your earnings; 5) a list of all credit card accounts and the approximate monthly amounts owed on each; 6) a list of account numbers and balances due on outstanding loans, such as car loans; 7) copies of your last 2 years' income tax statements; and 8) the name and address of someone who can verify your employment. Depending on your lender, you may be asked for other information. I know there are lots of types of mortgages - how do I know which one is best for me? Answer: You're right - there are many types of mortgages, and the more you know about them before you start, the better. Most people use a fixed-rate mortgage. In a fixed rate mortgage, your interest rate stays the same for the term of the mortgage, which normally is 30 years. The advantage of a fixed-rate mortgage is that you always know exactly how much your mortgage payment will be, and you can plan for it. Another kind of mortgage is an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM). With this kind of mortgage, your interest rate and monthly payments usually start lower than a fixed rate mortgage. But your rate and payment can change either up or down, as often as once or twice a year. The adjustment is tied to a financial index, such as the U.S. Treasury Securities index. The advantage of an ARM is that you may be able to afford a more expensive home because your initial interest rate will be lower. There are several government mortgage programs,including the Veteran's Administration's programs and the Department of Agriculture's programs . Most people have heard of FHA mortgages. FHA doesn't actually make loans. Instead, it insures loans so that if buyers default for some reason, the lenders will get their money. This encourages lenders to give mortgages to people who might not otherwise qualify for a loan. Talk to your real estate broker about the various kinds of loans, before you begin shopping for a mortgage. When I find the home I want, how much should I offer? Answer: Again, your real estate broker can help you here. But there are several things you should consider: 1) is the asking price in line with prices of similar homes in the area? 2) Is the home in good condition or will you have to spend a substantial amount of money making it the way you want it? You probably want to get a professional home inspection before you make your offer. Your real estate broker can help you arrange one. 3) How long has the home been on the market? If it's been for sale for awhile, the seller may be more eager to accept a lower offer. 4) How much mortgage will be required? Make sure you really can afford whatever offer you make. 5) How much do you really want the home? The closer you are to the asking price, the more likely your offer will be accepted. In some cases, you may even want to offer more than the asking price, if you know you are competing with others for the house. What if my offer is rejected? Answer: They often are! But don't let that stop you. Now you begin negotiating. Your broker will help you. You may have to offer more money, but you may ask the seller to cover some or all of your closing costs or to make repairs that wouldn't normally be expected. Often, negotiations on a price go back and forth several times before a deal is made. Just remember - don't get so caught up in negotiations that you lose sight of what you really want and can afford! So what will happen at closing? Answer: Basically, you'll sit at a table with your broker, the broker for the seller, probably the seller, and a closing agent. The closing agent will have a stack of papers for you and the seller to sign. While he or she will give you a basic explanation of each paper, you may want to take the time to read each one and/or consult with your agent to make sure you know exactly what you're signing. After all, this is a large amount of money you're committing to pay for a lot of years! Before you go to closing, your lender is required to give you a booklet explaining the closing costs, a "good faith estimate" of how much cash you'll have to supply at closing, and a list of documents you'll need at closing. If you don't get those items, be sure to call your lender BEFORE you go to closing. Be sure to read our booklet on settlement costs . It will help you understand your rights in the process. Don't hesitate to ask questions. More information? Answer: See our 100 questions and answers about buying a home. Content updated October 25, 2005 Back to top FOIA Privacy Web Policies and Important Links Home U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 451 7th Street S.W., Washington, DC 20410 Telephone: (202) 708-1112 TTY: (202) 708-1455 Find the address of a HUD office near you